#i should b able 2 find them later

[loveharlow]

SEVEN - 002

PAIRING ‧₊˚ JJ Maybank x Fem!Reader

SYNOPSIS‧₊˚[6.5k] based on 1x02.

WARNING(S)‧₊˚ swearing, mentions of parental neglect, mild violence, mentions of death/grief, disturbance of a graveyard (?)

NOW PLAYING‧₊˚

A/N‧₊˚ I've been wanting to do an OBX rewrite for a very long time so here it is, the first chapter from yours truly.

˗ˏˋ series masterlist ˎˊ˗

“DO YOU REALLY THINK BIG JOHN COULD STILL BE ALIVE?” Kiara’s slightly digitally distorted voice came from the other end of the line. Your phone was pressed between your ear and shoulder as you searched the hangers in your closet, bath towel wrapped snug around your frame and your hair thrown up into a bun, which was presenting more like a mess of damp strands.

“It doesn’t matter what we think, Kie,” You made clear, eyeing a cute shirt you thought you’d lost. “We should just be there for him.”

“Yeah… but what if we’re just feeding into a fantasy? Wouldn’t that make us bad friends if we weren’t honest with him?” You could hear her shuffling around on the other end of the phone as well, dresser drawers slamming occasionally. 

“Maybe you’re right.” You sighed, throwing your outfit onto your bed and heading back into the closet to find a bikini to wear underneath. Living in the Outer Banks meant you had a plethora to choose from. “But the way I see it? If it were my dad that went missing, I’d be looking for him too. I’d give anything to even have that small hope that my dad was still alive back, but I know he isn’t… so, I understand.”

“I didn’t think about it like that…” It was sad to hear her so conflicted, as if she’d said the wrong thing.

“Well, I wouldn’t expect you to. And I would never want you to be able to understand that feeling. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.” You reassured, putting the girl on speaker to toss the phone on your bed and slipping the bikini you picked out onto your frame and tying the respective knots. “That’s why if John B thinks his dad is alive and wants to look for him? That’s what we’re gonna do. Because alive or not, John B is like a brother to me and leaving him to do this alone is what would make us bad friends.”

“I guess you’re right…are you still meeting up with the guys today?”

“Just J and John B for right now. Pope said he’d be around later after helping his pops.” You told her, slipping an oversized shirt over top of the bikini, eyeing your closet shelves for a pair of shorts.

“Alright, I might swing by if my parents aren’t up my ass about work.” She complained. “Talk to you later.”

“Later.” Was all you said before the end-call sound rang out in the expanse of your bedroom.

A swift series of knocks met your closed door from the other side, you shouted for them to come in, assuming it was either your mother or your dog Marley’s tail hitting the wood. The 2-year-old golden retriever had a knack for sitting outside your bedroom door on the rare occasion that it was closed and she wasn’t inside.

The knob twisted and in walked your mother, adorned in her signature navy blue pencil skirt and blazer, still a half hour to spare before she had to head off to her office for work. Rebecca Reyes was the Outer Banks’ most notable and renowned lawyer. Even when you still lived on The Cut all those months ago, she was still the island's number one defender. Moving to Figure Eight and getting rich, almost overnight, just gave her the resources she needed. You still questioned where all the money spawned from, chopping it down to your father’s life insurance coming through.

But the bank said that could take a while and you never assumed it was enough to buy a house on Figure Eight. But that’s adult stuff, you thought to yourself.

“You got home late yesterday,” She began bluntly, adjusting the diamond bracelet on her wrist. The smell of her expensive perfume already wafting into your space. “Where were you?”

“Just out with John B and the others.” You said with a shrug, walking out the closet with a pair of sneakers in your hands as you undid the tied laces.

She hummed, eyeing the space around you as if she’d never seen it before. “Did you hear about the boat they’re searching for? Scooter Grubbs’ boat?”

You side eyed her quickly, not quick enough for her to catch however. “Yeah, the whole island is losing their minds over it.”

“You and your friends haven’t come across anything, have you?”

“...I doubt we’d have any luck coming across a Grady-White, mom. Especially after the hurricane. That boat could be oceans away for all we know.”

“Right.” She agreed, but she seemed far away. Off. Why’d she care about Scooter Grubbs’ boat? “And what’s this I hear about some kid with a gun at The Point?” Your heart dropped. 

“A gun?” You acted semi-shocked. “I don’t know, I wasn’t there.”

“Hm.” She droned. “Well, if you find anything don’t hesitate to tell me. Or Shoupe, for that matter. He said two out of towners showed up for the boat search yesterday, looked sketchy. So, be careful.”

You hummed in agreement, watching as the woman strutted out of the room without even a small ‘goodbye’. 

You and your mother were nowhere near as close as you used to be. Your father’s passing caused a rift between the two of you that seemed irreparable. You just felt like she had become so cold and closed off, nothing like the woman who used to bake every weekend or plan family nights in the backyard. She was more secretive, dismissive. You couldn’t even remember what her smile looked like. She’d changed so much. She used to hate Sheriff Shoupe, said he was a dirty cop who worked under the rich snobs of Figure Eight. Now, it’s like they’re business partners of some sort and she is a rich snob on Figure Eight. 

She even changed her last name back after your father died and wouldn’t tell you why. That was what made you feel the most alone. Rebecca Carter was now Rebecca Reyes but you were still Y/N Carter and your father would always be Owen Carter. 

It was like she was trying to erase him and everything they’d built together.

You hated to admit that sometimes you wondered what your father would think of the woman she’s become. If she would be as unrecognizable to him as she is to you.

YOU SAT IN THE BACK OF THE VAN, legs bent as your journal rested atop your thighs while you scribbled down your thoughts and recent events — namely the events of yesterday. You had one earbud in, your playlist on shuffle as you half-listened into JJ and John B’s conversation that was happening in the front seat, the bumpy ride making your handwriting a bit chicken scratch-ish.

“I don’t understand why you don’t at least try with Kiara,” JJ started, his heavy boots kicked up on the dashboard. “She clearly likes you. She’s like ‘Oh, John B!’. She’s sketchy about you diving and then she kissed you, bro.” The blonde continued. 

“She kissed me on the cheek. It’s not like we were makin’ out.” John B denied, brushing off the girl’s clear affections.

“Low-hanging fruit, bro.” JJ cut him off, the statement making you cringe in silence as you continued to scribble. “I see it in your eyes. You’re like ‘I kind of like that’.” JJ said in a mockingly low and seductive voice. 

“Okay, you want to talk about me?”

“Yeah, bro, I wanna talk about you and your lack of game.”

“My lack- my lack of game? Okay, what game do you have, JJ? ‘Cause I haven’t seen any improvement in your case.” JJ’s head whipped between you and the boy in the driver’s seat within milliseconds before he was swatting John B’s arm.

“C’mon, dude...” He warned in a hushed tone. John B just chuckled.

“That’s what I thought.”

Moments of silence passed before their voices were heard again. “I gotta admit, your dad’s compass in Scooter’s boat? Freaky, man…” JJ claimed, twirling the newfound object between his fingers.

“That’s why we’re going to talk to Ms. Lana and figure this whole thing out. She’s his wife, she has to know something.” John B told him. 

“And what makes you think she would want to talk to us?” You added, spooking the blonde boy in the passenger seat. 

“How long have you been listen-”

“I’m always listening.” You spoke bluntly, a blank expression on your face as you averted your attention from your journal to him. “Anyway,” you dismissed. “A group of teenagers showing up to ask her about her dead husband, the boat that the whole island is looking for, and the compass we found inside of said dead husband’s lost boat? She’ll either think we’re criminals, FBI, or crazy.”

“Well, this is our first resort.” John B replied, eyes looking at you through the rearview. “We gotta try.”

“KNOW WHAT THIS HOUSE LOOKS LIKE?” JJ said, leading the group of us to the front yard of Lana Grubbs’ residence. “Whoever lives here smokes too much weed.” He observed the small, shack-like house — the walls were overgrown with weeds, the yard looked like it’d never been cut, the place was a mess from the outside.

The three of you stopped, more like flinched, in your tracks when you heard glass-shattering from the inside of the house followed by crash after crash. It sounded like the outside of a rage-room or a gun range. 

“Maybe we should come back…” JJ advised, taking small steps back. But John B persisted, even as the two of you stood back in fear.

“No, no, shut up, JJ.” John B reprimanded absentmindedly. 

“Tell me where it is or I’ll fuck you up!” A deep, brassy voice boomed from the inside. The voice so authoritative it made you shudder, but it didn’t worry you as when a woman’s scream followed. You could only assume it was Ms. Lana. “I’ll sink you in the fucking-” A crash, louder than the rest, cut off the sentence, almost covering the sound of Ms. Lana’s blood-curling screech.

“You’re hurting me!”

John B beckoned JJ and you on with his hands, urging the both of you to move forward. Reluctantly, and after a weary glance at one another, you and JJ followed the brunette boy who was edging closer and closer to the side of the house. 

“Where the fuck is it?!”

“I don’t know!”

The three of you quickly dashed and ducked beneath the window seal on the only open window when you heard something hit the wall from the inside. You had just parted your lips to say that, just maybe, this was a bad idea. A terrible one, even, before a phrase yelled by the angry man inside had you shutting up.

“The compass wasn’t in the boat! Where is it, Lana?!”

“I don’t know!”

Your heart dropped as things continued to get thrown and slammed inside the house and you prayed those ‘things’ didn’t happen to be Lana. The paint and wood started to physically chip and fall off the walls outside, landing on top of the three of you crouched against the side of the house, wood particles falling into your eyes.

“Let’s get the hell out of here, man…” Another male voice commanded, followed by two pairs of heavy footsteps against the wooden floors inside. The three of you peeked around the corner to watch the two men disappear from the grounds through the front door, stomping angrily towards their boat. 

The same boat that had been shooting at you only 24 hours prior. 

“Those were the guys that shot at us.” JJ whisper-yelled. 

“Go back.” John B commanded, pushing you all back behind the safety of the wall so they wouldn’t see you all. Once the boat sped off, the three of you slowly tip-toed your way into the house. The sound of Lana’s cries getting louder and more heartbreaking the more you entered the house, shoes crunching on wood and glass. Photo frames and dishes all broken into smaller fractions and littered on the floor, holes in the walls, kitchen cabinets hanging on by a single hinge.

“Ms. Lana?” You called out, voice laced with concern, eyeing the broken windows before they found Ms. Lana’s curled up figure on the bathroom floor right below the sink that was hanging on by a singular pipe. “Oh my God.” You gasped, kneeling right next to the woman and laying a hand on her shoulder that caused her to flinch and shrink in on herself. 

She had tears running from her red, swollen eyes, curled up like someone’s child.

“She is tweakin’.”

“Shut up, JJ.” You hissed, shooting a mean glare at the insensitive blonde before turning your attention back to the feeble woman. “Do you need a doctor? We can call a doctor for you.” You assured, examining the multiple cuts adorning the woman’s face and arms.

“We can call the sheriff’s department-” John B was on the verge of suggesting before Lana cut him off frantically.

“No cops, please!”

“Mm, that’s not good. Let’s bounce.” JJ urged, weary of the woman’s persistence to avoid law enforcement. 

“You shouldn’t be here...” Lana cried, her eyes focused on John B, speaking as her lip quivered and her voice shook. 

The brunette’s face twisted, kneeling next to me to level his gaze with Ms. Lana’s. “Do you know those guys?”

“They were… looking for something.” Her voice wavered. 

“...Does it have anything to do with this?” John B asked her, pulling the compass from the back pocket of his board shorts. You and JJ shared a glance, both knowing John B probably shouldn’t have shown it to her. “This was my father’s and Scooter had it. Do you know why?”

Why did John B think showing a woman his father’s compass and saying he copped it from her dead husband was a good idea? You had no clue. Interrogation tactic? Impulsiveness? Stupidity? Lana’s eyes were wide and teary, she looked like she was seeing ghosts.

“Scooter didn’t have it, okay? Don’t tell anyone that you have that. They can’t know that you have that!”

Your lips pulled themselves into a thin line and you were starting to feel less bad for Lana and more suspicious of the distressed woman. Maybe she wasn’t as innocent as she appeared. She didn’t seem to be a threat but she clearly knew things that she shouldn’t. You nudged JB’s arm, whispering in his direction even though the woman could most likely still hear you. “We should go…”

“You’ve gotta get out of here!” Lana cried, fearful gaze eyeing the compass in John’s grasp.

“What do you know about the compass?” John B raised his voice over her frantic one, still questioning Lana as JJ pulled him back and the three of you stood to leave.

“Go! Get out!” Was the last thing you heard as the hysteric woman yelled at your retreating figures.

“SO, YOU SAW THE GUYS THAT SHOT AT US, RIGHT?” Pope asked with his head in his hands, stressed after listening to JJ’s dramatic rendition of events. The three of you had returned to The Chateau and summoned Kiara and Pope not too long after, the events of today on the tip of your tongue. “Did you get a good description of them? Anything we can bring to a police report?”

You shook your head along with JJ and John B as Kiara and Pope sighed at you all's lack of response. There was nothing special about these guys. Sure, they seemed out of place but that’s because nobody on the island knew them. That was one perk about living in Kildare, everyone knows everyone. But these weren’t leather jacket, ski-mask wearing criminals. They didn’t stick out like sore thumbs.

“That’s not very helpful…” Kiara huffed.

“But, but,” JJ started again. “They were burly. Like the men I’d see at my dad’s garage. You guys know he made cargo hides for drug smugglers...” He reminded you all carelessly. “I can tell you with full confidence that these guys? They’re square groupers.”

“Like Narcos square groupers?” Pope questioned with little amusement, his face dropping as he watched JJ smoke against the brick wall. 

“Like, Pablo Escobar square grouper?” You added on, just as skeptical from your seat on the patio floor, legs stretched in front of you and crossed over one another while you leaned on your elbows for support. JJ just nodded, blowing out smoke. 

“You guys, not everything is a kingpin movie.” Kie reprimanded from her place next to Pope on the patio furniture.

“Okay,” Pope started. “What does a square grouper look like? Hm? Because clearly, you don’t know what you’re talking about-”

“Okay, you weren’t there! I wasn’t taking little mental polaroids the entire time, dude! I was under duress!” JJ whined to which you and John B rolled your eyes.

“Why would they want the compass?” Kiara probed, leaning forward in her seated position, resting her forearms on her thighs.

“That thing’s a piece of shit, you could pawn it off for five bucks if you wanted to… No offense, John B.” Pope claimed honestly, watching as John B flicked the object open and stared at it longingly, paying no mind to the boy’s insult.

“Well, clearly it’s worth something.” You popped in. “Considering these guys are willing to kill for it.”

“...The office.” You all turned to the scruffy brunette. A silent question on everyone’s face. “My dad’s office.” John B continued, shooting up and walking inside The Chateau as you all scurried to follow, shooting one another confused glances. “He always kept the office locked ‘cause he was worried about his competitors stealing his Royal Merchant research. Remember?” He directed at you and JJ, looking back but still walking forward. “We used to laugh at him like he was actually going to find it. But now that he’s…gone, I just left it as he kept it.” He said despondently.

“Yeah. For when he gets back.” Kie backed him up with a light-tipped smile. Keys jangled as John B unlocked the room you hadn’t seen in years. Not since before Big John went missing. Before all of this.

“I’ve slept over here like six-hundred times and I’ve never seen this door opened.” Pope said aloud, eyeing the office like a museum. 

This was like being hit by a tidal-wave for you. And you’re sure it was the same for John B. You can remember the countless nights you’d slept over before and after Big John went missing. Before he went missing and you, JB, and JJ would peek inside just to watch him just write and type like his life depended on it. It even brought back memories of when your dad would stay a while after dropping you off to spend the night just to share beers in the backyard with Big John. 

The nights after his disappearance weren’t as sweet though. Sleeping in a group hug around John B after his dad went missing. Then your friends all slept in a group hug around you after your dad went missing. Then they slept in another group hug around you when your dad’s body was found, washed up on the shore for the entire island to see. With the plethora of events, The Chateau became a haunted house in your mind.

“Look,” John B said, pulling you out of your stupor. He’d taken a bulletin board down off of the walls that was decorated with paper scraps and old pictures. His index finger pointed to the photo at the very top, a sepia-like tint to it. “This was the original owner of the compass.”

The paper pinned against the photo read ‘Robert Q. Routledge. 1880 - 1920’. 

“There’s the lucky compass right there.” Kiara showed you all, pointing to the object clutched in the old man’s hand in the picture. You wouldn’t exactly call the compass lucky, though. And if it was before, it surely isn’t now.

“Actually, um. He was shot after he bought it…” John B informed. “Then the compass was shipped back to Henry.” He continued guiding you all through the timeline, pointing to the next picture. “Henry was killed in a crop-dusting accident when he had the compass.” You happened to look up at the exact same time as Pope, the two of you locking eyes with visible worry. “After he died, the compass was given to Stephen. Stephen had it when he died in Vietnam.” The boy ranted. “After that, Stephen passed the compass down to my dad.” 

“This is painting a very bad picture, JB…” You warned, hand on the back of your neck as your face twisted.

“Yeah, he has a death compass.” Pope deadpanned.

“I do not.” John B denied, rolling his eyes and sitting down in the nearest chair with the compass still in hand. “My dad used to talk about this compartment here.” He explained, fiddling with the article between his fingers. “Soldiers used to hide secret notes.” He twisted the back of it off, revealing a word scratched into the top. He sat up with surprise as he spoke. “...This is my dad’s handwriting.” 

Pope scoffed. “How can you know that?”

“He’s right.” You assured the doubtful male absentmindedly, squinting your eyes and craning your neck down to see the word written into the metal. “Big John had horrific handwriting and his R’s always had a point to them. I always used to think they looked like big-headed baby chicks, in a way. That’s definitely his handwriting.”

“Weird observation…but she’s right.” John B backed you up, his eyes going back to the compass. “Redfield…” He muttered. “What’s Redfield? Is it a clue?”

“A clue? C’mon that’s-” Pope began until you shot him a nasty glare, silently telling him to be helpful and supportive or shut up. His eyes widened as he gulped. “If it is a clue, m-maybe it’s an anagram?”

“Yes!” John B jumped up from his seat, beckoning you all to back up some. “Anagram. Perfect. You need paper.” He directed at Pope, eyeing scanning the cluttered space. Handing the boy an old, crinkled sheet of notebook paper, Pope got to work with the help of JJ and Kiara as John B and you scoured the desks for anything else of use.

Your ears were quick to pick up on the sound of an engine over the chatter of the brainiac bunch behind you. Eyes perking up to see a black truck pulling onto the yard.”...Guys?” You spoke, but not loud enough. “Guys!” You shushed them, all eyes turning to you. “Somebody’s here.”

The five of you crowded around the window, peeking through the blinds and peering through the dusted glass. Two males got out of the car and you recognized them immediately. “Those are the guys from The Marsh and Lana’s house.”

John B was quick to turn towards JJ. “Where’s the gun?”

“I don’t know-”

“Now you don’t have the gun? The one time we need the gun?” Kiara panicked.

“It was in my backpack and then I-...it’s on the porch.” JJ quickly realized, sighing before biting his lip out of frustration.

“Go. Go get it.” John B urged quietly but you were quick to step up, tugging the short sleeve of JJ’s shirt before he could open the door.

“No, no, we are not sending JJ out there to be pummeled by square troopers, square groupers, whatever they are-”

“We need the gun-” The bandana-wearing boy hissed.

“I don’t care. We stay put. We stay together.” You insisted. But JJ gently swiped your hand down and backed out of your reach, one hand up in surrender. “What’re you doing-”

“It’ll be quick, I swear. I’m like a ninja-”

“JJ.” You said simply, disappointed as you curled your fist in annoyance.

“I’ll be on my Batman shit.” He whispered before leaving the room quietly with the door cracked behind him, allowing you all to see him leave.

“John Routledge!” A country man’s voice boomed, causing JJ to turn around and slide his way back into the room quietly before he’d even made it two steps outside of the office. “C’mon out now!” JJ closed and locked the door as you all heard the pairs of footsteps enter The Chateau. The men began smashing and throwing things around just as they did Ms. Lana’s house. Was this their MO or something?

‘Window’ Kie mouthed, pointing to the window that led straight into the yard, towards the chicken coop and the surf shack. JJ and Pope rushed over to it as John B held down the door, which was just him standing against it with his hands above his head. JJ and Pope tried to lift the frame but it wouldn’t budge. Your face twisted in confusion, walking over to where the two boys were struggling and attempting to pull up the window seal yourself with no better luck.

“It’s painted shut.” You couldn’t help but smack your teeth, cursing under your breath as your eyes quickly scanned the room for something sharp as you patted the back of your shorts, feeling an object in your pocket. Digging your hand in to reveal a pen, the one you’d been using to journal that morning. You whispered for the guys to move before ejecting the pen and sliding it quickly along the seal to break it as quickly as possible. 

Suddenly, one of the square groupers began kicking the door down, John B running across the room.

“Hurry!” Kiara whispered.

“I’m going as fast as I can!” You hissed. When the seal was completely broken, you wasted no time in opening the window, being the first to jump down into the backyard and making a b-line for the coop. The five of you piled inside one by one, the space surprisingly big enough for five fully grown teenagers as you crouched in tense silence. Just then, you heard a shot ring out from the inside of the house, assuming the man shot the door down.

Everyone could hear everyone breathing, shaky breaths all throughout the small enclosure. And the roosters. One rooster would not stop crowing. You were hoping, praying the damn thing would stop making noise. It wasn’t long before the guys were seen leaving the house, carrying at least two crates of books and research each.

“Pope, shut him up.” JJ demanded, referring to the rooster next to Pope that was making the most noise.

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Pet it or something, I don’t know.” Kie cried. Suddenly , JJ got up and grabbed the rooster by its neck, pressing it into the ground until its neck audibly snapped and its clucking ceased. You couldn’t help but cringe and look away, the sight somehow prompting you to gag. JJ’s eyes met yours as if he was making sure you were okay, you giving him a sickly nod in return. One that wasn’t as reassuring as you hoped. Kie was crying silently and you didn’t miss the way John B grabbed her hand in comfort. 

“WHAT BETTER PLACE TO HIDE A MESSAGE THAN A FAMILY HEIRLOOM?” John B tried to muse from the driver’s seat of The Twinkie.

“Maybe somewhere more easily accessible.” You said bluntly, laying back on the floor of the van, your foot on Pope and head in JJ’s lap, Kiara in the passenger seat. “Like a hidden jewelry box compartment or a locked drawer. Not inside of a death compass on a dead man’s sunken boat.”

John B simply ignored you. “He had to know it was gonna get back to me, right?” He spoke hopefully, referring to his father. 

“It’s possible.” Kie agreed from the passenger seat next to him, not wholeheartedly however. 

“It could also be possible that you’re concocting wild theories to help deal with your sad feels- Ow!” Pope was interrupted when you kicked his knee, shooting him a glance that said ‘what the hell'. 

“You know how I process my sad feels,” JJ started, your eyes drifting to him as your head craned slightly back from its place atop his thighs. “Dank nugs and the stickiest of ickies.”

“Preach.” You agreed, dapping up the blonde boy.

“Look, I’m not concocting, okay?” John B nearly shouted in frustration. “My dad’s trying to give me a message.” 

“...If it helps you believe, John B.” Kiara tried softly. 

“I don’t need a therapy session. I’m not trippin’ out.” He dismissed the four of you. “My dad is missing, okay? Missing. You guys don’t know what it’s like to have the person closest to you vanish and have no idea what happened.”

Suddenly, the two pairs of eyes in the back of the van turned to you. You couldn’t help but curl in on yourself slightly. “Stop it.” You demanded, averting your eyes to the window, watching the palm trees pass by. You hated when they acted like you had to be shielded from things because of what happened to your dad. 

“It’s been almost a year.” Kiara nudged JB, letting it go. “But fine. What do you think the message is?”

“Redfield.” The brunette reiterated hopefully. “Redfield Lighthouse. My dad’s favorite place.”

THE LIGHTHOUSE LOOKED A BIT DIFFERENT THAN YOU REMEMBERED. It looked older, more rickety. You could swear it was leaning now. The five of you stood staring up at it before John B turned around to face JJ.

“You’re gonna post up out here and look for bogey’s. Alright?”

“Wait, why me?” JJ asked pitifully.

“...JJ, there are independent variables and dependent variables. You’re an independent variable-” Pope tried to reason.

“Shut up.” The blonde-haired boy dismissed with a snarl.

“We don’t know what you’re gonna do!” 

“Just shut up!”

“Listen to me,” John B broke the boys up, pointing an assertive finger. “Pope, you stand lookout with JJ. Y/N, you make sure they don’t rip each other’s heads off. If we get split up, we meet back at JJ’s house.” You watched as Kiara and John B hopped over the fence and onto the lighthouse property. You slid your back against a nearby tree, one earbud placed in your ear as you drummed your fingers against your thigh, playing with blades of grass between your fingers.

“I’m gonna work on my merit scholarship essay. I’m trying to keep felonies to a minimum.”

“All right, would you just shut up already?” JJ sassed, you rolling your eyes and scoffing at them both. A few beats passed before JJ spoke again. “They’re probably boning in there right now.”

“Jesus, JJ…” You breathed out.

“What? You don’t honestly believe they don’t have a thing for each other, do you?” He defended.

“Maybe you’re just jealous.” Pope offered from his place in the grass.

“Jealous? Of what?”

“Because John B’s trying to move in on Kie and you have a thing for her.” 

“Listen, dude,” JJ started with his hands out in front of him. “Kie’s hot and all but she’s a kook. I don’t see her like that.”

“That’s what they all say.” You sang playfully, causing JJ to whip around to face you. 

“Oh, really? And what about little miss pretty & popular?”

You visibly cringed. “Ew, don’t ever refer to me like that again.”

“You’re telling me you aren’t crushin’ on someone? No rich, polo-wearing kid swept you off your feet during you and Kie’s kook year?” He egged on.

“Knock it off, JJ.” Pope defended when he saw how your face fell at the mention of it. You hated when they brought it up. Technically Kie’s kook year was longer than yours, considering you’d joined her kook friend group when you moved to Figure Eight. That was an era of your life you’d love nothing more than to forget.

“Fine, fine,” He backed off, his hands thrown up in mock surrender as he backed some steps away. Just then, the three of your heads whipped to the dirt road behind you at the sound of police sirens. You snatched the earbud out of your ear and pocketed it, standing up from your place against the tree. They were clearly headed for the lighthouse.

“What do we do? Do we wait?” Pope asked frantically.

“We can’t, man, c’mon.” JJ urged, sprinting towards the van with you and Pope following close behind. He jumped into the driver’s seat, pulling off before you and Pope had even closed the side door completely. You could only have faith that your other two friends made it out okay.

  

 “NEXT TIME YOU END UP AT THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE, YOU CALL ME FIRST. DO YOU UNDERSTAND, JOHN BOOKER?” Your mother reprimanded the poor boy, her heels clacking against the pavement outside of the department. You didn’t expect a call from John B after you all had run from the lighthouse, coming from the Kildare County Sheriff’s Station from John B saying he and Kiara had been “arrested”. 

“Yes, ma’am.” He affirmed. By the time you’d arrived at the station, Kiara had apparently already left with her dad who’d refused to bail John B out as well, leaving the boy with only one other option. The three of you stopped in front of your mother’s car as she now turned to face the two of you.

“Shoupe already has enough to deal with. The sheriff’s office doesn’t need a couple of rowdy teenagers on their radar. I don’t know what you kids were doing up at the lighthouse that led to this, but drop it. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” You both blurted out simultaneously, your mother having a newfound knack for intimidating people. She didn’t hesitate to jump in her car and start the engine, giving one last look as a goodbye.

YOU WERE AT THE DOCKS WAITING ON JOHN B, SITTING ON THE WOOD AND SWINGING YOUR FEET. You’d gone with him when he realized it was time for him to work, an employee saying Ward was looking for him as soon as the pair of you had arrived. He was up on The Druther’s, Ward’s boat, talking to the man himself. You couldn’t tell what the conversation was from your seat on the docks, so you waited. It was only minutes before the boy himself came stomping down the marina, prompting you to get up and dust yourself off.

“Is everything okay-”

“I just got fired.” He blurted, not even making eye contact with you and he brushed past you. You stuttered at his passive nature, scurrying to follow behind him.

“What do you mean you just got fired?”

“Ward found out about the gear.” He scoffed, and even with his back to you as he breezed through the working people to leave the dock, you could almost feel his frustration. “I can’t believe her.” He muttered.

“Who? Who are you talking about, John B?” You soon got your answer as Sarah Cameron walked by, you and the girl making brief eye contact with a mutual snarl on both of your lips before her attention turned to John B, who she somehow saw after you. 

“Hey, John B.” She greeted, her hands full of paper bags that were filled to the brim with groceries, a large, brimmed hat on the top of her head. You weren’t surprised when he continued walking as you followed without a word to the girl, but she persisted. “That’s it?” Sarah scoffed. “Not a ‘hey, how you doin’’? Not a ‘kiss my ass’?”

You didn’t expect John B to turn around and swiftly walk over to the girl, getting all in her face. With the noise of the busy marina in the back, their close conversation became hushed but it was still audible enough.

“Your secret’s safe with me? Really?” Your friend pressed the girl. “I just got fired because of you. And I know you can’t imagine that but some people need jobs, so they can eat.” Nothing shocked you more than when he smacked the bag of goods from her arms, leaving Sarah stunned as fruits rolled in front of her sandals. Her jaw slack and eyes wide.

“What the fuck?” She hollered.

“You are exactly who I thought you were, Sarah Cameron.” He reprimanded, turning and leaving behind a stunned kook girl. Although, you would’ve paid money to see that again, it was such an odd interaction.

You knew he worked on Ward’s boat so he was bound to come across her but you weren’t aware they really talked. If you didn’t know either of them, you’d assume they were a high school couple arguing out in public.

The brunette brushed past you once again, taking his time and seemingly building up the courage to break into a run.

“Wh- John B!” You called from your place in the parking lot. “John B, where are you going?!” But it was no use as he simply left you behind and continued sprinting away. You figured you’d just give him some space to himself.

