#i love doing these mini analysis posts so much

[picturejasper20]

Another thing about Steven Universe as character (and the series) that has been mischaracterized over the course of the years and the source of a good chunk of discourse online is the relationship that Steven has with the Diamonds.

A lot of videos, posts and memes have spread around the idea that Steven went to Homeworld in the final arc of the series because he wanted to ¨be besties¨ with the Diamonds, when what happens in the actual show is very different.

In the episode "Legs from Here to Homeworld"-which takes place after the episode ¨Reunited¨ that Blue and Yellow Diamond find out that Rose Quartz was in fact Pink Diamond- Steven shows to Blue and Yellow one of the corrupted gems (Centipeetle) and helds them accountable for making a lot of gems end up this way and orders them to fix the mess they caused.

Steven: ¨Do it again! It was working!¨ Yellow Diamond: ¨How long do you expect us to hold her together?¨ Steven: ¨I don’t know. Forever! You did this! So you have to do something!¨

Seeing they need White Diamond to fix the corrupted gems, Steven thinks of going to gem Homeworld to see if he can talk to White about the corrupted gems and convince her to come to Earth and help them.

That's the main reason Steven goes to Homeworld- he doesn't like the Diamonds nor wants to be friends with them- he just wants to see if White Diamond can listen to him and help to heal the corrupted gems.

He is aware that the Diamonds listen to him because he himself is a Diamond-Pink Diamond. So he goes along with this little game pretending to be Pink thinking that way White Diamond and the others will listen to him. He believes that maybe as ¨Pink¨ he can make them see the errors of their ways and stop this mini war conflict that he has been caught on in the last few years.

Others have made more detailed analysis about this in the past, that a good part of this arc has a huge trans/queer metaphor for Steven's character- where he keeps being refered to and imposed an identity he doesn't see himself as. He gets called by the Diamonds and other homeworld gems as ¨Pink Diamond¨ and refered to as ¨She¨, when he often corrects and clarifies that he prefers to be called ¨Steven¨.

The final showdown against White Diamond is about this: White keeps trying to play mind games with Steven, making him believe that Pink/Rose is still alive in him and he is in fact Pink/Rose. Because Steven doesn't know this for certain, it proves to be effective for a while, making him feel very confused.

White believes that she is perfect in every way- it is what all her identity is about. She is obsessed with her own perfection so much that she doesn't allow herself to think that she has flaws nor she can't be wrong about something- and because she thinks she has to be perfect, that means that she is right about Pink Diamond still existing inside Steven.

The reality proves her wrong when she takes out Steven's gem and everyone sees that the gem part turns into Steven. As a way of metaphor to a trans allegory and self love, Steven sees that he has always been himself and he shouldn't let other people define what his identity should be, that only him should decide that.

So, in a way, the Diamonds Days arc is intended to be seen as a metaphor to a LGBT+ kid/teenager standing up against their relatives, grandmothers or aunts in this case- and prove them wrong about their identity, that they are what they are and their family can't change that.

Okay, so Steven proves the Diamonds that they are wrong, they change their minds and they help with healing the corrupted gems by the end of ¨Change Your Mind¨.

Does this means Steven becomes friends with them after this?

Well... no

In Steven Universe The Movie, during the song sequence ¨Lets Us Adore You¨ the Diamonds beg Steven to stay with them a bit longer because they miss having Pink around, Steven is seen very uncomfortable around them and wants to get out as quickly as possible to return to Earth.

He sees them as somewhat allies and tries to persuade them in different ways to improve the current situation on Homeworld but he doesn't seem to like them much and doesn't enjoy being around them even if they aren't acting antagonistic towards him anymore.

He has a similar reaction when they come to Earth near the end of the movie. He is very done with them and says that they staying to leave on Earth isn't a good idea on the long run. Instead he shows Spinel to them and Spinel sees this as an opportunity to make a new friend again.

Well, about SU Future? How does Steven feel about them in that series?

In Future is where Steven begins to show real strong PTSD trauma symptoms (something he has had for a while except it wasn't nearly as strong). He knows that he has a problem most of the show but he avoids going to ask the Diamonds for help because he just feels very uncomfortable around them and it reminds him of traumatic experiences he had with them in Diamonds Days arc.

He doesn't go to them until after he accidentally shatters Jasper in ¨Fragments¨ and sees himself as a monster because of this. He separates himself from the rest of the crystal gems, feeling like he is as terrible as the Diamonds were. In ¨Homeworld Bound¨ he interacts with the three Diamonds, asking them for any way they can help him with his powers.

Most of the episode he feels frustrated because A) He can't find a solution to his problem and B) Sees that the Diamonds and Spinel are doing pretty well and he has been getting worse. It makes him get more and more angry the more time he spends in there.

The scene that leaves pretty clear how he feels about them, specially White, is when he talks to White. As shown in the gif above, when White touches Steven near where his gem is, Steven pushes her hand off from him, clearly being reminded of the time White ripped his gem off him in ¨Change Your Mind¨.

White uses her powers so Steven can talk to own self. This leads to an iconic scene that Steven gets angry at himself and White. He has a very strong intrusive thought of crashing White's gem into a pillar for what she put him through. He gets shocked for this and makes him run away scared as result.

This scene leaves clear that Steven has a lot of buried resentment for what the Diamonds did to him, mainly White. Being around them reminds him of his trauma, it makes him deeply uncomfortable and he would rather avoid them as much as possible.

The Diamonds get concerned about Steven and show up during the events of ¨I Am My Monster¨ when Steven transforms into gem like monster. The Diamonds and Spinel blame themselves for Steven feeling this way because of their past actions. White feels it is her fault because of how she hurt Pink Diamond and this brought problems to Steven.

They help with calming Steven down and him returning to his human form. Now there is some argument to be said about why they took part of this hug aside from using their powers to help the gems. I have talked more about this in here but i think it is to represent Steven accepting himself as being part Diamond and maybe forgiving, realizing that he isn't an ¨irredeemable monster¨ because of what he did, that way he stops seeing himself as one and goes back to his normal form.

After this, it is a bit unclear where Steven stands his opinion on his relationship with the Diamonds. I would assume that it is probably not much different than it was before. He still doesn't like them and probably doesn't want to be around them even after all that happened.

In short: Steven sees the Diamonds as allies and post the events of ¨Change Your Mind¨ he shows to be uncomfortable being around them, he doesn't seem to like them and mostly prefers to avoid them. He is glad that they are changing their ways for the better but he would prefer to not interact with them if he doesn't have to due to his own trauma.

The Diamonds regret how they have hurt Steven (and Pink) and care about Steven but he thinks it is better for him to have a distant relationship with them for the reasons i discussed. They can still improve and make amends for everything they did and Steven doesn't have to feel forced to have a relationship with them if he doesn't want to.

There are other things that could be discussed, about how the Diamonds Days arcs should have been longer or how the Diamonds needed more screen time- However, the point of this post is talk about people have mischaracterized Steven's relationship with the Diamonds, saying Steven is best friends with them when in reality he doesn't like them and spends most of Future series avoiding them.

[14dayswithyou]

Back at it again with another one-

Now, I sent a past mini theory that I believed Ren's dad did something to him after he ran away (Causing their mother to go into hysterics and etc Yada Yada yap yap) But I really haven't been able to figure it out despite knowing it must have something to do with the scars but once again its really hard to imagine unless he like...pushed [REDACTED] into a fire or they got in a fight and it resulted in a fire and [REDACTED] got the scars trying to escape the fire.

I haven't seen day 4 yet, only small pieces of beginning and end so bear with me for this part but could the black mist somehow be hmmm, Ren's guilt/trauma/something that haunts him? I thought about that one post where it was said [REDACTED] didn't sleep due to nightmares of his past.

Thats pretty much all I have for now as a theory/analysis-

Also is [REDACTED]'s name Draven, its the only thing I can thing of right now but it doesn't fit some categories.

⌞♥⌝ In love with your theories actually <3

Ren's scars will be discussed later in the game, so I won't say much about them here (out of potentially spoiling something). However, I will say that he only has scars along his hands and arms! It's why he started covering them up with tattoos and constantly chooses to wear long-sleeved clothes — even in summer.

As for the black smoke: its existence is a bit more literal than the concept of Ren's guilt/trauma haunting him. Again, I can't say much due to potentially spoiling things. Sorry!!

Ren's real name isn't Draven! Two of the letters in "Draven" are not part of it. It also sounds too close to Davrin, and it's giving me massive Veilguard withdrawals :( /silly

[olderthannetfic]

So, you mentioned low standards of research in podcasts. I don't listen to podcasts or watch a lot of videos about fandom analysis, but I have seen error corrections happening in the wild for what I have listened to, so I can only imagine how annoying it is when you know your shit.

