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DA Hike latest Update: DA/DR जबरदस्त उछाल के साथ, महंगाई भत्ता AICPIN 12 महीने के टॉप पर
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दोस्तों आप सभी का स्वागत है हमारे वेबसाइट Mr. Indian Politics पर। आपको जानकर खुशी होगी कि AICPIN पिछले 12 महीने का रिकॉर्ड तोड़ते हुए जबरदस्त उछाल पर है जिसके चलते महंगाई भत्ते में जबरदस्त उछाल देखने को मिलने वाला है। जैसा कि आप सभी जानते हो जुलाई, 2023 से मिलने वाला महंगाई भत्ता 46% बन चुका है, मात्र घोषणा होनी बाकी है और जनवरी 2024 के लिए पहले ही महीने का जो अखिल भारतीय उपभोक्ता मुद्रा सूचकांक…
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🕷️ Girlfriend is Better 🕷️
Eddie Munson x reader
10.9k words
Summary: Eddie x Pencils hit a bit of a hurdle in their early relationship. But she puts it to rights - and then hits the sweet metal head with an offer he can’t refuse- tw violence, past assault: in this chap folks - sorry its taken so long to get this done - enjoy
Eddie can feel their eyes on him.
He feels it’s undeserved and let’s be honest, a little odd. It’s not as if he’s not doing anything out of the ordinary here. He’s just being- normal.
His version at least. His wheelhouse batshit normal. Eddie-like.
They’re looking at him like he’s grown a new head.
Munson Motor mouth, rabbiting on its usual mile a minute as Motörhead shreds through the van speakers with Lemmy’s choppy and tasty riffs.
Early morning cigarette that he lit before he hopped in the van for the drive to school, curling smoke held between two fingers.
He’s batting the saggy steering wheel in time to the song. Ba-da-da with his other open palm to coincide with drum clashes that pound through like falling rocks and crashing thunder.
He still takes the corners way too fast like a coked up maniac. Some things will never change.
He looks the same. Smiles the same. But there’s a new breed of manic warping his usual calamity of a nature.
He’s not grumbling about this morning. Or a test or pop quiz he had coming up. No miserable sluggishness. Toothpaste breath. Not slumped and still yawning. With nothing but a weak instant coffee, two sugars, as his one and only source of breakfast. Gritty coffee that still catches the grounds between his back teeth.
Hair that mushed dry state that’s hard to tell if it’s met with a brush or not yet. Possibly this morning. It’s a maybe. It’s a not really.
Leather and battle vest showed up for duty on his lanky torso as per usual. Hellfire shirt of course. The ripped jeans. The wallet chain that swings and jingles and clatters to denim when he walks and makes him sound like a jangling six foot cat with a little tinkling bell on its collar. It’s all there. The jangly jacketed freak is all assembled.
But there’s this newness to the way he’s smiling.
So wide it dimples his cheeks. Creases the corner of those intimidating wells of eyes. It’s like someone’s fuel injected him with something to make him wilder. More swirly. Practically floating. Any higher he’d be in the big blue stratosphere. Sun grazed and heady. Icarus soaring too close to the sun. Not yet plunged to earth. Melting gold spattered on milk white swan feathers as he tumbled to earth.
Jeff makes a joke about him toking up before school. Eddie reached over and ruffled his hair. Making that demons smile. Rings flashing from his fingers in the meagre sun. “Man, I wish.”
“Got new pills from Rick or something?”
Eddie frowned. “Hell no. Besides. Wouldn’t be wasting those beauties right before first period English class.” He scoffs.
Dustin and Mike share a furtive glance that begs to know what’s up. Dustin mumbles What the shit, man?
He’s finally cracked. I’m calling it.
He didn’t have far to go.
He judders the van along the lot at school. Rumbling tyres over the loose gravel. Head bobbing to the metal as he lurches the wheel and swings into a space.
“Be seeing you. Little hellions. Be free. Give em hell.” He chuckles. Lumping the van into park. Watching them open doors and frown. Scurrying away to class. Gathered close and whispering. Hiking backpack straps up their shoulders and clutching chunky math books and still regarding him like more of an oddity than he actually is.
Of course there is a reason for the golden sunshine visibly sneaking out his pores, and bouncing the soles of his happy feet today. And it’s his wonderful secret.
Eddie shakes his head, and shoulders all his jagged chips and hatred for this place.
The amount of chips he’s got shelved there, worn on his shoulders, about this stunning educational penitentiary, frankly, he could very realistically wear like scales at this point.
He puts a cigarette to his lips and slips around the corner of the lot, jacket and wallet chain clinking as he goes, sneaking to the smokers spot.
A balding patch of grass skimmed to mud, and a graffitied brick wall, snugly hidden around the side of the squat building where some go to steal a quick smoke before class. He usually occupies the spot alone and has to haul ass like a frightened racoon if a teach clocks him.
No sooner had he come within an inch of the corner, cig almost to his lips, and he is yanked around it by a sturdy hand yanking him fully out of view - by his wallet chain. He feels the tug on the denim around his hip, pulling taut.
He wants to yowl and start squirming away from the grip, slinging fists into faces at this ambush. When really he wants to turn tail and leg it in the opposite direction. Flight not fight.
His back collided with graffiti breeze block and before he could turn out his pockets, show them holding lint and nothing else save for a quarter and a D20, screechily proclaim his dispensary is clean out man, back off-
Then some warm lips mould to his.
A gentle artists hand, faded blue polish on the nails, knuckles scraping bricks, is cupping the back of his wild mane and cupping him for a kiss he slowly melts too.
He honest-to-god goes fully boneless with the way you kiss him. The scrappy fight and shock slowly leeches out those gangly poky limbs. Sparks shoot to his fingertips.
He smiles. You can feel his dimples and a cold leathered arm comes folding around your back. The bracelet and the jangle of those zips up his wrists. Settling at the dip of your waist and his fingers slide into the back of belt loop of your jeans.
When you pull back for breath that you’re not sure you want more than him, he has the dopiest grin skated on his face.
“Morning.” You beam finally.
Because that kiss seemed way more important. You can’t help the feeling he instills. Feels like your belly is birthing a wild jungle crammed with winking wings of butterflies. Brilliant blue. Wicked electric yellow. Gossamer pink. They all shimmer.
“Hey hot stuff.” He smiles. Not restraining himself whatsoever.
Oh, they shimmer even more to the sight of that. Mad. Wild. Unhinged.
His cheeks kissed a little pink. He doesn’t even care that he dropped his cigarette in the mud. He’d rather chase the taste of your lips and let that sustain him all morning. Better than pills and nicotine. This static-fizzy-starburst feeling he gets big lungfuls of when around you.
“Didn’t mean to grab you like that. But I must admit that chain is certainly a handy hook.” You flick a fingertip to it. Sway that lolling chain into his thigh. Biting your lower lip in a smile.
He cups one side your face. If anyone got to chew that lip, it’s gonna be him. Leans in to gently smooch you again.
“Goddamn. I was reaching for my attack whistle there, pencils.” He rubs his hand over your hip. Rings chafe against your denim waistband.
“Maybe I was overzealous. But I do have a stunning defence.”
You lean up on tiptoes to smash a polite smooch back to his mouth. He mumbled a curious sound into your lips.
“Which is?” He seeks. Lips chasing yours for more. Even through speaking. Insanity catches.
“I missed you like crazy and it’s been barely 12 hours since I last saw you, and kissed you. And etcetera…” You flirt.
He can see these little delighted pips in your eyes. Like sowed little seeds of pride. The etcetera being all the dirty things you finally got to indulge in last night. Threaded in moonlight at skull rock.
No regrets. He doesn’t see any tint of regret in you.
Seeing that kicks his rocker heart right up to the moon, and sailing on over it. Like those old songs. Moonbeams and old soft tinkling pianos. Ladies with gardenias in their hair crooning about moondance, love and seeing stars.
He gets it now. He totally gets all of that sappy shit.
“I hereby decree that is far too long, and way too stupid of us, actually.” He finishes your thoughts for you. They were symmetrical to his own after all.
“So stupid. We’re just like, a complete pair of morons right now.” You concur. Linking your fingers into his. Standing toe to toe and just drinking in how it feels to be near again.
“So I’m thinking, we should cease all impending stupidity and uh y’know, catch a movie tonight or, grab a bite at Benny’s. Something like that. Anything.” He says. Smile all limned in excitement.
Shaking that big moppish mane of hair as a grin splits his mouth when he speaks, makes him look like an out and out excited little kid.
Fidgeting with your hands and immersing himself in the tactile deliciousness of your hands being held in his. Little touches that stayed with him all night.
Kept bugging him even in dreams he’s sure thoughts of you crept at the oil slick lining of his mind like wing tips of persistent gentle moths. The dusty old ones the colour of sour grey milk. Ones that they get flapping around the trailer porch light at night in balmy summer. The soft blink as they hit the glass shade.
“Burgers at Benny’s sounds so good.” You grin. “Loaded chilli fries?”
He scoffs. “Naturally. I’m not an animal.”
You run your hands through his wild hair. Listen to him talk. Heart entirely bloated with love of this boy. You swear it’s knocking all giddy up against your ribs like some deformed roaming creature seeking release.
“Shall we head out after class? I’ll drive.” He offers. His stomach zig-zags in vicious excitement.
“Catch you after class, handsome.” You grin.
“Ohh, whoa. I never said I was done with you yet.” His eyes flicker with something you think is cheekiness.
Swooping in to slow kiss you for a beat too long. An embrace that makes him hum softly. Makes you mewl. Right at he back of his throat. Lips roaming gentle and soft and your bodies rock together. Gets him cupping your back to keep you near.
“Fuckk gimme another one of those, pencils. I’m not below begging.” Cups your face again. He wants another kiss. Eyes wide as bourbon brown saucers
Chuckling in the muggy space between your smiles, cheeks fired all warm, sharing the same breath, you lean in and give it to him. Giving him the deep messy kiss you’d been craving.
When it’s time to pull back to guzzle air and maybe some reality again, Eddie chases your retreat with his mouth. His lips bruised a stunning cupid pink. Taking a breath that he’s not sure he needs more than he does you.
“Jesus H Christ. How the hell am I gonna even attempt to concentrate today-“ He asks. Voice all raspy and slow gravel.
“What usually stops you?” You sass him. He bites his lip all naughty and softly jabs you right in the stomach; a move designed to tickle.
“Blasphemy. Dear one. I mean, how dare you.” He grins. Chocolate drop eyes all crinkled at their corners. You cover his hand on your stomach, with your own. He likes the soft warm pouch of you there.
It’s tactile. It’s touch. It shoots right to the roof of Eddie’s brain and does something so funky to him he can’t even describe it in words. Actions maybe - Beer on an empty stomach. The first hit of some really silky smooth strain Rick gives him to try. The home made warm sugary scent of that peach cobbler Wayne makes him on his birthday.
They haven’t designed or discovered enough appropriate words to put to this feeling. None that even his whip smart nature can grasp at.
“I’ll soothe that wounded ego and buy you a chocolate shake later if it pleases.” You offer. Tilting your head. Offer placed on the table.
“An ego bruise is a problem I will gladly allow you to throw chocolate and ice cream at.” His fingers worm their way through yours. Knuckles locked. You could do this all day.
“Can be swayed with chocolate. Good to know.”
“And candy. Pizza rolls are good too.”
“Noted.” You beam. Snuggling to his front. Hands still joined. Fused as one.
The sound of the bell ringing for first period is a rude interjection into a morning that’s shaping up to be stellar.
Eddie didn’t seem best pleased by this. Judging by the way he takes advantage of that split second of your distraction hearing the bell, to snatch his hands at your shoulders and loop you round so your back is to the wall instead of his. Sneak attack.
His arm is a leather band over the back of your waist and he gently cups your chin and deepens a silky melting kiss that is, just, so many elements of perfect it should be outlawed that just kissing can be this good.
The plush of his deeply plump lips, with the scraping push of some stubble on his upper lip. It’s delicious. The way he kisses is better than any hit off any joint. You don’t care what he says. Better than purple haze. Better than fucking anything. Backed by sheer dopey sized crushes that take you both, head to toe. Crushes taking on a life of their own. Wearing your skins whole and making you desperate. Make you ache.
You kiss him back. Desperately. Drenched in want. But also knowing that you should be hot-footing it to your first class lest you get a tardy slip. To turn up late, with a very very kiss worn mouth like that would be about as obvious as the nose on your face.
“Eddiii-mmmmm.” You plead to his bewitching mouth. Smoky minty breath and the faintness of his morning coffee on your tastebuds. He’s cupping your face like your some sacred relic he has to handle gently. As if he had corrosive fingertips. Strychnine laced touch.
When he pulls back. Hands two big gangly paws holding your neck, there’s this sweet dazed look all over his expression. Drugged on you. The way you kissed him like his tongue is made out of cherry candy and you only want more- oh lord.
How’s that for irony. The Hawkins High school dealer and here he is getting a huge hit, from kissing you. Nothing that comes pre rolled in a baggie making his mind fuzz like hot molasses, or circled into a wild little chalky pill that makes his head all bright and fuzzy sharp like cotton candy.
Making out before class he can gladly get hooked on. He thinks he’s there already. DT-Ing for more. Make him shake and rattle on all fours like a rabid dog.
“One for the road…” He explains inbetween raspy pants for breath. A silly smile all yours for the keeping.
You pat his chest. He could honestly whimper at the tactile feel of your hand resting on the meat of his pectoral. So dangerously close to skin on skin.
“I better go.” You sigh. A drop kick to your mood to leave him. You take a step back.
He can’t allow that. He whines like a kicked puppy. Button eyes all round and shiny with whatever amount of sadness it would take to root you here, with him.
“Don’t. Pencils. Stay here. Stay uneducated and stupid with me and let’s just make out, all day.” He waggles some filthy intentioned brows at you. Pleading threaded onto his voice. Trying his best to yank you back.
“You could easily tempt me to play hooky any day, Munson. But I’ve been studying for this test all week.” You point out.
“Well. I can’t deny that dorky chicks turn me on.” He sighs nicely. You can’t help smiling.
“Really? I figured tiny pleated little cheerleader skirts and peppy bouncy pom-poms turned you on.” You tease. Voice all sultry.
He leans in and smacks a kiss to the end of your nose.
“Nuh-uh. I like em’ covered in paint and jeans and artsy, and working in record shops with old hippies. And hopelessly in all consuming love with me.” He grins.
“Kiss ass.” You smirk. Smacking a kiss to his cheek. Stepping back. His hand slithers to find yours again. Links fingers. His rings glitter. They’re all warm where he’s been holding hands with you. On you.
“Hey, my girlfriend is a damn fox. This is a hill I’ll die on.”
You bring your joined hands up and kiss the back of his for that.
“Class beckons.” You roll your eyes. Shouldering your bag. Unwilling to unlink hands until you absolutely had too.
“See you at lunch?” You ask. His brows creased. Makes him look like an upset puppy.
“Can’t. Got a drop to make in the woods.”
“Parking lot after school?” He counter offers.
“You bet.” You agree. And you cannot even handle the wait.
You walk away around the corner. Eddies eyes trail over you as you go.
“Enjoy the smoke.” You turn over your shoulder and call back.
He saluted you with a flicking motion, with that million dollar grin pleasured all over his face.
“Brutal babe. You know what I’d enjoy more…” his inflection at the end of his words lets you know what he’s referring too.
“Down boy.” You play as you head off. Smile all secret and wide for him. Grin so wide it makes his heart pulse.
He’s grasping a hand over his mad heart as you slip away. One knee bent up. Sneakered foot flat to the wall behind him.
He reaches for that cigarette and his lighter. Though he doubts this little stick will do any damn thing that kissing you didn’t. He lights up. Grinning. You left his heart thrashing about and kicking inside the shell of his denim and leather like a damn drum in a cramps song.
Way, way across the field, sat high up on the bleachers with some of the girls on the cheer squad. In full view of the back brick wall where you had just been. Supposedly around the corner and concealed from view-
Linda snapped her binder shut. Eyes packed in venom. Huffing as she picked up her books.
Lipsticked lips pursed together in a grim hot pink line. Annoyance fills her chest and rams up against her ribs. Sour in her stomach. Nastiness curdled up on her tongue. She’d seen enough.
You and the freak. Just like Jonny said.
No fucking way.
~
Eddie bapped along to some rock that had been trapped in the lining of his crazy head since this morning. Head bumping as he hummed along, sang under his breath to Rattlehead. That mane flicking every which way.
Metal lunchbox swings from his hand and clatters as he bounced along the familiar route. Feet trained for the way. Leaves cushion his rustling step. He drags his eyes over the foliage spread high above.
Dappled with gold sunshine of the afternoon that chips down. The odd scurry of a bird flapping around the treetops. Nature and the soothing crash of wind lacing through wide apple-green leaves. He darts his eyes around, seeking and searching for the shape of anyone to come crashing through the trees.
He arrived at his little decaying stoop in the woods. The table that’s so carved and scarred with crude drawings and initials it’s chipped and falling to bits. Cig butts littered everywhere and Eddie shamefully admits some of them are most likely his. His place of business is well reputed.
Swinging his leg over the bench seat and slinking himself up onto the table to take a pew. Sneakers resting on the seat. Cause when has he ever approached anything normally, or fallen into doing anything that comes into the category of usual.
He throws the lunchbox lid open with no gilding the lily, and braces his scattered mind into this deal. Shoves through the bags to find the semi-decent stuff. Wave of heady green hits him in the nose as he rummaged and carried on humming to himself.
Though really for the preppy guy who propositioned this drop, he’s tempted to charge way too much for a thin little roll of ditchweed.
Alas, his reputation is too important. One bad sale and he’d never touch profits on it again. He will unwillingly part with some decent sativa for the knucklehead.
He thumbs through his papers and rustling bags and makes a note of exactly what he’ll put his fistful of measly dollars from the sale towards; another date with you.
He’s heard of this great alt store a couple towns over. Super your style. Record store in back, cool clothing, apparantly a rock n roll kinda vibe that you would appreciate. Posters, merch, jewellery, you name it.
He can’t think of a better place to take you for a date. He’s keeping it under wraps even though, god knows, his blabber mouth which runs and rants away from itself, wanted to yell and shriek about it to you nonstop.
How he wanted to scrape together some dollars to buy you something. A handful of punk style patches, a tee, a poster for your bedroom door that needed some anarchy or some goth Siouxsie. Maybe a little Joan and some Blackhearts action.
He’s heard you crank them up on your headphones to blaring when you’re trying to concentrate on a sketch. Like the loudness lifts you out your mind and transcends into the paint.
How he wanted to make a mixtape for you, of all the metal songs - and to his embarrassment some of the less tacky love ballads - that bring you to the forefront of his mind when he hears them. Even some older crooning songs that Wayne likes.
The stuff he was drip-fed on in his early days, sweet and crooning, like slow gold honey melting into his ears. Listening to them and snatching pieces of melody that breezed through the trailer. Warm and sunny to listen to. Softly swaying Don Henley, Woodie Guthrie, and Jim Croce. Even some Ella or some Julie London and her smokiness.
He smiles to himself as he comes to Rattlehead’s chorus. Toes tapping the rotten old bench and creaking the wood, as he scrunches bags aside this way and that to find the pre-rolls. Fingers drum the beats off the side of the tin. Clacking out into the woods.
The brutal snap of a twig makes him peer around.
Eddie swims his eyes through the trees and eventually drags them to find a Jock with his hands shoved in his pockets.
It’s not someone he’s on a first name basis with. He’s lost amongst a sea of sensible jeans and varsity two tones. Sea green and blinding white with the lion gold yellow Hawkins H proudly blazoned on his front.
Crazy how differently they wear their allegiances.
He’s the anti-thesis of Eddies style. Shirt tucked in. Sensible white sneakers that aren’t beat up to shit. Preppy. Hair brushed. Some square jawed Ryan or Chad or whomever, pads towards him.
The look in his eyes twists Eddie’s gut like wet flannel. Scathing.
He’s seen hatred and distain before. Of course. It’s poured very freely his way.
Thats nothing new to him. Distaste. Eye rolls louder than claps of thunder and tutts coming stabbed under breath peppered with nasty words.
This is that crowd at its ugliest. The tribe this guy is happily a part of. Supposed fuckin’ Normalcy. They scar the word ‘Freak’ into him over and over again. Stomp it into his messy maned head over and over with their feet.
Finally he got tired of the brutal raining down kicks and just took it. Weened the power of it. Stole it from them and flipped it. Made it his shield. Propped it up with that DIO patch on his back. Let their hatred sink into that and roll away useless.
Let them know it doesn’t sink down to places where they want it to hurt.
Eddie swallows. Throat suddenly a sticky chasm. Tried to soften the blow and put away whatever the fuck this guy was trying to scowl and throw at him.
“Hey, man. You’re my 1 o’clock right?” He asks. Tapping his knee still and fiddling with his hands.
