#sorry I got a bit meta with this one lmao

[wigglebox]

Destiel Pride - Day 8; Against the odds

[yuenthevoices]

So, thanks to my new knowledge of G1, I now know mermaids are canon to at least one transformers media, so that got me thinking even more about cybertronian reactions to humans. But like, instead of your average humans, they're meta/hybrid humans.

Aquatic cybertronians like Seaspray being shown around a body of water by their mermaid/siren/selkie/nymph/naiad friend, not having to worry about their oxygen.

Speedsters like Bumblebee or Hot Rod/Rodimus racing their hybrid friend(ex: cheetah, wolf, deer, rabbit, etc.), still outpacing them by quite a bit, but they manage to keep up, while also enjoying the speed.

Taller bots like Optimus, Ultra Magnus, and Grimlock not needing to crouch or stare near the ground because their winged buddy can simply fly to meet them at eye level.

(i'm sorry i just love this gif lmao)

If we're involving magic as well, imagine trying to explain it to Ratchet or Whirl, as they attempt to compare it to what science they know and trying to find the logic within it.

In general, with the addition of fantasy like hybrids of humans, there'd be so much more diversity that the bots would have to take in, and i just think it'd be really neat and funny

[writing-for-life]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN DREAM'S HAIR USED TO BE WHITE!! oh my god. i just saw your post about killala and i have now perished. thanks for breaking my heart.

but also hi!! i'm relatively new to the fandom and it's a great place to be. i haven't finished reading all the comics yet but i'm curious to know:

what do you think are the main differences between TV!Dream and Comics!Dream? i've heard so many people claiming that he is incapable of changing, for instance, and though the show does convey his overall rigidity pretty well, i'm not getting the vibe that he's immutable.

also!! it's clear that he feels a lot. which is always funny to me when the corinthian is like yo, try this and maybe you'll feel something for a change but like. he does!!! or i get the impression that he does. he probably feels too much if anything?? all of it simmering just beneath the surface, barely contained. how would you personally analyze his relationship with his own emotions?

i hope all of this is coherent enough for you to answer lmao, i saw your post about enjoying being asked sandman questions two seconds after i woke up and barged into your inbox. hope you have a lovely day!

Thanks so much for the ask, and welcome if you’re new(ish) to the fandom! 🤗

I’m sorry I broke your heart—much more heartbreak to come I fear if you haven’t read the comics yet, so I’ll try to keep this as spoiler-free as possible.

I am one of those people who believes the differences between comics!Dream and show!Dream are actually not as big as they are made out to be where it matters, and you will definitely find people who disagree. At the end of the day, we all read it through our own lens and will never be fully objective about it.

The main difference I see is that they filed off the rough edges of the comics a bit to make a new audience sympathise more. It’s very hard to do that with a character who is basically in full arsehole mode for most of the first 40 issues or so, and even then only slowly begins to come out of it (although we can obviously see glimmers of what lies below the surface at the beginning of the comics, too, but it’s far more subtle than in the show). I’ve worked in musical theatre for a over decade of my life and understand a bit about bringing the written word to stage/screen, and some things simply don’t translate well from book to stage/screen, and you have to change it. So my personal opinion is we get a more sympathetic Morpheus and certain changes so the audience can do exactly that—sympathise off the bat. You will lose an audience pretty quickly if they don’t care about the protagonist and the universe he moves in, and you can’t be as nuanced about it as you can be in a written work. We’re talking about streaming services thinking about profits here, even if people don’t want to hear it.

Also: The more you sympathise with a character, the deeper the emotional investment and the more you feel, even if it hurts.

Having said this, I don’t think Morpheus is incapable of change, and I never got where that idea comes from. His biggest flaw is that he believes he cannot change (and even he has moments when he admits he might have). In the introduction to Endless Nights, Neil Gaiman says that he was once asked to describe The Sandman in twenty-five words or less, and famously, it was this (you might have heard it):

“The Lord of Dreams learns that one must change or die, and makes his decision.”

And I think some people might have wrongly taken that for an either/or thing. I don’t want to say too much at this point because I don’t know how much you know (if you’d like spoilers or already know how it ends, let me know, I’ll happily expand on it). Only so much:

He is capable of change, also in the comics. Very obviously so. But just like he denies he has his own story (which also isn’t true), he denies he can change. Or at least he thinks he perhaps cannot change enough (it’s actually hard to write about this without giving everything away, help! 🙈).

As for his feelings: He does feel, but again, it is something he pushes down and will deny himself. Until it bursts to the surface and breaks through, and when that happens, it’s usually with, well, let’s say varying results, and that’s putting it mildly. Personally, I’d say he has problems relating to his feelings, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel. Quite the opposite in my view. He holds the collective unconscious—all unprocessed feelings and whatever else floats around in that collective mess, and it’s exactly what he says to the Corinthian in that famous scene: he needs to keep a lid on it and keep that lid firmly closed so all of it doesn’t consume him. But that also means denying himself the feelings that are linked to his own personhood (if you want to call it that). There’s Dream of the Endless, and then there’s Morpheus. And while they’re one and the same and inseparable, Morpheus is also the “point of view”. The character, the person, if you will. And deep down, he craves that personhood so badly. Out of all the Endless, he is the only one who basically collects names because they mean having something beyond his function, which is also mirrored in what he tells Death in “The Sound of her Wings”: he wants something more. He is the only one whose realm is populated with sentient beings (yes, I know Despair has rats, but I think you get my drift). He is desperately lonely and struggles with it. He seeks connection yet denies it to himself. That’s not someone who doesn’t feel.

I don’t know if this answers your questions at all—I was doing the wild “spoiler-free” dance 🤣 But please let me know if you want me to go a bit deeper, I love talking about this stuff.

You can also have a look at my metas if you haven’t already. The headers pretty much explain what they’re about and what spoiler-level to expect, but none of them are truly spoiler-free I guess:

Again, thanks so much for encroaching on my inbox, and feel free to follow up if anything was left unanswered.

@dreamaturgy ask answered

[blazingstar29]

Top Gun Work Outs - Goose

Well well well, everyone’s favourite (dead) RIO. Sorry this took so long life got busy but Goose has been in my head since day 1. It’s pretty obvious that despite Anthony Edwards working out for the film he didn’t stack on the muscle like the others. BUT I’m here to talk meta and make inferences so reality doesn’t matter to me lmao.

Disclaimer: in this series i talk about characters body composition and the exercises they do. Particular in this instalment there’s a little bit of a focus on weight so if this is triggering please give it a miss :)

It’s fairly obvious Goose is pretty lean. In the photo above there’s next to know additional muscle in his arm. What’s interesting though is that he still has a broad back despite not having any muscle. That comes down just to the natural conformation of someone but also may be a sign of Anthony’s efforts of working out that he built his lats up a bit.

as his bicep flexes we see some muscular definition.

