#i think i need to watch a show in mandarin

[benkyoutobentou]

22/30 Days of Productivity

October 22:

I wasn’t feeling too great today, so most of my time was spent reading Babel. And then at like nine o’clock I realized that I hadn’t done laundry so I had to do that... And dishes so that I can eat next week...

When I finally got my things together to study Mandarin, I got a notification that there was a movie streaming on the lovely minimmersion discord server, so of course my study snacks turned into movie snacks and we watched ノロイ. I’m glad I made it to the movie, because it was fantastic! I don’t typically like found footage horror, but I have to say that this was one of the most well done horror movies I’ve seen. We watched with English subtitles so that people studying other languages could join in, and I’m glad we did, because it moved pretty fast and there was some tough vocabulary in there that I absolutely wouldn’t have understood (endoplasmic worms).

But I did get some studying in today! I took some time while my clothes were in the laundry to start the next lesson in my textbook. I can already feel a slight shift in the language used, especially in that it’s moving away from one-to-one translations between Mandarin and English. I only did the first half of the lesson (which is a lot more copying than actual textbook problems) so I’m intrigued to see how the second half of the lesson continues this shift.

#i think i need to watch a show in mandarin #but with what time #i still havent even finished akatsuki no yona and ive been ''watching'' it for months now #and its really good too #benkyou posting #studyblr #langblr #mandarin #chinese #polyglot #language learning #30 days of productivity

[rongzhi]

Hi! I have been learning Chinese for 8 months now, and even though I'm doing okay on HSK3 level, i feel like I'm in need of more content for this level that i can consume and practice. A lot of the shows and tv programs are still too difficult for me and i only understand around 40% of words (at most 😆).

I already watched everything on YouTube channels like Mandarin Click or Mandarin Corner etc, but in general i cant find that much for low levels. Do you happen to know where I could find some more? It could be texts, stories or videos, just below HSK4.

Sorry to take your time. Have a good day!

First of all, great progress!

I would continue just watching some programs for the exposure, even if you can't quite keep up yet.

Aside from apps and standard learning material (which I assume you already have resources for), I think for HSK 3 which I assume is beginner/intermediate, you might just have to bite the bullet and follow along with elementary school content, even if it's boring.

You can probably also find children's programming on Bilibili. I gave a rec in this ask of some Chinese cartoons to check out. Make sure to check out any recs in the notes as well!

This playlist with videos aimed toward Chinese 1st graders. It is a little dry, but the teacher speaks clearly and fairly slowly and from the first few minutes, I think it should at least be good listening practice as well as reading practice with anything visual. A lot of the first videos go over things you should already know since the videos are aimed at teaching Chinese children to read, so you may just want to skip to part 43, 课文1, where the videos will begin class readings of elementary texts.

Check out this site for scans of pages from the Ministry of Education's textbooks. The link should go straight to the page for first grade, but if you find that too easy, the menu across the top of the page goes up to 6th grade. There are just one or two years' books for each grade, I think (you'll have to click around a look). The textbooks contain short stories with pinyin guides.

This youtube channel has Chinese nursery rhymes if you don't mind the ugly ass art

Generally speaking, I think after HSK3/HSK4 is where your language skills will really see improvement so when you're still starting out there's not as much material because that's when it's expected that you just have your head stuck in a textbook.

You might find it useful to give yourself some longer term projects or challenges; translation is a good way to really spend some time thinking about the language, so it might help to find a song you really like and try translating it line by line with a dictionary. Pick a pop ballad or something that sounds cute and simple because other genres like gufeng will probably be too difficult. Later, when your language skills have improved some more, you can try translating the same song again and see if you decide to make any different translation choices based on new insights.

If anyone wants to leave more links for beginners, please feel free to do so in the replies of this post!

#nheirei #text #answered ask #language ask

[adoristsposts]

false god | nico hischier

author's note; obsessed w that false god edit of him on tiktok by zegraser like i cannot stop watching it summary; christmas has a set-in-stone tradition: going to mass with your grandfather. but this year you and your boyfriend are coming up with your own traditions. word count; 0.9k warnings; reader isn't religious but her grandpa sure is! characters; Reader x Nico Hischier

When you agreed to spend Christmas with Nico's family in Switzerland, you had no idea the uproar it would cause. Namely with your grandfather. The man was so old that he could rival Mr. Magoo for senile shenanigans. You loved him, but the absolute offence he took to your missing Christmas mass was shocking. "You're breaking the old man's heart." Your mother joked. Your father mumbled something about how in all his years of living, he had never been able to escape his father's demands to go to mass. But being in a different country seemed like a great excuse.

"Baby, you ready?" Nico asked, poking his head into the room. "Yeah. I gotta go, guys. Tell Papa I love him." Your mother grimaced. "He says he's not talking to you right now. But he loves you too." You laughed and told your parents you loved them before hanging up the phone. "Okay. I think I'm ready." "It's not that big a deal," Nico told you for the millionth time. His mother had put the two of you in charge of making the Zimtsterne and Mailänderli. Nico had gone on and on about the importance of making Christmas cookies every year in Switzerland. Now you were a part of the tradition and you were determined to prove yourself. "It is to me, Neeks." You got up and kissed his nose. "Need to get it right so we can make them next year." He smiled and flashed those obnoxiously gorgeous dimples at you. "Fine." He sighed, even though the simple mention of there being a next year for the two of you had his heart fluttering.

You had missed Santa's visit that brought nuts and mandarins, which Nico joked he was devastated about. His two older siblings had already eaten the cookies and chocolates he had brought. He was showing them to you now, as you waited for the cookies to bake. "Nuts and mandarins?" You asked, scrunching your nose up. He laughed, "Not a fan?" "Of nuts, no. I've never had a mandarin." "Try one." He offered, handing one to you. You pursed your lips. "What?" "I feel like we need to do something fun with this." You admitted. "I'm missing my traditions. Let's come up with something new." "I have an idea," Nico said. He took the mandarin from your hands and peeled it open. Expertly, he pulled out two slices and set the rest on the table. "Come on, don't want to give my mother a heart attack." He laced his hand in yours and pulled you into your room. "Nico," You laughed, "What on Earth are we about to do?" He stood facing you and grabbed your other hand lightly, careful not to crush the slices. "We," He took a deep breath like he was preparing, "Are going to put a slice in each of our mouths. And we are going to bite down. And whoever's sprays the most juice gets to eat the chocolate from the advent calendar." "Oh you're on, Hischier." You said, even though it would be all luck. He pulled his hand out of yours and opened it to you, letting you pick your slice. You pursed your lips and pretended you were thinking. In all reality, you didn't really know which one to choose. "This one." You grabbed the one on the left. Nico hummed like he was sure you had made the wrong decision. Both of you placed the slices in your teeth. The juice sprayed a little when you bit down and dripped down onto your chin. You couldn't help your laughter as you watched Nico's do the same. You swallowed what was left of your mandarin slice and wiped the juice off your face. "I think mine was definitely juicier." You reached up to cup his face. "Oh really?" He said. You just hummed against his lips as you pulled him into a kiss. You had to admit, this new tradition was a lot better than listening to some priest preach for hours about things you didn't fully understand.

Later, you and all the Hischiers were still bundled up in your warm clothes from your walk when Nico's mom happily exclaimed, "You should light the Adventskranz!" And you had no clue what she was talking about. "The candles." Nico's older sister laughed, "We light one a week. Usually, we let Neeks do this one, but we like you more." "Hey!" Nico protested at his sister's teasing jab. He wrapped and arm around you and you leaned against his chest. "I'd be happy to." You told them. You weren't sure if the flush of your cheeks was from the warmth of the house or the absolute joy as you felt yourself slotting into their family activities.

That night Nico traced patterns on your hip. He was propped up on his elbow, watching his finger drawing elaborate swirls as you studied his features. "I love it here." You finally told him. His eyes lit up as he looked at you. "Really?" He said excitedly. "Really. It was worth my grandpa's wrath." He laughed at that. "Tell Papa it's my fault." You waved a hand in the air dismissively, "Please, he loves you." "I'm glad." He dropped his head to nuzzle into your neck. "I'm going to marry you someday." You couldn't stop your grin. "Oh, really?" "Yes." He pulled his face up. His hair was falling every which way and you adored it. You adored him. "Just don't propose on Christmas." "Why not? Overdone?" He asked. "No," You said, "My grandpa will never forgive me for taking attention away from Christmas mass."

#adoristsposts #nhl #nico hischier fic #nico hischier fluff #nico hischier x reader #new jersey devils #new jersey devils fic

[wonwooslibrary]

svt as boyfriends ♡ minghao edition

member: minghao x reader genre: fluff, established relationship, bullet points word count: 785 summary: minghao's boyfriend things <3 warnings: none!! author's note: i actually forgot to write this one which is why you are getting it so late i am so sorry. On the other hand, it's Hao day!!! and I am so close to having a small break from school and work !!

Art hoe aesthetic bf 

Also the perfect instagram boyfriend 

The personification of “no babe that’s stupid…let’s do it” 

Quality Time 

Likes doing hobbies with you !! Like he would love to do one of those paint for 30 minutes and then swap canvases challenges with you 

Would literally hand the canvas on the wall afterwards too

Helps you discover some hobbies if you feel like you don’t have any

“I’m gonna go work on a puzzle, babe, wanna join me?” 

Would love to do very domestic things with you like go grocery shopping and idk weed the flowerbed???

Enjoys long walks on the beach and picnics

Also enjoys just existing with you --- likes to just watch tiktoks over your shoulder and asks you to forward the funny ones to him 

Words of Affirmation

TELLS YOU ALL THE TIME THAT YOU ARE PERFECT LIKE JEEZ JUST LISTEN TO HIM ALREADY 

“Sweetheart, I told you that the cardigan looks fine with that shirt, don’t change it.” 

Would also definitely call you pet names like “babe”, “baby”, “sweets” or “sweetheart” 

And don’t forget his native language either! Like Jun, he would always compliment you in both languages

Just imagine you’re chilling in bed together watching some Instagram Reels when he leans down and whispers something sweet into your hair in Mandarin 

Despises you calling him pet names but calls you billions of different things just to find the perfect one 

“Peach? No, that's weird. Doll? Just no.” 

Doesn’t know how to take a compliment tho like damn bro LET US CALL YOU PRETTY 

Physical Touch

He’s super big on hand holding and you cannot convince me otherwise…he always has his hand out for you to take 

Hao is always super confident when he initiates the contact, but is so shy he turns into a fire truck when you do it (he is EMBARRASSED) 

I personally don’t think Hao would be big on cuddling, especially when sleeping…mans needs his personal space, but he would totally just chill on the couch with his arm around you 

When you tell him that you don’t want to be touched or anything he might pout a bit, but overall he would accept your wishes and not want to make you uncomfortable 

He would also be super concerned if something like that happened, but he would do his best to fix any issue 

Acts of Service

Hao would do simple things, like push the cart when you are shopping or do some cleaning when you are at work. He won’t even say anything about doing them either, he just does it and gets all giddy inside when you notice that he did something for you

If you have a pet together, he would always volunteer to to take them outside or to spend family time together 

Just imagine Hao laying on his stomach on the floor playing with a kitten or a puppy it would be so cute (and of course who could resist taking a picture of it either)

Enjoys doing tasks like dishes and laundry, always willingly agrees to do them

When you are getting ready to go somewhere, he will always grab your belongings like keys, wallet, purse, phone, ID, anything like that, so you don’t forget it (because you would otherwise) 

Always makes sure that if you need help with something and he can’t be there to help you that someone would be there. He doesn’t care if the rest of the performance unit wants to help, if you need more than just him the other three will be there 

Gift Giving 

I feel like Minghao is also not that big on gift giving…like of course he would for things like your birthday or any gift-giving holidays that you celebrate, but I just feel like he shows his love in other ways 

Obviously, he’ll do stuff like get your favorite drink or snack from the store or pick up your favorite dinner on the way home, but I don’t think he’d spend hundreds on jewelry or anything 

Though. He would totally revamp your whole closet for you LOL I can picture it perfectly, he sees you looking through clothes you never wear and you find a super ugly sweater and he’s like, “How many of these damn things do you have?” 

So he would drag you to his favorite store and y’all would pick out some cute outfits 

And he would obviously get a couple of them that match <3 

But yeah he wouldn’t go too crazy with buying you gifts because he would rather tell you he loves you than try to win your love with physical items and possessions

That’s actually so slay of him though let’s be real

#caratwritersclub #kdiarynet #kbookshelf #svt fanfic #svt #svt fluff #seventeen #xu minghao #the8 #seventeen the8 #svt the8 #svt minghao #seventeen minghao #seventeen x reader #seventeen kpop #seventeen x you #the8 x reader #the8 fluff #svt x reader #seventeen fluff

[thebearer]

This isn’t a request or anything but I wanted to know if you agree with a headcannon of mine. Okay, I feel like Carmey watches tv with you when he can and it’s a bonding thing to watch reality tv. It’s quality time that decompresses and no one needs to speak, that is so Carmey coded.

So, I think that Carmen would watching cooking competition shows for inspiration, but I think his gulity pleasure is the junior British bake off because it’s very calm and no one is mean at all. I think that might be a dad Carmen thing to actively do things that make him calm, like that after a long rough shift at the bear. And hands massaging his hair as he is trying to stay up.

omg yes or just imagining one night at the bear, you decide to do a "team bonding" type exercise, maybe in the style sorta like chopped. one vs one, with different people as judges.

carmen vs sydney. three courses: apps, main, dessert. first mystery item they have to use is those shitty mandarin oranges that come in a plastic cup.

carmen makes a scallop and carrot puree spoon app blends the oranges in with the carrot for sweetness. syd makes a summer kale salad with fresh fruit and fresh oranges, but uses the juice to make a vinaigrette.

second round you use cotton candy grapes as your mystery item, the whole team cheering and egging them on while they try to cook something in the short amount of time. carmen makes a chuteny out of the grapes and serves it with rice and naan. sydney goes with a chicken salad sandwich on sourdough, a sweet and spicy sort of recipe.

last round is dessert and you choose asparagus, mainly because you hate it and you want to see what they come up with. sydney pulls out a sort of asparagus flan that disguises the taste. carmen attempted to do an asparagus tart that you gagged when you ate lol.

sydney was the winner, easily, the whole kitchen hyping her up before it was tina and marcus' turn.

even you and richie (notoriously the worst cooks in the kitchen lol) when head and head at one round. the ingredient being black garlic, which you used to make fancy butter noodles and richie used to make garlic bread... both weren't great but the staff got a kick out of watching the two of you scream and run around the kitchen.

#thebearer #carmen berzatto #the bear #marcus brooks #richie jerimovich #sydney amadu #tina the bear #bearblahs #carmen berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto fluff #carmy berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto smut #carmy berzatto #carmen berzatto fic #the bear fx #carmy the bear #the bear season 2 #carmen berzatto x you #carmy berzatto x you #carmy x reader #carmen berzatto fanfiction #carmy berzatto fluff #neil fak

[mono-blogs-art]

incredible chaser game w moments (part 2) up to & incl. episode 4

the most homophobic breakup you've ever seen. just, unholy behavior. on fucking god itsuki i know you had good intentions but you're the worst for doing it like that !!!!!!!!! at least let her down easy !!!!! if i was 22 and my gf of 4 years did that to me i'd fucking go insane as well

the elevator stopped working ➡️ you are trapped in with the person you hate ➡️ you are forced to sit it out and face your fears together, ultimately bringing you closer both emotionally & physically. i love this trope and i didn't know i needed it here, but it was great. step 1 to the meowmeow-ification of fuyu complete

my prediction of itsuki running into & taking care of little tsuki and the two of them then being found by fuyu, resulting in an awkward and heartbreaking scene, came true exactly like that. i think this scene was genuinely so well done and well acted, it broke my heart. i think this was the scene that really got me to say Damn, I'm invested in this now...