Do you have any resources that come to mind as things everyone who likes fandom should be comfortable with, or specific essays on uniquely important fandoms (such as Sherlock Holmes or Star Trek) that everyone should read? Obviously the OTW resources are up there; what else?

Aside from resources, do you think there are any skills that are especially vital for getting to the bottom of fandom trends? Interview skills are probably pretty high up there.

Any pitfalls you see a lot of young fans falling into?

(I do a lot of fandom history research. It is the thing that gives me joy in fandom; other people like shipping or AUs, I like my little mini-anthropology sandbox and watching how ideas spread. I'm not necessarily good at it, but it's fun!)

--

Well... it's the usual things.

For example, a lot of fans claim to love fandom stats, but the ones that get passed around come from like three people. The people doing those stats, including me, don't usually have a statistics background, which doesn't automatically make them bad, but it really seems like people are just trusting anything with a pie chart.

We've recently seen people discover that those year-end AO3 ship stats have a seriously weird methodology. They don't show the thing their fans are actually trying to find out. People were pissed. But most of the time, they don't even bother asking what the methodology is or trying to do anything themselves.

There's far too much sitting back and waiting for some BNF to spoon feed one publicly-available information.

--

The big failings aren't usually the math itself but, of course, not knowing what question to ask, so it pertains to history research, not just stats.

You'll see a lot of stuff on shipping that looks at AO3 because AO3 shipping numbers are easy to pull... But AO3 shipping numbers don't just happen to be easy to pull: that is both an effect and a cause that is directly related to AO3's content. Someone interested in meta shouldn't be asking "What do AO3's numbers show?" as their first question. They should be asking "Why is this metadata available or not available and what does that mean on a sociological level?"

--

Thing two is the eternal I Have Apparently Never Heard of Anime problem. A fuckton of people theorizing about fandom trends seem to know fucking nothing about whole massive sectors of fandom or treat them as afterthoughts. This is okay if you're writing a history of Media Fandom. It is criminally stupid if you're trying to talk about what makes a piece of media have fic when another doesn't, what kinds of websites make fandoms take off, etc. Those kinds of broad questions need a broad understanding of what's out there.

It's not anime-specific, and I'm not asking for a high degree of knowledge.

I have routinely had people tell me that best friend ships and mystery/crime as a genre aren't popular, and that's why AO3 has this or that pattern... Meanwhile, buddy cops are the bedrock of oldschool slash fandom and make up basically all of the longest-running Western m/m fandoms that aren't Star Trek. CSI slop tends to have legions of future canon het shippers, and they make plenty of fanworks. It's just that some of this is more visible on FFN or older places, not AO3.

I'm always seeing things like someone speculating about how this and that anime fandom thing or bit of mid-00s FFN community drama led to this other thing on AO3, not realizing that AO3 came out of LJ Western fandom slash culture. To them, FFN is so central that it must be the main reference point, not the bajillion and one archives AO3 founders ran or Usenet or mailing lists or LJ.

I once saw someone asking on twitter about where a prominent Ranma fic might have been posted in the mid-90s. People claiming "My professor is an authority!" came out of the woodwork in droves to blither about K/S zines and then LJ. Not only was this entirely wrong, but the right answer was blindingly obvious if you knew enough to interpret the google results. I can only assume that the person tweeting had never heard of Usenet and didn't recognize the acronym for the big anime fanfic group that literally everything like this was first posted to.

I'm talking people insisting that fandom only goes for white characters when it's very obvious that fandom goes for majority leads who are not othered. All the bawwing in the world about "People assume anime characters are white" won't get rid of The Untamed or Kpop thirsters or whatever.

I'm talking sweeping pronouncements about gender and fanfic writers where the person hasn't even heard of FIMFiction or SpaceBattles or Dark Lord Potter cheesefests.

I've been in fandom for a long time, but I wasn't in all these parts, and I wasn't around for 80s zines. You don't need deep knowledge until you pick a research topic. But it's shocking how little shallow, broad knowledge a lot of people have when they're writing their Theory Of All Of Fandom History.

--

People are stupid as shit about survivorship bias, and fandom history is no exception. They're also dumb in the opposite direction, assuming that the thing they like now has always existed in this exact form.

For example, someone got mad at Fanlore for supposedly not documenting the history of f/f zines. Others have searched and searched for the zines of their old show they got into last year and are bewildered to not find any. The reality is that Fanlore editors are attempting to document every Media Fandom zine and have combed through old adzines looking for any mention of anything. Because of the methods of distribution—because it was expensive—small fandoms often had no zines at all.

Femslash fandom doesn't seem to have gotten enough critical mass to do much until Xena. The internet has really democratized things, but even the early internet was still somewhat in that old mindset where only certain popular things have a fandom. I think Yuletide itself, which started in 2003, really helped spread the idea of rare-but-existing fandoms being a thing. FFN and perhaps some other multifandom archives like Media Miner played a huge role.

Nowadays, we think of fic as just how you respond to media, any media, even if there are only two fics for that one car commercial, but that isn't how people saw things in every era—or at least it's not how fandom infrastructure worked. A lot of the time, the big hosting spots were single-fandom archives, often with restrictive content rules. Finding somewhere to post a m/m/f OT3 fic used to be hard. Never mind early zines when photocopiers didn't even exist yet and you had to sell out your print run of 500 to make a go of it.

All good research starts with a lot of preliminary investigation to figure out what you're even trying to look for.

Actually bothering to look for fans talking about their own history or casually chatting with your interview subjects before the formal interview will put a person miles ahead of many of the cringeworthy fandom ~papers~ I've seen.

The biggest mistake people make is going "Okay, these numbers aren't perfect, but some numbers are better than no numbers".

Bullshit.

As soon as there's a pie chart of the false numbers, everyone's brain turns off and they never look at the chart subtitle, never mind the research notes.

Bad numbers are often worse than no numbers.

Look at the logic behind the methodology first. Look at the social context. Basic understanding of human nature and familiarizing oneself with the shape and hangout locations of a community will get you most of the way there before you sit down for a specific interview or try to collect any specific numbers.

--

None of this is a fandom thing. Research is research. It's just that most people think "research" means watching a tiktok that the algorithm likes and were never taught how to evaluate a source for reliability.

Evaluating sources is a skill. I had explicit lessons on it in school. Lots of people don't, and that sucks.

Honestly, watching the more thoughtful debunking content on non-fandom topics, like Miniminuteman's stuff on pseudo-archaeology or Dan Olson's... everything, is a good window into critical thinking, and that's most of what's missing from bad fandom history.

--

But more than any of that, more is more. Not the crap stats, but the narrower, more personal accounts, the interviews. The more fans who investigate their little corner that isn't the same old AO3 site-wide "Why is there so much m/m?" ship stats or the same canned "Everything comes from K/S" history, the better.

What I object to is not amateur efforts but efforts that pull from the same small pool of data or that just reblog a tiny handful of supposed authorities.

--

If people are going to read just one thing... hmm... go try to look up a history of rec.arts.anime.creative, not because I think it's the most important fandom history out there but because it's at the nexus of things a lot of current fandom history work miss.

[sidsinning]

Oh I know why I don't usually make analysis posts about my favorite character in Hazbin Hotel

Bc every time I start thinking about his traits

"He copes with his depression by locking himself up and making rubber ducks constantly bc he is a person who still naturally loves to create things, but has no control over his life so his mini coping mechanism for feeling at least some semblance of control is a repetitive small task he can manage in his current state, making the ducks"

It always divulges into

"-and that makes his effort to repair his relationship with Charlie so admirable and sweet like he's just doing his best as her dad who loves her so much while carrying his own trauma since the beginning of the human race like how is he so good he doesn't deserve what's been done to him gyah I love him so much best boy god his comeback in the finale was so cool and his demon design was peak and OOF like what he said to Adam and the way he revealed his strength was-"

Yeah

Ok I've figured out my own problem here

[quinton-reviews]

Hi Quinton!! I have been a HUGE fan of your stuff since a friend sent me the Tobuscus Fallen Titans (I used to watch him back in high school and was like "huh, wonder what happened to him after those allegations") and I gotta say, it is REALLY FUNNY every time my fiancé and I watch the iCarly videos again, because when you cover Gibby's stunt double breaking his ribs, you cut to a clip of The Official Podcast. I used to play D&D with one of the main dudes from the podcast, so when he talks during that clip I do a goddamn double take literally every time.