But the reality is Goose is quite lean. And we see that from multiple angles that he’s not lean and buff in the way Slider is, but almost more of a runner or cyclist build. (More likely cyclist because it’s low impact and I’ll explain more why.)

And you might be thinking, what are you going to talk about? Well steady on. Being buff is all well and good but I’m think in the the broader universe.

Anthony Edwards is tall. He’s 6’4 tall. Y’all ever wondered why those crusty little dogs live forever but Great Danes don’t? The bigger you are the more your body has to work. Wether it’s pumping blood or your joints, tall people wear out.

Goose probably knows this. He spends his days in jet planes going mach 2. That’s a lot of pressure of the body. And although Goose is pretty agile, as seen in his stellar leap into the air above (and consequentially getting his foot stuck in the net)

He has a young family with a son he wants to play catch with. He doesn’t want to add extra strain to his joints. Especially because orthopaedic surgery wasn’t what it is today. Even arthroscopes that were pioneered and popular (at least in australia) are now falling out of fashion because ‘cleaning up the joint’ actually added more problems.

So whilst Goose isn’t skinny and looks like he could be pushed over by a breath of wind, he isn’t carrying any extra mass than he has to.

And this is something I noticed with Slider too, but it felt more prevalent with Goose.

This photo is just for those who want him; I thought it’s be appreciated. Also slider basically one millimeter from lying in goose’s lap lmao.

Exercises:

Cycling! Low impact, good cardio. Mav follows him on his motorbike when Goose goes up hills and shouts encouragement but Goose just throws his water bottle at him.

Swimming. Again, low impact but he doesn’t swim as much as Ice, he’d have a bit more muscle if he did it multiple times a week.

Hiking. I see those calves mr edwards. And, fun family activity too!

So yeah, that’s what I make of goose!

[henrenologist]

so because i rewatched s3/4 recently, when Hen is struggling with having to give Nia back to her mother, she says "we were supposed to have her for 2 months it's been a year" so i think it's not that they weren't told that Nia would go back to her biological mother, but they got attached to her (obviously 🥺) and maybe because she stayed with them for so long they assumed her mother wouldn't want her back or couldn't have her back? tbh it's still a bit.. that whole thing with Hen Refusing to give the child back. and picking a fight with Karen about it. always annoys me. it's the Angst and Drama show tho, so it's like of course there's gonna be Angst and Drama lmao

for one thing, yeah the bond she'd formed with nia made her irrational and angry when the time came to give her back, especially after she and karen had built themselves up with the expectation that they'd become a permanent placement for nia (although im not entirely sure where they got that idea from, beside the length of time they'd had her; the foster agency in 911verse is a nightmare at communication, evidently).

i think the extent of her frustrations can also be explained by hen's issues with loyalty. she's loyal to a fault. sorry im gonna use this ask as an excuse for meta posting:

eva. she didnt get closure when eva was arrested. so even after building a life with karen, hen still felt indebted to her ("i feel like i owe it to her," she says, ostensibly because eva "didn't fight us when we wanted to adopt denny" [ignoring the canon discrepancy regarding the circumstances of denny's adoption] but there's a deeper commitment there to eva). she wants to see the best in eva, and after having committed herself to helping eva for so long, i think that explains why she was still loyal to eva--one of the factors that contributed to her cheating.

chim. "You get to forgive and move on--I get to hold a grudge until I die." so we're all aware of how loyal hen is to chim, but it's important to note when that loyalty got in the way of their relationship. toward the end of s6, hen's frustration with maddie and doubts about chim's proposal was, imo, a little forced on the writers (in being shoehorned conflict) but not baseless. her loyalty is to chim first and foremost, and that loyalty twisted into an unfounded frustration with maddie for perceived "wrongs"--especially as hen was watching chim squirm over the issue of proposing himself.

s7 drunk driver. hen was angry with the rest of the team when they didn't lay down their unconditional trust in her judgement of the drunk driver. logically, hen might recognize that as professionals, it's right for them to have (1) a healthy amount of skepticism and (2) base their judgement on what they have seen for themselves. they hadn't seen and smelled what hen had, but understood that emotions were running high, and thus approached hen's situation with sympathy and measured trust in her assessment. but hen is upset regardless. she says, feeling that they dont have her back, "if the roles were reversed, I'd find a way to have your backs, and I wouldn't have to lie to do it." she's projecting her sense of loyalty onto the team, frustrated that they're not as apparently unconditionally devoted.

so. nia. hen developed an unconditional love for nia in that time that, naturally, translated to undying loyalty. but as demonstrated, her degree of loyalty can translate into misguided skepticism--and harm, at worst.

and hen's listening to nia "damn near crying her eyes out" over it all. nia's cries are haunting her. she's misguided trying to fight the source of nia's pain (and her own pain). she's seeing this whole situation as a threat to nia's well-being and identifying points of harm where there aren't necessarily any.

she's gravely concerned over what nia's mother did to lose custody in the first place, mistrustful of the positive judgement that deidra's giving them, mistrustful of the agency's assurances that nia will be cared for, and wanting to see the proof for herself that evangeline can care for nia.

it's only after seeing evangeline for herself, with assurances from karen on her capacity to care for nia, that hen can let go of her frustrations with evangeline, deidra, and karen. (just like how after talking to maddie she let go of her hesitancy around chim proposing. just like how seeing the team show up for her with the cruise ship disaster let her stop questioning their loyalty)

i'm not personally annoyed or frustrated with hen in the nia situation. i can't imagine never knowing the fate of your once-daughter and i'm not surprised hen wants to see the proof for herself. i think her desire to fight for nia was an expression of grief more than anything. her loyalty, maternity, and grief are all activated as opposed to the logic we usually see hen depend on.

it's like the call where hen continued cpr on a mother for 12 minutes. her devotion inhibits her from letting go. which was a lucky thing for that mother, but it's not always such a blessing for the people in hen's life.

[belladonnakimdracula]

Maytroid 2024

So for May I participated in a fun challenge named ‘Maytroid’. It’s been going for a few years & 24’ is my third year of participation.

This year the theme revolved around Ridley, the main antagonist & resurrection diva lol. Last year I had committed to an aesthetic which was based on Nazca Lines & this year I went with the aesthetic of 80’s neon signs. So I limited myself to a neon color palette I grabbed off google & went in swinging.

As you can see I did the first thirty prompts (Day 29 got two pieces cuz I love that prompt) which means the final one is missing. I’m planning on doing a separate full piece at a later time cuz life’s a bit wild at the moment.

Regardless I loved how it came out & I really shocked myself at how I didn’t fuck this up LMAO.