^ I'm still waiting for Itsuki to bring up the similar names in conversation though. like you need to talk about that

"ohhh harumoto-san, so you're part of that team?" - itsuki (sweating in closeted lesbian): "huh? what? n-no, of course not- I'm--" - "Don't worry, it's all good, we're all into BL too!!!" ➡️falsely coming out as a yaoi fangirl to your coworkers to avoid having to talk about your own sexuality. LMAO

^ this scene only being a setup so fuyu can be homophobic on main is what makes it even funnier

why. in every gods name. would you go to your boss' home address. why on earth would you do that. at least itsuki was self-aware about it too. girl you are SO unwell

every time fuyu has kissed itsuki of her own initiative, it has been when she was drunk... can we remedy that for future episodes, please? not that consent has been an issue, their mutual feelings are obvious, but i think she should be making a move when she doesn't have any liquid courage in her. step up your fucking game, fuyu

"she's a classic tsundere, after all" - fuyu, who has been severly harassing her subordinates at work (again, there seems to be no HR department at this company) being written off as a "tsundere" by the rest of the team - I mean, you're not wrong, but you should still file a complaint against her.

fuyu's husband Kouu is the nicest man on earth. my man doesn't deserve ANY of this. he even calls her dongyu. he even calls his wife by her real fucking name like the bar is so low

fuyu treats him so badly too, man, i genuinely felt bad watching it. were the 5 years of marriage all like this? was he always just a means to you getting your revenge? i'm sick. i hope they can make up by the end of the show and have a real conversation about their feelings and relationship.

that aside, i do have some theories on kouu, his disappearance, and his own feelings as well, but i'm keeping that to myself atm...

fuyu & itsuki keep having insanely homoerotic moments in front of god and everyone on earth, I'm starting to believe the only person with a gaydar in this company is the photographer from the other office. the fact that you two haven't been found out yet is honestly a massive plot hole (lmao)

has itsuki eaten anything else but sweets (cake, in particular?) on screen yet? apart from the homemade meal at the hayashi's, whenever there's a scene of her alone or with her grandma, she's always eating cake. i wonder if it will come up at some point, but it's just something i noticed. no shade though girl i'm also (almost) 27 and if you wanna eat cake for dinner alone at home I'm your nr1 supporter

i'm never a fan of the trope of a bilingual character breaking out into their native tongue for swearing or just randomly, but it is fun that only fuyu does it and that all the other chinese characters just don't speak mandarin at all. and i'm happy they actually cast a bilingual actress for fuyu!

episode 4 was the mid-series finale, and it definitely showed. this was the best episode so far by a pretty significant margin imo.

the. silent pleading fuyu puts on to make itsuki stay at the hayashi house. the most fucking 🥺*twirling my hair cutely* AND IT WORKS TOO BECAUSE ITSUKI IS JUST AS INSANE AS YOU ARE

i would like to talk about the best scene of this show yet. i really wished it was longer and was given even more weight. in episode 4, fuyu & itsuki are sitting in the living room together at night, so far apart that they're completely out of each other's camera shots even. i found this to be the most interesting scene so far. there was genuine tension in the shot composition, the acting, the complete absence of music. just silence and their voices. "after all, it was all my fault, wasn't it? that we ended up like this?" fuyu still deep down believes that she was the reason their relationship failed. she wasn't enough, because she's fuyu, because she's a woman. she still thinks that. my heart fucking broke in two

their fight after fuyu came back home drunk was so funny. especially with their height difference... hydrogen bomb vs coughing baby

after finally learning the truth about their break-up, fuyu is absolutely devastated. "you valued your promise to my mother more than the one you made to me?" just completely broken. after all this time sitting with these unresolved emotions, feelings of guilt and deep shame, only for that to be the reason? I feel so bad for her

the mutual love confession!!!!! i'm honestly a bit surprised it came so early, i thought they were just going to sleep together and not talk emotions first. but i'm not gonna complain (i just love mess) i'm also devastated that itsuki used suki while fuyu used the word aishiteru. my friends it's so bad for me right now (and them)

did. they. fuck. on. the. floor. in. the. living room.

i hope so because 1) hot and 2) although i'm still unsure as to the exact room situation of the hayashi household, don't they all have one shared bedroom??? isn't the bedroom that they're in after they've had sex (hopefully in the living room) the same one we've previously seen, where the kid also sleeps????? WHERE WAS THE KID ITSUKI. WHERE. WAS. THE. KID. WE KNOW SHE'S WITH YOU BECAUSE THAT WAS THE WHOLE REASON YOU STARTED FIGHTING!!!!!

if you had sex while your kid was sleeping soundly in the same room i'm sending both of you to superhell. i'm praying you guys just have a totally identical bed in another room. please.

if it wasn't the same bed we've previously seen from tsuki's room, that means you guys fucked in the marriage bed, which is only slightly less gonna get you sent to superhell.

in any case, happy lesbian sex to them. i know neither of you have known the touch of a woman in the past 5 years so it was probably intense. drink a lot of water in episode 5, alright? jesus.

it was also quite funny that the scriptwriter for the show tweeted out a few hours before this episode aired that "itsuki has always taken the leader position in their relationship" and that "you should watch episode 4 with this in mind" and we were all like. oh so you're telling me that fuyu is a bottom? you're telling me water is wet? fork found in kitchen??????

their lil afterglow convo in bed was just perfectly sweet. 1 point to fuyu, now presumably much more sobered up, for having the courage to ask if itsuki's gonna stay the night after all. girl you don't have to ask. i think she's ready for another 12 rounds. she's not going anywhere.

the line delivery of the "alright" (i'm gonna stay) oh my god. oh my god... oh. oh.

the meowmeow-ification babygirl-ification of fuyu is now complete

in the preview for ep5, fuyu is wearing a mixture of white and black clothes. girl... it was that good, huh?????

in conclusion:

i had a lot of thoughts on this one and i've found great joy in going deep into the twt tags for it as well. and i'm glad to see many japanese sapphics also being super vocal about the show. it's really interesting to read and interact with that side of the fandom i haven't really seen in this capacity for a (lesbian) live action show yet. i see people slowing down & brightening up footage to analyse who's taking each other's clothes off first, people just posting close-ups of Yuuka's hands, people going into Yurika's past filmography to dig up ancient clips of other sapphic roles she's played (of which there seem to be actually quite a lot?). i love to see it lmao. on a more serious note, it makes me happy to see sapphics from so far away expressing themselves similarily to myself or my other lesbian friends. it's cute!! as for cgw, part b of the series is gonna be intense, and i'm especially curious to see how they're gonna do the inevitable breakdown of fuyu again. my girl is so deep in the trenches, her temporary being on cloud 9 right now is gonna be short-lived and i want to see it happen. i hope she can really stand up for herself and make things right after all!

#mono-loguing #chaser game w #long post #text #rambling #sorry this got so long. i just wanted to type some thoughts out. really curious to see what happens next week

[polyglot-thought]

Language Learning Resource! (Video)

I feel like this video is a PERFECT outline of what you should be actively doing to learn another language.

—

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Here’s the main takeaways with some of my own ideas thrown in:

1. Don’t learn a language with the intent to enjoy fun things in your target language LATER after you gotten to whatever your target level of fluency is: Just go ahead and start now! Watch the TV show you want to watch even if you don’t understand any of it yet, you’ll get there eventually.

2. You do not need to be speaking all the time with others to get good at speaking. It helps, but it should not be solely relied on. OP gives a good example of what he did wrong in the video.

3. Speaking a language isn’t due to knowledge like learning math is, it’s more like a muscle that is always working for the sake of function.

4. You can’t just do 30 minutes days and expect to be fluent eventually. You need to be using your target language as much as possible (aka immerse yourself). Immersion takes much more than 30 specific minutes out of your day. I actually do this all the time, talk to yourself in your target language, read your target language (I follow a lot of social media accounts in my target language so I constantly see it), text others in your target language, watch videos/movies, voice shadowing etc etc. You may even be able to feel when your brain is in (insert language here) mode. Me personally I can tell, and I notice that if I’m in Japanese mode it’s hard to absorb things in Mandarin or other language

5. Mindset is everything. If you think constantly about how hard something is, you will always feel like the task is hard. If you are learning a notoriously hard language, and ruminate about this, it will only hurt you in the long run. When I started learning Mandarin as a kid no one ever told me it was hard before, and I picked it up fast, and I only slowed down when I got frustrated about how hard the language is but sped back up when I reminded myself that input and immersion will get me the results I’m looking for eventually no matter which language.

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#langblr #studyblr #language learning material #language learning resources #language lover #language learning #language study #language stuff #learning reference #learning resources #language lessons #language learning resource

[difeisheng]

hi ash, i think i may have asked this before, but from one asian diaspora to another, i was wondering how, if you're able to, you keep up with your chinese practice in a country that's dominated by english (and/or french canadian since ik you live in canada). bc i know a lot of suggestions are like turning your tech to the language you want to learn, put sticky notes on objects with the name in the language you want to learn, etc. but like. i feel like it doesn't matter how much i try and practice bc i'm not in a class, so i don't get it consistently enough, and the rest of my day is filled with english bc, well, that's my first language, and what is needed for my job and every day living. do you have any recs, strategies, or tips? i'm getting desperate; i used to be so much better than i am now. thanks!

hi! honestly, most of my chinese upkeep since i stopped taking mandarin classes (which tbh was relatively recent; this april, and then i'll be taking a cantonese class next term so i can learn to read it) has been a lot less I Need To Practice My Chinese through exercises or dedicated study time, and more just making sure i have frequent exposure to the language that i'm also engaged in. which is a long way to say that basically c-media is how i'm maintaining my proficiency.

i listen to music, i watch dramas and variety shows, look up other vids on bilibili that catch my interest, sometimes read articles, and (very slowly) read fanfic, with pleco open to note new words. just generally scrolling through chinese social media has helped too. having that environment i can immerse myself in helps me learn new vocabulary and practice using what i already know + listening skills, but it also doesn't feel like work or study, just dealing with things i like and am interested in. (this is important for me because i'm so exhausted when i get home every day lmao, if language upkeep outside of class felt like additional Student Time i might have tapped out on attempting it. this way turning on a c-drama at the end of the day just seems like relaxation first and then chinese exposure on top of it).

just by poking through c-drama or fandom things, i know my vocabulary has definitely expanded since i finished my last class, instead of shrunk. even though i watch c-dramas with english subtitles (or chinese and english depending on the platform), i've still picked up stuff from them, and when it comes to things like variety shows i don't rely on subtitles anymore/make myself not. you absorb a lot more of a language than you think just through exposure, imo. although as a caveat for reading specifically, picking up new characters, recognizing them, and reading has been one of the easier parts of learning chinese for me, when it's probably the inverse for a lot of people. i don't know how well just casually reading things will work as a method for others, ymmv.

the thing that i struggle with is getting opportunities to practice speaking, because it's english in my classes and usually with my friends, and either english or cantonese with my family (and i'm not living with them right now). however, i do have a lot of diaspora friends given that i'm in vancouver, and we occasionally dip into speaking mandarin or cantonese. this isn't perfect, but hopefully in future i'll be able to get more speaking experience somehow. what's also helped me with keeping up pronunciation despite these limits is learning to sing chinese songs. singing is one of my hobbies anyway, so i'll use pinyin or jyutping as a guide (getting better at sightreading characters for singing though!) and it's helped me work on certain sounds i had trouble with, and improved my accent. (watching c-dramas even if i don't speak as often has also aided on that front tbh; i listened to recordings of myself from last year and i sound less canto when i speak mandarin now compared to back then, or even earlier this year).

if you want a place to start that i personally think has helped me maintain chinese proficiency, i would choose a variety show you're interested in and try watching it without english subtitles, when you've got free time and want to do something fun. most will have chinese ones you can use to practice reading along with listening, and people usually speak at a conversational enough level that it shouldn't be too difficult to follow along (for ref, after a year and a half of heritage learner mandarin classes at uni i could watch 《我们的歌》/Our Song without english subtitles and understand most of it). variety shows are also really accessible lmao, so many have full seasons on youtube.

tl;dr it's been media exposure for me all the way down since i left classes, wherever i can get it.

not sure how actually helpful all this rambling might be, but this is what i do to keep up my chinese proficiency and keep learning in daily life nowadays! hopefully maybe you or someone else will be able to get something out of it :)

#sorry anon i hope this all connects i'm answering this late at night oop #you can ask me clarifying stuff if you want tho! #also for those of you who see this and are still building up a basic vocabulary and language foundation/grammar #please do not feel bad or kick yourself that you can't just throw yourself into the deep end on bilibili and learn chinese that way #all this was targeted to answer a specific question and assumes some kind of existing proficiency #i believe in y'all to get there one day tho!!! 努力学习 加油吧 #languages #mandarin #chinese #ashton answers #anon

[letteredlettered]

watching The Untamed

Some people have been reading my new fic without having watched the canon on which it's based, which is the Chinese drama The Untamed. Since my fic is a modern AU, it doesn't really require much canon knowledge, so I think the fic can be enjoyed either way. You can read it here!

But! If you are interested in watching The Untamed first, or get interested after reading the fic, I wanted to share with you the intro that the unparalleled @stultiloquentia gave me years ago, when she accidentally messaged the wrong person to scream about this show and I subsequently fell down a rabbit hole. Here is her advice for watching, in my own words. (If you prefer to watch things COMPLETELY unspoiled, here's a warning: this advice contains a brief explanation of the first scene as well as an overview of the very general structure of the show.)

Advice for watching The Untamed:

Know this: the first episode begins with Our Guy falling off a cliff. Then we skip ahead over a decade for the rest of that episode and most of the second episode. Then in the last third of the second episode, we flash back to the story of why the guy fell off the cliff in the first place. The flashback is 31 episodes. Then the remaining nineteen episodes are a buddy cop ghost story mystery in which the two mains experience feelings.

You can skip the first two episodes. Watching them means for the thirty episodes of flashback you get to experience the dramatic irony of "my God how do they eventually get THERE?" Not watching them means you are not confused out of your mind.

If you don't like the first two episodes, KEEP WATCHING. You will probably grow to like a character or two by episode four, but if you don't, KEEP WATCHING; you will probably grow to love a character or two and know most of the characters by episode six, but if you don't, KEEP WATCHING. If you're not ready to die for someone by episode ten, maybe this isn't the show for you.

That said, if you don't love it by episode ten, consider quitting and coming back six months to a year later. I have known multiple people who started and couldn't get into it, then restarted and loved it. I don't really get this as I was hooked like, halfway through episode one, but that's me and my kinks so ymmv.

The costumes and sets are gorgeous but BEWARE the CGI is horrible and downright goofy; DON'T JUDGE THE QUALITY OF THE SHOW BASED ON CGI!

If you don't speak Mandarin I assume you'll be watching with subtitles. A) the subtitles on Netflix are different than on viki (viki.com is a good place to watch!) People have OPINIONS on which are best; I think most people prefer viki, but if you don't want to figure that out (it's easy) Netflix really is fine. B) You do really need to pay attention. I understand lots of people like to watch things while doing something else, but you really miss a lot if you're not catching everything that's said.

There are a lot of plot holes. ACCEPT THE SHOW FOR WHAT IT IS. Or else come yell at someone who can fill in some of the holes for you like I yelled at @stultiloquentia. (You can come yell at me.) I know others have found some episode-by-episode watching guides really helpful. I personally did not need this, but that's mostly because when I went to yell at sultiloquentia she was always like "yeah it's like that. *shrug*"

#the untamed

[hils79]

Hils Watches Mysterious Lotus Casebook - Ep 14

He's such a little shit (affectionate). Telling Fang Duobing he'll explode if he talks

Is he going to keep calling him Fang Xiaobao now that it slipped out once? I can't it's too cute.

I really don't think that it's women you need to worry about

Would that be the same cold item that Li Lianhua is going after to cure Fang Duobing?

Ooh is someone going to die and all of the doctors will be suspects?

Well, I guess he can talk again :D

This is such a rich dude solution to a problem. Someone is threatening to kill me so I've hired all the best doctors in the area to watch out for poison and cure me if a poisoning does happen. And what about everyone who needs a doctor in the meantime?

I'm glad at least one of the other doctors is annoyed by this

Wow I was not expecting him to show back up. Uh, I'm pretty sure you weren't framed, my dude.

I mean that is true

Oh someone is definitely somehow going to get into the impenetrable room

Yep there we go. Got to love a locked-room mystery

Pretty sure a blackmailer can look like anyone

I was about to say that's not a real thing but apparently it is

Wow not only two corpses but the thing Li Lianhua and Fang Duobing need has also been stolen. A crime of many levels.

Of course they do. It's a crime story classic.

Okay, I'm confused. I know the mandarin for him and her is pronounced the same way but written differently. But they keep using male pronouns for what is clearly a female doctor. Is it a mistake? Is she supposed to be (badly) disguised as a man?

#hils watches #hils watches mysterious lotus casebook #hils watches cdramas #mysterious lotus casebook #cdrama

[crushonwoo]

Darling

pairing : junhui x fem!reader genre : actor au, series, fluff, smut warnings : size kink, cream pie, unprotected sex, praise kink, sub!jun, softdom!reader, slight indication of pain kink, choking, cockwarming summary :your best friend minghao attempted to throw you a surprise party for your 21st birthday and you finally meet his twelve best friends. a/n : I was supposed to post this on jun’s bday but got to lazy oops.  ALSO TEXTS IN BOLD IS JUN SPEAKING MANDARIN  teaser | one

A package was thrown at a distracted Junhui. “You got a package.” Was all Seungcheol said before he left the room to deliver the remaining mail to the other members. Jun is thrilled by this since the only package he has been expecting is the script and schedule for his upcoming movie.

Being the great friend he is goes to find Vernon since he knew he would want to be a part of this. He finds him in the living room with Wonwoo. “I got the Darling You script.” Jun announced and gained the attention of both of them.

“Wait, you’re gonna be in the movie?” Wonwoo asked shocked that he now just found out that his friend will be in a movie about his favorite book.

Junhui just nodded and opens the package and took out the script and began to skim through it with Vernon doing the same from beside him. Every now and then he’d ask Vernon for some help regarding the definition on some of the words. Jun eventually handed the script over to Vernon to look over. The actor grabbed his schedule and was pleased that the director was able to work around the tour schedule.

“No way!” Vernon had shouted gaining Jun’s attention. “You have a sex scene!” Junhui quickly looked down at the script.

Sure enough there it was. Jun’s character has sex with y/n’s character. “Oh god I forgot about that, I didn’t think I’d get the part so I just signed it anyways!” Jun began to panic at the thought of having cameras film him in an extremely intimate act. “Do you think they’d get a stunt double if I asked?” Of course Junhui knew that he wouldn’t be completely exposed in front of a camera he was still terrified at the thought of pretending to have sex with his coworker in front of so many people.