Anyways, I remember an original Patreon stretch goal being a Fallen Titans on Homestuck! I was really big into Homestuck in my early 20s, and was wondering if that's still on the table at some point? If not that's fine, I understand plans change! I just love Fallen Titans lol, the Fred episode and the Neil Cicierega unFallen Titans are some of my favorite videos of yours!

That's a real funny story!

So here's the rundown on the Homestuck video. When I first started making long videos, they were actually inspired by the relationship I had with other YouTubers at the time. I used to watch, like, H3H3 and Filthy Frank, etc; and I'd always see people obsessed with the versions of creators from the past. Like, "Oh 2015 H3 was the best" and "Oh 2012 Frank was peak." So I had this idea that it would be crazy if H3 posted, like, a video he spent a decade on and you got a new video with 2015 H3 10 years on. (I don't watch H3 anymore ironically)

So the original idea for the "long video" format was that it would be cool if, throughout a long, analysis/review/recap video, you kept noticing someone get older. Maybe my months, maybe by years. That's why I always like to get a haircut when I start one of these videos. If you scrub through and you see my hair get longer and messier as it goes on I think that adds something magical you can't fake.

So... My pitch to the Homestuck video was that it would be funny to work on it just once per year. To record one segment, say "That's it for 12 months", and then come back around to it. And when I was making the iCarly and Victorious videos I actually recorded a few minutes of the video! I think it was two segments in total. But then I had a bunch of personal stuff happen and my work drive has been much lower, so any "back burner" video hasn't gotten much attention since then.

Now that the iCarly mini-series is done with, I want to focus on some short one-off videos I can make before April. But once that's done with, I would REALLY love to start work on a few more long-term projects which will take months or years to finish. I think returning to work on the Homestuck video, to at least get the first 20-30 minutes done, would be a great idea this summer.

Now, if you want to know my pitch for that video, here it is. The video is not a recap of the creative history of the franchise. I do not get into drama, community hell, lawsuits, or other YouTubers. My idea is this: you always hear about Homestuck as an outsider but you never hear about the actual content. Most franchises on Earth I know something about, even and especially if I've never been interested in them. I can tell you a bunch of facts about wrestling and MLP and the Fast and the Furious simply through cultural osmosis and having friends who are into those things.

I can't tell you the plot of Homestuck, who the characters are, what the themes are, nothing. I've known a lot of people who were into Homestuck but nothing about the series!

So I thought it would thus be funny to make a video about a bunch of people who know nothing about the series starting from the beginning and giving their reactions, even if it's been years since it all started. I call this part of the video the "Homestuck Book Club." So the next step is me picking out the members (who all have to have no history with it) and making sort of a podcast setup. We'd then read and record every six months or so, IDK.

This is why the video has been stuck in production hell! Everyone who wants to work on it and messages me about it already knows the franchise. I don't want spoilers, I don't want people writing for the video who get it already. I want to capture the "what the fuck is this" energy of three dudes just getting in the middle of it.

Also, I think that I really like the theme of the video capturing our lives as they go by, capturing us aging and changing. If you came back from the future and told me this video comes out in five years, I'd say great. If you told me it comes out in ten years, I'd say awesome. Until then, the latest edit will always be on Patreon, even if you have to dig a little.

[rose-maidenn]

Masterlist 🕉🌌✨️

Welcome to my blog , my previous blogs were @azure-cherie and @bishh-kanya if we were close shoot a dm or an ask 😉, I mainly made a new blog because I lost my old one after a gap and I needed a new one 🔽

Paid services

Instagram

Games:

Quote and song game ☆ crystal visions game

Astro :

Chaos magick of Gemini-punarvasu , Devi Aditi and my personal takes , ft Wanda Maximoff

Astro observations 1

Nakshatras and their Shakti pt 1

Nakshatras and their Shakti pt 2

What to do on a new moon ?

Destiny swapping among mars nakshatras

Symbols in art :Jyestha nakshatra (moon)

Let's design your room with astrology (bharani edition)

Tarot :

♧Let me describe the way you speak

Who is the main gaslighter/ manipulater in your life

Pick a card : Ways to connect to your dark divine feminine

🌬PAC : Your most appealing sensual qualities :-

Pac : Who are your spirit guides

Pac : what are your hidden talents ?

Pac : Let's get insights on your purpose for the next 5 months !

Pick a Pile : What do People dream of you

Pick a card : Enemies to lover's

Some old posts :

Poems from the divine𑁍 Blessings your way !!

How your soul sounds to me :

PAC : self care tips

Pac:Your admirable qualities

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒏 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚

𝑷𝑨𝑪 : 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆 , 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕 / 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚.

𝙋𝘼𝘾 : 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙭𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 ⛓️

What would others think of you when they'll know that you're into astrology,tarot, spirituality, witchcraft?

Pac : what do people instantly assume about you :

☾︎𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑝ℎ𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒☽︎

Pac : your next love partner ♡︎

PAC : What can you do right now to improve your finances in future $

𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕚𝕤 𝕔𝕣𝕦𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕟𝕠𝕨

PAC : General messages for you

🔸Positive things people say behind your back 🔸

𝒫𝒾𝒸𝓀 𝒶 𝒸𝒶𝓇𝒹 : 𝒲𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒹ℴℯ𝓈 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝓅ℯ𝓇𝓈ℴ𝓃 ℴ𝓃 𝓎ℴ𝓊𝓇 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝓁ℴ𝓋ℯ 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝓂ℴ𝓈𝓉 𝒶𝒷ℴ𝓊𝓉 𝓎ℴ𝓊 .

PAC : Messages from ancestors ✨

PAC : which type of seducer are you

PAC : Messages from Aset

Vedic asteroids to look for in your chart:)

Types of Zodiac signs with correlation to Nakshatras :

❤︎Venus trine pluto

|𝑃𝐿𝑈𝑇𝑂 𝐴𝑆𝑃𝐸𝐶𝑇𝑆 |

Nakshatra's and birds through mythology and interpretation✨ : SWAN

Nakshatra's and birds through mythology and interpretation✨ :Crow

How to dress to bring out planetary energy in your life .pt 1

𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗗𝗲𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘀✨:

Mini Nakshatra analysis for the series : DARK Netflix💫

𝓥𝓮𝓷𝓾𝓼 𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓸𝓷𝓪 𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓽 𝓸𝓫𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓿𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑*̑˚̑*̑˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇.

𝓁𝒾𝓁𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓅ℯ𝓇𝓈ℴ𝓃𝒶 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝓃ℴ𝓉ℯ��

Asteroid Soma 2815 in signs

𝓐𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓸𝓲𝓭 𝓐𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓵 11911 𝓲𝓷 𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓼𝓮𝓼

Asteroid Kaali 4227

Sylvia Plath for each zodiac

Surrealism/Subconscious art

𖣔 Chakras 𖣔

Correlating Astrology , with Astronomy and Quantum mechanics.

Spells :

Let's do a simple inner child healing spell with chocolates

Moodboards :

Hekate

Thank you so much for supporting me , more content soon love love 🫶

[ceoandslutler]

so i was looking at @icantbelieveitsnotbutler's polaris=sebastian analysis here and i actually had a lot of shit in my files relating to it since i had a very similar idea in my mind (but they articulated it so well so im just adding my stuff !!) pls read their post (this one is also related) first then mine because im just adding on and giving my own mini theory

more proof on the polaris is sebastian's body double theory (heavy spoilers)

okay so in the FoL orphanage part of the blue revenge arc, finny and snake meet theo (o! or r!ciel double/blood of sirius) and artie (sebastian double/blood of polaris) and artie=sebs is pretty obvious bc we get bard's flashbacks in the sanitarium section just before FoL starts and this is the first time we see artie

but there's so much more

theo&artie talking about finny vs ciel&sebs talking about snake

honestly there's a lot of whispering between c&s but this parallel really stood out. there's a parallel from the circus arc too where theo throws up

and finally the water dive in the campania parallel

like the hair??? the coat? and the moment after the dive is insane too

he takes theo AND artie's hand and they drag him out. the idea of being saved from above is literally symbolism of how he was saved from the facility by ciel and sebastian

finally i want to mention that polaris is one of the 2 most common blood types (44% of the population). doll who reappears in the FoL section of the story which is about children being exploited for their body parts (where we get the mastiff=polaris=artie=sebs) is tied to an arc of creating artificial body parts (noah's ark circus, baron kelvin and the doctor's project), bodies that feels like real skin made of organic materials (human CHILDREN)

I FEAR THEY STRAIGHT UP "MADE" A SEBASTIAN

ALSO UNDERTAKER WAS THERE WHEN HE BURNT THE KIDS 😭😭 HE KNEW WHAT BARON KELVIN WAS UP TO !! this man loves corrupt doctors (the viscount, ryan stoker and maybe even the doctor in the circus arc)

my final point?

artie WANTS to set the building on fire with no concern for the children inside. sebastian did NOT want to burn it as it was ciel's duty to return the children home. but UT only saw him do the burning, so artie's sebastian-coded response is to burn things, as per ciel's orders (but UT doesn't know/care if it was ciel's orders). artie is what ciel THINKS sebastian is. UT was on the campania nd hidden amongst the coffins, he might've heard this interaction "you were like a beast" so artie (in terms of "aptitude") shows the beastly violence needed to be used for a sebastian copy

artie is a beast, theo 'knows' he is a beast, he is unnerved by artie's violence as much as ciel is at sebastian's viciousness in the campania but both theo and ciel have accepted the aggression their protectors are capable of. theo and artie are the closest to each other; we figure as much from their interactions and how they're the only two people who know each other beyond the orphanage (which is basically the phantomhive manor resident blood farm). in the manor other than tanaka, it is only sebastian and ciel who know each other from before the manor was (re)built. UT is not just creating sebastian... he is creating the sebastian that exists in ciel's mind. a ruthless beast who will stop at nothing to ensure his survival (without the promise of his soul), that is a completely rational course of action for a man who does not want to lose any more phantomhives.