1. Ridley (His OG 86’ design)

2. Fiery

3. Winged

4. Pirate (ARGH 🏴‍☠️⚓️)

5. Mecha

6. Fang (Say Cheese)

7. Cunning

8. Menace

9. Meta

10. Armor

11. Talon

12. Fierce 💅🏽✨

13. Omega(verse)

14. Relentless (He got into Smash just to fuck with Samus)

15. Nemesis (The FEDS)

16. Hatchling

17. Proteus

18. Thief (Stealing Kraid’s roles lol)

19. Sinewy (SWOLE)

20. Tail

21. Deceptive (Poor Samus)

22. Stalk

23. Savage

24. Taunt (🖕)

25. Clone (Brrr)

26. Haze

27. Strike

28. Vendetta

29. Neo (Design so nice, I drew it twice)

30. Victor (Samus always kicks ass, sorry Ridley)

~

See y’all next scribble

[thatswhatsushesaid]

This is my first time sending you an ask 🎉!

I’ve come to the conclusion that I follow you mainly because the one time I tried to explain to my friends why I like jgy they refused to see my point after hearing what he’d done. I could see why it may be hard to get past the fact that he did marry his own sister, but I guess attempting to explain why he didn’t have too much of a choice wasn’t enough for them 😅 So now I follow you to feel seen and hear more jgy takes that don’t just villainize his character and refuse to see his perspective of things!

I also follow you because I find it hard to find people who refuse to acknowledge how human more “villainous” Mxtx characters sometimes are. I feel like if more people put themselves into some of these situations it’d make some actions taken by characters make a lot more sense and seem more realistic, as compared to a more “in the end they can do no evil” sort of character which tends to be the protagonist and automatically has a limited viewpoint. Which I think this may also be why I started off as a big lwj and wwx shipper but slowly gravitated to xiyao but that isn’t necessarily important to the story lmao 💀

awwwwwwww anon i’m so sorry you’ve only got fandom friends who dislike jgy, that’s no good 🥹 if it’s any consolation, i was in your shoes when i first landed in this fandom back in 2022, so i think there is every chance you’ll befriend people with similar opinions to yours if you stick around long enough and put yourself out there a bit. i originally had next to no one to chat with about jgy, but if you comment on posts and reblog meta/memes, you’ll find people to chat with for sure.

also re: your last point, this is SO true 🤝 mxtx’s antagonists are wonderfully human, and their complexity compels me in a way the main characters just can’t. …well, i say that, but then there’s xie lian, who is my bestfriend, so.

[thousand-winters]

Dear pal!! For the ask how about Lilith and Micaiah! I would also love to hear Darius if you feel up to 3 because I'm not sure I've heard your very first impression before!

Hello there!!! 💖 Gladly haha

Lilith 🖤

First impression: "Oh, my gods, she's just like me fr fr" ahaha. I knew, I knew I would love her. It wasn't even funny how much I liked her right away, but given that she was introduced via her messy relationship with Eda and her being so composed and then losing it? Oh, she was so good right away and she did not disappoint one bit.

Impression now: LIGHT OF MY HEART. She's one of those characters that are so close to my heart and ironically I don't talk much about her. But gods, she's so good, I just love how much she's allowed to still make mistakes even after her "redemption" and everything. How much she's allowed to still need support, and to learn to have fun again and find her own way to live. It's SO good, she makes me so emotional.

Favorite moment: The "stay mad" punch is so iconic, 10/10, she should punch more people.

Idea for a story: Gods, there's so much fun to do with Lilith. Off the top of my head, I think something very interesting could be done with how she goes from most awkward failed mentorshop alive with Amity to giving her spinny hugs as greeting (SO much space for parallel guilt over their past actions and their resolution to do better), ooooor potentially her first years in the Coven + how she became Head of the Coven. I think a normal amount about her saying Philip was uncomfortably familiar for the praise and compliments and how he "said what you wanted to hear". Belos was really out there manipulating her as soon as he got her there, wasn't he...

Unpopular opinion: I don't think her switch up from s1 to s2 is out of character or weird. I think she's exactly the same as Hunter in that sense, and we even get a little more time with her to see her struggling to get rid of old ideologies and not even fully succeeding because yeah, of course it's well ingrained in her even months later, she was there for years. BUT she also has room now to breathe without the constant pressure to do better or else. Plus her biggest source of stress, Eda's curse, is... not gone, but she finally did something about it and came clean, which has to be a huge weight off her shoulders. It makes sense for her to be a little more goofy, even while she was still in the coven, she still had her moments with Eda, so it's not really odd that now that she gets the chance, she actually strengtens that connection and opens herself up for more, plus finally being unburdened enough to try and do what she's always wanted.

Favorite relationship: I want to say Hooty so bad but... it has to be Eda, because of course it's Eda. The sisters ever. It doesn't help that their whole deal sort of reminds me of my sister and I. They're just SO much. The love they have for each other, but also the jealousy Eda felt. Love mixed with envy is one of the most compelling things you can do for a fictional relationship. I do not recommend in real life lmao.

Favorite headcanon: I LOVE to think about her making it her goal to restore as much of the history of the Isles as possible, given that Belos DID cause quite a lot of damage there, concealing the real history and making his own version. Typical. Now, I think she would love it both as a last "fuck you" to Belos and because she simply loves history, it would be healing and recreational for her. She can switch that up with her museum duties <3

Micaiah! 🤍

First impression: I thought she was a bit corny. I'm so sorry, Micaiah, I love you. She just comes at you with the "savior of Daein" attitude already in her and it annoyed me a little bit at first haha. I did think her light magic was pretty cool though, it's so unusual to start with one of the main cast, let alone the main lord, as a light mage (Is she the only case, actually?).

Impression now: BELOVED. I recently read a meta about how her colors get drained by Yune's through the story and it made me so sad, she's such an interesting character because she really does start so hopeful, such a symbol of faith and then... well. War. The blood contract. It all gets to her and it's fascinating seeing her struggle with her own morality and her duty. She's SO good. I need her to be happy.

Favorite moment: I'm still replaying and I'm going to do a careful playthrough after my current whirlwind to get to the second playthrough but off the top of my head, her pulling off that one strategy against the Begnion pegasus knights. You know the one. And her holding on to her plan even as Sothe gets threatened but then being desperate to save him, it's SUCH a scene.

Idea for a story: I'm so curious about her years while Sothe and her get separated. Admittedly, I don't remember if they say what happened there or what she was doing, but if they don't, I would like to know. Alternatively, how she's faring as queen of Daein because oh, gods, she never wanted that and now she's stuck there 😭 Similar to Elincia's political troubles after getting the throne of Crimea, I assume there might be trouble ahead, especially with the issue with the branded not being over, it's gonna be obvious they have a ruler who doesn't age at a normal rate sooner or later.