Vernon laughed at Jun. “I’ll do it!” He eagerly shouted, he’d love any opportunity he could get to being close to y/n. “We all know that carats are going to love you after this movie! They will probably hate y/n though.” Vernon couldn’t help but to voice out his thoughts which only scared Jun more.

“Oh god I’m going to have to see y/n naked!”

“Are you seriously complaining right now?” Vernon’s jaw dropped in disbelief. “Oh right I forget you’re a virgin.” His voice was barley above a whisper as if he was telling a secret.

It was Jun’s turn to gasp in shock. “No I’m not stop saying that!” He then hits Vernon’s head.

“Well fucking one person twice doesn’t really count especially if you couldn’t make her cum.”

His face heated up with embarrassment and anger so Jun turns his entire body to face Vernon ready to attack him for his blunt words. Wonwoo being completely quiet until now only chuckles at his friends and takes out his phone to record the two to show the rest of the group later.

It’s a bittersweet moment for Jun when the tour finally came to an end. Bitter because he finished touring and won’t be seeing his friends so often. Sweet because he is about to go to LA with Joshua for a movie he gets to play a lead role in. Of course Jun had left all his packing until the night before his flight leaving Joshua to scold him for causing him to stress out about the situation. “Jun, why were you packing bed sheets?” Joshua continued to question the actor regarding his packing. “I told you we can buy everything when we get there, we just need to take necessities.” He had commented as he pulled a flashlight out of Jun’s luggage. “Where do you think we’re going? You’ve already been to LA!” Jun only shrugged as he watched his older friend empty his entire suitcase. “We have to start all over.”

Honestly if it wasn’t for Joshua, Junhui would have missed his flight and missed the table reading he’s currently at waiting for his costar to arrive. She wasn’t late it’s just everyone decided to show up extremely early. Jun was scared of getting lost and being late so he too showed up a half hour early. Everyone was here and waiting patiently speaking amongst themselves. Jun felt like the odd one out, because everyone here has already worked with one another on other projects. So Jun is the new kid keeping to himself and pretending to be busy on his phone with his notes app open. 

“Hello everyone!” Your sweet voice interrupted Jun’s typing. “I decided to buy some treats from my favorite bakery for everyone as a celebration to our first table reading.” Your hands were full of boxes and you began to struggle with closing the door.

Before Jun could react and put his chivalry into action, four different sets of hands rushed to remove all the boxes from your grip. “Y/n you didn’t have to!” The director spoke as he got up from his seat and hugged Jun’s costar.

Seeing you in photos and seeing you in person is completely different experience. Jun can understand why everyone (Vernon) was obsessed with you, but in person Jun could see it for an entirely different reason. Especially as you took your time greeting every single person in the room. You were kind and overflowing with confidence with each conversation that you have tailored to every individual person. You stood before Jun with a shy smile the complete opposite of what he witnessed from your previous conversations. “Hi, I’m y/n. I’m really excited to get to know you Jun.” She stuck her hand out for Jun to shake, which he did, he even sent her his very own shy smile. “Sorry I looked you up as soon as the cast came out.” Jun noticed how your nose scrunched up in embarrassment from the information you told him.

“Oh, um that’s okay, I looked you up too.” Which is only half a lie because Vernon just gave him a lecture about who you were and showed your Instagram page. Which made Vernon jealous once he saw that you had followed him. Of course Jun followed you back and his fans without hesitation voiced out their opinions on it and began to speculate. “My friend is kind of in love with you.” Jun blurted out not knowing how else to go on with the conversation.

And you giggled, amused with the random information. “Oh really, is he in your band?” You carried on the conversation before taking a seat right next to Jun as everyone helped themselves to some of the tasty bread.

Jun nodded. “His name is Vernon, he’s from New York.” Jun could not stop the word vomit. Vernon is going to murder him when he arrives on set. “He’s a rapper in the group, I’m part of the performance unit.” He continues and grows even more embarrassed. Your genuine smile had only encouraged him to keep going.

Before you had a chance to comment the director had decided to start the meeting. Going over the schedule of when they’re going to be filming certain scenes. Jun began to fidget in his seat when they informed everyone that one of the sex scenes is going to be filmed at the end of this week. That was not enough time for Jun to mentally prepare for that. They went over the schedule quickly and moved onto the script. The entire cast read their lines and the writers would make adjustments. It was a good script and Jun felt so lucky to be a part of this.

The two of you had created the type of relationship that every director dreamed of their two costars having. It was all thanks to you of course. Since you made it a habit of inviting Jun out to the city to show him all your favorite restaurants, even inviting Joshua to ensure Jun was comfortable. You would even invite him to your place to go over scenes you would be filming the next day. Like right now, only you both got distracted and went to target only to stumble upon the album section. Jun had pointed out his album. You both had a few hours to kill before needing to be on set so of course you bought it. Which is how you ended up live on your Instagram to do an unboxing. “Jun they're asking which version this is.” You nudged his shoulder wanting him too answer since you didn't know.

“It’s the carat version.” He answered in English since most of the viewers were your fans. Jun tried to respond to the comments as best as he could but they were popping up so fast that he wouldn't be able to finish reading the sentence. 

“Ooooo, Jun you look so good on the cover.” You showed the cover to the camera even as going as far as putting your hand behind the album. Jun could only chuckle and brushed off the compliment. He watched you put the album down and moved on to the photo cards. “Aww, I didn't get you. Who are these people? They’re really cute.” Again you showed the camera the cards.

Without hesitation Jun answered your question. “They aren’t too important they're just staff.” You raised your eyebrows at him not believing him at all. “Its a way for us to say thanks for their hard work.” He lied easily which you giggled knowing he was lying since the comments were telling you. “Besides you're an ot1 fan, it means you only like one group.”

“Who are these men.” You held them to the camera and you read the comments. “Hoshi, Scoups, Jeonghan, and Vernon, hey isn't Vernon the one you said has a crush on me?” His eyes widen knowing that Vernon will definitely get back at him for telling you about his crush on you.

Jun quickly ended your live. “Y/n that was supposed to be a secret!” You just laughed as you started to open the pack of just his cards.

“I feel like I'm collecting Pokemon cards like in middle school.” You stated as you looked at every single card. “This one is my favorite, you have a really cute smile.” Jun noticed how you always complimented him, at least ten times a day and it always got him getting shy and growing red. 

Jun liked the attention from you, maybe a little too much since his dick would twitch after every single one. “Our fans usually put their favorite one behind their phone cases.” 

You grabbed your phone. “Guess, I gotta buy a clear phone case to show you off.” Jun didn't think as he gave you his clear phone case and handed it to you. “You’re so sweet Jun, here we can trade.” You handed him your white phone case and you centered his photo card and put your phone in the case. “Look it's so cute!” You showed him and he smiled liking the thought of you taking his photo everywhere with you. 

“Oh no.” His group chat was blowing up. He always muted the chat whenever he was with you but the amount of messages that kept showing was alarming and he knew the boys have heard about the live.

sol : ur dead to me

sol : unsubscribed from our friendship

sol : I am now a jun anti

scoups : LMFAO SINCE WHEN DID I GET DEMOTED

hosh : honestly I didn't expect you to break my heart jun I expected more from you

wonu : what did I miss ?

hao : ???

han : okay but which one of us did she call cute

sol : yeah tell us 

shua : @ hao and wonwoo Jun went live with y/n and called scoups, soonyoung, Vernon, and jeonghan staff, then y/n revealed that jun told her about Vernon’s crush on her

hosh : don't forget about how he told her she's an ot1 

jun : I can explain

jun : shes my friend not yours = ot1

jun : she called me cute bc she's an ot1 so stop

gyu : do you like her ?

jihoon : he definitely likes her

sol : honestly don't blame you but ouch im sad

jun : no comment

jun : im busy leave me alone

wonu : busy rehearsing those sex scene aren't you ;)

hosh : I forgive you GET IT JUN

gyu : I WILL ALWAYS SUPPORT JUNHOE

hao : that's bc ur the ultimate man whore

deekay : Vernon look away

kwan : CHAN LOOK AWAy

dino : and i oop

sol : heart been broke too many times

scoups : just us a condom ?

“What's going on? Are your friends mad?” You peaked at his phone but he wasn't worried since the texts were in a different language. Jun just shook his head no. “Good, come on we gotta go.” The walk to the set Jun felt his nerves bubble up from his stomach and spread to his throat. Today was that scene. “See you in there.” You smiled and waved before you went towards your trailer and he went to his. 

Jun couldn’t help but to question if you were feeling as nervous as he was about having to film a sex scene with someone you had met the beginning of this week. It was basically soft porn. He knew this would also be your first time filming this type of scene from a conversation you had a couple days ago so that information helped him feel a little better. He changed into the skin toned briefs needed for the scene and threw on the robe before walking to set to get his makeup done. You sat in the chair next to him in a robe similar to his. The type you'd get at a luxury hotel, white and fluffy. You didn't see him since you had your eyes closed and lips puckered as your makeup artists worked on you. 

He sat patiently in the chair as his own hair and makeup artist worked on getting him camera ready. You finished earlier than him so you waited and chatted with his artists. “Im not lying I swear!” He wasn't really paying much attention to the conversation since he was so worried about touching you the wrong way or doing something wrong in front of so many people. “I don't know how to do my own makeup, well just the basics, I can't even put on fake lashes or do eyeshadow.” Your laughter got his attention, he always thought you were the prettiest when laughing. All it took was for Jun to have an outing with you once to be wrapped around your finger. 

“You’re all set Jun.” You smiled and got up with Jun and walked with him to set after he had thanked both the ladies.

You both met up with the director who wanted to go over the scene before they started filming. “Remember it’s supposed to be hot, fast, and rough.” He had said ending the small huddle. “And lots of passion!” He shouted as you both walked to your chairs to drop the robes.

Jun wasn’t insecure of his body and never has been, he was however scared of what you would think of him. It was almost unspoken how you both turned your backs to each other to drop the robes. You were also extremely nervous and slightly terrified since this would be the first time you'd be dressed in something so little in root of an entire movie se filled with cast and crew members. You were just amazing at acting like you were the most confident person alive. It was silent as you both turned towards each other to walk on set to start filming the sex scene. 

There was no hiding the fact that it was extremely awkward as you both got into position against the wall. Jun’s hand pressed against the wall next to your head as his other hand grabbed your leg to wrap around him. He refused to look down at your body knowing that as soon as he loses eye contact he would get hard and possibly ruin everything. He just couldn't risk that. “Action!” The director shouted and a second later your lips met for the first time and Jun had to force himself to not enjoy how soft and plump your lips felt against his. 

He knew he fucked up as soon as he pushed himself deeper between your legs and felt your cunt against his dick. The thin clothing on both of you didn’t leave anything to the imagination. He knew it was only a matter of time until he grew embarrassingly hard from just grinding alone. Your hands were everywhere rushing to grab any part of his body you could to show the camera how eager you were for him. It wasn't until you let out a fake moan followed by an out of breath I love you when he jerked away from you and rushed off set apologizing to everyone as he yanked his robe back on and left the building. 

Joshua rose from the couch at the sound of the front door. “You’re back already?” He questioned Jun’s appearance. Body still covered in the robe and slippers. He watched him pace back and forth. “Is everything okay Junhui?”

“I messed up.” He admitted as soon as he realized he had actually ran away from filming. “Oh my god I’m going to get fired.” He began to panic which led to the older one to join him.

“Jun what happened?”

“I don't know, she said she loved me and I got hard and so I ran away!”

“So? Thats her job, to act out the script!” Joshua shouted in disbelief. “She will probably forgive you for abandoning her and leaving her alone in front of everyone in little to no clothing right?”

Jun’s eyes widen at the realization. “Oh god, I’m an asshole. Can you take me to her place so I can apologize?” The guilt set in and Jun could only hope that his actions didn't effect you.

Joshua being the good friend he is nodded. “Just maybe change and look presentable?” He teased his younger friend who agreed and went to go change. “Call me when you want me to pick you up.” Jun thanked Joshua for the ride before shutting the door and walking up your driveway. He had no idea what to say. Sorry, you got me really hard when you said you loved me and so I was about to cum in my pants. Definitely not that.

He knocked and waited patiently for you to answer your door which didn't take long. “Well fuck me.” Jun muttered under his breath when his eyes landed on you with wet hair and a silk pink robe. Clearly just finished having a shower. “Sorry, I just wanted to apologize about today, if you're busy I can come over later.” Jun went to walk away before you grabbed his wrist tugging him inside your home.

“Jun, you’re so dramatic. I’m not busy, now tell me what happened today.” Your voice was sweet which only added to his guilt knowing you didn't deserve what he made you go through today.

He let out a sigh as you led him to the living room. “You know I have never filmed anything like that.” You nodded remembering the conversation. “Well a certain body part was enjoying it a lot more than it was supposed to and I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable.” He admitted not making eye contact and refusing to take a seat on the sofa. “I’m also sorry for running away, I was embarrassed and didn't want anyone to see.” 

“Junnie, its okay, it happens.” You walked up to him and held his cheek in your palm. “It was my first time filming something like that too, hell I also got a little excited.” Jun felt hypnotized, from your soft touches to the way you’re looking up at him. “Maybe we should practice.” You offered which led to your other hand pressing against his chest and slowing going down to his abs and staying there waiting for him to say anything. “Do you want to practice Junnie?” 

“I’m not . . . good.” 

He felt embarrassed as he spoke out his insecurity to you, scared to receive a negative reaction from you. “That’s okay, I’ll help you Junnie.” The nickname you rarely use and your gentle tone is his undoing. 

Jun doesn't think as he rushes his lips to greet yours in a soft kiss. You are addictive, and Jun cannot get enough. He feels your tongue swipe across his bottom lip. Everything about this kiss is soft and innocent, the complete opposite of what happened on set. Jun feels your hand lower from his stomach to palm his semi causing him to let out a small moan at the contact. Your tongue enters his mouth from the moan and your tongues explore each others mouths. Jun can't think feeling so overwhelmed with the sensual kissing and you caressing his cock. This time you moan into his mouth at the feeling of him growing harder in your open palm.

“Oh Junnie, you’re so big.” You whisper to him as his lips leaves yours so he can rest his forehead against yours to watch you palm him through his sweatpants. He felt so thick and large in your small hand and you looked forward to the feeling of his cock stretching you out. Jun couldn't help but to thrust against your hand at your words. “Do that again.” You removed your hand to wrap a leg around his waist to feel his girth against your barley clothed crotch.

Jun watched as your pink silk robe revealed your white lace panties. He grasped your thigh to help you have balance before he did what he was told to do. “Fuck.” He whispered as you moaned into his shoulder. Breath almost as warm as your pussy. He continued to grind himself onto you, position similar to earlier on set. He wasn’t sure if the wet spot on his sweatpants were from you or him, he didn't care everything felt so amazing.

Your plump lips attached onto his jaw and trailed open kisses until you reached where his jaw connected to his throat, right below his ear, you gently sucked and licked. All while continuing to moan directly into his ear. His other hand wondered to hold onto your waist, his thumb rubbing the skin directly under your breast. You weren't wearing a bra. “So hot when you speak mandarin.” You tell him right before you lick a stripe from the base of his neck up to his ear before softly biting his lope. Jun’s hips faulted at the new feeling. “Junnie please fuck me against this wall.” You have never been known for being patient especially in a situation like this.

“Whatever you want y/n.” Jun’s voice a lot deeper than usual as your greedy hands goes to remove his shirt, him still holding most of your weight against him and the wall. His shirt is removed so he goes to untie the robe, but leaves it on, Jun quickly attaches his mouth to your bare nipple. He bites and sucks for a moment before he parts. “Hold on baby.” You attach your arms around his neck and both legs wrap around his waist as his hand push his pants low enough to free his achingly hard cock and kick the rest of his pants off. Jun pushes you back against the wall tugs onto you flimsy panties with enough force to rip it apart so he can rub his pink tip to your entrance.

Your juices spread onto his tip and your head falls back and hits the wall with a soft thud. “Put your fat cock in me Junhui, please fuck me.” You moaned out as you pulled his hair. He eased the head of his cock into you. “Such a good boy for me Junnie.” You were breathless as he continued to lower your pussy onto him. He stretched you out so much that it caused a fiery pain that was pleasurable for you. “You feel so good in me, keep going baby.” Jun loved your praises as well as the new pet name.

He continued to softly thrust in and out of you at a slow pace both of you enjoying the feeling of each other. “So fucking beautiful.” Jun grunted as he watched his cock disappear into you just before coming out glistening in your wetness. “So tight and warm.” You felt so full and deliciously stretched out every time his hips met yours forcefully. The sound of squelching and the feeling of his veiny cock rubbing against your inner walls had you moaning for more. The power behind the thrusts had your eyes water from the overwhelming amount of pleasure you felt.

You wanted to feel more of him so you eased one leg onto the ground for him to try a new angle. “I love the way you feel inside me baby.” Jun wanted wanted to please you in any way you wanted as long as he would get another praise from you. You grabbed one of his hands and led it to your lifted leg for him to hold and squeeze at your thigh. Then you grabbed his other hand and led it to hold your neck. “Squeeze baby.” Jun would do anything you'd ask of him, so he squeezed the sides of your throat like you asked and stared into your eyes as he did so. His cock twitching inside you at the sight of your mouth open with silent moans and your eyebrows furrowed in pleasure. The pleasure he is causing you. “Right there Junnie, like that keep going I’m gonna cum.”

