#the second one is the one we get at the end of the episode but the first

[iconicname]

Yeah

Always think about that scene where lucifers mother tells him that instead of being sent to hell, God wanted to kill him.

And while she clearly had her own motivations for telling him this (to get lucifer angry enough to get revenge)

So whether or not she was straight up lying for bending the truth, what gets me is how fast lucifer believes her. That belief doesn't come out of nowhere. Which never gets addressed ever again???

Though you could argue that that belief came from sending lucifer to hell indefinitely (which is just if not more cruel because c'mon) Netflix lucifer has a lot of canonical self hatred and implied suicidal ideation (plus his "devil form" which supposed to be a reflection of how he subconsciously see himself)

Coupled with the fact that we've never been given any indication whatsoever of the actual events that led to lucifer being sent to hell other than a vague "rebellion" and a something about Michael manipulating lucifer (which feels like a cop out but whatever)

uppermost with how in the show (bcs comic lucifer is a completely different dude) lucifer is extremely pacified, sure he makes scary faces and will get violent every now and then but nothing about him screams "diety who committed a sin so grave and horrific and showed no sign of stopping that the only option was to banish him to a place so dreadful that the goddess (a being who should effectively be God's equal) feared going back" painting a picture that lucifers punishment was not necessary or just.

And speaking of the goddess or Charlotte ig, she was also sent into hell. And I get the reasoning that it's because she kept causing mass death to humanity, which might seem justified from a human perspective, but to her, God, and her children this is the equivalent to sending her son to Diyarbakır Prison because he said "no" to you or challenged your authority some way. And then later, sending your wife to the same place because she knocked over your ant farm that you were investing more time than into your family.

Because both Lucifer and Charlotte have shown to be good people. Sure they're a little fucked up and have a tendency to use underhanded methods to get what they want but they're motivations while sometimes misguided are rarely malicious.

Charlotte was introduced a big scary figure (let's not forget how wary and downright scared of her he was initially) but she's really a hurt (rightfully so) ex spouse who wanted to get back at God for what he did to her (and lucifer bcs that scene in hell with dead uriel proves that she does love her kids she probably has trouble expressing affection in a straightforward way a trait that was either worsen or caused because of stay in hell) her method of revenge was likely the only thing that could save her herself too because lets be real, everytime both lucifer and her were on earth they both had angels coming down to bring them back to hell through extremely violent means. (I don't care if they were apparently "misguided" every angel that came after them wholeheartedly believed that what they were doing was justified and were pretty damn sadistic about it, too. that belief didn't come from nowhere)

From episode fucking one, it's unsaid, but we establish lucifer as a character who has already had his redemption (and this is through the assumption that he was more "evil" before the show starts) the whole plot with Delilah, someone who made a deal with lucifer to become a star but ended up a addict and involved with shady people. She was at her lowest when she asked she owed lucifer (I think about this a lot bcs I believed she assumed that whatever lucifer would ask of would either be something she couldn't give or something she wouldn't want to) lucifer said to "get her life together" as payment, thus giving Delilah a second chance at life.

Again this is episode fucking one, one of the things I hate about the show and fandom is it portrays Chloe and Lucifers relationship as "the awful misguided evil who is tamed, saved, guided by the second coming incarnate" everytime lucifer has growth as a person the credit is given to Chloe like she did something or just being around her gives you heaven points instead of the reality "lucifer holding Chloe in such high esteem because he's falling in love with her that he bends himself backwards to make himself into someone she would approve of"

because that would acknowledge that God was wrong, that lucifer didn't grow because of his interference, not in fact he did all the work himself (reconciling with a sibling who was hostile for a long time, forgiving his mother for being a bystander, even going to therapy like srsly bro is stronger than me).

And this is why they have God coming in acting like some goofy harmless guy because the narrative established that lucifer doing good thing = Chloe doing "miracles" and since Chloe was directly made by God thus put in lucifers path, it means Lucifer's "redemption" and happiness is on account of god.

That's why everyone is so easy with him. Lucifer is hurt and mad and God is like "but a gave you Chloe ☝️😊 aren't so much happier now?" And "lucifers like damn ur right, all is forgiven!" Chloe's the same way.