Unpopular opinion: I do not like what she has going on with Sothe 💔 Which is unfortunate since it seems like what is intended. It's not even just that I don't like them in a romantic sense, they clash SO much in such petty ways during the story that it was sometimes like watching your parents who definitely need a divorce but won't admit it. Slightly too painful to bear.

Favorite relationship: I love her whole deal with Pelleas. I'm so biased. It might seem like whatever, and I don't remember enough just yet to hold a proper argument but I think they have a fun dynamic, especially with him being like "oh, you're so special the spirits picked you, haha, careful so they don't think you're one of those branded tho (:". Like oof. So much going on there. Also Pelleas being so adoring of her while she feels so compelled to help him. Both of them being trapped by their perceived duty and trapped in the image people have built of them. It's tasty.

Favorite headcanon: I like to think she ends up eventually going to Stefan's branded nation eventually. I think, as much as she cares for Daein and obviously loves the people around her, she still has a big degree of feeling like an outcast, as most people like her do which... in all fairness is a point Stefan himself makes. Even if she ends up preferring to be around the beorc and laguz instead of keeping herself to one nation with only people like her, I think it would be healing if she gets to experience that for a while. I don't think Stefan is planning to pull a Goldoa anyway, so they probably wouldn't be isolated, so it would be nice.

Darius 💜

First impression: It's so sad because I don't remember too well, but I know I thought he was SO cool. I thought his abomination transformation was scary as fuck and, for that, extremely cool. I'm not the most versed in sounds but is that a bell toiling whe he turns? Regardless of what it is, it's SUCH an ominous sound right before he does that. He looked so threatening and it was just so cool to me haha. I think I thought he was really fun before that, because oh my goodness, he's so silly ahaha "I was scheduled for some ✨ me time ✨ today, so hand yourselves over before things get nasty™️". The line delivery is perfect. His design pops up so much. He's so bitchy ahaha. Amazing introduction, frankly.

Impression now: LOVE OF MY LIFE, I MUST MARRY THIS MAN IMMEDIATELY. Genuinely I could count in one hand the amount of characters I have genuinely wanted to kiss and he's one of them ahaha. Which isn't only about his beauty, he's just such a cool character. He has so many layers and he's SO good. I'm so frustrated, the fandom does not get it, why do they want to take everything he does in the worst light (I know why. The racism, sigh). Not a day goes by in which I don't lament his cut screentime, the fact he gets so many ties to the main plot and he's such a foil TO BELOS OF ALL CHARACTERS??? Insane. This man has so many interesting things going on for a character that appears less than 15 minutes and I will forever be chewing on glass over it. SO much to explore with him.

Favorite moment: I cannot do this, all of his moments are exceptionally good ahaha. It's either gonna be his "ALRIGHT, NO MORE PLAYING AROUND" while he transforms (I gotta say, he's very hot for that) OR the iconic headchop. I think it's very amazing of him to go "actually, I was wrong" without any embarrassment or hesitation and immediately change his attitude and try to do better. People do not get how difficult that is because they're focused on seeing only the worst in him, Darius is just that good.

Idea for a story: SO MANY. Shoutout to my wips still not likely to see the light of day until I get my shit together but: Darius dealing with depression after the disappearance of his mentor and Darius dealing with depression after everything is over bc, oh, surprise, my man, your mental illness doesn't go away even if you ignore it until things are finally going well, you have some baggage to deal with and some healing to do. Also I want to bad to write him in his young years with the mentor, I'm swearing by my headcanon that- oh, wait, I can use this for that option down there, nevermind ahaha. Anyway, yeah, the second idea was him with his mentor learning to do the abom transformation to get his promotion to Head Witch.

Unpopular opinion: Liking him is an unpopular opinion :[ I think he'll be an excellent father to Hunter, actually. Yes, he has no experience, but which parent does before having their kids? Plus he has something the other previous options for parents don't have, which is he has the same background as Hunter, aka, he was in the Emperor's Coven as well, for YEARS. And he also used to be a loyal believer, given that he had his mentorship, he KNOWS what is like in the coven, he knows what is like to cope with your world crumbling when you realize everything you believed in is wrong, and he has dealt with the grief of losing someone important to you to Belos. Hitting the boxes for experience in a cult, religious guilt, and grief over a loved one lost specifically to Belos. Attitude wise he's already a very good fit for Hunter's needs, but combine that with his specific life experience? I think he's absolutely perfect (of course there'll be fumbles but please, you really think any of the others wouldn't have fumbles? Sounds weird to me you think only the black man would be a bad parent but whatever <- not directed at you, friend, obviously, I'm just speaking to the proverbial wall ahahaha).

Favorite relationship: You know me, it's absolutely Hunter and him ahahaha. Eber is SO good too, in all fairness, but all the possibilities with Hunter and Darius just get to me. I'm weak to family bonds, plus the trope of "I'm not getting attached to this kid... oh, fuck" just gets to me haha.

Favorite headcanon: This has bases on canon anyway, and I have talked about it before, but I think he's the kind of person who really thrives around other people, but specifically people he trusts, even though he can definitely handle a crowd. As a result, I think he does so, so badly when he has no support. Despite being such a confident man, I feel like his confidence plummets when he has no support around, which is why it probably took him a while to even decide to start the rebellion after his mentor was gone, because he had nobody around to help him pick up the pieces of himself and he just struggled to believe in himself. Basically, I think he needs more support than it could seem, he's not the kind of person who can easily thrive on his own, he's too softhearted for that, the coven just pushed him into difficult circumstances since he was aware that someone had to do something to help and there was nobody but him who stood a chance at the time.

Thanks for the question!!! From this ask game

[ambroise-framboise]

Today I present you : The ACCIDENTAL WATCHERIFICATION OF GRIAN au

Aka I’m going back to a beloved trope of mine, accidental deitification but I slap it on my current interest, Hermitcraft.

SO !

We all know the “Grian is a Watcher” AU (well, lots of us do know it, it’s a pretty famous fanon grian thing, be it in fanfics or fanart and such).

Most of the time I see it, it’s a “Grian was a normal player, but got yoinked in Evo by the (evil/neutral/benevolant, choose your favorite flavor) Watchers tm. They (tried to/did) turn him into one. Sometimes he has to escape because they’re Bad, sometimes they’re just annoying. He gets cool powers and eyes, wings sometimes and Purple.”

This is a classic. BUT ! What I am suggesting now is something I haven’t really seen before, which is a shame bc it’s ; interesting, funny imo, and also meta. (If it exists, I missed it oopsies sorry lmao)

What if Grian, after Evo, did NOT become a Watcher bc he got turned into one by them. In fact, the existance of Watchers is debatable here. He might never have actually met one, and their exact role/meaning doesn’t really matter. They might even not exist ! That’s up to you.