The guy swerved his jaw before he spoke. “Yeah.” Spine held poker rigid as he answered. Like it offended him to have to be here and talk.
He came into the clearing. Sneakers rustling leaves. Something feels sour about this whole thing.
“Okay. Well- um.” He awkwardly clears his throat. Reaches into the box that he gently sets beside himself. Grabs the joint and fidgets with it for a second.
“It’s uh, it’s twenty bucks for a pre-roll.” Eddie tells him.
“Great.” He watches the guy nod. Curt. His expression steely. Eyes glassy in a way that’s beyond unsettling.
“Ohhhkay.” Eddie nods. Eyes a fraction too pinched at the corners. Concerned frown dragging down his brows. Wondering what the stitch up is. His eyes dart around. Bordering on panic.
He stands to get off the bench, the guy doesn’t so much a muscle to reach across and take the joint off him. Hands still shoved deep in his pockets.
Eddie holds the joint. The guy doesn’t even move to take it.
“It won’t bite man. Smooth as silk and just, hits you like a cool wave when you smoke that puppy. Trust me.”
Something flickers like a sneer across the guys mouth. He looks at the innocuous rolled joint Eddie’s holding out to him. Looks at the brown paper all rolled in his palm.
Eddie shrugs. Wide open. Leather crinkles over the jutting movement of his shoulders.
“You want it or not?” A razor edge starting to creep into his tone.
If this is someone who hasn’t made their mind up, he’s got other places to be. Better times to be had. Than waiting on whether or not the preppy jerk is gonna take the goods off his hands. Or use more than two syllables.
“If you don’t want it. I’ll go right now. Forget it. No hard feelings.” He takes the edge off for him.
Despite the fact that actually a little simmering front of annoyance bubbles at his belly for the guy wasting his free period he could have used to kiss you senseless with wandering hands, right up against the side of his van.
He turns around and throws the joint back into the box. Shaking his head. Making his hair do that wild kicky thing it usually does.
“Maybe you should go. Freak.” Comes spat his way. Drawn in a snarl.
“Whatever, dude.” Eddie puts his back to him. Folds his product back into his box.
More snaps. More rustled leaves. Eddie drifts his eyes up and sees three more guys coming through the woods to the clearing. Walking slowly, picking over nature to come to the bench all menacingly slow. Like he was a deer they were in danger of spooking.
All wearing Hawkins letterman jackets. Sneers writ on all their faces. Intimidation carved into every step they take. They look way too happy to see him here alone.
Suddenly Eddie feels small. Feels like he’s right back in middle school. Being tossed around and bashed up by the bullies. Coming home with stinging scraped knees and a cheek that feels swollen hot, itchy like bloated meat. The crust of dried rust scabbing under his nose.
This feels exactly like that. Some things never change.
“The fuck?” He asks. He won’t lie. His voice wobbles to a croak. Set on shaking sands.
“Where you goin’ loser?” One of them huffs out. Eddie turns his head.
Strutting towards him like the bullshit cover of macho magazine. Or J-Crew, is Barbies boyfriend. The blonde ape.
One of them he doesn’t recognise proudly comes up and slaps the lunchbox out his hands.
Eddie flinches back. Shrinks away. Puts distance between every step they eat up eagerly to come towards him. He doesn’t want this. He doesn’t want whatever’s coming barrelling his way. He hasn’t done anything except sell some reefer.
“Alright. Alright-“ Eddie stumbles back from the table. Hands high and empty. Voice jittery. His head and gut yell in sync - telling him to run the hell outta there.
“Clearly you guys have some sort of agenda I’m not aware of so why don’t we all just-“ His smile is all tremulous and shaky.
A fist drags his collar into a yank. A curled up punch swings into his face and knocks him clean to the ground before he can chew out his next words. His jaw snaps together. Hot pennies comes flooding his tongue where his teeth cut his cheek.
Stars and bursting black galaxies accompany his artless tumble to the ground.
And then some more fists come raining down. A sneakered foot planting square into his side to kick the wind clean out of him.
They leave him crumpled on the ground. Cushioned by rotting dry leaves. Smeared in mud, blood leaking from two places in his face. Spotting down to his dark shirt.
As a parting gift one of them empties his lunchbox over the floor and stomps its contents into the dirt.
He knows the feeling only all too well.
~
You clatter into the bathroom after your last class.
Let the bustle of crowds fall far behind you as everyone rushes to the lot to leave. Afternoon summer sun stripes its sneaking glory across the halls and slants the window ledges in gold.
You cross to the sinks and set your sketchbook crammed with new drawings on the side. Leafs of the paper and all the dried paint crinkling, as it’s wedged partially open by the sheer number of crammed pages all skated on dusty pencil or charcoal.
You’d need to buy another pretty soon. One with thick cloth like paper pages for you to fill up.
You go through new books like running water. Never stop sketching. You’d wanted to take Eddie to the funky art shop you grab your supplies from. You’ve a feeling he’d love seeing the paint sets and the sheer number of spray paints they got.
Creativity seemed to flourish from him. His imagination permanently running wild. Could never stop it. One of your favourite things about him in fact.
He would talk about your sketches. Ask you about them. Ask you what the best paint would be for decorating some new figurines he’s got.
He’d twirl the pen you’re using out your hand and tell you all about the way he’d sit in the library for hours drawing fantasy maps for his campaigns on graft paper. Drawing rolling green islands. Mountain caves with trolls. Boggy muggy swamps with draping trees and hidden dangers. Vast seas with coily sea serpents hiding in the waves.
He’d chat to you about your ideas. The ones you’re struggling with for art class. The things you need to study and learn about. The theory of colours. The use of them all dotted in a Poussin or swirled in a Van Gogh.
You could talk to Eddie about anything. For hours and hours. The mere fact of going to grab a huge greasy meaty junk fest of a dinner with him has you walking on clouds.
You want your evening with him already. It can’t come fast enough. You want salty loaded fries and a cold shake and relentless plush Eddie kisses. You wanna climb into the comfy ratty seat in that tired old van that you love. Listen to whatever blasting metal cassette he’s been humming along to all day.
Hell- even just seeing his whole face light up with a smile as you saunter up to his van. The way he’d look at you - the way he always looks at you - with those big shining brown eyes all haloed in golden sun. Brimming with mirth. Cheeks split wide and crow-eyes all bunched up at the corners in glee.
He burns so bright to see you, it’s like he’s swallowed the sun and stars combined. You feel so lucky to have that.
The way he links his fingers with yours. Lopes your fingers together as one and doesn’t even mind if your all paint spattered or your hands are too dry. Palms all hard from scrubbing off acrylic smudges.
He kisses your fingers and acts like you’re draped in diamonds.
Acts like you weren’t wearing a ribbed worn Henley. A large - borrowed - Berkeley blue varsity sweater knotted around your waist, or your straight worn baggy jeans, cuffed up hems and patched at the knees that you mended. And your truly awful red sneakers that are so beat up with age they’re almost a sad faded pink.
He still looks at you like you’re a holy revelation. Each time.
You heap your bag next to the sinks and scrub the last of the charcoal off your hands. Sticky pink soap making a lot of lather around your fingers as you washed the smudgy grey away from the creases in your knuckles. Watch the way it circles down the drain.
You pull up and dry them with the crinkly paper tissues sat on the side.
Take a second to look back to the mirror. Centred all around the ugly squiggles of old sharpie doodles etched on the walls. Contemplate your reflection.
You smooth the hair away from your forehead. Attempt to neaten some of the crazy fluffy bits that kink down around your ears. Fuss with it for a minute or two. Smudge the charcoal away off your cheek.
“Who you trying to look so nice for-“ Comes a cutting tone from behind you. Tone dredged through revulsion and back out again.
A twist over your shoulder reveals Linda. Stood there in her oversized acid wash denim jacket and too-short purple skirt. Hair all bunched up and piled on her head in a half up style wound with a magenta scrunchie. She stands with one hip cocked. And her eyes are frosty daggers.
Heat licks your spine in the shame that you’d been caught preening. “No one.” You say too quick.
Try and inflect some humour on your voice. “You know I don’t exactly have anyone to preen for.” You lie.
Looking down at your hands as you dry them. Scrubbing water away with damp paper. Crush it into a fist and ball it in the bin when you’re done.
You can feel her stare embedding itself into your skull. Like an engraving. Sharp. Scratch of a knife on hollow bone.
“I saw you with him. So don’t try and come at me with your bullshit.” She spits. Words tired and clipped.
You turn over your shoulder. She stands there seething. Looking as bitchy as she usually does. Pink lips pursed.
“Saw me…” you check.
“Yeah. You and Eddie ‘the freak’ Munson?” She poses the words like they’re offensive. Mocking.
Anger furred the back of your tongue. Like feasting on too much sugar. Or a chalky jagged pill lodging itself in your throat.
“Look. I know you’re like, a lonely little virgin or whatever, and you wanna pop your cherry and all, but there’s way better guys out there to screw-”
Your venom stops her words dead.
“Don’t you fucking dare.” You bite.
You see her face fall into shock at your tone. Snappy and sudden. She looked stunned. As if you’d wheeled around 360 and slapped her.
“Oh my god. Don’t tell me you actually like him? Are you serious?” She gapes like it’s illogical.
“He’s a loser with ratty hair who sells weed and lives in a shit hole trailer park.”
“I do like him. I more than like him. We’re dating.” You tell her with steel. “We’re going out tonight as it happens.”
“I knew you had a screw loose but this is just another level of low. Even for you.” Linda bitches.
“How do you never get tiredwith that constant tirade of shit that spills out your mouth Linda.” You snipe.
She rallies to respond. Scanning you with hard eyes backed with new levels of poison.
“I’m not the one dating the King of the freaks.” She hits at you, real low.
“No. You’re dating a two-bit jockstrap who doesn’t even like you, unless you blow him. At least Eddie wants me for more than my pussy.” You point out.
She swallowed. Eyes glimmer. You know that one bit deep.
“Don’t come crying to me when that trailer park asshole dumps you like a cup of cold poison.”
You shake your head and try to remember how to breathe. Snickering cracks of bones in your throat as you swallow. You want to fly into rage and slam your textbook into her stupid scathing face until it dents one of her precious cheekbones.
“You don’t even know him. None of you do. You don’t even know the first two things about him.” You defend loud.
“I know he’s weird as shit and sells skunk. What a catch.”
You bite your tongue. Plenty of insults about Jonny come crawling to mind.
“How long have you two been-“ She sniffs.
“Couple of weeks now. Since Kyle’s party.” You hurl at her furiously.
Her face fills with an expression you can’t read as everything comes to make sense. Falls into place. Puzzle pieces clicking.
“You’ve been lying to me this whole time.”
“Yeah. And you’re so self centred look how long it’s taken you to even notice or give a shit about what’s happening to me or my life.” You finally say all the things you should have voiced long ago.
“You’re only interested now because you care what other people are gonna say on Monday, and what they’ll gossip about.”
“He’s trouble, and he’s gonna get you hurt. Probably gonna give you a filthy rash or something too.” She sneers. “Lord knows what he’s riddled with.”
“You’re such a fucking bitch.” You grit your teeth. Emotion gets the better of your voice. Tears bubble at your lash line. Red hot.
“Not gonna be my problem to have you trailing round after me anymore. Cause by the way, we are no longer friends.” Linda spits. Eyes narrow to slits.
You nod. Resigned. Tears of anger prick the corners of your eyes. You’re too angry to let them loose.
“What a goddamn relief.” You hit back. Chew your lower lip.
“I’ve had to listen to you bitch at me, and whine and snipe, and moan, for years. I’ve had to endure your tantrums and your cutting comments, and every play-by-play of every unsatisfying Friday night screw around, with your shitty dirtbag of a boyfriend who treats you like garbage. And who you run back to each time he fucks you over. And I’m so sick of you.” Your voice comes out raw.
“So yeah. You’re right. We’re not friends anymore. I don’t think we’ve been that for a very long time.”
You put your back to her and grab your books.
“Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. Freak.” She sideswipes nastily as you shoulder your way past her.
Catching her on purpose. Shoving her with your shoulder to catch her teetering in those heels.
“Have fun with your trailer trash.” She snips.
“Word of advice. Make sure Jonny wraps it first. Word is he’s been screwing Tina on the cheer squad behind your back every Wednesday.“
You watch her saunter up past you to get to the mirror and touch up her lipstick. Ignore ignore ignore.
Her too sweet Revlon perfume making your stomach roil. She looks at her reflection. The thing she loved most. It’s amazing you ever got a look in. She scrunches up sections of her hair to make it bounce. An indifferent mask on her face.
Trying to ignore you already so the tears don’t come. So what else is new.
You pause at the door. Hand on the handle. Books piled on your arms.
“Sad thing is. I never expected you to act any different when you found out. Turns out you’re just that shallow vain bully I always suspected you to be.”
She pretends not to hear as you slip out the door. You’re sure to slam it as loudly as you can.
Coming out into the partially empty hall. Quickly skating a hand down your cheek. Taking a gulp of a deep breath. Starting down the hallway to come to the doors at the end.
Letting the distance to that girls restroom salvage some of your anger. Let it ebb away and let the savage venom words roll down your skin like blunt razors.
You wait to see if they feel like they’ve drawn any blood.
Maybe just a raking deep black bruise. Perhaps the confrontation has lifted a rock solid weight off your chest. Cut your ties to something corrosive.
You storm to the doors at the end, and push your way out. Into the midsummer air. Afternoon sun washing over you as it creeps it’s golden-fiery way by. Slanting ochre across the parking lot.
A gaggle of people clutched around one of the sticky lunch tables stops you dead in your tracks.
That weight comes crashing back with all the subtle tact and grace of a tank storming a building.
It’s Hellfire. The crowd. It’s Gareth, Mike, Jeff and Henderson. They’re all clutched around someone sat on the bench seat. Someone who is leaning forwards with his elbows resting on his knees. One hand held up to his head.
Your mood plunges even more. There’s a sour shift as some of them twist to look at you.
Big childlike eyes full of something that approaches wariness. Sadness dashed with insecurity. The kid-like uncertainty of how to deal with this very gruesome and very real situation.
A cold can of tab, now warm, for the crescent bruise taking shape around his eye socket.
One of them fishing around in the bottom of their bag for crumpled blue band aids. Anything to help.
A wad of crinkly and loveless paper towels snatched from the boy’s restroom and wadded into a wet lump for the blood pouring under his nose. The fresh red that’s staining his tee like big gruesome poppy petals.
His free hand is wrapped around his side for the bruise he can already feel like a dark cloud of cherry red and blue cobwebbing up his skin and over each slat of his ribs on his left side.
They shuffle away from the table and you finally get to see what they all look so grim about.
Eddie is hunched over with a black eye and a bloodied face and nose. He’s muddy and dirty and scratched up and when he meets your gaze, your world shudders on its axis, to a grinding halt.
The way he’s looking at you shatters your damn heart into huge glassy shards. Diamonds and sprinkles of it, sharp and chunky, cut into your chest. Daggering.
He’s hurt.
He swallows and keeps eye contact. Looks at you with such fear and sorrow emanating from those big round bourbon eyes. You see the apprehension in his body.
It doesn’t get any better when he winced and tries to stand. Body bowing as he slowly eased himself off the bench seat. Hand cupping his ribs as he inched his way to a full stand. You hear him groan.
You see as pain flickers across his face. The usual springy frolicking gait is muted. It’s etched with pain and writ with ache.
He wishes he could read your expression right now. As it is he’s struggling to sort it into one emotion.
You look hurt, tear stained, livid and clenched rigid with something that could only be bone deep anger. Venomous, mind numbing, anger. And it was just bubbling and clawing it’s way to a fever pitch.
“Pencils-“ He wets his lips. Looks meek as he watches you carefully. Tenderness in his voice.
You dump your books where you stand and turn on your heel. Sketchbook cast to the floor and heaped atop your bag. You slam back through the doors and into the school - mind set on one salient thing.
The doors slam not seconds after you. The creaking jolt as the metal crunches back into place. Footprints scatter after you on the lino. The squeak of muddy sneakers. The gusting air of a sigh bred with a wince.
Eddie chases after you with all his might. Hooks his hand to your elbow. Tries his best to stop you.
“Hey. Pencils. Babe. Please, let’s get outta here. Let’s just forget this. I don’t know who it was- I didn’t see them.”
He’s really a terrible liar.
“With all due respect Eddie. I know who did it.” You explain bitterly, as you wander along. His touch turns to a tug on your elbow. Pulling at your shirt.
“Because he’s not smart enough to juggle two thoughts at once, much less try and hide the fact he beat you up. And second his jagged pill of a girlfriend just tore me to strips in the girls restroom for finding out.” You say. Possibly louder than you intended.
His face falls.
“Hey, hey…” He says softly.
You turn back. Tears springing down your cheeks. His hands are all over you. Cupping your neck. Your shoulders. You can smell the blood coming off him. Sour pennies. Desperation laced his voice. Comes off him in waves.
Desperate for you not to to this.
“This isn’t stupid shit to me Eddie. This is not okay. Not something I’m gonna let get brushed under the rug-“ your lip wobbles. You shake your head. You rub your nose. Chase the tickling tears away.
He mimics you. Shaking his own head so his hair flicks out. Eyes wide and terror stroked words pour out his mouth.
“Don’t go getting into trouble for me. I don’t want that for you.” He begs. His eyes are wide with it.
“Good thing I want it then.” You resolve.
He looks apprehensive. Choked by it. Scared by your resolve. He doesn’t want to let you do this. This is a doomsday territory.
“Pencils-“
You continue down the hall. He follows. Still doing everything in his power to convince you, or try to stop you. Credit to him, his list of reasons are pretty excellent.
Babe. Please. It doesn’t have to be a thing.
You’re on track. You have your grades. You got Indie state in your future to think of. I don’t want you jeopardising that for me.
I don’t want you going and getting in trouble for this.
He doesn’t stop you from making your way to the gym. But he is right there at your back as you push open the doors, shove your way inside and you don’t care if your entrance is loud.
The idiot jocks practice in the gym after school. Basketball mostly. Some dotted in the bleechers. Long suffering girlfriends sat with bubblegum pink coloured files, shaping their nails to the side and chatting and trying not to look too bored whilst the guys play. Linda sits chattering to one of the cheerleaders.
You wrinkle your nose at the stench. Whole place smells like musty sweat, floor polish and old socks.
Jonny has his back to you as he dribbled the ball. The ricochet of it pangs across the court.
You race across the floor to him like a hell fury. Fists clenched at your side. Eddie still trying in vain to get between you and your stubborn brain. To try and talk you out of this before it’s way too late.
Your entrance with him hot on your heels and whispering pleas at you, draws laughter and sniggering sneers from some of his dirtbag friends. Shouts come aimed your way.
Hey, look who it is. It’s the freaks.
Closed practice, morons.
Jonny doesn’t turn back but you make your presence known.
“Hey. You dumb fuck stain.”
You march right up to his sweaty back and shove him hard with both hands. Wrinkle that goddamn white basketball jersey.
The guys around him make mocking noises. Chorus of awes and exclamations.
The room slowly dawns quieter. The squeak of shoes muffled. Everyone’s eyes centre court where you stand seething. Panting for breath and trying to look as livid as you felt.
He turns back to you all slow and condescending. Like he’s some golden haired Apollo flouncing down from Mount Olympus to grace you with his presence. He’s limned in sweat and dissects you both with conceited arrogance.
“What’s your damage?” He sarcs. Looking down at you like you’re an ant. Or a mangy mongrel.
He flicks his eyes across and landing on Eddie.
“Munson. How’s them ribs.” He sneers.
You’re about ready to topple over the edge and spit nails. Anger gently creeps to a boil.
“Just peachy, thanks for asking.” Eddie answers. Mouth is a grim line. And his eyes look stern coal black. He turns his attention back to you.
“Pencils please. Let’s just let it go. There’s no point…” He whispers. Standing with his hand gently cupping your forearm.
“What do you want? Teams full. We don’t accept weirdos anyway.” Jonny pushes at the both of you.
“I’m not leaving this spot until you tell me why you attacked my boyfriend.” You steel. Voice low and even.
You can feel Eddie’s eyes on you like lasers. Burning holes in the back of your head.
His mouth gapes a little. If it weren’t for the fact he’s terrified off his ass stood here, his heart would flutter like a fledgling baby birds wings, to hear those words admitted aloud.
“No reason. Just don’t like him.” He shrugs all honesty. Passing the ball over to his friend. Standing with his hands on his hips.
“Careful hefting those big thoughts around. You might hurt yourself.” You fire out.
Your fight with Linda left sharp scalpel words on your tongue and now you ache to use them to their fullest.
He doesn’t look happy. Dark gold hair beading sweat down into his cenote blue eyes. Rigid anger on his frown as he glares at you.
“Linda didn’t like the idea of him being around you. She told us we were teaching him a lesson. To stay away from you. We were protecting you, moron.” He says like it should be obvious.
“How fucking considerate. Your girlfriend couldn’t think her way out of a damn paper bag if she had a map, Jonny.”