[kings-highway]

Reading through your posts, it seems like you love doing character analysis and often delve deep into the heart of each character. I’m a little curious, but is there anything in particular about daichi’s character that drew you to him?

Also, when you write about daichi, do you find yourself always writing him with the same set of characteristics and personality traits (i.e. hot-headedness, insecurity, confidence) or does it change with each fic?

oh boy oh boy you KNOW I love a good deep dive into a character's heart and soul. thank you so much for giving me an excuse to talk about my BOY

that being said, I wasn't *initially* drawn to Daichi, I actually started the show under the impression Asahi would be my favourite and quickly took a liking to Tsukishima and it wasn't until a little bit later that I keyed into what Daichi was that I realized that I needed to get my nails into him. See, I am usually very... predictable in my favourite character selection process, and for me, time and time and time again, surprising nobody, that is the "martyr." IE: a character who asks for nothing, but is continuously driven to give more and more of themselves, usually without acknowledgement from the rest of the cast. NORMALLY these characters don't appear very genuinely very often. Either they "snap" too quickly, have too much "power" in other ways. The BEST version of this character always is an older sibling. There's a million small variations, but I don't like, necessarily, this archetype on a grand scale. Yes, sacrificing yourself to save the world certainly does martyr you, but the purest form of this is an older sibling who works 3 jobs but doesn't tell their family this so that they don't worry. And that is the bitch that I like. (Nani, from Lilo and Stitch, is an excellent goddamn example of this.) AND THEN Furudate had to go it one step further and knock him the fuck out with Tanaka's face, and do a whole mini arc dedicated to the team realizing the strength of their unseen foundation and basically solidifying everything I had hoped for, which was the "nobody realizes how hard he works" trope and I just... fucking... kill me. Shoot me. I cannot. Love love LOVE when the character who nobody realizes is holding them up single handedly gets forcibly knocked to the ground by physical pain. FUCKING YEAH.

on the other hand, calming down now, when I write him I do try and use all the same characteristics, because this is, well, fanfiction. Part of the joy of fanfiction, for me, is identifying HOW a character would come to fit in that world given what we know about them. So even versions of Daichi that are very, very different from their canon, I have put considerable effort into identifying why and what in this world has changed them to that degree, and how that influences the story. Fanfiction is not like writing a regular original story. In an original story, you write whatever characters are most interesting to the plot you're telling, but for fanfiction, the characters are set in stone, and the plot is what the writer has control over.

My Daichi has a few definitive characteristics that I consider core to who I am writing: Protective, High Pain Tolerance (Physical and Emotional), Natural Leader, Maturity, Family-Oriented and Hard-Working. And then I fold in important character flaws, which in my mind, is "Anger Issues," "Hypocritical," and "Not the Sharpest Tool"

So *that* character must interact with my story. I was actually *just* talking to a friend of mind about this, but when I was writing Paranormality, Daichi was *not* "always" going to be an alien. I had decided early on that Daichi had a special connection to the paranormal, and I knew he was going to be able to interact with or engage with them in a way nobody else could, but the aliens think came in a bit later. The reason he's an alien? Because he's not creative enough to be anything else. There was a line I wrote, in one of the chapters, where Daichi says that he tends to see things in the dark, and his parents always told him it's because "he has an active imagination." Now in the moment I knew that this was 100% true, this is what his parents had told him. But a much larger part of me started screaming "THERE IS NO FUCKING WAY ANYONE WOULD DESCRIBE THIS CHARACTER AS A CREATIVE/IMAGINATIVE TYPE."

So immediately I started working backwards. "If Daichi is seeing things in the dark, why *is* it, because it certainly is not because he has an active imagination - and why would his parents tell him that?" Ultimately, I decided that it was more plausible for Daichi to be a literal alien than it was for him to be a little bit creative. And you know what? I stand by that.

But, I feel for fanfiction, that your characters should control your story that way. You can't just make them whatever you want them to be, unfortunately, but if you *DO,* you need to work backwards from their core traits and make sure that the pressure applied to them by your worldbuilding is interacting with them correctly. Otherwise, you're just writing original characters.

So when I drop Daichi into a new story, if it's a STRONG AU - "The End," or "Astrophilia," I go "Okay, so if we have this protective, mature, family oriented leader... how the fuck did he end up on a spaceship 4000 light years from earth? he would be fighting to get back to them above all else" and because I didn't want to use his family in it, I wanted to focus on Suga, I wrote to accommodate that. "well then the context here is that his family is broken in this world, for whatever reason. take away the family of a family-oriented man and you end up with a lost boy looking for meaning among the stars."

I know that's an over simplification but basically: If I want to write a specific AU with tropes that conflict with character personalities (Ie, I didn't want to waste time writing about Daichi's family in Astrophilia) then I work backwards to explain it. Instead of just changing the character to not care as much, or simply writing it out of the character. They're still family-oriented even if they don't have a family, is what I mean.

I'm rambling now. Uh. Thank you for questions... sorry to all the lovelies who have asked me questions I haven't answered. ADHD. I suffer. Love u. Bye.

[jinxedshapeshifter]

mini Eustace Winner analysis (anyone who follows me and has seen the essays I've posted probably saw this coming)

Something I absolutely love about Eustace's characterization in Turnabout for the Ages specifically is that it's made pretty clear that Eustace is smarter than he thinks he is. He's not dumb. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if what both players and the characters tend to take as him being slow is just him taking a bit to process information (I do this). Hell, when he confronts Excelsius after getting a pretty nice pep talk from Edgeworth, his confidence is more genuine.

I'm 100% convinced that one of Excelsius's goals with putting down Eustace and calling him variants of dumb was to kill his confidence in his own intelligence (it would've made it easier for Excelsius to manipulate him, and it would've made Eustace dependent on other people, which we see in his interactions with Verity).

The difference between Eustace when he's feigning confidence and when he genuinely has confidence are clear. When he's feigning confidence, he's constantly looking to Verity for reassurance. When he's genuinely confident, he doesn't seek reassurance as much (and even corrects Edgeworth during Laguarde's trial iirc). Eustace's intelligence is only given a chance to really shine when two specific circumstances are met:

He is given the chance to be independent and stand on his own two feet

He's given reason to be confident in his own abilities

And those two things are so intricately tied, which I genuinely think was intentional on Excelsius's part (both because it'd make sense considering what he's like and because he sort of implies it). Eustace is only given the chance to be confident in his own abilities when he doesn't have other people as a crutch to lean on and when he has reason to genuinely be confident.

To be clear, I don't blame the other characters (aside from Excelsius, fuck Excelsius) for saying he's dumb. The only one who's met Excelsius at that point (and therefore could have an idea of why Eustace is the way he is) is Verity. If you haven't seen Excelsius calling Eustace an idiot, it's easy to view Eustace's behavior as genuine overconfidence. When he confronts Excelsius, that's the first time we see genuine confidence from him. It's the first time we're able to see the full extent of his abilities. He's able to be his own person (something I think his themes reflect pretty well, both in tone and in their titles. I am not analyzing that here however).

Basically Eustace isn't dumb and he never was, Excelsius just manipulated him into believing he is to make him easier to control and take advantage of (and this was probably incredibly easy for him to do because Eustace trusted him up until he found out Excelsius disposed of crucial evidence in Laguarde's trial).