Grian, is an avian/shapeshifter whatever, living now on Hermitcraft. He does his little videos, streams, whatever you want to make him a somewhat public figure (like Hermits often are in the mcyt multiverse). What matters is that for SOME reason, people BELIEVE he is a Watcher HIDDING HIS TRUE SELF. And BECAUSE OF THEIR BELIEF he gradually actually BECOMES ONE.

The more he tries to protest, convince them it's not the case, the more they think they're right, and the worse it get (like, he starts to physically manifest Watcher traits (preconceived ones, THE EXISTENCE OF WATCHERS AND WHAT THEY ARE EXACTLY/MEAN BARELY IMPACTS IT, bc his transformation, DEIFICATION is all hinged on players’ belief. Not actual facts.) Anyways, man starts to get the “typical” (aka stereotypical) Watchers traits as times goes on, which only make things worse because SEE SEE, he has the eyes and the purple, clearly they were right !

It would be both a comedy of errors, misunderstandings, coincidences AND some good old horror (body and other kinds), bc Grian DID NOT sign up for this.

Also this is funnily meta because he gets turned into a Watcher by the true watchers, who most of the time don’t realise who/what they are, and the power they hold. It’s a bit of a self-fulfiling prophecy, you see. And Grian is the unwilling puppet dancing to the whims of forces he cannot control.

I gotta write a fic about this, this is a really neat concept. Comedy and horror my beloveds, especially when they go hand in hand.

(If YOU want to write something yourself, or draw idk, feel free to !!! just @ me so I can see it and, like, cry or something about it in the comments.)

This was not supposed to be a meta concept. This was supposed to be a funny “ahah, he got turned into a watcher because of a misunderstanding and the power of belief”. I actually have a fic more or less based on that kind of idea in another fandom, bc I was part of a whole ass event where we used that kind of concept.

I looove the "beliefs of others influence what/who your are" tropes, be it in the positive, negative, literal or not way Shoutout to my fav fanfic of a long long time for having introduced me to that concept (not a HC one, it’s Make a Wish, a HP fic on ffnet from the early 2000s lmao, truly a classic) Pls interact about this, brain is going brrrr and I needed to share it.

(Also this came to be after reading a few fics where someone on HC worships Xelqua/Grian, who is like pls stop I don’t wanna hear your prayers wtf. I thought it’d be funny if they did pray to Xelqua but Grian wasn’t actually a Watcher. And then the potential of The Power of Belief tm hit me like a brick and here we are.)

[cosmoseinfeld]

How was the Sunny Dublin show?!!! Do you have any pictures?

How long was the macdennis segment? Was Glenn shaky on the macdennis "love affair" chat (saw a post on twitter) or was he just doing one of his Glenn bits like from the podcast where he acts like he's not into things before he's honest about it? Did they confirm Honey and Vinegar for s16 or were they just teasing the idea of it in future seasons? Were you able to see their expressions from your seat? (Sorry for being cringe and insane in your asks!)

hiii! sorry it took me so long to reply. I was kind of processing those days and also recovering from covid which i brought as a fun souvenir! (nw, it's all good) I can't possibly tell you how long the segment was but it def took up a good chunk of the show! i was sitting too far away to take good pictures or videos (nor did i want to yknow, kind of living in the moment) but i took this pic of the screen which was up for a satisfyingly long time

I honestly think glenn was just doing one of his "bits" because - imo - he's much more on our side when it comes to the meta level of the show just from how he is talking about dennis etc. I still love how bold rob was by just straight up saying macdennis is a love affair to some. at least, glenn then said to rob "love you, baby!" I remember meg saying it's one of her favourite dynamics but we already knew that. Oh, she also said that the impl*cation scene was put up there against her will and i agree. It's not a macdennis moment and I overall hate it (in parts because it is what dudebros cling to so desperately). I am amazed that they somehow managed to avoid talking about Mac and Dennis break up AGAIN by "letting the audience choose" (which is a fabricated thing because a hyped up audience will cheer and holler for anything) but i will say that Suburbs got a REALLY loud cheer. They played the montage from that and ofc the dinner scene with the "newsflash asshole" moment. Oh, we also had to watch glenn's naked ass on screen. Rob talked about shooting that scene and said how hard it was for him to keep up because glenn was bringing his whole talent to it and rob said he wasn't that good of an actor to keep up. glenn said he's sometimes concerned that there is this psychopathic side to him and that he needs to get that checked. They then played Mortgage Crisis but didn't really talk about it. BUT meg suggested that hugh honey & vic vinegar should make a comeback at some point and rob sort of agreed and so did the audience, so who knows! The segment ended with them playing the impl*cation scene instead of break up and meg saying mac and dennis keeping each other in check is one of the things she loves about that dynamic and that they follow their own specific set of rules.

Overall, it was a very fun show and I am happy I went. The mood was so great, on stage and in the audience. I couldn't see their expressions from up there but I did see rob pulling down his pants to show us his shamrock tattoo, so there's that image... I loved the video cameos by danny, artemis, the lawyer and even uncle jack. Glenn got drunk on stage to the point that rob felt the need to intervene when he got too annoying lmao. Glenn said rob gave him a shot of "tequila" backstage and it might have been the bit that tipped him over - he then got corrected because it was whisky of course (maybe he had flashbacks to the christmas special). They played family fight but it was sooo messy omg... never give buzzers to drunk man-children. Everybody celebrated kaitlin of course and it was... a special experience to hear her and glenn sing the tiny boy song live. Charlie sang a bunch of sunny songs. The one that got me most was "I like life at paddy's pub" of course, especially because the whole audience was singing along. They also had an inflatable tube guy on stage before the show started which I thought was hilarious and weirdly relaxing to watch... Oh, yes before the show started, they had a sunny playlist going on with all the classics like "the boys are back in town" and the ghostbusters song etc. During the intermission, they showed gag reels on screen. Hm what else... Not to burst the bubble, but they also talked about how they couldn't film s15 in Ireland because of covid restrictions, so the on locations shootings took place in california - movie magic! If I remember anything else that's of significance, I'll post a follow-up. I really hope they'll come back to europe soon because i'll def go again. It was so nice to meet other sunny fans IRL and hang out and have a good time together :) i am always amazed how a shared love for a show can bring people together... it's so wholesome. (and you could also sense their love for the show and each other and I think it's great for them to finally get such a direct feedback from the fans)

[brilliantfantasticgeronimo]

Rogue thoughts and reactions--->

not taking many notes this time cause i wanted to Savour this one tbh and what a blast so far

rogue and doctor so far is like. rtd striking gold potentially here (i kno he didnt write this one i mean more like. in the long run. i could see fans going crazy over this Type of ship and spending sweet $$$$ on it lol).

ruby looking at this "scene" like it's a tv show………. live…….. honey u best believe in ghost stories hyper post-modern genre tv show seasons cause u are in one

cushy… wordsmiths-ing count…

"ruby: you know how i forget about a man?" with a woman? (shot)

the parallel of these guys "dishonoring" these ppl while the doc and ruby do kind of the same all the time sdkflj

mmm second time i see a triangle logo (it was there last ep on the door to the MEP area that lindsey and rickey ran into. camera held on suspiciously long on it…) (triangles…. three…. susan TRIAD???)

doctor this says you're single and available. oh another word. "very" available.