You feel Linda’s scowl all the way across the room. The weight those slitted eyes and a bitchy scoff. You know those echoing words found their target. Slammed right into bullseye red making their mark. You hope it truly hurts. As much as she hurt you
“She didn’t reserve the right to presume any fucking thing about me. And not one thing gave you not the right to hurt Eddie. Not under the guise of some macho-stupid ‘protecting-you’ crap.” You snarl.
He bounces the ball. You slam forwards and bat it out scathingly out his hand. Send it rolling away.
More chorus of noises scattered around you both as you stepped toe to toe with the guy who almost towered over you.
“You acted out of pure hatred. So don’t try and dress it up at something else. You useless. shithead.” You insult.
“And what are you going to do about it, freak, huh?” He jabbed. Nostrils flaring. Lips pressed together unattractively thin. Looks like a provoked silverback in his enclosure. About the beat his chest.
He turns to guffaw laughter and sneer with his friends.
When you speak it’s so reed thin it even makes a shiver run up Eddie’s spine. Slices of jagged metal.
And he’s not even on the receiving end of this frightening ire of yours. The one that’s bursting out of you like raw lightning. Like it can’t fathomably contain you. Love and fierce packed rage tight in situ.
“This…” You remark with a clenched fist. Thumb wrapped over your knuckles.
Your nail polish glints blue in the light like steely-inky beetle wings. Your eyes barely smother down live-wires. Danger, danger.
You thought about how they would’ve laughed at him.
Kicked him into the dirt like wet leaves and muck that drifts off the trees in fall.
How they would have laid into him and left him there. On the floor. Blood soaked.
Shown the freak who’s in charge.
It flashes when you rear your arm back. Putting full force into your right shoulder, feet taking a firm stance. You channel everything you have into this fearsome right hook;
You swing your fist straight into Jonnys face.
It’s powerful enough to hear a loud crack, you feel the blow shudder into bone. Catching his nose, which spurts blood.
He recoils and staggers. Knocked off balance. Sound punctured out his mouth. Clutching his bleeding face as red streams drip on his pretty white shoes. Stains his pristine uniform. Good.
Try explaining that one to mommy and daddy dearest.
You don’t even let him swing back around. You grab the shoulder of his disgusting sopping jersey and ball it in your hand. Using that as leverage to drive your knee high - hard - into his balls.
Before you let him slump to the floor in a bleeding pile of sweat glazed limbs. You mutter words just for him to take caution of.
“Come near me or Eddie again, and believe me I will break your goddamn jaw, Lopez.”
You let him crumple this time. Flag to the floor in a heap of collapsing bones and sweaty jock uniform.
He looks up at you, trembling. Blood skirting down his arms and past his cupped palm. Tears streak down his cheeks. You step back and let him crumple.
He’s spitting and snarling crude insults in between wails of pain, and a sticky mouthful that smears his teeth red, and stains his tongue with metal.
“You broke my nose, you crazy fuckin’ bitch.” He spits. It sounds wet. Words sluiced in crimson.
“Finally. A nickname I can warm too.” You scathe.
When you look up, guys around him flinched back a good few paces in case they fell into the category of your rage. Wariness edging their expression. Eyes wide and mouths caught suspended open, like brain dead guppies at feeding time.
Eddie stepped forwards and gently laid his hand on your shaking arm. His fingers urge you closer. Get you following him to haul ass outta there.
You scan the room and find Linda gaping at you just as dumbly as everyone else. She’s risen to a stand. Face like she’s just swallowed a painful poison pill. Apparently in no rush whatsoever to get to her boyfriend.
“It’s ok. I’m done here.” You tell him. Gritting your teeth. Meeting Linda’s eyes.
You turn and walk away. Back to this whole affair Amazed how scarily easy it is. Leaving your supposed friendship in the dust. Bleeding crumpled on that floor.
You feel an enormous sense of relief walking out that gym.
Your hand killing you. No doubt about it. Shooting mad red hot fireworks up and down your forearm. Your knuckles feel like hell. Sparking furious with pain.
You reach for Eddie’s hand anyway. Screw the pain. You slip your fingers into his. Turn and catch his eyes.
He’s watching you with so much cautionary care and concern.
You breathe. Lungs shivering around new calm air. Words come easy but you feel shaky with them.
“C’mon. Let’s go get you something for that eye.”
He agrees with a nod. Then that hopping spark that’s truly skated in usual Munson mischief, comes springing back full force into his eyes. Lovely happy bourbon again.
“Wouldn’t dare refuse you, Pencils. Not after seeing what you’re capable of.” He grins. Nudging you with a shoulder to get a smile out of you.
“Damn right. Those idiots just cost us a date night. He deserved all that and more.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” He smiles. Eyes still stuck on your face.
He lopes alongside you. Hand clutched in yours. Shoulder rolling to yours. It feels whole. It feels like trust.
~
You sit in Eddie’s van in the parking lot of the Fair Mart. Despite your protestations, he fully insisted he was fine to drive. He rolled into park out front just about as the sun began to set.
The night started to pull in. All lilac and periwinkle skies, soft as a vintage eiderdown that made you think of bluebirds feathers as you watched that solemn shade of blue overtake the sky.
Making the all too yellow lights within the dingy place stand out proud. Blinking a little. Humming along with the huge freezers inside. All the twee touches of home made signs telling you about the canned goods on offer. Written on card with flicky show-manly italics. Some easy friendly music sparkles out the speakers.
The plump clerk is smiling and jolly and bubbly bright, even when you unload for a whole armful of some medical supplies on the counter. Eyeing your now purpling knuckles with sparky perception. Ringing things up, you throw in a bag of jolly ranchers and a couple of ice cold cans - they suggest a rattling jar of aspirin.
“Take away the sting, honey.” He wafts a knowing hand. “That’ll be $11.90.”
You pay with a watery smile and walk out with a paper bag full. It crinkles in your arms as you go back to Eddie. Who’s sat with his legs dangling out the driver side of his van. Fidgeting with his rings all skittish. Legs swinging to an invisible tune. Still Rattlehead, actually.
You’re the only people in the place. Talk about lulled and sleepy Hawkins. This clearly isn’t a place for two teenagers on a Friday night. They’re all off sucking face at the quarry or skull rock. Or gathering at the arcade.
You come back and get to work cleaning him up.
Lump the bag down beside him, close to his hip, and you stand between his spread legs. Hand fiddling with your belt loop so carefully. He feels you gently brush sweeps of his bangs off his forehead to get at his skin and smudge away a bit of dirt. He lets you. Sat there and losing himself in his gazing.
He winced a little when you gently dabbed some antiseptic cream on the cut at his cheek.
“There’s Jolly ranchers in there you know.” You supply.
“Is that a bribe for me to sit still?” He checks. “Cause it will definitely work.” He dives his hand into the crinkly paper and searches for the candy. He finds one and holds it in his palm until you’re done.
“Who, um.” He swallows. Looking too intently at his ripped jean kneecap. “Who taught you how to—“
You draw back and let him find his words. Let him come to you with it.
“Who taught me how to throw a punch?” You smile.
Still dabbing his cheek. Fingers slipped under his chin and tilting his head up to you. When he could stay still enough.
“My sister. She bought me self defence lessons after-“ The words die and wither up all grey and ashen in your mouth.
You break eye contact for a second and rub at your brow.
It slowly creeps over his head like some dreadful tide. After what?-
Eddie knows he doesn’t like the look settling over your features. One bit. He doesn’t care for it at all.
“It was the summer before junior year. Around the time Linda and Jonny started dating. We went to this party. She didn’t want to go alone so I was roped in. Dressed me in one of her stupid mini skirts, planned to set me up with one of his buddies, Alex.” You pause and chew over the words.
“It was stupid as shit, looking back now, but we got so stupid drunk. Teen freedoms and lite beer. We thought we were so cool. So much so I didn’t notice that my drink was spiked with something. I don’t even know what. All I can remember is just, blackness, and then waking up with Alex sliding his hand up my skirt.”
Eddie blinks. Shuts his eyes for a second. His voice sounds so far away. “Shit. Pencils.” He rasps. Upset and angry on your behalf. He looks more hurt than all those bruises scattering his face.
“Nothing else happened. I screamed blue murder, and shoved him off me and just turned tail and got the hell out of dodge. Walked miles home in heels til I got blisters all over. Charlie was so so pissed. First time I’ve ever seen my Mom go full apocalyptic angry.” You explain.
“She wanted to bring charges but Alex’s family lived on Loch Nora, and his dad was a bigwig in local council so naturally he just chalked it up to underage kids having too much drink and touting it around town that a ‘misunderstanding’ occurred. Transferred their golden boy to a private school. And it just got, quietly swept away.” You accept.
All the pieces slowly floated and formed together to clarity in Eddie’s head.
“Linda stayed with Jonny even after all that shit you went through…” He asks. You nod.
“Stuck like glue.” You infer.
He can’t stand it any longer. wraps his arms around you fully and tugs you into a bold hug. Burying his face in your chest. Listening to the tick of your heart, and feeling you hold him back. Smiling and pressing a kiss to the wild nest of his hair. He smelled like sour-sweet green apple shampoo and earthy papery leaves.
“I’m so sorry.” He rumbled into your arm. His hug says so much more than that.
I’m here and I’m not leaving. Whatever you need - I’ll give it. Carve it out of my chest because you own every piece of me - in full.
“Not your fault, Eddie. I stopped being mad a while ago.” You tell him. Pressing another kiss to his head.
That’s why he’d been so unsuccessful in being able to stop you today. Because you’d let one bout of assault go, like hell were you about to let that happen all over again. And not to him. Drew some blood of your own to partially settle an old debt. To quiet some old violent ghosts.
He lets go of you and plonks the red wrapped jolly rancher in your right hand.
“I think you need and deserve this more than I do. And I’ll keep on being mad on your behalf - if that’s ok.” He says honestly. Fingers slithering through yours. He twists your hand over and sees the bruises wrapping around your knuckles.
You smile.
“I’ll take that.” You answer in reply to his offer. “The candy and that kind offer.”
Cause this is exactly what you need. Him. Him in all his unusual and funky glory.
Metal head with a heart so pure you’re actually certain it is made of solid gold. He whom proclaims to the world he’s nothing but a devil worshipping Satanist, made up of cynical death metal, and pot smoke.
Yet, he’s the guy who puts wrapped candy in your hand. Plies you with kisses and tried to hard to keep you out of tumbling headlong into trouble for his sake. Wanted to take you for a greasy burger and just share every silent soaked moment with you. No matter what you’re doing as long as you’re shoulder to shoulder.
He’s springing up before you can stop him. Sits you in the seat he occupied and told you firmly to ‘wait here, toots.’
Then, he’s scampering across the grocery store lot all jangly jacket and mad frizzy rocker hair bouncing as he goes. The soft pad of his feet on the doormat and the swish of the door he pushes open.
He drifts around the aisle for a few minutes before you see the top of his head bounce as he jaunts to the checkout and pay with a load of coins and a crumpled bill dug out his pocket.
He’s out the doors and whirling back to you in no time at all.
Hand on his ribs as he winced and realised that moving around all silly like he normally does would have its consequences. Ode to a bruise.
He comes over and crouched in front of you. Proudly showing you his purchases. He holds them up like he’s won an award.
bag of frozen peas and a tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream.
“For you, my most dangerous slash badass weirdo.” He grins. Even under that black eye, and the cut limned with purple across the bridge of that nose, his brightness and joy is infectious.
He takes your hand and you smile as he settles the peas on it. Settles his hand on top of it and stays crouched. Looking up at you with literal stars in his eyes.
You’re hit with such a fierce wave of love it shocks you from the inside out. Punching into your ribs and mangling and mashing your heart and lungs together with something that burns all mean like static. Words trip off your tongue like a smudge of sugar. You feel drunk on them; fever and maddening realisation in a shockwave.
You put your hand over his. Ice cold and shifting crunch on the bag.
“Eddie, you’re free tonight right?”
“Well the beauty pageant will have to take a hike with these shiners.” He plays. Tilts his head.
“What would you say if I asked you to spend the night?” You check.
His brain seems to crunch and churn through the cogs to answer.
“The night?” His eyebrows almost swoop up and disappear into his bangs.
“Not sure your mom would be too wild about that.” He says.
“She’s in San Francisco. Short haul. Not back til Monday.”
“Oh.” Eddie nods. And then it hits him.
“O h.”
You keep eye contact and smile. “I'm game. What’s say you, Munson?”
“Holy shit. Pencils.” He wets his lips. Grinning.
~
T A G S darlings
@ceriseheaven @indouloureux @fujiihime @youaremyfamiliar @ghosttownwherenoonegoes @greenishghostey @svenyves @sammararave @feralgoblinbabe @groupie-love-71 @andromeda-andromeda @morganamoonstone @ramona-thorns @gvtosbith @munsonswhore @munsonlov3r @lunatictardis @shenevertricks1831
@hazzaismyreligion @harrys-titties @anaisweird @cerinthussulpicia @cinnamoncunt @thincrusttheworks @manicpixiedreamcurl @therosietoesy @fanficappreciationblog @thicksexxualtension @tvserie-s-world @sharp-and-swift @dadsbongos
@edsforehead @chcolateeyelver @seven-glass-kids @forever-is-not-for-everyone @quinnsmunson @bkish @wyverntatty @latenighttalkingwithgrapejuice @churchmuffins @chickpeadumpsterfire @choke-me-eddie @prozacandnicotine @xeddiesbattattsx @s-u-t @alyssaaaaa-r @wayward-rose @usedtobecooler
#punkwrites#eddie munson#i would die for this man#joseph quinn#eddie munson smut#eddie munson x reader#eddie my boy#eddie x pencils#pencils x eddie ride again#eddie munson angst#angst with a happy ending#violence#tw blood#tw violence#stupid Linda and her stupid bf#stranger things 4#stranger things#stranger things fanfic#eddie munson fanfic#Eddie munson fluff#ends so fluffy ok#fluff#Spotify
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💽 …….Steve Rogers, In Da Club-50 Cent
And Mine You Shall Be | S.Rogers
Summary: it’s supposed to be his birthday, but you managed to piss him off by getting a bit too friendly with his friends. Punishment ensures.
Word count: 2.2K
Warning: Darker, kind of off the rail Steve for this one, a bit controlling, mob boss!Steve. Language, smut, jealous and possessive behavior, daddy kink, unprotected vaginal sex, limo sex. Kinda mean Steve.
A/N: little plot just brain rot. I hope you liked it. This request has been sitting in my inbox forever. Sorry, bby! I hope you liked it! I
imagined Steve marching down the club with this song play in the background lmao!! If you like this brain rot, please comment and reblog. It means a lot. No beta (sorry!!) If I missed anything, I apologized.
18+ ONLY | MINORS DNI
Masterlist
*** Do not copy, repost, rewrite, or translate my works anywhere else !!
Steve walked into the club looking like he was about to fuck someone up.
The moment his boys, Bucky and Sam texted him that you were here, he dropped everything and rushed out of his meeting to just come down here to the club.
The more fucked up thing was, it was his birthday today. Everyone who was practically supposed to be anyone in New York was there. He wasn’t supposed to show up till later into the night.
To his dismay though, he watched you under the stropping light of the nightclub, dancing so dangerously close to Brock. What made him ticked off, even more, was the fact that the other man’s hands were on you. He recalled the countless times that he told Brock to back the fuck off of you–that you were his to pursue, but being an asshole that he was, Brock still want you. And Steve was running out of his damn patient waiting for you to come to him.
If you don’t want to come to him, he just has to go to you.
Striding across the dance floor, he didn’t wait or care. He owned the place for fuck sake. His massive form stopped right before you and Brock. If an expression could kill, this was it.
“Boss?”
Before Brock could ask any more questions, Steve pulled him by the collar and punched him right in the face. The music halted as people gasped. Bucky and Sam rushed over, trying to pull him off the other man.
“Whoa, man. Chill the fuck out.”
“I fucking told you many times before, didn’t I?! And here you are being a sleazy fuck! How disrespectful can you be?!”
Your hands covered your mouth as you stared in horror. Your little harmless game between you and Steve has turned sour. You’ve never seen Steve this mad before and all because of you.
“Stay the fuck away from her, or I’ll end you,” he spat before turning to you. The look on his face alone terrifies you, but also thrilled you.
Steve hastily pulled you by your hand. Hell, if you were resistant to this, he didn’t care anymore. He would fucking hauled you over his shoulder if it comes down to it.
He was walking so quickly with great strides, and before you knew it, you were outside. The moment the car pulled up, Steve quickly rushed you inside. And as soon as the door closed, he quickly pressed the button for the privacy screen between the front and the back seat. You could feel the car start to move.
Your pussy was throbbing and pulsating to your frantic heartbeat. You could feel your own desires slipping out between your folds when you caught a glimpse of his growing bulge. You tried to clench your thighs together, hoping it would bring you some relief, but to no avail. Not when you wanted to shove his thick, hard cock right into your needy pussy and ride him till your legs give out.
“Pull up your dress and get on my lap. I won’t ask twice,” he said as he patted his lap. His tone was firm as he watched you. You could see the way the muscles of his jaw strained and unstrained. The neck of his muscles corded as he waited for you to maneuver yourself up into the seat, hiking your dress up in the process.
Steve’s pupils were blown wide as his eyes followed your bare pussy as you straddled him. He reached underneath and slid his hand to your inner thigh to your bare pussy. A hiss slipped passed his perfectly plump lips as his glare darkened.
“I can’t believe you have the audacity to throw yourself at those guys wearing nothing underneath. Is this the sort of game you want to play with me?” he asked.
You shook your head.
Smack!
Your body jolted, surprised by the slap. Your ass cheek was stinging and burning, and you knew the kind of retribution Steve demanded such a display of retaliation.
From the beginning you have refused his pursuit, stating things like he was much and too busy for you and that you didn’t want to fight to get his attention. But the thing about this was, that his attention was always on you no matter what. To his frustration though, you always concocted plans to rile him up and tick him off whenever you came into his proximity, which pissed him off even more.
He loved the chase, but this was slowly turned into the hunt. And Steve wasn’t planning to let his prey get away from him again.
“I’ll ask you again, baby girl. Is this the sort of game you want to play with me?”
You gulped at the way his voice dropped so suddenly. Chill ran down your spine as you looked at him. You could see that Steve wasn’t playing it anymore. He was so serious and so pissed that he could pop a vein.
“No,” you answered softly, shaking your head as you looked at him under your lashes.
“No, what?” he asked as he palmed your ass cheek in slow and deliberate motion. It felt soothing, but you knew if you said something wrong again, he would not hesitate to punish you.
You gulped. He really wanted you to say it, huh? Steve was in that mood.
“No, daddy,” you said softly.
You watched the way his gaze softened slightly but his grip was still firm on you.
“See, that ain’t so bad, right?”
“No, daddy.”
A small smirk etched at the corner of his lips before he slid his hand up your thigh. Your breath shuddered at the way his rough calloused palm felt against your skin. You stopped breathing when his thumb reached the small sensitive bud. Your thighs threatened to clamp themselves shut, but Steve made a low, rumbling sound that made your pussy ache.
Your lips parted. A soft, mewling sound slips out from you. Steve watched the way your eyelids fluttered as he playfully circled the small nub in a slow, tantalizing circle.
“You’re leaking, princess,” he muttered. “Fucking drenching my pants. Tell me why?” he asked.
You couldn’t answer him when you were too busy panting, trying your damnedest to not grind yourself against that massive tent on his crotch.
Steve didn’t take your silence well. He stopped all of the movement together as you stared up.
“Answer me, princess?”
You swallowed. Whatever confidence you had early was gone. Being up close to Steve in such a small confined space made you realize that he was the only one holding the reign. Not you.
“Because I want you, daddy,” you said softly. His expression was unchanged. He expected more because his thumb was still pressing against your bud, refusing to move.
“And?”
“I want your big, fat cock shoving in my pussy.” Your eyes fluttered as the heat slowly slithered up your cheeks, licking every inch of skin with warmness at the admission.
Steve finally smirked. You watched the way his pink tongue darted out and licked his lower lips.
“Be a good girl and take out daddy’s cock.”
He watched you as you reached for the fly of his pants and hastily unfastened it. Your mouth salivated when you pulled out his cock and stroked it tentatively. He was already so hard and so rigid for you that you couldn’t help but stare. His gaze glued to the way your palm slowly stroked from the base and up to the tip. You could see the fat tip of his cock was already glistening with precum and you’ve never wanted to lick something so badly in your life.
“Look at the way your hand is barely wrapped around my dick. Are you sure, princess can fit it?” He tilted his head as he watched.
You nodded eagerly.
“Do you deserve daddy’s dick though?”
“Yes!”
“Hmm, are you sure? You were dancing with my boys earlier….even grinding that little ass on Brock…Y’know that dick bag want to fuck you so bad, he was begging me for ya. Y’know what I told him?”