YOU’D RECONNECTED WITH POPE AND JJ SOON AFTER BEING LEFT IN THE DUST BY JOHN B, meeting them on the docks in The Cut. The three of you had been there for some hours, you helping Pope fix a generator while JJ smoked unhelpfully to the side when John B pulled up in The Twinkie.

He honked, beckoning the three of you into the van with a finger and none of you questioned what was happening or where you were going as you hopped into the rickety vehicle. You were mildly pissed about being left at The Marina but you got in nonetheless.

THE SUN HAD SET AND YOU ALL STILL HADN’T ARRIVED YET. John B briefly explained the destination and plan but you half-listened. You’d been driving for a long time, picking up Kiara along the way, with no clue as to where the five of you were going.

“Do you mind if I sit this one out?” JJ asked tiredly. “It’s been a long, weird day…”

“Look, I know I was wrong about the lighthouse.” John B acknowledged. “And wrong about everything else. But I was right about one thing — my dad is trying to tell me something.”

Just then you pulled up to a graveyard, the five of you piling out of the van with a flashlight each in your hand. “This place is scary.” Kie voiced. “John B, what are we doing?”

“You know how you’re trying to remember a song but you can’t remember who sings it?” He started. “Redfield. This whole time, I thought it was a place.” He explained as you all followed him further into the mess of graves and tombstones. “But it’s not.” He held the lantern in his hand up once you all stopped in front of a tomb, one of the tallest ones in the yard, revealing “REDFIELD” engraved in the stone. “It’s a person. My great-great-grandmother, Olivia Redfield. That was her maiden name.” He spoke longingly, looking up at the stone letters. “Help me with the door. C’mon.”

Pope stepped forward as the remaining three of you flashed your lights in the pair’s direction as they attempted and failed to push the tomb door open. 

“Are you pushing?” Pope said to the brunette.

“Yes, I’m pushing.” John B strained out. Then JJ was jumping into help but even with his addition, the boys had no luck opening the door. They all jumped back when a snake hissed, peeking its head out from a crack in the stone structure.

“Woah! That’s a moccasin, alright” JJ started, jumping back almost cartoonistically. “Ye-old cottonmouth. Death in tall grass. Roof! Roof!” JJ started barking at the snake. Sometimes, you questioned his sanity.

“JJ! Shut up!” You warned the erratic blonde. 

“You’re gonna wake the dead.” Pope slapped him on the shoulder, grimacing.

“Dude, they’re afraid of dogs. Everybody knows that.” He breathed out, straightening himself back out.

“Look, John,” Pope sighed, turning his attention back to John B. “We’re not gonna get in there, it’s not budging. We should probably just go.”

You were examining the tomb carefully, flashlight trailing the structure up and down before you noticed something. “I think I can get through.”

“...What?” John B spoke.

“You think you’re gonna fit through that hole?” Pope asked, worried. 

“I’ll do it.” You reassured them, ignoring their concerns. “Just help me up.” They all shuffled to help you up — Kiara and John B holding the vines away and to the sides while JJ and Pope intertwined their hands for you to use as a human step-stool. 

“What am I looking for?” You inquired, eyes fleeting to John B.

“You’ll know when you see it.” Your hands slapped your thighs. Helpful, you thought, but you didn’t ask anymore questions. You put your flashlight in between your teeth, like a dog carrying a bone before laying a hand on each of the boys shoulders, you put your foot over their connected hands and boosted yourself up. 

It was a tight squeeze but you made your way through, landing on your feet and removing the flashlight from your teeth. It took your eyes a minute to adjust, staring at the walls of the spooky space.

“You alive in there?” JJ called.

“Alive and kickin’.” You called back, aiming the flashlight everywhere, scanning over everything. But the space was much bigger than you thought and your one flashlight didn’t seem to be enough. “I need more light, please.”

“Gotcha’.” John B said, pushing his arm holding the lantern through the crack of the wall, illuminating the space by tenfold. And that light was just what you needed. 

“Oh my God…” You breathed out. John B may not have led you all on a goose-chase after all.

feedback is appreciated! thanks for reading.

SVN Taglist; (let me know if you'd like to be added!) @esquivelbianca @fallingwallsh @calmoistorm

©loveharlow.

#Spotify #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank #jj mayback imagine #jj mayback x reader #obx jj #SVN #obx fanfiction #jj maybank x you #jj maybank fluff #obx jj x reader #jj maybank smut #jj maybank imagine #obx jj maybank #obx netflix #obx x reader

[holylulusworld]

Big grumpy bear (2)

Summary: He’s grumpy. You are sweet. A match made in heaven.

Pairing: Alpha!Walter Marshall x OmegaReader

Warnings: a/b/o, a/b/o dynamics, grumpy alpha, scenting, fluff, jealous alpha, possessive (a hint) alpha

Catch up here: Big grumpy bear

Big grumpy bear masterlist

“Good morning,” you chirp as you walk toward your office. You’re in a good mood because it will be a wonderful day. You’re sure about it.

You are wearing a brand-new square-neck floral dress with short sleeves. The bohemian dress has a high waist and elegant ruffle hems. It’s cute and you feel pretty. Most importantly, you are ready to impress your chosen alpha.

While you fall into your daily morning routine and greet all of your colleagues you feel Walter’s eyes on you. 

His features darken as one of your male colleagues dares to put his hand on your arm to stop you. 

The man only tries to talk to you about the footage you checked for his case, but Walter won’t have it.

Walter gets up from his swivel chair, almost knocking the chair over as he rises to his full height. He strides toward you and the man, eyes hard and jaw set. 

You feel him behind you, his gaze on the man, but his hand on your shoulder. “Excuse us. Miss Y/L/N has an appointment with me. We need to discuss the footage of my latest case.”

“Well, buddy,” the man tries to swipe Walter’s hand off your shoulder. He doesn’t know that you and the alpha are kinda of dating. Or you are not. You’re not sure about it. At least Walter allowed you to take care of him a little bit over the last three weeks. “I talked to her first. Your case must wait.”

Uh-oh. The guy is in trouble. Walter cracks his neck. He huffs and squeezes your shoulder.

“I need to help Detective Marshall now. I gave you my report yesterday. Your partner said the case is closed. If you need to discuss the details with me again, we need to do it later,” you try to calm Walter, but the other detective seems to be the kind of alpha wanting to mark another alpha’s territory.

Or he’s just dull…

“As I said, I talked to you first. You must focus on my case,” the detective makes you sigh. In his line of work, he should be able to control his anger and nature better.

You know men like him. They all believe omegas and betas must follow their orders like obedient puppies. The twenty-first century is forgotten the moment they want you to do something for them.

“Your partner said the case is closed,” Walter snarls at the detective. “I know him. If he closes a case, it is closed. So, what is this about? Huh? Do you want to make another woman unhappy? This worked out well for that lab tech you dated last year.”

“Careful, Marshall,” the man bites back. “Don’t get in between me and that omega.”

You sigh again. This could’ve been such a lovely day. “That is enough,” you snap your fingers in front of the detective’s face. “If the case is closed, there is no need to waste my time. Let me tell you this right away. I wouldn’t poke you with a stick. And I already set my eyes on an alpha.”

Walter proudly puffs his chest. “You heard her. Get out of her sight!” He gruffly says. “Miss Y/L/N, can we talk about the footage now?”

Exhaling sharply, you turn around. You need a moment to calm down and find your inner peace. “Let’s go, detective.”

“You need to eat this and have more water.” The moment you had Walter at your office you switched to caring omega modus again. 

He grumbles as you place a homemade sandwich and a cupcake in front of him. “I told you not to feed me,” Walter says but grabs the sandwich, nonetheless. He digs in, humming as he munches the food you made for him. “I can take care of myself.”

“I can defend myself too,” you pat his cheek, making him furrow his brows. “But it was nice of you to stand up for me. Just like an alpha should.”

“You…” he looks you up and down. His features are unmoving, but his eyes roam your body. Walter tilts his head, hums, and licks his lips clean, tasting your sandwich again. “You look pretty in that dress.”

Your heart flutters. It’s the first time Walter complimented you. “My, thank you. That’s very nice of you to say.”

Walter watches you chew on your index finger. You’re unsure if he’s ready for the next step, but sometimes you must take what you want.

It’s now or never.

You hop onto his thigh and wrap your arms around his neck to peck his cheek. ”You’re a very protective alpha. I like it.”

Walter’s features soften for a split-second. He gives you half a smile and allows you to bury your face in his neck to scent him.

His heart beats a little faster than usual. He’s not sure yet, but he fears you wormed your way into his heart.

He’s just not sure anymore if that’s a bad thing …

Part 3

#walter marshall #walter marshall fanfiction #walter marshall x reader #alpha!walter marshall x omega!reader #a/b/o #a/b/o dynamics #alpha!walter x omega!reader #Big grumpy bear (2)

[csuitebitches]

How do you ACTUALLY network? Like the idea of a coffee chat always baffled me. Like a stranger would agree to get coffee with me for me to essentially interview and then what? I guess my bigger question is how do I provide value to them besides buying them coffee? And the whole concept just feels cringe and transactional

I’ll give you two recent examples, one of work and one of a social event.

A friend invited me to a party. I don’t know said friend very well, but we’re on good terms. I said yes cause why not.

I met a girl there who happened to do some very interesting things and had similar interests to me. How did I find that out? I asked her about herself, I found out where she was previously residing, I learned what she did for a living, and I began associating it to the things that I do. She’s from the same city that I want to move to, she now lives 20 minutes from me, and she’s interested in spirituality. My work happened to organise a similar event a week later, which I immediately invited her for. I asked her for her number so that I could send her the invite.

What she immediately liked about me and expressed, was that I don’t use social media, when we agreed to exchange contact info. I explained to her that I’d have to connect her on iMessage/ WhatsApp and not instagram. That allows us to stay in touch much better than on social media.

I left the party earlier than everyone but I looked for her and told her that we should catch up next weekend or whenever she was free. She agreed.

So this is what you learn from example 1:

1. Learn to associate.

When someone tells you that they work in XYZ company, in B city, start by connecting things in your head. Who else do you know works in the same field, could they know each other? What do you know about the work that they do, and if you don’t know much, can you find out more? Most people, including myself, love to talk about what we do at work and what our job entails. Has their work allowed them to travel a lot? If yes, where?

In order to associate, you need to read a lot and learn a lot. You have to understand what’s happening in the world, what the latest news is, because how the hell are you going to continue that conversation?

2. You have to snowball the conversation. The goal is to try and understand WHO this person is. If someone asks you, have you met CSB and you have, you should be able to say yes, this is what she’s interested in, this is what she works in - you should be able to pitch CSB to another person.

Not every single conversation has to be valuable. You also have to decide whether the person in front of you is worth your time.

3. Exchange numbers, not social media. Nothing is going to come out of exchanging instagram or LinkedIn.

4. When you’re leaving the event, look for the person you met and tell them that you’re leaving and that you guys should catch up sometime. If you haven’t exchanged contact info yet, that’s the best way to do it. “Oh let’s catch up again soon! Can I have your number? We can grab a coffee or drink whenever.”

—-

Example 2. I’d gone to a conference a few months ago. I met a young guy, around my age, who works in an accelerator. I’m very interested in the start up world, and he’s working in one of the best ones in the world, at a decent position. He immediately began telling me about recent funding that they did, what sort of start ups they’re looking for, etc. I asked him for more information, which he was super happy to talk to me about.

We’re on very good terms but we live in different cities. I often send him reports because I work in media, and he sends me PDFs and pitch decks. Whenever we’re in each other’s town, we message each other. Otherwise, I make it a point to reach out to him once a month, just casually, to find out what’s happening.

Takeaways from example 2:

5. Scratch each other’s backs. You can’t just get value from the other person, provide them with the same. It doesn’t have to be work related. Let’s say the person you’ve connected with is interested in indie music and you learn that an indie band is playing somewhere - send them a link to the event and tell them that you remembered that they like this genre, and you just wanted to share the info.

6. What’s important to learn is maintaining relationships. I reach out to all my mentors, all my latest connections once a month. That doesn’t mean that I’m necessarily going to meet them face to face, but I just check in and ask how things are going.

So.

Approach. Associate. Snowball. Exchange info. Maintain.

#q/a #networking

[noras-dc-shenanigans]

Mute Billy Batson

Billy (age 6) is with his parents when they die in a plane crash on the way back from a dig, and while he survives, he gets several large cuts from parts of the plane slicing into him. One of them hits his throat, permanently damaging his larynx (vocal cords).

Obviously, Awful Uncle Ebenezer doesn’t want to deal with a weepy mute kid who also has trouble swallowing and breathing properly, so as soon as he gets the inheritance he kicks him out. Billy gets picked up a few days later, is too scared to tell them his name, so he gives them a fake. They investigate, find nothing, see the scars and assume he’s one of those kids that was born outside a hospital and raised on the street.

Put him in the system under the new name, he goes through a lot of homes that also don’t want to deal with a mute kid who has eating/drinking/breathing problems. The last few before he runs away take advantage of him not being able to speak and only knowing a tiny bit of sign language. He runs away, gets caught, next home is the same, runs away and makes sure to stay un-caught this time.

He meets a deaf homeless person, they teach him sign language, he manages to get by with doing odd jobs and getting help from people in the area (other homeless people, prostitutes with soft spots, older people with no grandkids of their own).

Age 10 gets chosen by the Wizard because Black Adam will be arriving sooner than he anticipated, and I figure there are two ways for this to go:

A- Because he can’t speak the word, Billy is now permanently stuck as Captain Marvel, much like Black Adam is. This is the more angsty version cause the Wisdom of Solomon would warn him against being seen close to the people he used to know—it’ll likely get them targeted. So poor Billy is stuck all by his lonesome until hero/es come along.

B- Billy discovers he can use sign language to change by creating a special sign just for SHAZAM and thinking it while doing the sign with both hands. It mostly only works because as Champion of Magic it’ll do a lot of stuff for him that just flat out wouldn’t work for literally any other magic user.

(Later, Zatanna just gets so frustrated watching him do magic and Constantine just stares, drinks, and walks away with a very firm “F*ck that.”)

But either way, eventually, maybe a year later (Billy now 11), the Justice League has noticed this new, mysterious hero that never says anything and pretty much vanishes once the heroing is done.

(I think the League should only be 2/3 years old, and Batman & Superman had been heroing for maybe 5 years before that. Any other Leaguers you decide to include are newer and started up 1-2 years before whatever caused the League to be formed. Diana only just left Themyscira for the Event too. So they’re new enough not everyone immediately goes “Hey it’s you!” but organized enough to be able to find/recruit other heroes now.)

So of course, Batman and Superman decide to come introduce themselves. They find the new hero taking down a massive robot and lifting the man inside of it out by the collar like a misbehaving cat and manage to get close to him while he’s handing the villain off to the police.

They introduce themselves, ask if they can have a bit of the hero’s time, he blinks but nods and then points up at the tallest building in the city. They agree, Supes gives Batman a lift, and a few minutes later the other hero joins them after having moved the giant robot to an empty lot so that the city can deal with it out of the way.

Cue the JLers trying to ask the guy questions, and he automatically starts to answer in sign language but grimaces and stops because Billy has rarely met anyone who knows enough to understand him. But, of course, this is Batman we’re talking about, who even if he doesn’t have Cassandra yet still knows basic ASL. He asks what his name is aloud and in sign, and the other hero just lights up, huge grin, and starts signing away at rapid speed.

They learn his name is Captain Marvel, and he was chosen to be the new Champion of Magic to replace the old one who went evil right before the guy who gave him the powers died of extreme old age. (They really wish they could say they consider this strange, but they’ve met/worked with Constantine. They’ll believe pretty much anything if you put ‘magic’ in front of it.)

They chat for a while, then decide to invite him up to the Watchtower, so that, if he’s interested, he can meet the other Leaguers (they’d only be the originals and a few more they’d recruited so far) and they can have an official interview to join the Justice League. Cap agrees, gives a little wave, then zooms off to finish helping with the clean-up.

A few days later, Superman escorts Marvel to a zeta tube in Metropolis and up they go. They introduce Marvel to the other Leaguers, Batman translating, before Martian Manhunter offers to mind link them all so that they can understand Marvel himself. Cap agrees. Then they get this:

“Uh, hi, can you hear me? Oh, wow, is that how I’d sound out loud? Cool! I haven’t talked to anyone in years! Not many people know sign and most people aren’t willing to stand there waiting for me to write stuff out so I don’t get a whole lotta conversation. Anyway what did you guys wanna know?”

And all the Leaguers just, like, have theirs hearts squeeze in their chest because here’s a young man, can’t be older than 25 at most, just so happy to be able to talk to people. Who doesn’t know the sound of his own voice. Who despite that, still remains so chipper and friendly.

They don’t need a telepathic link to unanimously decide that Marvel is joining them.

Besides, having a magic user that isn’t either a young women who’s busy performing or a middle-aged alcoholic is very much welcome.

#DC #dc prompt #writing prompt #billy batson #Captain Marvel/Shazam #Justice League #Mute #Sign Language

[wolfjackle-creates]

Bad Reveal AU Chapter 2 Part 2

As promised! Here's the compilation of every snippet I've written for the 1000 follower ask game. I added an additional 300 words to the end to round out the scene.

Story Summary: Danny loves the Waynes, loves living with them. After the GIW, after his parents, he never thought he'd be able to have this again. A family, a home.

Then he overhears a conversation.

The Waynes aren't just the Waynes. They're the Bats, part of the Justice League. And the Justice League works with the US Government. The same government that runs the Ghost Investigation Ward.

It was all a lie.

AO3 link

Tumblr Links: Chapter 1, Previous

Word Count: 2.6k

-----

Three days later and they were all ready to tear their hair out. Barbara had found nothing new on the Fenton parents, even after Tim and Bruce joined her in the search. Apparently everything about the Fentons had been hidden behind the best digital security they had ever seen. Everything except the basics. And the firewalls were so good that they were almost invisible which is why no one had noticed them before.

Danny’s room lacked any sort of clue. They opened every drawer and went through everything they could find, only for nothing even slightly unusual to turn up. Definitely nothing like the bizarre energy weapon he’d used.

Jason had asked around as Red Hood to see if he could find any leads on the weapon. But every rumor lead to a dead end.

They could find nothing that might lead them to the people who wanted to hurt Danny. And Danny never came home.

Dick was currently in Danny’s room, again, trying to find anything. He was under the bed searching for hidden compartments in the frame or box spring when sharp footsteps sounded in the hall. A moment later, Alfred cleared his throat from the doorway.

“Master Dick! I believe you were instructed to leave the cave so you could rest.”

Dick pushed himself out from under the bed and sat so he was leaning against the bed frame. He flashed a dazzling smile. “Sorry, Alfred. I just had the idea to check the bed frame for any hidden messages or compartments. Wouldn’t have been able to sleep without doing it.”

Alfred sniffed. “We have already been over every inch of this room. You will not find anything new and you know this.”

Dick sighed, letting the smile drop away, and rubbed his face. He looked down at the carpet as he picked at it. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep. I just keep seeing his face. He was certain we were going to hurt him, Alfred. My own brother. How could I have failed him so badly?”

Alfred’s shoes came into view as he walked further into the room and sat next to Dick. “You haven’t failed him, Master Dick. And you know that. His fears were his own; based on experiences from before he ever joined this family. And we did not know there were problems to address. But we do now and I have full faith that you will solve this and bring Master Danny back home.”

“I wish I had your optimism, Alfred.”

“Then I shall just have to have enough for the both of us. Now, if you insist on being useful, Titus could use his afternoon walk. Normally Master Bruce or I take care of it…”

“But with B injured and the house full, you’ve got enough to handle. I’ll take care of it, Alfred.”

“Thank you, my boy. Now, help an old man up.”

Dick laughed; it wasn’t sincere, not truly, but he knew it’d make Alfred feel better. “Don’t even pretend you can’t get up on your own.” But he still did as requested and helped Alfred to his feet.

“When you’re my age, you will know what troubles I face.”

“Sure, Alfred. Now, where is Titus right now?”

Ten minutes later, Dick was outside in the late spring sun throwing a tennis ball for Titus. The dog was delighted with the game.

He rather felt like it should be raining or overcast or something. Not a balmy spring day with birds singing and bees buzzing in the clover. Danny was still missing; it shouldn’t be a nice day.

His next throw went much farther than he planned, and Titus bounded away.

Dick groaned and collapsed to the ground. He threw an arm over his eyes as he bit back his tears. Everyone was relying on him to hold it together. Damian was on a hair trigger and he was the only one who could keep him in line consistently; Tim was sunk deep into his research and barely surfacing for another energy drink every few hours; Jason and Bruce couldn’t be around each other for more than ten minutes without someone starting to yell. Duke was spending more and more time on patrol trying to find any information on the meta angle.

And all of them came to him to complain about the others. His family needed him. He couldn’t fall apart.

When a shadow fell over his face, he cracked open an eye expecting to see a cloud covering the sun. Instead he screamed and jumped to his feet as he came face-to-face with Clark.

“Warn a guy next time!”

Clark, the bastard, just laughed at him. “Hey, Dick. Didn’t expect to find you here.”

Before he could reply, Titus returned, ball clenched proudly in his mouth. “Good boy,” said Dick as he petted him. “Ready to go back inside?” To Clark, he said, “Most of us are staying at the manor right now. What brings you here?”

“We’re worried. Bruce called in saying he had an injury that would prevent field work for a few weeks. At the same time, Tim told Kon he’d be unavailable for Young Justice missions until further notice. And Damian canceled a sleepover with Jon with no explanation. So I made two of Ma’s pies and decided to come over for a visit. What’s going on?”

Dick sighed. “Danny’s gone. He discovered who we were.” He let out a hysterical laugh. “And apparently thinks that because we work with the US government it means we were just pretending to like him to gather information so we could turn him over to someone who would hold him against his will and torture him.”

Clark landed and pulled him into a hug. Dick clung on tightly. “Why does he think that?”

Dick shrugged and, reluctantly, pulled away. “Apparently his parents betrayed him once already. I think…” Dick closed his eyes and whistled sharply. “Come, Titus.” He held onto Titus’s collar and began walking away from Clark towards the manor. “We think he already has experience being held and tortured. And that it was his parents fault.”

Clark’s sharp inhale proved his horror at such a thought.

“Yeah. So now Danny’s gone and we have no idea how to search for him. Did B tell you he’s a meta? We knew he had some powers, but clearly we missed some because now we suspect invisibility, density shifting, and flight. So we’re trying to find the people who want to hurt him. But we keep hitting walls!” Titus whined when his grip tightened too much. Dick winced and let go immediately to pet the dog. “Sorry, Titus. You’re such a good boy.”

Clark draped an arm around his shoulders. “Well, why don’t you take me to the cave and you can go over everything you know. Maybe a fresh pair of eyes will help.”

Dick shrugged. “Couldn’t hurt. And maybe seeing you will remind Bruce he knows how to do more than grunt when people ask him a question.”

Clark winced. “That bad, huh?”

“Worse, if I’m honest. Danny shot him with an energy weapon before density shifting out of the cave. So now his newest kid is missing and he’s too injured to go out and search for him.”

Clark let out a low whistle. “Yep. That’ll do it.”

Dick pulled out his phone and opened the group chat. A quick text ensured everyone who was around would make their way to the cave. “I’ve told everyone to meet us in the cave. We’ll swing by the kitchen to get some plates and cutlery for the pie. Thanks for that, by the way.”

Clark ruffled his hair. “You know me, I’m too midwestern to show up anywhere unannounced without food.”

Dick gave a half smile, unable to muster up anything warmer.

Clark tried to keep up a stream of small talk as they swung by the kitchens to gather the plates. But Dick just couldn’t keep up with it. His mind was just too far away, on a young boy with blue eyes who loved hugs and had fit into the family so smoothly.

When they got to the cave, Tim didn’t even look up at the sound of the elevator doors opening. Dick followed his lead and ignored him, instead going straight to Bruce.

“You’ve got a visitor, B!”

Bruce only grunted and didn’t look up from his laptop.

Clark hid a smile. “I’m sure Alfred raised you better than that, Bruce.”

“Indeed I did,” declared Alfred with a sniff from where he was making notes in Bruce’s medical chart.

Bruce’s head whipped up at the sound of Clark’s voice and Dick bit his lip to keep from laughing. “Clark? What are you doing here?”

“Been worried about you and the kids, so I made some pie and decided to come on over. Kon and Jon are both waiting for updates as well.”

Apparently the appearance of Clark and Kon’s name was enough to finally drag Tim from the batcomputer for the first time in days. “Is Kon okay?”

Clark gave him a fond smile. “He’s fine, lad. It’s you—all of you—we’re worried about.”

Bruce looked away. “It’s Danny.”

Clark nodded and sat on the foot of the bed. “Dick’s told me a little. Let’s wait for the others to join us and you can all tell me everything.”

Dick checked his phone. “Babs said my text woke her up and don’t start discussions without her.”

Clark looked at him sharply. “Barbara is here, too? You really meant it when you said everyone’s been staying here, didn’t you?”

Dick shrugged. “Yeah, well, it’s Danny.”

Tim laughed mirthlessly. “Yeah, he’s the only one who all of us like pretty much all the time.”

Clark frowned as he looked around at the people gathered, but didn’t say anything.

Alfred bustled in with a chair. “If some of you would help me set up chairs for everyone? We might as well be comfortable as we talk and eat.”

“Of course, Alfred,” said Clark, seeming relieved. “Be happy to help.”

Honestly, with how many people were there, it only took a minute. Jason and Stephanie arrived just as they were finishing up.

“Duke messaged me,” said Jason. “He’s on his way back from patrol.”

“Damian?” asked Dick.

“I am here, Richard,” said the boy as he walked into the medbay. “I apologize for my tardiness. I was with Alfred the cat and didn’t notice your message immediately.”

Dick went to his side and ruffled his hair. He ignored Damian’s glare with years of practice. “Glad you could make it. Come on, let’s get you a slice of pie.”

“I’ll start slicing,” said Clark.

By the time the pie was sliced and everyone had a piece, Barbara had arrived.

“Where is Duke?” asked Bruce.

Tim pulled up the tracking information on his laptop. “Looks like he’s only twenty minutes out.”

“He’d’ve said something if he’d learned anything new,” said Jason. “I say we just start sharing now. He’ll be back before we get through it all.”

“Agreed,” said Bruce.

Clark nodded and looked around the room. Dick just knew he was cataloging how exhausted they all looked. “What can you tell me about what happened?”

“Daniel lost his mind and attacked Father,” said Damian.

“Listen here, Demon Brat,” argued Jason, “you know damn well that’s not what happened.”

And when Tim backed up Jason, it became a shouting match. Dick buried his face in his hands. A headache was forming and he knew if he tried to intervene, he’d just make it worse right now.

“Enough!” said Alfred when it became clear the others wouldn’t calm down on their own. “We will go over it one at a time. Master Richard, you may start.”

So Dick gave all the information he knew. When one of the others indicated they wanted to add more, he let them. Alfred made sure no one overstepped. Duke arrived partway through and described what he saw when Danny disappeared and used his powers.

When everyone was finally satisfied they’d shared everything they knew, Barbara pulled out a tablet to show Clark the footage of the confrontation in the cave.

“And you don’t know where he got that weapon?” asked Clark after he watched it twice.

“No clue,” said Tim. “We’ve searched his room a dozen times since then, but there’s nothing even remotely like it.”

Jason nodded. “And I’ve been asking around. No one I can find has ever heard of one like it.”

Alfred added, “Even I was unaware he was in possession of such an object.”

Clark hummed as he replayed the last few seconds of the video where Danny density shifted through the stone. “He brought it with him when he left.”

“You’ve thought of something,” said Bruce.

“Could he have hidden the weapon inside something? Like a wall or the floor?”

Bruce hummed as he thought. “Is that even possible?”

Dick shrugged. “We know very little about what he can and can’t do.”

“Want me to take a look at his room with my X-ray vision?” asked Clark.

Bruce nodded. “Please.” No one commented on the begging tone in his voice.

And for the first time in days, Dick felt hope rising in his chest.

“And do we have any idea what he meant by Jason being in trouble, too?”

Jason shrugged. “Probably has something to do with how I died. I’m apparently the only one who can sense Danny’s empathy, too. And I mean supernatural empathy, not the normal person kind.”

Bruce agreed. “I found the most information on Amity Park when I found my way to supernatural message boards. Zatana is looking into some things for me as well. But it always leads back to ghosts. Though why Jason alone is of interest when others in the family have also died is uncertain.”

“I see. Well, I suppose we’ll find out when you get him home. Who wants to show me Danny’s room? We might as well start there.”

Of course, no one was willing to sit this one out. The biggest argument arose when Bruce insisted on pushing himself to his feet. He refused the wheelchair Alfred tried to insist he use, but a raised eyebrow and pursed lips did get him to take the crutches.

Dick and Jason exchanged a smirk at the scene. Alfred always got his way.

So, the entire group made their way out of the cave and through the halls of Wayne Manor until Clark stopped in the doorway to Danny’s room.

He let out a low whistle. “Whatever his powers are, he can definitely hide things in other objects. He’s left a lot behind.”

“Can you tell what they are?” asked Bruce.

Clark shrugged. “Some of them. There’s another item that looks like that blaster he had. Some…rope? I think? A tool box in the floor. A case that’s probably lead-lined. And a lot of stuff that I just can’t identify. I mean, a random cylindrical object. Some rectangles, maybe external hard-drives?”

Damian stepped forward, gripping the handle of his katana. “Then we will smash the walls to see what he is hiding.”

Dick rushed forward to put an arm around Damian’s shoulders and stop him from doing anything.

“Indeed not, Master Damian.” Alfred gave the boy a level look. “We want Master Danny to have a home to return to. And what sort of welcome would he feel if he came back to a destroyed room? Master Bruce, Mr. Kent, I am aware you have other collegues who can density shift. Could one of them be prevailed upon to come and remove the items?”

Damian scowled and kicked at the floor. Dick bit back his smile. The kid really did care about their missing brother, whatever he said.

Clark nodded. “I’ll call J’onn, Alfred.”

