#i feel like i posted a lot but its not that much

[gronkulus]

While there's never going to be a strict definition which is perfect, I thought it was interesting to come up with a set of rules which matches my gut feeling of what counts as a video game as closely as possible.

My gut feeling is that candy crush is a video game, a fitbit app is not, but wordle I feel could go either way. Also there are some things which are games that are digital but don't feel like video games to me - a sudoku app which has a comparable experience to playing paper sudokus, for example.

To that end:

#1: A videogame must be run on a computer

The 'video' part of 'videogame'. Football is not a videogame.

#2: A videogame's users must interact with it primarily for their own enjoyment

The 'game' part of videogame. Microsoft word is not a videogame. However, there are lots of things people do for fun on computers that aren't videogames, for example reading ebooks. Those shouldn't count, so:

#3: A videogame must have an interactive element which can't be removed without fundamentally changing the game's experience

A blog post is not a videogame because you could print it out and read it, no computer necessary. Netflix is not a videogame because (with the exception of the few interactive TV episodes on there), its experience is not fundamentally different from broadcast television.

Fundamentally changing an experience includes significantly increasing the amount of work that needs to be done by the player. Baba is you could be a board game with tiles but it would take the player too much time to compute the rules (also sometimes the point is that the player doesn't completely understand the rules).

So what counts as a videogame under these rules?

NYT crossword? Not a videogame. Could be a paper-and-pen crossword and a stopwatch.

Wordle? Videogame. The user can't score their own guesses without either knowing the word, or needing an unwieldy lookup table which would turn a 5-minute puzzle over breakfast into a slog of finding the right colours in a table without accidentally looking at the wrong entry. Similarly with other such games with information that's hidden from the player, like connections or minesweeper.

Fitbit? Not a videogame. The developers might use game design tricks when designing it, but the users treat it like a fitness app. Same goes for duolingo etc.

The interesting part? Under these rules, most social media sites are videogames. People use them for their own enjoyment and the recommendation algorithms are core features. I can't think of a good rule to exclude instagram without excluding games that have user-generated content as a key feature. Maybe a rule saying that if a platform relies on user-generated content, then the content itself must be interactive? That would probably also make steam or itch.io still be videogames. If you can nicely square that circle, let me know!

What's a video game?

Watch the new episode now on Dropout

[loveesiren]

YUCK!

Kwon Jiyong x Reader | Infinity Crew Masterlist

a/n: hi babies! Thank you all for being patient while I wasn't feeling well. I wrote this up last week and just got back to editing it today and I thought I'd post it while I work on the next part of Cross My Heart! Idk how much a love this but hopefully you guys enjoy! Part of the Infinity Crew series.

synopsis: In which Y/n and Jiyong first meet and she is scared of her feelings for him. Inspired by the song Yuck by Charli XCX.

warnings: alcohol, language, Y/n being a little angsty, Jiyong being fluffy, brief mention of grandmothers death

wc: 3.8k+

Your eyelids felt heavy as they fluttered open, sunlight piercing through the half-closed blinds, painting streaks of gold across the rumpled sheets. A dull, pounding ache bloomed behind your temples, making you wince as you let out a groan. The stale scent of alcohol and sweat clung to the air, remnants of last night’s chaos.

It took a moment for your vision to adjust, for your mind to piece together the fragmented blur of the night before. Your room looked like a crime scene—discarded clothes draped over furniture, empty shot glasses and half-drunk bottles littering the floor. A purse, whose owner you weren’t even sure of, had spilled its contents across your dresser.

Beside you, Jaki stirred, her messy hair sticking out at odd angles as she let out a sleepy grunt. On the floor, Bella was sprawled out on a pile of blankets, still snoring, her arm draped over a crushed bag of chips. Somewhere beyond the wreckage, retching sounds echoed from behind your bathroom door. Mari.

Jaki rubbed her eyes, voice thick with sleep. “What time is it?”

You reached for your phone, fingers fumbling over the nightstand. Miraculously, it was on the charger. At least drunk you had been responsible enough to remember that.

“10:30,” you croaked before groaning again, the reality of morning-after regret sinking in.

Jaki sighed, pushing herself upright. “God, what did we do last night?” She dragged herself out of bed, stepping over empty cans and rogue heels before nudging Bella with her foot. “Wake up.”

Bella grunted in protest, hugging the chip bag closer.

Still half-asleep, you tapped at your phone, squinting at the bright screen. As you scrolled through the mess of notifications, one stood out—an unfamiliar number. Your thumb hovered before clicking it open.

Hey! I had a lot of fun last night. Hope you all made it home in one piece! - Jiyong

Your brows furrowed. Jiyong? A flicker of recognition tugged at your memory, but nothing solid formed. “Hey, do you guys remember a Jiyong from last night?”

Bella’s groggy voice perked up immediately. “How do you not? You had your tongue down his throat the entire night.”

A jolt of recollection shot through you like static. Sudden, disjointed flashes of neon lights, pulsing music, and warm hands on your waist hit you all at once. The shots of tequila. The VIP section. The group of boys whose presence commanded attention. And him.

Brightly colored hair. A dangerous smile. The taste of liquor on his lips as you lost yourself in him.

“Shit.”

Mari, looking half-dead as she stumbled out of the bathroom, flopped onto the floor beside Bella. “What’s wrong?” she mumbled, pulling a blanket over herself.

“You don’t remember?” Bella smirked. “He was hot.”

“And really nice!” Mari added.

You blinked. “He was?”

Your luck with men had always been questionable at best. Back home, you had a tendency to fall for the ones who didn’t give a damn about you. Moving to Korea had been different—men here were blunt, sometimes brutally so, which at least cut through the bullshit. You had stopped looking for anything real a long time ago, opting instead for fun, no strings attached. And it had been working for you.

“Yeah!” Mari stretched with a yawn. “Honestly, they all were. They bought us drinks, let us sit at their table, and even made sure we got home safe. Kind of rare these days.” Her head tilted. “Did he text you?”

You hesitated before nodding. “Yeah.”

Jaki, suddenly much more awake, clapped her hands together. “Text him back!”

You sighed, biting your lip. So what if you made out with a hot guy last night? That didn’t mean anything would come of it.

“He’s in a baaanddd,” Bella teased, dragging out the words.

You rolled your eyes. “A band?” You knew the type.

“Oh yeah!” Mari snapped her fingers, trying to recall. “Bang something…”

A laugh bubbled up in your chest as you shook your head. Still, curiosity got the better of you, and you tapped out a response.

Hey! Thanks for the drinks and making sure we got home safe. It was fun!

A second later, your phone vibrated again.

You busy tonight? We have a show at the Jamsil. It’s our last show of the tour.

Your heart stuttered. The Jamsil? That place was massive. Stadium-level massive. In fact, it was a stadium. The kind of venue that only serious artists played.

You sat up straighter. “Guys…”

“What?” they all asked in unison.

“I think he wants us to go to their concert tonight.”

Bella groaned, rubbing her temples. “Ugh, I need a hangover cure first. But what bar are they playing at?”

“Not a bar…” You swallowed.

Jaki, raising a brow, asked, “Then where?”

You licked your lips, staring at the message as if it might change. “Jamsil Stadium.”

Silence. Then—

“Wait, what?!” Mari bolted upright. “Are they like…opening for someone?”

Your friends quickly scrambled for their phones to look up who would be playing at the stadium that night.

“Big Bang?” Mari questioned, glancing at the others. None of you had heard of them.

Your thumbs hesitated over the keyboard before typing out a new message.

Oh haha, what was the name of your band again?

His response came almost instantly.

Lol, BIGBANG

︶꒦��♡꒷꒦︶

The teasing was relentless.

Over the next week, your best friends took every opportunity to poke fun at the way you grinned at your phone, the way your fingers hovered over the screen a second longer than necessary, the way your cheeks flushed every time Jiyong’s name lit up your notifications.

It didn’t help that the memories of that night lingered in your mind like an intoxicating haze—BIGBANG’s concert, the electricity in the air, the way the entire stadium pulsed with their music. You and your friends had been given VIP treatment, watching from backstage before being pulled to the afterparty like you belonged there.

And Jiyong…

Jiyong had barely let you out of his sight.

His hand had found your hip early in the night and never strayed far, his grip possessive but never suffocating, a quiet declaration to everyone in the room. His voice had been a constant in your ear, warm and teasing, sending shivers down your spine every time he leaned in close. The buzz in your veins hadn’t just been from alcohol this time—it had been him.

You had been sober enough to feel every nerve in your body react to his touch, every stolen glance sending a thrill through your chest. And despite the slight nerves that danced in your stomach, you hadn’t pulled away. Because you liked it. You liked the way he wrapped his arm around your shoulders, the way he tilted your chin toward him with a lazy smirk, like he had every right to.

And then there were the texts.

Jiyong wasn’t like the men you were used to—he didn’t play games, didn’t make you wait, didn’t let hours or days pass before acknowledging you.

With him, there was no guessing, no second-guessing.

You weren’t sure if you liked it.

Or maybe… that was just the wall you had spent years building, screaming at you to run.

And yet, here you were, sitting at brunch with your best friends, stomach twisting as your phone buzzed for the tenth time that morning.

“Is that him again?” Jaki teased, sipping her mimosa with a knowing smirk.

“Oh my god, he’s obsessed with you,” Mari grinned, leaning in with wide eyes.

Bella, ever the devil’s advocate, leaned back in her chair with a smirk. “Ignore him. Make him work for it.”

You groaned, rolling your eyes. “You guys are unbearable.”

But even as you protested, you lifted your phone, heart skipping when you saw his message.

May I take you out tonight?

Your breath hitched, and before you could stop yourself, your teeth sank into your bottom lip.

“Oh my god, she’s in looooove,” Mari sang, drawing out the words dramatically.

You scoffed, but the heat creeping up your neck betrayed you. Quickly, you schooled your expression, flipping your phone facedown on the table. “No, I’m not.”

Jaki, unimpressed, rolled her eyes. “Don’t let these idiots scare you out of something good.” She reached across the table, squeezing your hand.

“We weren’t trying to be mean!” Mari pouted, leaning in closer. “I think you should keep talking to him!”

“I was being mean,” Bella admitted, giggling—only to yelp as Jaki kicked her under the table. “Ow! Bitch!”

You sighed, shaking your head at their antics, but the truth sat heavy on your chest. “It’s not that serious.”

Jaki snorted. “Please. He was all over you at the afterparty. He texts you nonstop. Y/n, stop being a coward and go out with the man.”

Before you could protest, the sound of your doorbell interrupted.

Your brows knit together. No one was supposed to be coming over, and you and the girls had barely rolled out of bed for brunch.