“No, daddy. What did you tell him?” you asked as you pressed thumped against the slit, and you watched his teeth bared as he tried to not lose his mind.
“I told him to fuck off, and that this pussy is mine.”
You could feel goosebumps pricking your skin by the way he was looking at you. The tone, his demeanor, and the way he was so possessive over you made you want to jump his bones.
“Is this pussy mine?” he asked. His thumb slowly circled your clit again, and you nodded almost too eagerly. “Show me, then baby girl. Show me how you wanna ride this dick.”
Your hands were on his broad shoulders as you lifted yourself up and lined the tip of his cock against your opening. Your mouth hung open as you slowly slid down, sheathing him all the way to the base. He stretched you out so deliciously that your eyes felt like they were rolling to the back of his skull.
“Fuck, princess. You’re so tight,” he moaned as he leaned back against the seat. It took all of him to piston his hip upward and take control. He had to remind himself that this was his punishment and that you needed to amend your mistake.
You can only grunt as you slowly lifted your hips up before slowly sinking yourself down again, and each time you felt you were about to lose your mind. Steve filled up and stretched out so deliciously that it was hard to concentrate on his pleasure when all you could think of was not to cum because God knows what Steve would do to you if you decided to cum before he let you.
As you began to find your own pace, so was Steve’s patience. All you could hear from him was strings of cusses with occasional praising words. The moment his hands were on your hips though, it was all over for you.
Steve began to piston his hips upward, driving himself deeper into you as he held you there in place. No noise came out of your mouth as he drove into you with such vigor. It was so overwhelming and so much all at once that you couldn’t think of anything else except for the way his cock was hitting you at places that made you see stars.
You felt like you were about to burst each time he pushed you off of him, giving you a small period of relief before he slammed you back down again. And each time, you felt like you could just come apart in his arms.
As much as Steve could be a hard ass, you knew he had a soft spot for you. You just knew damn well that this man wanted you as much as you wanted him. It was just you were too stubborn to admit that you wanted to be his.
Steve could feel your wall begin to flutter around him as he continued to fuck you. It won’t be long, and he was right. Your body spasmed and strained around him as your orgasm hit you. Steve grunted as he continued to move, chasing his own. The thought of filling you up and marking you as he was so strong that he wasn’t holding himself back anymore.
Steve came with a deep, guttural grunt, filling you up with his cum. And only then, do you could breathe as you slumped in his hold.
Steve’s chest rose and fell as he tried pulling air into his lungs, arms wrapped around your body as both of you relished the afterglow of your release.
The car stopped, but neither of you made any move to want to get out. You sat there for God knows how long before Steve pulled you away slightly. His liquid sapphire eyes gaze into yours with a newfound tenderness that made your heart flutter.
“I’m sorry for ruining your birthday,” you said, hand cupping his face. You could feel the way his beard felt against your palm.
“And?”
“For disrespecting you in front of your men.”
“And?”
“Flirting with Brock?”
His brow lifted. Steve wanted more.
You frowned. “I don’t know what else you want me to apologize…”
“Maybe started with ‘I’m sorry I keep running away from you?”
Your mouth formed an O as you realized now. He really wanted you to say it.
“And I’m sorry for being a hard ass and running away from you. I want to be yours, Stevie…If you still want me.”
Steve finally flashed you a smile before he leaned in and gave you the most toe-curling kiss in the history of kisses he has ever given you. “And mine you shall be.”
And with this, both of you straightened yourself out and quickly exited the car and straight to his penthouse, where he spent all night, showing you what it was like to be his.
#steve rogers x reader#steve rogers x you#steve rogers#steve rogers imagine#steve rogers smut#steve rogers fanfiction#chris evans x you#chris evans x reader#chris evans fanfiction#chris evans smut#captain america x you#captain america x reader
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so today is my kid’s 23rd birthday, so we went down to dc to see the sights and take in a few museums (kid’s choice). this was probably our first mistake. it was over 100f out there today. meltin’ weather!
we went right for the air and space museum because we love that place, but it’s still having major renovations done and we didn’t realize you need a TIMED ADMISSION PASS to get in right now. they were all gone for today. so we didn’t go in.
so we went across the mall to the national gallery of art. which is also undergoing extensive renovations and it would’ve been nice to know the main entrance was closed before we hiked down there only to find we had to hike back to the opposite end of the massive building in the 100 degree heat. but we made it. i got to see dali’s sacrament of the last supper, hieronymus bosch’s death and the miser, assorted rembrandts, and the only painting by leonardo da vinci in north america. always fun! but we were hungry, and in our hunger half our group was confused about our plans. this led to miscommunication that led to half our group not realizing we’d gone for lunch. oops. eventually everyone ate, and we decided collectively to head toward the natural history museum.
the natural history museum was... really crowded. as expected. but it was also getting on everyone’s last nerves. so we decided to skip the american history museum and just start for home and relaxation.
so we hiked back to the metro, waited for the train, made it about halfway back when they started holding us for an extra two minutes at every stop. fine, weird, but not too bad yet.
and then we hit the Medical Center station between NIH and the Naval Hospital... i used to work there, and forgot how long that escalator is lol, but i got a refresher on it today. Because they stopped the train and were like OKAY EVERYONE OUT WE CAN’T GO ANY FURTHER BECAUSE THE TRACK IS ON FIRE AHEAD.
THE TRACK. WAS ON FIRE.
this is how hot it was today.
like you could smell the weird burning smell in the station tunnel. this led (with a full early rush-hour crowd on the train) to Mass Confusion. Wait why are we getting off here? Where do we go now? Apparently where we went was onto busses that ferried us two train stations further up the line where we could get on a train again.
And those busses were running through... DC rush hour traffic! which meant the two station jaunt that would’ve taken 5 minutes on the train took half an hour! but again, i got to see the old stomping grounds a bit, so annoying as it was, it wasn’t horrific.
We finally got off, found our car, and headed into the final leg of our journey home. Through rush hour traffic! And a thunderstorm that apparently knocked down some trees! and an accident that closed all but one lane on the expressway!
but at least it’s now 30 degrees cooler, and i’m finally home again. i didn’t even get a new picture of myself with my favorite giant ground sloth skeleton. :(
But i had a delicious quiche lorraine in the sculpture garden cafe and got a really superb photo of mr mittens eating a sandwich, so have that i guess :’D
hopefully i won’t have to leave the house at all tomorrow...
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2023.05.01 - https://weibo.com/l/wblive/p/show/1022:2321324896663167697065
Happy May 1st!
LYN: Hallo everybody, good evening. I am Modern Brothers Liu Yuning. Welcome!
LYN: Happy May 1st, International Worker’s Day.
C: Have you eaten yet?
LYN: I haven’t. I’m not going to- we want to... be tough. If I don’t eat tonight I’ll be thinner tomorrow.
C: Are you going to a meeting? (bc of his look today)
LYN: No, who’s going to hold a meeting on May 1st?? It’s vacation. Everyone’s out traveling, nice and happy. No meetings.
C: I knew you would stream today!
LYN: How did you know? I didn’t even know, but you did? If you’re going to be like that then I’m going to leave. I just don’t like being seen through. I don’t want people to know what I’m thinking. I’m going to leave, then. Give you an unexpected surprise. Alright? Bye, everyone. Good night.
C: You always stream for us on a holiday.
LYN: No, I don’t~ That isn’t my intention. It just happened that we wrapped up earlier today so I came to stream. There’s no unspoken rule that I come to stream on holidays. We always meet, so there’s no need to meet especially on holidays. It’s not likely.
C: Gege, I’m playing with my friends outside.
LYN: You play, then. Have fun. Since today is 5/1 and I know a lot of you are out having fun. I just want to remind you to be careful and obey traffic laws. Hold your bad tempers at bay. We want to be presentable.
C: How long with you stream for?
LYN: Just a while and then I’ll log off. I can’t be here all the time, to give you the false impression that I don’t have work to do. How old am I, to be streaming day-in and day-out? We wrapped up work early today, so I wanted to come and chat.
C: Da-ge, where’s your hair?
LYN: I shaved it bald. You may not know, but my internet handle is “Shaolin Shi (Four(?))”. I shaved my head bald and I’m wearing a wig. // This is a new wig, it’s not my real hair. I told you before, when I get off from work my hair is all flat. You saw it last time, didn’t you?
C: What if I don’t believe you? // What if I want you to take it off to prove it?
LYN: Believe it if you want to! Do you think you’re very important? I don’t care.
C: I’m watching your stream from the beach!
LYN: Oh, my goodness. The vibes that must be giving. Wonderful. Thank you.
LYN: Also, I grew up in Dandong, which is a popular tourist destination. Whenever it’s around holiday break season there are so many people in the city. I got used to it. That’s why normally around this time I don’t go traveling. One of the reasons is that there are just too many people. People, everywhere. Even if you go say, hiking. I remember once I tried going on 5/1 up to Fenghuangshan (Phoenix Mountain). There were so many people on the mountain it felt like standing in line instead of hiking. It didn’t feel very novel, so I usually try to go wen no one else wants to. These past five years I haven’t been able to travel anywhere, though. It’s fine; it doesn’t matter. Anyway, I hope that when YOU go out to play that you have a fun time.
C: Then you don’t have a day off today?
LYN: If you know me you would know... I don’t really have an impression of a “day off”. I don’t much care for all the holiday breaks, because from the moment I graduated from school I entered straight into society. I started out in the service industry, as a cook. I was a cook for a while, then served as a waiter. When you’re in the customer service business there isn’t really a concept of “holiday break”. Think about it- you’re traveling and you go into a restaurant to eat. I’d be the one serving you. I didn’t have breaks. I never have. Even when I was a sales clerk in a clothing boutique. These “holidays” actually gave us much more business.
C: Did you get holiday pay?
LYN: I’ve grown to this age and have never even THOUGHT of getting holiday pay. Not only are you not paid extra on holidays, if you ask for a day off they’re going to dock you. This is why I don’t have much feeling towards holidays, so I don’t think of wanting to going anywhere. I’ve been like this from the start. (First, because his family didn’t have the means and later because he was working.) Now I expect it even less.
C: Ning-ge, it’s my birthday.
LYN: Your birthday is today, May 1st? What a coincidence. Then, you can imagine that today’s stream is especially for those celebrating their birthday tonight. :) The meaning is suddenly different, isn’t it? This stream is for everyone who is celebrating their birthday today. I’m giving it to you- it’s your birthday gift.
LYN: Now, I will sing “Thirty Year Old Woman” for you.
~ She’s a thirty year old... never-been married woman~
C: Ning-ge if you go on variety shows you can travel every day.
LYN: Friends, you might not have ever filmed for a variety show before, though I know that there might be some artists lurking in my stream. There’s definitely lurking artists or celebrities in here. I’m talking to YOU! I’m sure there are artists in here, but most of you probably have never filmed for a variety show before. You might think we go to some destination and play. Let me tell you- it’s exhausting. It’s not how you think it is. One episode of a variety show, when aired, is about 1.5 hours. But in reality we start recording at 9 or 10 in the morning and record until 9 or 10 at night. There are usually no breaks in the middle. Maybe you can run to the restroom at some point. But the cameras are pretty much rolling the whole time.
LYN: So honestly sometimes doing a variety show is even more exhausting than drama filming. With variety shows you have to be alert at all times, since you have to have something to show for yourself, right? You have to contribute something to the game, but you can’t be too serious or else the netizens are going to say you’to too competitive. If you’re not serious enough, though, they’re going to say you were skimming by. That’s why while shooting a variety show you have to maintain that you have an alert brain and clear intellect. You can maintain your intellect for five or six hours but after 12+ hours you’re going to start to get hazy.
LYN: You have to be sure that what’s coming out of your mouth is filtered. Otherwise once the show broadcasts, you’re going to may easily be cancelled. Do you understand? So, going on a variety show really is a tiring experience. Artists don’t have it easy, either.
LYN: Sometimes after I shoot a variety show I get back to the hotel and I feel numb. It’s like my soul’s been sucked out of me.
LYN: You had said that going to shoot a variety show is equal to going on a trip- honestly, it’s not. It’s tiring work and at some point you’re not in the mood to play around. If you really end up on some travel variety show then to you the trip becomes work. You won’t find it as interesting as you thought it would be. So.. I don’t think you need to rely on a variety show in order to go travel. It’s not worth it. Your main focus should be to go there to work.
C: What’s wrong with Daimi’s tummy?
LYN: Nothing’s wrong with it, she’s just fat. She eats too much, is all.
C: Come to Zibo to eat bbq.
LYN: I’ve heard that Zibo bbq has been getting popular lately and it’s really good. I don’t have the time to go try it, though. Also, Dandong’s bbq is pretty famous itself. In the crew we often marinate meat to grill. My marinated meat is really tasty. If I get the chance I’ll share the recipe with you. I’ll teach you how to marinate beef. I’l shoot a video and share it to weibo for you. You can marinate your own and grill it at home.
C: I want the meat you marinated yourself.
LYN: Why are you such a busybody?? I said I would share the way I marinate meat with you and you shoot back with, “I want to eat the one you made.” ??? What are you pretending to be so weak and fake for?? Are you an actor? If your mom buys 2kg of oranges home and give you two of them and tells you to peel and eat them, are you going to tell her, “No. I only want to eat the ones LYN peeled for me himself.” Your mom would slap you silly. Are you acting over there? Oh my goodness...
LYN: Friends, just because of this one person, I won’t share my secret recipe with you anymore! Why do you want to eat the one I marinated myself? Do my fingers have a special taste to them? Or are my nails a “medicine” and you want to eat them? [t/n: ??? ew.] It’s not worth it. Why do you need ME to- /sigh/ I can’t with this.
--
C: As long as you don’t open your mouth...
LYN: I know what you’re trying to say. As long as I don’t open my mouth, I look pretty decent. But as soon as I open my mouth my whole image collapses. That must be what they mean. When I don’t speak or am quiet, or if you mute me I look decent. But as soon as I open my mouth that image collapses.
LYN: /sigh/ You must not know me very well. You probably haven’t seen me act, have you? But that’s right, it’s not like I’ve been on very many. You probably don’t have a strong impression of me speaking Standard Mandarin so listening to me right now... gives off the impression that I’m crazy.
LYN: ~ Honestly, I can speak Standard Mandarin. And my voice.. can also change. I welcome all my friends to my stream. Today is May 1st. Thank you for accompanying me. This May 1st stream is dedicated especially to those of you who are celebrating a birthday today. You can think of this stream as my birthday gift to you. ~
LYN: ~ I want to recommend to you a new song of mine that been released. It’s called 云字诀 (Yun Zi Jue); the theme song of the drama The Ingenious One (Yun Xiang Zhuan/YXZ). The ending theme song. It’s May 1st and the drama has started airing. If you have the time, you can go to iQIYI and watch YXZ. ~
LYN: I’ll kill you with perfection!
C: Lao-da, don’t “pinch” (the tone).
LYN: I didn’t “pinch” it. This is my normal tone. >.>
C: I was planning to watch tonight at 8p, but you started streaming.
LYN: Don’t say such nonsense. What are you doing. There’s nothing to prove here. I told you to go watch YXZ, and you come back with “If you hadn’t streamed I would be watching it. But you’re streaming so I’m not.” Don’t- don’t throw me under the bus! Who am I?? You go watch yours, I’m not important. I’m definitely not as exciting. Go watch, it’s 8p. Don’t watch me. I only sang the OST. How peculiar.
LYN: I discovered another peculiar thing recently. Well, maybe not recently. From about a year ago I started noticing peculiar topic. I don’t know if you’ve seen it? “Hey.. these past couple of years why has it been the same people singing all the OSTs? If it’s not LYN, it’s MBY or ZS or ZBC. Why is it always them? We’re tired of hearing them already!” This topic came out of nowhere. And then! When a drama DOESN’T use these people they will say, “This company didn’t spend any money. Their production isn’t good enough- they didn’t find any of those people who sing OSTs. Their project is lacking.” What is it that you WANT??? Are you trying to drag us down so that you can bring your own singer up? It’s not necessary! As long as they are skilled enough they will eventually come up on their own. We’ll continue to do our own thing.
C: Ge, of course you understand.
LYN: I’m already a thousand year old fox, what old news are you trying to show me? (He’s been through the ups and downs of this industry already and has seen it all.)
--
C: It’s my first time catching the splendor of the live stream.
LYN: It’s not that amazing. You can’t use “splendor” to describe my stream. I think that’s thinking too highly of me. I’m just a market. I only provide the goods and people can come and go and listen as they please. It’s just that basic.
C: 座无虚席 (It’s a full house. lit. “a banquet with no empty seats”)
LYN: Are you describing my stream as such? Well, my stream never had seats (lit. “a place to sit”) to begin with. Where you’re sitting depends on where your body is and your own family means. If you have a nice house then you’re sitting on a 30K sofa. If you don’t have such a nice house then you might be sitting on a stool. But you’re still watching and wherever you happen to be sitting is the front row. It’s all front row seats- VIPs.
LYN: There was a friend earlier who said they were watching from the beach, wasn’t there? That’s also very easy and comfortable. A lot of people like to watch my stream in their car. They’ll connect their phone to the car’s audio system and leave my stream playing with the car doors closed. It sort of feels like a movie theater. That’s quite a nice way to experience it.
C: I’m sitting on the table.
LYN: Get down! It’s impolite to sit on the table, get down from there. Some friends-
C: I’m watching from a tunnel.
LYN: That’s not necessary! Do you think watching in a tunnel will make the echo greater? it’s not worth it. Get out of there, the wind is too strong. It’s dangerous. Here, how about I create the feel of a tunnel for you? /adds echo/ Get out of there. Don’t watch from the tunnels. I can imitate the tunnels for you. Come out from there. That’s why, friends-
C: I’m watching while laying down.
LYN: That’s fine. You can watch however you want and wherever you want. You are the VIP. You’re front-row. It’s okay.
C: I’m introverted. I need to watch in the sewers.
LYN: You’re watching from the sewers?? ... Then, be careful down there. If you took the manhole cover off and you went down without closing it behind you it can be dangerous. First, because someone might step on your head. Someone can fall from above and step on you. That’s quite dangerous. Secondly, if you went down and DID close it behind you but then a car parks on top of it, you’re also in a little danger. Have you not watched Crazy Stone? You go down into the sewers to watch my stream and close the lid behind you. A truck parks on top. They finish off-loading their product and ends up parked there for a week. That’s dangerous, so please don’t go into the sewers to watch.
C: Ge, I’m watching from Mount Taishan.
LYN: It’s already past 7p, start your way down the mountain. It gets dangerous when it’s dark. Make your way down, quickly. Stop watching. If you’re making your way down the mountain, watch your step. Don’t look at your phone. If you do, you’ll be rolling down the mountain. Turn off your phone, watch the trail.
C: I’m watching in my Maserati.
LYN: Showing off your wealth??!
C: I’m in a Ferrari.
LYN: Good for you, for having money. How wealthy~
LYN: Alright, let’s skip this topic now.
C: I’m watching from in front of your hotel.
LYN: Are you trying to ambush me? It’s rare for you to get a holiday break so why don’t you spend it shopping/wandering around? Stop squatting in front of my hotel entrance.
C: I’m watching from my 100+ sq meters bed.
LYN: Your bed is 100+ sq meters? .... ??? .... My house is in 80 sq meters, and your BED is 100? Are you living in a dorm where the beds are all lined up against each other? The kind that can hold 200 people at once? Amazing.
LYN: After you wake up from your 100+ sq meter bed, are there 18 helpers who bring you tea and pour you water, too? They tell you, “Young Master, it’s time to wake up.” So you stand up in the middle of the bed, and drive your Ferrari to the bed’s edge. (?) At this time, your personal butler tells you, “Your father has a 20B business proposal he would like you to accompany him to.” You smirk and show your 18-pack abs to your butler and tell him, that no- you have to work out today. You make your way to the gym. You realize that in the gym, there’s a pretty and refined looking girl already on the treadmill, exercising herself. At this time, you walk over, point a finger in her face and tell her, “Get out.” She replies, “Don’t think you’re all that just because you have money!” The moment she turned her head- you are addicted. It’s the first time in your life anyone has ever yelled at you in this way. Nobody has ever dared to contradict you. This is the first girl who has ever made you feel this way. You feel like your heart has beat 18 times. You call over your butler and you tell him, “I want all of that girl’s information in three minutes.” The girl says, “You’re crazy!” and leaves the gym. You want to chase after her, but you also don’t want to make yourself look so self-deprecating. You return to your room where the nanny who’s looked after you for 20+ years comes to check on you. She tells the butler, “I haven’t seen the Young Master smile like this in years.”
C: Are you going to continue?
LYN: There’s no need....
LYN: At this moment, three minutes later, your butler returns. He tells you the girl is some company’s artist- just a small actor. You use your family wealth to buy out her company. You want to be her boss. The girl is not impressed by your money, and wants to terminate her contract. But you have already had your legal team put conditions into place, where if she wants to terminate her contract, then she has to pay you back 400B. You take 500B and invest in a drama with her as the lead to butter her up. She is determined not to accept; she just wants to escape from you.