-----

Several of you guessed this is where I was going to take it the minute I introduced Clark. Didn't see anyone mention J'onn, though. (But that might be because I was sharing such small segments, so fewer people were speculating.) Let me know what you think!

I've finally gotten around to making a Subscription Post for this fic, so follow that if you want notifications!

@hailsatanacab also started a fill for this prompt that I absolutely adore, so check that out here! (It hurts, it hurts so good.)

#dpxdc #too many characters to list #no one is handling things well #and clark is concerned #so he shows up with pie #and an offer to help #and they get their first real lead #the first in days #(or they will once j'onn arrives)

[kaythefloppa]

Wild Kratts - Our Blue and Green World: Part 1: Review [Spoilers]

Welp, here it is, the Wild Kratts TV movie (not to be confused with the feature film they've been teasing us with since 2021). There's been a lot of hype around this special and season, especially with how much the latter was being hyped up during the hiatus. Let's see if the blue and green bros were able to deliver: Spoilers under the cut

Well, this is certainly an attention grabber!

This entire live action intro is shot and edited like an animated Wild Kratts episode, it's glorious.

Woah, intro change!

They said the thing! They said the thing!

HELP THIS IS SO RELATABLE. Also, THE BOYS ARE FIGHTING

Lmao I don't think they do it very often, but using animals/nature in their insults is very creative.

Also, whooping crane episode when?

This entire song is mercifully short. Like most character sung songs in Wild Kratts, it's not good, but this at least is clever in its lyrics and its visuals. It feels like a Disney reference at best and I am content with that. I also ADORED seeing the Draco and Walrus Suit return again. It's arguably the best musical number in the series. No, that is not saying a lot.

MARTIN WHY ARE YOU THE ONE WHO'S MIFFED YOU NEARLY MUFASA'D YOUR LITTLE BROTHER

CHRIS WHY ARE YOU MILDLY INCONVENIENCED YOU GOT ACRAPHOBIA FALLING FROM THAT HEIGHT

When I first saw the clip, I thought that they were going somewhere with this, like they'd activate Peacock Powers at the end when they recognized the compatibility and blue and green. But nope. Wasted potential is an understatement.

Also, where the fuck are they right now? In a previous shot there was Target the Chameleon, implying that they've been to Madagascar, but that is an Indian peafowl, and as far as I'm concerned, they don't live in Madagascar. Were they just having an off-day? These animals have little to nothing to do with the plot when they really shouldn't have, so I don't see why they couldn't have just shown a projector image or something.

Remember when I joked about the Wild Pony Power Suit returning in S7.... fuck you Apollo.

Man, they are eating it up with the animation here. It's hard to tell with screengrabs but man, is it fluid.

The first half of this episode is mixed. While it feels like the brothers are incredibly stubborn, it also does make sense for them to be this fixated on their favorites. So I can totally buy this. It could've been insufferable to watch, but it wasn't.

As if YOU haven't spied on them since the first time your dorito-headed ass showed up on screen

Did you find that funny? Because not only do they do a similar joke like that later on, but they follow through on that joke in the most unexpected way you will shit your pants when you first ingest it.

Oh my god if they make a Creature Power Suit off of that bird, I will take back any diss I've made, that is so beautiful.

Good to know that Aviva put the button near the chest and not near the back.

Maybe it's just me but this is kinda pushing it. Chris is literally getting his organs crushed, I think that should matter more than A) being right or B) trying to get 2 people to stop fighting.

I'm loving the callback and what this leads up to but ew, all this does is remind me about how ugly bright the color pallatte in S6. Really glad they fixed it in S7.

HELL FUCKING YES

This episode finds really unique ways of showing how the two different biomes are interconnected. It's like Rainforest Stew's (very brilliantly handled) message only to a larger degree. Kids can learn a lot from this.

I fucking love this episode, man.

Honestly, the way they write Paisley in the first half of the episode is very in-line with her character. Most shows that do what this episode does has them be out-of-character as a set-up, but here, she's just roasting the fuck out of Zach. Once again, recontextualized entirely in the climax.

HOW THE FUCK DID HE GET TO MADAGASCAR FROM THE GODDAMN AMAZON IN ONE AFTERNOON THAT IS LIKE MORE THAN 1,000 MILES AWAY?? ARE ANACONDAS THAT FAST?????

Also, INDRIS!!!!! :D

I was frankly expecting this to horribly backfire but spoilers, it doesn't. This actually winds up working. Common Aviva W.

To be continued.... will the blue and green rivalry end? Will one prove superior over another? And will they be able to stop Zach and Paisley and save the planet earth? And will this change the adventures of the Wild Kratts team forever? Stay tuned for part 2!

Pros:

The live action segments.

The animation of the earth's model.

The musical number not being ass.

Paisely's catty behavior.

The Anaconda Suit.

The inventive ways they show how the stability of the Earth is complex. There are a lot of ways it functions and thus a lot of ways it needs to survive

The comedy.

Cons:

The villains do not do anything until the second half of this episode. In fact, they're left completely in the backdrop. I expected them to make their prescence known and for Aviva to invent the discs to get them together for the SAKE of fighting the villains. But no. It makes the stakes feel hollow, which is the opposite of what they should be gunning for in an hour long special that they hype the shit out of.

CONCLUSION:

It was an "okay" set-up. It did live up to some of the hype it had, but not all of it. Honestly if it wasn't for the second half of this episode, this movie would be mediocre or slightly above average, but no. They do pick themselves off the ground and... they do jump the shark. But we'll get to that next time

#spoilers #season 7 spoilers #wild kratts #wild kratts season 7 #paisley paver #zach varmitech #kratt brothers #2d kratt brothers #2d martin kratt #2d chris kratt #I lost sleep over this episode istg #Youtube

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for pestering my roommate after she tells me to drop it?

I (F25) live with my roommate "Amy" (not real name, also F25). We split the rent of a very shitty 2 bedroom house and we don't really get along, but moving out isn't an option for either of us because of financial reasons. The rent is $850 after being split, which is still cheaper than either of us have been able to find anywhere else in our area. And trust me, we've both been looking.

One thing Amy does that I really, really hate is take my clothes without asking. I'll grant her a small amount of grace by saying she always gives them back washed and undamaged, but still. It gets annoying that I can go a month looking for a shirt, asking her if she's seen it and she says "no", and then a month later she gives it to me and tells me it was in her room the whole time.

I've asked her WHY she keeps taking my clothes, because I haven't noticed her wearing them or anything. And she'll say "Aren't you happy to have it back? Good. Focus on that." If I continue to press her but WHY do you take them? She'll start talking about how ungrateful I am, and how she always gives them back so what's the big deal, and I don't have to fuss over every little thing, etc etc.

I've tried locking her out of my room but the locks on our bedroom doors are as shitty as the apartment. You can unlock them just by sticking a needle in the keyhole and jiggling it around, and Amy of course is an avid seamstress. I once did the same to her by picking the lock on her door and going inside to look for a dress (found it just lying there clean and unremarkable on her dresser), and Amy lost her MIND blowing up at me for invading her privacy like that. I pointed out she's done the same to me and she started again about how ungrateful I am, that she's always been good to me and my things, I make a fuss over everything, I should be ashamed because I broke into her room and all I found was PROOF that she treats my clothes right and I'm STILL being a bitch about it, etc.

I've complained about this situation to my friends but they all are either A) tired of hearing about it, B) think I'm making a big deal about nothing because don't I always get my stuff back unharmed? or C) also friends with Amy and think I'm lying to make her look bad.

Since it's not really feasible for either Amy or I to move out and nothing of mine has technically been damaged, AITA because I keep bringing this up knowing I won't get answers, just a fight?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

[maximilliansblog]

How to build your first fursuit head for ~$100 USD (2023)

What’s good furries? I’m sure a lot of you have a fursona and want to make your first fursuit. I recommend starting with a partial just in case you mess up or fall out of the hobby. It’s also less expensive!

This tutorial will only cover the head. I haven’t made any of the other stuff and I’m probably going to buy it online premade because I’m lazy.

1.) Have a reference sheet for your fursona.

If you are an artist, draw (the best you can) a reference sheet of your fursona from the front, side, and back. I made a little turnaround animation for mine, but this is not necessary.

Not an artist? Don’t want to draw? Commission someone to do it for you. I recommend Etsy, but you can find furry artists with open commissions all over the internet.

No money for commissions? You might be out of luck. Ask a friend or draw it the best you can. Alternatively, you can edit someone else’s fursona reference sheet to make it look like your fursona. Yeah, it’s stealing. Just don’t post it and act like it’s yours 👍

You can also go into the Roblox game, Catalogue Avatar Creator, and assemble something that looks kind of like your fursona. Take a screenshot of it from the front, side, and back, then go into a photo editor (I recommend IbisPaint or MediBang Paint, they are both free) and add in your special details.

I recommend not making your first fursuit super complicated or some kind of rare species. But you do you. It will just be really hard.

Also determine what style of fursuit you want. Toony? Kemono? Realistic? (I don’t recommend realistic for your first fursuit but you do you). This will be important later.

2.) Find Shit to Build It With

Once again, I recommend Etsy. You’ll need:

+ all the fur colors you need (try 2-3)

+ eye mesh

+ 3D printed mask

+ hot glue gun and hot glue sticks (dollar store)

+ needle and thread (dollar store or Walmart)

+ balaclava

+ styrofoam head

+ fabric scissors

+ extra foam pieces for ears or horns

Assemble all of that. It should be around $80-120 USD.

Your 3D printed mask is the most important thing. Another reason to get a relatively common species. Mine was a dragon. Remember the fursuit style you picked earlier? Search on etsy “3d printed [style] [species] furry mask” and you should be able to find one. You can also get pre-made foam heads. I don’t recommend trying to make your own head base, because A) it’s hard and B) those materials cost more money.

This shit will take a while to come in so don’t get too excited about it. My mask took like a month because it came from Germany.

3.) Mark the Color Spots on your Head Base

Basically just take a sharpie and outline the different color regions on your headbase. You can also use a pencil if you’re a pussy /j

4.) Uhhhh Eyeball That Fabric Pattern and Hot Glue the Pieces to Your Headbase

Some people use duct tape to make a pattern. That did not work for me! So I eyeballed it. Made some mistakes. That’s okay.

5.) Trim Down the Fur Length

Most people use clippers for this but I didn’t want to buy any and I didn’t know how to use them so I did it VERY CAREFULLY with scissors.

6.) Fill in the Cracks Between Your Hot Glue Seams With Loose Fur

Look at all this damn fur on the floor! If only there was something to do with it!

Put hot glue between the super visible seams where you hotglued different pieces of fabric next to each other, then pack in some of that loose fur. Cut it down if it’s too long. The seams will be less visible.

7.) Hot Glue the Eye Mesh Behind the Eye Holes

VERY CAREFULLY hot glue this so your character isn’t cross-eyed. You can try follow-me eyes but I didn’t do that with mine.

8.) Add Your Extra Details

You know like whiskers or plastic teeth or a tongue or anything else you want to put on there.

Now you’re done with the mask part.

9.) CAREFULLY Hot Glue Your Balaclava to the Inside of the Mask

The eye hole should be where your eye mesh is so that you can see out. Also make sure some of the balaclava is glued to the top of the mask.

10.) Weigh Down Your Styrofoam Head With a Heavy Rock

Or put it on a stand. Or hot glue it to the table. Whatever works.

11.) Put the Balaclava that you Glued to the Mask on the Styrofoam Head

Pretty simple. The reason we weighed down the styrofoam head is because the front of your mask will be heavy and make it fall over while you’re trying to work.

12.) ????? Put Fur On the Balaclava

You’ll also need to like add some fur connecting the sides of the mask to the balaclava. Hard to explain. You’ll probably figure it out?

13.) Trim that Fur and Put the Trimmings in the Seams Like Before

14.) Take it off of the Styrofoam Head

You may need to cut a slit in the back of the neck of your fursuit head. Not only will it help get the styrofoam head out, now your head can get in and out too!

15.) Put it on

Edit it if something is wrong. It might feel crooked but it’s probably not.

16.) Enjoy!

Hopefully this was helpful! This is how made mine.

#furry community #furry anthro #furry #furry fandom #fursuit head #fursuit #first fursuit #fursuit making #tutorial #fursuit tutorial #partial fursuit #fursuit partial #maximilliansblogstuff

[lulu101]

I’ve had multiple JD AUs in mind but the one I’m most fixated on writing rn is:

- “Hook”

Some info in this AU, trolls can reproduce an egg by asexual reproduction or two trolls have strong feelings for each other that it can manifest through an egg

Another thing to add, the trolls had managed to escape from Bergen Town before Brozone split up, and the Family Harmony was meant to be their first concert in the new Troll village as a way to celebrate

What changes is that once their Grandma’s taken by the Chef and Branch turns grey, King Peppy decides they need to relocate once again, which none of the brother were aware of (I’ll get in detail with Viva and Clay’s situation later)

While exploring the Neverglade Forest and having an egg, he also finds baby Rhonda

The egg reminds him of his brothers, especially Bitty B, and wanting his egg to grow up with his family, he decides to head back

Something goes wrong though and while severely injured, stumbles near the Rock Trolls, where King Thrash and toddler Barb were on a stroll of sorts

Despite clearly being a pop troll, King Thrash does wish to see egg orphaned so he does his best to save JD

Unfortunately, his injuries were too severe and the doctors note that him being able to get close to the Rock Volcano from the Neverglades was a miracle

The egg does hatch and JD gets to hold him before his death but isn’t able to slip out the name he wanted for him (Branch actually knows as JD had once told him as a baby what he would name his children if he had any but his memory won’t be jogged until the end of the fic)

Barb is the one who names him, which is Hook

Hook is then raised by the Rock Trolls, who don’t treat him any differently as he was basically one of them

Rhonda is raised by them as well, her being Hook’s and Barb’s “secret” hideout

Hook helps Barb in World Tour and meets Poppy when she’s captured, who is shocked to meet him as he’s nearly identical to JD from Brozone

He briefly explains that he had been raised by the Rock Trolls, he has no loyalty to the Pop Trolls and is doing it because he feels it’s the least he can do for Barb

Branch doesn’t meet him until after the strings are ripped and every genre gets their color back

Think of it like the scene from Secret of the Wings where Tinker Bell meets Periwinkle, with Branch seeing a familiar silhouette and calling out “John Dory?”

King Thrash has a strong reaction to that name (he had forgotten his name, only knowing he was named after a fish), which prompts Barb and Hook to turn around, Branch going through a mix of emotions at seeing someone who looks identical to JD standing right before him

Cue Branch starting to tear up and growling in frustration/hurt when Hook gets defensive over King Thrash while asking who John Dory is

I already have ideas for Band Together but I feel like I should save them until I’m done with this first part first (there’s define a lot of angst)

Part 2

#brozone #john dory #trolls john dory #trolls barb #trolls #trolls king thrash #trolls world tour au #trolls branch #trolls poppy #trolls au #trolls fanfic #John Dory has a son #said son is raised by the Rock Trolls because they’re not monsters #They name him Hook because JD died holding him before he could announce his name #The only thing JD left him is Rhonda #Did I really come up with this because I thought it would be sad if Brozone couldn’t get proper closure? #And that it would be even more sadder is not only does Hook look like JD #But he sometimes unknowingly acts like him #hook au

[pearl-tarotist]

✧.*PAC: Which shadow work do your FS and you need to do before meeting? ⍣ ೋ

 “Don’t be afraid of the shadows, it only means there’s a light nearby.”

Pile 1-2-3 will be referred to what shadow work your future spouse needs to do before meeting you.

Pile A-B-C will be referred to the shadow work you need to do before meeting your future spouse.

Pile 1-2-3

Pile A-B-C

Other readings(M.List)

Paid readings

Idea inspired by @poeticgoddessofpeace 💞

PILE 1

(The Hermit- Queen of Pentacles – 4C-2C- The Magician – The Lovers – 7W)

“A thinker sees his own actions as experiments and questions-as attempts to find out something. Success and failure are for him answers above all.” (Friedrich Nietzsche).

Your FS is an actual introvert! He does not like to show a lot of himself, nor he likes to use his energy on people he does not vibe with. I think it’s pointless for him to try to keep a relationship that makes him uncomfortable. Your FS enjoys solitude a bit too much.  Your spouse is someone that’s focused on creating wealth and into being self-sufficient. They want to be someone who does not need to relay on others.  I think that is their main shadow work, they need to stop being comfortable just in their own. The older they get, the more complicated it will be for them to start meeting others.

              This trait is one that they are proud of, they would rather be alone than not in complicated relationships, trying to change themselves for something they have been able to live without for a long time. They see how the romantic opportunities pass before their eyes without doing anything to reach and catch them. They could pursue people and they could flirt with them, but what point does it make if they do not like them instantly? I think they are devoted to you since birth, even when they do not know who you are yet. They won’t marry if it is not with someone they adore to the bone.

              Soon or later, they will have to come to terms with the fact that they want a relationship and on what that implies, having to share their life with others. Their safe place needs to change from their solitude to their companion, their partner. But! When they realise they want a relationship it’s going to be so easier for them… The Magician+The Lovers combo is here. They will have such a facility to create opportunities to meet people and to manifest the meeting with you, once they want it, they get it! They have all it takes, but it’s going to be a bit more complicate to conquest you… hehehe. I think you will be someone with a lot of stress or things to do at that moment of meeting them, so! Your FS will have to fight for your attention, and they could even had to fight with other romantic offers. But! He’s honestly the best one.

+EXTRA! His shadow work on the relationship: The fact that your fs is so happy in the relationship while be hard for him/her to accept. After living a life of “rigour” and” strictness”, while living in Hermit mode, they will be shocked!! It will be a full transformation or at least a hardcore change on their core values. Also, the fact that they like to control things but now they have to speak about it with you will be hard to change.

Channelled stuff: “Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory”, “trust issues”, “an office”, “dark hair”, “work”, “the number 7 and 19”, “the sun, a really happy relationship”, “ I saw the sun a few times”, “warmness”, “Capricorn and Aquarius”, “daddy and CEO vibes”, “fulfilment”, “The World Card”.

PILE 2

(3W Reversed – 5C – King of Swords – 7W - 10P – The World – The Lovers (back of the deck)

“...talent means nothing, while experience, acquired in humility and with hard work, means everything.”(Patrick Süskind)

Your FS has had problems with their projects, your spouse has always wanted to pursue what they liked but for some reasons the projects have never flowered in the way they should. This has made of them someone worried, pessimist and not as happy as they should be. They keep always thinking if what they do is enough and if everything they do is useless. Before meeting you, they need to prove to themselves that they are worthy; that they are good, productive and clever.

They have been hit by life from too soon, since they were young, from the beginning their dreams have not had an opportunity to flourish and fly, that has made turn their back on another positive and possible opportunities and outcomes. They need to get “their shit together”, (too rough?). Some pessimism is self-imposed. But I do also think that it’s possible that in these down tunes, there could have been some bad-intentioned people, people closer to them that betrayed them or did not offer them all the support that they needed.

I do feel that they must become someone clever and powerful but soft and nurturing enough to not be feared or misunderstood. I think their success is promised because I think they are hardworking, the fulmination and the end of this cycle will just bring them abundance, happiness and mostly, satisfaction. They need to feel satisfied with themselves, they need to see something that they have created and that is working. Once they have fulfilled these fantasies, dreams and aspirations of them, love is just next door.

Once they feel good enough with themselves, with enough self-esteem, with enough bravery and with their eyes put in other things, love is just next door!! It’s at the corner, pum! They are going to turn the corner and they will find you there with blushed cheeks and with eyes full of surprise and they are going to fall in love with you.

+EXTRA! His shadow work on the relationship: I think they wants to touch you so much all the time and to hold you between their arms that sometimes it’s complicated for them to leave you or to stop thinking about you. He's always reaching for you but, honestly, you are the one with the power to decide if you want him/her to touch you or not. Emotional dependence at it’s max. Also some external interference in the relationship.

Channelled stuff: “Children Park”, “slides”, “Aries”, “Taurus”, “Gemini” and “Virgo”. The planet Mars is important. “Short blonde hair”, “blue t-shirts”, “a cafeteria”, “a butterfly tattoo”, “cut-throating words” , 'to prove you I am the greatest!".

PILE 3

(The High Priestess – 9C – 2C – The Hanged Man – Page of Pentacles – 7C)

“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” (C.G. Jung).

A renovation. I think this pile is possibly the most spiritual one, the shadow work your future spouse needs to do before meeting you is directed to his/her emotions and into his/her intuition, introspection work. A shadow work to evolve. Your future spouse is not aware of all the potential and all the talent that she/he has.

They need to use their intuition more, they have to learn that there’s a side of life where you need to use your feelings and hunches, logic won’t just do it. Your future spouse needs to listen to their heart and clarify what they really want. They do also need to discover what’s pure and untouched from their souls. Their bases, their real safe.

To be more in touch with their sexuality and into what brings them happiness, just to discover what they like. Probably, while talking to people different from them. I do wonder if they have never had a healthy family to teach them all of it. To help them discover how safeness and love should feel because they also need to learn how that works.

In summary: they have a lot of untrained potential; they are stuck and still. They have not discovered their talent, nor they have started working on it! They do have to start working right now, they need to move and do things. And mostly they have to narrow their goals, focus on one and work on it little by little.

+EXTRA! His shadow work on the relationship: Mostly, I think they need to be brave and come to you, face to face. Your fs needs to use his words to be direct. He kind of will be a pleaser to you, always using the “correct” words. I think the fire signs in here will have problems with this “calmness”, I think a few of you need more activity. And will like to tease him just to make him mad.

Another message: +18! your future spouse would love to kiss your neck from behind and grabbing you… just putting a cut of the photos. I cannot put the full picture 🤣.

Channelled stuff: “To be loved by Aurora”, “freckles”, “dimples”, “magic/working as a magician”, “Pisces”, “Gemini”, “333”, “college dropout”, “Shakespeare”, “London”, “A movie about wolves”, “Greek mythology”, “art student”, “little Red Riding Hood”.

PILE A

(3C – Page of Pentacles – Knight of Cups – The Fool – The Magician)

“No, no! The adventures first, explanations take such a dreadful time.”(Lewis Carroll).

This energy was a bit closed at the beginning; I think you all may not like facing your shadow self that much. (no, because, same).

Your main topic to develop are relationships and experiences, as I have been able to sense, some of you are closed. It would be nice for you to create new unions, friendships, and possible romantic connections to just experience what you like, to get a bit of experience and to see how the world works. Obviously!! No need to force anything, but it would be nice to accept your friend’s invitation from time to time and to speak about how people live different things. Their perspectives and opinions, that way you could create yours.

Maybe, also, to work a bit in the professional world, to lay the foundations of your career and to discover what you want, focusing in one thing at the time

One way of live more would also be to offer your help to the ones that need it, express your feelings and be able to discuss and to fight against the “normal”, the “social rules”. At a deeper sense I think you need to be yourself in a really wild way. You need to celebrate your uniqueness and to recognize that you are worthy of all you want. Be unapologetically yourself.

You need to move, to discover, to create, to walk…that way you would be able to create the opportunities you want, because you have the talent (The Fool + The Magician). You got the first two cards of the deck, that’s amazing! You need to recognize your talent and to use it for yourself. It’s a lot of work but it will be worthy.

+EXTRA! Your shadow work on the relationship: okay, intense!! YOU NEED TO WAKE THE FUCK UP, you are amazing!! I think it would be complicated for you to feel like the Empress that you are!! You will be fighting against your insecurities, and I think you will like to be sexy but these dumb insecurities will stop you. Also, for some of you, it’s possible that you got cheated in a past relationship? You will have doubts about your spouse's loyalty, it’s something you will also need to work on 😭.

Channelled stuff: “travel and trips”, do not be afraid to see the world, if you have the money and the opportunities please travel around! “LGBT+”, “the sea”, “Poseidon”, “Turkey”, “ladybugs”.

PILE B

(The Sun - 10S - King of Cups - Queen of Swords - The High Priestess - The Emperor)

"I like the night. Without the dark, we'd never see the stars."

This pile is going to be intense, be aware. Okay, some of you have been living in a bad losing streak for a long time. It looks as if you had lost your real smile even for years, I would say that some of you have depression or “heavy” mental illness that affect your daily life. This shadow self has been clinging to you.

We got the Sun card, this card is amazing when doing a normal reading but if we are doing a shadow reading, and we get such a light card…it’s complicated. You do not like to even look at your shadow self, it looks as if you were hiding under fake positivism; and before meeting your future spouse, you will have to deal with all of it; you wanting it or not, all of your spirit guides will push you to it. You will have to deal with it, I see some of you going to therapy or facing the people that cause the problems.

To the people facing this person, it’s a male, someone that betrayed you and hurt you. I’m not going to lie, it will hurt to have to deal with years of “short film”, years of not taking care of your self. But, it will be worthy, it will be an end to non-structured sadness and panic attacks. You will end with the constant gibberish in your head.

We also got the most logical queen with the most intuitive woman, the high priestess. So, you will need to balance yourself , and you need to do it with power.

Some of you will be more logical and you need to push your intuitive side. Some of you are intuitive and you need to be logical and look at the global picture.

You will need to grab the bull by the horns. Be strong and be clear on your limits and abilities. And mostly, please take care of yourself.

+EXTRA! Your shadow work on the relationship: for this pile, some of you will have trouble with expressing how big your love is and to express your creativity with your future spouse. I do also think that you do not like to be pitied by your future spouse and you do not let him/her take care of you as much as they would like. Well, darling you will have to take their love!! Also, a repeated scene is you both on the bed while he tries to caress you lovingly but your eyes are focused on another place, let the man love you!!

Channelled stuff: “sunrise”, “sunset”; “bed”, “clean blankets”, “a bank”, “Financial bank”, “grass”; “flowers”, “living next to a mountain”, “fertility could be a problem?”, “snacks at night”, "444", "moving around", btw! The gif that you choose? Let's hope for your future spouse to grab you like that and show you his love. I would die of happiness if he (Ben Barnes hehehe) grabbed me like that 🌝.

PILE C

(5C – Strength reversed – 8W – The Moon – Temperance – 3W)

"A witty woman is a treasure; a witty beauty is a power."(George Meredith)

So! You are usually a bit pessimistic? You usually retract in yourself when you feel pessimistic, let’s say you ghost all your friends when you start feeling sad. It’s better to expend those times alone?No, before meeting your fs you may try to change that a bit. Express yourselves a bit more, let’s communicate your feelings and allow yourselves to be vulnerable with others, there’s no need to be always strong and self-sufficient.

Also, you need to start appreciating your efforts and your results, you can not expect to build Rome in one day! Little by little, all things can be done. Before meeting your fs you need to understand the value you have, and understand that you are worthy of all type of nice things!

What worries me the most, once more, is that you could possibly hide in your subconscious a lot of fears, and you need to work on them, but, step by step. Also, the temperance card indicates that you could have little patience (Same!), but as we say in Spain “things of castles go slow”, something close to: "Good things come to those who wait”. You will have try to build your self-esteem and your bravery in a beautiful and strong way. We need to go slow, to not expect a lot at once. Patience is key.

I do also see that you have some projects (mostly related to work/your career) that you may need to develop before meeting your future spouse, this fear could be related to your job? It’s okay, with patience you can do everything!

+EXTRA! Your shadow work on the relationship: I got a lot of queens…mmm. I think your shadow work to do in this relationship is to accept your place as a powerful woman. You could have your future spouse in his/her knees if you wanted to. Allow yourself to express your desires and your wishes. Do not fall on routines and “sleepiness”.

Channelled stuff: “Ships”, “fire”, “the jungle”, “undressing under the light night ”, “red tshirt with flowers”, “summer tshirt”, “motocycle”, “creativity”, “foreign language”.

The Pearl Tarotist, 🦪&🌜.

#pac #fs pac #tarot #pick a pile #free tarot reading #tarot deck #tarot reading #love reading #shadow work #spirituality #pick a card reading #future spouse pick a card #pick a picture #fs pick a pile #love tarot free #free tarot readings #adivination #cartomancy #intuition

[thelunarfairy]

A very long post about JSHK

I'm going to include a few photos so that it doesn't end up being 3 times longer than it should be hahaha, I'm going to rely on your memory on this one.

Then I had a sudden epiphany, and I've been thinking about JSHK's main timeline. You know, a summary of how the main story (without the branches) is developing.

If I were to summarize the story I would say it goes like this:

"An ordinary school with a tendency towards supernatural events and home to 7 mysteries. Each mystery protects a passage and each of them has two stories. One false (rumored) and one true. If you can uncover all the true stories, something will happen."

At the moment, there are only 3 stories left to be discovered, mystery number 1, number 3 and number 7. Considering that Hanako is one of the protagonists, he will probably be the last (even if it is not certain).

Now, we're in arc number 1, he seems to have a direct connection with the twins, especially Tsukasa, and that's who I want to talk about. Come with me and see how this boy's genius works.

So it doesn't get too long, I'll summarize.

Yashiro starts the story by invoking Hanako, Yashiro later reveals that the person who spoke about Hanako's rumor was Aoi, and we know that all the rumors she hears are from her best friend, so the person who spread the rumor about Hanako was probably Tsukasa (that's a hypothesis)

After they create the bond, she starts to be able to see the supernatural and becomes a piece on the board. Yousei was the result of a change in mokke rumors, his story served to show us how even creatures as cute as mokkes can turn into something monstrous like that. Remember that the one spreading the rumors is Tsukasa.

Tsukasa hand hahaha

After that, we have the arc of number 2. First we have the false story, what the rumors were talking about and Yako transformed into a new person, even though her essence is still there. His story came to further reinforce the power of rumors regarding the supernatural (whether mysteries or not) and how yorishiros, those who keep the true story, work. Remembering once again that the one who is spreading the rumors is Tsukasa.

Let's go ahead, right after the arch in number 2, we have the confession tree. A rumor that Aoi told Yashiro. This tree was extraordinarily peculiar because it didn't fit well into any context that linked to the main story, my mistake. Because it was because of this tree that Hanako made the false confession, Yashiro cried, and he apologized to her. Okay, but how does this fit in? It turns out that Hanako's gesture caught Yashiro's attention and made her interested in Hanako's past. Remembering once again that the one who is spreading the rumors is Tsukasa.