Grabbing your phone, you opened your Ring app—and blinked.

There was no one there.

Just a bouquet of flowers sitting at your doorstep.

“What the hell…” you muttered, rising to your feet.

Mari, ever the nosy one, was already on your heels as you opened the door. The moment she spotted the flowers, she let out a shriek.

“Oh my god!!!”

Before you could even react, she snatched up the bouquet and bolted back inside.

“Look what Jiyong sent her!!!” she screeched, parading the flowers like a trophy.

“Mari, stop!” you groaned, chasing after her. “You don’t even know if they’re from him!”

Jaki was already on her feet, fingers sifting through the bouquet in search of a card. The moment she found it, her eyes gleamed with triumph.

Clearing her throat dramatically, she read aloud:

'Y/n, I wanted to thank you for coming to our final show. You made the night beautiful. You’re beautiful. xx, Jiyong.'

The room exploded.

Your friends screamed in unison while you dropped to the floor, face buried in your hands, utterly mortified.

“Oh my god, he LOVES you!” Mari gasped, bouncing on her heels.

“This is like a K-drama,” Bella wheezed.

Jaki clutched her chest. “I’m so happy for you.”

This was so weird.

Finally, when the chaos died down and your heartbeat returned to a semi-normal pace, you picked up your phone.

Your fingers hesitated before typing.

Why’d you send flowers? The girls are getting the wrong impression.

Like clockwork, he responded within seconds.

Wrong impression? I like you. That’s the impression I’m trying to make.

You stared at the screen, pulse hammering in your throat.

You wanted to fight it—wanted to roll your eyes, wanted to tell him to fuck off before he got too close, before you started to hope.

But the flutter in your stomach betrayed you.

And for once, you let it.

What time should I be ready?

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

Dates with Jiyong became addicting in the worst possible way.

He was too much.

Too chivalrous. Too affectionate. Too willing to hold doors open, place a protective hand on the small of your back, press soft kisses to your forehead before pulling you in for something deeper, something dizzying.

Too fucking Kwon Jiyong.

It was infuriating.

He knew exactly what he was doing, the way he’d brush his fingers across your skin like he'd known you for a lifetime, the way his thumb would skim your bottom lip before capturing your mouth with his. It made your stomach twist in ways you weren’t used to.

You weren’t supposed to like it this much. And yet, every time your phone lit up with his name, a warmth spread through your chest before you even had time to think.

You weren’t an idiot—you knew what this meant.

Actual feelings.

Yuck.

You sat on your bed, knees pulled to your chest, as the thought actually liking him played in loops inside your head. You hadn’t had real feelings for anyone in years. And yet, Kwon fucking Jiyong had waltzed into your life and made your heart flutter like some tragic romance cliché.

You refused to text your friends about it. You already knew what they’d say.

"Go for it!"

"He’s so into you!"

"Just let yourself be happy!"

No. Absolutely not.

So, instead, you did what you did best.

You drank.

It wasn’t self-destructive if you were just trying to clear your mind, right?

You set your phone on the charger, ignoring the missed texts from Jiyong, and padded into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of soju.

Shot after shot, you turned the music louder, drowning out the overthinking, the gnawing doubt, the lingering heat of Jiyong’s touch. You lost yourself in the beat, dancing around the empty house, laughing into the dimly lit living room.

And then—

It hit.

A wave of something dark, something hollow, something that made the room spin in a way that had nothing to do with alcohol.

Your laughter faded as you looked around, eyes scanning the walls, the furniture, the memories embedded in this house.

This was where you spent your childhood summers—where you and your cousins wrestled in the living room, where your grandmother sat by the window, humming old lullabies in Korean, always watching, always loving.

She had been your everything.

She had adored you, called you her “Shining Star.” When she passed, she left this house to you, trusting you with it, believing in you.

But tonight? You didn’t feel like a star.

You felt like a fraud. A drunk, struggling, social media star with no real direction, no solid ground beneath your feet.

Tears pricked at your eyes before you even realized it. You blinked them away, shaking your head. No. Not tonight.

You needed something real. Something solid.

Your hands fumbled for your phone, eyes blurring as you found Jiyong’s number and pressed the call button before you could second-guess it.

He picked up on the second ring.

"Jagi!" he cooed, his voice warm, affectionate.

You swallowed, forcing a smile into your tone. “Hey, Jiiii…”

There was a pause. “Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah, I’m great! Never better!”

He exhaled, a soft chuckle trailing through the receiver. “If that were true, you wouldn’t be calling me. I’m a lame old man, remember?”

You chewed your lip, thinking back to your last date—the one where he had tried to open up, where you had deflected every question, every attempt at something real.

Your chest ached.

Maybe… maybe he wasn’t so bad. Maybe liking him wasn't such a bad thing.

“Well… maybe you’re kinda cool?” you teased, voice slurring slightly.

You could almost hear his smirk.

Then, softly—“Ji… are you real?”

There was a pause, like he was trying to decipher the weight behind your words.

“Yeah, I’m real, baby,” he murmured, voice softer now. Waiting. Hoping, that you needed him.

Your head spun, emotions colliding with the alcohol in your system. “If you’re real… prove it.”

Silence.

Then, his voice came through the phone, calm, certain.

“I’ll be there in ten.”

The call ended before you could protest. You let out a breathless chuckle, throwing yourself onto the couch as the liquor coursed through your veins. The room tilted, the world blurring around the edges.

Then—

A sharp knock at the door.

You inhaled deeply, pushing yourself upright, swaying slightly as you found your footing. For a second, you hesitated—wondering if maybe you were hallucinating this entire thing.

But when you swung open the door, there he was.

Jiyong.

Bright hair catching the moonlight, dark eyes scanning you with equal parts amusement and concern.

“Ji!” you cooed, stumbling forward, arms flinging around him. Your cheek pressed against his chest, his warmth sinking into your skin, grounding you.

“You’re really real…” you sighed.

His arms wrapped around you, steady and strong. “Yeah, I’m real, Jagi.”

His voice was soft, patient. “How much have you had to drink?”

You hummed against him, pressing your nose into the fabric of his hoodie. “Mmm, dunno…”

He sighed, but you could feel his smile. He picked you up effortlessly, carrying you inside like you weighed nothing, setting you down gently on the couch.

“I’ll order some food, yeah?”

You blinked up at him, lips curling into a slow smirk. “I can be your food…” you muttered, attempting to be seductive. In reality, you probably just looked like a fish gasping for air.

Jiyong snorted, shaking his head as he helped you sit upright. “Jagi, as much as I’d love that… you’re drunk.” He tucked a stray strand of hair behind your ear. “Let’s get some food in you, okay? We can talk about it tomorrow.”

Tomorrow.

He said it so easily, like he was sure he’d still be here. Like he wasn’t going anywhere.

Your chest tightened. You weren’t used to this. You weren’t used to being wanted without conditions.

It made you panic. It made you angry.

“Am I ugly or something?!” you snapped, frustration bubbling up inside you.

Jiyong stilled, studying you with something dangerously close to adoration.

Then, with a knowing sigh, he ran a hand through his hair.

Falling in love with you was going to be a problem.

But he wouldn’t have it any other way.

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

Waking up in Jiyong’s arms wasn’t something you had planned, nor was it something you ever thought would feel this right.

His warmth surrounded you, his steady breaths fanning against the back of your neck, his arm draped effortlessly over your waist like he had every right to be there.

And God, it felt good.

Too good.

Your heartbeat picked up as reality settled in. How had this happened? Oh, right. You called him. You practically begged him to come over. You clung to him all night, let him be your anchor in the whirlwind of emotions you couldn’t control. You let yourself feel safe.

And now? Now that it was morning, now that the haze of alcohol had lifted, it terrified you.

Jiyong shifted slightly, pressing himself closer, his grip tightening like he could sense the storm brewing inside you.

“I can feel you staring at me, Jagi.” His voice was husky, teasing, laced with that lazy morning rasp that sent an involuntary shiver down your spine.

His eyes remained closed, but his lips curled into a knowing smile.

You tensed.

"What are you doing here?" you asked abruptly, jerking out of bed like you’d been caught in something you shouldn’t have been.

Jiyong's eyes finally fluttered open, watching you with quiet amusement as you stumbled to your feet, your breath unsteady.

“What am I doing here?” he echoed, pushing himself up onto his elbows. “You called me, Y/n.”

His tone was calm, patient—too patient. Like he was already used to you pulling away, like he was waiting for it.

Your mind replayed every hazy memory from last night. The drunk dialing. The way you asked him to come over instead of your best friends. The way you curled into him as if he was the only thing keeping you from falling apart.

And now you were running.

Panic gripped your chest.

“You’re acting like a sick puppy,” you snapped, voice sharp, laced with something almost desperate. “Following me around all the time!”

It was a low blow, and you knew it the moment the words left your lips. But Jiyong didn’t flinch.

Instead, a quiet sigh left him, and for a split second, something unreadable flickered in his gaze.

And then, he smirked. Like he had already expected this. Like he had already figured you out.

He pushed himself out of bed, the sheets slipping from his toned torso as he stood, stretching slightly before making his way toward you. His sweatpants sat low on his waist, and despite your panic, you stole a glance.

God, he was so unfairly hot.

But it wasn’t just that. It was him.

It was the way he carried himself, the way he knew exactly when to push and when to pull back, the way he had a goddamn patience for you that no one else had ever had.

He stopped a breath away from you, his gaze locking onto yours.

“Y/n,” he murmured, his voice softer now. “Tell me you never want to see me again.”

Your stomach twisted.

“W-What?”

His dark eyes burned into yours.

“Tell me you never want to see me again, and I’ll fuck off. I’ll never contact you again.”

His words hit like a punch to the gut. You swallowed thickly, but nothing came out. He wasn’t playing games. He was serious.

Your lips parted, but your voice failed you. Because the truth was, you didn’t want him to go.

You had spent so long building walls, running from anything that felt real, convincing yourself that love wasn’t for you.

And yet, here he was. Kwon Jiyong. Standing in front of you, offering you something real.

And you couldn’t tell him to leave.

His jaw tensed slightly, like he was bracing himself for rejection. But then, with quiet resolve, he added—

"But I like you, Y/n. A lot.”

Your breath hitched.

His voice was steady, unwavering. “If you give me a chance, I want to show you just how much.”

Your heart stopped.

For a split second, you almost ran.

You almost threw up another wall, another excuse, another reason why he should stay far away from you.

But instead—

Your hands reached for his neck, fingers tangling in his hair as you pulled him into you, lips crashing together in a fiery, desperate kiss.

He didn’t hesitate.

Jiyong’s hands immediately found your waist, gripping you tight, pulling you flush against him. You gasped against his lips, your body molding into his as heat surged through your veins.