C: 400B?
LYN: That’s right! As a dominating CEO, you should have that sort of wealth. You’re going to use 400B to invest in a movie and find LYN to play your male lead, and the girl as the female lead. The important part is to have LYN also sing an OST. You take a bunch of money, throw it at LYN’s face and tell him- “Name a price. I’ll pay no matter what it is.”
LYN: What you didn’t expect is for LYN to take the money and throw it back into your face and say, “You must be crazy. You think you’re all that just because you have money??” You’re stunned, and think to yourself, “This guy is so unique.” You want to be friends with him for life, because it’s the first time anyone has ever thrown money back into your face before. You turn to your butler and say, “I want all of this guy’s information in three minutes.” XD
LYN: Alright. Change the topic.
C: Is this allowable?
LYN: What’s wrong with it? Can “brotherhood” not be filmed anymore?
C: What happens next?
LYN: Please watch the next stream to find out.
C: You would have forgotten by the next stream.
LYN: I won’t.
C: Ning-ge, the two of us are brothers. Let’s film this together.
LYN: /laughs/
--
C: Ning-ge are you at home?
LYN: Erm... don’t pretend to care about me when it’s clear that you don’t. If you really followed me then you would know exactly where I am right now. But I’ll tell you- I’m not at home. I’m in Xiangshan right now. We’re filming- this is a hotel, not my home. No way is my house as luxurious as this.
C: Ning-ge, do you have a lifetime pass to play at Disney for free?
LYN: Based on what? Why should I have that right?? I don’t have such benefits. If I need to buy tickets I should still buy tickets. Also- I’m not the type of person to take advantage of others. If they want to give me tickets to come play at their park, I tell them no and that I want to buy the tickets myself. I have to buy them myself. It’s not as if I am lacking the money, so why should I take advantage? Honestly.
LYN: Last time I did a stream around Hengdian, right? I bought my own entrance tickets to all the attractions. But, I do have an actor’s pass and I would have been able to enter all the same with that. Still, I bought tickets like normal. I don’t particularly like taking advantage- if I need to pay, I should.
C: Ning-ge, turn off the background blur.
LYN: It’s not on, this camera is just like this. It has a focus so everything else is blurred. Let me show you what it looks like if I really turned on the background blur. It looks like this. Do you see it? Even blurrier. Let me turn it off- there, it’s a bit clearer now.
C: You’re trending- #LYNHas18-PackAbs
LYN: Did that Young Master from earlier buy this topic for me? He took 400B to come mess me up?
LYN: Am I really trending, though?! I’m the type of person who doesn’t like to think about the optimistic outcomes. I don’t like when you tell me nice things, because I’m afraid I’ll be disappointed (when I find out it’s not true). That’s why no matter what I do, I don’t let myself have very high expectations. They’re still pretty high, though. Someone told me I was trending but if I pick up my phone and see that I’m not? I’ll eat my phone. I’ll eat this iPhone 14 Pro. Don’t trick me. I have a sense of awareness.
LYN: Don’t trick me. If you really have nothing to do (活, huo2) you can chew on a lighter (火, huo3). This joke... if you don’t have "huo” (活, work, huo2), you can chew on a lighter to make “huo” (火, fire, huo3). I don’t really WANT you to chew on a lighter, it’s just an online expression. Don’t take that seriously and think, “Ning-ge wants me to chew on a lighter, so I’ll go do that.” Please, no. Calm down.
C: What joke is this?
LYN: People online say, “If you have no talent then go chew on a lighter.” You know, sometimes people are like that ~“Friends, come take a look, I’ll show you a talent!”~ and they take a bunch of lighters and just- bite them open. it looks terrifying! But that’s what they say online... It’s just an expression, and I don’t advise anyone to actually do it. It’s dangerous.
C: Daimi moved! Daimi moved!
LYN: She’s only asleep, not anything else. Isn’t it normal for her to move, friends? Fam? Bros?
C: Does she always sleep this much?
LYN: What is the life of a little dog other than sleeping and eating? She doesn’t really have any dreams to pursue... It’s fine, isn’t it? As long as can happily live out her life.
C: I want to be LYN’s dog in my next life.
LYN: It’s not worthwhile. I might not even be a human, in MY next life. you don’t need to plan for your next life, just live well in this one. We can have a happy life together and that’s good enough. There’s no need to think about the next life.
-- 云字诀 (Yun Zi Jue), The Ingenious One (Yun Xiang Zhuan/YXZ) OST
LYN: The room’s too dry. I feel like my nostrils are so dry... I’ll drink some water.
C: /asking about TXJ/
LYN: TXJ? I know it passed the censors, but I really don’t know exactly when it will air. Probably not very soon, though. Passing the censors is one thing, when it will air is something else entirely. It’s not that it can air just because it passed. There’s still blocking to do. Another thing is... I haven’t sung the OST yet. Voice acting is done. It’s possible that they won’t use me for the OST, though. That’s also possible.
C: I really want to watch your drama(s).
LYN: Soon enough. It’ll air this year for sure. Nothing to do but wait, and hope that you can see it faster.
C: ZY is almost done right?
LYN: There are several days left. Not more than 20 days left before it wraps.
C: Is 春花厌 (Kill me Love Me) real?
LYN: /no comment/
LYN: That... what should I say...? You all keep asking... /thinking/ I.. I’m not going. It’s a great project and the script is good. But I’m not going. I’ll keep working hard.
C: Is it so difficult to answer?
LYN: No, because the project is really great and if I tell you I’m not going to be in it... It’s difficult in that if I say I rejected it, you’ll think it’s because it’s not a good project. But that’s not the case. It really is very good. I just don’t know how I should have phrased it. I am close with the producers and they really respect me. We have a good relationship. It’s just a hard thing to say. The fact of the matter is that I’m just not going to be in it.
LYN: There are always projects that you’ll miss, or projects that come to look for you at the same time. The internet will always spread rumors, that this person will be in this project and that person will be in a different project, but you don’t hear an official response either way. I think this non-response is the correct way to respond. Because it’s just hard to say for sure. For this project the reason why I’m able to say I am not participating is because the producers are good people. But if there are baseless rumors, then I’ll come to refute them directly. If my studio or I didn’t receive any correspondence on a particular project that I am rumored to be in, I will come to tell you directly. It depends on the timing.
--
LYN: I was scrolling through a video platform one day and saw something really funny. I was thinking I would save the video and then play it during my stream so we can watch it together. Someone took my scenes from dramas I’ve acted in and cut things I’ve said during my streams into the clips instead of the original dialogue. For example, they take what I’m saying right now, and they put it over a drama clip. But it didn’t look out of place at all! I saw it and laughed so hard I almost pulled a muscle. I was thinking I should have saved it so we can watch it together- it was quite amusing.
C: Bai Choufei?
LYN: No, it was a Hao Du one! It was- Leyan asked me if Wei Shuyu had been captured and I replied, “What’s it to you??” I laughed so hard I almost died.
C: I want to see it.
LYN: Let me see if I can find it. Hold on. Let me play a song (while you wait). // It has a really high view rate! It was so funny... Ah, yes. It’s called “Rebellious Hao Du.” Let me see if I can download it. I don’t think I can.
- video time! - (no audio that the viewers can hear, but ning-ge is amused)
LYN: Oh, there’s no audio? /sigh/ Why didn’t you say so sooner?? /continues nagging/
LYN: How about now? Is there audio? Is there? Still no?? // ??? What does this mean??
- /troubleshooting/
C: Take your earphone out.
LYN: It has nothing to do with my earphones! You think this is like on your phone? No that has nothing to do with the audio input... // How about this- does this one have sound? /plays a different clip/. This one does.
LYN: What’s happening?? Let me adjust the settings. // How about now... still, no. I don’t know what’s wrong. It used to be able to play but I don’t know why it’s not working today. // Let me try again. /sound!/ It should be working now! Right? I don’t even need to ask. It’s working right? See, I’m a genius. I can do anything.
LYN: Okay, let’s go.
-- “Rebellious Hao Du” videos (aka if Hao Du spoke with Dongbei dialect XD)
LYN: I really want to thank the person who put these clips together. I spent the other night laughing so hard I almost couldn’t take it anymore.
LYN: I like playing differently than other people, so I was also thinking of finding videos of people’s commentary on me, and we can watch together how they complain about me. Let’s watch what they have to say. But I was watching a video and as if targeting me wasn’t enough, they tagged a bunch of other artists in the video too. Since they mention the other artists, now it’s not convenient for me to play the video, since I don’t want to drag them down with me. I’m looking for a thrill myself, not looking to provoke others. It would be a show, for sure.
LYN: It counts as being an anti but there’s a sliver of truth in what they say, after all. They were talking about my upbringing and stuff like that- which, is true. I just take it as entertainment. I want to know, other than that, what else they have to say about me. It could be a project. Later I’ll see if I can make it happen.
C: They’re doing it for clout.
LYN: What sort of influence do I have, that they can piggyback off of?? What do I do, that makes me so popular? Them and me, we’re basically in the same industry. I’m here streaming, and that makes me a blogger, doesn’t it? It’s just that I do everything- blogger, singer, actor. I sing OSTs and hold concerts. I have a bit of a bigger repertoire, is all. But from certain aspects we’re the same.
C: As long as you’re paid, you’ll accept any job.
LYN: What the heck are you saying?? I’m not like that! There’s no way I can be. Ever since I debuted up until now, I have not once accepted a single business proposal. Those give the most money, but I haven’t accepted any. For example a business opening, or a some brand event- I’ve never gone to any of those, and they pay A LOT. So what do you mean “as long as you’re paid, you’ll accept any job”??
LYN: I’m sure not many singers can say they’ve done the same. But, this is what I /want/ to do. This is how I’m unique. Even if I’m starving and can’t afford to feed myself, I wouldn’t take such a job.
C: Ning-ge, I have a question. Why is it that when you sing, you don’t sing a full version?
LYN: I don’t need to sing the whole song. It’s not like I’m holding a concert here. If you want to hear a full version, you can listen to the recorded track. I sing here just to interact with you all. It’s just a small corner. Look at those variety shows- other than music variety- usually when artists sing on a variety show, they don’t sing the full song either. Our stream also goes the variety-show route, not the musical-variety show route.This is more of a slice-of-life stream. I don’t need to sing the full song. When I hold my concert I’ll definitely sing it all for you. In my stream all I need to do is hum along and sing a few lines, for the effect.
C: I want to hear a false tone, Lao-da.
LYN: I don’t know- are you crazy?? I saw you spamming, and I don’t know what’s there to hear?? I’m speaking in a false tone right now! Huh? I’m using a false tone now. Does it sound nice? Do you like it? [t/n: Mickey Mouse...]
LYN: This is a false tone, how is it?
C: Is it Minnie Mouse?
LYN: “You’ve reached the third floor.” “You’ve reached the fifth floor. Your room is to your right.” // If you go to the Disney resort, isn’t the voice in the elevator like this?
C: It’s exactly the same...
LYN: If you don’t believe me you can go look it up! The voice in the elevator at the Disney resort. Then you’ll know how similar it really is.
C: Sounds like a monkey.
LYN: This is Minnie Mouse’s voice.
C: I’ve never been.
LYN: When you get the chance you should go experience it. Take a stroll around and check it out.
C: Now I can listen to your stream and sleep.
LYN: You’re sleeping at 8:30p? Are you getting up in the morning to exercise? Or is it because you’re on break, so you’re getting up early to go hiking tomorrow? Collect some dew? Alright. Go to sleep.
C: I haven’t lived there before.
LYN: The Disney Resort, honestly, is a little expensive. Normally- like the last time I went, it was for an event. I went to Disney to sing, right? So they arranged a free accommodation for me... so I was able to... give it a try.
C: Talk about your new variety show.
LYN: I haven’t been on any, so what’s there to talk about? Usually, if I were currently shooting a drama or a variety show, I would come back to tell you fun things that happened to me during the course of recording. But I haven’t been on any varieties yet and I’m still currently shooting the drama. If I had anything to share, I would share about the drama.
--
C: Have you determined your next drama?
LYN: Nope. I already said earlier, right? It’s not like the world owes me. There’s no way work can come to me, one after another. I don’t have the right. I haven’t determined my next move.
LYN: I was THINKING I would... take on a variety show. To rest a bit and work on my songs. That’s what I was thinking but if there’s a project that I like too much then I might still accept it. I’ll skip the variety and take the drama instead.
LYN: The other thing is, when I’m acting- I don’t really have a lot of experience. I have a few scripts but haven’t had a chance to look through them yet. I wanted to take a look at them when my mind is more quiet. For the ones that are in a rush for decisions, I’ve skimmed through them and have turned down the ones where the timing or something else doesn’t work out. There’s still a group I haven’t looked at yet, so I haven’t decided my next drama. Let’s not rush it. If it comes down to it I can rest for a while and do two variety shows.
C: Are you considering modern dramas?
LYN: Of course. I intended on accepting a modern drama. They take a lot shorter to film- around 100 days. Also I’ve six dramas waiting to air and five of them are guzhuang. I was wondering if I should switch it up- do a modern drama before coming back to a guzhuang drama. But if there’s a guzhuang drama that I really like, I will still choose it. That’s just what I was thinking... so of course I will consider modern dramas.
C: What about suspense-dramas?
LYN: Of course. I myself really enjoy suspense-dramas. If any really great script comes for me, I can definitely consider it.
LYN: With acting.. there are still circles. If you keep shooting guzhuang dramas and people keep seeing you in them, they tend to keep you in mind for guzhuang dramas. If you always shoot modern dramas, you’ll get to know a different set of producers and start moving in that direction. It’s not set. But right now I haven’t really done any modern dramas- other than the one with Tao-jie. Modern-day scripts really haven’t come in for me as much as guzhuang drama scripts have.
LYN: Another thing is- my dramas haven’t even aired yet! You might get the feeling that I’ve been shooting dramas for a long time. From debut until now, it’s almost been five years- I’ve been shooting dramas for three and a half years, maybe four. In this time, including ZY, that’s 10 dramas. Can you imagine? I’ve already filmed 10 dramas. I was just running through it the other day and was amazed it added up to 10- supporting and main roles included. Not counting cameos. I’ve filmed 10 dramas, but only four of them have aired and I’m a supporting role in all of them. If I want people to take an interest in me and use me for their projects, it needs time. After three to five dramas, people only start getting to know that you are acting, and the suitable roles will come in. Not because I’m amazing- only that I am suitable for the role.
- /runs through his whole drama repertoire again./
-> RXSN (HBY) > ZJBJ (UN) > CGX (TLB) > SYXSSYX (Heroes)
LYN: The standards people nowadays have though.... as long as the drama doesn’t explode in popularity it’s considered a flop. If they haven’t seen it, it means the drama is a flop. Another thing is that maybe the drama, in a certain period of time, is the highest ranking drama- But no, in the viewers eyes it’s a flop. Because they don’t think the drama is as good as... Empresses in the Palace (2011). They don’t think it has the reputation that Nirvana in Fire does. It’s just a flop- there’s nothing you can do because that’s a subjective criteria. Honestly, a lot of dramas do really well for themselves. Otherwise why would we keep making them?
LYN: Not many of my dramas have aired, but when they do I think they’ll just be average. I’m just a rookie actor, after all. I’m happy enough to be able to act at all. That’s already a gift from god. If it turns out to be a role people like, then I should light an incense to thank all the viewers. I’m just a singer- no- just a cook. A cook that was able to make his way around until he could be an actor and a singer. It’s a life I never could have imagined for myself. I’m extremely happy to even be able to act. If it’s a role that people like, on top of that? I’m over the moon.
--
LYN: I don’t think I saw properly, but I might have seen someone just say, “Then it’s time to make dinner, hometown friend.” You’re from my hometown? And you want me to go back to cook... how about not? Honestly, I admit that I didn’t have much of a talent for cooking. I think the best I can do for myself- the highest level I can reach is as the head cook in a ramen shop. If you want me to rise ranks in the chef ladder I don’t think I can get very far.
C: Then, do you have talent as a singer or actor?
LYN: Of course not. I have even less talent there. I don’t have talent- I rely on my hard work. Not that I’m trying to boast about how hard I work! I just want to say that I don’t have much talent. People tend to ask me if I had a knack for singing and I want to say that no, I don’t. My talent is “liking to sing”. I was able to get to where I am today not because I have talent in music itself but because I like to sing. I really like it, so much so that no one can stop me. Acting, too. I like it but I don’t have talent in it. It’s just a passion.
LYN: I watch people acting every day and then I find a secret corner to practice in. I just like it. Sometimes I wonder if I have a mental problem. I’ll be in a corner /acting out a scene by himself/ and someone sees me- I look at them, then pretend nothing happened. Sometimes you’ll see leaks of me on set and I have an “abnormal” expression, to which you say, “Ning-ge’s immersed in the role. He hasn’t walked out of the scene yet.” I’m not actually that serious, I’m just thinking about how I should execute the scene. Or I’ve just seen someone else act something and I want to remember it so I’m processing it through my brain, trying to get the feel for it. I’m not yet to the point where I can get so immersed in the scene that I can’t walk out of the role.
LYN: I’ll tell you something I’m not afraid of being shamed for. With every drama and every actor I work with I always think that there is something I can learn from. I have room for growth. Every director, drama, and fellow actor I have worked with/on- will give me reason to grow. This isn’t a shameful thing. The first time I shot Heroes- it was the first scene on the first day of filming. The director was Li Muge; we weren’t close then, it was our first time working together. If I remember correctly, the first scene we did was when Hua-popo took in Xiaoshi and I, into her house.
LYN: Is it lagging? // It was just for a second, it’s alright. It’s a problem with the computer and the connection. It’s okay. It passes in a second.
LYN: That was my first scene, and even then I didn’t quite know how to act. I told you before- once you enter into a drama crew and start filming, there’s no way you are in character starting from your first scene. You haven’t been able to build rapport with your fellow actors yet. Even with dancing- there’s still rehearsals and practices, right? On the first day of filming everyone is a stranger and you don’t know the director’s style or the acting style of your fellow actors. On the first day of filming I was a little dazed.
LYN: We had a scene that night, it was coming from the small yard of the place Xiaoshi and I were living in. It was the day Fuzi had been killed by Guan Qi, and we had attended his departing ceremony. We left the house and SMZ and I were outside and we exchanged a few words. That was my first time shooting- the first day on set. So I acted, and I was serious about it. I’m a fairly stupid person, so I did some homework beforehand. I had gone over it with my acting coach, about how the scene should play out. SMZ and I did the scene. When you first enter the crew, you’re going in to get used to the working environment, too. After that scene the director said, “Let’s go again.” I didn’t know any better, so I just acted it out again. After that, the director said again, “Okay. That’s good. Let’s do it again.” I did it again. We shot that opening scene three times. After that third time the director told me, “You... did those three takes the same way each time.” I said, “?? Yes, I did. Because you didn’t say the first take was no good. You didn’t tell me that’s not what you wanted...” “I thought my profile wasn’t handsome enough so you wanted to adjust the lighting and find the proper angle, to make me look more handsome. That’s what I thought.” Or “Was the lighting bad just now, and you were looking to get a better shot so you wanted me to act it out three times. It turns out that’s not what you intended...”
LYN: I wasn’t familiar with him at that time. Every director has their own style. At the start we didn’t have any chemistry. But he was the first director to point out my problem. From that moment on- It was a lesson to me. That was my first time filming and it was a blow. My first scene and he gave me such a blow- it was a blow to ME- because I-
- /stops mid-sentence because the stream lagged and he’s waiting for it to catch up/
LYN: It wasn’t exactly embarrassing. When we’re working on business or doing something for work, this is a normal occurrence. But for me, that was a blow because suddenly I felt all this pressure. From then on I would require myself to think of at least two ways that I can play out a scene. If one way doesn’t work out I’ll change it up for you. I’m not trying to praise myself- I’m just saying that that drama made me practice and have the ability to give something different. If one way doesn’t work, I’ll change. If that change doesn’t work, I’ll change it up again.
LYN: Director Muge knows how to pick actors. He himself is a performer; he understands acting. When he gets to the set he always says to me, “Ning, come here. How do you plan on acting out this scene?” I’ll tell him, “Director, I thought about this scene for a long time. For this scene I’ll start off sitting here and calmly say my lines. After that, at this part, I’ll pour myself a cup of liquor. After I down it, it’ll go to my head. I’ll start following the feeling and speak until I don’t have breath. At the end of the line, I’ll pour myself another cup and catch my breath. Later, I can use a drunken tone and then eventually, it will reach a climax where I can give it everything I’ve got. After I give it my all, I’ll pause, let the flow return to normal pace, and end with a smirk. Director, what do you think? That’s how I was thinking of acting it. Is it okay?” The Director says, “Okay. Act it out just how you told me. Then, give me something different.” /sigh/ /hiss/ I’ve already wracked my brains for that set-up alone, you know? I’ve even lied on my bed and thought for a whole hour about when I should stand and when I should sit, when I should push it, and how to close out the scene. I thought about it for an hour. Then the director says, “Okay. You do it just how you told me, and then- give me something different.” Saying and acting it out is two different things. I was just telling him what I was THINKING of doing, but if you really wanted me to act it out as I said that’s a different story. Not only do I have to act it all out the first time, I have to also think of ANOTHER way??? How do I do that??