We have the exorcists arc, this arc talks more about Kou's development and the way he and Teru judge supernaturals. It is worth remembering that this is important in the future so that Kou can or cannot help Hanako, in addition to, of course, arousing distrust in us not only about Teru's attitude, but also how Hanako does not accept his own sin, finding it unjustifiable. (And to show us how underhanded Hanako is)

So moving forward, while Yashiro goes to the library to research Hanako-san, Sakura is there and talks about the Tsuchigomori library. I don't need to talk about Tsukasa here, right? The arc of number 5, it is simple and without much action, but it is important. In it we learn that you can only change the future in some circumstances and that Tsuchigomori has this ability that can be used at some point. Besides, of course, he lets Nene peek a little into the true story of number 7. This part of his story is important, I don't need to say, it's short but it reveals to us that there was something wrong in Hanako's life.

We follow Yashiro's dilemma about whether or not to continue alongside the bathroom ghost, when Kou convinces her to continue (do you realize the importance of the exorcists arc now? Kou judged that Hanako wasn't a bad ghost, but became suspicious because of what Teru and Hanako said, so he still didn't know what to think about him) If Kou hadn't had this conversation with her (he invited her to make the donuts with the intention of understanding why Yashiro was distant from Hanako) Yashiro would have left away from Hanako.

She and Hanako have a heart-to-heart on the roof when Tsukasa finally appears. His appearance happened right after Yashiro said that he likes Hanako, this could have several meanings, either because Hanako was falling in love and was failing his duty, or another specific objective of Tsukasa. Sakura had ordered the mokke to put the black crane in the donut bag, meaning Tsukasa already knew this was going to happen and chose to reveal himself at that moment.

While Hanako was in internal conflict because of Tsukasa's appearance, we entered the mermaid arc. Yashiro is tempted to definitively become a servant of the mermaid and break the bond with Hanako. Something that didn't happen because he heard her conversation with Tsuchigomori. He "fished" her right away. In this arc we see Yashiro and Hanako's relationship evolve, he asks her for patience because he is not ready to talk about his own past, and she accepts. This arc is important so as not to make us think "why doesn't he just say it?" XD The bond of trust between them grows here. We later see that Tsukasa kills one of the fish and the Mermaid starts to fear the world of the living and gives up on Yashiro (at least for now) so the arc also served to show that the mermaid will no longer disturb her.

So, we meet Mitsuba for the first time. Initially as an ordinary ghost he reveals to us a small part of his past (so that we can quickly empathize with him) then, when he befriends Kou, Tsukasa appears angry and destroys him (he apparently already had this intention) perhaps because Mitsuba had to do something that Tsukasa wants but the "real" Mitsuba wasn't living up to his expectations. And why am I saying this? Mitsuba is a frequent character, he has a connection with the protagonists and has a lot of screen time, in addition to that Tsukasa is always around him, and he was not discarded after being destroyed, that is, he is an important character who will have a key moment in the plot in the future. Knowing this, I imagine that Tsukasa wanted to remake Mitsuba so that he would have no memories and thus not interfere with Tsukasa's plans. (whatever it is)

Moving on, we go straight to the tea party, where Yashiro was purposely kidnapped by Tsukasa. You already know what the point of this arc was. Tsukasa wanted to send Yashiro nowhere, and she went with Natsuhiko to make sure she went to the right door. Natsuhiko conveniently gets pulled by one of Tsukasa's toys (I already talked about it here and here) so that Nene is alone and goes back to the past to get Amane's key.

Could Tsukasa have used his Kokujoudai to take her there? He could, but apparently he doesn't use them when he doesn't want to attract Hanako's attention. I don't know if you noticed but… Let me give you an example, when Tsukasa attacked Mitsuba he used the joudais, at the same time Hanako's Hakujoudai alerted him about Tsukasa. So, there may be a connection (it's a hypothesis) Tsukasa didn't want Hanako to get in the way so he didn't send her using the joudais

Following this, we have the first arc of the clock where we meet Mirai and discover that Akane is one of the seven. This arc is important not only for that, but to show us that in the future the school will be destroyed (given its state when Mirai moves a few rooms forward into the future) and that Yashiro will die. Hanako was forced to reveal this. We later see that Hanako realizes that her time is running out and begins to think about possibilities to save her. I've been wondering, who released Mirai from the boundary?

Ahead we have the arc of number 3, the return of Mitsuba. This arc showed us how strong Tsukasa is and that even though he has this strength he is unable to remove Yorishiro's seal. Then we see Mitsuba transform into the new number 3. It's important to know this, it was revealed to us that supernaturals can eat each other to become stronger and that the Mystery Seats can be acquired this way, in addition to of course, we reveal that Tsukasa is happy to see that Yashiro is alive and shows us that he has bigger plans for Mitsuba.

It's worth remembering that in this arc we see Yako talking about how rumors can change the form of the supernatural, but even so they continue to have the same essence as the original. Hanako runs his finger over his own seal, which could mean that he identified himself and that he probably went through this previously.

So let's move on to the festival arc where Yashiro meets young Amane. It wasn't very clear if it was actually a dream or if she managed to return to the past (I imagine it's the second option because Amane writes that he wants to see her in the future and little Tsukasa in the red house says he wants to go to that festival with Amane) Yashiro was probably taken to his past because they were holding hands when she was hit. In this arc we have this small interaction between them, and I imagine that this affected Amane more than Yashiro (since she believed it was a dream) and he changed his initial request, he was to be an astronaut and he wished to see Nene again. In other words, changing the future.

Moving on, we have the comedic zombie chapter. Initially we have the naive feeling that he doesn't have a direct connection with previous events, but he does. This entire chapter served to show us that Yashiro has a unique ability to purify, she did this to all the students in the school at once. Remembering that in Tsukasa's first appearance she hurts him when she throws the juice (?) from her bottle at him. In other words, as Teru had said, Yashiro is a special girl.

So, after all this fuss is over, let's move on to arc number 4. The perfect world created at Tsukasa's behest. His initial goal (apparently) was to force Yashiro to kill Amane and Kou to kill Mitsuba, but let's face it Tsukasa was just waiting for an opportunity to force a wish on Shijima and for Yashiro to remove her yorishiro. Did you realize that Hanako didn't tell her to remove yorishiro from number 4? Suddenly Tsukasa appears and says that she will fulfill Shijima's wish, and he sends Yashiro along. After all, he managed to get Yashiro to take off the seal and earned payment for the wish. He probably asked Shijima to make those flyers Sakura was wearing at the festival with petals that go into the eye (it's a hypothesis) Tsukasa was doing that while we were focused on how Hanako wanted to save Yashiro's life.

Let's go to the next arc, here we have a dispute between Teru and Akane about who will get the best grade, I don't need to say that he did this to force Akane to do what he wants, right? He asked that if Kou asked him for a favor in the future, he would do it. It means Teru has something in mind.

The arc of number 6… This arc is so long hahaha but it was important to show us about a part of the Minamoto's past (and to show us that they are not as good as they seem) in addition to the life of one of the young women who they were sacrificed in the name of God. Ah, yes of course, this "God". The arc of number 6 has an important connection with the past, about the village, about families, about Kannagis, about how human cruelty can be bigger than that of supernaturals. Furthermore, we clearly see Tsukasa taking advantage of this, as Natsuhiko stayed with Kou while Tsukasa and Sakura planned for Yashiro to remove the seal from number 6. It's worth remembering that they took the opportunity to show Nene what happens when you don't remove the seal, so we have the revelation that Tsukasa is Hanako's yorishiro. So in short, if Yashiro doesn't remove Tsukasa's seal, Hanako will have to destroy him.

Sumire and Hakubo's arc is very important, it reveals important pieces for the future and how things happened in the past. Their relationship reveals to us that the love between a human and a supernatural may not be the way we expect. Because if a supernatural loves a human, his way of showing love is by devouring her? I'm not going to go into depth about this because this post is already too long, the important thing is that you understand the reasoning.

So we have separation. Something planned by Hanako. He apparently made a request to God to grant Yashiro's wish since he needed a sacrifice (Aoi) number 6 was actually performing the ceremony with her (same as in the village). We don't know if that's actually the case, but that's what everything indicates since Hanako doesn't have that power. The most interesting thing during the entire time when the doors of the supernatural were all (almost) closed is how Teru was committed to making everything return to "normal".

Don't you think it's strange that soon he who hates supernaturals was committed to making everything go back to the way it was? Ah, it was because of Aoi…. Tell me, do you honestly believe that Teru likes her? Isn't it a bit…sudden? A silly excuse to distract Akane and the others from revealing what he really wants? Then. Teru makes his art at this moment, which leads us to

Red house, remember that we are still in the arc of number 6. Well this part clearly exists to show us not only a small snippet about the twins' past but also about Mitsuba's connection with the house and Tsukasa (since they found the photo from the red house at Mitsuba's house) We have many revelations here, most of them explicit, that is, I don't need to mention it, but the most important revelation is that Tsukasa can float through the flow of time and that he was working together with the creature. In addition to, of course, the great possibility that Yashiro and Kou have changed the twins' fate. Everything in this part is extremely important, even the house's fear of fire, as the house disappeared in flames (which indicates that on the day/night of the twins' death the fire was present).

Then, the reunion of Nene and Hanako (still in the arc of number 6). Here we see Tsukasa's impatience, he appears (on purpose) after the two kiss and sends Yashiro to remove the seal from number 6. We've already talked about this, haven't we? Then we have the moment when Sakura reveals some things to Yashiro to gain his trust (at least a little), and also about Tsukasa, while talking to Sakura he says that Amane was irritated but that in the end he would do the job. Hanako didn't go to the boundary of number 6, he sent Hakujoudai, which means he was doing something elsewhere and therefore couldn't go get Yashiro himself, that is, he was obeying Tsukasa.

So, we have the end of the arc of number 6 with him leaving after the destruction of his boundary and we enter the redemption chapters. You know, those calmer, calmer chapters where the characters make up or discuss something from the past. It's the fireworks chapter. Where Kou makes peace with Teru and Yashiro with Aoi, and of course, Nene and Kou have a shallow and quick conversation with Hanako about how wrong what he did was (although he doesn't think so and doesn't guarantee he won't do it again) .

In the midst of all this, we have Mitsuba and Kou's reunion. Do you know why these chapters were important? Here we discover that Mitsuba is a "cannibal" since he is a supernatural and he usually eats similar ones. He is in the acceptance process, but has made it clear that this bothers him. Not only that, but it shows us that Kou is quite compassionate and that he will not follow his family's principles, after all he is protecting and taking care of a supernatural (Mitsuba) let's add that in the arc of number 6 there were some moments that were not shown to us between the two and Natsuhiko, who talks about how a human can become a supernatural. Even Kou's absence in that arc had a basis, but I won't delve into that.

Finally (for now) the current arc, the arc of number 1 this time more related to his yorishiro. I'm not going to go into depth on this one because it's in development and we have little information.

In any case, after the arc of number 1, there will be 3 and 7 left, as I said previously, or, one of the hypotheses is that the three can develop together because they are both connected. Did you notice Tsukasa's great influence on most of the events and on all his genius in connecting things? It's spectacular. It's like he's weaving every moment between his fingers. I was particularly amazed by this boy's intellectual capacity.

If that's the case, sure, but that's what everything indicates. I know there are important points that I didn't mention, but this post is too long. In short, Tsukasa is committed to showing us the true story of the school's mysteries, despite him being responsible for spreading the false ones, and each mystery has its own particular way of showing us. Maybe the story of number 7 will still take a while to arrive, in addition to numbers 1 and 3, we have the story of the minamoto, Yashiro's family, Natsuhiko and Sakura….. Ahhh it's going to be a long journey and I'm going to love following it .

If you read this far you are a warrior, thank you for that because this post gave me a lot of work to do hahahaha a lot of text to write what my little head was thinking x_x hahaha

Anyway, I hope you liked it.

#jibaku shounen hanako kun #hanako kun #hanakokun #toilet bound hanako kun #amane yugi #jshk #tbhk #jshk spoilers #yugi twins #aidairo #tbhk hanako #jshk hanako #nene yashiro #tsukasa yugi #hanako anime #yugi amane #yugi tsukasa #yashiro #yashiro nene #tbhk yashiro #jshk yashiro #minamoto kou #mitsuba sousuke #jshk mitsuba #sousuke mitsuba #sakura tbhk

[deliciousangelfestival]

My Problematic Girl - Chapter 3

Character: College!Steve Rogers x Rich!Female Reader

Prologue:  Steve has lived being nobody in this prestigious university. He just wants to graduate and get a job to get more money to pay the bills for his mother's surgery. 

But his life turned upside when a new student attended his class. His quiet and dull life became dangerous and full of surprises.

×××

She exhaled the cigarette smoke from her lips. She still doesn’t care even though he told her he has asthma. 

She looked at Steve and said, “Bark for me.”

Steve felt humiliated, and his pride was crushed. But she held his life and secrets. He had to bury his dignity to the ground, and he murmured, 

“Woof.”

******

I would appreciate any comments and feedback you can give me. 

If you want to be tagged in this series, please tell me.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5 , Chapter 6, Chapter 7 ,Chapter 8 , Chapter 9,-

Main Masterlist || Buy me Ko-fi

For a brief moment, he could understand what "happiness" means. His struggle to find a sponsor has been resolved. 

But when she mentioned that ID name, Steve felt naked.

His life is exposed to the whole world. His biggest fear has become a reality. Someone in the uni knew his secrets.

He grabbed Y/N's hand and dragged her until he found a quiet place. 

They weren't running, but Steve had to catch his breath. He felt suffocated. Like someone strangled his neck.

When he found a spot to talk, he released her hand. "Is this the reason why you ask me? What do you want?"

Y/N widened her eyes for a second; then, she chuckled again. "Turned out you can get angry too." 

Steve felt his head going to explode, "You…!!!"

She raises her arm to stop him. "If you think I want to blackmail you. You are partially correct."

Steve's trust in her crumbled, and he stepped away from her. He covered his face with both hands. "Are you going to tell the university?" 

Since she is close to Tony, there's a high chance she will tell him. 

Y/N was taken aback; she seemed offended. "Pfft, no. Why would I want to do that?"

Steve lifted his face; he became more confused. "So, what do you want from me?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Right now, nothing." 

She took out her phone and started texting. While she was looking at the screen, she said, "I will inform you when I find a perfect location for your exhibition."

She doesn't bother with the way Steve look at her. "Word of advice, don't be afraid when someone knows your secret. Ignored them."

Steve clenched his fist. "Seems like you have experienced."

Y/N smirked at him and left. She left him with many questions and doubts.

Back at his apartment, Steve threw his bag to the floor and threw himself to bed. He wished he could turn around time to the day, but Y/N came to the class and ignored her. 

But it's too late now. 

"Bzzt"

"Yoo punk."

Steve sighed heavily; at least today, he could hear a familiar voice.

"What is it, idiot? Did you get hit in the head today?"

"This kid. Don't you want your best friend to become a famous quarterback?"

Steve chuckled. He's talking with Bucky, who studies in other cities at Imperial University. It is also a prestigious university like Stark but is more competitive and has a strong alumnus of doctors, lawyers, and football players. 

Bucky got accepted because of his football scholarship. Both of them are only able to meet on holidays. 

"Hei Bucky."

"What? You sounded like you got hit by a bus."

"I prefer to get hit. Today I meet a b**h."

"Tell me!!!"

Steve sighed heavily; he couldn’t tell everything to Bucky. He only tells him there’s a new student, which gives him stress. 

“Hmm, she sounds like a person I know. Perhaps I’m wrong. Just be careful, Steve.” 

Yeah, he should be careful. He doesn’t know what Y/N has under her sleeves.

A few days later.

Y/N didn't come to the university. It's better that way because he doesn't know how to feel when he sees her, angry or awkward. 

But once again when Steve felt relieved for a moment. Something will come again to disturb his peace. 

'Vroom'

The engine's sounds were loud, taking every student's attention, including Steve, walking towards the gate to go home. 

It was a black sports car, and it stopped beside Steve. He finally knew who the owner was when the car window went down. 

It's Y/N. 

"Get in." 

Steve wants to ignore her but doesn't want to get into trouble and make her mad since she knows his secret. So he gets into the car. 

When he sat down, the smell of expensive leather made him feel rich. The dashboard design also has impressive craftsmanship. No wonder why people like to collect sports cars. It felt like collecting luxury toys. 

"Where are we going?" 

"To the location for your exhibition."

"Huh…"

(An example to show the space for Steve's art exhibition)

'She wasn't joking.'

Steve thought while he walked around the empty studio. This place is huge. It's bigger than his apartment.

"A famous photographer and other artists always rent this place." A property agent is talking with Y/N. He keeps talking about selling aspects to convince her. 

Y/N crossed her arms and nodded. "Send me the contract."

The agent was pleased. "I will send it tomorrow."

"Good. Leave."

After the property agent left, Y/N walked toward Steve while taking another cigarette. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah. Who wouldn't? Every artist would kill to get this place."

Steve still can't believe it.

Nobody from his class could afford this place. Then he remembered nothing in this world is free. "What exactly do you want from me?"

Y/N smiled at him. "In the world of the arts during the Medieval and Early Modern eras, many artists had a wealthy sponsor of their work, a system called patronage. Like Da Vinci and Mozart."

That part is true. Back then, the Catholic church and the pope hired many artists and sculptured to design the church building. They could afford food and a roof over their head. But some artist doesn’t have a good Patreon. Like Van Gogh, who only ate bread and drank wine. Everyone started to adore his art after he committed suicide. 

She inhaled and exhaled the smoke from her lips. "I felt offended you doubted my sincerity, Steve." 

He coughed and cleared his throat; the tobacco smell was too strong.  "But, why me? There's another talented student from the class."

Y/N shook her head. "I already like your 'special work.' Then when I met you and saw your other painting, I knew I had made a perfect choice."

Her compliment made him flattered, but he had to stay on guard. "It's not just an exhibition; you want to sell my painting."

Her face brightened, and she snapped her finger. "That's right Steve. And you will get 80% share."

He gasped; that was a fantastic offer. "You seem confident; do you already have a potential buyer?"

She nodded, "There's a lot of people who want to do money laundering."

‘HUH?!’

Steve raised his eyebrows. Did his ears fool him? 

Did he just hear that? The way she said it is like, 'Tomorrow is Friday.'

"What?"

Y/N confidently answered, "I’m going to use your painting for money laundering."

Steve knees became weak, that made him unable to stand anymore; he thought:

'Dear God, he always prayed for an answer to his financial trouble. But what kind of angel He sent to him? '

Thank you for reading. I hope you like it.

If you have any feedbacks or want to join the tagged list, you can tell me.

I will always be grateful for those who reblog. Thank you so much.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5 , Chapter 6, Chapter 7 ,Chapter 8 , Chapter 9,-

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2024.01.06 - https://weibo.com/l/wblive/p/show/1022:2321324986957909590120

[t/n: wow, so laggy.]

1:10 LYN: Today we have an outdoors stream, a little like the last one. We’ll be taking everyone out to play, today. A special outing. LYN: Xiao Fang- Fang Yilun- has arranged a very cool itinerary for us. As for what it is, let’s go find out together. FYL: It’ll be Activities for Young Folk, mostly because we’ve been cooped up in Hengdian for too long. We have to be positive! LYN: We’re headed for the big city. FYL: Yes! We’re going to celebrate your birthday as an eighteen year old should! I’ll show you how an eighteen year old in Hangzhou should spend their birthday.

2:03 - LYN asking fans not to send presents, otherwise he can’t see the comments. LYN: You don’t need to wish me a Happy Birthday, either. Today isn’t my birthday- it’s on the 8th. - FYL laughing bc he’s thinking LYN’s fans don’t know when his b-day is, probably. LYN: It’s not my birthday today, but I probably won’t have any time on the 8th, so I thought I would have my “birthday stream” today. Of course, I would like to thank weibo and all of the friends who have come to my stream today to support me. LYN: I know the presents are free, but you don’t need to send them so aggressively. C: The sound is so small. LYN: WHAT?!? Seriously? Is the sound small? C: Can’t hear clearly. LYN: You can’t hear clearly? We’re wearing mics, and you can’t hear us clearly?? What are you talking about?! Let me test it. / You should be able to hear it…? C: We can hear FYL’s but not yours. FYL: Why don’t I switch with you? LYN: No, no. / You can hear clearly now? FYL: I was thinking, maybe I should switch with you? Because I have a loud voice. LYN: It has nothing to do with how loud your voice is- I have a loud one, too. - adjusting the mic position to see if that helps (it doesn’t).

4:20 LYN: Another thing- I just want to say. We just want to relax and wander around today, so if you figure out where we are, please don’t come to find us. Okay? Thank you. PLEASE don’t come to find us. If that happens, and we get surrounded we’re probably not going to able to stream and we’ll leave. Because these are public spaces, okay? Promise me. If you know where we are, please don’t come to find us. You’ll take cars by the droves and then come surround us like you’re watching monkeys in a zoo. That’s uncomfortable. Okay? I really hope you can let us have a smooth stream today. We have a lot of things planned, so we’ll probably stream into the night and through to midnight. FYL: Let us have our together time with just the two of us. LYN: Right, of course. But we’re also spending our time together with you in the stream.

5:15 LYN: Let’s go, then! FYL: We’re off. - masking up & LYN tells FYL he doesn’t have to have the camera on him while he does that. FYL: Okay, then I can only let you reluctantly see me. C: How handsome! FYL: Are you talking about him or me? FYL: !! Wait, what should we call each other when we’re out there? How about you call me Shisan? LYN: No, it’s ok. Anything’s fine. FYL: Just call you by your given name?? LYN: No, just like “Hey!”

6:30 - hallway FYL: I’m not that familiar with these parts anymore, but if it were 20 years ago- FYL: 20 years ago, I was really familiar with these parts. Because my dad used to be in the clothing business-foreign trade, so after my dad got off work he would pick me up from elementary school and we’d wander around here.

7:10 - elevator LYN: If the sound continues to be low, later we’ll just stop using the mics. We’ll just use the phone’s audio input. FYL: /looking at their reflection in the mirrors/ Wow, we’re so fashionable! We look like some sort of duo.

8:00 LYN: We’re heading directly there? To our first destination? FYL: Straight there. LYN: Is it a far walk? FYL: Not too far. 300+ meters. Do you think that’s far? LYN: No, it’s okay. FYL: If you think it’s far, we can also take a car there. XD - discussing methods of transportation

8:27 FYL: There are quite a lot of people by West Lake today. I was really afraid that it would be raining when you came, today. If it were raining, we’d be under an umbrella… then we can visit the Broken Bridge. [t/n: known for the love story between Xu Xian and the White Snake]

8:47 - still trying to troubleshoot the audio FYL: I still think I should switch with you. LYN: There’s no need. I’m closer to it than you are. FYL: No, it’s okay. - /switched mics/ FYL: Ask them how it is, now. Because I have a naturally loud voice, anyway. LYN: How is it now? Is it okay? / /to FYL/ You try. FYL: Hello, hello. 1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3. LYN: Is it okay now? Ok. LYN: I’m sorry. As a singer, I can’t believe I’m not louder than an actor.

9:46 LYN: See. Earlier you said that there are a lot of people by West Lake, and now everyone knows we’re in Hangzhou. FYL: Oh no! LYN: It’s okay. It doesn’t make a difference.

10:48 LYN: It’s normal that it’s lagging. That’s the charm of a livestream. The charm is that it will lag. It’s random like that. LYN: Wow, there are really a lot of people. LYN: /seeing a comment/ You can’t hear Xiao Fang anymore? /deep sigh/ See. These things aren’t very reliable. FYL: Oh. Here- there are two... squirrels? LYN: Oh!! I see them. FYL: There, there! LYN: I see them! FYL: People will come to feed them.

- FYL listing all the things they could do, if they had more time. 12:44 LYN: Someone asked an embarrassing question: The two of you are walking along and no one has recognized you? LYN: No, it’s normal that they can’t. We’re not some big/very popular celebrities or anything. We’re just average. It’s not important. It’s better that they DON’T recognize us. - psa: please don’t come to find them - discussing where to go

C: I can tell that you’re handsome guys at a glance! LYN: No, no. He’s very handsome, but in real life I am very basic. FYL: Wow! If you say that, I’m gonna get cyber-bullied!! LYN: Pu Xin Nan. The “most trustworthy man in all the world.” (普天之下最适合信任的男人) FYL: The “most confident man in all the world.” (普天之下最有信心的男人) LYN: Yes! That’s also right.

14:20 - looking into how/where to buy tickets for the ferry 14:48 - lyn showing us all the people

14:57 FYL: You probably don’t have these in the North, right? LYN: What? FYL: They’re like… those insects that make noise? Guoguo (katydid)? LYN: Ququ (fighting cricket)? FYL: No, not ququ. LYN: Then, probably guoguo. FYL: Right- the ones that chirp. When I was little there were a lot of those around. And people selling flashlights and lanterns. I loved playing with those and had a row of them in my house.

LYN: The first time I came to Hangzhou it was the year I participated in Super Boy. FYL: In Hangzhou? LYN: Yeah. Me, from Dongbei, attended Super Boy in Hangzhou. But I didn’t even pass the auditions. FYL: No way. LYN. Yeah. Then I was pretty down and came around West Lake to wander.  FYL: Is it because the pool in Dongbei was too poor and you couldn’t prove yourself? LYN: No, it was because they’re too good! There’s the Shenyang Music Academy, there; and various music schools. But then when I got here I found out that the music academies here are even more impressive.

15:52 - got distracted by more squirrels and decides to show the stream bc he feels like there’s no content going on. [t/n: they’re cute and fat. (or is it because they are well fed?) the tails look shorter than those of squirrels around me. :p]

17:27 - found the line for the ferry. it’s super long, with about a 30 minute wait for the next one. LYN: Let’s find some place with less people to hang out, then. LYN: For our first stop he was planning to take me on a boat ride on the lake. How romantic is that? FYL: I just didn’t expect there to be so many people. LYN: That’s probably normal. But anyway… we’ll not go boat riding this time. FYL: It used to be that there were a lot of boats docked at the side, and it would be like catching a cab to get on one. FYL: I guess we’ll have to find a bench or something. LYN: Let’s look for somewhere with less people. We’ll have a chat.18:50 - FYL recalling how there used to be aluminum boats around that you could rent and steer yourself. (the ferry is more expensive.) FYL: A friend and I came to ride a boat, and we were trying to get to the middle of the lake. Have you ever ridden in an aluminum boat? LYN: No. FYL: We used up all of our strength to row to the island in the middle, and then we couldn’t row back. It was July and the sun was huge. I could see as clear as day as my friend started “frothing at the mouth.” He looked like he was being cooked silly, and I asked him, “Are you okay? You don’t have heatstroke, do you?” He just smiled back at me, and his lips were so white. LYN: When you’re young you just have to go all out.

20:00 - still looking for a less populated area to sit and chat LYN: Don’t send us any special effects- I can’t see the comments that way. There’s nothing planned- I just wanted to take you around, since I’m usually always streaming from home. It just so happened that FYL had time, so he agreed to keep me company. LYN: If you know where we are, please don’t come to find us. Thank you. If you really come then it would become a bit more troublesome. We just want to wander around. There are other places we’d like to go, as well.

21:28 - found a place to sit! FYL: Alright, then let’s make some of Hangzhou’s specialty. LYN: What is it? West Lake Dragon Well tea? FYL: Lotus Root Powder. LYN: Lotus Root Poweder??!

21:59 - C: The two of you, please explain what you meant by “HE” (happy ending of YNGS). LYN: They finally caught us. The fans of the drama have been trying to catch us for half a month, and they’ve finally got us. They need an explanation. 

LYN: What are you up to? FYL: I’m making the lotus root powder! LYN: Oh! / I’ll get it on camera for you. This looks like the way a fashionable young person would spend their days! FYL: Young people in Hangzhou spend their birthdays just like this! / How come it’s not coming out right? LYN: They come out and drink a bowl of porridge to start? FYL: It’s lotus root powder… LYN: I- OMG, is that drinkable?? FYL: It’ll definitely be good! No problem!! Trust me. Wait for me a second. 22:50 - FYL leaves to find some tools. LYN: /picks up the cup and jiggles it/ WHAT IS THIS??? How come it looks like the mucus that you’d spit out- Is this edible?? Eurgh. LYN: I don’t think we made it right. WE probably need some sort of tool. C: You need to mix it. LYN: He went to find a pair of chopsticks. C: Use your hand. LYN: Use my hand to mix it, then down it?? 23:45 - FYL came back, and LYN’s surprised that he found any tools. FYL: /picks the cup up to mix it/ Oh? How come it become one chunk? I’m going to dumo it and try again. FYL: Give me another chance!

C: How long will you stream for, Ning-ge? LYN: We don’t have a time limit or things that we need to do. We’ll stream for as long as we want to. FYL: I think I poured too much! It’s too thick, LYN: Right, maybe less? FYL: Does anyone know how much I’m supposed to use?? LYN: Why does this seem like the sauce we make in Dongbei? I’ve really never had lotus root powder before. FYL: It’s really good! C: Use boiling water. LYN: We are. FYL: It’s hot water. How can we use cold? FYL: Do you like it thinner or thicker? LYN: I’ve never had it before! Thinner, I guess? I don’t think I could get it down if it were thicker. LYN: There’s only one cap? FYL: No, there’s another one. C: Use cold water first. LYN: It’s okay. It’s fine like this, too. It works. / They said we need to use cold water to melt it first. FYL: Really? Then I’ll try it with the next one. LYN: Give me the small cup! I can’t take this much. FYL: Shit- Oh, sorry. I  think this is so romantic! LYN: Really? FYL: Yeah, don’t you think this is really romantic? LYN: It is, it is. FYL: Isn’t this better than sitting down and spending lots of money in a restaurant? Isn’t it more romantic? LYN: I don’t think it’s to that extent. I’d rather eat something from a restaurant. I don’t want to eat this! It’s weird! FYL: Oh my goodness, I think it’s so romantic. LYN: (abt the lotus root) Maybe it’s too little? FYL: It’s too thin. LYN: It’s too thin. Add some more. FYL: /pours some more starch/ Is that too much, now? LYN: It looks okay. It has the feeling of making cornstarch slurry. It doesn’t look like yours is working. FYL: ? Exactly how much of this powder am I supposed to put?? I think I failed again! Was that cold water method they told you about correct? LYN: Looks like cold water isn’t it. FYL: I think we should have just used the hot water directly. LYN: Yeah. FYL: Let’s try again. LYN: Again? Oh, no. We wasted some more of it. 