And fuck, he felt good.

Every touch, every movement, every hungry press of his lips sent a spark through you.

His hands slid lower, fingers digging into your hips as you felt him—all of him—against your stomach, his arousal evident through his sweats.

A shiver ran down your spine, your head spinning for a completely different reason now.

"I'm sober now. Is that enough consent for you?" you breathed, words tumbling from your lips between heated kisses.

Jiyong pulled back slightly, his forehead resting against yours, his breath ragged.

"As long as you stop pushing me away..." he panted, his lips trailing down your jaw, pressing wet, open-mouthed kisses along your skin.

Your pulse thundered, your fingers gripping onto his arms like he was the only thing keeping you grounded.

“Deal.”

A deep, satisfied hum rumbled from his chest.

Then—he grabbed your thighs, lifting you effortlessly, your legs wrapping around his waist as he carried you back toward the bed.

You could feel the raw need in his grip, in the way his lips never left your skin, in the way his hands held you like you were something precious.

And as he laid you down, hovering over you, eyes dark with hunger and something dangerously close to devotion—

You knew.

This boy would be worth it.

© loveesiren 2025 - do not copy, translate, transfer, or repost my work without my permission. if you find my work on sites other than through links i've provided, please notify me.

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[coochiekrab]

i know kuri and aubrey subvert the Nuclear Family Trope / break heteronormativity in a lot of ways already but i never feel like its enough to make it obviously clear to New Viewers that worlds worst comic is about a Very Queer Marriage (which considering how many people think aubrey is a woman for weeks after finding my comic its really not something i should worry this much about). every time im exposed to Pro Natalist / "barefoot and pregnant" content slop on the Internet i freak out and start trying to find places in their story for kuri to have an abortion somewhere just so i can shake my irrational fear that im posting Breeder Propaganda . it feels like this in my head

[rotagnus]

Messages From God & The Universe <3

happy wednesday babies! i hope all of you are doing well. here is a little pac with guidance for all of you. if you guys are wondering why i am posting so much, i have a lot of free time on my hands and am trying to grow my intuition and my faith. i hope you guys enjoy this reading!! much love <3

pile 1.

the signs have been pouring in for you, and this is your permission to take them into your heart. a lot of you are hesitant, and do not want to believe that what you've seen is a sign, specifically the sign that's been lingering in your thoughts more than most. i am hear to tell you that this is what you think it is. a lot of you also seem to feel like you're always watching the happiness go by due to your own morals...many of the people you know have been experiencing joys lately that you have not given yourself access to.

don't worry. God has a plan for you, the universe, whatever you hold belief in. a lot of you have been finding joys in putting all of yourself into activities...maybe over-training, studying too hard, et cetera. take a break. i know you don't want to focus on these things that have been bothering you, but you should. the answer is right there. you'll be glowing, soon. your happiness will return to you, and it'll be visible; your skin might clear up, you might look better, you know what i mean? i love you, the universe/God does, and i assure you that you can take a deep breath and trust, trust that you will be okay.

pile 2.

a lot of you have experienced a heartbreak recently. this will uplift you, and it is not a sign that God/the universe has left you. sometimes, when everything is breaking; it's a sign that it's all coming together. everything will clear up soon. sometimes, you are meant to go on a journey alone; but you are never alone. your ancestors, guardian angels, higher beings...they're all with you. things have been going out of your life for a reason; bad ones permanently, good ones temporarily. but you must not focus on those right now. uplift your heart. you're powerful because you have a strong sense of compassion and kindness. utilize that. understand that not everyone wants to hurt you.

there are a pair of eyes on you, watching you. be wary of people, and be observant. your power lies in your heart, in your ability to forgive others. with the two of hearts, here, this may signify a union between you and something else, or someone else. you are divinely protected, and you need to have more trust in what is going to happen. it'll happen to better you. the universe is telling me to tell you that it's got you covered, on its own timing. so relax. also, the sense of discomfort you have will be uplifted.

pile 3.

there is a sense of vagueness and mystery in your life. cycles are ending, and you've come out glowing and strong. you've been reborn into a burning phoenix. this change has been for the better; think of who you were, particularly in the winter of 2024, the early months (november, december). you were most likely miserable; if not, this pile isn't for you, darling. you were closed off emotionally and you lost so many parts of yourself you believed that soon you would be nothing but empty space.

God/the universe is telling you to open your heart up. you have so many wants...so many desires, but you feel as if you'll lose this new you if you even dare to open up again. you're sensitive, easily hurt, and with this new change, it's hard for you to navigate this path. you're a lamb. the most important advice here is to be able to open up, but follow your judgements with people. trust the little voice in your ear. be vulnerable, be you, but with the right people. discernment is crucial. you will be tested to see if you've learned; so be prepared. but this new cycle is good. you needed this new start.

[cookiecakecookie-cake]

An Ancient Cookies x child reader Headcanon !! How would they take care of them !!??

my first actual post! woohoo! i love the ancients sooo much. sorry if some of these headcannons feel less special than others, my creative juices definitely exploded all over the place while writing these, lol. -cookie cake

₊‧.°.⋆Half of my Heart is in your Chest

⋆.°.‧₊

✮-Ancient Cookies + GN!Kid!Reader -✮

(cws: mentions of death/implied child death, emotional absence. heavy angst in dark cacao + golden cheese's sections.)

Pure Vanilla

One of THE best parents of the bunch. Don't get me wrong, they're all great, but Pure Vanilla is. Well. Pure Vanilla.

Sooooo sweet and supportive. Will not force you to do anything that you don't want to, he's all about gentle encouragement and patience. He wants you to become the best version of you and that is incredibly apparent in every little thing he does.

He loves to take you out on walks with him. He's very much an outdoorsy kinda person. The world has given him so much that he's grateful for and he wants to instill that same love and appreciation inside you, too.

And if you ever get tired, he'll immediately offer to carry you. Doesn't matter if you're an adult now, you're still his baby!!

Cries over any of your achievements. It doesn't matter how big or small they are. He's just so damn proud of you!!!

He would never ever in a million years raise his voice at you. If he ever does, its not intentionally, and he immediately apologizes for it after.

Anything you take an interest in, he'll ask you allll about it. He wants to know everything.

Actually, he just asks you about a lot of things in general, you're one of his favorite people to talk to.

Speaking of talking to people, he LOOOOOVES talking about you to anyone who will listen. He's the dad that keeps, like, one of those massive tape albums in his wallet.

All of the images in it are only of you in various stages of life that he's taken over the years. He's always ready to show it off to anybody who asks! (As well as people who don't. He's so annoying about how much he loves you.)

Your number 1 supporter, no matter the time, no matter the place. He'd do nearly anything just to see you smile.

He doesn't care if you turn out to be somebody great, somebody horrible, or nobody in particular. You're the most wonderful person in the world to him.

Hollyberry

Do you like bone crushing hugs? I hope you do since that is what you'll be getting every single day now!

Another member of the "You could literally bite my hand and I would still coo and aww over you" club (the president of said club being Pure Vanilla Cookie)

For the first dozen years of your life, she actually cuts back on the Berry Juice, despite her love of it, she wants to be fully present for every single little moment of yours.

She goes out on little "hunts" (random adventures) whenever she isn't busy with her work as Queen. If you're the more adventurous type, like her, then she looooves taking you out with her!

Any and all of your "triumphs" together get put on the front page of the news, for everyone to see! (And also to give Wildberry cookie a heart attack!)

But no matter what danger you're in, she'll always make sure you're safe. It's her number one priority.

On the other hand, if you don't like to go out as much, she's more than fine with that too! (See: "member of the 'you could bite me and I'd still love you unconditionally' club")

When she's out and about, she's sending you all sorts of trinkets and souvenirs, and when she's back, she's aaaall over you, asking you how you've been, if she missed anything important, etc etc.

She'll even go out of her way to organize events that cater to your homebody-ness, royal balls, galas, parties, fares, you name it, she will not let a boring day go by for you. (Unless, of course, you want a boring day for once.)

Also: You have a dragon for an... uncle? aunt? auncle? Whatever the gender-neutral version of that word is. Anyways, yes, of course Pitaya Dragon Cookie knows all about you.

Even before they are "reformed," they're quite familiar with you and somewhat respectful towards you. As respectful as a dragon like them can be.

Hollyberry is a cookie that means a lot to them (As "rivals" tend to do. Insert a knowing gaze here.) and so you, by extension, mean a lot to them.

Of course, Hollyberry does NOT let you ANYWHERE near Pitaya at first. Only when they stop being an active threat does she ease up a bit.

At first, they don't really Get It, but that changes once Snapdragon enters the picture.

Oh. Oh thats why Hollyberry likes the small cookie so much.

If you are young enough, you essentially become Snapdragon's unofficial big sibling.

If you're on the older side, you become their go-to babysitter!

Either way, you get to take care of a very rambunctious dragon baby! Wahoo!

Spending time with you, in any way, is super important to her. She loves you, loves talking to you, loves doing anything with you, and she wants to do whatever she can to make sure you feel the same.

Dark Cacao

Dark Cacao is trying so hard, bless his heart.

You will spend a lot of time with him just learning. He wants to teach you so many things. He teaches you about the kingdom, about the snow, about the Licorice Sea and everything beyond it.

And he teaches you how to fight. Not because he wants you to, for from it. He hopes everyday that you'll never need to use these lessons.

But he knows, deep down, those hopes are in vain because those lessons they will be some of the most important he'll give.

He has. a lot of expectations for you. You will probably be denied a lot of simple pleasures that the other ancients would freely give.

But he loves you. And he is trying.

There may be times where you don't feel loved, but that is a lie. There will never be a moment under Dark Cacao's roof where you are anything other than his beloved child.

How he treats you changes depending if this is before or after Dark Choco betrayed him. If its after, he definitely becomes a lot more overbearing, especially since you're the sole heir to the Cacao Kingdom now.

He does not want you to become like him, that's for sure. He's made so many mistakes that he could make a mountain out of them, with even more regrets.

He doesn't want you to live like that. He wants you to live happy, because you are one of the few things in this world that has made him happy.

It is a lot. And he knows that. Which is why he tries all he can to prepare you. To protect you.

Because he loves you.

He loves you so, so much, its scary to him. Not because he loves you, no, you would never be something bad to him, but because he is scared of what will happen to you.

The world was cruel to him. He has seen so, so many people he cared for pass away like grains of said in the wind, but he refuses to let any chilling indifference take you away from him early.

He loves you so so much, beyond anything. He wants you to be happy in was he wasn't, because he loves you.

And his shoulder will always be free for you if you need a rest from it all.