He nodded against your forehead eyes staring deeply into each other. “Please let me cum inside you baby.” He begged however it was like you understood his words since you nodded and moaned against his lips before sealing them in another wet kiss. Your fingers toyed with your clit moving at a faster pace than his thrust feeling the tight knot forming wanting to come undone. Jun bit onto your bottom lip as his cock twitched for the last time before his cum shot into you. He continued to fuck his hot seed into you moaning as he bit your lip hard enough to draw blood. The pain causing you to reach your own climax. “Fuck you’re so good to me.” Jun continued to thrust into you fucking you through your orgasm and firmly held onto your neck squeezing in sync with every thrust. “So good to me.” He whined into your ear as his thrust slowed to a stop as his cock grew soft.

Before you could say anything he lifted you into his arms staying inside of you. He carried you to your obnoxiously large mattress wanting nothing more than to have you sleep in his arms with his cock still buried deep inside you. It was a new feeling for him and he was addicted. “You were such a good boy Junnie, made me feel so good.” You sighed as you rested your head against his chest letting your eyes fall shut. Jun felt a flutter of pride knowing that he made you feel good. He laid on his back with you laying on top of him. Your weight lulling him to a sleep.

next

#junhui x reader #wen junhui #seventeen #junhui fluff #junhui series #actor junhui #vernon #wonwoo #seungcheol #darling you #seventeen series #crushonwoo #joshua #Junhui smut #jun smut

[benkyoutobentou]

31 Days of Productivity Reading: Day twenty five

Before: We are getting scarily close to the end of the month… I absolutely want to read ten volumes of manga because I know that it’s doable. I had one month last year where I just ended up reading a ton and read thirty one volumes in one month. I’ve definitely been focusing more on novel reading this month, and I feel like all things considered, I haven’t had as much time for reading this month as I usually do. Which kind of makes me want to do this again some time.

The current plans for today are watch the last episode of ゆびさきと恋々, go to the library to study, and finish ベルばら volume two. It’s not supposed to rain today, so the current plan is to walk to the library. I’m also thinking that I might choose and English audiobook to listen to on the walk, so I’ll have to scour my English shelves to find one I want to listen to.

After: That was such a good last episode! I really hope they get a season two because this show totally deserves it. I love seeing people’s reasons for learning languages and seeing an interest that’s so dear to me in a fictional character is really special, so of course I loved seeing Itsuomi’s backstory. I also pulled out my fancy gyokurocha for this last episode. カンパイ！

Today's trip to the library was also successful and productive. My hold came in and they miscategorized my name again, but at least I know where to look now. I did in fact start listening to Little Fires Everywhere on the walk there, and studied some Mandarin at the library. My only issue with walking to the library is that after walking there (and walking the dog beforehand) and studying a bit, I get really hungry. Oh, I also discovered that my library has 青のフラッグ！This is great news for me and terrible news for my tbr.

I've been thinking lately on how this challenge is shaping up to be a little bit of a failure, and I'm trying to figure out why. I might get through all of my goals and I might be reading an hour every day, but I feel like I'm not prioritizing reading in my schedule this month like I normally do. Usually when that happens, it's because I'm not enjoying what I'm reading, or I'm not in the mood for it, but I can say pretty certainly that that's not what's happening here. Honestly, my hypothesis is that the timing aspect is putting extra pressure on me and causing me to avoid reading. Instead of reading a page here and there, which then turns into a longer reading session, I think I'm searching for the mythical "perfect time" to read so that I don't have to stop and start my timer much, and then putting off reading until the last possible moment in the day. Other than this odd little setback, I've been enjoying this challenge (and I think it's good for me), so I think I might bring it back in a few months' time and try setting a page count goal for myself rather than a time goal.

On that note, I read 56 pages today over an hour and one minute with an average reading pace of 1.1 minutes per page. Finishing this volume is absolutely in the cards for tomorrow, and I'd like to make reading a higher priority as well. It feels rough taking three days to get through a volume of manga anymore when I know I can do it in a day, it's just that I'm not giving myself the proper reading time to do so. Which I need to fix.

#benkyou posting #langblr #studyblr #language learning #polyglot #30 days of productivity #booklr

[svtminghaolove]

The moment he decided he was going to propose - Perfomance unit (SVT)

Hello again, I’m writing. look at that ;)

Triggers: None

Jun: Okay, so this was not totally decided by himself.

He was back in China visiting his mom. At first you had planned to come along but at the last second they needed a translator for a event, so you had to stay behind.

"You got back okay? Was the flight alright?", you said as he placed his phone to lean on a bottle of water.

"Yeah, I got home about an hour ago, how was your day?", you sighed dramatically and fell back in your chair.

"So hard, they dragged me all over the place to talk to people! Can you imagine?", you smiled at him and he just shook his head. "No, but it was fine, just sucks that I couldn't come with you, it's been so long since I saw your parents", Jun gave you a soft smile.

He wished you were here too, but he knew you felt worse about it than he did so he didn't elaborate on it, but he didn't really get the chance to do it before a knock on the door interrupted him.

"Junhui, can you come help out with- Oh, I'm sorry! Are you on the phone with someone?", his mom stepped in behind him and you brightly smiled at her.

"Hello A Yi!", you switched to mandarin and waved at her. Jun moved out of the way so his mom could see you. (A/N: A Yi = "Aunt")

"Oh, y/n! How are you? I wish you could have come with Junhui, such a shame that you had to work!", she moved forward to see you better.

"I miss you too, I just got off work so I'm on my way home", and the conversation continued as Jun was watching the two of you. He loved how you got along with his family, especially his mom. The two of you talked all the time, even if Jun wasn't with you. The conversation continued for a few minutes, before his mom cleared her throat.

"It was nice talking to you y/n, but I'll have to continue with the food, wont you please help me when you finish. Goodbye y/n!", she waved at you and you waved back.

"Goodbye!", Jun moved so he was visible to you again and smiled.

"I miss her", he smiled and nodded.

"I know"

"And I miss Yangyang too", you sighed and he laughed.

"I know", you hummed.

"Yeah… you should go and help your mom, call me tomorrow!"

"I will, I love you", you smiled.

"I love you too, bye"

"Bye", he hung up and walked out to his mother who was lining up the ingredients for tonight.

"Junhui", his mother said in a serious tone, making him freeze up as he was going to take a knife. "I think it's time that you marry that girl", he blinked as his mothers words, before he busted out in laughter.

"Yeah mom, you know. I think you're right."

Hoshi: It was one of those moments that kind of just slapped him in the face. It was something that had happened so many times before, and he had no idea why this time was the time.

The two of  you were at an arcade with some of the boys and their partners, but had split up when realizing than no game were big enough for all of you. You and Hoshi had ended up at a dance game, the one where you're suppose to step on the arrow that showed up on the screen. But like always, you and Hoshi took it to the next level and came up with the most ridiculous dance routines to distract each other.

"No! I'm winning over here!", you laughed as Hoshi moved his arms in front of you in a attempt to distract you.

"You're not!", Hoshi laughed as you shoved away his hands and returned the favor by lightly poking him in the waist, making him yelp.

"What are you doing?", Dokyeom's girlfriend showed up next to you and Dokyeom laughed.

"They are always like this", he smiled and they looked as the two of you jumped over the arrows and laughed like kids while attempting to distract each other. When the game ended the two of you were sweating and panting for air while still looking at the screen to determine who won.

"… I won!", you yelped and jumped down from the platform, jumping around in a circle laughing and chanting your victory.

And it just hit him, out of nowhere he was smiling like a goof, looking at your joy and simply decided, that he was going to marry you, and he wanted to do it soon.

Minghao: Minghao knows himself pretty well, and he had known for a while that you were the person he wanted to marry, it was just a question of timing.

It was a pretty late night, and Minghao was coming home late, the house was dark so he had assumed that you had gone to bed, which is why he was kind of surprised to find the bed empty.

"y/n?", he called out and walked out into the living room. He had seen your shoes in the hallway so he knew you were home.

"y/n?", he called out again and walk down the hall to the office. "y/n…?", he whispered as he opened the door and found a faint light illuminating the room.

You were laying on the floor, pencils all around you and color on your hands and face, and sleeping deeply. He smiled and crouched down next to you, looking at the picture under your hands.

If he didn't knew better, he would think that it was painted by a child, but he knew that every line was carefully considered and thought out. You drew with feeling and care, that always portrayed your emotions and this… this was pure happiness. He smiled, he knew that the two of you were happy, really happy and in a really good place right now, and it made him so very happy to see that you thought the same.

"… Hao?", you mumbled and blinked your eyes opened.

"Hello, xingãn. Why are you sleeping here?", he carefully wiped away some pencil dust from your cheek and you slowly sat up.

"I was waiting for you", you mumbled, still half asleep and Minghao let out a low laugh.

"Sorry for being so late, the recording took longer than expected", you hummed and leaned against him, not willing to fully wake up.

"Come on, lets' go to bed", he whispered and helped you stand up.

As you walked out, he threw one last glance at the painting on the floor, and deciding that it was time.

Dino: With Chan, everything happened pretty fast. From meeting each other, going out, moving in together and so on. He didn't know how to explain it, but he just knew, so he didn't feel like wasting time.

So the two of you were just laying around, you were playing with his hair, mumbling to yourself, wondering if you should dye your hair. It was a pretty normal thing you did, nothing out of the ordinary.

"What color?", he asked and you met his gaze.

"What?", he smiled up at you.

"You're mumbling about dyeing you hair", you smiled and looked down at his dark strands that softly fell through your fingers.

"Should I do the same color as you? Then we could match", you raised an eyebrow and he nodded.

"Sure, lets' go get the dye", you laughed and shook your head.

"Maybe at our wedding", you said and lightly tapped his cheek before you turned back your eyes to the TV.

But your words stirred Chan, he had just gotten the confirmation he needed, and he was already cooking up a plan to get a ring on your finger.

-----

Masterlist

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Taglist: @foxdaisy @pearlygraysky @cixrosie

#svt #seventeen #svt fanfic #seventeen fanfic #svt imagine #seventeen imagines #svt imagines #seventeen imagine #svt preferences #seventeen preferences #svt x reader #seventeen x reader #svt x female reader #seventeen x female reader #svt fic #seventeen fic

[heymeowmao]

2023.11.07 - https://weibo.com/l/wblive/p/show/1022:2321324965501234446524

LYN: Hallo everybody, good evening. I am Modern Brothers Liu Yuning. Welcome! LYN: Long time no see, long time no see.

C: It’s so early! LYN: Are you not home yet? In that case… what do you want me to do? Let me pause and then start again when you get home. We really want to provide the customer service mentality, here. A customer’s satisfaction is always the priority. Let me stream when you get home then, okay?

C: Monthly streamer. LYN: Stop provoking me. You mean to say that I only stream once a month, right? 

C: How long have you been streaming? LYN: I just now turned it on. So that fact that you were able to come immediately means that you are my good friend. It’s like if I opened a restaurant- as soon as I open the doors for the night, and you are the first person in. You are my first customer. - C: Why can’t I see the comments? LYN: If you can’t see them that means that you’re lagging. Exit the stream then come back in. - C: I’m also the first to be seated! LYN: Yes, yes. I’m sure that those of you who came in right when I started the stream all pay attention to me very closely. You watch everything I do- so as soon as I started the stream, you came in. That means you are very indulgent of me. 

C: Are you in Hengdian? LYN: … What do you think? You can tell by my background that I’m in Hengdian. Or else, this is all fake? 

C: You’ve turned into a monthly streamer. LYN: I mean… there’s a reason behind that, you know?? How could I turn into a monthly streamer just randomly. There has to be a reason- I have work, so I started streaming less. But as soon as I have time, I will come to stream! Don’t worry. Therefore, stop pushing me. I don’t stream for a reason, it’s just that sometimes I can’t tell you what that reason is. C: Why? LYN: I can’t tell you. Otherwise people will accuse me of having a big mouth. I should say less. C: Who said that about you?? LYN: There are people who say- a proportion of people- who say that I- I don’t dare to take up the label myself, but some people are calling me a living “insider”. Everything I say is particularly thrilling. But being a “living insider” means that I can more easily take the heat for things I say. So from now on I want to be a “dead insider.” Okay? Less problems are better than more. C: Nonsense!! // You’re not “dead”!! LYN: It’s okay! It’s like I’m trying to comfort children- “pei pei pei (knock on wood!!)” 

C: No! Ning-ge, you are the person in my heart. LYN: Oh, you don’t need to be so polite. You should date or marry when you need to, don’t wait for me. Be someone better- be the “woman that even LYN can’t have.” [t/n: his fans who get married call themselves that.] Thank you.

C: The Dalian accent is too strong. LYN: I’m from Dandong. I can speak Standard Mandarin, but when I’m streaming I just want to make it feel more alive, so I use my hometown dialect. But I CAN speak Mandarin, because I use it when I’m acting. For example if I’m in a guzhuang drama… there’s no way I can just be speaking in my Dongbei dialect throughout, right? I still have to use Standard. LYN: For example, if someone came over, I should say, “Who goes there? State your name.”, but if I were to use my Dongbei dialect, it’d be more like, “Who’s there? Who’re you?” That doesn’t work. So I normally do speak Standard, but for my stream I like to use my accent to sound friendlier/closer to you and a little more humorous. - /starts reciting tongue-twisters/ LYN: Not only can I speak putonghua, I can also recite tongue-twisters. :) 

C: It’s snowing in Dongbei. LYN: Yes, I’ve seen. The weather’s gotten cooler, so- especially those from the South- remember to keep warm. You can catch a cold too easily. Now that it’s cold out, you should go out wearing a face mask. Don’t get sick. LYN: Hengdian hasn’t snowed yet. It’s still okay- around 20C- pretty hot. I mean warm, not hot! XD

C: I’m from Guangdong, it’s so hot! LYN: It’s so curious, isn’t it. South (warm) vs North (cold). C: In Shanghai it can drop to the tens in a single day. LYN: Wow. Then, remember to keep warm. Please don’t get sick.

C: Ning-ge, did you purposely leave some stubble behind? LYN: WhAT?! I shaved before I started streaming! Am I so manly, now? I JUST shaved and now someone is saying I purposely left some stubble. I guess it’s pretty apparent? I washed my face and shaved before this stream. Most of the time I’m shooting a drama, so when I don’t have any activities for the day I don’t shave- so I can look more manly. But now you’re saying I left it there purposely. Now what? I guess I can only look into getting it waxed. I’ll look for a painless hair removal and get it waxed. 

C: I’m suspect this is a recording. LYN: There’s no need. I’ve already said- the charm of a live stream is that there is on- and off-line simultaneous interaction. If I had recorded one and am uploading, I don’t think it would be very meaningful. 

C: What’s up with your hair? LYN: I’m wearing a wig.

---------- Promo Time

LYN: Why wasn’t I playing any of my recent OSTs up until now? Because I was waiting for people to come into the stream. That’s right. You are now listening to the tv drama Wonderland of Love’s ending song called 如果爱记得 (If Love Still Remembers) sung by Modern Brothers Liu Yuning. 

bgm: 如果爱记得 (If Love Still Remembers) [Wonderland of Love OST]

LYN: This drama is actually very good- I turned it on yesterday to watch some. It’s not bad. The actors are cool and the plot is good. These two actors are so good-looking… It’s has a good plot, with good-looking actors- I watched an episode yesterday. You can support it, if you have the time. It’s called Wonderland of Love. If you have nothing to watch, you can watch this because… I sang the OST. LYN: Also if you look carefully in the credits, there’s also a character called Mu Xianhe. That’s my cameo. :) It’s rare that I would cameo in a drama- I’d do it for my good friends. So for this drama, I made an appearance. Three scenes total. I’ll probably only show up in the later few episodes. But the roster is really respecting me by adding me into the credits. In this case I’ve acted in it, got credited for participating, and sung a song for this drama, which is not bad at all.

C: Which episode? LYN: I don’t even know. Nearer to the ending. 30 something. I’m not too clear on it. C: Do you have three minutes? LYN: Aiyoo, of course~! How could you ask me to cameo, but give me less than three minutes of screentime? Of course I have more than that! Let me think- three scenes, plus music, plus slow-motion, plus other people’s lines… let me calculate. I should have at least… 8 minutes worth. LYN: At the time someone had recommended me some OST work, for which I was thankful for. Then later they asked me if I wanted to cameo. I said… “It’s not impossible.” So they found a role for me to cameo in. But my main question was whether or not this cameo’d role would have any interaction with the main leads or not. Did I have direct scenes with JT or XK? I didn’t want to go and just act with other supporting actors- then what would be the meaning in me making an appearance? Just to be a background character?? I mean- it’s not that I would be against the thought, but the meaning would not be a impactful. But they clarified that my scenes would be directly with the leads, so I agreed. I haven’t collaborated with either of them before, so we can consider this a fleeting collab. It’s likely that I won’t get another chance, so I just wanted to know how it felt.

C: Commission. LYN: There’s usually no pay for cameos. Usually it’s friends cameoing in other friends’ projects, so how much money do you think is appropriate? Do you think it would be proper for me to go and ASK for 2000RMB? Or do you think I would say, “Since I have three scenes I’ll give you a little bit of a discount and only ask for 1500RMB?” It’s not worth it. It’s such a big project- an S-tier- they’re not lacking in the funds, so it’s not like they can’t afford to. But I can’t really do anything with that money, so I might as well not accept payment and do it as a favor. I didn’t ask for money- I went for free. But they gave me an OST to sing, right? I was paid for that. Not a little amount, either. The jianghu isn’t about fighting and killing, the jianghu is about people and relationships, right?