[scrumptiousstuffs]

As much as I love talking about how pretty First is (he's so pretty! And as far as anyone knows a total sweetheart which is even better), can we talk about how ridiculously talented he is? He just becomes his characters like sliding on a second skin, it's insane. And the microexpressions and subtle changes in his eyes...I feel like it's such an underappreciated form of acting but he does it so well I never want to stop watching him. And he just keeps getting better and better. I can't wait to see what he does with Kant. Everyone keeps saying that these characters are different from what they've done before so im so curious. And also I'm just ready to have a flirty First character on my screen again.

Well, anon - where do you want to start? I’m going to say upfront, I’m not the most eloquent writer in writing meta or analysing any actors acting capability or their characters on screen.

There are other blogs who write all these beautiful meta re: The Eclipse and Only Friends. @bird-inacage wrote many thoughtful analysis of them. Please feel free to read them. Other links: Link 1. But also, just search for “The Eclipse meta” or “Only Friends meta” and so many good commentary from various blogs will pop up. You may agree or disagree with them but I personally find it fun to read through what other people think of the series and the characters in general.

Anyway, back to your topic of the greatness of First Kanaphan as an actor. I agree with all your statements regarding his acting capabilities.

I am entranced whenever First is on screen - whether he played a suppressed queer teenager in high school or the broken, lonely banker to the gruff bar singer with the heart of gold.

His eyes are expressive and the control he has over his facial muscles…exquisite 👌. The way he shifts from one expression to another with us (the viewers) being able to tell them without that much of a change? - it’s definitely a wow everytime I see it. I mentioned previously in a different ask I find First fluid in his acting.

People will argue his character in Not Me (Yok) is the best out of his current projects. I will argue otherwise.

Yes, Yok allowed First to showcase his poweress in acting. First as Yok was able to show massive range from being loud, stubbornly opinionated, flirty (or slutty in First’s own words) etc. before we see him ultimately breakdown when he got betrayed. Definitely A-class acting 👍.

However as Akk, then Alan followed by Sand - these characters are more reserved at baseline and not as “colourful” of a character as Yok. And to some extent, these roles are more challenging (for any actors) to showcase “range” as they need to be able to internally express it without big emotive or gesture.

But the way First embodied them - with just a slight twitch of his jaw, tightness around his lips or when he allowed his eyes to darken with anger or lust (depending on the situation) - we as the viewers can always tell what the character is feeling, and that’s what make him an amazing actor to watch on screen.

And since this is my blog and I can do whatever I want, I’m putting up examples from each series post Not Me:

1) The Eclipse

When Akk first met Ayan in the teacher’s bathroom and saw Ayan’s tattoo - we (and Akk) all got distracted by Ayan’s sexy tattoo. But the quick flick of Akk’s eyes 👀 to that tattoo followed by the slight widening of his eyes and then shifting to hardening his glare while at the same time quick gulp of his throat? - all of that occurred within seconds….and I remember watching this scene thinking oh, Akk definitely has some unwanted thoughts on the new kid

Or when they were wrestling on the judo mat, and Akk pinned Ayan down - teasingly asked the latter to try and free himself. He was smiling down at Ayan but the minute Ayan slide those arms around his neck, the way his smile faded and you can see gay panic in those eyes….

They are of course so many more examples including Akk mini-conversation with his mom at night when he hesitantly tried to explain the pressure he was under at school but ultimately chickened out cause he didn’t want to burden him mom (and you could see this written all over his face).

2) Moonlight Chicken

There was a previous ask, where that anon said he found Alan the most pathetic character out of all of First’s projects. And I will again reiterate here, with the limited amount of screen time he had, First sparkled whenever he came on screen.

The way you can tell his frustration over his destroyed relationship while trying to cling on it cause he just doesn’t know what he did wrong for Wen was painful for us viewers to watch. And I don’t know about you, my heart breaks for him when he broke down after Wen finally screamed at him that he only slept with Alan cause he felt sorry for him - you can again see the flick/shift from anger in Alan’s face to shock disbelief and humiliation when Wen said that to him. You could see the self-loathing in his face after Wen left the living room. And as he silently cried on the floor of their apartment, I cried with him.

Or when Alan finally had his talk with Wen at the bbq restaurant, you could read the quiet resignation in Alan’s face as Wen finally break it off for good by sliding his promise ring back to him.

3. Only Friends

Even from the first episode, when he brought Ray back to his apartment - after Ray puked his guts out and as Ray snuggled on Sand’s shoulder - you could read the half amusement, half exasperation on his face while they both just sat on that bathroom floor.

Or when Ray finally got his chance with Mew, and Sand saw them dancing in the club. We see the wistful, sad boba eyes of his. And when Ray confronted him outside the bar, that cracked in his voice as he told Ray “you and I were never friends.” - yeah, my heart again breaks for him.

Or how about the angry-lust driven kiss in that music room (before Top interrupted them). You could see the mixture of anger, almost despair in Sand eyes, the tightness in his jaw and you could see the tremble in his lips. But even with all that, us as viewers clocked on how much he loves Ray (Ray knows that too…hence why he pounced and kiss Sand)

Plus when Sand confronted Top at the hospital - the narrowed eyes, the low, even tone of his voice where you know he is just barely holding on to his temper

I can go on and on…but I’ll stop here.

Anyway, like you, I’m looking forward to seeing more of him as Kant - I have no doubt we will see him nail it as a flirt (or as First keeps insisting, sugar daddy?). However, I’m also looking forward to see his interactions with Babe, Style and Fadel cause I’m sure we will be blessed with more masterclass in microexpression!

[jiminsass-istant]

WHO MV ANALYSIS: BRILLIANT STORY TELLING, QUEER CODING AND MORE

I have a lot to say. And yes i positively feel like a clown that this post comes right after jimin said "go ahead, misinterpret everything hehe". This might be a long one, so settle in. Also, if you are looking for this as some kind of validation for any ship, I'm afraid it might not serve that purpose (BUT keep reading!). This is simply an analysis of MV elements and cinematography in its purest form appreciating the brilliant work done by Lumpens and his assistant directors.

Part 1: Start of the story of a man in search of love

Let's start from the very beginning. Many of you have already figured out that Jimin is telling a story here (I'm not wrong yet Jimin, dammit). How do we know this? Look at that mini TV. Yes, this mini TV is actually our bookmark, our storyteller. In it's first appearance, it says "play" with a man walking at a normal pace, imitating jimin here, who is also walking.

Elements to notice here:-

The 'ONLY' signs on the road which mean these roads have only limited accessibility when it comes to directions. In my opinion, it symbolizes the rules that this world imposes on us. And here comes jimin whining/asking why he hasn't met 'her' even if he sees her at night? (imagines her) and thinks about her.

2. Also notice how it says "BLISS" on the neon sign but the world he's in is basically pre-tornado winds - there are papers flying, cars on fire, safety barrier tapes, even the mini TV is on fire. The flyer for the song says "who is!! Tornado of love" and basically serves as a warning that the 'tornado of love' is approaching soon.

3. Reference to 'Closer' (than this?) on the billboard with a man on it. Looks like a reference to a movie or song of 1995 which I haven't been able to find out yet. [help me]

Part 2: Searching gets more desperate

Moving on, we see Jimin entering the part of street with an old, dilapidated building in the background (so much to notice here!!)

Elements to look out:

Firstly, look at the mini TV which still says 'play' but the man in the TV is now running instead of walking. Just like how Jimin's steps are faster now, he's on his search for 'her', but he's getting desperate.

Notice the engineers in the background? Yes they are engineers- they have plans, measuring devices etc. And they are working to "renovate" the building. Interesting choice of scene right before a tornado... let's found out why-

Notice that on the right side to the entrance of this building, there's "B-1" written on the walls, but one could also read it at "13 1" At first glance, that's what it seemed like to me. I think people renovating a building whose name looks like a "13" is symbolism for jimin trying to heal/renovate/repair his heart/emotions/past traumas. It's about him still being in that phase where he is healing/ trying to heal himself by trying to find 'her' OR maybe he's trying to find 'her' when he is not even completely healed himself.

See the TV on the shopping cart on fire because it will be referenced later. Put a pin on it.

Part-3 Theatrics

With a flash of retro cable TV like lights, the perspective changes - as in now you are watching inside the mini TV. I'm talking about this part, when he changes direction and goes to the girl. So many interesting things happen, I'm giddy thinking about writing it.

Elements to notice:

I can't help but think of the words 'auto calibration ' that flashes right before Jimin does that cunty choreo with the female dancer. 'auto calibration ' literally means 'standardization' or 'correction' . I don't think people realise how queer coded it is. 'coded' being the keyword here. It could also mean 'standardized' as in the way we view idols as these perfect people with perfect dating lives.