Golden Cheese

You would think that Golden Cheese would be, like, the wine mom of the ancients,

And to be fair, she definitely is,

But she's ALSO the most overbearing!

Golden Cheese is greedy. She wants to keep her precious treasures with her at all times.

It just so happens that, to her, you're the most valuable thing inside her whole kingdom.

So, understandably, she wants to keep you safe.

This is doubled even moreso inside of the Virtual Kingdom. She lost everything dear to her once, she is NOT going to loose it all again, and ESPECIALLY not someone like you.

(She gets way better after the events of episode 18, but for a good while she keeps veeeery close tabs on where you are.)

Fun angst idea! If you just so happen to be one of the casualties of the Dark Flour War, she would be irreparable! Take all her treasures, damn them all, but not you. Anything but you.

Forgiving White Lily would be a lot more difficult to her, if that were the case, or at least it would weigh a lot more on her. You'd probably have to try and convince her yourself to let her off the hook.

Haha! Owch! Onto more stuff other than that!

She wants you to fly. Like. REALLY wants you to fly. Flying is one of the best experiences in the world to her and being able to fly with you, too? Even better.

She'll let you fall, it's important to her that you learn how to soar on your own, but she would never let you crash.

And if you do crash and she isn't able to catch you, she'll be with you in every step of your recovery process.

Anything you make her, regardless of the quality, gets put amongst her personal collection of treasures. She always wants to be able to see them in their most pristine condition.

Anyone that dares to question why she keeps a macaroni portrait you made of her gets sent to the dungeon. Bye-bye!

Funnily enough, I don't think she would spoil you rotten. I mean, you're a liiiiiiittle bit spoiled, you're still Golden Cheese Cookie's kid. But again, she wants you to learn how to soar on your own. She'll help if you ask for it, but she encourages you to go out and work for it yourself. The satisfaction of earning something is the best part! She's not gonna let you out on that.

Anytime you get a treasure of your own through sheer hard work and dedication, she holds the grandest celebration for you. No matter what that treasure may be. It may just be something small like making a friend for the first time, she doesn't give a fuck. She wants her kid to know how proud she is of them, and how much she loves them.

She doesn't cry often, but whenever you start to spread your own wings without her, she'll definitely let a few tears slip. She's so unbelievably proud of her greatest treasure.

White Lily

She is so unbelievably sweet and soft with you.

You make the world so wonderful to her, she wishes everyone could experience the sheer joy you bring into her life like she does.

One of her favorite things to do with you is to read bedtime stories. It's so simple, but she loves holding you with one arm, propping up a book with the other, and narrating some little story about a cookie and his friends going on fantastical journeys together.

She loves watching your little face react to all of the twists and turns, fighting off drowsiness as long as you possibly can just to see another page...!

Of course, she knows when to stop and when she does, she closes the book up, puts it in her lap and gives you a little kiss on the forehead to quell your cries of "just one more page!!"

After that, she tucks you into bed with all the care she can, turns off the lights, and puts away your book before slowly closing the door, checking ooone last time to see if you're really asleep.

She has a magical lilies set up inside your room to act as a night light just for you.

They glow with a the perfect amount of light, enough to keep you feeling safe, but not enough to keep you up.

A lot of the time she feels completely out of her depth, but she tries her best to do what's right by you.

... However there's still plenty of times where she has no idea what to do. In those cases, she goes straight to her best friend, who is waaaay better at this stuff than she is.

A lot of her parenting tactics are pretty similar to Pure Vanilla's, which is no wonder since basically anytime she needs advice about raising you, she goes to him.

Speaking of Pure Vanilla, just by being White Lily's kid, you end up spending a loooot of time with Pure Vanilla, too, just because he's the one she trusts the most to take care of her kid.

She wants to make the world a better place and you only double that desire inside of her.

If you come about before the Dark Flour War, she starts to throw herself even further into her studies of the origin of cookies.

If you aren't old enough to take care of yourself, you end up in the custody of Pure Vanilla for awhile. (See above section titled: "Pure Vanilla" to know what that's like.)

After the Dark Flour War, when she's revived by Elder Faerie Cookie, she realizes how much time was stolev away from the both of you.

She only hopes that she can make it up to you now.

[purpurussy]

everything Dan said about labels in BIG was so extremely real and personal to me and people really gloss over a lot of it sometimes I need to talk about it more about it when I'm not exhausted

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Costume meta 810 Voices

Well that was an episode!! Sorry there’s been such a delay in posting this meta - real life happened and then the stills dropped for the next episode and I had a little spiral about the E and the brown plaid jacket and then it was Wednesday and I still hadn’t posted this! But its here now and hopefully you’ll enjoy it - there’re is quite a lot to talk about on the costume front so lets dive right in!

as laways - below the cut to save your dash!

Firstly - the continuity is something we have to mention as it’s truly entertaining at the start of this episode which is meant to be a direct follow on from the end of the last - only they are in wildly different costumes! I can understand why they’ve done it - from a purely colour theory and storytelling perspective, but that doesn’t stop it from being amusing to me. They obviously needed to get Chim into check pattern for Maddies kidnapping and they needed to get Buck into a white tee and the blue corduroy shirt to fit for his conversation with Eddie in the car. Because the change of clothes for Bobby, Eddie, and Hen can all be easily explained away - that they’d made it home and had got ready for bed before they were called by Chim and Buck when they discovered Maddie had gone missing. Chim and Buck however are less easy to explain away!

Buck

Bucks starts out with him in a white shirt - white on Buck spells trouble ahead - and a bright blue corduroy shirt. If we look back to his costume at the end of the last episode, the blue corduroy is not that dissimilar to the denim jacket, it’s the tee that’s at the opposite side of the spectrum going from the dark greeny brown to white. So you’d think they could’ve gotten away with just changing out the tee - made it seem he spilt food on himself or something that ended up with him changing his shirt, but keeping the blue of the jacket.

Well yes they could’ve done - if we hadn’t been looking at a specific meaning for the denim, and if they hadn’t wanted to tie this new costume into a previous costume he’s worn. I’m talking about his dispatch conversation with Maddie after the basketball game where he hurt Eddie, when Buck admits to his jealousy and to being anxious because he’s not sure if he was intentionally lashing out at Eddie or if it was indeed an accident.

This new slightly darker version of the corduroy is used for a scene that shows the anxiety Buck is experiencing as well as having him lashing out, and whilst it is not so much connected to jealousy in the strictest sense, I would argue that there is perhaps an element of this within Buck through this scene. It’s connected into missing Christopher - jealousy that Chris and Eddie are about to be reunited with one another while he is left behind. I also think there is an element of confusion connected to this use of bright Blue corduroy.

We see it in the dispatch scene with Maddie - his uncertainty and confusion over whether he meant to hurt Eddie and even what his feelings actually are. This is repeated in the scenes we get with him in this episode - he is confused about Maddies disapearance and uncertain that she has actually run away and he is confused and uncertain about all the feelings hes been feeling recently which is why he brings up Gerrard and Tommy (funny how we keep getting those two connected isn’t it - almost like we’re meant to read into that!) and also Eddies departure - when the previous episode had shown him in a better place about Eddie moving back to Texas. We are meant to read into his confusion and uncertainty - its showing us that Buck is very much in the middle of his spiral - that the end of the last episode with him in a better place was just him suppressing his feelings to be a supportive friend, rather than him having reconciled them in any way.

To me the use of a very similar costume - but a darker one is seemingly setting things up for Buck to explore his 704 feelings and have a few realisations. There’s something about the specific uses of this costume at this moment with where Buck is emotionally that is screaming comparison with how Buck reacted to thinking he was losing Eddie back in 704 with the reality of Buck actually losing Eddie in this episode and how its really emphasising Bucks confusion and misunderstanding of his feelings - that he misunderstood then and ‘ misunderstanding now - but the actual reality of losing Eddie will be too much this time for him to ignore in the way he was able to when Eddie wasn’t lost to him. This is backed up by the frayed bottom edge of the jacket - the hem has been let down and distressed as you can clearly see in the image above.

I haven’t been able to locate the exact jacket just yet (trust me I have spent far too long searching!!) but the distressed hem was a key part of the choice to use it if it was already distressed, or they made it that way for narrative purposes - namely the idea that Buck is fraying around the edges - something that we’ve already seen being used with Buck in this half of the season - the neckline of his white tee was distressed in the last episode.

I do also want to touch on the grey trainers he is now sporting - these are new and making their first appearance in this episode! This is pretty significant, because Buck has, before now, only worn black or white shoes outside of work. He did wear brown boots in season 1 and for 1 scene in 204, but I don’t tend to pay too much heed to season 1’s costuming as they had multiple costume designers and it was a pilot season, so while you can draw some information from shirt or jacket colours, the actual costume style of the characters is not really formed - all the characters non uniform costumes are a bit all over the place and not in the styles they settle into from s2 onwards.

So these grey trainers appearing on the scene has me all kinds of interested especially because the white trainers have always been used in scenes about Bucks own personal journey, while the black ones in scenes about other characters journey’s. I need to see how and when these new grey ones appear, but I feel very strongly that there is a purpose to them and the fact they’re grey - the mix of black and white - and the idea of merging - that family has become a third aspect of Bucks footwear - white being his journey, black connecting to others, while the grey is possibly going to be connected into the idea of family in some way - whether that is around the concept of Buck thinking he’s losing his family, or if it is about him actually recognising his family, I’m not sure, but if I had to put money on it, I’d go with the idea of losing family - because we’ve so far seen these trainers in scenes about Maddie seemingly leaving again, and Eddie’s departure from LA. So if my theory is correct, I am expecting that we’ll see him wearing them in scenes where the loss of Eddie and the impact that is having on him is particularly prevalent - but we’ll have to see!

He is still wearing the grey adidas trainers for the goodbye in the rain scene - further highlighting their importance in connection to Eddies departure and I think its very likely that they will be a regular shoe for him going forward in scenes where Buck is really feeling the loss of Eddie - and dare I say it while he’s in denial about the reality of what he’s feeling - becasue that is where he is at right now - he knows on some level that he’s in love with Eddie - he’s just not yet in a place to actually confront it or accept it (he has just lost Eddie so one can hardly blame him for not being in a place to actually face the fact he’s in love with the guy!) - the grey of the shoes hints at the grey area of his life Buck exists in right now - that limbo where he is unable to go back to how things were, but also not able to move forwards and acknowledge and reframe his feelings.