COME ON ACE WE HAVE WORK TO DO

"wow" boner dialogue

mention of gallifrey.... "i might take you one day" oh man. oh man………..

"random barren dimension" yes this is not an equivalent to a silent confinement analogue at all don't think about it too hard guys

"i lost everyone"

they're leaning on……………. oh yaz just broke a coffee mug somewhere

maybe the real enemy was fandom all along

THOSE TV SIGNALS BEAM OUT ACROSS THE STARS. TV SIGNALS. TV SIGNALS. TV ISNGALS TV

SIGNASLKDJASLKDJASKLJ1!!SKLFDJDSLKJFSDLK JF SHUT UPTJSDLFKSDJ (i die)

ok im enjoying The Concept a lot, as expected…….. but gotta say rogue does feel a bit two dimensional so far :/ (maybe even a bit cliche?) i feel jack in his first ep had more depth at first for example (bounty hunter but also lost his memory. doing amoral things but being swayed by the doctor at the end. etc). but there's time THERE'S TIME. DONT LE TME DOWN EPISODE PLEA SE. there's always a twist-

you people and your bridgetons. in my time this would all be a big ass downtown abbey reference

sad thing is this is def one episode i wont be able to watch with my homophobic parents at all oof lmao

this dialogue.... kinda thoschei acadamy years coded ngl

"tell me what your heart wants or i shall turn my back on your forever" defining 15 character dialogue……….

(commitment phobe doctor moment. my girl hastn changed at ALL) (btw intrigued by rogue's "i lost them" bc it could mean a lot right. it's the most delibarely ambiguous of pronouns dklfjsd like it could be a nonbinary character but could also be a couple characters? or maybe im reading it wrong sdlkjf)

play our games on a magnificent scale…………… games motif……….

"i thought i was interesting- but you??" exactly!!! doctor who>>>>>>>> bridgerton/all other tv shows. case made.

god i feel so stupid. i dint catch that twist at all TOT

wedding season finale. chuldur's know where it's at.

oh finally there's the scene from the trailers!!!!!!!!!

"how long do they live for?" oh he's gonna says A Thing "thats a long time to suffer" I WASN'T WRONG /GOES FERAL ( i knew the family of blood coding was leading somewhere…)

the doctor beatiing these cosplayers with his "i object" tv tropyness……….. the meta of it……… theory gang we're gonna make it yet i swear

ok yes this is sad poor ruby but like. but literally last month 14 killed/sacrificed donna w/o sm hesitation so sdklfjdsklfjsdklfj (yes im still like. HEY THAT WAS A SIGNIFICANT THING THAT HAPPENED. WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT IT.)

oh is rogue a chuldur as well? he feels too invested in the trolley problem of it all sdlkfj

im gonna say it.... i thought that resolution was kinda........ as the kids say..... weak sauce sfkdj

like oh nooo he got teleported oh noooo. like he's gonna be fine slkdfjsd didn't really hit that hard :/ should have had a proper death sacrifice thing.

"im sorry....." "....AAAANYWAY , it is what it is!!!! " my man is so broken holy shit. holy shit.

it's ok to be sad. !!!!! TOT

CONCLUSIONS!!

sdlkjf ya'll i really wanted this to harder but idk i didnt feel the depth or sensibility this called for was there tbh. but it was a blast!!! but … it missed a bit of that x factor thing. like some kind of universality to the romance w/ the rogue. i feel he was too sketched-in.... i was also a bit disappointed that ruby's friend was not her friend bc it meant her whole thing this ep of connecting to that woman was for nothing (and up until that point it was feeling very Important specially after the marti thing) (and speaking of, the chuldur's were kinda very sketched-in / surface-level as villains as well) … yeah. idk. kinda disappointing ngl (diodati > this i think). pretty fucking gay tho so that was nice.

[jademickian]

oh man, haven't done tag games in a while, sorry friends 🥹 i've been passive the last few weeks because uni is really taking most of my time and energy, but i appreciate the tags and i love love reading your answers<3

ok enough blabbering, thank u @callivich, @lingy910y, and @mickeysgaymom for the totally optional, fun gallavich questions tag!

What’s a fic you’ve read more than once?

Stuck at Three for Days - delicious banter, laughed my ass off

another kiss is all it takes - so fuckin sweet, dude

Like Real People Do - just finished my reread last month:)) i needed the comfort

Cooperative Gameplay - currently rereading! i miss the feels

Sometimes I reread bits and pieces from ORFNSP and since we're alone because they changed my brain chemistry. I will eventually get around to actually rereading them.

2. What’s a gifset you always have to reblog?

You know the one... this legendary world heritage gifset

3. What’s a headcanon you can’t stop thinking about?

not sure if this is counted but i always like to think that once, ian got struck with grief about monica's death on her death anniversary. mickey asks him what's wrong and he opens up about it. ian will say it's stupid but mickey will truly handle it with grace and say nah man it's not. because yahknow, he gets it. and ian melts at it, because no one has acknowledged his grief like this before. mickey teases him about it a bit, sure, but deep down he held ian's mourning warmly, like petals on his palm. and they went together to the cemetery that day, simply sat in front of her grave and talked. the good things, the bad. and that despite it all "hey, tleast she popped out an alien lookin mfer i ended up marryin." they get pizza after.

4. What’s a fanart you love looking at?

Van kiss by @lingy910y

Prince Mononoke by @darthvaders-wife

Prison Boyfriends by @gallavichonly

Part of Our World by @steorie

It's Okay by WhatsaMattavich

This Kiss by @deathclassic

SO MANY others actually if i could fit them all here

5. What’s an idea you’d love to create if you had the time/inspiration?

i actually have a LIST lmao. one of those has something to do with art because i cannot take my mind away from human mickey and manananggal ian (manananggal is a Philippine myth creature with wings and can separate the upper half of its body from its lower half).