And since he's literally God the same goes for every other character for whatever reason or another he's essentially bribed every character to like him and has been playing a long term honeymoon phase (cycle of abuse) with lucifer. lucifer has essentially lost his support system which makes me grind my teeth.

OP you're especially right about Linda because Lucifer specifically made himself vulnerable to her about his traumas, self-esteem, self hatred and so much more to her and for her to say that to him must be gut punching, because she essentially invalidated everything he expressed to her 🫠

Honestly, to me, Lucifer Netflix as a whole has a lot of trouble validating lucifer as someone who was hurt. They love to hammer on his flaws (which makes sense since it started as a series about growth) but when it comes to his trauma, self-hatred and or when he's hurt by another character it gets brushed aside or mentioned once and never again.

Take for example the early seasons with Chloe and Lucifer first developing their partnership it it always delves into a series of misunderstandings, Chloe being a no-nonsense person and lucifer doing everything out of the box. What usually happens is that lucifer steps out of line Chloe will lash out (verbally) and lucifer goes "I don't understand your point I will go to Linda about it" wakiness ensues and by the end of the episode Lucifer has learned some kind of life lesson.

But the thing is that Lucifer is a character who's so genuine with his actions and is worldview is vastly different from hers in so many ways, he always means well so when Chloe says hurtful things (I'm not berating her for this it's completely understandable from her perspective) it's never acknowledged later, no "Hey I was wrong" or "sorry for calling you that" or maybe a "I should have taken you seriously"

It's such a miniscule aspect but it's brushed aside. Same thing with the whole poison situation there's little remorse and Chloe gets to handle the consequences on her terms.

Its like that with every situation really, any character (but mainly chloe) gets to stomp all over him and he's never allowed to fight back or they get "proven right" .

the most annoying part of lucifer on netflix is that he was literally right the whole time. i don't give a shit if the literal actual god was "just trying his best." lucifer was 100% right to be angry at god and in fact, i think everyone should've been downright pissed when they met him. ESPECIALLY linda. fuck her for real for telling him that his conflict with god was partially his fault. lucifer described an abusive father to her countless times and the second she met him she started fawning over him? fuck that. chloe should've punched god in the face

[namism]

Hello it's me! Sorry for being late sending this reply, but is it alright if I ask for the strawhat's with a dog hybrid reader that ends up taking the treasure off their ship? Sorry if this sounds crazy (⁠人⁠ ⁠•͈⁠ᴗ⁠•͈⁠)

mink on the run! the world's cutest thief | straw hats

➳ categories: canonverse, female canine mink reader

➳ word count: 2k

➳ summary: After scoring a gold mine on an island, the Straw Hats throw a celebration. Unbeknownst to them, a visitor decides to join in.

➳ notes: thanks for the request! 🧡 not sure how you wanted it to turn out but i ended up writing a one piece filler episode/scene. on that note, sorry not sorry chopper

➳ cross-posted on ao3

Odd things have been surrounding the Straw Hats lately. Robin was the first to sense that something felt off, then Usopp second. After that, everyone else followed, raising their concerns one by one.

Turns out it was just Luffy sneaking into the kitchen for a midnight snack.

Once that was settled, the rest of the crew kept their guard down for the rest of their stay on the island, hopping off the Thousand Sunny and roaming around the capital.

Nico Robin, however, still feels iffy.

Luffy's appetite did not spike her radar, so she doubted it was the cause. Looking at their circumstances, though, she understands if everybody else just shrugged it off because they're preparing for yet another celebration, the excitement fogging their heads.

Still, she decides to keep an eye out, afraid that something might be after them.

Brook is the first to notice her vigilance.

"You seem to be worried about something, Robin-san."

Robin tells him of her suspicions. To her surprise, Brook agrees to help her, and together, they go about their days keeping watch.

Unbeknownst to them, inside a little cask stowed away at the corner of the Thousand Sunny's lawn deck, emerges a canine mink previously in hiding.

You lift the lid of the cask and scan your surroundings before deciding to hop off. The sun is gone and the sky is dark, while the ship of the Straw Hat Pirates is, for once, silent.

Taking a whiff of the fresh air blowing from the combers of sea, you stretch your limbs and crack your bones to prepare your body for the strenuous movements needed for your extravagant plan. A small smirk forms on your lips when you eye the door to your right.