LYN: Anyway, this song is called If Love Still Remembers. It’s another song I really like. 

-- 如果爱记得 (If Love Still Remembers) [Wonderland of Love OST]

C: It sounds sad. LYN: /sigh/ It’s all about the heart-wrenching break-up. The feelings are a must.

LYN: Honestly OSTs, album songs, and live performances are all different. For a live performances, what you want to focus more on is the atmosphere/mood. You want the audience to feel what you’re feeling, so you will need to put “fuller” feelings into it. But when you’re singing OSTs, comparatively, you should be holding back. Not too much, but more than in a live performance. Why? Because you need to understand that the function of the OST is to act as a foil to the plot of the drama, and not serve to take the focus away. You can’t be too aggressive with it, otherwise you would be stealing attention away from the plot- the actor’s lines or their feelings. That’s why whenever I sing OSTs, I will restrain myself just the slightest bit. Of course, that’s not to mean that I don’t sing with any emotions at all. For albums, it depends on individual preference/attitude, and that’s a whole other story. 

C: How are you so knowledgeable? LYN: If you have nothing else to compliment me with, you don’t have to force it. What “knowledge” could I have? This is something that anyone with a brain can figure out.

C: How come there’s a little breathy croaking sound? LYN: /clears his throat/ My voice is a little uncomfortable today. And… don’t you think that speaking like this… is very magnetic? // For any new friends who are coming in, please don’t think that I’m greasy and I’m making this voice on purpose. I’m not- my throat hurts. - /starts singing with ~feeling~/

LYN: It’s so sad- it makes me want to cry. So- if you don’t have anything to watch these days, please check out Wonderland of Love. I did watch it. I rarely have the time to watch dramas, but it so happens that I had the time. I watched all the episodes that came out- not in their entirety, but I watched here and there. I wanted to take the opportunity to learn something. Because as a new actor there are many things  I need to learn. The last time I streamed I said something along the lines of “for young actors like me” and by “young” I didn’t mean that I was young IN AGE, rather that in this industry I count as a rookie. So my job now is to learn more, think more, and see more. That way I will be able to grow. 

-----

C: Have you watched Romance on the Farm? LYN: That’s my good friend’s drama, how could I NOT watch it? What is a friend? If it’s a friend, then I have to take a look. I really did watch it, though. I don’t have very many friends in this industry, but for the ones I do have, I always check out their dramas. LYN: Honestly though, I can’t watch the whole thing. I don’t watch from beginning to end, but I always check it out.

C: Have you watched Mysterious Lotus Casebook? LYN: Of course. I watched it, how could I not. Also- it’s such a great drama, how could I miss it? Why do I say it’s great? Because first of all, I sang the OST. By that I mean: it’s not good BECAUSE I sang the OST, but rather it’s good SO I sang the OST. I’M benefitting from this situation. LYN: On the day it aired actually I was watching it with- one of the main leads. We were having a meal together, so we watched it. That got me thinking- when my drama airs, I should invite a bunch of friends over to my house. I’ll get some food and some beer, and we can watch the broadcast together. I can do it. // I’ll invest in a color tv- a 45 inch color tv. Then call all my friends over and make a night out of it. 

-

C: We are also friends. / Ning-ge, didn’t you say that your fans are also your friends? Then, we are going too. LYN: Eh… I know we are far apart (distance), but our hearts are together. It’s not important where you watch me from. We’re friends, aren’t we? Your house is my house, right? So you can watch at home, and it will equal to you watching in my home. LYN: I know I said “your house is my house”, but I was just being polite. If you want to survive in this society, you have to learn to discern when people are saying things to be polite. They’re not actually being serious. It’s just out of politeness, don’t take it seriously. Someone asked me, “Is my mother your mother?” We’re just making friends. I’m not here to take someone on as my godmother. We’re just making friends, OKAY?? - /Daimi barking/ LYN: See? Daimi doesn’t even want to hear it. As for your mother, I can only call her “Auntie.” Anything else is unwarranted. “Auntie” or “Sis” is okay. 

LYN: There’s a downside- despite the fact that I am a new actor, it does not change the fact that I AM acting- which is, that when I watch dramas it’s difficult for me to get invested in the story. It’s hard for me to feel what the leads are. Why? Because I just objectively want to see how the actors are executing the scene. How did they act the scene? Was it realistic? Why did they decide to lift their glass at that exact moment? Why did they look at the other person right then? I want to analyze and pick apart their performance. Then sometimes I make some predictions- I want to predict what their next move will be. Sometimes I guess right, sometimes wrong. If I don’t guess right, then I learn something. If I do, then I won’t act like that in the future.

LYN: So when I’m watching dramas most of the time I do it to learn, to see how other people are acting, how they design the scene, and if there is anything particularly challenging. I’m just starting to learn this industry, though I’ve been filming dramas for four years- now I have just a tiny bit of understanding towards acting. Very little- I don’t dare to say that I know how to act. But through what little understanding I gained in the past four years, sometimes I am very accurate with what I’m seeing. Like if an actor remembered their lines or not. If they’re familiar with their lines- I can tell. Or whether they were in character, or if they were still thinking about their lines. Are they thinking about what to say next? Is there some real emotion behind their eyes? Those are all things you can tell by looking. LYN: It’s not to say that I am professional. It’s just because I also act, so through observation I can figure out what’s going on. It does suck though, because due to that it’s difficult to become invested in the plot. - /acts it out himself to show us the process. says he likes it when he guesses correctly. XD/ LYN: You can imagine- throughout the whole drama I’m just sitting here guessing how they’ll execute what comes next.

C: Do you act like that, too? LYN: What do you mean? It’s not definite- there’s no right and wrong way to acting. Just like with this- /picks up the glass/ drinking and then looking to the side- isn’t wrong. It’s not wrong. It has nothing to do with acting incorrectly or badly. I’m just guessing what their next move will be. It’s like Rock-Paper-Scissors. You’re not wrong if you play rock/paper/scissors. You can play what you want, but the point is to guess what your opponent will play. I’m just playing.

LYN: What other drama came out recently that I sang for? There’s none, right? I only had the mission of promoting Wonderland of Love today? I guess there’s also Dragon’s Roar. It’s a character song I sang for NiShuiPan. That’s also a nice song. I’ll play the video for you later when I need to go break up a fight. Don’t worry. 

-

C: Ning-ge, is your clothes 1 layer, or two, or three? LYN: It’s just one. It’s a fake double-layer. Stop staring at my clothes. 

-

C: Ning-ge, the MV was too cool! LYN: It was so strange, that day. I don’t know what happened, but I was in a pretty good condition that day. Inexplicably, we filmed it and it came out looking quite nice! At least I thought so. I don’t know why my face was so thin, that day. I don’t know what I did- but I came out looking nicely on the camera. It’s all good. As long as you like it. 

LYN: That’s why I think it’s better if I’m thinner, so I’ve started to lose weight. I’ll be joining a drama crew and starting filming again soon, so I’ll start with adjusting what I eat. I didn’t really eat today. I only had some Purple Seaweed and Egg Drop Soup, a box of Chinese crepes, one large order of fries, a cup of hot chocolate… and a chicken wrap… plus a bunch of chicken wings… and a fried drumstick. I only ate that much- the whole day. I’m really hungry. C: Wow, that’s so little! /sarcastic/ LYN: No, seriously though, I need to start watching my weight. So that I can look good on camera.

C: Are you working out? LYN: Not with a whole routine, but these days I’ve been doing some training for my back. It’s good for men to train their back, at least. It helps with posture, too. For guzhuang dramas, their requirements for posture/physicality are a little higher. For modern dramas, on the other hand, it’s all about acting naturally- you can’t keep straight posture the whole time. You may just sit there casually, and it’s all okay because it doesn’t matter. But for guzhuang dramas you have to have some rigidity- so I have to train. C: Your posture is very good already. LYN: It’s just average. I’ve seen the post-filming editing for a few dramas. But it’s not as if in 500 scenes, you can be stiff for all of them- there’s no way I can do that. I’m guessing there are a few scenes here and there where my condition is not the greatest, but for the most part it’s good. So I want to thank all those people online who were critical that my posture wasn’t great. Sincerely. Because they’re the ones who made me realize that this is very important. LYN: When I was acting before, I didn’t pay attention to a lot of things- because I didn’t understand, then. You all know I jumped into this blind. That’s why I was unprofessional. I didn’t have any demands for my hair or makeup- it used to be that I would accept whatever the stylists put on me. I thought that an actor should adhere to the role, so I just silently did the work I was asked to do. In reality things like hair/makeup, clothing, and posture are all very important. I want to thank those people who were criticizing me, because honestly they were right. I realized that, and start trying to improve myself. That’s why posture is one thing that’s not a big problem for me, now. It’s because I had that realization.

LYN: Truthfully speaking, if the people around you only compliment you- because my fans all love me very much, so they think I’m handsome no matter what I do. Even if it’s a lie, they’ll be able to tell it to me. It’s because their feelings toward me are different. On the other hand, people who don’t like you are often times more capable of pointing out your faults. For example, “You’re ugly.” That’s okay too, because the truth is that I’m not very handsome. That just means I have to be more aware. For example when I was shooting a drama I was looking really fat/swollen, then starting from the next drama I started a routine of using guasha on my face each morning. Friends, when I get the chance I’ll shoot a vlog on how to use guasha to reduce swelling for you. - /describes the whole process/ LYN: I used to get into hair and makeup half asleep, and just let the artists do what they want. I was in a daze. But now I’m so energetic! Because I’ve been busy taking care of my face. I start right when they’re applying the wig. It’s a good thing. If no one every told me I was ugly, I would have never known. It’s not as if I suddenly look better, but I at least have to hold myself to higher expectations. C: Drawing a “pie” again. // You only do it two times a week, don’t you? LYN: No- I was doing it every day. C: What uses does it have? LYN: Reduce swelling, for one. And two- it makes your skin look nicer. Your tendons, too- for example the double chin. You rub the neck tendon here, and here (on the collarbone)- so that they can relax/loosen. You press them like this. A lot of actors are super into skincare/maintenance. Gao Weiguang gifted me with a muscle scraper. I don’t know if you know what it is… it’s like… a piece of metal- you use it to scrape your tendons/ligaments to relax them. Then your posture will be a bit better. He gave it to me on set one day, and I started using it immediately to rub at this part just under my collarbone. I went home that night and took off my clothes to shower- it was just a ring of red. LYN: 筋膜刀. Muscle scraper. It’s not like what you’re thinking- /makes a cutting motion/. You can look it up. I just can’t discuss anything too fashionable with you. You know what a fascia gun (massage gun) is, right? You use it to relax your muscles? The fascia “knife” is just a piece of metal and you use it to scrape yourself. Have you never had guasha done before??? Friends, you should go out to find a massage parlor and get some guasha done. Look around- there are lots of those places around. If I wanted to be a beauty blogger or share my life with you, you wouldn’t get it! D: 

-----

LYN: Someone keeps spamming, asking when I’m going to hold my concert. Stop spamming. If you were REALLY my fan, you would know why I’m not holding my concert yet. Stop pretending that you care. If you were my fan, you would know when I plan to hold it. Stop repeatedly asking. C: Why aren’t you holding it? LYN: Because I can’t get my tickets to sell! Are you satisfied with that answer? I’m not holding my concert because I can’t sell my tickets. Now I don’t want to hold it, because it will look embarrassing. Other people have a concert and can sell-out in 0.5/1/3 seconds. I can’t sell out, so I’m not holding a concert. Are you satisfied with that answer?? LYN: That’s a joke. I’m not holding my concert because my schedule this year is too full. I don’t have the time to hold a concert. Do you think it’s as simple as making an announcement, going one day and coming back the next? It needs preparation! Even just rehearsals can take up to half a month. A concert isn’t a joke like choosing some songs, grabbing a mic, and singing like you’re in a KTV. You need to design the stage and everything else. Rehearsals only- without all the equipment and stage settings, even though they don’t need my supervision- are so complicated. As the person singing, rehearsals for me take half a month. I’ve run out of time, this year. All of it is dedicated to filming. The most important thing is that I haven’t released my album yet. I have enough OSTs to hold a concert, but I was hoping I could hold my concert after I’ve released my second album. Then, everything will be lined up.

LYN: Stop spamming! It effects other people’s view. You’re all customers, here. Why are you spamming??? This is like if you go to a restaurant to have a meal and you take off your shoes as soon as you’re seated. Do you get what I mean? It’s not against the rules but other people find it annoying. Okay? Stop spamming. Thank you. C: The customer is here. It’s my first time watching. LYN: Ah. What we want is returning customers. If it’s your first time here- I’m sure for a lot of you, it is- please subscribe to my weibo. I am Modern Brothers Liu Yuning. If you come once, we’re friends. If you come a second time, then we are good friends. LYN: So, welcome to all the new friends and please subscribe to my weibo. I haven’t started filming with the new crew yet, so if I have time I will come to stream more often. Wait- Wow… somehow I’m digging my own grave. I’m willing to stream, though! It’s just that sometimes… I am unable to.

LYN: How about I sing a song? I haven’t sung in a long time. Let me sing two. Even though my throat is uncomfortable, I can still manage two small songs. How does that sound? You can just listen for entertainment. /thinking/ I won’t be singing Dragon’s Roar today. How about this- wait for me a second. Let me use the restroom and then I will come back to sing for you. Since you like it so much, I’ll play you the video. 

----- break #1 [t/n: Plays the mv with comments on. There are SO MANY. I’ve seen people describe it as looking like a virus. This one’s actually better than others I have seen- in which the whole screen is covered in text the whole time.]

LYN: /giggles/ We have a Sanitation Committee, here. Every time I use the restroom and come back someone asks me if I’ve washed my hands or not. I need to shake my hands to prove that I’ve washed them. 

C: Ning-ge, did you “like” your own video? LYN: Usually I “insert coins”. Any video that’s related to me, I will invest in. 

LYN: Let me sing a song! I have’t been able to sing lately, so let me find one or two to sing for you. C: 雪落下的声音 (The Sound of Falling Snow) LYN: Okay. It’s been snowing recently, too. In that case, let me gift this wonder to you. I hope you like it. / Let me find some shades. Listen for entertainment. I just want to say again: they way I sing during my streams is not representative of my working ability. I don’t want to mess it up here and have it affect my OST work later. Alright? The focus here is to be “happy”. This is a gift to all my good friends in the stream. LYN: Hold on. We need to create the mood. Wait a sec. /sets up his mic stand and grabs his guitar/ C: Hand-sync. LYN: What nonsense are you saying?!? This is called “performing”! What do you mean “hand-sync”??? It’s fine as long as I don’t lip-sync, isn’t it? Let me raise the chair higher, otherwise you can’t see my guitar. Ok. Let’s go. C: The guitar strap is broken? LYN: No- this is just the string- I can’t talk about anything fashionable with you.

LYN: /hand-syncs/ Doesn’t it look like I’m playing? :) -- 雪落下的声音 (The Sound of Falling Snow)

-- 黑夜一束光 (Praying)

C: You’re not singing anymore? LYN: No, I’m going to switch it up. Whatever you want to hear. It’s weird, because before when I sang in my streams, people would end up leaving. Now I don’t want to sing because I’m afraid it will affect my dream as a singer. I want to be a singer, but whenever I sing people leave. I can’t take it. It’s a blow. 

-- 落了白 

LYN: What should I sing…? 笑红尘 (Laughing at the Mundane World). I do have the accompaniment, but I… I’ll sing it for you next time. I keep forgetting to download it. It’s a bit of a hassle to look.

C: 摩登爱情 (Modern Love) LYN: I think I sang that once before, right? It’s this song, right? I’ll sing it, but I think I forgot most of it. Just listen for entertainment. LYN: Let me make some adjustments. /radio effect/ Hello? Welcome all my radio listeners, good evening. This is Modern Brothers Liu Yuning Radio. Welcome and thank you for tuning in by your phone. The hard part about this song is that you start singing as soon as it starts! - /trying to get the timing right/

-- 摩登爱情 (Modern Love)

LYN: It’s been a long time since I last sang this song. Did I only sing it once before? This will be my second time. I remember I had learned it that day (the first time). Listen just for fun! C: It sounds good~ LYN: I sing just averagely. 

LYN: Let me think… how about one of MBY-laoshi’s songs? Let me see if there’s a track. … Oh? There’s not! … There’s no track!! D: … If that’s the case, then there’s no helping it. - /looking for the track on a different app./ LYN: It has it! Let’s do it. I really like this song. I even heard it in concert, and I really liked it. So after I got home, now I will often listen to this song. It’s called… -- 平凡的一天 (Ordinary Day) LYN: !! There are no lyrics? No matter how much of a fan of his I am, I still can’t remember the lyrics! Don’t do this to me. What is this?? There aren’t- /sighs/. I can’t even remember the lyrics to my OWN songs, let alone his! Hold on, let me change a song. Let me see if this song has lyrics. If it doesn’t, then I give up. -- 给你给我 (Give You Give Me) LYN: There’s not. /gives it a try/ /sighs/ I’m not singing it. I don’t have the lyrics prepared. /sigh/ Let’s forget it.