3. The car is on fire- so yeah whatever is happening cannot be good. Everything is still chaotic and doesn't make it easy

2. The mini TV now shows various images with a heart '<3' symbolizing that he is engaging in some kind of relationship, but this is literally the biggest 'drama' ever. Because look at this scene- it's pure cinema..

"So many people to see" - people watching them date/engage while making a whole show out of it. There's also an ambulance nearby because obviously an idol's dating life shown to the public can leave people hurt and offended. As Jimin and the girl dance, they are literally in front of a local theatre called the 'OASIS'. My interpretation is that a celeb's dating life is literally 'theatrics' for the public. They are reduced to nothing but characters for entertainment, and worst part is that the public isn't happy either. No wonder, making it extremely difficult for Jimin to find true love. Special mention where the girl has him in a chokehold, quite literally an uncomfortable position, entangled with each other- or at least that's how the public views them.

3) In the same scene we see that the mini TV has tumbled down along with the shopping cart which was on fire, hence setting the car on fire too lol. Brilliant attention to detail.

Part-4 - where Jimin gets more desperate to find true love (in the past!)

As soon as the dancers leave, we see the huge billboard fall down and if i go with all the clues we have been getting, especially the travel show...it is WILD.

Because people are focusing on the possible OST called "Keep going", but DO YOU NOT REALISE HOW HUGE IT IS THAT JK IS REFERENCED IN A ROMANTIC SONG? dropping from the sky with 'who' written on it??!! "Who" without the questions or exclamations. I'll let you go delulu mode on that one. Moving on-

You must have noticed that to show a change in phase/scene, they have used multicolored flashes and change to 90s TV perspective. The same happens now after the billboard drops but the important thing to notice is the "rewind" on the screen now. Which basically means jimin going through different people is a thing of the past.

3. The crow/raven seen multiple times in the MV. Either way, a crow or raven is not something we see at night. They come out only at times of 'unnatural exceptions' like storms, earthquakes etc because they are not nocturnal creatures. While Jimin was trying to find love, there was definitely something happening which wasn't natural for him or was out of his comfort zone/he was not himself.

4. Another instance of queer coding I noticed was both men and women walking past him, similar to Like Crazy MV. It had a different symbolism in LC because he was trying to stay in the dream. But here people walking past him clearly means possible romantic partners. And he keeps stopping, keeps trying his luck with different people, almost always failing. OR- it could mean there are people of both genders walking past him but he never goes for the men in the past.

Part-5 - The tornado of love finally arrives

Now it says 'Play' on the screen meaning we are now in the present again. The tornado has built up, Jimin looks more confident, more smug as the tornado gains momentum behind him.

A flash of light, fireworks erupt as he sings his heart out. Even after the tornado is completely gone, the sparks and short circuits and destruction continues, meaning the 'tornado of love' arrived and certainly did a number on him.

Finally, we see him on a much calmer path. All cars lined up. He owns his life now. The situation is under control, the cars with lights on, ready to go.

I truly appreciate the storytelling in WHO MV. Lumpens Sir delivering as always. And I would love to know which things were Jimin's ideas but he wouldn't share that with us would he?

Let me know what you think and discuss in the comments if you want to.

[dangermousie]

I saw a post where you analyzed some details in Flower of Evil (particularly the relationship between the lead couple) and your analysis was super interesting.

I dropped that drama ages ago somewhere in the second episode because it just felt like things had already gone so horribly wrong that there was no possible way that it could be brought back to a story that I'd enjoy. I was wondering if you might be able to explain how that isn't the case so I should give it another chance, ideally without spoiling anything too huge? Or do you think my first instinct was right? If I couldn't stomach the first two episodes it probably just isn't the drama for me? My original interest in watching it was for the romance more than anything else.

I would love to analyze (always game for FoE freakouts) and address the issue but I think I could do it better if you clarified a little what you mean by "it just felt like things had already gone so horribly wrong that there was no possible way that it could be brought back to a story that I'd enjoy."

Is it a worry that there would be no happy ending (and one that feels earned/logical not tacked on) for the couple and/or ML (or FL), or that the progression of the relationship would not be anything you like or not given sufficient importance? Or something else?

If it's the former, while I can't say whether you'd like it or not because it's very hard to predict what clicks and doesn't for another person (I have like two mutuals where I automatically know if they like X, I am guaranteed to do so) but I can answer that:

(a) This drama has a happy ending that felt right and justified and not tacked on for me - in terms of both characters individually and the ship. They both go through hell but emerge into sunshine on the other side; by the end of it, Hyun Soo knows exactly how much he's both known and loved by Ji Won (and it's huge for a man who believed on a deep level nobody could possibly love someone like him nor should they) but also he's accepted that he himself is not a monster but is capable of love. And Ji Won loves her husband as much as she did at the start and has proven exactly how much and this time it's based on true knowledge of all of him - because before that she loved him for what he was (his characteristics were all true even if his background was not) but now she knows exactly the traumas and events that shaped him and the issues that haunted him and...she still sees the slightly odd, quite introverted, very caring man she fell in love with. It's a process, she thinks things through and it takes her time to get there, it is not linear but it is so thorough and glorious. She basically goes with her whole behavior: I see you fully and I know you fully and because of that sight and knowledge I love you MORE. And he processes that but also, in an even huger emotional shift, he realizes that he loves HER, that he's always loved her, he just had no vocabulary for it and no ability to process that this is what he felt due to all the trauma and gaslighting and what not.

(b) This is a romance drama. Oh, it has a good plot with its share of mysteries and mini-mysteries, and it's a great character study and has a lot of other interesting things to say. But ultimately, it's a romance. It is centered not really on the mystery of who Do Hyun Soo actually is, or who was/is committing various murders, or when Ji Won would figure stuff out or w/e - it focuses on a relationship between husband and wife who desperately love one another. This drama had an INSANE fixation with shots of their wedding rings and it was for a reason because this is the story of their marriage more than it is anything else.

It actually features a trope that is very much my catnip and narratives (outside of Gong Xinwen novels) don't do often enough - where the woman is the rescuer and the white knight and the savior and the man is this beautiful, oddly fragile (despite being competent and potentially deadly) being in need of rescue. And I don't mean just in the metaphorical sense - she is the reason DHS still has his sanity and found happiness and healing - nah she rescues him in the most physical way possible, from drowning, from various other acts of harm. In a way, Ji Won and Hyun Soo are a noir couple with genders reversed - a tough pragmatic detective and an alluring romantic partner with a mysterious past and ambiguous in terms of morality vibe, a homme fatale. But who (which also happens in some noir), turns out an abused, gaslit person who needs saving and who has honestly is owed by the world for all the hell it put him through.

Once again, I can't say if you'd like the drama - but the above is why I love love love love LOVE it and thank you for letting me have a chance to rant.

[raayllum]

Will you ever do a long meta on Runaan's character arc? If not, that's okay. I just think that there would be a lot of aspects to unravel.

I've written a few Runaan metas in the past:

Callum & Runaan parallels (probs my longest meta on him thus far)

Some Ezran & Runaan thoughts

Rayla (+ Runaan) going into S7

Mini meta: Runaan & 3 doorways/thresholds

Mini meta: Runaan's similarities to Claudia (post-s3)

but none have ever been particularly long, I think. Part of this is because I put a LOT of my thoughts on Runaan and how he operates into "if time is money" (a now wildly canon divergent post-s3 decoining fic, but in terms of characterization + headcanons verging on analysis, I think it holds up very well).

The other part is a few things, I think, said with a lot of love for his character:

1) Runaan is mostly characterized through his bond with Rayla (her characterization / her understanding of their culture) given that he just isn't in the majority of the show, and isn't usually the Focus even when he is (i.e. in 7x02, he's effectively a plot device with very few lines and makes zero choices other than agreeing to go with Rayla). A lot of Rayla's actions are also in opposition to what he (or her troupe) would want (see bulk of arc 1) or are because of her own mindset(s) she's taken from him / her other parents years ago (arc 2), so it's also not super effective at exclusively characterizing him (which I don't think is the intent, anyway). (That said, the question of where the distinction between Rayla's internalization of Runaan vs Lain&Tiadrin's teachings or mindsets, the difference between them if there is literally one or just one in what her or her parents' takeaways of each other's are, could be interesting.)

For an alternative example, Harrow is also not in much of the show but we routinely get flashbacks or dream visions with him. He, as an individual, heavily influences Ezran and Viren as characters as well, and we consistently see how in specific ways (often directly quoting him, referencing him; making decisions based in specific opposition or alignment, etc).