The khaki trousers also help with this concept - the implication of being at war internally - its not a colour we see Buck in very often - in fact we have seen these trousers before - just the once! Buck has been branching out more into coloured trousers in the last two seasons - we’ve seen a couple of pairs of yellow ochre trousers, actual jeans, a pair of brown slacks and these khakis. Buck was wearing them in 806 - for the 6 month aniversary date with tommy. A scene where Buck is confused and where it is not only implied that Tommy doesn’t know him, but that he also isn’t sure of himself - he doesn’t know how to act and doesn’t know about the Kinsey scale etc (which is very out of character for Buck who would definitely have researched sexuality after tommy kissed him) . It’s also the scene where the Abby of it all is brought up - When Buck discovers the ‘most transformative relationship of his life’ is a looming presence in his current relationship - one that has also been transformative for him. And now we have him wearing the same trousers in a scene where he watches Eddie leave - which is shot in an almost like for like parallel to Abby’s leaving him - when Buck is going to be living in a house that isn’t his after this point. But that is not the only connection with khaki trousers and Buck, because we can actually trace them all the way back to season 1 and the moment when Buck meets Abby for the first time in person - a storyline we’ve literally had paralleled in this episode - Buck taking Abby out in the jeep to look for her mom - Eddie driving Buck around as they look for Maddie!

This is a fairly niche but important connecting of the dots in Bucks relationship history - Abby, Tommy and eventually Eddie are all key touch points of growth in his romantic journey - they’re all, all about transformation and transition. Buck meeting Abby provides him with the catalyst to transform him from the playboy he’s been up to this point into someone who wants monogamy and an actual relationship - teaching him how to step in and be there for someone. Tommy provides the catalyst to his bi awakening - transitioning him into his more authentic and whole self - a direct continuation of Bucks relationship with Abby (because none of his relationships in between provided transformation or transition - we don’t really see any growth from Buck in any of them but that is a whole other essay!) and both appearances of the khaki trousers play on that key moment of connection and stepping in - Stepping in to help Abby find her mom, stepping in to his bisexuality fully. And now we have Eddie - the next touchstone for Buck - but also the last one - he learnt key things from both Abby and Tommy about stepping into the mess and choosing to be in it with them (even if it ultimately wasn’t what they wanted from him)and he had already applied those lessons to Eddie - now he is learning how to let someone go with no expectation of them coming back or staying - he is learning to put the needs of others before his own - to not cling - and his final lesson is that by not clinging he will find his forever - because Eddie will come back to him.

Not sure if I’ve explained this very well - I’m still reeling from just how much clear and intentional set up we are getting for Buddie - how its its own storyline rather than a series of sort of connected scenes interspersed amongst the other storylines!

The dark grey top is perfect for highlighting the rain - if he’d been in pretty much any other colour, we’d have not seen the rain spots soaking the fabric in quite the same detail - darker greys are great for highlighting this, so I think that is one of the main reasons we see him in the dark grey here. Grey is a colour that’s associated with dampened moods and isolation. Its also a colour connected to wisdom or sadness, as well as being considered a neutral colour and so is connected to the containment of emotions - the idea of keeping a hold on things rather than expressing them - its not about repressing emotion, more keeping them under control when it is needed - when the environment isn’t suitable for experiencing heightened emotions. Which is perfect for Buck in this scene - trying to keep his sadness and devastation over Eddie leaving him under control until Eddie has actually left and Buck is alone so he can let them out.

He’s also not wearing a watch in this scene, and I can literally count on 1 hand how many times Buck hasn’t been wearing his watch since the start of s6 when he’s out of uniform (i’m ignoring the coma dream etc because that was not the ‘real’ world!) and not in hospital. I am writing a separate meta on Buck and Eddie and watches, but it’s a bit of a beast and I’ve just not had time to finish it, but I will go into mor detail there about the general watch wearing habits across the seasons and its meaning!

So Buck not wearing a watch, when they made very very sure that we’d all see him wearing one in the previous episode - also a hug scene - is pretty telling as far as I am concerned. This is a visual metaphor for lack of time - the suggestion that time has run out in Bucks mind. This concept actually comes into play a bit earlier in the episode - we can see the watch in all his scenes until the hospital waiting room - when its no longer visible - its not possible to tell if hes taken it off or if its underneath the jacket sleeve, but either way visually we no longer see it - when we’ve been able to before - the implication being that the conversation in the car has changed things in some way - that Buck knows he’s run out of time with Eddie. We even see this concept shown visually by Buck grasping his wrist where his watch would normally be - as you can see in the still above - almost like a recognition of being out of time.

It plays into the idea of Bucks feelings not necessarily that he’s had his ‘oh’ moment per say, but that they’re closer to the surface than they’ve ever been and subconsciously at least Buck thinks he’s run out of time to act on them. It feels like an intentional set up for the next few episodes showing Buck actually recognising his feelings for what they actually so they can then have that impacting upon him as Eddie goes through his arc until his return to LA. This lack of watch and Buck grabbing his wrist is also a visual indicator that time is up on their relationship just being a friendship - what we’re being told is that the next time they are in each others physical presence their relationship will be changed - they have reached the end of what they had before - because their respective feelings realisations will ensure that - regardless of if they actually get together or not.

Eddie

Starting off with Eddies watch wearing - so I can tie into Bucks!

We start off with his Christopher watch - loudly on display in the car scene.

It’s a really key thing to have displayed as we watch Buck spiralling out about Eddie leaving - that thing that is having far more of an impact on him than anything else has in his life. Bucks spiral is in many ways a parallel to the scene of Eddie in the confessional - when Eddie lists Buck above everyone else with the exception of Chris - making it clear what position in Eddie’s life Buck holds. This scene does the same thing - for Buck - we get the things in Bucks life that have gone wrong in increasing importance of the impact they are having on him - his relationship with Tommy is least significant then we have Maddies disappearance and then we get Eddie leaving - the thing that is impacting Buck more than anything else - the thing he doesn’t know how to deal with and the thing that he’s trying to keep a lock on so he can be supportive to Eddie but that keeps escaping in mini blow ups.

We even get absolution from Eddie in the same way he receives it from the priest whilst in the booth - and neither Eddie then or Buck in this scene feel absolved by it - feel that they deserve their absolution.

The thing is Eddie is forced to once more verbalise the importance of Buck in his life - his ‘its not nothing’ about him leaving is the first time we really truly see how much leaving LA and Buck is costing him - its at this moment that we have a shift from his focus on getting back to Chris - his need to physically be part of his sons life - to him acknowledging what he’s going to loose in that endeavour - Buck. It’s as much as Eddie is able to let out and this scene is the last time we see the Christopher watch - because in the next scene - in the hospital waiting room - Eddie is wearing his new watch - the one I have dubbed his ‘Buck watch’.

I don’t know if we’ll be seeing the two watches be used interchangibly depending on who the scene is in connection with, but it is kind of my expectation at this point because there is still a lot of unpacking for Eddie to do in regards to Christopher that Buck is not a part of. By the same score, Eddie’s queer arc is heavily connected into Buck and so it makes sense that we’ll be seeing the new watch in those scenes.

We see the watch most obviously in the goodbye scene - and it is a thing of beauty. Its a watch made from recycled firefighting materials - the strap from old fire hoses and the inner mechanics are made from old brass firefighting helmets - its a British company and I have been secretly lusting after one for several years - but they are like 1k and I do not have that kind of money - so imagine my surprise and delight when I saw Eddie sporting one and they chose the one that is Bucks blue which is just the most perfect thing.

Eddie is my man in black this episode, in fact - we haven’t seen him wear something other than black since the beginning of 809 that’s three back to back black costumes. There are a lot of meanings to black sophistication, seduction, mystery, power, mourning, strength, authority, depression, fear, intimidation, and my personal favourite the hiding of vulnerabilities and emotions. It’s this last meaning that we tend to see at play when it comes to Eddie and the times he is in black - which is fairly often - that’s not to say there aren’t other aspects of the colours meaning at play - the costume from Bucks coma episode playing into the concept of widows weeds and mourning, the play on strength and mourning in the black we see him wearing during his fight club scenes, or the mystery, seduction, and authority we see at play in scenes such as the kitchen scene or the balcony scene (when I say authority I am talking about the fact Buck is either looking to Eddie for advice or taking his cues from Eddie - giving him the position of authority in the scene - not that he is being authoritative or dominant or that its a negative).

I’ve written a whole meta on the use of black singlets on Eddie and how they are used as a play on emotional vulnerability for him - that he wears them in scenes where he is emotionally compromised in some way. So to have him wearing one in the goodbye scene just emphasises that Eddie is emotionally compromised here. We are tying this scene into plot lines about Eddie’s struggles to verbalise his emotions and to arcs about Eddie’s struggles with allowing himself to express his feelings in a healthy way. The black singlets are part of the turbulence of Eddie’s life, coming at points before big jumps for him that are all tied into loss in some way. His arrival in LA and his struggles with letting Shannon back into his and Christophers life leading into her death rounding out with his struggles in the aftermath across seasons 2&3 - Shannons death being the clear loss here - not just Chris losing a parent, but a Eddie loosing his chance for closure. His spiral into his breakdown in season 5 which is all about Chris’s fears of losing his dad - the one parent he has left - and Eddie feeling the loss of working at the 118 - the loss of comradierie that he also had in the army - which culminates in his breakdown - his loss of control.

His struggles with Chris growing up in the build up to Buck getting hit by lightening in season 6 - the loss of childhood and in many ways Eddie’s role as a parent - as well as the loss of Buck (the Felicia conversation being about the tsunami and the low key Buck reference Eddie makes is connecting that sense of loss to what is coming with the lightening strike) for 2 minutes and 17 seconds.

And now we have black singlets in play for the basketball game in 704 (which the show connected into the current situation through having Buck holding one during the showings of Eddie house) and now this departure scene. It’s telling me to draw connections - that were right that 704 was about Eddie and that we’re about to get into that in more detail. It’s making a parallel between Buck injuring Eddie and Eddie leaving. It’s about loss in both episodes loss of control and loss of friendship, but also the loss of stability. Buck is worried in 704 that he is losing Eddie, and we also have Eddie getting injured - an ankle injury that means he is unstable on his feet - a literal representation of the loss of stability Eddie is about to experience in Texas - foreshadowed in 704. And in the goodbye scene the loss of it all is very loud and clear - both of them are losing - losing their rock - their stability, losing each other and their friendship (in a sense - they will of course always be friends but the nature of their friendship is being irrevocably changed in this moment), and both of them feel out of control of the situation. I fully expect to see this 704 parallel continue on over the next couple of episodes - especially in 812 - disconnected - because that being Eddie centric and likely have part of it be about Eddie and Buck becoming disconnected from each other for some reason (I have my fingers crossed for Buck connecting all the dots and realising he’s in love with Eddie and then avoiding him because he doesn’t know how to be ‘normal’ around him) as well as it being about Eddie’s disconnect from his parents and from Chris.