LYN: But sometimes after I shot the first take the director thought it was passable and didn’t make me do another. I tell myself that I must have given him a little surprise. Or perhaps he had a sliver of satisfaction, so he let me pass. But from then on, my communication with the director went like this- before we start shooting the scene we’ll do a walk-through and the Director says, “Ning, come here. Tell me how you plan to act out this scene. What have you got?” and I tell him, “I don’t have a plan. Director- I haven’t thought about this scene. Why don’t you tell me how you want it? Give me advice. Surely you know better than I do. How many years have I been and actor and how many years have you been a director? You surely know better. Give me a good direction. Director, it all depends on you now.” The Director says, “Okay. Do this, this, this, that. etc. What do you think?” to which I reply, “Okay. No problem.” Then- “Director. Based on what you’ve told me, I have a new idea. What do you think about this-” I won’t tell him what I think first. I want to know what HE wants. If he gives one way and I give my own thoughts after, then we have two ways the scene could go, right?
LYN: A drama crew is like a mini-society. If you want to survive then you have to think for yourself. That drama gave me a lot of training on cognition and how to develop my own thoughts. Every day in the Heroes crew was like taking a test. My mind was spinning. It was tiring but really helped me to develop. After that drama I clearly felt like a different person coming out of it. XD
-- break #1 (upstairs neighbors are fighting)
LYN: I’m back.
C: The connection isn’t good.
LYN: Yeah, it’s a hotel and not very stable at this time. Also, everyone’s using it so it’s normal that there might be some lag. // The upstairs neighbors aren’t fighting, they’re watching YXZ. It aired today- May 1st. I thought they were fighting.
- /calls Daimi back to the sofa/
C: I thought you were on the top floor?
LYN: What do you care?? I changed my room.
C: Ning-ge, when will you act in a xianxia drama?
LYN: Hey, now that you mention it... I used to have a fear of xianxia dramas. I told you this in my last stream, too. I am someone with a strong sense of logic. It might take me some time to digest the worldview of a xianxia drama. Not to say that I don’t watch or that I don’t understand xianxia dramas.
LYN: I enjoy playing Chinese Paladin; I’m a gamer at heart. I’ve been playing since CP3, and now I think it’s on CP7? I’ve played every installment, so I am amenable to the xianxia genre. But if you want me to act in one, and say those lines... I think... the thing about lines is that I have to believe what I’m saying. I’d need some time to get used to it. But I sang the OST for CYJM/TtEotM, so I watched a bit. After watching, I suddenly thought I might consider acting in a xianxia. I was moved by it. I used to be afraid of them, but after watching the drama I thought it’s something I want to try.
LYN: I think the special effects are really cool. You can just be standing there and all this magic happens around you.
- /adds his own sound effects/
LYN: I think it’s cool. I can give it a try.
C: You have to have a strong sense of belief.
LYN: I think it’s alright. It’s not much different than acting normally. It’s the same, really. Let’s think about “normal” guzhuang dramas, like wuxias. When you are acting as a dead person, are you really experiencing death? No- it’s all in your imagination. You have to imagine what it would be like if you were dead. You have to believe that you are dying in order to properly act the right condition. It’s the same. Just like how in a lot of xianxia dramas you’ll be consumed by demon energy- /acts it out/ “Quickly, kill me! While I can still control it. Trust me. You have to kill me!” Things like that- you’re acting it out yourself. That’s having a sense of belief all the same. It’s like how in wuxia dramas and you’ve been poisoned, and need to act out being on the verge of immediate death. /acts/ “This baozi.. is poisoned!” /dead/ It’s all acting. It’s all the same.
LYN: The only difference that I can think of is that many of the scenes of a xianxia drama are shot in front of a green-screen. Actually, normal guzhuang dramas do use it a lot as well. It’s not like we don’t use it at all. Wuxia dramas aren’t all real-terrain. We record in a green/blue-screen tent, too. It’s all the same. I think the “sense of belief” is similar. Of course, I’ve never done a xianxia drama, so I could be wrong. But I get the chance I do want to try experiencing it, and I can share how I feel about it with you.
C: /trying to tell him to watch what he says/
LYN: I really don’t think you need to try to teach me how to be a person and how to speak. You really don’t need to teach me. I know you mean well; you’re afraid that I say something wrong and am cursed by the masses again. I know, I understand, and I am aware. But this is a stream, and this is my style. If I didn’t say anything and I just sat here smiling/laughing then this stream would be meaningless. Alright? Just keep me company, that's all you need to do.
C: When are you going to do a Republican detective drama?
LYN: I wasn’t thinking of... I’m good with anything. I’m not looking to so any genre in particular, mainly if the script is good enough, anything is fine. One thing is the script, another is who the director is, and who the production crew is- those are all very important. The actors, as well. It requires some comprehensive considerations. It’s not as if I can just accept ANY drama of a particular genre that comes my way. I’d exhaust myself.
LYN: There are always going to be things that come your way that are unreliable or that you don’t like. Sometimes when you read through a script it doesn’t coincide with your principles, whatever they may be. I believe that the script is extremely important. Unbelievably important. People like to comment on an actor’s performance, but the script is really the foundation if you’re looking to build a tall building. If the script isn’t good enough then anything you try to build on top of it is unlikely to work out.
LYN: With some stories when you reach a certain point in the scene where everything is working out and no words are needed, the actors shouldn’t say anything. But it’s written in the script that you have a line of dialogue. So as an actor, do you say the line or not? When you encounter a Director who is clear-headed, that’s okay. Of course, all of the directors I’ve met are all very clear-headed. This is what I’ve heard from fellow actors, at least. If you meet a Director who doesn’t know what they want... how are you supposed to act? They tell you to stick to the script and even though you know the script doesn’t make sense, you still have to follow it. What can you do? That’s why... choosing a script is the most important part.
C: The actors can’t change it?
LYN: Of course, they can but only to a certain extent. Actors can only- Oh no, I’m getting too deep. It just- It depends on each director and crew. It’s a difference in personality. Some dramas won’t let you change a single thing about the script. Not even one word. Some directors are very strict about it. For example, if the line goes, “Have you eaten yet?” (你吃饭了么?), but you say (你吃饭了吗?) It’s no good. Retake. There are directors like that.
C: Can you change lines in ZY?
LYN: ZY... our director is very prolific thinker and the actors I’ve been working with are all very mature. For some scenes we’ll get together for rehearsal and we’ll try to make it fun. For example we’ll get through what we need to say for the script and then try to think of ways we can add onto it. Something funny or something that’s out of character- we have the creative liberty to do that. It’s different with each drama you enter- the actors are different and the director is different.
C: Ning-ge, why don’t you do a horror movie?
LYN: People have been telling me to do that since very early on. I guess I must look like a ghost. /sigh/ I won’t. Because I’ll be scared, myself. Also, have there been any horror movies lately? No.
C: Are you considering comedies?
LYN: Comedies... of course. They’re the most difficult, though. I heard the director say something the other day that I thought was very reasonable. He said “The most expensive actors in this world are comedians.” I thought about it.. and I think it’s reasonable. They’re hard to come across.
LYN: I didn’t say that- the director did. If you want to fight me on that, then I won’t fight you. These actors are hard to come across. It’s not something you can accomplish just by having a handsome face. That’s something entirely different.
C: Ning-ge, you have a talent for comedy, so why don’t you try it?
LYN: That’s not true. You might think I’m very funny but it’s just surface level. You might think that some of the topics I choose to talk about in my stream are interesting/amusing and it’s enough for a variety. But if I wanted to be in a comedy than it’s far from enough. On a variety show you can continue a joke or make a quip but acting is totally different. Forget about acting- even if you’re just standing there and giving a small talk it’s a difficult thing. It’s not so easy. Really- for every industry, every profession needs to be looked upon with respect. That’s important.
C: Ning-ge, act as a villain. I’m begging you.
LYN: A villain. I can do that. I also like- rather, enjoy - acting as a villain because I think you can bring more into it. There’s more of an acting range; you can play with it more. I like and can accept villain roles.
C: Don’t act as a villain. I’m begging you.
LYN: Look at that, these two are about to fight. One side wants me to act as a villain and the other doesn’t. /sigh/ It’s fine either way, because I don’t have the right to choose. It’s others who need to choose me. I accept whatever comes. I don’t have a lot of choices.
LYN: But when I acted as the villain BCF I was cursed by a lot of people. After I acted as BCF, I saw a lot of comments that were saying they wished LYN went out and got struck to death by a car. They’re so cruel. They watched the drama and became agitated, You can tell just my looking at the comments. It’s not worthwhile, alright?
C: It’s because you acted too well.
LYN: Don’t try to sweeten me up. When you go out- and I said this before, too- don’t go around praising me acting skills. What young actor would dare to praise their own performance? You wouldn’t find one. Of course, I am not very young anymore. But don’t praise my acting skills. I don’t have any. It’s my honor if you are able to like the role I’ve played in a drama.
C: Then I won’t praise your acting, I’ll praise your visuals.
LYN: /laugh/ Do you WANT me to die??? Are you trying to mess with me?
LYN: I can only say that my fans have confidence. They have said that I’m handsome- that’s okay. But they’ve never GONE OUT and said it. My fans have never gone out to opening praise my acting or my visuals. They keep it to themselves and that’s okay, but they’ve never gone out and openly praised me. Also, I’m my own boss so I can make my own decisions on how I decide to promote. I am very clear that I have never gone around promoting my appearance before, have I? Even with my streams I always go the self-deprecating route and call myself ugly. We’ve never gone out to push my visuals onto people, right? I think that’s just fine. I have confidence in myself and I know that my fans have confidence in me. It’s enough to have this tacit understanding among ourselves. If you think I’m handsome, just say that in your own house. Please don’t go outside and feel the need to share with people. “LYN is so handsome!” It’s not necessary.
LYN: I also advise fans of other people not to going around praising someone else’s looks, either. There’s nothing to say, right?
[t/n: just stating the obvious, if someone is handsome. people have eyes, right? but also beauty is in the eye of the beholder.]
LYN: But then I got to thinking... what artist out there DOESN’T have some unflattering pictures of them, right? What artist in this industry has never had a bad shot of them? I was thinking about this, so I went online to look it up. I searched for four hours and have yet to find an answer.
C: You sure have a lot of time. // You even looked it up online. xswl.
LYN: You really believed I did? XSWL.
[t/n: xswl = 笑死我了 = I’m laughing to death.]
LYN: The “four hours” I mentioned was a topic that took my brain four seconds to make up. Your perception of time and mine are different.
C: You could have used those four hours to stream.
LYN: “Four hours” was my brain taking four seconds to think about the answer to the question “What artist doesn’t have unflattering pictures?” . . . . Who dares to say that they don’t? I can find a bunch for you immediately. What’s unfair about it. I might have a but more than most people, is all. My pictures don’t even make a splash, they make an explosion. Other people might pop- like a piece popped corn- just a small ripple. My pictures make an explosion- like using a popcorn machine to fry crayfish. They’ll explode all over the walls. Nothing but ashes and dust left.
LYN: No matter what drama or variety show I end up on... I am never going to match up in terms of visuals. I admit it and I’ll own it. Please do not go around praising my visuals. If you like how I look then you can entertain yourselves with it. We don’t need to get more people’s recognition. Fish find fish. Shrimp find shrimp. A tortoise is likely to see eye to eye with a mung bean. We count as having seen eye to eye. There’s nothing else you can say. (Unlike popular opinion) You think I’m handsome. That’s okay. I thank you for that.
LYN: These past couple of days I keep seeing pictures of what I looked like five years ago. Every time I come across a video of myself from 4-5 years ago, I am thankful to my fans. When I see one of those videos I say, in my heart, “Thank you to my friends. Thank you to my fans. Thank you to my family.” 4-5 years ago I was just a... just a baozi. I had swollen eyes and when I smiled it was like a mantou exploded. I was a male artist with a belly. Looking back on it now my hairstyle and my clothes... seemed to be lacking. Whenever I see old videos I always think to myself, “Why didn’t I think I was ugly back then??” Why didn’t I ever consider losing some weight or something? I was just satisfied as I was. What was I thinking? I know that you think I have developed quickly, but I think I was too slow. I should have started considering being more self-conscious the first year I debuted. I should have tried to make an effort to improve my appearance more. Maybe my development would have been even smoother than it has been. I’m very thankful to the fans who have stayed with me from then until now.
C: I like how you were before debut better.
LYN: You can like it however much you want but I’m not going back. The old street in Dandong is still there. If you want to go there to play, you can go by yourself. I’m not going back. I can’t change my life just because you liked me better that way. You like what you like. It has nothing to do with me.
LYN: I didn’t consider myself handsome back then, but I also really didn’t put as much effort into my appearance as I probably should have. I just thought, if I were going on a show, that I would do what I needed- apply some makeup, do my hair, choose an outfit. Other than that I didn’t have any standards for how I thought I should look. I didn’t think it was something I should pay much attention to, because I was just a singer. If you’re not on stage then most of the times you’re in the background. Unlike an actor, who is constantly in front of the camera. Singers aren’t the same- we might only show our faces occasionally but otherwise we’re all just sitting around at home.
C: But back then you were really close with your fans.
LYN: Am I not close to you now? If I’m not then why would I be sitting here? What am I doing, why am I streaming? Ever since I’ve debuted I believed in this one thing: You may not know where you’re going but you have to remember where you came from. Sitting here streaming, having the mindset I do, posting to weibo and the group chat- these are all things I can never forget.
LYN: But if you mean the method by which I communicated with you, it’s not suitable anymore. (Streaming on the street in Dandong, having his fans crowded around him.) It’s not the same circumstance anymore. It’s not as if I can just chat with you while I am on the drama set, now. I can’t stop to chat if I see you. I came here to work.
LYN: The “close” I’m talking about is the familial “close”. Why are you like this. Just like how a child is close to their mother or father. Not the “kiss” type of “qin (亲)”. This is why we can’t communicate. The “close” I was talking about was in reference to RELATIVES. “This kid is close to his mother.” not “This kid went to kiss his mother.” You people, really...
--
C: Lao-da, I just got here. Are you wearing a wig?
LYN: You just got here. And? Who are you trying to announce that to?? Don’t assume you are very important.
LYN: It is a wig, yes. :)
LYN: You just came in and you have the guts to announce it? It’s like greeting your teacher when you’re tardy. Tardy is tardy. And you’re going to call yourself out for it?
C: The lyrics are gone again.
LYN: You’re so interested in learning?? You came to learn English? (bc the current song is Charlie Puth’s Loser)
C: Why were you wearing this same shirt in the last stream?
LYN: I can’t afford any more. Are you satisfied with that answer? It’s because I can’t afford to buy any more. I can’t survive.
LYN: I’m in Xiangshan, how many clothes did you expect me to bring??? I wasn’t planning on bringing multiple sets to stream for. I was just thinking I would bring something I could be comfortable in. I’m not at home. If I were, I’d have clothes to change into. Why would I bring a bunch of clothes out with me? It’s not like I’m a model or anything.
C: Is your leg okay now?
LYN: It’s pretty much okay now. I don’t feel anything from it most of the time. It still hurts when I run, though, so I haven’t been doing much of that. I don’t run. In terms of normal walking, it doesn’t affect me at all. Please be reassured.
--
C: Ning-ge, I’ve applied to be in the fan group so many times already but I’ve never been admitted.
LYN: First of all, if you want to be admitted to my fan (chat) group you have to be subscribed to my weibo. If you haven’t done so yet, then please do. The second thing is... not everyone who applies is admitted. Mostly it’s fans of me, only. For example if you like three people at one time, then it’s not really appropriate. Of course I welcome you to be my fan, but it’s just not appropriate to be added to my fan group... because in there we share a lot of secrets. If you’re in three fan groups at the same time our moderator is going to have a hard time.
C: Liking three people at the same time?
LYN: Honestly that’s very normal, isn’t it? It’s just like that hardcore fan earlier, who said “I watched TtEotM and think LYX’s so handsome.” We all know he’s handsome. Now that they’ve watched the drama they can’t be considered my one and only fan anymore. There’s an 80% chance they’re already a fan of LYX now. They’re double-booked, now. It’s normal. There’s nothing you can do about it.
LYN: Many of my current fans used to be fans of someone else. Times are changing, is all. For a lot of you here, can you say I was the first idol you ever started chasing? No, right? It’s normal. People come and go, I know. But I still can’t accept (when my fans leave me).
C: I watched TtEotM and started liking LYN.
LYN: But I’m not an actor in it??? Did you see a toad in there? You saw a toad, thought it looked like me, and therefore started liking me? If you have that ability, I guess it’s okay, too. // I wasn’t in it... Oh! You mean the opening theme? Don’t you all have VIP access? You can skip the opening, can’t you? All you hear is /sings the last words/ “Episode 1″ . /sings the last words/ “Episode 2”. You only hear the last two words.
C: I don’t skip it.
LYN: ....
C: After you skip there’s only one word.
LYN: Right! I said it, didn’t I? What, you started liking me after hearing a single word? With most people it’s “love at first sight” but with you it’s “love at first word”??
LYN: There was a person who said they don’t skip the intro, but didn’t someone earlier say they started liking me after listening to the opening theme... This is a paradox. If they don’t like me, why WOULD they listen to the opening? Why don’t you just like me directly? There’s no need to say you like me just because you listened to the opening. You can skip the middle part (listening to the song) and like me from the start. When I’m explaining things like this, are you able to keep up? [t/n: like this: (Viewer > Listens to the Opening > Likes LYN) vs (Viewer > Likes LYN)]
C: Maybe this friend doesn’t have VIP membership.
LYN: ... !! /thinks it over/ When you put it that way, it’s reasonable. Someone said they didn’t skip the intro and I was wondering, if you were all VIP members, how could you not? But then someone pointed out that this person might not be a VIP member, and that makes a lot of sense. But the thing is, friends, do you have a finger? You must, right? There’s another way, which is called the progress bar, and you can put your finger on the screen and gently move it, right? [t/n: if you have a touchscreen...] You can PRETEND that you’re a VIP. Do you think that’s a possibility?
LYN: The benefit of a VIP membership is that you don’t have to take the extra effort it takes to move your finger. It automatically skips the intro for you. But if you’re not a VIP then you can manually skip it. In either case, you can still skip it. It’s not that just because you’re not a VIP member you have to watch the intro with your eyes wide open. If you close your eyes the video pauses, and when you open them it plays again? It’s not that the video only plays when your eyes are open...
C: I’m mesmerized by the singing, I become unable to skip.
LYN: You know what? There are some friends in here who really know how to say sweet words. I’m half-worried that you’re actually scammers. You speak TOO well and it makes me feel so nice. Really. You’re all here to fool me.
C: Can I watch the drama if I’m not a VIP member?
LYN: Why are you asking me? Do I look like the platform’s customer service agent? Go try it yourself! Why are you asking me?? Just go on Tencent and Youku and take a look. What are you going, treating me as customer service... Shall I introduce you to the terms and conditions when purchasing a VIP membership? What your benefits are and how many times you can make a comment?
C: Ning-ge, I’m waiting for your dramas to air before I purchase a membership.
LYN: That’s okay. That’s your freedom. You don’t even have to purchase one when it DOES air. But please try. Support the drama a little.
C: Ning-ge is starting to sass us. The right feeling is coming back.
LYN: I don’t think so? I talk back at you every time. But maybe I’m a little more relaxed today than usual. It is a holiday, after all.
--
C: When will TXJ air?
LYN: I don’t know. I saw some article the other day, I don’t remember which one, but it said that ALZ would air on 5/14.
C: For real?
LYN: Probably... I don’t know. But after I saw that article I almost started to believe it, myself.
C: Didn’t you say it was going to air soon?
LYN: I am also a viewer, okay? Even though I work in this industry, I still don’t know anything. I don’t know when dramas will air or what’s going on with them. I really don’t know. Even if I DID, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. I can’t become a gossip blog.
LYN: I’m GUESSING- just by my calculations- I get the feeling it CAN air in May. After TtEotM, it can probably air. That’s just a possibility. I swear I am not privy to any insider information. I’m just a viewer, making my own calculations. What follows after CYJM (TtEotM) is either going to be HX (Back from the Brink) or ALZ. I might have this little bit of prior information only because I’ve already recorded the OST for both. When I sing the OST for things, about three days before the drama airs they’ll let me know about it. For example, if I am in a drama they’ll say, “Xiao Ning. Our drama will be airing on MM/DD. You’ve sung the OST for us, right? So would you mind posting about it on weibo?” They’ll tell me these things beforehand. I sang the OST for YXZ and they told me beforehand that it would air on 5/1. It’s like that. So...