26:32 - fourth time’s the charm? LYN: This really looks like the cornstarch slurry. FYL: That should be the correct consistency. LYN: Sorry, friends. I even told you that I used to be a cook. We can’t even figure out how to make lotus root powder correctly! FYL: Look! Once we used hot water it came together! LYN: Right. That looks right. FYL: But it’s too hot, so maybe add some cold water? LYN: Cold water…? FYL: Yeah, it’s actually just warm. LYN: Won’t that… won’t that… FYL: Make chunks? LYN: It’s okay. It should be fine.

27:14 FYL: Wow, this is the first time in my life I’m making you a meal. LYN: Thank you. LYN: Are we one-shotting it? You go first. - FYL takes a sip & dies LYN: What’s wrong? Was it too hot? - FYL recovers, pours more of the cold water into his cup. (so yeah, it was hot.) FYL: You have a little. LYN: Yeah, I’ll have some. FYL: Wow. I burnt myself to death.

27:54 - cheers FYL: Drink it slowly. - LYN takes a sip & assesses the situation going on in his mouth LYN: It’s alright. A little bit better than what I was imagining.

- /keeps looking around/ LYN: Why do I feel like we’re doing something wrong?? I feel guilty. It’s as if we stole these bowls from somewhere. FYL: Like someone else made them and set them here, and we came and stole it? LYN: We should finish it and run. - /slurps and savors (?) it/ LYN: It’s alright. Like drinking porridge. FYL: This is a bowl of lotus root by West Lake. It’s not just any normal bowl of lotus root. LYN: Right, right. It’s West Lake Lotus Root. With the name attached it sounds much more expensive. FYL: We’re not drinking Lotus Root. We’re drinking in the feeling.

28:55 LYN: You all can hear us clearly now, right? It’s working? The sound isn’t small, right? If it’s not, then- (pans the camera to FYL) Explain to us what “HE” meant. FYL: How could you throw this question to me?? I guess we should answer it, though. But weren’t YOU the one who said it was an “HE”? LYN: No, I- Did I say it?? FYL: It was you! I explained it, though. Just as “河, 河, 河, 河”. LYN: Oh, it’s all in the river?

29:40 - FYL telling LYN that there’s a street some ways over, and there’s a very famous restaurant on that street. The building above that restaurant is currently showing huge YNGS posters. LYN: Thank you, YNGS.

30:10 C: DId you cry while watching the ending? FYL: I didn’t cry when watching myself. I cried for other people, though. FYL: I saw you crying for me, and cried. I’d never felt so sorry for myself. - /slurps the last of his lotus root/ LYN: I finished. It was okay. Nice and warm, a little like drinking porridge. FYL: The weather today is not that bad, either. LYN: Yeah. It’s been a long time since I came out just to sit, too. LYN: They’re saying that your sound is small. FYL: Is it small? - /making adjustments/ LYN: It’s our first time using this equipment, so we’re not good at it yet. 31:19 - FYL gets up to start cleaning up their stuff. LYN: Look. We came out today and Xiao Fang even brought a small suitcase. A very cute and pink color.

31:49 LYN: What day is it? Saturday? FYL: I don’t know. Actors don’t remember what day of the week it is. We only know the date. 

32:35 FYL: I feel a little sad. We didn’t get to accomplish the most romantic part of my plans for today. LYN: What were you planning? FYL: A boat ride on the lake. I brought a bluetooth speaker, and we would listen to 奉上. LYN: Seriously?? FYL: We’d listen to 奉上 on top of the West Lake. LYN: Oh.. that does sound quite romantic. It’s okay- let’s find a different spot. An empty alley somewhere no one else is. We’ll put the speaker on and sit on the ground. We can still listen to 奉上 and it will be a unique romantic experience nonetheless. 

LYN: Let’s go, then. Let’s find an alley! FYL: Like thieves, in an alley? FYL: Today is the first time I’ve learned that even benign romantic can be forced. XD - finding thier way back FYL: Why don’t we just listen to it in the car? LYN: That works!

34:00 - FYL asking LYN if he knows about this certain type of grass that grows on the West Lake. LYN asks if it was the grass that was floating on top of the water? They go to look at it and LYN says- “I think that’s just plain grass.” LYN: Do you want to fish some up and try it?

34:50 LYN: We’re a pair of Exploring Streamers. FYL: I think we’d be the first to find any adventure at West Lake. LYN: I don’t think there’s anything to explore. FYL: Do you think we’d be arrested if we were to actually fish the grass from the lake? LYN: I don’t think so. They wouldn’t arrest us for pulling up a couple pieces of grass. It’s not even worth the gas money. 

35:50 LYN: ! I think we should take pictures there! FYL: There are so many boats here now! Oh, but people still have to line up. LYN: Yeah, there are a ton of people over there. LYN: Let’s take pictures in turn. Stand over there and I’ll take a picture for you. They’ll (the viewers) will take a screenshot. LYN: Stand more by the edge! We came to see the West Lake, after all. LYN: !! You still want to hold that (the pink suitcase)?! - LYN’s turn for a pic. LYN: I want the suitcase, too! Oh, but I don’t want it to look like I have a collaboration with the brand. Then, forget it. - /changes his mind and grabs the suitcase anyway./ LYN: It’s okay. We don’t want it to be obvious that it’s us. It just serves as proof that we came. 

37:50 - Making their way back and finds someone shooting for a program and instatntly turns into a tour guide, introducing Xihu. LYN: You can take a boat ride and make lotus root powder. FYL: You can find an alley to listen to 奉上. LYN: I welcome everyone to come to Xihu on travel.

38:51 FYL: Did you go around Xihu the last time you came to Hangzhou? LYN: The last time? FYL: When you came here before. LYN: I did, once. That was many years ago. Maybe… 6-7 years ago? FYL: Did you ride the boat? LYN: I didn’t. I just wandered around and then went to visit Lingyin Temple. FYL: The first time I went to Lingyin Temple, I went alone and then I was scammed. I THOUGHT the temple I had gone to was Lingyin, but apparently there are a lot of different “Lingyin” temples. My friend had ended up fooling me. They told me it was THE Lingyin Temple, and I was fool enough to believe it.

40:04 FYL: Do you see it? LYN: What? FYL: /points/ LYN: Oh my goodness! FYL: I told you, it was huge!! LYN: Can you see something lighting up this street? LYN: WOW! Seriously?!? FYL: /laughing/ I told you!! LYN: Can you see this??? The highlight of this video frame?41:13 LYN: This wasn’t planned at all. We just happened to bump into it. LYN: Nice. It looks like YNGS (production) spent a fair amount of money. LYN: We should take a picture, here. Please screengrab it for us. Thanks!

43:04 LYN: Wow, this angle is so cool. Oh- it ended. I was planning to show the glass but then it turned into the metal. - /Commenting on how it’s difficult to park by West Lake, because all the parking is usually always taken up. But also that’s good, because it means that people are taking the time to enjoy it./

44:03 LYN: Hangzhou is really quite nice, though. Since we’re in Hengdian filming for long periods of time, sometimes I want to come to Hangzhou to eat delicious foods. Shop around, then return to Hengdian. Since it’s close by. - /commenting how Hangzhou is known as a food city, but how nowadays you can find any type/region of food from anywhere./

45:06 LYN: Right now we’re on our way towards the car, and then we’ll move on to the next destination. LYN: There’s nothing planned, though this sort of counts as my b-day stream. Most people spend it in a room, but I think that’s not much different from how I usually stream. That’s why I thought I would try something different today. LYN: I won’t be streaming on the 8th- I have filming. This counts as my birthday stream, alright? Also- it’s not like I celebrate my birthday, anyway. I’m already this old, what’s there to celebrate? But since you miss me, I still thought I should stream. - /got scared by a person/

----------

- /heading for the car (in the underground parking)/ - in the elevator, they comment on the weather (it’s warmer than usual), and FYL says he feels like he hasn’t seen properly ever since they went out- because the breathe from inside the mask is foggin up his sunglasses XD.

47:22 FYL: Do you have a signal? LYN: Yes! 5G! LYN: Someone complimented us, calling us two Handsome Brothers. FYL: We’re alright~ LYN: Just average~ Puxin Men. X’D The “most confident men in all the world.” (普天之下最有信心的男人)

48:05 C: A handsome pair of men, even though I can’t see clearly… LYN: You can’t see clearly but you’re still complimenting?

- FYL starts the car and LYN comments that it’s so loud it sounds like a tractor, lmao.

48:53 - FYL’s Lost His Phone?!? (he goes to check in the suitcase) LYN: We lost his phone. Oh, no. This is the charm of a livestream. You never know what’s going to happen. C: You were just taking pictures with it. LYN: Right. Right! He gave me his phone to take photos with! It’s in my pocket! /checks his pockets/ FYL: Weren’t we just taking pictures with it? LYN: Yeah. What happened after? LYN: Are you serious?? FYL: There’s no way, right? - /still checking his pockets/ LYN: Why don’t you call it? FYL: That’s so strange… LYN: Yeah! After we took pictures… we didn’t stop, right? We didn’t stop to sit somewhere? FYL: We didn’t stop anywhere. LYN: Call it. FYL: “It’s currently in use.” LYN: ?? What does that mean?? FYL: ! There’s a sound! OMG, that scared me to death! It fell to the side of the seat. It’s okay though, even it I did lose it. LYN: We found it. It was to the side of the seat. Look at our handsome driver. LYN: ! Seatbelt, seatbelt. 

51:26 LYN: Friends, we were making more scenes for ourselves. We pretended the phone was missing, so that the viewers might gain a sense of- FYL: They might go to where we were and look for it?? LYN: We designed a thrilling scenario so that everyone in the stream can be worried for the lost phone. In the end! What you didn’t expect was for us to find it right beside his seat! Too thrilling. FYL: How was our acting? Not bad, right? XD

52:20 FYL: Let me ask you- for the New Year’s stage, why did you cry? On the stage. LYN: Why did I cry? Because I’m a crybaby. FYL: Were you emotional? But honestly, I saw you wearing those clothes and got emotional myself. FYL: Is that your actual costume from the drama? - gets distracted by people taking pictures of the car FYL: Do you think they’ll get a picture of my license number? LYN: Do you think an artist’s license number is a secret? -  But LYN asks viewers to please don’t take pictures of the license plate number. LYN: Oh, so you drive a Ferrari. FYL: As if- I can’t afford it. LYN: Xiao Fang could continue to work hard~ - singing along to 奉上 (sounds good!) FYL: Do you have lyrics? If I said that I can’t remember the lyrics to this song, would it (look bad)? LYN: It’s not important. - FYL harmonizes a line w/ LYN, but LYN didn’t sing that line out loud.

54:33 C: FYL is such a good person! LYN: He’s great! If he weren’t a good person, then we wouldn’t have become friends. 

55:17 FYL: That time we went through the Weibo Headquarters, right? And you sang a couple lines… (LYN: My hair is messed up!) FYL: I went home and was thinking. This song- when I heard you sing it in person- sounded quite high. So when I went woke up to shower the next day I grabbed a bluetooth speaker and tried to sing along with the chorus. I sang my voice hoarse. LYN: /laughs/ That song’s a little high for me as well.

56:40 LYN: I’m guessing- those people who were taking pictures of your car earlier? They probably didn’t know it was US. They probably just thought the car look cool. Really! Because the color is nice. FYL: That makes me sad. LYN: LOL. That the car is more welcome than you are? I don’t think those people were watching our stream, in any case. They weren’t taking pictures of us, I get the feeling they were trying to take pictures of the car. 57:28 C: What color is it? LYN: Pink. /giggles/ LYN: Why is it that FYL can play YSS? This is one of the reasons- he’s flashy enough.

58:00 - complaining about other drivers who don’t follow the rules of the road. LYN: They’re getting reported! 

58:35 - makes a comment about singing Zhang Jie’s songs (t’s hard) 58:59 FYL: But with singing, too. You have to constantly sing. It’s like working out/training your body. LYN: Ywah, you have to keep at it so that you can maintain the skill. FYL: So that’s why every now and then I have to shout my voice out. LYN: Sing every once in a while. FYL: In that case, when I’m on set in the next few days I’ll just have to- /starts singing, loudly/! LYN: If you do that, you’re gonna get hit. C: That scared me to death! LYN: Because you’re wearing the mic!! FYL: Oh! I’m sorry!! I forgot. LYN: No worries. This is also an effect of live streaming.

1:00:02 LYN: The first round was faking we lost the phone. This round is suddenly shouting and scaring you to death. 

1:00:23 - 别梦寒 FYL: This song is also really nice. LYN: This song IS nice. But it was included less, so people heard it less. I really like this song. It’s one that can be considered in the Top 3 of all OSTs I’ve sung in the past couple of years. C: What’s Number 1? FYL: That’s a good question. LYN: There is no Number 1 or 2. There’s no ranking. FYL: But at least you know what Number 3 is. C: There are a lot of new fans. LYN: Thank you.

1:01:25 LYN: Have you arranged a dinner for tonight? FYL: No. LYN: ?? You don’t have plans? You’re not going to treat me to a meal?? You called me over to Hangzhou and you’re not even going to feed me dinner? FYL: Is instant noodles okay? LYN: Okay. // You DID give me a bowl of lotus root powder for my birthday though, yes. But anything other than that? C: What’s for dinner? LYN: I don’t know. He said he didn’t have anything- instant noodles, I guess. We’ll come back around to this later. When we’re in a pinch with filming we don’t have the time to eat at all. FYL: Especially if you have to shoot night scenes. LYN: Are you going back to Hengdian tonight? FYL: /confirms/ LYN: Then, let’s go back together. 

1:02:24 C: Isn’t Hangzhou food hub? LYN: It’s because it is! There are too many good foods (so you can’t choose). FYL: When you have too many choices, the best choice is a pack of instant noodles. FYL: We’re both capricorns. So we’re more conservative. LYN: Is that so? Us two capricorns are so loud and noisy now, so what forced us to be this way? Look at what this industry did to us. FYL: What’s your rising sign? LYN: Scorpio.

1:03:05 C: Are you playing with beads? LYN: I’m not playing with them, but I’m wearing them. 

1:03:30 FYL: All of a sudden my mind has settled. It feels like I’m in a daze. LYN: That’s good. I used to like driving while listening to songs- going out to some deserted place in the middle of nowhere. I’d stop the car and just sit there. - realize they don’t have anything to drink, so they’ll stop by to grab something later 1:04:00 C: I requested time off to watch you stream. LYN: That’s not necessary! Our stream isn’t very exciting. FYL: Our stream is suited for days where you have the day off and you’re still huddled in your blankets because you haven’t thought of what you should do. LYN: Right. When you’re bored, you can play this as something to listen to, on the side. FYL: Maybe if you want to watch tv, you’d have to walk to the living room. But you don’t want to get out of bed so you can watch this on your phone. LYN: But nowadays I just use my phone to watch tv, also. My tv at home hasn’t been turned on in a long time. If I watch dramas, I’ll do it on my iPad. C: Are you talking about me? LYN: Meaning you’re doing exactly what we’re saying? You just turn on your phone and lie in bed, not wanting to get up or move? Turn on our stream and let it play as bgm? FYL: They probably just turned on their phone and have noticed that we’re streaming. C: I’m doing homework. LYN: Doing your homework while listening to our voices. Look up once in a while to give us a gander. FYL: Would they write the answers wrong? You turn your homework in tomorrow and your teacher tells you that you got everything wrong. LYN: They wrote down the lyrics to these songs, instead.

1:05:40 FYL: Do you like love songs more, or ? LYN: Everything is good. The most important thing for me is that it sounds good. There’s no exact genre that I like. I listen to rap as well. FYL: Do you have a song where you rap? LYN: Yeah. FYL: I want to hear it! 🙂 LYN: Let’s not.

1:06:15 FYL: I didn’t get to watch your stage performance with Xiao Zeng (ZXS). Did it go well, the rap? LYN: The rap went well. /starts reciting/ It was memorized by force. Xiao Fang knows this because one day the three of us- ZSX, FYL, LYN- were eating at my house. We all wrapped up early, so were having a meal at my house. ZSX was feeling a lot of pressure, and asked me if I had memorized the lyrics for the opening song. I told him I didn’t, because there would be a prompter. He said, “Ohh, is that right?” But then I thought about it and considered that actually, I SHOULD memorize it. He reminded me. So the two of us were just memorizing the lyrics. FYL: You started doing it while eating! LYN: /recites more lyrics/ FYL: Wow, I bet you were even doing it in your dreams. LYN: Yeah- we were still going through it up until the moment we had to stand on stage. I was afraid I would say them wrong. FYL: I bet when you were dreaming of it, at the sound of your alarm in the morning you’d shock yourself awake and into reciting out loud. 

1:08:00 FYL: I don’t know why, when I was younger I used to remember all the lyrics. But now I can’t. LYN: … Because we’ve heard too many songs by now? FYL: When you listen to a song, do you go out of your way to memorize the lyrics? LYN: Not particularly. If it’s my own song and I have to sing it at some event, I’ll take some time in advance to remember the lyrics. LYN: Nowadays when I sing I pretty much rely on the prompter. But you at least have to know around 70%+ of the song. FYL: Right. You can’t keep looking at it. LYN: Yes. 70% or more. You can look at the prompter every once in a while when you’re singing. If you can’t remember the lyrics you can scan the prompter ahead of time. 1:09:00 LYN: I didn’t see clearly, but I think someone said that they had a fight with their husband because you want to watch us stream? Did you really? It’s not worth it!! Stop watching. Don’t let watching two puxin-men influence your house and home. It’s not worth it. Go make it up to your husband. Stop watching. Turn it off.

1:10:00 FYL: I have to take the chance to wear my sunglasses before it gets dark. I haven’t worn them very much since I bought them. LYN: Is that so? I wear the ones you bought me sometimes when I go out for work. FYL: It’s so flashy. LYN: LOL, yeah. Because the logo is printed all over. FYL: Only “the most confident man in all the world” would dare to wear them. LYN: FYL gifted me a pair of sunglasses from a big brand- all of the design elements on the glases are actually the brand’s logo. Just in case you can’t tell where the glasses are from. FYL: But I get the feeling you can actually pull off wearing them. LYN: Why? Because I am “puxin” enough? XD FYL: You have that aura about you. LYN: No, I can’t live up to them. FYL: I just think you have more of a personality, but more introverted. LYN: Thank you. FYL: You need something bright! LYN: People rely on clothes- I have to rely on my wardrobe to find my aura. Normally I’m too basic, so I need something to help me. FYL: No, you’re not bad that to that extent. 

1:11:19 - FYL takes his hand off the wheel in excitement LYN: Please put your hands back on the wheel. FYL: Yes, right. 

1:11:30 ----- Wang Yizhe time C: Lao Qian is here. LYN: Is he? Let me see if I can connect. LYN: Apparently there are more than 2k people waiting to connect. It’s not worth it! I won’t connect with you. I sent an invite to Lao Qian. Whether he accepts or not is up to him. If it’s convenient, he’ll accept. If it’s not then he won’t. 

- /lag/

WYZ: /wearing sunglasses/ LYN: To fit in. The squad needs to have the same gear. You’re even wearing black. WYZ: No, these are my pajamas. LYN: Where are you, Beijing? WYZ: Yes, in Beijing. LYN: Right… If you were here, we’d be playing together. WYZ: What are you to up to? LYN: We’re doing a simple stream today- my “birthday” stream and it so happened that he (FYL) was off so we decided to hang out together. WYZ: Are you going to shop or…? LYN: I don’t know where he’s taking me- FYL: We’re going to where young people go to have fun. WYZ: ??? “Where young people go to have fun”?? Are you close to Hengdian? LYN: We’re in Hangzhou today. FYL: I already took everyone to our first attraction. LYN: We found some seats by West Lake and made two cups of lotus root powder. After we finished we ran. FYL: I was originally planning to ride the boat, but I don’t know why there was a really long line today. LYN: Yes- we were planning to ride on the boat. FYL: Isn’t it romantic? WYZ: If the two of you went on a boat ride wouldn’t the bridge collapse (because of all the people on it)? LYN: Let me tell you- here’s the embarrassing thing. No one recognized us. WYZ: Well, yes- that IS embarrassing. LYN: Going out wasn’t embarrassing, but since you mentioned being recognized, now it IS embarrassing. No one recognized us. FYL: I was planning to get the speaker and playing 奉上 right then and there! WYZ: Then, Lao Ning. You probably didn’t stand up. If you did you would have ben exposed in an instant. LYN: No- we were wandering around the whole time. We walked back and forth and no one recognized us. WYZ: Are people in Hangzhou all as tall as you are??? LYN: That’s why I was saying, that the two of us are puxin men. Normal/Basic (putong) and Confident (zixin). That’s why no one recognized us. WYZ: You wanted to go out a little obviously, wearing sunglasses so that people knew you were celebrities, but it ended up that no one paid attention to you. LYN: No, it was fine. Also, because I had told people in the stream not to come find us. They probably didn’t want to in the first place, but I just thought I should mention it. They were respectful of us and didn’t come. WYZ: So it’s just the two of you? LYN: Yeah, just the two of us. No sponsor or anything. WYZ: Then I guess you’ve been exposed by now. Your itinerary is going to get a lot more crowded. LYN: Don’t say that! There are two outcomes: 1. People think they need to help us save face and quickly grab a car to come make noise so that we look more popular, or 2. No one shows up at all. 

1:15:30 WYZ: How long are you planning to be out for? LYN: I don’t know. There’s not exactly a time limit. FYL: We’ll see as we go. LYN: We’ll stay out for the day and then return to Hengdian at night and continue filming tomorrow. WYZ: The main thing is because you both don’t have work today, is that right? LYN: Yeah- the crew gave us a day. He (FYL) just entered a new one. - “Dian Gong”?? [t/n: IDK what they’re referring to here] FYL: I entered the crew in December and they haven’t gotten around to my scenes yet. I’ve only shot for one day thus far. But it’s nice that I have this time. The timing was just right.  WYZ: Have the two of you eaten? LYN: I told you, we had lotus root starch. WYZ: Is that even filling?? LYN: Oh my goodness- it was so thick, like eating a bowl of thickened cornstarch. FYL: For people like us who have grown up on dew alone, a bowl of lotus root starch is enough to carry us through the whole day. WYZ: The two of you eat little on a normal basis, anyway.

1:16:45 LYN: I thought since it was my birthday I would bother him a bit, since he’s always in Hangzhou. He’s from Zhejiang. WYZ: This is his territory.  LYN: Yeah- so I thought I would ask my good friend to take me out to eat well. In the end I came here and he dragged me to West Lake- not even getting there by car! we WALKED - to find seats so that he could prepare two cups of lotus root starch. FYL: We even brought our own water. LYN: We boiled the water at home and brought it ourselves. And then we still had half a bag of lotus root powder left, that we wrapped up and are taking back home. WYZ: FYL- I think if you dressed up as YSS and took pictures by West Lake, I think it would look really nice. LYN: That’s true. WYZ: The white clothes really suit the scenery. LYN: If he went in costume, people would probably recognize him, then. WYZ: They might think it’s some rando cosplaying as YSS. LYN: Don’t keep bringing up the topic of people recognizing us. It’s embarrassing (bc no one did). It’s a complicated feeling.

1:17:50 C: It’s my first time seeing Lao Qian say so much. WYZ: I was at home cleaning up and got a notification that the two of you were streaming. I came in then realized that you can see me. I was just planning to watch in silence and be a viewer. LYN: Yes, I can see when you come in. WYZ: Mainly I saw that the two of you were bare faced and wearing sunglasses, so I thought I could also wear a pair and connect. LYN: We don’t have anything planned - we’re just going to shop around. WYZ: Yeah! It’s not your birthday yet, right? Why would you have a b-day stream… LYN: I don’t have time on the day of my birthday. WYZ: I see. LYN: I don’t have time, so I decided to do something today. It so happened that I asked FYL yesterday if he had time, and he did. Since that was the case I thought we could stream together. We could hang out around Hangzhou. WYZ: Sounds great. It’s rare to have some time off, so it’s great to get around. It gets boring staying in Hengdian all the time. LYN: It’s been too long since I’ve been out and about. WYZ: It’s been a long, long time since I last saw you. LYN: Yes, yes. It’s okay- let’s meet in Beijing in a couple of days. I might have an event there, and we can go out to eat. WYZ: Alright.

1:19:20 WYZ: Oh- you’re still wearing the mic? LYN: No- when I connected with you, I unplugged it. Because I wouldn’t be able to hear you talking with it on. We’re professionals, come on! WYZ: Oh my~ You’re SO professional! LYN: I’m not a pro at acting, but for livestream I’m the PRO. WYZ: You’re amazing. LYN: Sing and acting is not professional, but for streaming I am.

- /8 more minutes until they reach their destination/

WYZ: How long have you been streaming for? LYN: 1h, 20m! WYZ: Wow, so long?? You’ve been streaming the whole way? LYN: Yeah, we just haven’t stopped. This stream is not like those business-oriented other streams. This is just for- WYZ: Chatting. LYN: - for “company.” FYL: For “relaxation.” For “water, but no content”. LYN: It LOOKS like stream, but really it’s a surveillance camera. It’s a surveillance camera, aimed at the two of us. It’s like whatever we do, we’re being monitored. Just for fun. WYZ: You’re not streaming in your house today, so there are no special sound effects. LYN: Right. No canned laughter. I have to laugh myself. WYZ: Yeah! But this way it’s awkward and freezes the room over. LYN: We have music though, in the car. FYL: We’re playing some bgm. WYZ: This is FYL’s car, right? LYN: Yeah. FYL: No, I rented it. WYZ: Ah~ You rented a nice car especially for Lao Ning. FYL: Yes, since he came I have to show up. WYZ: Okay, then.

1:21:00 C: Call Yuan Lu over. LYN: No- it’s not like I was originally planning on a two-person stream. If I had thought I was going to do this earlier, I would have called everyone over. WYZ: Right! I just stumbled in by accident. It’s not like this was planned. LYN: Yeah- I wasn’t planning on this, but I only just now thought that I COULD have done it this way. I was just thinking- if I was in my house, I would just stream like normal but stick up some “Happy Birthday” balloons in the background. I would paste up some flowers. Then after a while my staff would come in pushing a cart with a cake on it to give me a surprise. I would be so touched! Then, I would blow out the candles on stream. After that, my staff would bring some paper prompts with like new year’s wishes or something like that. I’m sure there would be something like, giving the fans some benefit like “posting ten selfies” or something. I know that if I were in my room it would go like that. But I thought about it and… It seems like a process many are familiar with. WY: Yeah, you get the process. I think when we were in the crew, they were all this format. LYN: Right. But I didn’t think that was very interesting so I decided to do something different/unexpected and come out with Xiao Fang. It might not be very exciting, but I think this way is more relaxing and free-flowing. WYZ: I think this is nice. It’s more what you would do normally/in your daily life. If you go the same route as people usually do, it would be boring. WYZ: Then will you be streaming later, on your birthday? Or, no? LYN: I don’t think I will, because I have filming to do. WYZ: Okay. LYN: Since I had the time today, I decided to stream. WYZ: It’s good, since the two of you are in Hengdian. Why not meet, since you’re both there? LYN: Right. FYL: I calculated it, and you should be coming here soon, too. WYZ: Well, you take care of Lao Ning first. FYL: No problem. WYZ: And then later-

FYL: Do you want to catch a plane over to eat instant noodles? WYZ: ?? Instant noodles? FYL: Yeah- I reserved some instant noodles to eat tonight. WYZ: You’d better at least add and egg and let him eat Longevity Noodles. FYL: I will. LYN: He can come over, but the caveat is that you have to reimburse his airfare. XD FYL: Forget about it, then! WYZ: I have ground transportation,... LYN: Of course! You need to book a car service to send and receive him, then after hte meal make sure he has enough to-go before sending him back. WYZ: I’m going to need hair/makeup and wardrobe on the way, too! LYN: You don’t need any of that- all black is quite nice. FYL: Why don’t I call you some takeout? WYZ: Then the three of us will be walking down the street and no one will recognize any of us. X’D LYN: I’m sure.

1:24:18 WYZ: I’m sure that FYL has more of a reputation in Hangzhou than either of us. FYL: Huh? I don’t! LYN: Why? Oh- Because he’s from here? FYL: I’m not from Hangzhou- I’m from Jiaxing. I’m not in Hangzhou all the time; I spend more time in Jiaxing. WYZ: Okay, well- if you’re eating instant noodles then I won’t go. If you eat at some fancy restaurant, remember to call me. LYN: I WISH he would take me to a fancy restaurant. FYL: You aren’t eating that today. It’s not in the cards. LYN: There’s no budget, since you’ve rented this car already. FYL: I only have 200RMB in my pocket. LYN/WYZ: You brought cash? FYL: I was planning on taking him to the shops to buy clothes.// But then I thought of something better. WYZ: Oh, don’t expose where you’re going. LYN: If we mentioned it, we’re definitely not going there anymore. WYZ: Reverse operations. LYN: He was thinking of going to the Sijiqing Garment Market- because it’s more fashionable, right? Even though I’ve never been there!- He told me it was very fashionable. But we were thinking- because many clothes sellers often livestream, too- so if we also went we’d be in direct competition. I was afraid to get hit. FYL: Sijiqing CAN BE fashionable. WYZ: Can you even find Lao Ning’s size there? FYL: Yeah, of course. I was originally planning on the two of us preparing 200RMB, and we’d go around haggling. WYZ: So do you usually get your clothes at Sijiqing? LYN: Someone is asking what Sijiqing is! Let me explain- it really is a fashionable place. It’s a garment market. Somewhere people who sell clothes will go to get their goods for their shop. It’s similar to Wuai Market in Shenyang and Dongwuyuan Wholesale in Beijing. WYZ: There’s also Jintaiyang in Dongbei, right? LYN: Yes, and… Baima in Guangzhou? Or something like that. FYL: I was looking up information online and I read that we should each bring a black plastic bag. WYZ: Yes! And you need a little rolling cart, too. LYN: I’m sure if we weren’t streaming, we could go there too. We could selet some clothing and then sell it online to my fans. XD We buy it for 20RMB, and sell it for 25. Make 5RMB off one article, so if we sell 100 articles we would make 500RMB. That’s not bad. WYZ: It would make streaming worth it. LYN: Right?! WYZ: You could get a decent meal out of it. FYL: Then we’re eating big! LYN: We can eat hotpot. FYL: We wouldn’t have to eat instant noodles. :’)

1:28:04 WYZ: Have you arrived? LYN: Yup, we’re here. Thank you for keeping us company. WYZ: Alright, no problem. LYN: Let’s meet up, either in Hengdian or Beijing. WYZ: Ok! Bye~ LYN: Bye bye~ WYZ: Have fun! Bye bye. LYN: Happy New Year! WYZ: Happy New Year~

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1:28:22 - LYN’s 天问 playing as bgm in the car LYN: Did you used to love my music this much? Or did you know I was coming, so you purposely made this playlist?? FYL: No, it’s a really nice sounding song! FYL: I spent my birthday in the crew, right? Do you know what song they played for me? LYN: What song? FYL: 奉上. LYN: Oh, really? FYL: Yeah!1:28:50 - they’ve arrived at the next destination - Aquarium Date!