The last aspect I want to touch on is the sizing of the clothing - We’ve been seeing Buck in clothing over seasons 7&8 that ranges from well fitting to oversized and ill fitting and we see that in play here in the goodbye scene - but we also get it for Eddie as well - this trousers are baggy in places and tight in others - the bagginess round his ass is especially noticeable because he is usually in jeans that enhance him there and are well fitted - whereas these are loose and somewhat shapeless. The singlet is also on the larger size - not dramatically so, but enough to play into the idea that like Buck and the oversized grey tee that neither of them are in a great place - that where they are isn’t the right fit for them - that they are having things taken away and that has left too much room in their clothing. It’s a costuming play on Goldilocks and the three bears - too small too big and just right - the just right will come in this instance when they reunite!

As always - thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on the costumes from 810! Let’s see what 811 and the rest of the season deliver for us!

tags below and if anyone wants adding to the list - let me know!

@lover-of-mine @spotsandsocks @fruityfirehose @wanderingwomanwondering @livingwherethesidewalkends @buddiediaz118 @bewitchedbewilderedbisexual @satvojihusana @elvensorceress @icebergeddie @buckleyanddiaz @eddiedisasterdiaz @kejfeblintz @cookie-kat777 @leothil @bucksbelly @kyoteugly @bi-moonlight @somebodycall911onabc @trudayss @chaosandwolves

[biocrafthero]

Posting my card analyses I wrote in discord about the cards

------

The stem of the glass makes the apple also look like a wine glass or a chalice

water looks like blood

DNA helix has red and blue colors on the two ends and nothing in the middle (red and blue appear all over this set and the helix is a new piece of symbolism for n25)

The apple in the water links back to all previous apple symbolism in the game. The skin of the apple is slightly peeled off

Mafuyu is the only one wearing this amount of white. By contrast, Kanade is wearing the most amount of black (more on that later)

Back to the cracking glass, its likely that Mafuyu would fall into the water(?) if it broke

Mafuyu is looking at the apple in the water. Based off of previous cards, this is probably meant to imply that she was the one who dropped it into the water

Mafuyu's card is the only one that isn't listed to the side by 45 degrees

The ferris wheel has wings on it, similar to symbolism from the Immiscible Discord event (another Kanade focus)

The ferris wheel, along with the shadows in the backgound, look fake. It looks like a shadow cast by a stained glass window, the spaces between the spokes of the wheel colored with an alternating red and blue palette

Kanade and Mafuyu's cards have balloons with strings. In Ena and Rin's cards the balloons don't have strings

Thank you to oomf for rotating the card for me btw

She is the only character seen holding onto any of the balloons. The string is highlighted with purple the closer it gets to her hand

Clocktower in the background has the hour hand at 1

Kanade is wearing the outfit with the most amount of black in it, contrasting with Mafuyu's outfit

The distortion effects on the card make it almost feel nightmarish

Kanade is wearing a specific kind of accesory called finger armor. Usually, the points of them are very sharp. This puts her in a very specific role in this setting, where she is the only character who wields something sharp in a world of fragile things (sharp objects popping balloons)

More bug symbolism on clothing, again like the Kana3 event's trained cards

Her expression is a really spiteful looking one. It's somewhere between angry and determined, so I'm choosing the emotion of spite to describe it. She never makes faces like this, only during Main Story and Kana3 was she ever in an emotional state like this

Some other things I brought up is the blood/water from Mafuyu's card reminding me of the saying "blood is thicker than water", the full saying being "the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb" which is meant to say that the bonds we create with other people will always be stronger than the familial bonds we are born into

The carnival/theme park setting also feels like its calling back to how in Mafu3 we learn that she got lost one time at Phoenix Wonderland as a child

The nightmarish appearance of Kanade's card thematically contrasts with the dreamlike nature of the memory that Mafuyu recalls during Mafu2

A friend pointed out that the ferris wheel's shadow in Mafuyu's card, paired alongside the bug in the center, makes it look like the bug is caught in a web

This Rin card is likely Rin witnessing Kanade passing out onto the floor due to Kanade overworking herself (like she did back in the flashback during Kana2)

This card from a valentines event parallels the Mafuyu card

This card is likely Ena attempting to get Kanade to eat/drink something so that she doesn't collapse again. Kanade as usual seems to be trying to wave off the kind gesture because of how little she values her well-being and how much she prioritizes composing. What I like is that, while Ena does look annoyed at Kanade, she shows a lot of concern for her (its very noticeable with the position of her eyebrows trust me)

Rin's pose here reminds me of those tiny ballerina figurines inside of music boxes

I don't have much to say about Ena's card either but I really like her expression. It makes me curious as to her role in this event....

Event logo is very similar to the logo for Immiscible Discord. Someone on instagram posted about this so I'll try and repeat their points

The glitching effects are very similar (obviously the colors are similar because its the colors of all the unit members)

The lines on the music sheets are all covered with glitch effects. As shown with her frustration

The apple is behind the music lines (idk correct term sorry) to show that Mafuyu's heart is unreachable

The music lines are wavering but steady out near the end. While the main obstacle is not overcame, focus has been regained

Anyways here's all of the leaks we have at the time of me posting this that other people uploaded to here (including the song and 2dmv) I will now promptly explode

[mysteryanimator]

Castlevania : Nocturne - Eye Colour and their Purpose

This was originally a response to @xshingie asking for my thoughts on the artist choices for Edouard and Richter's blue eyes! The post they made about it can be found here!

So woah, my main focus is Edouard, but I do end up talking about a ton of other characters as I go on a tangent but the Castlevania eyes. This is a very casual thing since most of it is just copied and pasted from a discord message (thank you to the Castlevania Creatives server for reading my paragraph-long rambles) but I do have evidence for my claims so there will be pretty pictures.

So this is just presumptions on what I've seen because i can only guess, but every single character colour palettes communicate all different things, never the one same thing (but there is a ton of overlap), especially their eyes i mean theyre SOOO DETAILED, down to the treatment of everyone's eyelashes (i say this because mizrak's eyelashes are so absurdly detailed and in the first Castlevania, Alucard's eyelashes have shadows).

To bring up the point for Edouard's eyes and why they arent a different colour, an example like green is because Olrox's colour palette is very strictly purple and green, not only in his outfit/design but the locations he's apart of are dominated by all different types of green to showcase the power in the dynamic between him and Mizrak (the courtyard, the breakup hill anddd every other location in season 2 including the bed scene).

Myst why are you pulling up this image, Olrox isn't here BUT YOU CAN FEEL HIS PRESCENE. Not only does the dialogue help, but the act of green in a scene makes his presence feel that much stronger like it's literally looming over Mizrak.

Due to this, Olrox just ends up being associated with all types of green rather then just one vibrant one for his eyes and earrings. By having Edouard and Olrox overlap in this way, it would confuse Edouard's personality and goals since funnily enough, Edouard and Olrox are quite the opposite. Richter and Edouard are allowed to overlap because they fight for the people and their connection to Annette which Xshingie covers.

(Also side note, for a long time due to print colour limitations for comics, villains were often coded as purple and green, think Joker and the Green Goblin. These are complementary colours opposed blue and red, colours given to heroes like Spiderman and Superman. It's one of the reasons why purple and green is associated with antagonists today.)

He cannot have pink because thats for the supernatural anddd drolta + maria are coded pink.

Turquoise also belongs to Maria and Tera, but its very important to have those colours focused on them for the fact that Tera's eyes change to being more misty. This comparison is diabolic because they're both closeups of Tera smiling almost both centered but the clear humanity in her from season 1 to season 2 is so starkly different, most notably in her eyes.

Brown is way too human, which is why Mizrak and Annette has them, and Edouard needs to have his character give the air of mystic and ethereal before his transformation as a way to foreshadow it AND that's already something innate in his character, especially with how Annette frames meeting him.

^^ characters tied to their innate humanness and the fight for people

(Literally, Edouard's introduction is his eyes)

Greyish blue is for Emmanuel but also I don't think it'd end up communicating life that Edouard has because they end up so dull. Also Emmanuel's lack of having a strong eye colour comes into great effect when Ezerbet's eyes reflect into his because it shows how Emmanuel has no power against her, lets say in comparison to when Olrox's eyes reflect into Mizrak's. Olrox still gives a ton of power to Mizrak.

In season 2, a lot of the locations he appears in like when burying the monks are really soft and light colours and make you feel like this is more where he belongs. They also really help to contrast whenever he's not in those environments like the prison cells or when he stares at his reflection in the knife because you have this utterly dark interior, violence being threatened against such soft colours and such a disheartening expression. Despite his imprisonment both literal and physical by having him transformed into a night creature, having a clear remanent of his human self shine through as all-encompassing in his eyes is very important. His entire body is made of nudes and brown, and often then not, 'seems' to blend into those environments. The chateau, the prison, the march into Paris, intentionally so, yet his humanity shines through and that's what needs to be communicated to the audience.

His eyes also end up being somewhat similar in shade to Frozen Shade, which then alludes to his influence on her to because they're both connected literally because Emmanuel both gave them their night creature form and Edouard would come later to influence her to lead the night creature fight. In a sense, the colour for freedom and revolution are tied to Edouard's eye colour.

In the same vein that Olrox's green is tied to his presence (and Mizrak/other stuff but itll get too long), the yellow/ish hues when Annette fights in the temple against the creature in which showcases her immense power (the temple name and creature is alluding me so bad)

Something something, eyes are the window to the soul, and this lighter blue helps to communicate the exact mystical airy otherworldly vibe Edouard has as a character. The vibrant blue from Richter feels to me to communicate a lot heavier physical magic aspect that @xshingie touched base on in their post!

Anyways that's my ramble. This is my personal take as an artist who noticed the importance of character colours not only in design but how it comes into play in setting and creating those strong connections so that even in their absence, they can still be felt. So I can totally off-mark here but it is what ive gathered (also kind of preparation as I begin writing the analysis for s02ep8 haha)

[briius]

something I see a lot is that ned should have told catelyn about jon’s parentage because then she wouldn't dislike him and treat him well and I think that would be very stupid of him. to truly understand catelyn’s feelings about jon and that entire situation you have to create two groups. one, her own feelings on the matter and two, her thoughts regarding her children. those two categories are separate even though they are influenced by each other. first category:

Many men fathered bastards. Catelyn had grown up with that knowledge. It came as no surprise to her, in the first year of her marriage, to learn that Ned had fathered a child on some girl chance met on campaign. He had a man's needs, after all, and they had spent that year apart, Ned off at war in the south while she remained safe in her father's castle at Riverrun. Her thoughts were more of Robb, the infant at her breast, than of the husband she scarcely knew. He was welcome to whatever solace he might find between battles. And if his seed quickened, she expected he would see to the child's needs. He did more than that. The Starks were not like other men. Ned brought his bastard home with him, and called him "son" for all the north to see. When the wars were over at last, and Catelyn rode to Winterfell, Jon and his wet nurse had already taken up residence.