- /arguing with fans about a track which LYN says is not there and fans say is/ LYN: I told you that track wasn’t available, but you’re insisting it is. Are you the singer here, or am I? I know better than you do! - /video is frozen/ LYN: You just had to insist- you made me look through two different sites for nothing! Forget it. I’ll forgive you. LYN: … LYN: Great, now it’s frozen. /sigh/ You just had to make me look. Now the video’s frozen. I’m going to blame everything on you making me look. LYN: Now what. We’re done for. - /troubleshooting/ LYN: I don’t think I can save it. If it keeps on like this then I can’t keep streaming. The camera’s broken. Let me plug it back in and see if I can save it. Hold on. ~ we are now experiencing technical difficulties ~ LYN: /sigh/ Thank you. I was busy trying to fix it and none of you left. Since none of you left, I’m sure you are all my family. Nice. // I’m surprised I was even able to get it back. C: Time to upgrade your tech. LYN: OMG, I’m already using the best there is. C: There’s an echo. LYN: ? Is there? Oh no. // There’s not? Maybe there was a little bit, when the program started up again. LYN: You still hear it?? / Oh, it’s clear now? Okay.  

C: Change your equipment? LYN: Friends, no! I have the best. All that I have is very expensive equipment. Let’s not change it. This time was the camera- the other time my computer was aliens (t/n: Alienware?). It’s very expensive. C: Then you haven’t streamed in too long, so it’s out of date. LYN: Stop calling me out. - C: That sweater looks like something my mom would wear. LYN: … I don’t think I’m wearing the same thing as your mom. This is men’s clothing.  - C: You have to use streaming equipment often. LYN: Reasonable. I’ll do my best to use it more often. But I can’t just stream every day. I should still do some work. C: Stream 800 times in one day.

LYN: How about I take this camera and aim it at my bed. We’ll do a “daily-life livestream”- you can see me when I’m on my bed and playing with my phone. It’ll be like a security camera, what do you think? /sarcastic/ “Okay”? You must be a pervert! LY: I really can change it, though. Because I’ve seen that some new ones were released, so I was thinking I should get a new set. 

-----

C: You’re trending. LYN: What number? Please don’t trick me, friends. /looking it up/ /checking the comments/ Oh, I see it. LYN: It’s in the Entertainment tab. That’s enough. C: Since you’re trending today, are you going to change your outfit? LYN: There’s no need to. It’s not any high-ranking topic, so I will not change today. 

C: Ning-ge, was Lingyin Temple fun? LYN: People nowadays… can’t have any secrets. I was in Hangzhou a while back, right? The day before I was supposed to leave- I hadn’t much travelled around Hangzhou, only a very long time ago- but I went to visit Lingyin Temple. I guess people there took pictures of me and posted it online. After that there were people looking up, “What blessing does Lingyin Temple offer?” and the answer is “marriage”. The temple’s specialty is fortunes for marriage. So now my fans are thinking that I went to pray for marriage blessings. I guess that’s fine? LYN: But the reason is: 1. I just went to look, and 2. It’s almost time to start filming again. Actors like to pray at temples before the start- to ask that everything goes peacefully and smoothly. I just went to sightsee.

C: I want to see Dragon’s Roar. LYN: You came too late, I played it already. I won’t be singing it today because my voice is a little hoarse. I don’t think I can handle such a hard song. I played the video earlier. You can just watch it for entertainment. 

----- break #2

LYN: I’m back. /shakes his hands to prove he washed them/ Are you satisfied now?? C: You’re trending at #37 on main now. LYN: Friends! How could I be trending on #37 on main?? I don’t believe it. How could I be worthy? C: 38. LYN: Really? It’s 38? See- I only just said a few words and dropped a rank!

LYN: Anyway, thank you. The only reason I am able to be trending is because of all of you in the stream. You upvote the “LYN Livestream” topic and open it for a wider audience. I'm thankful to you because it’s all due to your efforts. Thank you all for viewing. Today we’ll gift a bowl of malatang out. We’ll do an event today- we’ll randomly gift someone a bowl of malatang at the end of the stream. We’ll be like those market influencers and do a “3, 2, 1- screenshot.” Whoever’s first will win a bowl of malatang. I’ll buy takeout for you- if it’s within 20RMB. // Is 20 not enough? 30, then! C: I don’t believe it. LYN: That’s your choice. In any case- we’ll do it and it’s on you to contact my studio to collect your 30RMB bowl of malatang. C: Add a cup of milk tea, too. LYN: Your demands are too much.

C: Transfer me 50RMB. LYN: We’re raffling off money now?? Those of you who watch my stream have a chance to win a red envelope for up to 50RMB??

C: Ning-ge, I’m an international fan. I live overseas now. LYN: ? Is that so? What you mean is that if I order takeout for you, it would be difficult for you to receive it? XD You’re outside of the delivery area? Uh… You’re overthinking it. The problem is- out of so many people in the stream, how are you so confident you will be the winner? Let’s say that you are- can’t I just wire you 30RMB and call it a day?

- /comment asking about a variety show/ LYN: It’s… in the works. But for a lot of projects- for example I was supposed to have recording for a variety show in November. But they are no longer recording. Things just happen. The fact of it is I did not attend any filming, so now we just wait. If I go, great! If I don’t, then we just wait until we hear something. It’s unpredictable.

C: Can you gift a concert ticket to those watching your stream? LYN: Uh… that’s a little difficult. My fans all know that I am not the type to be hungry for wealth, right? I don’t do any business deals and I don’t do marketing- or if I have, only very little. So… my stream is also free, where the main focus is “keeping you company.”You can’t exect me to keep you company (for free) but ALSO expect to take something away from it. This type of “star-chasing” is a little TOO comfortable. LYN: Let’s say I do raffle a ticket. Which pricing tier should I give you? A front-row seat? Let’s say it’s worth 1680RMB. I think… that’s a little too generous. I tfeel like I’m losing in this deal. Let’s say I give you a row in the very back- worth 360-380RMB- the ones in the far back balcony. Then it will look like I’m stingy. So it’s not an easy thing to give. If front- my heart hurts. If back- it looks like I’m stingy. In that case, I won’t give it at all. I won’t offend anyone.

C: LYN, you’re trending. LYN: I know. My fans  already told me. It’s not for anything terrible. It’s just the normal “LYN Livestream.” The normal ones don’t usually reach any high ranks. We want to stick to the principle of “good things don’t leave the house, but bad things are spread thousands of miles.” When I’ve had high ranking topics it was never for anything good. LYN: I really hope that one day I can be trending high in the ranks for a product or work that people really like. I’ll just keep working hard (until that day). LYN: Thanks again to everyone who is keeping me company in this stream tonight. 

C: Being popular because people love to hate you is still being popular. LYN: I’ll… pass. I don’t want to be popular for that, because I’m already going through it. I’ve never won. From the moment I’ve debuted, I was already considered popular because people hate me. It’s not something I wanted for myself, rather something people made me popular for.

LYN: The path I’ve been on has always been the “people love to hate me” one; but it was never my intention. The first time it happened was when I was on “I Am a Singer”-  boy, people loved to hate me, then. This happened four years ago and I remember it to this day. I remember I was trending at #2. “LYN Challenge Failed”- I remember clicking in and every comment was one cursing at me. Well- let’s not be so harsh- they were all very equitable, saying, “He’s just a viral singer, what right does he have to be on Singer?” “Who does he think he is?” “He’s not worthy.” etc. 80% of passersby were all saying I had no right to be on Singer, and that I only got there because my fans voted me in. LYN: Friends- here’s the problem. When the show was first starting I already received a call from the show, telling me to go to Changsha to audition. I passed. Then I figure that the production crew thought it would be strange for someone like me to be announced officially, so they found a different way to announce my participation. But in the end I wound up carrying that burden. LYN: But it’s better now. For the most part people won’t complain that I am not worthy to be a singer, anymore. It took me five years for that to happen, though. Now people are saying that I am not worthy to be an actor. I want to tell them to give me five more years. I’ll see if I can make it happen- just like I made you admit that I was a singer. I’ll work hard. That’s why, don’t blame me for streaming less. I’m trying to keep my momentum. Since I’ve chosen to go into acting, I want to do it well. I want to do well so that one day I can gain some accreditation. 

C: When was the second time? LYN: What’s it to you?? I already told you the first, why would you ask about the second?? Are you rubbing salt in my wounds? Have you never heard of that song, “Don’t let yesterday pour salt into your wounds”? You’ve never heard it? ~ /sings/ ~ I’m already hurt, and you’re rubbing salt in my wounds. Get out of here! LYN: You’ve never heard it!? Do you not listen to songs?? I’ll find it for you. I can’t believe you’ve never heard of it! -- 别在伤口洒盐 (Don’t Sprinkle Salt on the Wound) LYN: Is there anything wrong with it? No! The focus is the expression “pouring salt in the wound”! I wasn’t tricking you this time. C: Ning-ge, I was born after the 00’s. LYN: What’s wrong with that- do you not listen to this song? Pay attention to the lyrics- // What’s wrong with it?? 

----- /Oldies Jukebox w/ LYN/

C: I just got in and it feels so old. LYN: ?! How old are you, tell me. What you’re telling me is this song is aged. What do you normally listen to?? You must only listen to the latest releases? You think this song is old??? C: 16 // 19 // 23 // 18. LYN: Do 18 years olds not listen to this song? You really haven’t? This song was really popular back in the day. I can’t believe you’ve never heard it. /shakes his head/ LYN: Maybe it’s because I’m a singer, so I’ve encountered more songs than you have. I used to sing in a bar, so I probably heard a lot more songs. You think this is old??? C: It sounds like something from my mom’s era. LYN: Then I’m probably about as old as your mom. // What year was this song released? I actually don’t know… You must have heard this one, though? -- 我可以抱你吗? LYN: This one came out around the same time. C: It feels even older. LYN: No way! Now I’m starting to doubt myself… When I was in the bar- Let me tell you, I can sing a number of old songs. - /starts running through songs trying to find an “old” one people recognize/

-- 驼铃 -- 江山无限 (LYN: Have you heard this one? If you haven’t, there’s no excuse.)

LYN: I can sing anything.

C: Journey to the West. LYN: Which version do you want? -- 通天大道宽又阔

-- 青城山下白素贞 C: You really must have come back from travelling to Hangzhou. [t/n: I guess these are the types of sings you’d hear there]

-- 新鸳鸯蝴蝶梦 LYN: I’ve seen people complimenting my singing lately, saying that I really have that sense of the “jianghu” when I sing. It’s because I grew up on these songs. These songs crafted my understanding of music. Do you get it? [t/n: I grew up on these songs, too! LYN: 1990, me: 1991.] -- 刀剑如梦

-- 你爱我像谁 (LYN: What about this one?) LYN: That’s about enough. Unless you want to hear? Then I’ll keep looking for old songs for you.

C: 江山. LYN: Which one is that? Oh, you’ve stumped me. There are very few old songs that I haven’t heard before. / I really haven’t heard this one before. But it does remind me of a different song. -- 大侠霍元甲 LYN: This song is great, isn’t it? C: You learned it just now. LYN: I’ve HEARD them, but never sang them before. I’ve heard them all, though.

LYN: The songs you’re requesting… C: This suits you so well. LYN: ?? Why does it suit me??? -- 梅花三弄 LYN: How do you figure this song suits me? 

-- 逍遥游 -- 问情

LYN: Very few people- in my stream- have heard this song, huh? This is a very popular, very good song, though. But many of you- I asked earlier how old you were, and the 14 and 16 year-olds are already in a daze. C: I’ve heard it. LYN: I’m sure you have. But the 16-17 years olds are lost. LYN: When I was little I loved listening to OSTs. That’s why when I grew up I was able to become an OST singer. Everything has a reason, friends. The reason why I am a prolific OST singer now is because I liked to listen to OSTs when I was little. -- 追梦人 (Dream Chaser)

LYN: There’s an even older one. This one- friends, if you call your mother and father over to listen to this song, they would know it.  -- 渴望

C: Play something I haven’t heard before. LYN: You’ve heard all of these? It’s very easy to play something you haven’t heard before- I’ll just play a Modern Brothers Liu Yuning song. I’m sure you’ve never heard it. Have you heard it? -- 狂風襲來 (Fierce Wind is Raging) [West Out of the Yumen OST] LYN: You haven’t, have you? / Hold on, let me grab a bottle of water. LYN: You haven’t heard it, huh? C: I’ve heard it 800 times already. LYN: My fans have definitely heard it.

C: Did you grab herbal medicine? LYN: /laughs/ Yes- I’m getting shanghuo.

----- LYN's Biggest Anti is Himself

C: 心太软. LYN: As soon as you said this title, I get the feeling you don’t pay attention to me very much. Em... you must not pay close attention to me.

- /plays the Our Song S1 version w/ Richie Ren/ LYN: Look at this- who’s that little fool on the side? Who does he look like? The fool. Look at this- he’s even nodding his head. // Look at how uncomfortable this looks- if you’re singing, then sing, Whya re you pretending to be sad. Just stop singing. // Now he’s pretending to be cute, even nodding his head! I can’t stand him!! Stop pretending you’re cute!! If you’re singing, then sing. What are you putting on an act for?? I can’t stand him. // Look at this kid- face full of oil. Did he not know to blot before he came on stage?! Oh my goodness… It’s like he ate 2kg of pork head-meat before coming on stage. Look at the reflection off the oil from his face. As an artist he has no sense of image-control. // His hair looks like it’s been licked by a donkey, what’s he doing?!? Oh my god. Oily face and greasy hair. /shakes his head/ // He’s singing “Are you tired?” and you’re over here pursing your lips and nodding, like “Yes.” Stop acting cute. It’s so off-putting. What’s it to you?!? This singer sure knows how to put on an act. // Okay, let’s stop watching. I can’t take any more. I get annoyed anytime I see LYN. 

LYN: Let me tell you- if I ever get the chance to be an uploader that just makes fun of everyone, I’d be great at it. But right now I only make fun of LYN. If I try it with anyone else I’d be torn apart. I can only and only dare to make fun of LYN. I’m really accurate at seeing all the little tricks and intentions. 

LYN: Let me find another stage for you. -- 烟花易冷 (Our Song ver. w/ Xiao Gui) LYN: Today we will be commenting on Singer LYN’s hair/makeup and outfit. // He looks a lot more energetic today. Visibly not as greasy. His hair and the shape looks pretty light. His clothes- I have to comment- why does he keep wearing such long clothes?? What’s he trying to do, fly? Paired with the slim-legged pants, it’s like a pair of chopsticks wrapped up in a napkin. Friends- take a look at his slim legged pants. Look at them- like a pair of chopsticks on the stage. // Let’s change the video- he (Xiao Gui) is too cool and I’m being overpowered. 

LYN: Let’s see if there’s anything else we can comment on. Let’s take another look at this guy (LYN). What works does he have and what exactly has he been singing? What does he even do?? -- 女儿国 (Our Song S3 ver w. Shan Yichun) LYN: Tsk. Again, I can’t stand him. Why are you closing your eyes when singing, are you sleepy?? If you’re sleepy then go home and sleep. If you’re on stage, can’t you sing nicely for everybody? What are you closing your eyes for?? You’re pretending to be so enchanted with yourself?? What are you doing- just singing a song, right?? If you’re sleepy then just go home and sleep. I can’t stand this, I really can’t. Pretending to be so invested in the song… 🙄 Just sing it. What are you acting for?? It’s so insincere. C: He’s acting as Tang San(zang). It’s right for him to close his eyes. LYN: I can’t believe you’re making excuses for him (LYN)!! Let’s say this IS the Kingdom of Women and he’s Tang San (a monk)- so he should close his eyes- see nothing and ask nothing. // He doesn’t respect the stage at all. If he really wanted to act, then he should look the part. He should have shaved his head. Put a wig cap on. What’s he acting for?? That’s why it comes across as fake. LYN: I can’t take any more of this. Let’s just leave it at this. 

C: Ning-ge, you shut up! LYN: I’m wearing these glasses, aren’t I? Let me just pretend to be an anti-fan. C: You can’t diss my idol. LYN: Okay, okay. I’m just playing. Don’t be so serious.

C: What are your comments on the Dragon’s Roar MV? LYN: Let’s not. For that song… LYN actually didn’t sing terribly. As a pure passerby, seeing that MV I thought: 1) LYN’s singing is not bad and the MV was also shot well. The whole production, editing, and everything was done very well. It’s something good. The Dragon’s Roar MV is not bad. I can’t find any point to nitpick. If we can’t find anything, then we switch a place. There’s always something we can comment on. But we never compliment the good things. C: Let’s see the MV again.

LYN: What’s there to see about it?? You can go watch it yourself. Maybe later when my drama airs I can watch an episode with you. Or maybe not, as there might be some copyright issues.

-----

C: Ning-ge, do you have a song called 别来无恙? LYN: You don’t need to cue me. There is a song called 别来无恙, and it’s one I really like. But there’s a problem- this song can only be listened to. I can’t really sing it. It’s SO hard to sing. When I was recording it, it made me nearly pass away. -- 别来无恙

LYN: Thank you. I never really dared to sing this song. Because when I was recording it I hard a hard enough time. But I can modestly say that I have improved myself since the time of recording. If you had me record the song again, I’m sure I can do much better than I did before. 

C: LYN. Why does your hair look like your dog’s? LYN: You don’t think you’re complimenting me, do you? You don’t think that was very humorous and that I’d find you cute, do you?