[t/n: I won’t translate directly much of this next segment]

1:31:00 - FYL: Should we take our sunglasses off? Otherwise we won’t be able to see anything.

FYL: Jellyfish! LYN: Are these real? FYL: Yeah! LYN: I thought it was a special effect!

1:32:00 - trying to feed the fish & the way lyn translates english is... interesting, but you can’t say he’s wrong. X'D “Feed Point” becomes “FOOD Po (po - 泼/sprinkle) - In (li - 里/in (preposition) - T (tou - 投/to cast/send)” FYL: They (the fish) must eat a lot every day. LYN: But there are a lot of fish…

1:34:30 - they found a snake and referenced the drama lol

FYL: There’s no snake in this one. Asian Vine Snake. It’s too thin, we can’t see it. LYN: Is the snake alright?! /laughs/ The snake is fine, and you’re fine too. LYN: The snake’s okay. It’s inside, sleeping. It’s very alive. Just sleeping.

- [t/n: these fish tanks are just… open-topped. What???] - commenting on the blue color of fish LYN: They won’t jump out? THAT would be impressive. FYL: If they come out, they can’t go back. If that happens then they… meet their H-E. (happy ending, referencing the supposed “H-E” of YNGS)

1:37:00 - Giant Pangasius & Gourami - marvels at the size of… whatever fish that is. FYL: Let’s see if it’ll come up (for fish feed). LYN: I don’t think it cares about that stuff. That’s like peanuts for it. FYL: This white one looks like it wants to eat it… FYL: Look from the top!

FYL: This fish's lips are pretty sexy. LYN: Sexy? Why don't you stick your head in there and kiss it, then?? FYL: It’s not eating… /fish eats/ Oh! It is!

1:38:40 - reptiles, some sort of mimic fish, plants 1:40:00 - arapaima (LYN: This is scary! How long is that!? At least 2m???)

1:41:00 - silver arowana & oscar fish FYL: You said they were ugly and they got angry! LYN: No, but they don’t look as pretty as the ones people raise. - give them some fish food C: I’m hungry now. LYN: Are you hungry because of the fish food, or because of the fish?!? If it’s the fish food, then that’s a little strange. C: Are you at a restaurant? LYN: LOL! FYL: Wasn’t it on the news, that a mother took the fish her son was raising and cooked and ate it? LYN: I haven’t seen that news. LYN: But- what are you talking about?!? This is an aquarium, not a restaurant. Do you think we’re picking out our seafood for dinner?

1:42:45 - these fish are poisonous? (Kaluga Sturgeon & Alligator Gar (eggs are poisonous)) 1:43:40 - /points at the fish/ LYN: What are you looking at?!

1:44:00 - LYN: There’s a “Mermaid Theatre” up ahead. Do we want to check it out? XD - found scorpions & spiders. LYN: I won’t show you any of these cold-blooded animals. You were already afraid enough with just the fish. - Comments egging them on to see the Mermaid Theatre :p

1:44:55 - Starfish FYL: A shark. LYN: Shark, where?

FYL: There! FYL: It looks like… LYN: It looks like a mudfish. FYL: It doesn’t have the feel of a shark. LYN: This is a Spotted Bamboo Shark (狗鲨). This nickname is too weak sounding!! - bullying the fish

1:45:39 LYN: The other day I saw an article on the origin of humans, and it was discussing from where we originated- and there was a comment that read, “Correct. Actually, humans came from the sea. We used to be good friends with goldfish.”

1:46:25 - Sea Turtles (they like to eat and like to play, please don’t stick your hands in the tank) FYL: They’re not afraid of humans, look they’re following us. LYN: They’ve probably been alive for longer than we have! - feeding the turtles and making a joke about hotpot FYL: Who thought to feed sea turtles cabbage? They’ve probably never even seen this, in the sea. LYN: Just like me, someone from Dongbei who’s learned to eat Sichuanese food.

1:50:00 - discussing whether they’re going to check out the mermaids or not 1:50:17 - found some sort of dragon throne

1:51:20 -  FYL goes to  "teach the restroom a lesson"; LYN shows us some sharks. LYN: Did you just wear the mic into the bathroom?? FYL: Yeah, I just that of that! It’s okay, I guess. - lost the sound when it was LYN’s turn.We hear some... sounds of him washing his hands, prob.

- little boy came to bring them some water; he proceeds to follow them around the aquarium 1:57:00 - garden eel 1:57:40 - shark! - manta ray in the water tunnel (bad reception here)

- saw the mermaid, but couldn't show it bc they were wearing... a little. but it’s okay bc the stream lagged and we couldn’t see anything anyway. 2:01:30 - kid’s show - now on their way to finding the exit; they gotta run bc people found them :| 2:05:30 - the kid followed them out, too XD

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2:06:42 - on to the next destination!

2:07:18 C: Why do you have double eyelids? LYN: ! Sis, I’ve always had them, you just couldn’t tell because my eyes are small. Like this (straight angle)- I have monolids. But if you look at me from the bottom-up it’s double. 

2:08:05 LYN: Please open (turn on) the music. FYL: LOL, Ok! LYN: Play the music. - LYN: ! Did you fasten your seatbelt?! FYL: Yeah.

2:09:00 LYN: Let me show you the QR code, and you can pay the parking fee for me. XD /to FYL/ How much is it? FYL: 10RMB. LYN: 10? Ok- you (the viewers) can pay that for us. /joking/ - can’t find the exit >.<

2:11:07 FYL: If I don’t wear my sunglasses now, would it be… LYN: … too late to wear them. Wear them a while. You just bought them, right? FYL: No, I;ve had them for a while. LYN: Just never had the chance to wear them? FYL: No I’m just.. Not in the mood? Sometimes I feel like I sort of count as an artist, right? Other people in the airport come out wearing sunglasses and they look very cool. But when I wear them myself I feel like I’m pretending. I can’t stand myself. LYN: I feel that way too. When I used to go to the airport before, I wouldn’t even wear a hat. My hair would be messy, and I didn’t wear sunglasses. At most I would have a face mask. But then I discovered a problem- all of that will become your dark history. XD FYL: That makes sense! XD LYN: Sometimes you get up and you’re not in the greatest condition- your eyes are swollen and your hair is messy and they take pictures of it all. When you look back it all turns into capital materiall to bring you down. That’s why now I try to make myself look more presentable. FYL: That’s true. … I keep losing my sunglasses, though.

2:12:27 - discovers it’s looping the same song C: Where is he taking you? LYN: To eat instant noodles. It’s almost dinner time. FYL: Should I just play any song? LYN: Whatever is fine.

2:13:17 FYL: Do you feel like the year passes by too quickly? LYN: Yeah, it’s too fast. FYL: I feel like… the two of us should find a chance to really go out there and travel. It’s just that I don’t feel like we get many opportunities to create any deep memories. You know? I can’t think of anything I’ve done that has left an impression. I remember my dramas! LYN: I know- we only remember that we’ve been filming for dramas. LYN: For me, I don’t dare to go out to play. I feel like I have to make better use of my time. LYN: But my mentality has gotten better. After YNGS aired, I feel a lot better about it. Sometimes I feel like, “Yeah. I should take a break. It’s time.” Otherwise I can’t see the meaning in life anymore. People have to take a rest sometimes. FYL: Go to West Lake and have a bowl of lotus root starch. LYN: Yeah. C: You’ve matured. LYN: I don’t think that’s it. It (the reception) is just different from what I imagined. That’s why I think it’s time to take a break. I’ll finish up the next four dramas I have lined up and then take a break, XD Or was that too basic and overconfident?? LYN: Sometimes I joke in my stream. They’re all inside-jokes. Please don’t take it seriously. Thank you.

2:15:16 LYN: It’s good that we didn’t do anything too out of the ordinary, today. Otherwise we’d get another round of criticism. FYL: Most of the time I speak without thinking first. But now... I’ve become afraid. LYN: Yeah, the nature of the entertainment industry… it’s like everything we say can be blown out of proportion to the point that everyone is afraid to say anything. It’s better to stay quiet. - talking about wearing pink thermals, I didn’t really catch the prompt why.

2:16:25 FYL: Do you have good eyesight? LYN: Pretty good! One is 5.0 and the other is 5.1. Don’t just see my small eyes, my eyesight is great. FYL: That means you didn’t watch a lot of tv when you were young. LYN: I have my family to thank for that. They didn’t let me watch tv. FYL: Mine either! When I was little I REALLY wanted to watch tv. But when my dad went out he would take the remote and put it somewhere, with a hair on it, to see if it moved. When he came back home he would test the temperature of the screen. LYN: It’s like what spies in dramas do. Put a leaf in the door crack. If someone breaks in the leaf would fall to the floor and you would know someone went into your house. That’s too cool. FYL: I could watch every Saturday, for two hours. LYN: What’s funny is that your family would tell you that watching tv would hurt your eyes, but they’d make you read instead. Somehow reading books doesn’t give you bad eyesight?? FYL: But you should still read often. LYN: There are many ways to gain knowledge nowadays, though. You can gain knowledge by looking at your phone, too. FYL: My sight’s pretty good too. About the same as yours… because I didn’t read that many books when I was young. XD LYN: It’s okay, It all comes around. You didn’t read many books when you were young and that’s why you have to read so many drama scripts now. When you were little you never remembered the prompts, but now you have to remember your lines.

2:18:44 FYL: It’s a state of mind! After you stop filming for a while, you become stupid. But when you start filming, then you start thinking quickly. LYN: Right- it’s the same as singing, we said earlier. You have to maintain it. If you keep remembering lines day after day, your memory will get better, too. - stream lags LYN: Sometimes when we’re filming, if the crew thinks we could use the same setting to crank out a few scenes, they’ll shuffle the schedule. But it’s not as if you remembered the lines for the additional scene ahead of time, so you just have to memorize them on the spot. It doesn’t matter that they gave it to you last minute, you have to remember it. You just have to develop that ability. LYN: It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. - LYN was about to say something, but decides against it. FYL says that’s something he has to learn from LYN- the sense of awareness.

2:21:30 - tunnel up ahead, possible bad connection - discussing vertical vs horizontal screen position. LYN chose vertical because this way it feels more like we’re on a video call. - troubleshooting for live viewers (if the video and audio aren’t synced, close the window and re-open it)2:22:54 FYL: I loved Hangzhou when I was a kid. Every time, after the rain, it would smell fragrant with flowers. LYN: There weren’t lakes and rivers in Jiaxing? FYL: There were! LYN: But it smelled different? FYL: Yeah. LYN: Dandong is by the Yalu River, so it just smelled like seafood. - considering the geography of the Yalu River estuary - asking what Dandong is known for, and if LYN knows how to make it (he doesn’t) FYL: That’s such a stereotype. It’s just like when people ask me where I’m from, and when I tell them Jiaxing they say I must be good at wrapping zongzi. Like, who told you that?? LYN: is Jiaxing known for zongzi? FYL: Yeah. So I guess all we do at home is wrap zongzi. -__-;

2:25:05 - switched networks; there’s nothing viewers can do but endure it, bc there’s nothing he can do to help it. Says if he tries an outdoors stream again the next time he’ll bring portable wifi device with him.

2:26:15 - still trying to fix the other mic

2:27:20 FYL: If you keep wearing your sunglasses won’t you not be able to see soon? LYN: It’s not important. I’ll wear it while I still can, because I can’t once we get indoors. FYL: You can still wear it indoors, if you’d like. C: It’s lagging because there are too many people watching. LYN: Aiyoo~ You make it seem like we are very welcome and people are falling over themselves trying to watch us. It’s not worth it, and there’s not much exciting content here anyway. There hasn’t been much today- only pretending we lost FYL’s phone, and then suddenly warming up the voice to scare you to death. LYN: ! We’ve been streaming for 2.5 hours! FYL: Already? How come I don’t feel like it? LYN: When I’m streaming at home I’ll go for about 3-4 hours. But I feel like time has passed by so quickly today. FYL: Me too! FYL: It’s been so relaxing, as well. 

2:29:00 C: Is your hand sore (from holding the phone all day)? LYN: Of course it is. - Thanks weibo for promoting the stream and also makes sure that FYL’s channel is also livestreaming.

2:30:05 - they’re both trending in the hot search C: Xiao Fang is on it. LYN: He is, but I’m not? XD FYL: Don’t~! LYN: ! You focus on driving. C: There are three topics. FYL: Am I trending because I lost my phone? They all went to look for it? LYN: They’re saying that you have a solo one, and then there’s one with us together. Thanks for all your support. - continues to entertain the thought that FYL is trending bc people are at Xihu trying to find his phone. LYN: So are we heading back to the hotel to eat? FYL: No~ LYN: This is where we passed by before, right? FYL: Yeah. My location is set to this parking. /indicates the gps/ In this parking lot. We’ll park there are eat instant noodles. LOL. LYN: The day went like this: we went to Xihu to have a bowl of lotus root starch, and now we’re going back to find some parking near Xihu to have instant noodles in the parking lot. I’m guessing the hot water in his thermos is still hot. It should be enough to cook the noodles, right? FYL: It should be no problem. LYN: Oh, I know. Since there’s cold brewed tea, there must also be cold cooked noodles. FYL: Maybe we just let it soak for longer. Eat it and soak it at the same time. LYN: This is called slow-cooking at a low temperature. FYL: Cold and crispy noodles. LYN: Amazing. FYL: We’ll test out the texture for everyone.

2:32:25 C: What did FYL give you as a b-day present? LYN: I’m not complimenting him just because he’s right here, but it’s not as if I compliment him behind his back either- /LOL/- but he’s a really nice person. If we haven’t met for some time, he will always bring me a small gift. Sometimes Lego, sunglasses, or clothes. Today he gifted me with clothing. I haven’t worn it yet. FYL: ! That reminds me of the candle-tray I borrowed from you. When we’re back in Hengdian, I’ll bring it to you. LYN: Don’t worry about it. I’ll get it later. - talking about different ways to say “sensible/having high EQ” FYL: But actually it’s mutual! A few days ago he even sent me Dandong strawberries. C: FYL learned he was streaming and then put on his sunglasses. LYN: /cackling/ FYL: No! I just wanted to wear them while there’s still some sun out! LYN: Right! I know we didn’t do anything fashionable today, but we have to look fashionable while doing it. All-black outfit and sunglasses- I feel like we should be going clubbing. - lag again

2:35:15 - almost at their destination - commenting on the traffic

2:35:37 LYN: We brought a selfie stick, but it’s in the suitcase. Later we’ll take it out and use it as a stand. FYL: But the color is too puxin. LYN: XD It’s also pink colored. 

2:36:20 - trying to navigate around but got kinda lost (a little chaotic)

2:38:27 C: Go spend money at Jinsha Pavillion LYN: LOL FYL: If you give them YSSs name, you get a 5% discount. C: Can YOU drive? FYL: He’s an old driver. LYN: But it’s been a long time. FYL: You don’t really have a chance to drive. LYN: Right. When I go out it’s always to the hair/makeup. You want me to wake up early to drive myself there, then drive myself back at night?? I’d rather use the time to rest while I can (while someone else drives).

2:40:17 C: The back windows are open. LYN: It’s because the security guard earlier scared us! FYL tried to open the front window but pressed the back by accident. FYL: ? Then that means the video is pretty clear. They can even see the windows are open?

2:40:20 - they have arrived at their parking area, and will walk to the final destination? C: It’s dark out now. LYN: Right? We started streaming from when the sun was out and now night’s fallen. - trying to find a parking spot

2:44:56 - in the underground parking FYL: No- I can’t wear these sunglasses anymore. I can’t see a thing!! - /took them off/ FYL: I’m not handsome anymore, but at least I can see. - backing into the space, amazing. LYN: FYL’s steering wheel is about to start smoking. /imitates the aggressive turning of the wheel/

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2:46:40 - getting ready to get off the car, masking up, and grabbing supplies (power bank, phone stand) LYN: Where are we going? Are you taking me there? FYL: Yeah! 2:47:50 LYN: Would we get hit for wearing sunglasses when it’s night out? FYL: Huh? LYN: /repeats his question/ FYL: No, they will only think that we are very fashionable. LYN: /laughs/ Alright, then. LYN: In Dongbei, when we want to describe someone as really silly we’ll call them “cao hu”. FYL: If I went to Dongbei, someone could be cursing me out and I would probably say “Thank you.” LYN: Wow, what type of place is this?

- their destination was in the lot they were in earlier, but they weren’t allowed to park there so they have to walk :\ FYL: Oh no, my sunglasses. LYN: It’s too dark. I’m almost at my limit, too. It’s dark but in order to keep my look I can’t see the road very well. C: Take them off. LYN: No, we’ll keep at it for a while longer. No matter how dark it gets!

2:49:42 LYN: Wow, it’s cold at night. Good thing I wore this hat. FYL: I never understood what these things (poms poms) were for. LYN: For fashion. FYL: Is that so?? LYN: When it’s cold you can stuff them in your mouth. FYL: When it’s cold you can stuff them in your ears. 

2:50:38 LYN: We do look quite strange like this, though. FYL: We don’t! LYN: It’s dark and we’re wearing all black, wearing masks and sunglasses. C: Why are you bringing a suitcase? LYN: The power bank and phone stand are in there. The thermos, too. We have to use it to make our noodles later. LYN: We’re here on the street pretending to be celebrities. FYL: I think it’s not that bad in Hangzhou, though. The other day I went to cut my hair, and the building- the whole building- was full of cosplayers. I think this city has a lot of people who like to wear something out of ordinary. We just have to not consider ourselves as all that. LYN: Right. You think that people are looking at you, but in reality no one cares.

2:50:50 - walking

2:53:50 FYL: When did you eat lunch? Did you eat? Don’t tell me you didn’t eat anything before you came out?? LYN: When I came over from Hengdian I had a bread. FYL: How big of a bread? LYN: That small croissant from S*bucks. LYN: That’s all I ate. I woke up, had a coffee and bread, had a bowl of lotus root starch, and now we’re heading to eat a bowl of noodles. So filling. FYL: For your noodles, no matter what I’m going to find a way to fish up some of that grass from the lake. XD LYN: Weren’t you the one who said we’d be arrested if we took anything from the lake?? 

2:55:00 - searching

2:55:40 LYN: It’s here? Such a nice place!?? You don’t want me to foot the bill today, do you? XD LYN: /to the stream/ If he wants me to pay I’m out of here.

2:56:15 FYL: !! I still have two boxes of fish food in my pocket! We can add them to the noodles. LYN: Get some hot water and we can eat the fish food. That’s what they’re saying, that humans originated from fish, right?

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[t/n: I don’t think I’ll trns much of the chaos/idle chatter of dinner]

2:57:30 C: Wow, I fell on the floor! LYN: I dropped my phone- FYL: That was a ploy. LYN: Right, we have no content, so we’re forcing it.

- took off the portable mics since they are inside now

2:58:05 - FYL is helping to get everything set up C: Assistant Xiao Fang~ LYN: No! He’s very professional about it. He learned we would be streaming yesterday and went  to buy a selfie stick. C: The sound is suddenly loud. LYN: It’s because, when we were outside, if you could hear too clearly then we might catch other people’s private conversation. That’s impolite. (so they were using the external mics)

2:58:58 - shows off the bright pink selfie stick, which matches the carrier. The sleeve for the stick also matches LYN’s hat (with the pom poms). - plugging in the power bank bc after a day of streaming the phone he’s using has low battery. - suspects that either his power bank doesn’t have power, or the cord he’s using is faulty. It’s the latter, but he has other cords.

3:00:53 LYN: What is this? What are you doing?? You really brought your own tea leaves?!? FYL: I brought my own tea. LYN: Why are we even eating here, if you’re going to even bring your own tea?? FYL: I wasn’t kidding you! It’s because I was thinking whether I should give you lotus root powder or tea on the boat. I was wondering which one looked more “fashion”, and then- LYN: I’ve met people who bring their own beer to a restaurant, but never someone who brings their own tea!

3:02:00 FYL: Step-in Streamer Xiao Fang is at work~ C: You won’t take your sunglasses off? FYL: I’ll wear them for a little longer. FYL: It’s only been recently that I’ve started drinking tea. I used to really like drinking coffee- iced coffee, but in the last two years I feel like I’ve started liking to drink hot things. - cleaning up some spilled water C: You’ve worked hard. FYL: I haven’t~ What have I done? C: It’s healthier. FYL: It is.

C: West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy. (Song Sao Fish) FYL: I don’t know if people who aren’t from here could handle eating it. Because, if I’m remembering correctly, the authentic Sour Fish dish doesn’t have salt in it. It’s just sugar and vinegar. Have you had it before? C: Longjing Shrimp. FYL: I think I’m starting to get why people call Hangzhoou a food hub, because the dishes here are more on the light and mild side. But maybe other places in China are known for their strong flavors, heavy on the spices and salt. Hangzhou dishes are cooked to maintain the original flavor of the ingredients. C: Take of your sunglasses. FYL: If he hasn’t taken them off, I won’t! Has he already? Oh, he did. XD Alright, I’ll take them off. You can’t even let me wear them for a little longer? C: Is there a surprise? FYL: Yes~ The surprise already happened when you weren’t there to see it. LYN: You mean losing your phone? FYL: That counts as one of the surprises, yes.

3:05:00 LYN: I was originally thinking- if I streamed at home, I could put a row of rice and soybean oil in the background and then raffle them off to you. But since we made it into an outdoors stream, I don’t think we can raffle anything. Next year, then. FYL: The shipping fee for the rice alone would be ridiculous. It’s so heavy! One bag is what? 5kg? LYN: The shipping fee would be fine. We can just have the recipient pay. It doesn’t make a difference to me. FYL: But would it be embarrassing if it couldn’t be sent? If someone returns the item to sender? LYN: The simplest thing would be to autograph each jug. I’m sure they would reluctantly accept the parcel, in that case. 

3:06:04 LYN: Did you bring your speaker? FYL: Yes, I was just planning to play some songs. But… I think this speaker is a knockoff. LYN: What do you mean? FYL: Yesterday I went to buy takeout and then I saw this brand, so I bought it. But the sound quality isn’t great, and I bought it for the price of the real thing. LYN: How do we know the quality of the sound just isn’t like that to begin with? FYL: You’ll know when you hear it. - puts his fluffy hat back on LYN: I should still wear this hat, because I bought it especially for this stream. I don’t want it to go to waste. FYL: Is in included on the expenses for the day? LYN: It’s included.     

3:06:55 LYN: Are we doing 50/50 split today? FYL: Uh… Sure. - moving the camera FYL: I was thinking on moving it to that side of you? At an angle. FYL: I actually bought two bags of potato chips and bag of shrimp chips, but last night when I was watching a movie I ate them. - LYN, drinking tea and spitting out the tea leaves. ; FYL trying to get his speaker set up FYL: What do you think? Isn’t my tea better than theirs? LYN: I haven’t had theirs. Why don’t I order a cup, and we can compare? FYL: Don’t~ That will hurt someone’s feelings. (either his or the restaurant’s, lol) LYN: Yours is good, too. What is it- “jing ju mei”? It’s a red tea. FYL: You should drink red tea in the winter. FYL: Don’t you think the leaves:water ratio is great? LYN: Yeah, I keep having to pull stuff out of my mouth.

3:08:11 - promoting his and FYL’s weibo accounts. subscribe if you haven’t already. LYN: Thanks for keeping us company today. FYL: If it’s your first time seeing us, we’re two eat-streamers. - checking out the speaker LYN: It looks fine? FYL: Let me play you something, then you’ll know. What should I play? LYN: Anything’s fine. The playlist from the car. - /starts playing music and FYL looks to LYN for assessment/ LYN: How much did you buy this for? FYL: 800+ LYN: It’s fake. FYL: I know. :( LYN: The weight isn’t heavy enough. FYL: Right? I thought it was too light, too.3:09:40 - the dishes are starting to come out. It’s course by course. FYL: We suddenly went from eating instant noodles to this. LYN: I thought we were really going to eat noodles!

3:10:50 LYN: Let’s… eat, then. Sorry, friends- we’re going to eat now. If you have something you can eat with us. LYN: Thank you… thank you to Xiao Fang for treating me to such a grand meal. FYL: ?? I thought we were splitting it? LYN: Oh, then we should eat separately, too. FYL: Is that how it works? XD LYN: If it were split, then you would eat more of the dishes on the table. Whoever eats the most makes the most out of it. 

- eating the dish and describing it as “it’s okay.” RIP. LYN: We were just at the aquarium and now we’re eating (chocolate) shells. - FYL listing out all the ways he discovered the speaker he bought was fake - LYN laughing at FYL for taking a drink from his tea and having to spit out a bunch of leaves - all crabs taste the same to LYN - flipped the camera because it was mirrored and people were confused why LYN was left-handed - it’s also FYL’s first time at this restaurant with their “creative” dishes (usually he just buys takeout) - talking about soup dumplings (the salty kind, not sweet) from Nanjing

FYL: What are you supposed to do in this situation? When someone has sent you a knockoff but insist that their product is real? :(

3:16:20 C: 40 million people are watching two puxin men eat dinner. LYN: One of the reasons why I rarely to eat-streams is because I think it’s impolite to be streaming while I’m eating. When I’m doing other streams, I would not eat while everyone else was. I just feel like eating isn’t right. 

3:17:12 LYN: Wow, you reserved such a nice place, thank you. FYL: It’s nothing. LYN: Thank you. FYL: Stop! If you keep saying that, I’ll be the one footing the bill! Now I’m under pressure. LYN: We’re “internet famous” aren’t we? We’re not lacking that money. FYL: Oh, is that how it is?

3:17:43 C: Ning-ge is really pale. LYN: No- the beauty filter is on. C: Introduce the dish to us. LYN: It’s just… a very delicious soup. FYL: Mushroom and seafood flavor. /desscribes it more/ FYL: /to LYN/ What do you think? I have a talent for cooking, don’t you think? :D - LYN: I feel like everything we’ve done up to this point isn’t important. Right here, this is the most important. Sitting here, eating this meal. It’s like bitter first, then sweet. Eating lotus root starch next to the lake, then having a sweet date (the fruit) for dinner. FYL: Otherwise you wouldn’t have remembered that you had such an exquisite meal tonight! If I had brought you to a restaurant to begin with, wouldn’t it seem too expected? In comparison to the lotus root starch, now don’t you feel- LYN: Wow! This meal is too amazing!! FYL: “FYL took me out to Hangzhou and then treated me to such a nice meal!” 

3:19:10 FYL: Do you have that tendency, to leave the things you like to eat the most until the end? LYN: Of course. FYL: Then have you experienced leaving it for the end, only to have it be taken by someone else before? LYN: I don’t think so. I would never eat out with people like that again. - LYN: I finally feel like I’ve entered an actual city, today. Because I’ve been in Hengdian for close to four years now, so I’ve eaten all there is to eat there already. There aren’t very many shops there, either. FYL: But one thing about it is that you can obviously see that it is much different than it was four years ago. There are a lot of new shops. LYN: Because all the other shops keep closing down. XD It’s a vicious cycle. FYL: I think the food stalls in Hengdian are pretty tasty. LYN: When we were shooting YNGS and we’d get off work at 3-4, I would go eat at the night market. - trying to figure out which night market, LYN doesn’t know the location exactly bc he doesn’t drive [t/n: Same, bro. I know things by landmarks, not streets.]

3:22:07 - FYL grabs Lotso from the carrier LYN: ?? What are you doing? FYL: It’s your birthday present. LYN: Really?? FYL: No, no. I’m joking. /takes it off camera/ LYN: It’s okay, (you can show it) since it’s Disney.

3:22:48 C: How long have you known each other? FYL: Maybe… 15 years? (shí-wǔ) LYN: Not that long. I think you need to fix your pronunciation- 4-5 years is more like it. (sì-wǔ) LYN: We came to know each other filming The Long Ballad. FYL: The first time I met you I still had no idea what you looked like. The first time I saw you, you were wearing a face mask. You were giving everyone hand sanitizer and personal protective equipment. I kept looking at you, trying to figure out what you looked like but you never took the mask off.  LYN: I was too ugly. FYL: No~ Don’t say that. LYN: We first met when shooting The Long Ballad and even after filming had ended we didn’t become close. Because we had never gotten together to eat; there were no crew gatherings during that time. The timing was pretty rushed too, so as soon as we wrapped for the day everyone would turn in to get some rest. FYL: I think I was filming another drama at the same time… so… LYN: So we didn’t meet much in private either. 