LYN: If I’m remembering correctly, I did sing one for HX. /laughs at himself for possibly misremembering/ Well, there are only so many dramas in this industry. If I get the opportunity to, I just sing.
LYN: People always ask me what my M-I-T-L (MBTI) is. I really don’t know. Is that the personality thing? I don’t know if that’s how you say it- I didn’t quite catch it when it scrolled by. I treated it as a game and tried finding out once. I forgot what my result was. Even if I remembered, it’s not like I would tell you. Don’t ask.
LYN: MB- what is that? MBTI- Or something? MBIT? Whatever. I know it was pretty popular for a while, and everyone was testing for it. I tried it twice and the results were different each time. I’m not sure if it’s reliable. You can test for fun, but you can’t base the decisions you make for your future on this. Your fate is yours to decide. You’re a rebellious young person. You don’t believe in ghosts and gods, and don’t trust humans.
LYN: These things you can do for fun, but you can’t use it to determine your decisions. There’s absolutely no need. You can take a look, but think of it as entertainment. If you’re willing to believe in it, then you can.
C: Ge, control your accent.
LYN: Do I speak with an accent? No, right? Am I not speaking Standard Mandarin? What I’m speaking right now- isn’t it Standard? It’s very typical isn’t it? You’ve heard me speak like this when I’m shooting my dramas, too? /starts reciting some of his drama lines/ Do I have an accent? I don’t right? It’s very well pronounced Standard dialect.
C: If you really act with the dialect the director would go nuts.
LYN: ? No. For the character setting in itself, I’m a person from the North. I’m set in the North and Qiao family is set in the South. I’m in the North, so I’m a Northerner. More of the sturdy, tall, manly type. I’m a Northerner in the drama, so is it a problem that I have a Northern accent? No. It follows, right? If I were shooting a xianxia and I had an accent, then you can pick one me. This is just a normal guzhuang story. What, is there some rule that states that fictional people in a fictional time aren’t allowed to have an accent? Says who??
C: Then it’d be too difficult to communicate with the FL wouldn’t it?
LYN: No? It’s not like she’s speaking Shanghainese... We’re just speaking Mandarin that’s not exactly Standard.
C: Are you going to be on Mao-Xue-Woof soon?
LYN: I don’t know. We’ll have to see when the drama wraps first. If it ends and I have some time I’ll go to play. I’m close with the two of them (MBY & LXQ) anyway. I was telling SZE, when filming wraps, I suggested we go together. She might not have the time so we can’t go together, though. If she can’t go I’ll just go by myself.
C: Ning-ge, is it for free?
LYN: Is what free? To what are you referring to? Do you mean to ask if I would appear on their show at no cost to them? It’s not free. If they don’t let me I’ll bribe Xueqin- I’ll buy her some nice meals- and she can let me appear on the show through a back door. It’s not free. There’s no such thing as a free meal in this world. I’ll buy her two roasted ducks for lunch and ask her if she’ll let me be on her show.
C: I’m going to make a wish- a wish that Ning-ge can be in a xianxia drama.
LYN: You don’t need to use your wish on me. Save it for yourself. It’s not worthwhile. Treat yourself better. That’s the more important thing.
C: I’ve heard too much of the bgm. I’m "sick” of it.
LYN: Oh my!? I’ll change it. Let’s switch to something quieter.
- /plays Detective Conan - Ran’s theme music/
LYN: This. This is very quiet, no? // We’ll just use it as background music. Let’s chat.
C: Play the main theme.
LYN: Do I have a main theme? Based on age... it would probably be 讲真的, right? But if I have any of my own.. I don’t think so. Even though I know that there are songs that people like very much. But the song that really started getting me known was 讲真的. It let my name be known and got many people to know of me. I don’t have any of my own songs that can serve as a main theme. They’re all just alright. They’re considered representative works, but the song that got me known is a more unique category. It’s what the song brought to me, that let me make a change.
--
LYN: Friends, I’ve been learning a rap recently. Well, not “learning” exactly. When I stream, a lot of you ask me to sing rap so I was thinking I would learn one that was suitable for me. I heard this one and thought it was quite nice.
-- 成仙 (Become Immortal) - 王朝1982
LYN: What do you think? Why are you typing question marks??? In your minds is this not considered rap anymore? Oh my gosh~!
C: Don’t (sing). It’s too noisy.
- /continues playing the song/
LYN: This doesn’t count? Then why don’t you tell me what type of rap is ideal, for you? I’ll go learn. This, to me, is already very hard.
C: Wang Sulong.
LYN: WSL... I CAN sing but the problem is there are no backing tracks online.
LYN: /sigh/ Alright, then. I learned for nothing. I won’t sing. It’s off-putting. Fine. I won’t sing. I spent 4 hours to learn a song and I was preparing to show it off to you today. Here you are telling me, “What is this?” and “Wow, it’s too noisy.” Now I’m not in the mood anymore. I won’t try.
C: Try something different.
LYN: Um... I do know another!
LYN: Does this count? If this doesn’t count, it’s another song I learned for nothing.
-- 范进中举 (Fan Jing Zhong Ju) - 卦者灵风 (Gua Zhe Ling Feng)
LYN: Does it count? // Alright, alright. You don’t need to try to comfort me. That’s another four hours gone to waste. These two songs have wasted... 8 hours of my life. They’re (the songs) not useful. I guess I am not suited to rapping.
LYN: Let’s do this one. I’ve heard it a lot recently.
-- 别叫我达芬奇 (Don’t Call Me Da Vinci) - Xiao Gui
LYN: Oh, not this version though. The one I heard the other day was a rock version. If there’s no track for it then we’ll forget about it. // It was this one.
-- Don’t Call Me Da Vinci (punk ver)
LYN: Oh well.
C: You don’t have to force yourself to rap.
LYN: No, I keep looking for a song to sing because there’s something I haven’t gotten to show you yet. It cost me 20RMB and I wanted to find a song so I could show it off. But now it seems like I can’t find the right opportunity. I don’t want my money to go to waste. I was planning on showing you a prop. But with these two songs you’re telling me you’ve never heard of it (1) and you don’t like it (2), so we’ll just forget it. I was looking for something different that is still suitable for showing it off.
LYN: I don’t know any recent songs, because I haven’t been learning them. I have nothing to show.
C: You don’t need to show it off if it was just 20rmb...
LYN: I don’t want to feel like I wasted my money by not showing it off! // Hrm... there’s really nothing that works. It has to match with the style of this thing! Is there any electronic music, like EDM? I guess I have to search for DZW-laoshi.
C: How about you just go with the first song you were trying?
LYN: Nope. You didn’t like it so I won’t sing it. Now I’m looking for something electronic. Let me see if there’s anything that’s suitable...
-- 阳光彩虹小白马 (Sunshine, Rainbow, White Pony)
C: Twenty minutes have passed and you still haven’t started.
LYN: Once I start streaming it’s going to be for at least a few hours; how else do you expect me to pass the time? // At least my stream is free!
LYN: I didn’t prepare well enough today. Sorry, friends. It’s a little rough-going today. Alright. Let me just sing one at random, but if doesn’t quite match the look I’m going for we’ll try something different. What should I sing, though?? ... If it doesn’t match then I feel like that’s also a waste. How about this. It should be fine.
-- Faded - Alan Walker
LYN: What do you think friends, was it worth 20RMB? Just tell me if it was worth it.
LYN: Everybody! When I say, “One, two, three, four!” I want you to get hyped with me, ok?!
LYN: Everybody are you ready? If you’re ready, say it with me now! One, two, three, go!
LYN: Welcome to my party. Thank you.
LYN: Disregarding everything else, wasn’t this 20RMB worth it? If I didn’t show this off today I would have felt like I spent this money for nothing.
C: The lighting is a little lacking.
LYN: It’s good enough.
C: Does it hurt your nose?
LYN: It does. Just the slightest. A tiny bit.
LYN: Are the lights too bright? Did you really think this was a dive bar?
C: Can you see?
LYN: Barely. I can barely see you typing. It’s just a bunch of little white dots floating by. I can see, more or less. It’s not important.
C: Ning-ge, that looks like a headband.
LYN: .... I can’t talk about fashion with you. When I first started the stream someone said that I was wearing a bathrobe. I really can’t discuss fashion with some of you. You just don’t get it. /sigh/ This is a Chinese-style article- can’t you see these sleeves? It’s a long robe. And you’re calling it a bathrobe??
LYN: Alright. It’s about time. I’m going to stop streaming now, friends. I still have a bunch of scenes to go over tomorrow. I thank you all for coming and keeping me company. If you still haven’t subscribed to my weibo, please do so. I am Modern Brothers Liu Yuning. If you have time you can come to watch me stream.
LYN: I’ve been streaming for a long while now. Let me check for how long... Three hours. That’s enough. In any case, I needed to show off this 20RMB before I signed-off. I needed to show it, otherwise this money would have felt wasted. I needed to show you. Whether or not I’ll use it again is a question for another time. Most of the time I use something once and I can’t find it the next time.... so I needed to show you this as soon as possible. To give you a... futuristic vibe. How do you say “未来” in English? Future.
LYN: I hope you had a relaxing, happy, and wonderful night. It was great to have you and I hope you had fun. Let’s meet again in the next stream. Goodnight, everyone!
LYN: Daimi! Daimi, get up and greet everyone. It’s time to get off work! Bye bye.
#Liu Yuning#lyn livestream#(3:08:33)#topics:#where do YOU watch lyn's streams from?#lyn storytime#the chaotic bi energy#(also the l'oreal stream on 5/8... there was a part... my mind went straight to the gutter)#(srry ning-ge)#reaction (?) vids/funny edits#drama chat
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Petrobras fuel prices increase moves inflation further from target
Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petrobras announced yesterday an increase in fuel prices. As of today, the price of gasoline and diesel at refineries has risen by 16.27 percent (BRL 0.41 per liter) and 25.82 percent (BRL 0.78 per liter), respectively. Market analysts believe that this price hike will have a significant impact on the 2023 inflation target and are already revising their projections.
This was the first price increase announced by the company since the implementation of its new pricing policy. Previously, Petrobras had linked its fuel prices to fluctuations in the international market.
This increase had been expected by the market, as the company’s current prices remain disconnected from international market rates. In addition, under the leadership of CEO Jean Paul Prates, appointed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the company announced a reduction in dividends to investors.
Analysts say these measures signal the company’s intention to prioritize investments and mitigate excessive fuel price volatility. As a result, the government wants the impact of gasoline and diesel prices on inflation to be less pronounced.
Continue reading.
#brazil#politics#brazilian politics#economy#oil industry#petrobras#mod nise da silveira#image description in alt
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When the World Shifted | Lee Hyunjae AU
Title: When the World Shifted | An Anne with an E AU/crossover!
Words: 1.9k
Warnings: Bullying (Verbal and Physical)
A/N: Happy Birthday, E! Since, you like Anne with an E.... & I couldn’t stop picturing Hyunjae as Gilbert... TA-DA! An Anne with a E x TBZ AU! Hope you like it!
🌳🍃🌳🍃🌳🍃🌳🍃🌳🍃🌳🍃🌳🍃🌳🍃🌳🍃🌳🍃🌳🍃
Life had already changed by the time Lee Hyunjae and his family found their way to the small town that was your Avonlea.
They’d arrived at old man Lee’s apple orchard riding in the back of an old fruit delivery wagon, cramped alongside crates of oranges, pears, and their luggage. Their entrance had spread like wildfire once they’d been spotted, not three miles from the train station as they neared the town center. Not that they would have gone unspotted if they’d known of the unpaved roads and unusual forms of transportation the town preferred.
No.
After all, they were old man Lee’s only living family, and they had missed his funeral only a month before.
Everyone had been keen to meet the family that had never come to visit old man Lee while he was alive and dared miss the funeral despite inheriting all of his property.
It had only been a day since you and your brothers had left Avonlea to “visit” the rest of your “family” for the summer as they tried to take away the inheritance your adoptive parents had legally left you and your two brothers.
You’d missed him by a hair's breadth.
(At first) You had not come to be disappointed..
Jihyo, your best friend and kindred spirit, would be the one to fill you in about the new addition to your small class.
She’d tell you about the way the Lee’s had taken up the task of learning to farm, of maintaining the orchard, and how most of the other families in town had already labeled them a lost cause when it came to farming.
Hyunjae, Jihyo would continue animatedly as she walked arm in arm with you to school the day you returned, had spent the summer alternating between trying to help maintain the farm and meeting the rest of the town. He’d even joined the class on the unofficial hike they took to the lake at the bottom of the waterfall in the woods every year since freshman year.
“And none of the girls would stop ogling at him,” Jihyo laughed as the two of you pushed past the school’s front doors. “Everybody’s taken to him. Apart from having a great body, he’s proven to be quite savvy as well as book smart. His manners aren’t lacking either. I’d say he’s even capable of giving you a run for your money.”
“Really?” You laughed. “I’ll be glad to have someone beside you in the running for valedictorian.”
Jihyo shook her head, pursing her lips, “I’ve never been a contender, at least, not as strongly as you. We all know you’re the smartest one here. But Hyunjae,” she grinned, “oh, I think you’ll like him.”
You grinned, “Seems like he’s made quite the good impression.”
“He has, and like I said, not just to me. I--” Jihyo froze, the smile on her face falling, “Oh shoot. I forgot Miss Jones told me to turn in the work I missed last week today.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah,” she nodded, already tuning to join the wave of students walking in the opposite direction. “I’m so sorry, Y/N. I left your schedule in your locker. I’ll see you in class!”
“See you!” You waved to her, grinning as you watched a couple of freshmen bump into her and spiral into frantic apologies.
Your locker, located next to the boy’s locker room, took you another two minutes of quiet, blissful solitude to reach. Lost in thought as you dusted off the textbooks you’d been given before the last school year had ended--when your brothers had informed the school that you wouldn’t be able to make it to registration week on account of your having to go away for the summer to fight for your inheritance--and putting in the AP textbooks you had taken with you to finish your summer homework, you failed to notice the horrid captain of the hockey team sneaking up behind you.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Y/N Y/LN. Once an orphan always an orphan, huh?” Eunwoo hissed as he stopped behind you and slammed your locker door shut, knocking the books you were about to put inside out of your hands.
“Surprised to even see you here. Heard the Choi farms were given back to their rightful owners. Thought you and your brothers would have understood you’re not wanted.”
“Leave me alone, Eunwoo,” you snapped, whirling around to shove him away from you.
Unfortunately for you, he’d expected that, and before you could shove him away, he’d grabbed you by your wrists and pushed you onto the floor. You laid sprawled against your books as he smirked at you like a villain out of a bad 1950s horror movie.
“Or what? What are you going to do, you piece of trash?”
“Eunwoo? What the hell, man. What are you doing?”
Behind Eunwoo, the door to the boy’s locker room had swung open as he’d shoved you onto the floor, and Lee Hyunjae had been the one to step through it, backpack slung over one of his shoulders.
He’d frozen for a moment, struck by the sight of Eunwoo manhandling you. Then you groaned from the floor (something not even you had realized you’d done) as Eunwoo hovered over you menacingly, calling you a piece of trash, all in the span of a couple of seconds, and it felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured over him.
“Lee, hey. You’re early. What? Did coach have an early practice I didn’t know about?”
“No. Eunwoo, why is she on the ground?”
“We were just fooling around. She tripped.”
“Did she now?” Hyunjae smiled scornfully. The wanting bell rang a second later, and Hyunjae took it, “Seems like it’s time to head for class, don’t you think?”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
“I’ll see you there.”
Eunwoo, without sparing you a second glance, scoffed at his words and sauntered away.
Around you, the once empty hallway began to overflow with students heading toward the locker rooms ahead, glancing at the two of you curiously. They whispered to each other as they watched Hyunjae extend a hand to you.
“Thank you.” You whispered, embarrassed to know he had witnessed the way Chan Eunwoo treated you. You bent down not a moment later and scrambled to pick up your books.
“Oh,” he knelt down, “Let me help.”
“No need,” you rushed out. Still, Hyunjae picked up two of your notebooks and handed them to you.
“Thank you,” you mumbled again, willing the heat you felt creeping up your face to dispel.
He smiled, “I didn’t know anyone else had a locker back here. I thought it was just me.”
You shook your head. You wanted to say that it was just you with a locker back here, but the words were stuck in your throat, and it proved impossible to force them out.
Instead, you nodded to him as you shoved as many books as you could into your backpack and rushed away the moment you were done.
“Hey, wait!” He chased after you, a couple of steps behind. “Any other dragons around here need slaying? Are you new?”
It wasn’t on purpose, not entirely, but you continued to ignore him all the way to your first-period class. Your embarrassment ran high, and it was your hope that once you’d made it to class, he’d be forced to go his own way if he didn’t want to be late.
As luck would have it, he didn’t, and just as you reached your first-period English class, the boy sprinted forward and opened the door for you.
“Are you really not going to tell me your name? It looks like we’re in the same class.”
“Y/N,” you managed, at last, stopping as you stepped past him to wait for him.
“It’s nice to meet you, Y/N,” he smiled. “I’m--”
“Hyunjae!” You turned at the sudden shout, jumping if only an inch.
Kim Younghoon, another of your classmates, had stood up from his seat and was making his way toward the two of you, a giant smile gracing his face. Then it began to sink in. You’d just met Lee Hyunjae in the most embarrassing way you could have imagined. It was the thing of nightmares.
“You made it before the bell! I think this is the first time you aren’t late.”
-------------------------
Your ears rung with the warning Jihyo (along with the majority of the other girls) gave you moments after you’d left Hyunjae at the door with Younghoon.
“Y/N,” Jihyo began, shifting uncomfortably as the others gave her a pointed look, “I-- You-- It’s--”
“What is it?” You asked suspiciously as they crowded around you.
“You can’t just walk with Hyunjae all casually like that.” She began casually, then rushed out, “I know you didn’t mean to. I didn’t tell you. But Sooyoung’s got a crush on him.”
“She’s got dibs, Y/N. You need to back off.” Jinsol added once Jihyo had finished.
“I didn’t-- I didn’t mean to. I don’t even know him.”
You tried to focus on the battered old copy of “Lord of the Flies” that had been saved for you. But, rather than catching up with the class, you reread a single page three times before understanding the words and moving on.
Jihyo’s warning. Jinsol’s near threat.
You didn’t even know Hyunjae! And you certainly didn’t want to spend time around him.
You deflated.
You’d known them for nearly four years, and Hyunjae only a couple of months. And YET, it felt like they’d known him for longer, considering how enthusiastic they seemed around him. It made you wonder if they’d even noticed you had been gone the entire summer.
No one besides Jihyo had welcomed you back.
“Hey, Y/N.” You heard Hyunjae whisper to you from his desk, one desk behind you and to the right.
You ignored him.
“Y/N.” He whispered again louder. “Y/N.”
You could almost feel Jinsol and Sooyoung’s eyes burning into your back. It was a wonder you hadn’t burst into flames yet.
Still, you leaned forward, bringing yourself closer to your book in hopes that Hyunjae would leave you alone to concentrate on your book, and Jinsol and Sooyoung would understand you weren’t trying to interact with him.
“Hey, Y/N,” you suddenly heard from behind you.
“Y/N. Y/N.” He tried again.
Then, “Hey, pigtails,” he whispered loudly, tugging on your hair.
You flinched as he tugged on your hair, and fury washed through you.
Without thinking about it, you whirled around with the hardback copy of “Lord of the Flies” in your hands and struck it against his face.
The class gasped. They’d been quietly paying attention to Hyunjae as he tried to get your attention.
“Y/N!” Your English teacher snapped. “Principal’s office, now!”
“B-But--”
“It was my fault, sir,” Hyunjae interjected, standing up as he rubbed his temple.
“Hyunjae, you are to go to the nurse’s office and make sure you don’t have a concussion.” He said to him then returned to you, “What are you still standing around for? Go. Your parents will have to be called to be informed of your impending suspension. Oh, wait,” he sneered, “that’s right.”
Your breath caught in your throat. The world stilled around you, and just as quickly as it did, it picked up again, and you grabbed your backpack and rushed out of the classroom. Hoping, wishing, and pleading with the fates that you’d never have to be near Hyunjae again.
Hyunjae’s plea for forgiveness fell on deaf ears, even as he collected his things and rushed to follow after you.
But just as life had already changed by the time Hyunjae and his family joined your small town of Avonlea, your world had already shifted to include Hyunjae in it. And your wish would go ungranted.