AGOT Catelyn II catelyn is obviously hurt that ned brought jon home for all to see because it wasn't the custom. it was normal for men to have bastards, especially during war but you did not flaunt them and that was what ned was doing basically. and cat was obviously not too happy with the marriage from the start because it wasn’t brandon and on top of that ned was embarrassing her in front of everyone and she can't do anything about it. of course she is emotional about it which makes her resent jon because she can’t resent ned openly without making her life worse (which is a completely different topic, might go into that in a different post).

Whoever Jon's mother had been, Ned must have loved her fiercely, for nothing Catelyn said would persuade him to send the boy away. It was the one thing she could never forgive him.

AGOT Catelyn II catelyn believes that ned still loves jon's mother deep down or was completely in love with her when they conceived jon which also hurts her deeply because at this point she is completely in love with ned. she feels as if he cares more about his mothers memory than of her and her emotions, because we know from the text that she has tried to send jon away and hasn't succeeded.  second category:

"Precedent," she said bitterly. "Yes, Aegon the Fourth legitimized all his bastards on his deathbed. And how much pain, grief, war, and murder grew from that? I know you trust Jon. But can you trust his sons? Or their sons? The Blackfyre pretenders troubled the Targaryens for five generations, until Barristan the Bold slew the last of them on the Stepstones. If you make Jon legitimate, there is no way to turn him bastard again. Should he wed and breed, any sons you may have by Jeyne will never be safe." "Jon would never harm a son of mine."

ASOS Catelyn V a very important part of catelyn's character is that she cares deeply about her children. she isn't dumb and understand politics very well, she has knowledge about what could happen with succession if its left blurred between the lines. she also understands that jon himself might not be a threat so she could potentially think he is great but it would not matter because his line could be a threat to her children. this is not her being emotional about jon being ned's and the hurt it caused her but her being emotional of the potential harm on her children which is different. now if ned told her about jon's true parentage then category one would be erased that's true. catelyn would not feel any personal hurt by jon or his existence because her husband didnt embarrass her or love another woman. however, category two would increase because the harm jon could cause her family is much greater. ned is committing treason by having jon among them obviously she would care, i believe she would care even more because it affects her children. she would not like jon because instead of resentment towards him, she would be afraid. people tend forget category two which is extremely important in understanding catelyn and her emotions. which is why i think telling her would be stupid because he is kind of saying that their entire family could be killed if people knew.

[horseimagebarn]

Imo i feel some ppl read "hey science can make mistakes and is continuously changing n evolving, at the end of the day our perspective as humans is limited, we should accept this n respect nature and it's wonders" and take it as "HUMAN KNOWLEDGE N SCIENCE IS STUPID LETS ALL GO ALONG BY VIBES" which is a huge shame. Glad you're wise abt science and nature horseimagebarn

i believe this ask is in response to my post in defense of equid taxonomy for context

yes i feel of all current existing sciences the ones that deserve our utmost respect are the ones attempting to document learn about preserve and or understand our planet and both its living and nonliving inhabitants

a bit of skepticism is always healthy because science is a human field and humans make mistakes but humans are also very dedicated and intelligent and passionate and so many people far smarter than me have put their whole lives into the study of earth in some way and it is just not right to assume that genuine scientific work and progress is wrong based on the most simple of misconceptions that could be solved with less than an hour of research

discrediting science does not lead to improvement it leads to willful ignorance while engaging in a genuine thoughtful way with science accepting it is human and imperfect while also remaining in good faith of its intentions and the intelligence of professionals while also viewing its evidence and findings leads to healthy conversations and the continuous building upon of knowledge we should strive to improve science if we feel it incorrect not discredit it based off of little evidence with no improvements offered

especially stuff like taxonomy why would people categorize life for no reason but vibes and call it science taxonomy is a genuine and important and interesting study that has a lot go into it

we should respect science without it we lose much of our intellectual relationship with our beautiful planet and threaten ourselves with pointless ignorance

[ducktracy]

Hi! So... I have to admit the last like 4 decades of Looney Tunes has not appealed to me in the least, though I've been a long time fan of the older content. The Day The Earth Exploded kinda seems different. I have to ask though... The last few shorts that have come out turned me off of even trying to watch new Looney Tunes specifically because of the ren & stimpy-esque grossout humor that permeated in them. Is this movie different from that?

I trust your judgement, and your post made me reconsider seeing the new movie, but I am not interested in modern Looney Tunes in the least. Honestly, will I be disappointed?

HEY THERE!! welcome to the club HAHA! you asked the right person, as someone who is also EXCEPTIONALLY picky with anything modern LT! i’m happy you thought of me!

SO… i guess it depends. which maybe doesn’t seem promising HAHA. i can’t say that the film isn’t completely devoid of those Ren and Stimpy-isms, and one of my critiques of the film in a recent rewatch was that i did wish it had more of that sort of classic Looney Tunes nuance and subtlety. however, rewatching it on the big-screen, i wasn’t bothered by it at all (and i was expecting to be bothered, since i had noted it before).

it’s nowhere near the levels of what the latest run of shorts could be. because i was worried about the very same—i DO love Looney Tunes Cartoons (the latest incarnation), i’m so proud of my friends and colleagues who worked on it, i’m so proud to have kept up with it every step of the way. but i do have a lot of critiques and nitpicks with it as well. because of that, i was going into this film thinking “these things i don’t like about the shorts are going to be in here, and that’s okay, make peace with it now, etc”

and i have to say i was VERY pleasantly surprised at how they seemed to address my every criticism. the film has a surprising amount of emotionality to it and room for things to actually BREATHE, which i was surprised by. the Daffy and Porky shorts, as much as i adore them, are pretty built on the foundation of “Daffy makes Porky’s life miserable and there’s a lot of screaming” and i was expecting that to be the case here. save for a very few insignificant moments, it wasn’t the case at all.

it’s still very much more hyperactive than, say, the Chuck Jones shorts of yore. there are some jokes that don’t really work for me as well as they could. i can’t say it’s completely absent of Ren and Stimpy-isms, but, at least in my eyes, it’s MUUUUUCH more tamped down than much of what LTC goes for with its gross out (which i find very distracting too. maybe that’s funny for me to say working on SpongeBob where i work with and am friends with people who worked on Ren and Stimpy! but it’s not what i want out of LT at all. i say this with Ren and Stimpy having been my foray into LT).

so, i would say go into it with an open mind. i work with a lot of Ren and Stimpy DNA all the time on the Sponge shows, and so i may have a bit of a blindness to some of those quirks. maybe there is more present in the movie than i thought. but as someone who was expecting much more gross out and screaming and all of the bad habits of LTC, my expectations were completely blown away. this is genuinely some of the best the characters have ever been handled in the last 65 years or so.

i think if you’re more used to/fond of the Chuck Jones or Friz Freleng school of LT humor, you may not be the biggest fan. but, if it helps, while there are things i would do to massage and mold the characters a bit differently if it were in my hands (including making the humor a bit more unique to the source material), i genuinely think it’s some of the best modern LT material we’ve ever gotten and ever will get. i’m trying to speak as unbiasedly as possible. R&S and its influence is sort of imbued into the modern animation pipeline as we know it, and so it’s difficult to be completely removed of it, but i didn’t at any point think “this feels Spummy [referring to Spumco]”. and my tolerance for Spum-isms has completely plummeted within the past few years, as i’ve found upon my latest attempt to rewatch R&S.

so… i can’t say for certain. our tolerances may be different, and what i think may be devoid of those habits still may be plenty for you. but no, there is no immediate gross-out that i can think of--maybe one or two quick gags/visuals, but nothing super comparable, and any high octane moments that may feel Spum-esque are either quick or contextually appropriate (and immediately followed by “normalcy”). i would say give it a shot! maybe keep an open mind just in case. but as someone who was also kind of mentally preparing myself for that sort of thing, my expectations were blown away, and i am REALLY protective about how my boys are portrayed. i can say comfortably that they did these characters right and there is a lot of love for the source material clearly on display. take the plunge! and if you didn’t enjoy it, i’ll proudly eat some crow HAHA. i’m flattered you thought of me to ask

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hi nalyra!

Regarding your latest post about going into the tags, I've been having a similar experience to be honest, especially lately. Definitive factors are the lack of news and s01 and s02 leaving us for 4+ years with this "tale". So much so that I've been actually starting to take it as face value too. Because really what does one have to say otherwise? Hints? Hints are not canon yet so they can't count as proof -also we don't know how they are going to be used.

Promised revisits? Yeah we saw those in season 2 and they definitely did not help change the tale. Contradicting promises and half truths from cast? It's not enough to rely on. The responses are often more about how the actors interpret their characters motivations not what the writers actually write and how they see the characters.

I really don't wish to be negative but I think it's equally possible that season 3 will infact not turn everything onto its head and this is largely based on the creative decisions taken so far. So many relationship dynamics were changed to their core eg. Armand-Louis.Core events altered completely, murder scene, trial scene etc.

And may I just add here a comment about rolin and not everyone has to agree this is just my impression, but listen to the way he talks.

Nickistat is a "super emo relationship", lestat is always described with epithets like "messy" "volatile", the world "sexy" was used a lot. Emphasis is given on how this is the Monster Vampire Show where everyone is equal in monstrosity because that's how monsters monster.

I really don't mean to dump all over anyone's dreams here but when people speak they show you who they are and what their intentions are. How hannah reacted to the 1x5? That's who she is and what she believes and what she writes stems from this.

When they spoke of the 1x5 revisit they were speaking like they somehow altered the whole series and its trajectory when infact no? The scene interpretation and its fall out stays exactly the same. Has stayed the same for the audience!

In no interview did they mention about setting up how lestat functions as the hero in the VC universe, not because to use a quote "this guy is a mess" but of how horrible things keep happening to him (some based on his bad decisions but others not) and he keeps going some times with existential angst others with a joie de vivre.

They did not mention or give emphasis on how the core of iwtv was parental grief, and how it WAS supposed to be about claudia.

We cannot expect season 3 to magically alter all of That. The edited tale very likely will never change but instead "added upon" let's say with some revisits and clarifications.

As of right now 90% of the Fandom is confused and to that i say it's not because all the pieces are missing its because the pieces don't match.

The writers intentions vs the actual book arcs and characters don't match right now there is a dissonance.

I apologize for the offensively long post, of course anyone can feel free to disagree I love hearing how other iwtv fans are experiencing the series and fandom and their thoughts on the future season(s).