3:25:10 FYL: You eat so little, now? LYN: I’m alright. It’s just that I’ve walked a bit much today. XD I’m tired. I’ll rest a little before eating. There’s no rush. LYN: But we’ve kept in contact and then with YNGS we happened to be able to work together again. So we were able to hang out, and it turns out that we get along well.  FYL: After YNGS, we started to hang out more in private. LYN: The most important thing is that we’re able to see each other. With most artist friends it’s hard to even see them half the time. Unless we’re all shooting guzhuang dramas, then of course we could meet each other in Hengdian. FYL: I used to try to make friends after a drama with the intention of keeping in contact, but it’s hard. LYN: Yes, it’s hard. Once you’re in a crew it will be at least four months until you’re out. Once THEY enter a crew it’s at least another four months for them. FYL: Where could we meet up? If in Beijing, it’s always with the possibility that you could be holding up some of their work or vice versa. For the friends you really get along with, it could be one or two years in between meetings. But I think that Hengdian is the place that we could see each other the most often. LYN: Right, because there’s a larger gathering of actors here.

3:27:08 FYL: Do you normally like eating spicy things? Or milder things? LYN: Milder, I guess. FYL: Can you handle spice, though? Like the really spicy kind? - stream lags :p 

C: Since you’re both sitting there, why don’t you take the time to explain what you meant by “H-E.” FYL: They’re really not going to let this go.

LYN: I didn’t really want to talk about YNGS very much, because we’re afraid of saying the wrong thing. Sometimes we just try to answer questions in a joking manner. C: What were you afraid of? LYN: At the time it was- if we had told you right off the bat that everyone dies- FYL: No one would watch the drama! LYN: No one survives, we all die! Do you think people would even want to watch the drama, then? So we could only take one for the team. If you had asked us how the drama turns out, and we told you everyone died, wouldn’t you just give up right then and there? We’d have leaked the ending and destroyed the drama. LYN: But on the other hand, how ISN’T it a happy ending? Whether you’re in the “river” (pronounced “he”) that’s still an “H-E”, and in another world- a parallel universe- that’s also a happy ending. So we didn’t say anything wrong. 

3:29:20 FYL: You should make Ning-ge eat more. He’s too thin. On camera his face is pretty thin, but in real life h’es really too thin. LYN: It’s not important. - some mention of working out together FYL: Is anyone eating right now, while watching us eat? LYN: It counts as eating together. Here, let us give you a toast. LYN/FYL: Happy New Year. FYL: Does watching us make your food go down faster? LYN: Probably not, because we’re not eating it in a way that makes them want it too. - /starts imitating how eat-streamers eat things (loudly and deliciously)/ FYL: Oh, ASMR.

3:30:55 - viewers salty bc of the New Year’s stage (the part where the dancers leaned their heads on Ning-ge’s shoulders) LYN: “It’s just for work.” It’s not like I could ever princess-carry him on tv. C: So you can do it in private? LYN: No~ We’re good friends. Don’t say that or else we’ll have to start avoiding each other to dispel rumors.

3:33:00 - saying (again) how this stream counts as his b-day stream bc he’ll be busy w/ work on the 8th

3:33:30 FYL: In the new drama, is ZLS still a princess? LYN: No. -  her character is one that fishes for pearls? FYL: Then are there scenes by the ocean? LYN: Yeah. FYL: Where did you go to shoot those? LYN: In a water tent. FYL: It’d be nice if you went to Zhoushan. LYN: We might go to a different location, to get the desert (?). FYL: /naming potential locations/ FYL: I feel like in the recent years a lot of guzhuang dramas have gone to the northwest to shoot. - for the scenery, since there’s not much new to see around Hengdian.

3:35:15 FYL: Oh! I asked you earlier, but didn’t get the answer. Was the clothes you wore for new year’s one you borrowed from the drama? LYN: Yeah, I borrowed it. I found Fang (Sizhe)-laoshi’s group to borrow it. FYL: And they still have it? LYN: Yeah- one set is with Fang-laoshi, and the other is in Linmon’s warehouse. FYL: There are only two sets, right? LYN: Yep. FYL: I’m sure my clothes are torn beyond recognition. LYN: I’m sure they have it, though. One that’s new and one you wore for fight scenes.  C: Other people can’t wear it? LYN: No- they usually don’t reuse the same clothes we wear for the drama. They keep it and maybe in a few years Fang-laoshi- FYL: !! LYN: No, not you. The wardrobe designer- Fang-laoshi. Maybe he’ll want to have an exhibit and show all the clothes he’s designed for dramas. I don’t know if that’s true, but that’s what I’m thinking. FYL: It’s possible. FYL: Also the more basic articles, I feel like they’ll wait until the drama has aired and then take those clothes and repurpose them for other clothing.  FYL: But the quality/texture of the drama costumes is really much thicker than the hanfu that people can usually buy to wear. LYN: The material used to make them is probably a lot better than that used to make the clothes we’d normally buy online. Because first of all, they’re tailored, so all the materials are high quality fabrics. You’d rarely find a shop on Taobao that does the same. But I did see one- a set of tailored high-quality clothing going for 3k. Even that’s on the finer side but I’m sure that their fabrics are not as good as what was used in the drama. FYL: I’ve bought some myself before, and from the texture of the fabric- they tend to be thinner or gauze/lace-like. - discussing price and quality of clothing- including all the embroidery, beadwork, metalwork, etc. all the work and attention to detail in these pieces is in scale with the price.

3:39:05 - concert, when? wait for him to release his album first. FYL: You probably won’t have the time this year, right? I think you’re blocked up until at least July or August, right? LYN: I don’t know. I’ll have to see. I keep thinking about taking a break, like I said in the car. Even just one week would be great. FYL: Does that count as taking a break? One week??

3:40:15 LYN: Is it your first time doing a stream like this? FYL: You mean with two people? LYN: Yeah. FYL: It’s my first time. LYN: Then do you go out by yourself? FYL: I went out for my birthday. LYN: You did that? FYL: I had just gotten to Hengdian, so I was streaming myself going around. I started on the street and walked to the restaurant I wanted to eat at, but there was a long line so I went somewhere else. I just wanted to change it up from a regular birthday stream like I’ve had in the past.

3:41:17 - “give shisan more screentime” FYL: I’m here, I’m here! I’m just eating here (out of frame) and then I come back. FYL: It’s moving so fast, I can’t see what they’re saying. LYN: They just want us to eat more. Also they’re spamming “Blooming (Yi Nian Hua Kai)”, what’s that about? FYL: Yi Nian Guan Shan!! LYN: How did Blooming go? When did you film that? FYL: Before YNGS. … Was it? It was the one before the one before YNGS.  LYN: I think you were shooting a modern drama before YNGS. FYL: /confirms/

3:42:48 -LYN breaking his dish into smaller parts FYL: ? You eat such small bites? LYN: No, I’m getting full. But maybe if I look like I’m not eating that much of it I won’t have to pay the bill. LOL. LYN: I actually really like this dish, but pretend that I don’t like it so that he would not have the heart to make me pay for the meal. FYL: :O! LYN: Like, “Oh, you didn’t eat much so I’ll get the bill.” FYL: WOW! Such a dirty trick!! FYL: When we’re done eating we’re both going to sit here like this: /arms crossed, waiting for the other/ LYN: Pretend to look at our watch, take a phone call… XD FYL: It’s a little spicy. LYN: Yes, there’s some pepper in here. /picking at his food/ FYL: /looking at how little LYN is eating/ You’re eating so little I feel like this is making me look like a pig. LYN: No, no. I’m eating everything! I ate a lot. C: What were you doing before in the State of An? LYN: I had a jewelry shop. FYL: Really? LYN: /boldfaced lie/ Yeah. Or what did they say I was? FYL: Weren’t you.. a businessman? LYN: A paramour? FYL: Yeah. LYN: I wasn’t! - LYN: We acted it one way, and how you want to interpret it is whatever you want. There’s actually no fixed answer. LYN: You must not have watched the drama closely. Wasn’t there a scene where they asked me if I was a paramour, and I said, “Do you think I’m worthy, with this appearance?”  FYL: That’s called “retreating in order to advance.” (make concessions to gain advantages)LYN: Use some truth to cover lies. FYL: !! Wait a minute! I almost fell for it!!

3:46:33 - it’s a set course, so the same amount no matter how many people you have in your party. they’ll bring the leftovers back for their staff to eat. LYN: We were originally planning on having our two groups meet and have a meal altogether, but then we figured we would use the time we were eating to chat with you, since we probably wouldn’t get to while we were walking around. LYN: I don’t know if you like what we’ve done today… FYL: The original plan wasn’t like this! There were some unexpected changes of plan. LYN: But sometimes he’ll hang out in his room and chat with you, and normally I’m in my room chatting with you. So today is a special occurrence. This way two good friends- truly good friends- could hang out together and we can back each other up. It’s a more natural and slice-of-life stream. - thinking about doing some more fun streams in the future (FYL: Boxing?) LYN: One of the things we were thinking of was streaming ourselves in an escape room. But most of them- FYL: It’s too dark! LYN: Yes, first of all it’s too dark. You wouldn’t be able to see anything. Secondly, most escape rooms don’t let you record video.

3:49:24 - oopsie! (FYL: Maybe it was thinking you needed a new phone.) FYL: We has a lot of ideas, like go-karting. But it would be hard to hold the camera. LYN: I went karting with HZT once, but I watched the playback and- FYL: How did you film it? LYN: There was a third person- FYL: Outside the track! LYN: Yes. But I don’t think the viewers felt very included, that way. FYL: Yeah, they want to see the gopro aimed at your face- LYN: All of the chin jiggling. XD C: Horse riding. LYN: /nah fam/ LYN: Honestly, even when we’re shooting horse scenes in the dramas there are always setbacks. FYL: Right. It could be pretty dangerous. LYN: The danger is a given, since it’s all part of the job. But the horses in Hengdian aren’t… putting it bluntly, aren’t very good horses. They’re not any prized breed or like the horses you would see at a ranch. They work very hard- not like horses on a ranch that get fed well and washed and have mild personalities. Think about it- we film for hours on end and the horses are right there with us. They’re being pushed around, not getting to drink water- FYL: Hot in the summer and cold in the winter, and no one can help it cool down or put on any layers. LYN: So these horses work very hard and have developed pretty explosive personalities because of it. It’s a little dangerous. FYL: If you know how to ride a horse, you’ll know that the horse will mostly listen to your direction. But have you met a horse where, the director is counting down- three, two, one- and before you can do anything the horse is already moving on its own?  LYN: They understand the directives. LYN: So when I have to do a scene including a horse I always feel apprehensive. FYL: He prepares so many carrots! - every time LYN finishes shooting a scene on horseback (with all the different cuts and camera angles) he’s happy to be alive, lol. LYN: So I’m not really interested in your idea of going to a ranch to ride horses. :\

3:53:20 - other ideas: gym/workout stream. it was a thought but LYN says he would go 10 minutes then be unable to do anything else. XD but the competitive spirit would make them keep going. - FYL has a weight-set he has to put together FYL: If you don’t think it’s heay enough I can go buy more weights. LYN: No, you don’t have to. I think you have 25-50kg already, right? FYL: I think it’s 100kg on each side. LYN: I’m definitely not pushing 100kg, don’t worry. I don’t think I ever will in my life. FYL: You can by the time this drama wraps. LYN: I’d be happy if I could push 40.

3:54:57 C: Swimming stream. LYN: We didn’t even let you see the mermaid show, you think you’d get a chance to see us two Hai’er Brothers?? Don’t say you want to see a swimming stream, and just tell me directly that you want to see the Hai’er Brothers. The next streaming topic will be: Hai’er Brothers. The two of us will be bare-hested and wearing speedos, sitting by the beach? It’s really not worth it. - C: Beach Stream LYN: That could be doable. LYN: But I just can’t stand… having nothing to do. I’m talking about in the stream. Let’s say we set the phone by the sea, and then what? What do the viewers do? Just look at the water? If we do stream I just want to do something that could create good content. The aquarium today was good, because they could at least see something other than our faces. - - more ideas: LYN cooking stream, where he starts from buying the ingredients, prepping and cooking, then calling his friends over to eat it. FYL: Can I add something? How about YOU don’t buy any ingredients. You just use what your friends bring to you. They might bring you something out of the ordinary. LYN: The only problem is that most of my friends probably wouldn’t have time. I’m telling you, today’s stream was and act of heavens and stars aligning. How often is it that we both have some time off at the same time? FYL: I’m okay, but you on the other hand… 

3:57:26 - comments spamming “abs!”, LYN calling them spoiled XD 3:58:35 - idea: LEGO stream (it’d just be a camera and the sound of blocks being put together) 3:59:00 - idea: waterclor painting stream (LYN: I’d just be wasting the paints. XD) 4:00:00 - idea: camping stream

LYN: Today was pretty fulfilling and I was happy to be able to come out and wander around. Truly a day I could do nothing- I didn’t have to think about work at all. FYL: Chill. LYN: What else do you want to chat about? We’ll talk some more and then wrap it up. C: Log off when you hit 50 million viewers. LYN: That seems a little far off.

4:01:42 - chatting about spending their new year holiday with the drama crew C: Will you two collaborate again? LYN: We would have had one… but actually we always bump into each other. FYL: I think it will depend on the project… LYN: Right. There’s no need to forcefully work together. That’s something actors fear- being forced to work together, you know? The script will always take precedence, since friends can always be made. Yuo can hang out with friends all the time, but for work it’s better to choose something you like. 

4:02:50 C: Compare heights. FYL: Why would you- You want me to humiliate myself? Why should I? C: Daimi, Daimi! FYL: … ! Have you shown them how Daimi can peel the sausage herself?? LYN: They know. FYL: Wow. That’s too amazing. I’ve really never heard of a dog being able to do that.

4:03:43 C: Six Realms Hall Prequel?? LYN: I mentioned that because I was watching the drama along with all of you. At the end I felt… that we all died pretty miserably and it felt unfair. Qian Zhao, Sun Lang, Yuan Lu- it was a grievance. I didn’t want to let them go. So I wanted to ask them- why don’t we arrange our own project? We can shoot a Six Realms Hall Prequel. We could grab a DSLR and shoot it ourselves. If we don’t have enough funds, we could use our phones to record as well. We’d edit, cut, and put it all together before selling it to the platform and making some profit. X’D LYN: No, but seriously. I didn’t want to let it go, so I was thinking IF we had the chance to film a Prequel, how great would that be?? But as for how that idea is developing, I can’t say at this moment. C: You can do it. We’ll invest. LYN: Stop messing around, jiejie~ You make it seem like any project I mention in my stream, you’ll invest in. That’s terrifying. FYL: They want to be your boss. - FYL mentions wanting to see Xiao Chuan in this version LYN: A drama isn’t something that can be crowdfunded like this. It requires a lot in investment- at least 1B to START. I don’t think it’s worth it to crowdfund 1B… LYN: But we’re just saying nonsense- gossiping. Don’t take us seriously. 

4:06:35 - there’s abosultuely no way they’re streaming until midnight LYN: We’re pretty much at our limits, today. Our brains are starting to lag. - LYN leaves to use the restroom

FYL: Step-In Streamer Xiao Fang is here. C: I’ve been watching for four hours. You’ve worked hard. FYL: It wasn’t as hard for me as it was for you. - C: The tea is too light. FYL: It’s not… It’s not that I don’t want to let him drink it (give him more leaves), either. I really bought this yesterday , so I felt like if we didn’t drink it, it would go to waste. Since I don’t usually make tea for myself. Since I bought it we should at least try it, right? - C: There’s no birthday cake? FYL: I’ll get him a cake on his actual birthday. - - talking about needing to start maintaining his healthy becuase he’s getting older XD - C: Sing a song. FYL: Don’t let me make a fool of myself. - C: What drama are you currently shooting? FYL: Guess! You’ll know if you look it up online. - C: Ning-ge makes pies in the sky. FYL: What artist nowadays doesn’t?

4:09:04 - switching out FYL: We drank the whole pot of tea! LYN: That’s great, so you didn’t buy it for nothing. But that means that we’re full because we drank so much tea. 4:09:25 - planning on doing a variety show this year since he didn’t have one at all last year (soon to be filming, not a music related one) LYN: I want to do a variety show so that I can rest my brain. LYN: Music varieties are doable, but I don’t think I have enough experience. Because you have to prepare a lot- like arrangements, or think of the song and how you want to change it, get involved in the whole production of it, and I just think it would take up too much brain power. I’ll probably still be shooting the drama at the same time, so I might do a more physical/experiential-type variety show. Like going somewhere to play or sharing an experience. 4:11:00 FYL: Do you think variety shows or dramas makes you more tired? LYN: Dramas… variety shows. You’re a lot more steaday/stable with dramas, because all the time is spent in the drama and you don’t have to think of anything outside of it. On the other had variety hshows are more REALITY shows. The cameras are on ALL THE TIME and you have to remember that and keep your wits. In a variety show, your value is in what you can bring to the table- whether that’s being funny, being smart, or active. You’re constantly on the edge. 

4:11:47 - talking about LYN’s manager staff: NiuNiu (from Shanghai) and GeGe (from Hangzhou); and how he really only has a small team whose only worry is to keeping him alive and well (and working). LYN has no resources, despite what rumors say (that he’s the Devil King of the Entertainment Industry). LYN: I don’t want to reply to a lot of things, even about YNGS, because I don’t WANT to respond. I just think it’s laughable. As someone on the inside, the things that are said about me look strange. A lot of the time I don’t feel the need to respond because people inside the industry all already know what’s going on. I don’t need to make it a point to explain everything.

4:14:00  LYN: The most unusual rumor I’ve heard is that YNGS has yin-yang scripts. There’s no way- us for example, in the same drama- would have two different scripts. There’s no way that can happen, because we need to rehearse the scenes. If even one line or scene is different, we would know immediately. We all have the same script. There are no yin-yang versions. No way. We’re not idiots, either. If he’s holding his script and I just take a look at it- I would know if it were different from mine! It’s just strange. I don’t even know how such a rumor could get so blown out of proportion. For example, we’re sitting here eating this meal and you tell me there are two versions of the food.  ??? It’s all laid out in front of us- it’s all the same food.

- [t/n: that dessert looks tasty *Q*]

4:15:30 LYN: ! I have a song called “Fall in Love” right?? FYL: I saw that!! LYN: He saw it the other day and forwarded it to me. It goes “We want Fang Yilun, Fang Yilun at this moment~” (Let us Fall in Love, Fall in Love, at this moment) FYL: I opened weibo and there were all these notifications of people @-ing me, so I followed the link to see why and sure enough. I forwarded the video to him with the comment, “I know you like me, but you don’t have to say it out loud.”

- FYL recalling how he was shooting a VLOG once and then heard Ning-ge’s song (by recognizing his voice)- Magical Surprise  LYN: We were even planning on going to Disney today! FYL: It’s a little far though, right? LYN: It’s not that it’s far, but more that they don’t allow people to livestream (because of copyright issues). You COULD go, but you have to write out a whole itinerary first. Then the plans have to go through multiple levels of clearance, because safety is most important. You could go to play, you just can’t stream it. 

4:17:00 - will stop streaming when it hits 50M viewers. Subscribe to their weibos if you haven’t already. LYN: We’re both just small actors, who hope to bring roles that we like to life for you. We hope you like them and can continue to support us. FYL: If you want to hear us sing, we’re actually both singers as well. If you want to see us dance, then I’m sorry there’s nothing we can do. LYN: Isn’t your dancing pretty decent, though? FYL: No~ Remember I tried to get you to dance with me? LYN: We can try! LYN: When we were shooting YNGS, he had run this by me. That we could sing a song with some basic choreography together. We could have a good time with everybody. But then we never found a suitable song. 

4:18:20 LYN: I think the day’s been pretty fulfilling. We streamed for 4+ hours, had a good time and- thanks to our friends’ support- had some trending topics. It was a meaningful stream, and I also got treated to a meal at the end of it. FYL: !! You’re saying that so early. It’s still unclear who’s paying for all this or not. LYN: I have something to do later, so I’ll leave first. You can pack all this up. (joking) FYL: I don’t know if everyone enjoyed watching? Or maybe you were bored? But in any case the two of us had a relaxing time. But if you can still enjoy a stream like this, maybe next time we can arrange another one if time allows. LYN: Yeah- it doesn’t need to be because of a birthday. We could discover something fun and want to share with you. I know many of you are working or going to school and you can’t afford to travel and look around (so we’ll take you with us). It’s just like chatting with friends, only on a huge platform like weibo where we can’t be too relaxed and need to watch what we say, a little bit. If we’re too relaxed then people can easily find something to use against us, and then we’ll be cursed at again. Please, spare us.

4:20:10 FYL: You can’t see the number (of viewers) from here, can you? LYN: I can. FYL: Wow, then your eyesight is better than mine!! LYN: I can see them typing clearly, too. FYL: You must not have watched a lot of tv when you were little. LYN: Right, I didn’t watch any.

C: I like your string of beads. LYN: Don’t even think about it. If you like them, go buy your own. I won’t be giving these to you. FYL: When it hits 50M, I’ll make the decision for you and pick a random fan to win the beads. XD FYL: Kidding! I’m kidding!

4:21:00 - people telling him happy b-day in advance~ LYN: Thank you! FYL also came to help me celebrate. Today is the 6th, and the 8th is my birthday. But I won’t be streaming on the 8th; I think I’ll have a lot to shoot. So I’ll thank you in advance, as well. LYN: At times like this, shouldn’t the door open and a cake get rolled in? I can’t believe there’s no cake surprise! Normally, we would be chatting and then all of a sudden- (a cake comes)- and I should say, “Ohh! I’m so touched!” and then cry, then make a wish in front of all of you, then blow out the candles. “Thank you all for keeping me company!” That’s what I should be doing, but I guess not. FYL: We can go to the convenience store and buy a bread and stick a lighter in it. 

4:22:27 LYN: Today was quite nice. I know a lot of my friends are from Hangzhou- I’m sure I have fans here- and you didn’t all come find me, so I’m very thankful. Thank you. FYL: And then you find out they’re waiting to ambush you in Hengdian. LYN: No, no. They wouldn’t do that. They’re very good. FYL: “I couldn’t find you in Hangzhou, but in Hengdian I will never let you off the hook.”4:23:20 C: How about you sing a song? LYN: Come one, let’s sing. You sing something. FYL: What should I sing? LYN: Whatever you want to. Otherwise you bought the 800RMB knockoff speaker for nothing. You have to make the most of it. Sing something worth at least 800. FYL: What should we sing…? What do YOU want to sing? LYN: Something worth 800. I don’t know, anything’s fine. C: 走天涯 FYL: How does that song go? LYN: /sings/ No, not this one. Let’s change. You can choose. Whatever you want. LYN: He likes to sing. Sincerely someone who loves music. FYL: I really can’t think of anything. You pick one. LYN: You can’t think of ANYTHING? Then how about 奉上? FYL: Okay! 奉上, it is! LYN: We’ll use this song as today’s ending. - LYN: Singing in a restaurant, I’m so happy. It’s like we drank too much. FYL: We got drunk on tea. LYN: Self-brought tea will do that to you. - the first notes of the song start playing FYL: I feel like I can’t hold on anymore, I’m about to go (die)! LYN: Why? Oh- because once you hear this music you’re putting on the blindfold. FYL: It’s sending me off! - FYL: I need to sing it properly. LYN: No, it’s okay. We can’t let too loose. Otherwise the other room is gonna think there are lunatics in here. - ♫♪ FYL: The lyrics to this song are really hard!

LYN: We want to thank everyone for their support and their company. I’m happy to be able to spend four and a half hours with you. I hope you had a relaxing, happy, and wonderful night. It was great to have you and I hope your whole month goes splendidly. I’ll see you again in the next stream! Goodnight, everyone. Bye bye! FYL: Happy New Year, everyone! And Happy Birthday to Ning-ge! LYN: Thank you. LYN/FYL: Goodnight everyone! Bye bye!

#Liu Yuning #Fang Yilun #lyn livestream #(4:28:59) #ft. #Wang Yizhe #highlights: #a walk around west lake #car rides #aquarium date! #& a fancy dinner #[this is... long] #[sorry- i cnt control myself] #[not proofread (ever) so pls overlook mistakes]

[butterflydm]

wot reread: a memory of light (ch 5-6)

spoilers through a memory of light, the last book in the series

Rand wakes up next to Aviendha, and goes to the tent entrance to glance at the busy camp, already at work on preparing for the day. "Everyone knew these were their last moments before the storm arrived".

2. Aviendha sneaks up on Rand, delighted that she managed to succeed despite the bond. She had to move very slowly and carefully but she manages to startle him when he turns around to see her right there, still naked.

Yeah, if I were restructuring WoT as a whole, I think I would place the bond way later in time than it happened in the books. Like "last night" late. Still have the love confessions happen in WH (and Rand finally sleeping with Elayne) but don't have Elayne suggest bonding yet (honestly, when you look at Rand's arc as a whole, it's kinda weird that he's willing to agree to bonding at that time).

And when Rand sneaks off with Nynaeve, he should leave Min behind in Caemlyn too, which would (a.) actually give Min time to bond with Elayne & Aviendha and (b.) actually let Rand be genuinely emotionally alone and isolated for the arc where we're constantly being TOLD that he's alone and isolated and finally (c). be a much better reason why Min never tells Rand that Elayne is pregnant than 'doesn't remember due to being blackout drunk from jealousy'. Then Aviendha trains when she's in Caemlyn, and instead of going to Arad Doman with the rest of the Wise Ones, she goes to Rhuidean at that point (since Min is still in Caemlyn; you could have the Semirhage thing be a non-romantic moment where Rand breaks through to save Nynaeve or one of the Maidens). And then the actual bonding happens once the four of them are all reunited in Merrilor before the Last Battle. Plus, this means that Alanna stays important to the story as Cadsuane's Rand mood-ring.

Anyway, obviously not something that Jordan could have done, because he had not yet written all the parts that would need to be restructured. But in an ideal world. Because as it is, after the bond happens in WH, it's extremely underutilized. And Rand doubting that he can really love all three of them without that being an issue between them makes a lot more sense if he hasn't already experienced their affection through the bond.

3. Also, Rand being able to feel the land here ("The Dragon is one with the land" as we were told in EotW) is really neat and I like it a lot. He can feel the life of the land and also how precarious it all is.

4. There's still a bit of a culture clash going on, as Rand is puzzled at how Aviendha can find their first time together (back in TFoH) to now be something that can't be talked about at all (because she has met her toh over it to Elayne), which I like. They were raised in very different cultures. Aviendha also has definitely accepted here the idea that she plans to live in the wetlands, post-Last Battle, and is faintly wistful that they have no time for a bath before the big meeting (in one hour).

5. Ah, and Aviendha here shows us that it seems likely that the Aiel, out of all the nations, may have the easiest time of adjusting to the notion of men being able to channel now that saidin is clean -- she says that concern over men channeling now would be like refusing to forget toh after it has been met. This makes a lot of sense to me when I think about it -- we know that Aiel men who can channel historically left their clans to go face an honorable death in the Blight (even if we've just learned in this book that was being thwarted by the Dark One) so the Aiel haven't really been villainizing male channelers the way that so many cultures have done.

And Rand uses the One Power to give them a shared shower together. A nice hot shower like they used to have in the AoL. Aviendha does not find Rand's ancient memories at all off-putting, the way that Min did. She just teases him that he was easier to manage before he had his new ancient wisdom. They are being so cute together. 🥰🥰🥰

6. But, yeah, I love how Rand feels comfortable talking about the Age of Legends and what "we" did back then with Aviendha, with no worries that she's going to judge him or freak out on him. She 100% teases him and gives him shit about it, though. And when she criticizes the AoL attitudes as naive, he agrees with her. This is also when she requests her future 'boon' from Rand and while it would definitely be nice if she just... told him about her vision, I love the way that she makes her request, because it's couched in a way that is full of not denying his consent in the matter and with respect for her partner:

"Rand, today, I will request a boon."

"What boon? I'm not certain I could deny you anything today, Aviendha."

"I'm not certain yet what it will be."

"I don't understand."

"You needn't understand. And you needn't promise me you will agree. I felt I needed to give you warning, as one does not ambush a lover. My boon will require you to change your plans, perhaps in a drastic way, and it will be important."

Also, on a physical level, I like that Rand likes how rough Aviendha's hands are. <3

7. We switch to Egwene's PoV at this point. In this book, there has been a lot of mid-chapter PoV swapping and I'm not certain that I like it. I mean, that's kinda the reason that Sanderson gave for why he cut scenes like the bridal wreaths scene -- because it might have felt frivolous when set against the attack on Caemlyn (but Perrin and Rand yukking it up didn't??) -- but if there was less mid-chapter PoV swapping, then you could add more of those character beats in without it feeling jarring, because you could continue the story on to move back to a serious plot beat before swapping to the Black Tower storyline in the next chapter or whatnot. It's a self-created problem, is what I'm saying. Jordan would occasionally do mid-chapter PoV swaps but it was much more sparing. I understand the urge to always have the scene be in what you feel is the 'most effective' PoV for that part of the scene but sometimes the story is stronger as a whole if you don't constantly do that. I feel like maybe the PoV swapping extravaganza should possibly have been saved for chapter 37.

8. Egwene is trying to interpret her dreams while they happen. A glass column of light; trying to hold the world together and it continuing to break under her hands. When she wakes up, she's temporarily disorientated, because she's sleeping in a different room than normal, with her own room in the White Tower still being put to rights after the attempted assassination. She's been commuting to the Field of Merrilor, essentially, lol.

Gawyn reads a letter about the latest news from Caemlyn and they talk about "the Seanchan woman" (aka Leilwin née Egeanin) who Nynaeve has said won't cause them any 'intentional' harm. A glowing endorsement! Egwene, much like Rand, is worried that they will have to fight the Seanchan and the Trollocs at the same time (another thing that Mat is sheltered from -- from what I recall, I don't think he ever finds out how much danger all his friends were in from his slaver wife, because the narrative needs to keep the illusion alive for Mat for as long as possible).

9. Hundreds of thousands of people are reported dead in the Caemlyn attack. That's hundreds of thousands of lives that Mat could have saved if he'd been slightly less mistrusting of Aes Sedai. And the city itself is lost, at least for now. The city had also housed much of the planned food supply for Elayne's troops for the Last Battle, also now lost. They also get word of the time for the day's big meeting, and it's in half an hour, so they get moving. (Gawyn suggest letting Rand wait but Egwene says it would be a bad idea to allow Rand to fully set the narrative for the upcoming meeting).