6. What’s something you’ve discovered since entering this fandom? A new trope you love? A different analysis of the show? Something else?

oh man. believe it or not, i was never into fics. i was in fandoms before, but i just couldn't get into fics within those fandoms (i tried). this is the only time i truly liked and LOVED reading fics. it really speaks volumes about the talent and dedication, and i'm glad i got to experience it.

it's also fun reading metas on the show and getting different perspectives, especially on characters. one of my favorites (just because i was so distressed about it the first time i watched it) are analyses on the city hall scene and ian's hesitation on marriage. after reading up others' thoughts on it explaining the why's, i totally felt some relief and was able to get some sleep. lol

7. What’s an underrated trope or concept you’d like to see more of?

apocalypse aus 👍

8. What’s your favourite season? And has this changed after multiple rewatches of the show?

The first five seasons are gems to me. but i truly love season 2 because it's so chill (at least compared to some of the heavier seasons after) and the gallaghers move as a unit. special mention for season 4 because it holds Emily and Lazarus.

9. What’s a plot hole you wish had been answered or resolved?

same qualms with @mickeysgaymom about mickey's mom. brain rotting over it.

10. What scene or moment do you feel isn’t discussed enough?

not gallavich related, and i'm sure people have already mentioned it, but sometimes it hits me how smart debbie is. like, i know she's smart, but people easily forget from all the chaos. at the heart of it, she's a fast learner and also would and have excelled academically.

11. What line/dialogue/description from something else (a poem, a book, a tv show, a movie, or something else) do you feel describes Ian and Mickey’s relationship?

aaaa @lingy910y beat me to it! it's totally "I'll take care of you. / It's rotten work. / Not to me. Not if it's you." but if i could pick another, maybe "I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world."

12. What do you think is next for Ian and Mickey post-finale?

they'll grow old together and be just as in love, no matter what happens in between.

tagging @mybrainismelted, @scurvgirl, and @lupeloto if u wanna join!! raahh

[considerablecolors]

Hey, I just wanted to say how much I love your SAF fanfics on Ao3. There's so many, and I'm still working my way through all of them, but I noticed in one, you talked about Curt being bipolar and mentioned that you could write a whole essay diagnosing these characters.

This was like 2 years ago, but I was just wondering if you ever got around to writing that essay, because I would very much like to read it.

hiya, tysm! im so glad ur liking the fics (and im so sorry there's so many lmao)

and WOW i... completely forgot about that LMAO. with how fast my brain goes when its in hyperfocus mode, i think half the time i just throw stuff out there and never come back to it 😭

so no, unfortunately it did not get written lol. BUTTT now that im thinking about it again i would probably be up to typing smth up (not necessarily a whole essay lol but maybe a big ol tumblr meta analysis post). esp as ive rewatched the show again and again, i get even more ideas about these characters in terms of pysch everytime- so yea, I'd prolly be down to try and write something up!

genuinely tysm for reaching out and reminding me of this, it had totally slipped my mind how into this idea i was lol, but i'll definitely try to write a bit of that !!

[the-bloody-sadist]

Can I ask what do you think about vanoe as a ship? And why do you think their relationship is special (like why do you love this ship)?

Before reading a few fics in ao3 and a metas about vanoe in tumblr, I actually only ship vanitas/jeanne but always feel that the relationship between vanitast/noe is kinda hard to explain as just bff... Now I kinda ship them in a poly relationship, jeanne/vanitas/noe/domi (sorry for being weird).

Also I read somewhere that vanitas/jeanne is toxic but vanitas/noe is positive, do you agree with this statement?

Love reading your analysis ans reviews....

This whole ask is A BIT MINOR-CODED IF YOU ASK ME! I think you might be surrounded by some unhealthy people if you read somewhere that vanitas/jeanne is TOXIC and you feel the need to compare toxic vs. healthy ships. My first question is does it fucking MATTER bruv???!!!!

Seriously though, I ship VaNoe because I've done plenty of fanworks for them, but the show has plenty of content for vanitas/jeanne (no idea where you're getting the toxic label either because their relationship is incredibly fluffy). Also, don't believe things you read randomly on the internet. Form your own opinions about the relationships when YOU ARE WATCHING THE SERIES. Okay? If you don't like it, you don't like it. If you do like it, then ship it. It's really that simple. There's no need to compare ships to figure out why you should or shouldn't ship one. All this to say, you're not weird to ship them all in a poly relationship.

VaNoe is my favorite, but vanitas/jeanne has been made the literal CANON relationship of the series, so both are just as viable. And domi/noe is of interest to me too because the femdom vibes are immaculate.

ANYWAY! I attacked you a bit but I hope the message got through 🥲 I just hate it when people let those around them define morals for their fictional interests. It's silly - you will never please everyone and you should form your own opinions regardless of what people deem negative or positive. But if I read your ask wrong and that's not the place you're coming from, I APOLOGIZE. LMAO. I'm very glad you like my analyses and reviews. Have a good day!

[autisticbokutoenthusiast]

ep 7 stray thoughts:

- thing i’ve noticed is that the opening sequences always give me chills

- ok so zoueyteena was mutualism, nuthphop was protocooperation, captainkeen is commensalism, first/porsche/soong/jump with parasitism, aob and puen with competition, nant and prom? for predation… i’ll keep this in mind

- now why captain looking down the camera lens do NOT perceive me sir… “it’s like im sleeping in the mushroom breeding center” damn …. also first having no courtesy for other ppls space my baby boy

- nont lowkey wishing his brother chose literally any other roommates in the world lmao- oh there he goes setting things on fire again

- once again the 5 baddie bunch are all in the same area but porsche is specifically cut out of each frame… why is he always on the outside????

- hold on how old are they supposed to be??

- i’m excited to get into porsches story, all of his scenes have a sense of like danger to them…

- are there any meta posts floating around out there about the use of older tech, like the boxy tvs and the older video recorder??

- nuthphop continues to have the most breathtaking shots for me idk what it is about their moments but they make so much sense visually and audioly(?? is this the word??) idk what im saying at this point

- gonna try to pay closer attention to the music for zoueyteena scenes, they stick in my memory as bright/les complex not/barely digital instrumentations but that could just be my memory playing with me

- not captain selling out keen…also soemthing i noticed is that while captain and keen were talking earlier the music was bright and jumpy and when their teammate walks in it turns to like *ominous bass* and then eventually sad piano and the scene with keen walking in on captain and the others mirrors that (though the piano the first time is scared and sad and the second time more idk deep and thoughtful [this is how i’ve always had pieces described to me by instructors idk if the emotions match perfectly] so it can lead into zouey and teena’s scene)

- worlds collide…. also phop and nuth and their gender shirts good for them good for them. i know nuth looks like the most likely suspect but they really are so sweet

- i think the reason i like nuth and phop scenes the most is that they are easiest for me to understand, like the whole scene is sending me a clear message and no element is wasted kind of thing (not that the other scenes have unnecessary elements my brain is just better at understanding certain cues over others. just a preference thing)

- yasss dramatic cinematography moment (also i feel like it fits into the vintage tech category) keen blowing the whistle you will always be famous to me

- thinking about captain and keen and the “one person benefits the other gets nothing” bit from the beginning…

- nont: i don’t just want him arrested i want him dead

prom: girl ok…. sorry i asked...