2) On the one hand, Runaan is both very connected to the themes of the story — he starts off perpetuating the cycle, does a 180, develops worldbuilding, helps kick off the monster motif and mirror foreshadowing — and very limited in his thematic scope at the same time. His primary concept is being "already dead," but there are characters in the story who embody it better by having been literally dead (Viren) and/or killed (Aaravos) for example. Most of his thematic groundwork is there to serve Rayla and when he does re-enter the narrative, he's mostly there to challenge Ezran. This makes sense, he is a side character and they are main characters, but it does mean most of his character — at least to me, as evidenced in my metas linked above — is deciphered relationally rather than individually. And one of my joys of true foil examination is being able to carve characters out as individuals and then see how they exist together in the narrative; Runaan largely just has the latter. A lot of his character / thoughts is speculation (what are his views on dark magic, for instance?) and while I deeply enjoy speculation for lore, it's not as much my cup of tea for characterization.

3) Runaan's character arc doesn't have a ton of stages. I think this is one of the reasons why — despite writing a fair bit of Ruthari — neither him nor them haven't held my long lasting attention in terms of meta. Like: we can do speculation on Runaan's childhood (which I have in detail; linked fic above) wherein he perpetuates the cycle. He is then regretful in the coin and out of the coin; after being saved he is readily forgiven and loved by his family members who harbour zero anger or pushback towards him; he regrets killing King Harrow and decides (presumably) to no longer being an assassin. Ethari loves and supports him and doesn't try to sway him even in all of these decisions (outside of telling him that Rayla probably wasn't ready, which he folded on anyway) and I'm a bitch who THRIVES on fictional interpersonal conflict up the wazoo.

Getting him from Point A to the last stage has always been the most interesting part of Runaan to me, hence writing like 100k about it, but it's not heavily explored in canon, nor are there that many ways to get in (in fic, Ezran was his breaking point; in show, Ezran is his breaking point, albeit in different ways/fonts).

It's kind of like... what is Runaan's character arc now? They could dream up one for him that would be super interesting and I'd very happily eat my words, but I can't really deduce one right now beyond "post-7x09 Runaan will have changed to not want to sacrifice anymore, and will influence Rayla to do the same" in arc 3. Other than that he is presumably going to be... vibing? And that's just less interesting to me than characters who are being heavily challenged or pushed to change / reveal new sides to their characters, or who have narrative tension stapled on top where yeah things are fine now but you know they're inevitably going to Snap (arc 2 Terry and Ezran).

I also think, much like Soren, a lot of what we see is what we get. Runaan has like, one (1) cognitive dissonance (being an assassin) and it's directly addressed blatantly in canon. He's grumpy and a bit stern but not necessarily overtly judgemental, and despite being secretive we always know 100% of what his secrets and feelings are. It's a bit open-and-shut (again like Soren, who despite adoring I also don't write a ton of meta for) and that's less interesting to me from a pyschological standpoint. He's almost too easy to understand so I don't feel the need often times to dig deeper.

ALL OF THIS SAID, there are a lot of interesting things about Runaan, and probably lots of things smarter / more invested (in him) people have noticed that I have not. Additionally, here are some other interesting things I noticed:

Runaan's "you cannot carry his pain for him" being something that both enabled Runaan's ability to be an assassin/shirk the pain he inflicted, and something he had to then accept more internalized responsibility for in 7x09 ("I see now that you carry that pain inside you")

"And yet you've managed to lead with grace and kindness" about Ezran for a king / side of the boy he's never truly personally seen but undoubtedly knows about and believes in (who told him — Rayla? Callum? Delicious)

All of his Viren parallels, down to the "hand / arm wrap thin white strip of cloth" etc etc (1x01, 2x08) and monster parallels.

Runaan eventually visiting Katolis and the Valley of the Graves

Runaan's potentially changing position in the village following no longer being an assassin

If people ever wanted to suggest aspects or drop request for specific Runaan related things in my askbox, I'd definitely be down to look into it and it may get the gears going. But as is, he just doesn't grate my cheese, most of the time.

[l-in-the-light]

New masterpost!

Welcome to my completely normal, not-Law obssessed tumblr! Oh who am I kidding, you're probably peeking here also for more Law, in that case, enjoy!

I usually write One Piece meta, because this is what I enjoy doing the most. So far I have these blasphemies yappings to offer (I keep this list mostly for myself, but it lists all of my analysis posts, answered asks and useful tags to navigate easier towards interesting topics):

Trafalgar Law and his fear of touch and closeness (analysis):

A very scrutinizing look at Law's traumas as a result of his childhood. Seems he has some triggers that kick him into PTSD reactions, especially relating touch:

Law's fear of being touched and touching others - I reccommend starting from this one, this is part 1

Law's closeness with Luffy

Law's closeness with Doflamingo's Family

Law's rare friendships (Kinemon, Heart Pirates, Wolf) - I recommend reading part 2 before reading this one, or right after. They're kinda complementing each other.

Law's reasons of avoiding closeness and friendships (a theory) - only read it after all the previous ones. It involves quite a bit of speculation that might spoiler you future manga developments. I might be wrong with my predictions, but feel warned!

The most embarrassing series of posts about Lawlu you will ever read:

The fish (scrutinizing analysis and interpretation of every Law and Luffy's interaction in the manga, I will prove my point that they're absolutely embarrassing in how much they like each other, you're free to interpret it as romantic or not):

Punk Hazard part 1 / Punk Hazard part 2 / Punk Hazard part 3 / Post-Punk Hazard part 4 / Dressrosa part 5 / Dressrosa part 6 / Dressrosa part 7 / Dressrosa part 8 / Dressrosa part 9 / Zou part 10 / Zou part 11 / Whole Cake Island part 12 / Wano part 13 / Bonus part - Law staring at Luffy

The fishing rod: (the tool theory allowing you to go and fish the treasure by yourself. And do go and fish, because I want to read even more embarrassing posts about Lawlu and other ships!)

About pirates and their treasure (a theory) - everything related to the theory is located in this tag: Love is a hurricane.

(more under cut!)

More character studies about Tragalgar Law:

About Law's rumoured bad manners and rudeness

Luffy and Law's similarities in expressions, behaviour and beliefs

Law didn't know about kids in Punk Hazard

Law's weakness for cute things explained (includes many examples and reasons for this softspot of his)

Law's poor self-esteem (with evidence!) and a bonus: Does Law think of himself as handsome or sexy?

Analysis of Law's quote "pirates doing good things repulse me" (fair warning, it's a long one, I delved deep into his psychology here, because I think it's fun)

Trafalgar Law and his surprising fondness of animals (mini-analysis)

Did Law drink this sake or not?!

Why is Law complaining about being ordered around in Wano? (very scrutinizing analysis of his dynamics with Kid and Luffy, and also small acknowledgment of Doflamingo's influence on Law)

Analysis of Corazon and Law's relationship (answers the question of why and whether Law is more dedicated to Cora-san than to Heart Pirates)

Why is Law so grumpy in Wano, can't he relax for a moment?! (short answer: he can't, he carries the whole raid on his back)

Would Law join the Revolutionary Army? (analysis of Revolutionary Army and how Dragon manages it, comparison between Law's and Dragon's possible goals and way of doing things. Since we don't know much about RA this counts as partial theory)

How would Law celebrate his birthday? (this kinda turned into meta fanfiction, enjoy, haha)

Analysis of Law's relationship with his Heart Pirates (100% Hearts appreciation post, I collected most scenes with them together ❤)

Analysis about other One Piece characters and relationships:

A funny tale (a short retelling of Shanks and Buggy going seperate ways in Logue Town from Shanks POV) - just for fun and feels tbh.

Analysis of Shanks and Buggy's talk about their future from chapter 19

Analysis of Katakuri and Luffy's similarities: part 1 (Luffy vs Katakuri and how they're reflections of each other) / part 2 (includes analysis of relationship between Katakuri and Brulee) / bonus thoughts

My various One Piece theories:

About the Red Line and the All Blue

About pirates and their treasures (probably not what you're expecting)

About Law's future development after Wano (warning for potential spoilers, in case I got it right)

13 Strawhats theory (just sharing hints)

About significance of Inherited Will (based on Japanese concepts of On and Giri)

Theory about future of Stussy after Egghead

Could Corazon be possibly alive? (this probably counts as a crazy theory, but there are some sus hints scattered around in the story and I shared some in this series of reblogs)

Link to my list of One Piece tags

My fanfiction:

Misadventures of Law with the Strawhats (slice of life, slight Lawlu but it's a "blink and you will miss it" category really)

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 (the final part)

Feel free to send me asks! ✨

If anyone wants to send me an ask, be it about some serious topic to analyze or something just for fun, please don't hold back! I promise I will do my best to answer thoroughly (it might take a few days tho or even weeks, if I get a lot of asks at once, but I will definitely answer every single one of them!). I reserve myself the right to not answer asks that are rude ofc.