10. Every nation but Murandy, Arad Doman, and the Seanchan-held lands is represented at this meeting. Darlin (of Tear) is worried deeply about the Seanchan threat to his lands, we learn, and so will stand with Egwene if need be, because she has promised him Gateways back to Tear, if he should need to bring his army back to face the Seanchan. But both Darlin and Gregorin (the steward of Illian) tell Egwene that Rand is willing to listen to reasonable arguments. See Egwene's worries here about how much she could trust 'the man he had become' would resonate a lot more in general, if her last meeting with Rand had been ruthless!Rand.

She is surprised to see that, despite what she'd thought going into this meeting, that the flag of Arad Doman is present after all. And so is the flag of Murandy. So only the Seanchan-held lands are not present.

11. Rand arrives, wearing red and gold, and with a carpet of fresh grass growing under his feet (because he's One with the Land <3). The impact that this would have had if she'd only seen ruthless!Rand in ToM and not zen!Rand. It's still pretty good but it could have been an even bigger moment for Egwene. The grass spreads outward until the entire area that the leaders are standing on is covered in green. Egwene sends Gawyn off to see if one of the Aes Sedai & Asha'man pairs will spill the beans on what weave Rand might be using to cause such an effect.

12. He has a large floating bundle that unravels as he walks, setting an enormous pavilion ahead on the green. Egwene reluctantly admires his showmanship, lol. Without breaking stride, he tells all the gathered leaders that they can bring five people with them each, and then heads into the tent. lol at Min being a prop just like the saidin glowbulbs are props. There she is, clinging to Rand's arm like a bracelet, as has been her duty since fucking A Crown of Swords. The Hero's Reward For His Sacrifices And Suffering. When I think of how interesting Min's storyline could have been and then think of how pointless it has been... it's just really sad and frustrating.

Okay, actually, here's a good time to mention an element of weird: Elayne just casually mentioned to Egwene that Aviendha spent the night with Rand. So, off-screen, Elayne has apparently shared the whole "all three of us love him and are in a relationship with him" thing with Egwene, because Egwene has zero thoughts or feelings about the fact that Elayne is pregnant with Rand's kids, Aviendha spent the night with him, and Min is stapled to him today. This is the same woman who believed in ToM that Gawyn shouldn't share a bedroom with her because they were unmarried, mind you. And she has zero thoughts or feelings about Rand hooking up with three different women while not married to any of them; she just recites the facts without any kind of response to them. You'd think that this would come up when she was thinking about how much he'd changed from the boy she used to know!

I say again, definitely not for the first time:

Stop having important emotional moments happen off-screen!

13. When Elayne enters the tent, she and Rand smile at each other, and Egwene is like "ugh, how can she be so pleased and impressed with him!" before reluctantly admitting that she feels some pride in how much he has accomplished as well. When Perrin ("and his wife") and Nynaeve come in, they go stand by Rand, as does Cadsuane. But again, Egwene apparently has no opinion about Min clinging to Rand while Elayne smiles at him from the other side of the tent. Egwene is not a character who is shy about having opinions!

14. Rand thought that the king of Murandy might be Demandred, I'm guessing, by the way all his people went on alert and him going to stare at the guy and then going, "you're not him. Where is he?" but poor Egwene is so baffled by this.

Rand lays out the situation and says that one of the big problems of the last Age is that they weren't all united against the Shadow -- each general led on their own (with LTT being just as guilty of this fault as anyone else). Another emotional beat that kinda fell by the wayside of hurrying to the ending: whenever Rand has revealed in the past that he has LTT's memories, it caused a lot more concern and fuss over his potential madness. Again, I do get why Sanderson would be like "we don't have time for that" but I do feel the need to note it.

15. Rand talks here about how he wants to prevent another Breaking, wants to prevent conflict from breaking out the moment that he's dead.

Ah, I wonder if Egwene's bizarrely uncharitable "Even Elayne had gobbled up another country" thought here is part of what contributed to the whole "Elayne is acting out of power-hunger" fandom belief even though we were actually told in Elayne's own PoV thoughts back in ToM that Elayne is acting out of thinking about the future and the looming threat of the Seanchan Empire. Between Birgitte's increasingly bitter PoV and Egwene throwing Elayne under the bus with the other rulers, readers choose to believe them over Elayne's own actual internal thoughts about her reasoning behind her choices. Though I feel like part of the issue there is how shortchanged the Elayne Takes Cairhien plotline ended up being -- if we'd spent more time getting to see Elayne navigate the politics of it, like we got to see with Caemlyn, then we would have gotten more of Elayne's own thoughts on the reasoning to balance everything out.

16. At this point, Rand presents "the Dragon's peace" -- one of the three things that he says he requires in exchange for him giving up his life to save the world.

Hmm, I wonder if getting Elayne's genuine reaction here was part of the reason that Rand has kept his distance from her? This way, the other rulers see her reaction alongside them and think of her as aligned with them instead of aligned with Rand?

I do feel like I don't really have any good idea here of whether or not the random leaders of the world know that Elayne and Rand are in a relationship but if I assume that they mostly don't, then that's an actual reason for Min to be clinging to Rand's arm here... but then Elayne kinda punctures that idea later in the scene and it kinda seems like, off the page, everyone did get a debriefing on the "so, the Dragon Reborn has three girlfriends, let's not make a big thing about it" issue. I feel like this is not something I should be so confused about at this point in the story, lol.

And I feel like this scene would make more sense if people (especially those not firmly on Rand's side) DON'T know about Rand and Elayne's relationship, because then Min clinging to Rand as a very visible "Hey! Look at me! Mistress to the Dragon Reborn!" distraction technique would make more sense (as part of a thing that the polycule worked out on purpose) and make her choice to do that seem more strategic and less like she's peeing all over Rand in public to make her claim on him. But, again, Elayne publicly telling Rand "I love you" later in this scene ruins that theory and we go back to 'Min feeling the need to reassert her claim after Aviendha slept with Rand last night' because we didn't get to actually see a scene where Min has been okay with the polycule and we've been left with possessive & jealous Min as our only 'on-screen' Min (didn't have to be the bridal wreaths scenes -- any scene of the three of them actually talking would have been nice to get! Bonus points if Rand is actually part of the discussion too!).

17. Egwene cuts off the discussions on this to ask after Rand's other two requests -- the first is that he essentially wants Egwene's blessing on breaking the seals (though he plans to do it even if he doesn't get her blessing). But this leads up to Egwene and Rand having a big argument and... tbh, I don't envy Sanderson for needing to come up with a reason for Egwene and Rand to be so ~at odds~ in this last moment so that Moiraine can swoop in to save the day because it really makes no sense that they can't come to terms with each other! I'm not sure there's any argument that could have been worked up here that wouldn't feel at least a little artificial.

Given the paths that they've both walked to this point, it feels somewhat infantilizing that they need mom holding their hands in order to stop fighting with each other. If the reason you 'kill off' the mentor is to allow the students to reach their full potential, it really does kinda stifle/reverse that growth if it ends up that the mentor needs to come back to fix things.

Oh, and to quote Sanderson's retrospective on Moiraine coming back:

In his notes, Robert Jordan was very specific about the fact that Rand and Egwene needed to almost come to blows in the lead-up to the Last Battle. He called it the grand union of the armies against Rand, whose decisions were considered too radical, too dangerous, to be allowed to proceed. Moiraine was to be the force that brought the two of them together, unifying the armies of light, cementing her importance—and showing why she needed to be rescued by Mat before the Last Battle. (There were a lot of instructions about what Moiraine was to say, and some good writing on that meeting at the Field of Merrilor.)

Just in the interest of having all the appropriate information.

18. Random side note, I love Berelain's reaction to Rand's treaty (it really would be a huge blessing to teeny tiny countries like Mayene!). I just adore her basically going "two thumbs up, five stars, no notes" to the Dragon's Peace. But Berelain has been such a strong & loyal supporter of Rand for a very long time (and deserves a lot more credit for it than the books were willing to give her). idk it's a fun little side note.

19. Oh, and Rand's last request is that he wants full control over the armies for the Last Battle rather than everyone controlling their own army.

Yeah, Egwene thinks here that Rand is acting very much like an Aes Sedai (which feels like a counter-balance to Rand going all, "You're Not Like The Other Aes Sedai to Nynaeve" -- or, I guess, I would say that it counts as evidence that Rand's PoV in that chapter in ToM IS meant to be his own biased PoV and not the objective truth about Aes Sedai), and we also have her thinking that she can tell he still has strong emotions going on underneath the surface but that he's got them under much better control than before.

20. So, yeah, knowing that at least some of what Moiraine says and does here in the tent at Merrilor came directly from Jordan's notes does make me wonder how much that shaped some of the other plot points that happen in this discussion.

21. Man, I do not love having this chapter start out in Perrin's PoV. That really feels like the most useless of the potential PoVs. Either Rand or staying with Egwene would be so much better imo.

Anyway, we are in Perrin's PoV as we see Moiraine enter, and Perrin wonders why Mat isn't with Moiraine and he gets a vision of Mat... "on a horse, riding along a dusty road, tinkering with something he held". I will... hold off my thoughts about that until we actually get to a Mat PoV and I can evaluate it properly. But, just as a reminder: at the end of ToM, Mat was planning to return to Caemlyn and was suggesting that Moiraine do the same so that she could speak to Elayne before trying to talk to Rand. And the group of three did not bring any horses to the Tower of Ghenjei.

22. lol so much at Moiraine just blowing off any attempt to give Mat, Thom, or Noal/Jain credit for saving her and going right to "the Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills". Reminds me so much of people who attribute life-saving medical intervention to a miracle from a god and not the doctors & nurses who actually saved their lives. The real reason Mat isn't here: so that he doesn't die from anger & frustration at his sacrifice being completely brushed off by Moiraine.

Perrin also notes the presence of Thom coming in after Moiraine.

23. Rand kneels before Moiraine until she tells him not to, Egwene welcomes her back to the White Tower, and Nynaeve gives her a hug (as sweet as the Nynaeve hug is, I still think she would be better served being in the Black Tower plotline right now). Anyway, Moiraine Fixes Everything by giving everyone present a lecture on how they need to trust Rand and quoting prophecy at them until they give up and agree to go along with him.

24. Also, both the Aes Sedai and the Asha'man are randomly using the Power to smack anyone who protests Moiraine's presence/importance (which kinda does feel like another Jordan Throwback and not one that I super-enjoy).

25. What's weird is that Perrin thinks of Grady as "one of the nearby Asha'man" here but... he should be the person who brought Moiraine and Thom to Merrilor? How is he already at this meeting as one of Rand's Asha'man? How did Moiraine and Thom get here if Grady was already present? Moiraine has been stuck in the Tower of Ghenjei and so didn't have a chance to learn how to Travel yet. Grady was the one opening Gateways to the Tower of Ghenjei in order to retrieve Mat & co once they were done with their task. Did Grady bring Moiraine and Thom to Perrin's camp, and then leave and go over to Rand (without telling him about it), and then Moiraine and Thom eavesdropped on the meeting until the ~most dramatic moment~ for her to enter and save the day? Not that this is necessarily out of character for Moiraine, of course, but... that should mean that Mat is here too, because Mat was with Moiraine and Thom. The logistics of this are not adding up for me.

26. One of the Aes Sedai (Perrin doesn't know her name) points out that even if they all agree here to the Dragon's Peace, there's a huge flaw remaining -- the Seanchan.

...wow, Mat really should be here for this conversation. I'm feeling sorta like I did at the start of Crossroads of Twilight, where it feels like the author decided to do a major swerve from what was set up in the previous books. Logistically, Mat should have come to Merrilor with Moiraine & Thom... it's honestly difficult to see how he possibly avoided it? Assigned Gateway-maker Grady is at Merrilor. Literally right here, in this meeting. Perrin just mentioned him.

Logically: Mat should have arrived at Merrilor, mentioned that he had been planning to return to Caemlyn (for the Band & Olver) and found out that Caemlyn was attacked (learning from Talmanes that the knowledge of the attack was in the letter that Verin had left for him). This would bring his arc re: mistrusting Aes Sedai to an appropriate conclusion: mistrusting Aes Sedai so strongly has led to massive death on a scale as bad as anything in his war memories. Then Mat should have learned that the only thing holding back the potential peace for the world post-Last Battle is the Seanchan. He finds out how worried everyone is that the Seanchan will attack, either while the Last Battle is happening or afterwards.

Then, as a show of self-sacrifice (and guilt over letting Caemlyn be attacked), Mat tells Rand & co about his marriage and volunteers to be the one to go to Fortuona, to make one last desperate attempt at a peace treaty before the Last Battle. Because of his marriage, he's the best person for the job (making his marriage actually matter in the narrative and giving it a reason to have a prophecy about it).

Before he goes through a Gateway to Ebou Dar, he and Rand talk about Rand's LTT memories and Rand confesses to Mat that he believes that he genuinely is insane but that he has control of himself (basically shift over those two conversations that Perrin had with Rand earlier, the ones that felt like they had zero relevance to Rand and Perrin's friendship). This would bring Mat's arc re: Rand and the role of the Dragon Reborn to an appropriate emotional conclusion.

And this would mean that the Emond's Field Five actually all get to reunite before the Last Battle kicks off!

27. "I see what you're trying to do, Rand, and I love you for it." This is the wtf moment that kinda throws the 'what DO all the various random rulers know about Rand's relationships?' question into the pot. Visibly pregnant Elayne saying this to Rand while another woman was desperately clinging (silently) to his arm only minutes ago should be raising so many questions and red flags for the various rulers who are present here. Especially since Rand doesn't publicly reciprocate her affection here. I feel like just having Elayne say, "I see what you're trying to do, Rand, but that does not remove the fact that this document is fundamentally untenable" would have made a lot more sense here. There's no point to Rand and Elayne avoiding spending time with each other if Elayne is also throwing out 'I love you's in public. Pick a lane, essentially. But Rand agrees to add the provision that if the Seanchan do not sign to the treaty, then the document as a whole is void.

28. Elayne says that only addresses the problem of the Seanchan and not the issue of how to enforce the treaty, which is what leads to Aviendha speaking up and telling Rand that she wants the boon that she'd requested earlier -- that the Aiel be treated the same way as the wetlanders in the treaty. Rand says that leaving them out of the agreement was meant as an expression of his trust and Aviendha tells him that it is an insult instead.

(and it is not the Aiel themselves who say that war is their purpose or that they are tools; they actually respond negatively to the suggestion -- it's Rand and Perrin, wetlanders who both canonically have the bad habit of using their people as tools, who make that comparison)

But anyway, the Aiel are written into the document as the official enforcers of the peace.

Hmm, we do get this cute moment from Perrin here that Elayne 'smells' proud of Rand even as she continues to 'stare daggers' at him, lol. But just like Egwene, Perrin has no thoughts on the whole "Rand has multiple girlfriends" situation.

Moiraine asks Rand how he plans to lead the armies if he's going to Shayol Ghul, so that's now an open question.

29. I do feel the need to point out: Aviendha is here spearheading the Aiel & the Wise Ones; Elayne is here representing Caemlyn & Cairhien; and they are both vocal in this meeting and actively facing and talking with Rand as equals. Min... is silently clinging to Rand's arm. And the saddest thing is that this is perfectly representative of them in the series as a whole, too. Aviendha and Elayne both have other things going on and get to be fully-realized characters and people, while Min... not so much, and the story has to keep trying to manufacture ways to occupy her time* because once she leaves Salidar, she has literally nothing else going on in her life but clinging to Rand.

(*hilariously, it's usually something that someone else had already discovered or realized earlier in the series -- ex. Rand himself has the realization about needing to break the seals all the way back at the start of Lord of Chaos, long before Min arrives in Caemlyn; or there's that time she uncovered the flaw in Callandor... that Cadsuane had already told Rand about in an earlier book)

30. As Faile brings up some pertinent questions about the Seanchan, Mat not being here at this meeting feels so weird and jarring. It makes zero narrative or purely logistical sense.

The question: if the Seanchan sign this document, does that give them formal permission to keep all the people they've enslaved and the lands that they've conquered? And are they allowed to kidnap and enslave anyone who crosses their borders (women who can channel in particular)? Very important questions and ones that Mat needed to hear being brought up. Shielding him from any of this, like he's a toddler who is too young to hear the truth about the world, doesn't help anyone, especially not him.

31. Rand says that he will go to the Seanchan after this meeting, either to find a way to get them to sign this treaty or to find a way to destroy their ability to make war (guessing this would be something to do with the damane -- maybe springing all their collars with the Power all at once?). So Rand still considers fighting the Seanchan to be a very viable possibility for him at this time.

Here is the point in the meeting when Mat (who should be here) would speak up and say, "I'll go and talk to her first" because he's just found out that the other option is Fortuona getting killed by his best friend and/or Fortuona attempting to kill his friends & people.

"We cannot have them striking at our backs when we attack the Shadow."

lol, Min silently takes Rand's arm again as the rulers proceed with the treaty signing.

32. When it comes time for Elayne to sign (she's last), she notes that it's a difficult thing that Rand is asking of her, and he gives her the control of the armies of the Last Battle. Though some of the leaders push back against the idea, none of them do so based on the whole "you two are romantically linked" conflict-of-interest idea, so I once again have to wonder what exactly all the random rulers know about their relationship (maybe they just assume Elayne is very free with her 'I love you's).

33. The question of the Seanchan is brought up again, and Rand says that he will see what he can do about trying to trade with the Seanchan to get their people back (from what we saw in Aviendha's visions, this is a trade that Fortuona and her successors refused in the alternate future) and try to persuade them to return back over the sea but if worst comes to worst "if forced to it, I am content to allow them the lands they have, so long as they do not spread further".

"Thousands are enslaved," Egwene points out.

"What's done is done," Rand says. Yikes. He does follow this up with, "Let us worry about the world first, then do what we can for those held captive" so again, he's not letting the Seanchan entirely off the hook here -- he's leaving an explicit opening for the leaders to push the Seanchan on this in the future. But, you know, saying "what's done is done" about people being kidnapped into slavery is extremely Yikes.

We also get the pro-'strongman' yikes argument of "the lands they have taken have benefited from strong leadership", which is something that Jordan first brought up in TPoD as propaganda that the Seanchan were spreading but wasn't actually true (as we heard stories about how violent the Seanchan mainland still was, with uprisings and civil wars), was treated as an article of faith by Fortuona in CoT & KoD even as we were cut off from hearing any counter-arguments, and now is basically taken as literally true.

And, once again, I feel the need to point out that the 'strong leadership' that Rand is praising is mostly the work of Darkfriend Suroth and Forsaken Semirhage, as Fortuona was ~under the veil~ during her first weeks in Ebou Dar and so in a weird in-between place as far as her authority went, then kidnapped and missing for at least a month and maybe closer to two or three months, and has only recently been returned to power. So this is more an argument in praise of the Dark One than the Seanchan, though Rand (and I guess Sanderson) doesn't realize it.

34. Things are getting bad in the Borderlands, we find out, as we check in with Lan.

Yeah, I feel like this section here would have been enough to illustrate how bad things were getting without us needing the attack on Caemlyn. Too many battles, not enough character moments! (especially if Mat isn't there to face his failure with Caemlyn and Verin's letter, making it all feel much more pointless and 'battle for the sake of battle')

Right when Lan believes that he's facing his last stand, Gateways open up and reinforcements pour in from Merrilor. And Lan is relieved that what he thought was his death becomes "a promising battle" instead.

This is a pretty nice, upbeat moment to end this section of the reread on, I think, since I feel like it's gotten long enough. I had a lot to say about the big meeting, lol.

#wot reread #wot #wheel of time #wot book spoilers #wot spoilers #elayne trakand #rand al'thor #perrin aybara #moiraine damodred #egwene al'vere #mat cauthon

[friends-to-lovers-tournament]

Friends to Lovers Tournament: Round 2, Side B, Match 7

propaganda under the cut!

Hidekane:

"Submission 1 Let me tell you, when I say they should have been canon, they should have been canon! Let's start from the beginning, shall we? (Major spoilers for the whole series lmao)

Hide and Kaneki met as children, around the ages of 7-10. Kaneki has always been a big bookworm while Hide has always been a big extrovert. Unbeknown to anyone yet, Hide had recently lost his father and was just adopted and was having a hard time adjusting and fitting in at this new school despite his cheerful personality. He kinda just walked up to Kaneki and asked to be his friend and he said yes.

They grew up together, Hide being Kaneki's only salvation in the world as he lost his mother and was stuck in a neglectful, nearly abusive situation living with his aunt. They usually just talked about stupid stuff, but Hide's friendship meant everything to Kaneki. Eventually, they began attending the same university, Kamii. Kaneki took literature while Hide studied foreign languages, majoring in English. They were only in their first year when Kaneki was involved in an accident. In this world, creatures known as ghouls exist among humans, look and act just like them, but they eat human flesh. It's the only thing their bodies can digest, everything else tastes disgusting and makes them sick.

Kaneki went out with a girl, but found out she was actually a ghoul when she tried to eat him. He ran away into a construction zone where steel beams fell on the girl and he passed out. He was rushed to the hospital and needed a kidney transplant, but the hospital had none and so they used the girl's, or so the doctor said. In reality, the doctor transplanted the girl's kakuho, an organ unique to ghouls, into him. Slowly, Kaneki began to notice changes to his body. Food tasted gross and people started to sound appetizing (this all sounds off topic but trust me it's necessary to understand the depths of Kaneki and Hide's relationship).

While dealing with this revalation, Kaneki skipped out on quite a few days of class. Once he retuned, Hide immediately hugged him, saying that he's been lonely and that rabbits die of loneliness. Later in the day, Hide is attacked by a ghoul and knocked unconscious while Kaneki tries to fight the ghoul off. Kaneki is very weak at this point and can't do much, but tries to defend his friend until the bitter end. When it really looks like Hide is about to die and be eaten, Kaneki is able to unleash his kagune (a hunting limb/organ thing ghouls use to fight) to fight off the ghoul and save Hide. The two of them are saved and cared for, and Kaneki talks to another ghoul about how he's no longer human in the same room Hide is sleeping in but little does he know that Hide is actually awake.

They started drifting away because of this, with Kaneki wanting to keep Hide out of danger. At one point, Kaneki is kidnapped and goes missing and so Hide spends his time looking for him, tailing shady people, and joining the CCG (Comission of Counter Ghoul, aka the ghoul cops) as an intern to look for files on him. Eventually a few months later, they find each other again. Kaneki has changed a lot, having been tortured and been through a lot of other stuff. The CCG is on a mission called the Owl Execution Operation to locate and kill an extremely powerful ghoul known as the Owl with Kaneki fighting on the side of the ghouls and Hide (technically) with the CCG. Kaneki is beginning to lose his mind while struggling to regenerate a severe wound when Hide shows up. Kaneki freaks out because he doesn't want Hide to know that he's a ghoul, but Hide just pats him on the shoulder and says ""I knew all along man!"" There's a very strong CCG fighter blocking the only exit to the area and Kaneki needs to be at full strength to have a chance at winning so Hide tells Kaneki to eat him. Kaneki gives Hide one hell of a kiss, eating his lips and part of his cheek and neck.

Flash forward three/four years later, Kaneki had amnesia but regained his memories at this point. Kaneki is fighting an extremely strong adversary and is losing horribly. He is about to drown when Hide appears in his dreams. They talk about the situation, joking around a bit too. Kaneki cries, saying how much he misses him, with Hide responding ""what are you, a rabbit?"" Hide convinces Kaneki to keep fighting and not to throw his life away, saying ""it may not be stylish, but live."

Meanwhile, the real Hide has dedicated his life to finding help for Kaneki these last few years. After some really big stuff that I can't even begin to explain happens, Hide comes out from the shadows and takes the lead in helping Kaneki out of this shitshow of a situation. When one person asks ""why go this far for Ken Kaneki?"", Hide simply responds ""Because I love him.""

Submission 2

They're lifelong friends. Kaneki has a bad family history and Hide looks like a sunflower and has the personality of a golden retriever. When Kaneki gets turned into a ghoul, Hide figures it out pretty much immediately and doesn't say anything, because he's waiting for Kaneki to feel comfortable enough to confess. Even as Kaneki drifts away, Hide gets more and more involved in the world of ghouls so he can continue looking after him. At the end of the first series, Kaneki ends up starved for human flesh and on the brink of being captured. Hide, who has joined the enemy side because it's the only way to stay close, finds him in the sewers and offers himself to be eaten. Fade to black.

In the second series, when Kaneki regains his memories, he wants to die in style, like he thinks Hide did, protecting the people he loves. His hallucinations of Hide talk him out of this. He gets ghoul-married to another ghoul by leaving non-fatal bites on each other. This is relevant because Hide isn't dead; just heavily scarred (his jaw and throat are just gone, like a makeout session gone very badly), and he's been going around in disguise as a scarecrow for the past several years, manipulating things so that Kaneki will be as safe as possible.

Percabeth:

Submission 1

they are the cutest thing ever with 5 books of slow burn

Submission 2

HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE THEM?? THEY ARE THE BEST OTP! THEY START OFF WITH UNCERTAINTIES BUT ANNABETH CHOOSES TO BE HIS FRIEND, HER FIRST INDEPENDENT STEP TO NOT CONSIDER THE OLYMPIAN'S WISHES WHEN MAKING CHOICES. SHE IGNORED HER MOM'S OPINION GUYS, THAT IS BIG! AND HE DOESNT REALLY HAVE FRIENDS UNTIL THE SUMMER HE TURNS 13 AND SHE IS ONE OF THEM. SHE AND HIM ARE ALWAYS BY EACHOTHER'S SIDES (METAPHORICALLY AT LEAST). THEY WORK TOGETHER ON QUESTS SOO WELL BECAUSE THEY KNOW EACH OTHER THAT WELL. AND SHE KISSED THEM DURING THE LABYRINTH QUEST AND HE KINDA IGNORED IT FOR LIKE A YEAR. AND SHE WAS HIS ANCHOR TO THE MORTAL WORLD. AND HE TOLD HER ABOUT HIS ACHILLES HEEL. AND SHE BACKS HIM UP ALL THE TIME. AND IT WAS THE GREATEST UNDERWATER KISS OF ALL TIME. AND WHEN HE WENT MISSING SHE DID NOT SLEEP. AND SHE WAS ALL HE REMEMBERED WHEN HERA TRIED HER SHENANIGANS. AND THEY FELL TOGETHER. AND THEY ARE EACH OTHERS BEST FRIENDS (sorry grover, but you get it) AND I LOVE THEM TOGETHER SO MUCH. THEY EMAILED EACH OTHER AT 13 BECAUSE CELL PHONES WERE A BIG N O! AND HE KEPT A PICTURE OF HER IN HIS BINDER. AND SHE WANTS TO BUILD SOMETHING PERMANENT WITH HIM.

#friends to lovers tournament #tokyo ghoul #riordanverse #percabeth #percy jackson #annabeth chase #hidekane #hideyoshi nagachika #kaneki ken #tournament polls #polls

[markantonys]

wait, since they namedropped graendal this season, what if SHE'S the forsaken in caemlyn controlling morgase during s3???? (apologies if this has already been suggested, but i don't think i've seen it.) now, namedropping a character doesn't necessarily mean we will see them in the very next season, buuuuut of the other 4 s2 namedrops, 2 (moghedien & gawyn) will 100% be in s3. (cadsuane & taim, eh, i won't hold my breath on them appearing in s3 but it's not impossible.)

i don't know, i just find it Very Interesting that they chose to specifically name graendal, when they didn't have to include the Forsaken Listing line at all or could've rewritten it any number of ways to not name graendal. for a little while my theory has been that, for practicality reasons, they might want to avoid naming specific forsaken until they're at a place where they feel confident they will have time to include that forsaken in the show, since they have to always be in a position to be able to wrap the story up in fewer seasons than planned. so in keeping with that, maybe it's not unreasonable to imagine we may be seeing graendal (and in a prominent role, as i doubt they'd cast a forsaken just to show up to 1 forsaken zoom call scene and then pray the actor can return for more in a few years) sooner than we think?

now, let's think about whether graendal replacing rahvin in that story role would work.

short-term: yes, 100%. she has a similar personality type/modus operandi of loving luxury and preferring to Compel people from the shadows, so i can easily see her setting herself up comfortably in a palace and making a queen her puppet. it also perfectly positions her to murder asmodean in caemlyn. look, i respect stories leaving questions unsolved, but i feel like the show would rather just show Us Viewers who killed him so we can move on, instead of making it a deliberate Unsolved Murder and distracting us into wasting all our time speculating about it & not focusing on other things that are actually important to the story.

as for long term, i'm still mulling over whether it would work. off the top of my head i've got a few scenarios:

A) graendal is balefired by rand in caemlyn just like rahvin is, from which fight rand learns that balefire can permanently kill forsaken.

downside: her future activities in the books would be cut or given to someone else

B) graendal escapes rand in caemlyn and proceeds to carry out her future book activities. rand learns that balefire can permanently kill forsaken from his fight with sammael instead.

downside: that's my emotional support "rand goes crazy with grief over aviendha's and mat's deaths while protecting elayne's home" avimatrandlayne moment, your honor!

also, mat might need to stay with rand longer than he should in order to be present for the sammael fight for Dying And Living Again purposes (so to me, this is actually an upside djfkg but i RELUCTANTLY acknowledge it miiiight be tricky to get mat over to his seanchan storyline if he's with rand this late into the series - tho ofc they could always shuffle stuff around to make the sammael fight happen pre-ebou dar or even pre-dumai's wells)

C) a scenario i don't think is likely but is fun to imagine nonetheless: ELAYNE is the one who ousts graendal from caemlyn, whether killing her permanently or only temporarily, and whether when elayne first arrives in caemlyn (so taking over rand's story beat) or at the end of her succession and/or black ajah hunting arcs (so adding graendal into one or both of those arcs).

downside: it would stray pretty far from book storylines with, perhaps, no real gain

but, upside: elayne would get a Forsaken Archrival of her very own!

all in all, maybe they really aren't planning to introduce graendal until much later & in her book storyline and i'm totally overthinking the namedrop, but graendal in caemlyn is interesting to ponder!

#wot #wot on prime #the wheel of time #wot book spoilers #graendal