LYN: Honestly, friends, let me share. I think one of the hardest songs I’ve ever sung was 别来无恙, but there’s one that’s even harder. It’s one that I have not dared to sing live ever since it was recorded. - /typing/ C: 琉璃 (Liu Li/Colored Glass). LYN: It’s not 琉璃. Actually, that song’s okay. LYN: Was it this one? Yes. It’s this one. This is the hardest song I’ve ever recorded. -- 造化 (Zao Hua/Destiny/Creating Change) [MDZS Donghua - Wei Wuxian Character Song] LYN: This song is the hardest- when I heard the demo I was dazed. This is one of the songs to date that  I will never sing live. It’s not that I CAN’T sing it, I can do it if I force it, but I’m very likely to break. When you have time, you can listen to it carefully, with your headphones. The nuances would be a lot clearer that way. 

LYN: ! Someone’s throwing money at me! C: One billion. Will you sing it? LYN: At this moment. You throw one billion to my face and ask me if I’ll sing this song or not? … I just want to ask- what are you trying to prove? Are you trying to prove that I am someone who does things that are purely profit-seeking, or… what? Tell me. If you REALLY gave me one billion to sing this song, I definitely would. There’s no one who wouldn’t accept that amount of money. You don’t even need one billion- if you transferred me one thousand right now, I would sing it. If you transferred me 200, I would sing a part for you right now. Okay? You don’t need one billion, 200 is enough. I can sing it for you acapella, too.

LYN: You want me to open my WeChat friend code? Then, scan me. C: Come on, I can do it. LYN: If I really put my QR code up, I’m sure that there would be a flood of people scanning it. But it would be a scam code that sucks all the money from your bank accounts. Friends. Can you grow a sense of awareness for scams? You have to be wary of these electronic scams! If you really scanned a scam code, it would take all the money from your bank card. How can you go around scanning random codes you see on the internet?? Don’t do it. C: I don’t have money in my card. LYN: Then what are you trying to scan me for?? XD No, what I mean is- weren’t you going to send me 200? I would only sing for you if you transferred me 200. Ifd you have no money, then why would you try to scan me at all?! C: Come on, I want to test your skills. Let’s see if you can really empty my account. LYN: Let me tell you- a lot of scammers target people exactly like you. People who think they would never be scammed, but also want to test the scammers. 

-----

C: Ning-ge, my ID is “Melancholy Handsome Boy” (you yu de xiao shuai). Add me. LYN: A person’s ID can tell you a lot about them; you can examine what type of personality they are likely to have. “Melancholy Handsome Boy”... means that this person… let’s say something nice first. There’s a 70% chance this person is male. Let’s think about why they chose this name: first, this must be a man with a story. He’s “melancholy”, so I’m sure this is a quiet type of handsome guy. You must have heard of this person called “小帅 (Xiao Shuai)”, right? Have you ever scrolled across videos that say, “This man’s name is Xiao Shuai.” or “Watch carefully- this man known as “Xiao Shuai”...” This is exactly who we’re talking about. You will always hear about him in other people’s stories. “Melancholy Handsome Boy”- it’s him. This must be a reflective, quiet handsome young man with a story. It must be him. LYN: /flips/ Honestly, though. I’m so old that I can tell what type of person this is just by their name. “Melancholy Handsome Boy”?? You must be pretending to be melancholy. Let me tell you- this type of person doesn’t have a sense of self. Due to this, they would want to explicitly tell people- “Look. I am very melancholy. Look at me.” But actually they are a very chaotic person, who doesn’t have many thoughts. Really. If you call yourself “melancholy”, that mean that you aren’t at all. People love to emphasize what they lack, hence the “xiao shuai.” They know they look just average, so they call themselves “handsome.” I’m sure they don’t look all that handsome at all. If you were very confident in your looks, you’d call yourself “Melancholy Big Handsome Guy”. But by calling yourself “Melancholy Handsome Boyi”, it means that they are only a little bit (xiao) handsome (shuai). [t/n: this is a pun. semantics.] Therefore, I won’t be adding you as a friend, okay? LYN: Friend, don’t be angry. I’ve said the good and the bad. I’m not saying I know which kind you are, but I have a feeling you are the former.

C: Ning-ge, I’m called “Da Mei (Big Beautiful)”. LYN: Da Mei is very good. It sounds appropriate. You can call yourself whatever you want, you don’t need to tell me! It’s not as if I am here collecting 3-5RMB to tell a fortune based off your internet ID. There are people like that- you can create an ID and they will calculate for you whether the name is fortuitous or not, and what fates it can bring to you. There are people like that! It’s not a job I can take on. C: Sounds like you have a lot of experience. LYN: I don’t have experience. LYN: A long time ago- many, many years ago- when I was 15 or 16, my web ID was “Bing Ruo Han”. Friends. The “bing” as in “refrigerator” (冰 = ice). “Ruo” as in “as/seem” (若). “Han” as in “frigid cold” (寒). That was my web name (= cold as ice). Wasn’t it non-mainstream? I’m sure that all the girls back then would see my name and be charmed by me. Was that not a good name? LYN: !! Not the “ruo” as in “weak”!! (弱) C: Ning-ge, if you’re “bing ruo han” (冰若寒), then I am “ai ru huo” (爱如火/Love Like Fire). LYN: Wow, we have couple names. That’s amazing. LYN: Another thing people liked to do was use “mu rong X X” and “shang guan X X”. I don’t know if I’ve called out anyone in my stream? Did you like to use that naming convention when you were younger? Or, “ou yang X X.” - [t/n: more examples of names, but they’re difficult to translate :p] - [t/n: some Northeastern slang, which is even more difficult to translate than the names are. Something about the metal part of a hoe. Farming tools, idk.]

LYN: /laughs/ Do we ever talk about anything normal in my stream? We’re talking nonsense, now. Do you like it better when I have a point and discussion to make, or when I am just blindly chatting? Could you tell me which type of content you prefer? Which style do you like, and in the future I will try to develop more in that direction. C: Either is good. // It’s all good. LYN: If it’s my fans I’m sure the answer is “Anything, as long as you stream more often.” (Putting words into his fans’ mouth:) “Don’t say anything, Ning-ge. As long as you stream, we like it. As long as you are here. Don’t say anything. Just turn the camera on like a security cam, and we would be satisfied.” C: I like it when you sing. LYN: Okay. If there are so many people who like it when I sing, then you have to remember to buy my concert tickets in 2024. 

----------- Album/Concert Talk

C: Your album..? LYN: I recently went back to Beijing and… recorded another (1) song! It’s sounds very nice. I like it. The songs on my album this time around- I have no pursuits. I don’t care about any particular musical concept, or how well it is produced, or- no, that’s not what I meant- I only mean that I care for two things: 1. the song sounds good, and 2. I like it. That’s it. There’s nothing fancy. I just have to think they sound good, and like them myself. 

LYN: Fall in Love was supposed to be the first track of this album to be released. But we couldn’t keep up with the release of the rest of the songs. So then we decided Fall in Love would be a single instead. The overall feeling of the album should be like Fall in Love, though. Something that makes you happy and comfortable. Something that makes you relax. C: Ning-ge, it’s your own investment, so whatever you say goes.

LYN: That’s true, but my albums are provided to you at no cost, after all. I might release some vinyls, but that’s not definite. You know I released vinyls, right? Its not to make profit, though. C: Are there student discounts for your concert? LYN: … … You might now understand concerts very well. There is always a collaborating party. Usually- and I don’t know how other people work, but this is how I work- I don’t have a lot of say in it, actually. Its not as if it were my restaurant, and I told you that you could have a meal on me. Even though it’s my concert, I don’t have a say. I am only the performer. If it were my restaurant, I could let you eat there for free. But for the concert, I have no say in whether there will be student discounts or not. There are industry rules for pricing. But the 5RMB discount coupon still counts. Of course, there is no way the system will let you apply the coupon at the time of purchase. So you will have to buy the ticket at full price first. Then, at the concert I will have staff at the doors checking for coupons and they will transfer you the 5RMB. Either that or I’ll go to the bank and ask them for 5RMB bills and then just give you a bill as you go. 

LYN: There have been many people holding concerts lately. Rather, the whole year. All singers have pretty much held a concert this year. But I haven’t because 1. My album isn’t complete yet, 2. all my time is tied up in dramas, and 3. I want to be rebellious. I don’t want to hold mine when everyone else is holding theirs. I’d rather hold mine stably next year. 

C: Can you go overseas? LYN: To me, I don’t believ I’e reached the levels of other very amazing singers. For my concerts, the large majority- 70%- is my fans. The other 30% is people who’ve watched my drama, heard my songs, or people who have time to kill on the weekend and want to watch a concert. Even if I do hold one overseas, I don’t think it would have much meaning. Because my market has not crossed the seas yet. My music is not yet international. The only thing holding a concert overseas would do is make my local fans buy a flight ticket and go overseas to watch me. What’s the meaning in that? I’d rather they save some money to reserve a better hotel room here and watch me in concert. 

C: You have a lot of fans overseas, though. LYN: Don’t trick me. I know myself- I know that I don’t have very many overseas fans. I HAVE them, sure. But not many. I don’t think you all would fill up a whole concert venue, would you? I’m sure that all my overseas fans together would not fill up a venue. I can’t think too highly of myself, and say that I’m “international.” It’s easy to subscribe to my weibo, but as for the number of people who would actually come out to watch me in concert, that’s about 1 in 100. Let’s say I have 10k fans. 1% of them- so only 1k fans. That’s about enough. Really- the people who would willing spend money to watch a concert is only about 1%. So.. I’m not thinking about that right now.

LYN: Acting and Singing go hand-in-hand, so I’ll wait until my drama airs first. Then I’ll have a better time selling my concert tickets. Right? Doesn’t it make sense? There’s nothing wrong with the logic. I’ll wait until my dramas air, and then I’ll have an easier time selling tickets. Nowadays when dramas are super popular and they do a post-airing fan-meeting, the tickets always sell out, don’t they? If a bunch of actors can sell out a fanmeet/concert, then that goes to show if my drama does well then people would buy tickets to my concert. I’ve thought it through: I should film more dramas so that my concert tickets sell well. C: I’m afraid I won’t be able to get a ticket. LYN: Please do not have the misconception that I am very popular. You will definitely get a ticket, trust me. Because if I hold a concert tour next year, there will be 2,000 stops. You tell me if you’ll be able to get a ticket or not. 6am, 12pm, 8pm, 12am, 3am. I’ll do five in a day, all year. 2,000 concerts. There are 365 days in a year, with 5 showings a day… 1825 showings. That’s enough. C: You’re not going to sleep? LYN: /laughs/

LYN: Anyways, I’m sure you’ll get one. Don’t make it seem as if my tickets are hard to come by. Don’t let me have that misconception, otherwise I’ll just keep adding showings. 

LYN: I was planning on 10 stops for next year. Any more than that is unnecessary. C: Which 10? LYN: The main cities, mostly. Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Wuhan, Xi’an, Dalian- the big places.  C: Shenzhen. LYN: If I hold one in Shenzhen, then the people in Guangzhou can come to it, too. Likewise if I hold one in Guangzhou, the friends in Shenzhen can attend it. Depends on distance. C: Qingdao. LYN: It’s not impossible, Qingdao would be okay. It doesn’t matter where I go, the more important thing is whether the venue is available and aligns with my timing or not. For example, if I want to reserve Shanghai, but they’re booked for the month, or next three months. Then, I can’t go there. It’s that simple. There’s no predicting this, so you can stop trying to guess. C: Can you do two showings in Wuhan? LYN: It’s possible. But the first stop is probably not going to be Wuhan. Many of my friends are very good, and the thing that touches me is that at the time- three years ago- I held my first concert tour. The start of the pandemic was right around when I was supposed to go to Wuhan. The tickets were all already sold. To this day many of you have not returned those tickets. I’ve even told you, you can return them. But you’ve told me that you don’t want to return them, that you’re afraid you won’t be able to buy another one later. So- it’s been four years- So this time I will definitely make that stop up to you. There’s no way I would just take your money for that showing and not sing anything for you. I will definitely make it up to you. I’ll make it up to you, but the first stop is not likely to be Wuhan. Don’t worry, though. I will return that stop to you.

LYN: We’ll continue on, slow and steady today and tomorrow I’ll hold my concert. It’s a must, as a singer. I’ll pretty much be a fan-meeting. It’s been so long since I had a concert. It’ll be good to hold one again.  

C: Lao-da, it’s too far. I won’t ve able to go. LYN: Find a stop closer to you. I’ll be all around the country. Just find a closer stop to attend. LYN: I get worked up just thinking about the concert… /sigh/

C: Ning-ge, when are you going to advise the neighbors to stop fighting. LYN: I already did. They made up. LYN: How long have I been streaming for? I think I started at 7:40p… right now it’s /calculating/… I’ve been streaming for almost four hours?? Then… I’ll stream until 10p. LYN: Let me play you a video while I use the restroom. Wait for me.

--- break #3 C: I can recite that whole video now. LYN: Amazing. I also want to thank everyone who has been editing these videos for me. 

C: When do we get the malatang?! LYN: You can’t eat something different, like xiao long bao or??? Maybe some porridge? Is that not okay? I can’t believe you still remember. I thought I was going to be able to save 30 RMB. C: I want to eat jumbo shrimp! LYN: Keep dreaming! LYN: How about we do this… let’s not give any prizes today. I don’t have any spare change. In the next stream I’ll pick two winners- I’ll be nice. I don’t have any spare change today. I’ll save up. C: If you don’t want to give us takeout, then you can give an autograph too. LYN: /laughs/ Artists’ autographs are all really hard to get. But here you want to replace a 30RMB order of xiao long bao for one of mine?! Oh my goodness~ Is that how it is?? My autograph is only worth 30RMB- two baskets of xiao long bao??? One bowl of rice noodles? /sigh/ - C: Ning-ge, you said you don’t have change right? I do. I can break it for you. LYN: Do you mean to say that I hand you 100RMB, and you give me back 70? - C: Ning-ge, if it’s a personalized autograph, you can add 50 cents. LYN: Hold that thought. I think we should forget about the autograph. I really don’t think my autograph is worth very much. I’m not some big celebrity or anything, whose autograph is very valuable. I just don’t want to.. overflow the market? Because sometimes when a drama airs or I have collaborations or I go on a variety show, they’ll make me sign a set of photos, to help with promotions. If fans are able to attain them in that way, there is more of a sense of interaction/participation. That’s why I personally won’t just give out autographs. They’re better saved for events, so that fans can have a sense of collecting for completionism's sake.

----- Daimi Time!

C: Ning-ge, could I have Daimi’s autograph? LYN: Wh- You want me to prepare a bunch of photos of Daimi, then grab her paw and stamp it on there? Take an inkpad, and press her paw into it, then stamp it on the photo? 

LYN: Daimi’s probably sleeping. Do you want to see her? I can just call her over. LYN: Daimi, come here. Some friends want to see you. Come here, quick. No need to be shy. Your fans want to see you. LYN: She hasn’t had a bath lately, but she still looks like this. Kind of silly. 

C: The two of you match in color so well. LYN: :) - /Daimi tries to move/ LYN: Hm? Sit a while, sit. Accompany your ge a little as he streams.

C: Have Daimi sing us a song. LYN: Sing something. - /moves the mic to her level/ LYN: Sing. Come on. If you bark, it’d be okay too. Bark! - /messes with her to try to get her to make a sound. she does not./ LYN: My dog really doesn’t have any special talents.

LYN: … I’m going to say my spell now… Watch carefully now, friends. See how her whole mood changes. LYN: Want… a… sausage? /chants/ You want one? Want one? - /gets excited, so she gets excited in turn/ LYN: You want one or not? - /now she’s impatient/ LYN: I’ll give you one in a bit. Hold on! Okay, okay! I’ll give you one. LYN: You can go now. I’ll give you one after the stream. 

C: She wouldn’t bite you, would she? LYN: No.

- /looks down at her/ LYN: Wait! LYN: … She’s already had four sticks today. I give her dog food, but she doesn’t really eat it. So I give her the sausages… but that’s why she’s fat. 

-----

LYN: It’s about time. If you have not yet subscribed to my weibo, please do so. I am Modern Brothers Liu Yuning. Thanks for keeping me company tonight. I just want to say again- the drama Wonderland of Love is currently airing. I’ve watched it, and really think it’s a good watch. So, if you want to watch a drama you can check it out. It’s not bad. In the first episode, there are some fight scenes which were shot prettily. You can go support the drama. C: I don’t have membership. LYN: ?? Watch if you want to. I’m only here to promote the drama, but you can watch it if you want. What do you mean by telling me you don’t have a membership? You want me to buy a membership for you? If that’s what you meant, then I think you can… watch if you want. (It’s not my problem.) It’s not a drama I acted in, anyway. I’m only recommending it, but if you want me to pay money into it then there’s no way. C: You cameo’d. LYN: I did cameo, but the problem is… I wasn’t paid for it. XD LYN: I can’t just pay for your membership. It’s not worth it. Friends. (Spare me.) Thank you. I beg you. // I cameo’d for three scenes. I said it earlier- about eight minutes worth. - /thinking about it…/ LYN: Wait- I only acted in three scenes, for about eight minutes total. You don’t think anyone would think I added scenes for myself because of this, do you? Do you think they would? Now I’m worried. I afraid and don’t want people to think I accept roles in dramas then find a way to add scenes for myself. I was originally supposed to cameo for one scene, but I ended up having three. I… got added scenes. LYN: I don’t think it was three scenes. Let me think! Four scenes! If I remember correctly, it should be four scenes. Not more than five. C: Eight minutes turned into eighteen. LYN: Honestly, I don’t know about that. It’s only four- it should only be four scenes. I still remember the lines… but I’ll reenact them for you if I get the chance to later. 