And massive thanks to you Nalyra for providing this space that is much needed!!

You're welcome.

I mean... I do think the revisits helped to change the tale? And massively so, because the "sales man" comment alone made it clear that there had been whole memories implanted.

Should have made it clear, I need to say though I guess, because that for example is what I meant.

People... don't take the mental step back to evaluate the tale they were told. They "waited" for the big revisits to change everything they had been shown.

And what the show did instead - was change key scenes... and it expected everyone to be able to follow.

To re-evaluate why Lestat in 1x05 did not have blood on his face outside or in the sky... but was shown in the revisit to have had blood all over - for example. Because it's an implanted memory!!! The hair styles also indicate that, I have talked about that at length before.

What really happened out there is up to interpretation right now, and I do think it has to do with the arc they try to do that Sam hinted at.

But this way of revealing things... and expecting people to have the mental capacity to reevaluate the whole show after the fact... THAT is what did not work.

At least for some.

Because I have seen enough fan reactions to know that it did NOT in fact stay the same for the whole audience.

I do not expect s3 to give us many more explicit revisits. I do expect a revisit to "murder night" because the words in Claudia's diary do not match and the revisit was hinted at before.

But Lestat did not go and contradict everything Louis said in his book - some, yes, but not everything?? - so why would s3 do that.

No the show is not the books, and yet it is.

It is an adaptation.

I do not like all of the choices... but what I do get is what they intended with the revisits and how these few key scenes do, in fact, actually do change the whole tale.

Go on, nonny, do a rewatch.

Look at Lestat's hair in Louis' memory, and notice the hair in what turned out to be a wrong memory... notice what Louis could not have known, but told of, and then... re-evaluate.

Because that is what this show wanted us to do with the revisits :)

Because it's all in there already... and THAT - as much as it frustrates me, given parts of the fandom not understanding it 😅 - is quite ingenious.

[absolutebl]

Hi P’ABL. I know you’ve mentioned you don’t like singing in shows but are there any you would recommend because the music isn’t terrible?

Ooo, a challenge!

Okay, so some of these I haven't rewatched in a while, not sure if they hold up, but at the time I found the songs/sound tracks/scores not-unpleasant. I dithered over whether your question means it has to include my actual least favorite trope which is "boy picks up a guitar to sing his feelings" But most of the ones I genuinely enjoy only have the pro singing the theme song or refrain, so I would struggle to come up with more than 3. Thus, I gave myself not limits.

Okay, enough prevaricating.

10 BLs Where I Actually Enjoyed the Music, Songs, Singing

Eternal Yesterday - Ayumu Imazu's Sunshower is hands down still my most favorite song of all BL. It remains in rotation on several of my playlists. Be warned, this BL will break your heart.

Ingredients - bet you never expected some obscure Thai BL that was everyone's "covid-bound emotional support convenience store commercial" to come in at number 2? But I actually adore Jeff's work, I own a number of his songs (esp Black Tie & Steel the Show). In general, I'm not a huge fan of the synth circus alt-rock, but Jeff sure sets a mood.

Happy Ending Romance - terrible show but OMG Leo of Vixx is in it and sings the ots, I Still. I'm an old school 3rd gen Kpop stan and he is my Vixx bias. The idol with the buttercream voice who specializes in evil and creepy. He was well cast, but really all that matters is that he flipping sings.

Color Rush - over all, I just really sound track for this show, 2 of its theme songs live on in my most calming playlists.

Love Tractor - I enjoys most of the songs and music for this one = inoffensive. Rainbow even made it onto a playlist or two.

Wish You - it's about the singing, so the main song is played on repeat a lot, but I never minded it. I think it's amusing that Lee Sang has the better voice but never gets to really sing in the show. Don't get me wrong, Kang In Soo is fine, but I like Sang's vocal tone better. Still, a good song, and a lovely ending duet.

Oxygen - I have never made any bones about the fact that I love Nut's voice and that I adore the way he acts using it. But if you binge this show you will get tired of that song, he does a good job on it I have to admit.

Addicted (original) - I think the background music was just very well chosen in this one, it always added and never detracted from the show itself.

Dark Blue Kiss - I unironically adore the wildly melodramatic score for this show, including the credit sequences. It's so not BL but that's why I love it.

A Tale of Thousand Stars - as opposed to this one where the score perfectly suited the show and nothing felt forced. It's the music not the singing, that worked for me. (We are going to ignore the flute. As is right and proper.)

The original Love Sick and 2gether both had singing in them that didn't bother me much at the time. I also didn't know any better. But I was never upset by it, and it usually had relevancy to the plot and tenor of the show. Love Sick in particular is kind of insightful into That musical styles etc... at the time, so it's fine.

I did also did this post a while ago:

(source)

[beforetimes]

Okay listen.

Listen.

Hear me out.

Your Shizun!Luo Binghe AU where he and Shen Yuan "switched roles". But acctualy it's an AU of your AU where it was still SY who died for LBH. With basically the whole plant-body thing still happening tho.

Imagine the angst.

ouhhh i do see the vision... logistically there would be a lot going on! like!!!

one ) the issue of the plant body. i don't think it would work in this au, unfortunately. i think i recall the plant body deteriorating when in contact with demonic cultivation/energy. so unfortunately it wouldn't work out long-term for shen yuan D: maybe instead of that, it would be more of a situation where? shen yuan's half-demon body was torn apart to such a degree that it seemed as though things were hopeless and he was dead. but piece by piece, bit by bit, his body dragged itself back and stitched itself together again. if you are catching my drift.

i think that this sort of scenario would give the story enough time between his death in jinlan and his eventual return!

two ) in canon, it's luo binghe having an awful time because of xin mo before shen yuan stepped in and died. here, though? i don't see a reason for luo binghe to be having one of those fits. at least not to the intensity where it'd tear someone apart and self-sacrifice was the only option. maybe we can still go with the idea of shen yuan being the one freaking out, losing it under the influence of xin mo, before luo binghe tries to step in to help.

and it's his shizun stepping in to help that really snaps him out of it! and doesn't necessarily stop the disaster in its tracks, but makes shen yuan realize that there's no way that he can let luo binghe be hurt because of him — not after the mess with the water prison (which i haven't said much about yet in any of my posts but! i have ideas!) and decides to take xin mo and turn it on himself, taking himself out of the equation before the sword could even think of touching luo binghe.

which would still lead to the aforementioned scenario of shen yuan's body being torn apart and needing to find its way back to itself. but also leave luo binghe behind.

three ) luo binghe's reaction! first: devastated. deeply irreparably devastated. the first time shen yuan died, luo binghe threw himself into his work and refused to acknowledge it. this time: watching it happen again, so close yet unable to stop it the same exact way it happened the first time—? luo binghe would have to be verbally wrangled down from leaving the sect entirely. i think it'd only be the combined efforts of liu qingge, yue qingyuan, and ming fan that would convince luo binghe to stay on the mountain. but he would absolutely regress back to the depressive state he was in before shen yuan entered the narrative. doubly so, even, when you think about how he didn't even really know things could turn up for him before. now he knows what it feels like to be coaxed out of that dark spot in his mind. and realizes the one person who could do that is gone forever.

liu qingge wouldn't know what to do. he'd try breaking into the bamboo house but all his bravado would quickly dissipate when he went into the dark house. small and silent, somehow feeling claustrophobic when he could recall the open windows and lights flooding the space before. he sees luo binghe, curled under the covers with a blank look in his eyes and his heart aches. tries to coax him out for food, only to get a barely-there, croaked and apathetic reassurance that he was practicing inedia and would like to go into seclusion so could no one bother him please?

and liu qingge would just be. so out of his depth. everyone would be, really. they leave luo binghe alone for the first year, and when he finally comes out around the third, people are careful with him. luo binghe, in the meantime, has decided he needs to find shen yuan a second time. he invites liu qingge to come with him; yue qingyuan tells liu qingge, when he informs him of this, that he can't feed luo binghe's delusions and that he's unwell. but liu qingge just purses his lips and tells him firmly that he's not asking for permission but rather informing him. because he will be going. nothing anyone says will convince luo binghe that shen yuan isn't out there and liu qingge knows deep down that if he doesn't go with him, he will never see luo binghe again.

so they leave cang qiong mountain, chasing ghosts for two years before hearing miraculous news in a tavern somewhere close to home, almost too good to be true, about the ghost of a demon lord wreaking havoc near cang qiong mountain, demanding to see proof that peak lord luo binghe wasn't dead.

edit: or maybe not exactlyyy this ending. i think i underestimate shen yuan's obliviousness. maybe he'd still be trying to get away from luo binghe — either because he thinks his shizun would kill him or because he thinks luo binghe will somehow get hurt because of him. either way he might also just choose to! stay as far away as possible. only to eventually get caught out by luo binghe and liu qingge endlessly chasing him down to find him again. shrug. i like the idea of shen yuan terrorizing cang qiong mountain a-la-hua cheng for a while to get his shizun back though lmfao

masterpost

[velvetvexations]

i feel like we're never gonna kill the idea that femininity is inherently like, deeper and more complex than masculinity, and that trans mascs pass easier and have shallower relationships with gender, until we kill the idea that femininity is inherently high effort while masculinity isn't.

because as someone who ranges between low to high effort femininity? that second idea increasingly pisses me off. i'll see those posts making a point about how not shaving, a non-action, is seen as masculine, and there's always this tone that there is no reverse equivalent. but there is! my long hair is viewed as feminine, but it's long because i'm lazy and hate getting it cut. my nails are viewed as inherently feminine, but they're long because i hated the feeling of cutting and filing them as a kid, and these days it's a win-win: i prefer them long because im used to it, And its lower effort because i trim them way less often.

i am running my body on its default settings (unshaved legs and pits, uncut hair, uncut nails) and on my white perisex afab body, even in a binder and cargo shorts and a baggy hoodie, that nets me an overall reading as feminine. certainly not the feminine ideal, especially depending on the region, but the hair and nails (and face) pretty reliably bar me from being seen as masculine.

idk. so much of perceived femininity and masculinity is just about what people want and expect from a body based on its size and shape and colour. the effort comes from how hard you have to work to counteract those expectations. and a lot of us have to work very hard to escape the automatic perception of femininity.

(and there's also definitely a lot to be said about how the idea of masculinity as low effort and femininity as high effort connects with the masculinization of black people and the feminization of asian (particularly east asian) people. like, stereotypes of laziness and criminality vs perfectionism and techno-orientalism?)

Womanhood gets fetishized (non-sexually) (by people of all gender and AGAB combinations) because it's held as something extra special compared to the universal default of Man. It's ironically an expression of patriarchal conditioning.