- ok so there’s a boxy tv behind nont that’s just static and this isn’t the first i’ve seen one, what do they mean????

-A GUN?!?!?!

- “i will leave quietly like how i arrived” nont be fr…

- is it just me or does nont always leave his bangs down when he’s alone with prom

- ooo the parallel between soong and porsches lines (i’m assuming i was distracted by the dubbing of first and soongs convo)

- oh… puen and aob… oh… also aob kinda looking a bit wet and pathetic now…

- keen better than me if captain showed his face again it’d be on sight

- wait wasn’t captain not interested in playing whatever sport they’re playing before now… ya know what whatever makes him happy ig if his dream is to be an athlete than good for him

- they’re reprising the captain keen song from earlier- i assume this means that they’ve overcome this issue/ have gone back to like it was before [actually they were included in the revenge sequence but i will interpret this as keen already got his revenge now things can be sweet]

- first throwing the money at soong, ooo he really hurt that boy

- CAPTAIN I KNOW THAT IS NOT A VIDEO RECORDER CAPTAIN PUT DOWN THE CAMERA CAPTAAAAAIIIIN

- ok i caught: nant? holding a sign with his name is neon green lighting, nuth holding a camera in that same lighting, nuth recording nant standing over him in red lighting, swinging feet and a kicked over chair (im assuming it’s someone being hung) in orangey red lighting

- to be perfectly honest the only lighting that i remember that resembles this is in the playboy lounge and proms room (re lighting that is)

- hold on are they framing nuth in a cage?!?

- “ the picture of you i see and remember is better than who you are”… “you’re not perfect like a dream. and i like you anyway” i need a minute

- i think the thought that you will exist in someone’s eyes as better than you are is comforting actually…

- zoueyteena scenes continue to have top tier music let’s gooo

- nuths smiling face when he answers the door for phop im gonna go eat cement what the fuck why would they do that to me i’m genuinely gonna lose my mind oh my good?????

- NOOOOOOOOOO NOOOOOO NOOOO

- ok nonts hair is down again- does he let his hair down when he’s not performing as nant, like hear me out in all the nant flashbacks his hair is parted and when nont is with nants friends he adopts the same hairstyle so are the scenes where his hair is down he isn’t keeping up a performance or he can have his own preference ???

- WHATTTTTTTTT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT DID HE KUST WHAT DID HE SHOOT MY BOY PHOP WHAT BITHC WHAT WHAT WHAT I- how could they do this to me?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?,!,!,

[pynkhues]

your fic ideas for the kinktober are so delicious. can you elaborate a bit on the Week 2 fic? 👀 also Week 3, because i'm intrigued with "Lestat gets Real Weird About It" line.

(x)

Sure, haha.

Mmm, so both are just kind of areas I've been thinking about in terms of character generally right now, not even just in terms of fic, so sorry if this also sounds a bit meta-y, haha.

I've been thinking a lot lately about Louis having multiple forms of investment, and we tend to focus a lot on the art for obvious reasons, but we know he's in real estate too and he tells Daniel in 2.05 that he likes predicting what overlooked product will flourish in time. I'm kind of interested in the way investment has changed over the last fifty years in the context of the show, and how Louis' approach to it all might have evolved, which in many ways has been bolstered too by watching Industry and getting a bit of a sense of that high-end, high-value, high-stakes investment banking and where Louis might fit in that sort of context in 2024.

The thing that really stands out to me is that there's this detachment and clinicalness to that sort of investment / capitalism that feels really different to the Louis who both genuinely connected to art and obviously got off on the hunt for it and commodifying it, which in turn made me think about the Louis of '73 who was, again, more clinical perhaps professionally, but then like - - indulging his more carnal and passionate needs through drugs and boys in San Francisco.

This fic was kind of inspired by having read an article recently that cruising is on the rise again internationally, and I kind of love that we know that Louis did cruise across the decades given the implications of the Bayou as a cruising site in New Orleans, the parks in Paris, and of course, those San Francisco bars, especially because it really seems to be a distinction between him and Lestat. In the show, we've seen Lestat's really way more of a relationship hopper, even in his adultery, between Louis, Nicki, Armand and Antoinette, whereas Louis hits-and-quits, at least with his own adultery (although y'know, he tried to hit-and-quit both Lestat and Armand too lol).

So yeah, the fic's basically contextualising Louis in this sort of finance world, and him and Lestat being half-together, half-not-together and kind of orchestrating a role play in a local cruising park that gets just. Wildly out of hand, lmao, because they're both insane, but also because Louis' feeling maybe a little bored with modern investment and Lestat's' feeling creatively constrained when working on his album. Drugs may have been imbibed, and they might get a little bit (a lot) feral, haha. Witnesses will be eaten!

As for the week 3 fic:

I'm still really percolating on this one, so it's not quite as developed, but I've been thinking about how different Armand and Louis' relationship is to Lestat and Louis' in general, particularly with the BDSM-element, and wondering what the response would be to that? I really loved Marbleflan's The Things We Did and Didn't Do which captured a discomfort Lestat might have with it in the period where they have to get to know each other again, and Louis' need for it as a means of controlling not anyone else, but himself.

I also - - mmm. I've been thinking a LOT recently too about the fact that the Lestat prior to Paris is pretty naive and cut-off from schools of thought which I think would include different types of sexuality? When he arrives in Paris in the late 1700s, it would actually be right around the time Marquis De Sade was starting to publish, and given his writing literally gave birth to the BDSM movement, it's kind of interesting to think what impact that may have had on Lestat. He wouldn't have read any of it, of course, he's illiterate in that part of his life, but it's interesting to think of the conversations that were happening when he was still a young and naive mortal man.

The fact that Lestat's traumatised in that period by Magnus assaulting him and turning him, and then by Nicki's kidnapping then suicide, that he then sleeps through the French Revolution only to be woken up presumably sometime in the early 1900s by Marius before heading to America where he meets Louis, then is seemingly in his hovel from the late 1940s to, well, now, means that Lestat's lost huge chapters of time where social understandings of sex and sexuality and, well, sex toys have really changed. Louis was fucking his way through all of this, both Armand and other men, and it just kind of makes me curious as to what that actually means when they're back together.

I'm still figuring it out, I just think it's an interesting area to explore that Lestat might have some baggage around all of that (and that that baggage might be in regards to a lot of different things).