You might want to check the my asks tag and Trafalgar Law's love life tag as well, because I might have answered the thing you want to ask about already (or simply peek there to get inspired what to ask me next :D).

[fountian-of-youth]

Welcome to the fountian of youth project !

Here you will be meeting Entity/z- 013253 -

Case file here

Badges

Bad end file here

Mantis allo!

Timeline info

Ascended form

Cons of immorality

And appearance insert here

His room /kitchen area

This is a rp blog drama , action or friendly conversation are very much welcomed !!

Of course if you wish to talk to the doctor you can !

Dr. kraken , the founder of fountain of youth and one to have created the serum allo was injected with .

Insert image here

Case file here

Bad end file here

Ascended form

Kraken lore (updated )

Kraken's analysis

Rules

° you must be strictly 18+ to interact with this blog since it will dive into very serious and adult topics by that like murder , gore and trauma of any kind

° for the love of God pls keep things fucking sfw. I will not fucking stand straight up NSFW questions regarding pregnancy and weird fetishes

° keep things mostly in the pressure world pls I don't mind other random questions but I'm getting tired of thinking how things would work. Pose it as games only.

° joked are jokes but if I do much see another joke disguising a kink you are getting blocked , yes even evil gays have a line they won't draw and shockingly there a real person controlling this (I have cursed knowledge of forbidden things do not make me have a flash back )

° please don't control my OCS feelings or actions (unless your Melinda ) and generally be respectful cause they are my oc only I know their reaction

° I have a busy life so pls don't spam me with ask or tags , I'll reply in my own time but if I do forget pls do tag me or remind me in dm ! I'll try to respond as best I can

° I'm ok with hurting the two and trying to kill them since allo's immortal and kraken kinda a cyborg but don't go too far that or borders healthy obsession

° I don't mind fanart or art in ask! Pls send it helps me picture the interactions better

°other than that you're good to go ! If you want to discuss plots and ideas for our chats/rps dm me! I love to plot and go into character development!

Additional stuff

@creator-of-creativious is my other main blog where I'll post art or random posts not related/ related to this account

I'll be using hashtags to keep our rps in like of these : #fountainofyouthproject, allo, allo nanol , Dr. Kraken .

He will also talk in orange text so it be easy for you guys to read and spot while Dr. Kraken will have red text and white speech

I'll use your OCS and your username as tags as well so you can see it

With that over ask away !!

=================================

For allo

A kitchen hidden away and set in a more secretive part of the hadal back site. A hoodies figure is walking about sorting throughout items and spices seemingly absorbed into his work.

His hands are nimble and gentle when picking or setting and his tail and wings indicate he's isn't human anymore. Is he trustworthy ? Or is he an enemy ?

Do you approach?

=================================

For dr.kraken

He was stationed in his usual spot working away in the lab he pretty much claimed it for himself. He didn't like working with anyone and he certainly wouldn't like someone like you walking in to order him around .

His tendrils whipped about the room to grab what he needed gasping items or tools to get his work done. A sadistic glee shining in his eyes.

Do you choose to be civil ? Or snippy ?

===============================

Bad end allo

Shifting in the encloser of his cell a massive creature stared at the doorway that was the only access to the cramped space. Hollowed glowing eyes staring forward at the cursed opening. He didn't like being trapped . He hated it actually he wanted this to end - who was he ? That caught him off guard....who was he ??.....

He stopped thinking when he snapped his head and stared down at the person that dared enter the cell he was trapped in. A snarl ripping through his throat

(for mini bad end picture he was cat sized and your expendable / entity runs across him in the halls because he escaped )

===============================

Bad end Dr.kraken

You were running down the halls shaking and panting as the second breeched happen (your either a scientist or expandable ) shaking as nee entities or old ones captured were out again and causing havoc.

You turned and tried to run avoiding anything but stopped with wide eyes as before you stood a large albino like creature with a razor sharp smile.

Do you flee ? Or beg?

[madeitlate37]

Vita Carnis by Darian Quilloy

Why yes I am giving my favorite series Halloween week, but consider this an advertisement for why it deserves it.

Vita Carnis is a relatively new, (in terms of Analog Horror), show that has gained a large following and has even been theorized on by MatPat—before he retired.

I think I mentioned in my first post that season one of The Mandela Catalogue was my favorite when I first got into the genre. To be specific, upon my first viewing, I had trouble falling asleep and would compulsively check every potential hiding place in my room before going to bed.

Upon my first viewing of Vita Carnis, that went on for months, instead. In fact, over a year later, I still do the routine “Mimic check” despite not living alone.

Now, before I risk spoiling the series, let’s get the spoiler-free qualities out of the way:

• Hive mind threats, the neat part is that this so far only applies to one section of the threat.

• Twisted security, we have security footage, documentaries, infomercials, and personal footage plenty of variety in where the story beats are coming from.

• Competent characters, not everyone, but do expect to see people/groups who actually try to do something about their situation.

• Biology lessons, the first thing you learn about the threats is how they function on an anatomical level, adds to realism and demonstrates added care and effort.

• Mini-retelling, about once per video—at least in season one—the audience is presented with a fragment of what’s “really” happening, and even then there’s the possibility of it being inaccurate. Untrustworthy sources are a major theme of season one.

• Not safe at home, one of the threats—being as vague as possible—is pretty much the sole reason I had trouble falling asleep for so long because it is entirely based around attacking it’s victims in their home.

• Safety guides, the threats have existed for decades, and the people living in this world behave like they have. As I said with untrustworthy sources, we have conflicting reactions and handlings of it, but the major players clearly approach them with knowledge.

• On-screen payoff, there is technically a scene or two which couldn’t have been recorded, but they have such visceral content in them that you don’t entirely notice. This is also played up through the use of very good effects.

• Varied but same threats, similar to Gemini, they are very different in how they are a threat—if they are a threat at all—but come from the same thing.

Now, onto the more risky analysis:

It’s a little hard to pinpoint exactly what I love best about this series, from the consistency in quality to the scientific facts to the secret videos throughout the new season that’s coming out now.

So, I’m just going to try and begin with why I was so scared, more specifically. One threat in particular checks every box of aspects of a monster that I find scary: Uncanny valley (depending on age), silent but dangerous, solely focused on humans in a way that makes sense, etc..

The main thing that drew me into this now that I think about it, was how the foot chain was visibly affected in the world of Vita Carnis.

With every direct threat, the one I mentioned above especially, Darian has taken a lot of care to describe the science behind all of them and their dangerous mechanisms. All to demonstrate the key theme that humans, in that world, are no longer at the top of the food chain, and are in a prey position again. Something that instinctively strikes fear into humans as a species.

What makes it mire real and visceral is, as I mentioned above, the science and how the people in this world react to this. One can argue that humans are in that situation with other types of monsters like werewolves, vampires, demons, etc., but Vita Carnis has descriptive explanations for how these threats work, has safety guides for them, and despite that, still makes it clear that in that world, we still have to fear for out lives on a constant basis.

The new season that’s coming out is geared more towards learning the potential source of these threats, but the first season was all about understanding why the threats would be so unbeatable and terrifying in real life. Darian also does a great job with effects, mainly using practical effects in the first season. Granted, it doesn’t look great all the time, but it’s another example of just how much effort he puts into this series.

I mentioned that Midwest Angelica wasn’t my favorite because I was personally tired of seeing literal religious themes in stories, had a different guess as to what the threat was that killed momentum on my end, but Vita Carnis didn’t necessarily give me a chance to guess. At least not with the first few episodes, in fact, those first two episodes were a decent subversion in terms of introducing the main antagonists.

The current season is leaning more into the “cultish” and “researching” part of it, but it has kept its momentum nonetheless, at least for me.

It’s not for everybody. But on the Analog Horror subreddit praise it like crazy, and I’m holding back quite a bit because I could get into direct spoilers, but it’s just not everybody’s cup of tea, just like how Midwest Angelica wasn’t mine. You may find that the goofier/unrealistic moments effects wise ruin the immersion for you, or this second season will lose you, or maybe biology videos aren’t scary.

However, if you are like me and intrigued by these things, it is, just like Gemini and Midwest, on YouTube. Go check it out if you’re interested (but be warned that despite the first seven videos being put into one documentary, there is content cut and added)!

As for next week…