LYN: I’ll log off when I hit 4000. We’ll play a starting contest; the tortoise stares at the mung bean. For the next five minutes, we won’t say anything, just stare at each other like this. /stares into the camera/ The last time I used this expression, someone replied, “I choose the mung bean.” Why do you have to be so sensitive about all these online rumors? Why do you care so much?? If you can’t even take that expression, then let me tell you, there’s no way you can be a celebrity. You wouldn’t be able to handle all the pressure that comes from online talk about you. You’d have a breakdown. You can’t be an artist. You have to be able to bear it. Do you understand? LYN: Also, I say that “A tortoise stares at a mung bean, and it suits the eye.” Do you think that’s a good expression? By “mung bean” I mean “mung bean fly.” [t/n: ?? I don’t really get it.] It’s not the simple mung bean- the one in the popsicles- that we’re talking about. The way I understand this expression, it’s meant to refer to the mung bean fly. It’s just an expression, not a literal description.

----- Welcome to Bikini Bottom🍍

C: Liu-ge! Do you know… is Patrick Star in Spongebob a man or a woman? LYN: People who call me “Liu-ge” are generally not my fans. If you’re in my stream and calling me “Liu-ge”, then you’re likely not my fan. My fans call me “Xiao Ning” or “Ning-ge”. If you call me “Liu-ge” you are likely distant from me. They asked me a question: “Liu-ge. Is Patrick Star in Spongebob a man or a woman?” LYN: … LYN: Em… I don’t think I could keep up if we want to discuss the genetics of marine life. But, even if we want to start from a viewers perspective, all things have a model for basis. Do you get what I’m trying to say? A novel is a novel, a manhwa is a manhwa, but after being converted to video format there are bound to be changes. You should understand that concept by now, after watching so many drama adaptations. You don’t need to think about whether Patrick is male or female- it really doesn’t matter. However, in the animation, we can see that they are male-presenting. Because Patrick only wears shorts. If the character were female, there’s no way it would appear just wearing shorts in the animation. Patrick would be like Sandy- with her helmet and bikini. The original thing is one thing, the animation is another. Do you get it?

C: Is Spongebob male or female? LYN: Spongebob!? First of all, let’s not think about whether a sea sponge is male or female. In the animation, they must be male because when they go to the beach to play, they only wear shorts. You can tell from what they’re wearing! What does he wear when he goes to Bikini Bottom to swim? If it’s a bikini, then they’re female. If they’re wearing shorts, then they’re male. 

C: What about Squidward? LYN: /laughs/ Why are we discussing this? He must be a male because he’s called “Squid-BRO” (章鱼哥)! [t/n: technically a zhang yu is an octopus though…] He’s not called “Squid-SIS”! He’s called “ge”, so he must be a male! What logic are you operating on?? 

C: What about Mr. Krabs? [“crab-boss” in chinese] LYN: Mr. Krabs has to be male, because his daughter calls him “Dad”! He has a daughter, and she calls him “dad”, so he must be male. It’s not like she calls him “Mom.” You- LYN: Friends, if you can’t even understand Spongebob, then all these dramas must be a challenge for you. You can’t even tell male and female apart?? C: If Mr. Krabs is a male, then is his daughter male or female? LYN: /laughs/ LYN: How about this- I’ll set up a sign in my stream. One that reads, people with an IQ below 30 may not enter. This place doesn’t suit you. We discuss high-education topics here. We’re talking bout biology. We even have to distinguish if living characters in an animation are male or female. Is Mr. Krabs’ daughter male or female? How about you stand in front of an elementary school tomorrow and stop the kids as they pass by. Stop them on their way out of school and say, “Hey. Let me ask you a question. If you answer right, I’ll give you a candy.” Ask them, “Is Mr. Krabs’ daughter male or female?” Let me tell you- if this kid is five years old you’re going to confuse them. If they’re seven, they won’t be able to come up with an answer…. As if! 

C: What about Plankton? LYN: Let’s not worry about whether plankton have gender. Look at this- as an actor, I’m already starting to interpret character profiles. I don’t know if a plankton has gender, but in the animation, Plankton is male. Why? Even though he doesn’t wear any shorts- doesn’t wear any clothes, for that matter- we have to understand this character through its relation with other characters. His voice is very thick and rough; it sounds manly, so we will lean towards male. Secondly, he has a wife, who is a computer. From these two points, Plankton is likely a male. No arguments there, right? C: Is Plankton’s wife male or female? LYN: Now you’ve hit the nail on the head. Plankton’s wife is a computer. Computers count as AI. If you want it to be male, it can be. If you want it to be female, it can. That’s your own choice. It depends on what type of voice you give it, I suppose. Let’s not touch AI and computing topics, though. Truthfully, I did not learn computer science in high school. In high school I was learning how to be a cook. Computer Science is a different discipline. You can find someone who studies it and ask them if Plankton’s wife is male or female. 

C: What did I walk in on. I don’t understand what you’re talking about. LYN: It’s not important. The last twenty minutes or so was just complete nonsense. It doesn’t make a difference in your life whether you heard the last twenty minutes or not. In the four hours that I’ve streamed, most of it is nonsense. You’re listening, but you’re also not. These four hours have just served to help you pass the time.

C: What about Gary? (In Chinese, the character is called “Xiao Wuo” for “Little Snail”) LYN: The snail? Gary SHOULD BE male. Why? Because if I am remembering correctly, there was an episode where he had a crush on a girl snail. I don’t remember if there was an episode like that? I think there was, but I could have also imagined it just now. I remember there was an episode, he saw a girl snail and was really happy about it. I think that’s what happened. 

C: Why is Mr. Krabs’ daughter a whale? LYN: …  I don’t know. I don’t watch every episode. I don’t know the canon, but it could be- the way I see it, since it is an animation after all- from a certain perspective, they would have to promote kindness. It could be- this is what I think- she was adopted. Or he, designated her as his daughter. There might be some terrible backstory of the elimination of marine life. Do you get what I’m saying? Maybe her parents were killed by humans and then Pearl was adopted by Mr. Krabs. Even though he’s greedy for money, he is still someone with a lot of love. At least, that’s what I think. When you watch dramas, you can’t only see what’s on the surface. Why is he a crab, and she a whale? You have to think about what they’re trying to teach you through the story behind the characters. The thing Spongebob is trying to tell you is that if there are no business transactions (for greed), then there is no hurt/harm. That’s the moral they took many episodes to tell us. 

C: I want to eat crab now… LYN: Okay, later I’ll probably order some.. Krabby patties. /laughs at himself/ Krabby patties, plus two bullfrogs. [t/n: ???]

C: Ning-ge, what’s the Krabby Patty secret? LYN: The secret is.. HOW WOULD I KNOW??? Quit with your nonsense.

-----

LYN: There are people advertising for me. “Welcome to LYN’s livestream. If you’re here, you can subscribe.” You can subscribe to my weibo, if you want. I’m Modern Brothers Liu Yuning. When I have time to stream, you can come watch. It’s not shameful to follow me. You can watch for entertainment. Let me play a song. It’s about time. LYN: Thank you for all of your company and support today. It’s because of you that I was able to get a trending topic, so I’m happy about that. I see that many of you are watching my stream for the first time- I’m sure that you think I’m not quite sane, but this is how I usually am. I just hope that if you come in, you can stay until the end. Thanks to those of you who were here from the start of the stream and have stayed these four hours until the end. I’m happy that you stayed. Thank you. 

C: Ning-ge, please say, “Goodnight Princess.” LYN: /laughs/ … /sighs/ LYN: Out of bounds. LYN: Rest early.

LYN: I hope you had a wonderful and relaxing night. It was great to have you and I hope you enjoyed yourself. I’ll see you again in the next stream. Goodnight everyone.

#Liu Yuning #lyn livestream #(4:09:58) #topics: #drama promo time #some singing segments #lyn's biggest anti is himself #the hardest song ge's ever sung & why he'll never sing it live #album/concert talk #spongebob gender discourse #(how did we get here?)

[iwantteaandsleep2403]

Tang Yun x Hall Headcanons:

(I feel like some of these are ooc/mischaracterized I'm so sorry)

They already met before either joined the Decree because their brothers hung out a lot, but they only started to know each other after becoming shadow guards

They first met when Bardon dragged Hall to one of Lucas’ shows, and while trying to find a spot to get away from the overwhelming music and yelling, Hall found Tang Yun hiding in a secluded corner, at the brink of tears and having a huge sensory overload (one day I’ll write a fanfic about it)

They both have very cheesy but cute pet names for each other:

I've already mentioned in a post that Hall calls Yun "Angel" because of the shape of his ears, but he also calls him "Min Elskede" which means "my darling" or "my beloved" in danish

And Yun calls Hall "pudding" because he likes to say that Hall is very sweet, just like pudding

Tang Yun likes to play with Hall's hair when he's bored or as a distraction to pass thr time after missions, he always does tiny braids on it

They’re both bilingual and they're teaching each other how to speak their languages(Hall speaks Danish and Tang Yun speaks Mandarin)

When they first started dating, Leon threatened to snipe Tang Yun if he ever hurt Hall's feelings and the Xie twins, especially Yuzhi, also made similar threats towards Hall  (they threatened to bury him alive if he ever fucked up)

They can't even stand next to each other without some shadow guard yelling “GET A ROOM”, it's mostly either Freddy, Jeanne or Yuzhi doing that just to annoy them

Tang Yun learned how to write in braille so he could leave little notes with loving messages scattered around Hall's apartment for him to read, Hall thinks it's really cute and he kept all the notes found so far

Hall is the only person in the SD that Yuzhi refuses to prank and if asked why, he’ll say that it's out of respect for Yun, since the two are dating (bullshit, he has seen the damage Tang Yun can do to someone who messes with Hall and he doesn't wanna risk ending up at the morgue over a prank, Yuzhi enjoy being alive with all his bones & organs intact, thank you very much!)

Tang Yun's love language is biting, no I will not elaborate

Hall learned how to make homemade chocolate pudding to surprise Yun on his birthday, or when he's having a bad week

Tang Yun is very needy and affectionate, but he's terrified of becoming annoying or a burden to Hall, so he tried his best to not be needy at all(abandonment issues does that to people, saying this from experience :D)

They crash at each other's place so often it feels like they're practically living together, they even have keys to each other's apartments:

Because of this, Hall started keeping hair products in his apartment even though he doesn't need them, they're for Yun since he comes by so often, sometimes Hall will use some of the products just because the scent is nice and reminds him of Yun

Tang Yun started keeping some of Hall's clothes and favorite action movies for a similar reason, he'll sometimes watch some movies by himself when Hall is away in a mission

The only person that can convince Hall to put on a shirt is Tang Yun and no one can change my mind

Hall started carrying noise canceling earbuds with him just in case Yun start having a sensory overload during one of their dates or in general

They're the only people in Grandis that Sander trusts enough to pet sit his cat for him, they even nicknamed the cat "Indigo"

Hall will frequently buy a random trinket and gift them to Tang Yun because it made him think of him(they're usually mini stuffed animals, mini axolotl figurines, ponpon keychains, bracelets, etc), as much as Yun thinks it's adorable and cherishes every single trinket given to him, he can't help but worry about Hall's spending habits

Tang Yun's avataras are also very affectionate to Hall, but that actually makes Yun a little jealous (this hc was inspired by "The New Guy" btw)

Hall started hanging out with the Xie twins more often because of Yun, He became their alibi whenever they did their pranks and sometimes he joins in on it as well

Tang Yun paints Hall's nails for him, they sometimes wear matching nails

#tang yun x hall #dislyte hall #dislyte tang yun #these two mean so much to me #they're living rent free in my head #they're in love your honor

[dropintomanga]

Kowloon Generic Romance - A Perspective from a Cantonese-Speaking Person

After reading Mangasplaining’s great interview with Jun Mayuzuki and hearing a lot about the series, I jumped into the 1st 3 volumes of Kowloon Generic Romance. As someone who’s been to Hong Kong and whose mother lived there for a short while, the series’ grand theme about the persistence of nostalgia does make me think about Hong Kong culture.

The series focuses on a potential romance between two real estate agents who work together in Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong. Reiko Kujirai and Hajime Kudou both live their daily lives working, eating, and contemplating the status of the dystopian metropolis they live in. What starts off as an interesting romance drama suddenly becomes an ongoing mystery regarding identity and what it means to live as someone who feels strangely out of place, but deserves love as much as anyone.

I won’t go into too much detail about the plot, but I will talk about the area that the manga covers - Hong Kong. I’ve been to Hong Kong twice and I find it to be one of the most interesting places in the planet. I went to Mong Kok Shopping Center for anime goods, walked around Kowloon (the Walled City is not there anymore), saw the Avenue of Stars at Victoria Harbor, ate at Causeway Bay and much more. Before moving to the U.S., my mom lived in Hong Kong for a period of time all while getting help from a friend. Although Mayuzuki hasn’t been to Hong Kong, her recreation of it in Kowloon Generic Romance does make it feel like I’m there - or maybe an old part of Hong Kong that’s trying to fight constant change.

An East Asian island filled with so many people living in tight quarters, all balancing the need to move forward versus taking the time to stop and connect with family and friends. For those who are unaware, Hong Kong was ruled by Great Britain from 1841-1997. From around post-WWII until the 1980s’, Hong Kong found itself and become a thriving country. It has a very interesting mix of East and West aesthetics. While one can argue Japan mixes East and West very well today, Hong Kong was the king of showing the beauty of both sides of the world. The Society for East Asian Anthropology has a wonderful essay about “Old Hong Kong” and the nostalgia for it.

What’s funny is that there’s characters in Kowloon Generic Romance that mention how people in Kowloon have nostalgia for it a la Old Hong Kong vibes. Like it’s the same as love. A while back before reading the manga, I watched a video of a woman who left Hong Kong and she talked about how much it’s changed. One thing from the video that stood out to me was the mention of the Cantonese Chinese dialect (which is widely spoken in Hong Kong) possibly becoming an afterthought compared to Mandarin Chinese (the most popular Chinese dialect and one of the top languages in the world). She said she’s committed to keeping the Cantonese dialect alive in the U.S, where she currently lives, for the Chinese communities there.

There’s a scene in Volume 3 of the manga where an antagonist character laments on how the citizens of Kowloon seem stubborn in promoting their traditions in the face of urban development. They think nostalgia as an emotion that’s annoying. I figure that this character would find the woman I just talked about who’s trying to save Cantonese out of a sense of nostalgia to be annoying. It’s funny because some people might argue “Why study Cantonese? Mandarin is spoken everywhere where Chinese is spoken.” I speak Cantonese conversationally, but I find it to be fun. I have fond memories of interacting with fellow speakers of the dialect. Once upon a time, I made some friends due to learning Cantonese from anime. Speaking Cantonese helped me get closer with my parents as well. Lately, the dialect has helped me come to terms with being a person of Chinese descent.

I think about my fellow Cantonese speakers all over the world. I wonder how they would feel if no one spoke it anymore. Would they fight to keep the dialect alive? Would they just don’t care due to the demands of modernity?

I’ve also thought about what Hong Kong residents felt during the 1980s’ and early 1990s’. I was exposed to so much Hong Kong cinema as a child, which was really popular around that time. Although I didn’t understand the themes beneath the surface due to my age, I got to see how filmmakers expressed their thoughts and views on life in Hong Kong before the big handover to China and shortly after.

Kowloon Generic Romance has taken me back to those films and an appreciation of Hong Kong culture in some way. The manga does remind me of the 1994 Wong Kar-Wai film, Chungking Express. Both are love stories based in Hong Kong featuring individuals struggling with loneliness, finding themselves and learning to cultivate love in a fast-paced world.

I’m nostalgic about many things - especially things from the 1990s’. But when it comes to anime and manga nostalgia, I remembered that I got into anime due to Hong Kong culture. I watched Cantonese dubbed episodes of Dragon Ball Z.  That’s how it all began for me. Chinatown was my source of video games in the late ‘90s as a teen and everyone selling them spoke Cantonese. It was also a source for Chinese-translated manga when English-translated manga was about to hit its boom. Reading Kowloon Generic Romance made me think about those days of discovering fandom in the Cantonese Chinese community. 

It also makes me wonder about my place in the Chinese hierarchy in the future. I already struggle with thoughts about belonging and now with so many Chinese speaking Mandarin as their main dialect, I feel like I’m being phased out. Maybe I’m Reiko Kujirai herself. 

I do know that a lot of propaganda use nostalgia for nefarious purposes due to its emotional nature. But I don’t think nostalgia has left me in despair. Some traditions definitely need to pass on to newer generations. Yet I never found myself trying to chase the past to a huge extent. Maybe that’s it. Let nostalgia come naturally. Be like the citizens of Kowloon/Hong Kong and don’t let an entire outside institution define nostalgia for you.

It’s important to have treasured memories that YOU own, good and bad, because they help to cultivate the person you want to be. I appreciate what I have now because of certain nostalgic memories that I personally chose to experience. They unlock our vulnerable selves and tell us that our experiences with our loved ones make life worth living.

That way, nostalgia can help you go forward, whether you want a generic yet satisfying life or a romantic one.

#Kowloon Generic Romance #manga #Jun Mayuzuki #nostalgia #Hong Kong #Hong Kong culture #psychology