#The Boyz Imagines#the boyz au#the boyz fanfiction#tbz imagines#tbz au#tbz fanfiction#lee hyunjae imagines#lee hyunjae au#lee hyunjae fanfiction#the boyz lee hyunjae imagines#the boyz lee hyunjae au#the boyz lee hyunjae fanfiction#tbz lee hyunjae imagines#tbz lee hyunjae au#tbz lee hyunjae fanfiction#tbz hyunjae imagines#tbz hyunjae au#tbz hyunjae fanfiction#the boyz hyunjae imagines#the boyz hyunjae au#the boyz hyunjae fanfiction#hyunjae imagines#hyunjae au#hyunjae fanfiction#.BdelMoon#T: When the World Shifted
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Tag 25. 28.07.2023
8. Bergstation Fujis. Heute war der langerwartete Wandertag, und zwar auf den Vulkan Fuji, das Wahrzeichen Japans. Wir standen 06:10 Uhr auf, um pünktlich den ersten Bus 07:35 von Gotemba (400m ü.M.) an die 5. Station (2.000m) der Subashiri Wanderroute zu gelangen. Unser Gepäck ließen wir im Hotel an der Lobby. An der 5. Station bekamen wir netterweise eine kleine Schale Suppe, quasi als Motivationsschub. Wilson kaufte zudem einen kleinen Holzstock, ein Mitbringsel, welches an jeder Station für 300-400 Yen bestempelt wird (1000 Yen = ca. 6,50€). Wir frühstückten kurz und wanderten erst nach 45 Minuten los, um uns wie empfohlen an den Höhenunterschied zu gewöhnen.
Wir trugen beide neue Wanderstiefel, die nach Anfangsschwierigkeiten v.a. bei Webster, super passten. Vom Proviant her hatten wir Schnitten und Baguettes (von der niedlichen lokalen Bäckerei „Gotemba Bakery“) geschmiert, Gurken und Paprikas, Snickers, Corny Riegel und Haribos mit. Außerdem trugen wir jeweils 1.5 Liter mit, was im Nachhinein zu wenig war. Glücklicherweise gabs an jeder Station die Möglichkeit extra Wasserflaschen für 400-500 Yen zu kaufen.
Wie aus unseren Schweizer Wanderurlauben gewohnt, war der Anfangsteil des Aufstiegs schwierig. Der Boden war aufgrund des Vulkangeröls und dem zerkleinerten, porösen Gesteins sehr weich - ungewohntes Terrain für uns beide (Etna auf Sizilien und der Vesuv zählen nicht, wir sind jeweils hochgefahren). Nach einer Stunde hatten wir dann unseren Rhythmus drinnen, Wilson lief vorne und Webster hinten dran. Wir machten ca. aller 15 Minuten eine kleine Pause und dann stündlich eine größere Pause an eines der Bergstationen. Gegen 13:00 Uhr gabs Mittagessen auf 3.090 Metern auf der Station 7, also 3,5h für ca. 1000m, umgerechnet 300 Höhenmeter pro Stunde. Mit dem Höhenunterschied hatten wir kaum Probleme, trotzdem merkten wir wie die Luft dünner wurde und wir entsprechend langsamer liefen.
Gegen 15:30 Uhr erreichten wir unsere Berghütte auf 3.350 Metern. Wir checkten ein und begaben uns auf unsere Schlafplätze, die den Schweizer Hüttenschlafplätzen erstaunlich ähnelten. Webster machte verdient Mittagsschlaf und 17:00 Uhr gabs Abendessen - irgendwas mit Reis. Wir machten uns dann bettfertig und versuchen jetzt 20:00 Uhr zu schlafen. Um 01:00 Uhr gehts morgen früh los!
Day 25. July 28, 2023
8. Mountain Station Fujis. Today was the long-awaited hiking day, specifically on Mount Fuji, Japan's landmark. We woke up at 06:10 AM to catch the first bus at 07:35 AM from Gotemba (400m above sea level) to the 5th Station (2,000m) of the Subashiri hiking route. We left our luggage at the hotel's lobby. At the 5th Station, we kindly received a small bowl of soup as a motivational boost. Wilson also bought a small wooden stick, a souvenir that gets stamped at each station for 300-400 Yen (approximately €6.50 for 1000 Yen). We had a quick breakfast and started hiking after 45 minutes to acclimatize to the altitude as recommended.
We both wore new hiking boots, which fit perfectly after some initial difficulties, especially for Webster. As for provisions, we had sandwiches and baguettes (from the charming local bakery "Gotemba Bakery"), cucumbers, and bell peppers, along with Snickers, Corny bars, and Haribos. Additionally, we each carried 1.5 liters of water, which turned out to be insufficient. Fortunately, at each station, there was the option to buy extra water bottles for 400-500 Yen.
As usual from our Swiss hiking holidays, the initial part of the ascent was challenging. The ground was very soft due to the volcanic ash and crushed, porous rocks – unfamiliar terrain for both of us (excluding Etna in Sicily and Mount Vesuvius, as we drove up those). After an hour, we found our rhythm, with Wilson leading and Webster following behind. We took a short break approximately every 15 minutes and a longer break every hour at one of the mountain stations. Around 1:00 PM, we had lunch at 3,090 meters at Station 7, which means it took us 3.5 hours to cover around 1,000 meters, approximately 300 meters of elevation gain per hour. Although we didn't have significant issues with the altitude, we noticed the air getting thinner, and as a result, we slowed down accordingly.
At around 3:30 PM, we reached our mountain hut at 3,350 meters. We checked in and settled into our sleeping spots, which were surprisingly similar to Swiss mountain hut bunks. Webster took a well-deserved afternoon nap, and at 5:00 PM, we had dinner - something with rice. After that, we got ready for bed and now we're trying to sleep by 8:00 PM. We'll be starting early tomorrow at 1:00 AM!
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Skillwomen Workshops Salt
Ysolt Usigan is a way of life writer and editor with 15+ years of experience working in digital media. She has created share-worthy content for publishers Shape, What To Expect, Cafe Mom, TODAY, CBS News, HuffPo, The Bump, Health, Ask Men, and Best Gifts. A working mom of two, her editorial experience in parenting, shopping, and home are rooted in her on a regular basis life.
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Now the 2 women run a nonprofit to help join women to a meaningful story via retreats, workshops, and their podcast, The Dauntless Grace Exchange. Rev. Dr. Estela Chao-Reza has over 15 years of experience in church ministry and presently resides in Honolulu, Hawai’i. She is enthusiastic about connecting with individuals from all different walks of life and discovering the relationship of humanity within our differences. She has a lot knowledge in working with marginalized urban and multicultural communities in various contexts. She completed her doctorate at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Spiritual Formation and Discipleship, specializing in the church movement towards anti-racism and restorative justice. She has taught seminars on trauma-informed spirituality, spiritual formation practices, ministry in disaster, palliative religious care, and non secular assessments in healthcare.
women leadership training programs
Earn a certificate on your CV in high development fields corresponding to IT assist, knowledge analytics, UX design and extra. She values family time with her husband, sons, mother, and siblings. As time permits a day of gospel videos and westerns all the time brings relaxation and renewal. She resides in Statesboro, Georgia with her husband of 37 years, Dr. Alexander Smith Jr.
While Clark has no senior national group experience, she has performed on junior USA teams. She gained gold medals on the 2019 and 2021 FIBA U19 World Cups and the 2017 FIBA U16 Americas Championship. Rizzotti will get a first-hand have a glance at Clark when the No. 1 choose within the draft opens her WNBA profession at the Connecticut Sun on May 14.
#women leadership training#leadership training for women#executive leadership training for women#Workshops for Women#women leadership training programs#Women in Leadership Training
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Germany and Israel my beloveds!! May I have some fun little facts? About the two of them together 🥺💕 cause I ship them and I want them both to have great days together wahhh
Also it's snowing out today and it's so nice 😭💕
Yoooo, snow is so beautiful. And I hope you’re staying warm and safe! It is snowing here as well~ it actually looked almost like a blizzard here. Hot cocoa or tea/coffee is in order! And some warm blankets~
I could tell you a bit about a couple of things they’ve done for fun~
There has been times where Israel goes and travels back and forth from Tel Aviv to Berlin. And from there she usually stays in a guest room that Ludwig has for her. She then usually spends a lot of her time hiking with him and also exploring the Black Forest, but also all over Berlin. Usually shopping and also eating some foods with him. They also have little coffee dates together “kaffee und kuchen” as Ludwig tells her.
He’s also taken her on a drive to a place called the “romantic road”. There he’s let her spend a little drive with him and they enjoyed their time talking and bonding.
And here lately Ludwig has been stressed and not feeling the best, so she’s been trying to get him to go to the spa with her and to the thermal baths.
Just a couple of things that they usually do…
And then there’s more humorous things that Israel does , that makes Ludwig scratch his head and sigh. And that’s her watching a German kids show called Bernd das Brot. Israel has a huge fascination with very strange humor and loves anything silly and funny, she’s very into comedy of all kinds… so she find Bernd das Brot to be such a hilarious show, even if it’s geared towards a younger audience… it always sends her in tears of laughter and he sometimes doesn’t understand or he sometimes worries whenever she gets too worked up in her laughing and ends almost passing out.
And then, one of their things they love to bond over is baking and making food in the kitchen, in which Israel definitely takes the reigns in this and explains to Ludwig what she can and cannot eat, and from there he listens to her and learns and exchanges new recipes. And then usually at end result he usually makes rye bread with her, bagels, cookies and cakes. There’s other things they make too, but for some reason they love to do baking sweets together.
#israelhetalia#Israel Chan#hetalia oc#hetalia self ship#self ship#hetalia israel#israel x germany#hetalia germany#rare pair#Ludwig x Brigitte#hetalia fanart#little cute facts that they do 💕💖#Germany x Israel
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In Cabinet Meeting Today, 4% Increase In DA & Railway Bonus Announced By Central Govt | DA Hike News
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Porto - Day 1
Sunday - 10/8
Our hotel includes a buffet breakfast
The weather in Porto was sunny today hitting a high of 83 degrees— very similar to Lisbon weather. Hopefully the nice weather keeps up for the rest of our trip. I have been wearing shorts the whole time in Portugal, except for two nights in Lisbon when the temperature dropped down to about 70 degrees.
Below is a photo of our hotel, the NH Collection Porto Batalha. It used to be a post office.
This morning we went on part 1 of a self-guided Rick Steves walking tour of Porto. This church was built in the first half of the 18th century on a mediaeval site. The tiles on the outside walls were added in 1932.
Here are some sights we saw along the way. The left picture below are “Dancers for Euros” :-). There are a lot of street artists in Portugal looking for tips. Some of them are very talented. The picture on the right is a church.
Here is a picture of Porto city hall.
Porto has the only McDonalds in the world where you will find soup and a chandelier.
There is major construction going on in the center of Porto as they are building a new metro line. Some of the main streets are torn up and one trolley line is using buses instead to avoid the construction mess.
Along the way we stopped for a treat at Padaria Ribeiro, a pastry and bread shop.
Here is a picture of Armazens Cunhad, a department store in Porto. It doesn’t appear to be as upscale as the El Corte Ingles department store we saw in Lisbon.
Two church’s and a narrow building between them.
Lello Bookstore is considered the 3rd most beautiful bookstore in the world according to Lonely Planet. Rumor is that this bookstore inspired author J K Rollins to create Flourish and Blotts, the bookstore where Harry Potter buys his books before going to Hogwarts. We didn’t go inside because there was a long line and looked like it would take at least an hour in line.
The picture below is of Clérigos Church and its 75 meter bell tower (Igreja e Torre dos Clérigos).
That concluded part 1 of our walking tour. We plan do part 2 another day. For lunch we brought packaged salads and ate them in the park. It was nice to get away from all the people, noise and congestion of the central Porto area we had been walking in.
After lunch we decided to take a ride on the historic tram 18 to see more of Porto. We searched on the internet but could not find a map of the tram route. Same with when we tried to a find a bus route on a previous day. Our experience in Portugal is they sure don’t make it easy for tourists. Anyway we decided to follow the tracks to the end of the line, which wasn’t too far. It ended up being in front of Igreja e Torre dos Clérigos.
We rode tram 18 from one end to the other end, which was the neighborhood For do Duoro. The best view of the river when going this direction on the tram is to sit on left side (single seat side) of the tram.
For do Duoro Is where the Douro River meets the Atlantic Ocean. It’s like we went from Porto 1 to Porto 2. Totally different vibe in Porto 2. Less congestion and buildings are more modern. Slight ocean breeze. It is a more expensive area to live in Porto.
It was so beautiful we decided to hike back along the river.
Real estate is not cheap in Porto, but seems less expensive than Lisbon. Here is a nice 1,240 square foot 3 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment with ocean views for €880,000.
For dinner we both had Pregos (steak sandwiches) at Casa Da Companhia Restaurante.
We did a lot of walking today… 23,500 steps which is the most we have walked on this trip in a single day. Our prior record was 22,900, which was the day we hiked out to Ponta da Piedade in Lagos.
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Long weekk yall....
I don't wanna put this in the tags so woe
Read more be upon you
Anyway diary time, ough today I went out with a grad student to do some more field research and it was so exhausting mann it was a lot of hiking and it was hot but we checked everything up so that's good
I've also been thinking about getting a new job soon. Something closer to the school with more hours and a quicker pay period. I love tutoring but it sucks i only work once or twice a week now, and I don't really want to work with food. Also i want to do something related to my major but ough man nothing is hiring here
Ugh no fav thoughts unfortunately, school is too much to me. Stereochemistry is hard and this is the second part of O-Chem to me. And I gotta party coming up too 😩 too much happening all at once i need a break and Biostats is so hard too like wha da hell is a goodness of fit test or binomial test ough i gotta practice more
#starrtalks#i have to make more lists of what i want to do#that kinda helped#and I have to make an appointment to TALK with a COUNSELOR#and i hate counselors!!! all they're going to tell me is that I'm taking the wrong class or something#i think im just afraid that my grades are low I haven't checked them#same with my bank account#i gotta fill my q again
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Day 10 - to Ponte Madeira
For two days at Moreira bay I have seen practically nobody. No other vehicle came down to the sea. I did see a farmer, a hundred metres or so away, moving some sheep, but that was it.
It will rank in my top ten stopovers, whenever I get round to compiling that chart.
The wind dropped considerably today, swings and roundabouts, as the more pleasant conditions outside, meant the seas were a lot calmer today, and less entertaining.
It was my last day on the coast and I had two visits planned. The first to Rostro Beach, about 2 miles long. Once again, nobody else was there.
Near the coast wind turbines are very common. Spain is second only to Germany in power obtained from such turbines. There are 1,265 wind farms. It intends to have 75% of its power from renewables by 2030.
What happens when your dog drinks tadpoles? Do they come out the other end as frogs? Stay tuned..
My last port of call on the Costa da Morte was its southern terminus, the lighthouse and Cape Fisterra. You may recall me mentioning this when I was at the lighthouse at Estaca de Bares 8 days ago. The two lights were the original ones of the coast here, built to a similar design in 1856.
This is a fairly major tourist destination, and was actually quite busy today. Cape Finisterre in English, Cape Fisterra in Spanish, was believed in Roman times to be the end of the world.
It’s fame though these days, is that it is the end of the Camino de Santogo, the Way of St James. A few intrepid hikers were finishing, having carried everything with them the whole way. I chatted briefly with a Japanese couple. Apparently some accommodation was open, but by no means all. The tour companies, which arrange everything, including luggage transport, will not start operating until mid-March.
The town is a bustling tourist venue, with plenty of new hotels and restaurants, and was busy, though not a patch on what it will be in a couple of months. The road to the lighthouse from town was closed for tree-felling, but I had planned to hike over the hill anyway, making it into a circuit.
The best part was high up at 250 metres, looking towards the lighthouse and the ocean. There were six school buses there, and a charge to get close to the lighthouse, which I skirted. I think the view I had from above was vastly superior.
I met a German couple with a yellow labrador who told me they had parked their blue self-built camper next to mine. They had been on the road for 3 weeks, and were just on their way home, having travelled the Spanish coast clockwise from Barcelona.
I didn’t want to tell them that they had missed the best bit, the next 200 km to the north..
These old stone elevated buildings are very common. They are called ‘esteos’ in Galicia, though more widely in Spain known as ‘hórreos’.
They are granary stores, elevated to keep rodents out.
Then it was farewell to the Atlantic, and onwards inland. I’m due at Volkswagen in Santiago de Compostela tomorrow morning, and wanted to stay reasonably close.
I drove inland through great country parallel to the Camino de Santiago, and on my way somewhere else, stumbled on the Ponte Madeira.
The old bridge was built in the 13th century, and rebuilt, or improved upon, in the 18th.
The village dates back to then also, as does the chapel of St Brais.
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Dearness Allowance of Central Govt Employees Likely to be Hiked In Next 15 Days
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7th Pay Commission: Dearness Allowance of Central Govt Employees Likely to be Hiked In Next 15 Days
7th Pay Commission: The hike in DA and DR increase will benefit 48 lakh central government employees and 68 lakh pensioners this time.
7th Pay Commission Latest Update: A 4 per cent DA hike will take the current DA from 38 percent to 42 percent.
7th Pay Commission Latest News Today:…
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Top attractions around Cape Town with City Sightseeing
With December right around the corner, it’s time to plan those fun summer activities on the Famous Red Bus while enjoying that much-needed time from work.
So whether you are looking for an activity for you and your friends, the End of your Office party or something to keep you and the kids busy. We have some of the most exciting adventures around as we explore Cape Town.
Four Activities that you have to experience this December
Harbour Cruise and Wine Tasting
Combine a Waterfront Wine tasting experience with a fun harbour cruise.
Life in and around the Victoria and Alfred basin is busy. On this harbour cruise, you'll come across resident seals to international ships visiting our shores. Hop on and see the city in a new light and learn more about Cape Town's proud nautical history.
Then Finish off your outing with a wine-tasting experience located at the unique Waterfront CellarClub Tunnel - The Historic Tunnel - Right next to the Ulundi Parking Garage is the Historic Tunnel.
The old builders of 1860 had a great problem - they had to get stone quarried from what is now the V&A Waterfront Marina to the other side of Portswood Ridge to build the breakwater. So they simply dug out a long cutting, through which gangs of seating convicts pushed cocopans full of stone to where Quay 5 and the Amphitheatre are today. Much later the cutting was roofed over and built on. During World War 2 the tunnel was actually converted for use as an air-raid shelter. Fortunately, it was never needed for this use.
Sunset Bus Tour
With the summer in full swing, it’s time to grab those Picnic Baskets and join the Famous Red Bus for a trip along the Atlantic SeaBoard from Seapoint and Camps Bay to Signal Hill, while you enjoy the Sunset Over the Atlantic Ocean as well as Stunning Views of the City.
Why not make up a delicious Picnic to enjoy on Signal Hill as you unpack the Beautifulness of Cape Town? And From Partner to Family, From Friends to Coworkers, this is the perfect experience for anyone looking to have a great time and take full advantage of the Summer.
And to end the trip, the City Sightseeing Bus will take you back to the V&A Waterfront via the City, once it is dark so that you can see the Bright Lights and gorgeous Views.
Cape Point & Penguin Explorer Tour
The Cape Point & Peninsula Tour is a perfect guided day tour for you to explore Cape Point. Cruised around in a luxury air-conditioned double-deck coach. You will get to explore the spectacular nature reserve (part of the Cape Floral Kingdom World Heritage Site), with a stop at Boulders Beach, home to a colony of African penguins. Whether you are a local to Cape Town or Just visiting, this particular day tour to the Cape of Good Hope is a must-see
The Cape Point Explorer leaves Cape Town in the morning and starts with a scenic drive to Boulders Beach, through Muizenberg and Fish Hoek. The guide highlights the different points of interest along the way and is at hand to answer any questions you have about the route, Cape Point and Boulders Beach.
Boulders Beach
Boulders Beach is home to a colony of endangered African penguins in Cape Town, so this is your once-in-a-lifetime chance to come within metres of them in a natural environment. The pristine beach surrounded by impressive granite boulders is part of Table Mountain Nature Reserve.
After visiting the penguins, your next stop is Cape Point, where you can enjoy a bite to eat before exploring further. The Cape Point Nature Reserve offers some of the most breathtaking mountain and ocean scenery in the world. Using the Flying Dutchman funicular to the viewing point below the lighthouse, you can admire the views across False Bay. There is an optional 40 min hike from Cape Point to the Cape of Good Hope. At Cape Point, you can also follow the footsteps of early Portuguese explorers Vasco Da Gama and Bartolomeu Dias, and enjoy a number of short walking trails leading to beautiful beaches and viewpoints.
After a day spent exploring, you can enjoy the coastal drive back to Cape Town via Scarborough and Kommetjie, with spectacular views from the Ou Kaapse Weg mountain pass.
Book One of these Amazing Tours with City Sightseeing
Whether you want to Explore the Beauty of Cape Point, Enjoy a Sunset over the Atlantic or experience a Delicious Wine Tasting after a Lovely Habour Cruise. Then City Sightseeing is the place for you. We offer a whole range of Amazing Tours that have you exploring and enjoying the beauty of Cape Town
To find out more about our top attractions or schedule your next City Tour. Visit City Sightseeing today.
Dear visitors if you want to more information about City Sightseeing and our all services please visit our website. We have a website. We welcome you. CLICK HERE
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