You force yourself into the room, but end up leaving disappointed as you realize that you're in the men's quarters. You step out quickly, then race up the steps by the foremast to check the room on the upper level.

Kicking the door open, you instantly smell the items you're after.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ship is the Straw Hats' cook, humming a soft tune to himself as he prepares tonight's dinner celebration for the entire crew and their acquainted islanders. In the middle of cooking, however, he smells something different in the air, and his senses start tingling.

He sets the gas stove on low and pokes his head out of the kitchen door, looking into the darkness to investigate the cause of his senses. When he's charmed by the scent, he pauses his cooking, promptly dashes out of the kitchen, and walks across the lawn.

That's when he notices the light emitting from the women's quarters. Faint and mysterious, Sanji decides to check it out, knowing well enough that Nami and Robin aren't on the ship at the moment. Suddenly, he runs into an equally confused Franky emerging from the basement, who quickly agrees to come with him to check the light.

When they get to the door, that's when they find the impostor.

"We got a thief!" yells Franky upon seeing you rummaging through Nami and Robin's items, your furry hands inches deep into the treasure chest that one of the girls has stationed beside the beds. Alarmed, you hop on your knees and throw two gigantic sacks of treasure on your back. "Aow! The thief is stealing Nami's treasure, and she's SUPER cute!"

Facing the two men by the door, you realize that you're trapped. Looking to your right, you find two portholes large enough for you to crawl out of.

Deciding to bail on your operation, you plead with the two men cutely, your eyes turning glossy and your eyebrows knitting together.

"Garchu!" you greet with your adorable puppy eyes. Realizing that you're a mink, the blond is immediately entranced, while the other stands his ground and doesn't react to your scheme.

Nonetheless, you hastily open the porthole and squeeze your sacks of treasure through them. Startled, the two men decide to go after you with the blue cyborg initiating the chase, but you're long gone from the Sunny by the time he forces his bulky metallic body through the opening.

Hopping off the ship, you look behind you with your tongue sticking out, barking in between laughs as you realize that they're chasing after you.

"My beautiful lady, wait up!" the blond man of the Straw Hats yells.

You make a face of disgust. "Ew, what's his problem?"

You make a beeline for the forest, dodging tree branches and obstacles swiftly to lose the men behind you, but they maintain their speed. You quicken your pace and head straight to the island capital, where you can hopefully blend into the crowds and disappear into the night.

As the festive crowd goes wild, mingling merrily with the Captain, sniper, musician, and talking reindeer of the Straw Hats, the top drinkers of the pirate crew congregate at the gazebo, where a competitive crowd cheers on their betted pirate. Nami wipes the corners of her mouth after having drunk another bottle dry, earning a snicker from Zoro, whose competitiveness coaxes him to grab another bottle of alcohol. Across from the two, Jinbe laughs heartily over his 15th cup, watching the chaos all go down.

Robin sits around a campfire with the island children, styling their hair into fishtail braids, when she feels something strange yet again. She looks behind her only to see Luffy and the others dancing around the pavilion, concluding that it might just be her paranoia talking.

She proves herself otherwise, however, once Franky and a heart-eyed Sanji emerge from the forest breathily.

"Aow! She's stealing our treasure!"

Robin looks across the pavilion and sees you, a canine mink, holding two fully loaded sacks of treasure and looking awfully similar to their friends back in Zou. You weave through the crowds with purpose, almost losing her attention, but she summons replicas of her hands on the ground where you walk, gripping your ankles.

Stumbling on your feet, you growl at the happenstance before leaping into the air forcefully, grabbing the attention of the many islanders around you. The music stops as gasps of surprise echo across the pavilion. Robin summons another handful of her limbs to restrain you, but you shock her with your Electro, allowing you to move around freely.

You land on top of the Straw Hats' Captain and sniper, knocking them on the ground with your two feet. Their reindeer and musician scream, and you pluck the pink cotton candy away from the reindeer's hands.

He starts crying, but you run away.

"MYYY LADYYY! Come back!"

Looking behind you, the blond cook from the Thousand Sunny is back on your trail with the blue-haired cyborg following him closely. You grumble under your breath and dash to the gazebo, where the crowd stays ignorant to the turn of events, too involved in the drinking competition they're hosting to care.

Suddenly, you leap across the table, triggering further chaos as you crash the competition. Jinbe and Nami scream, while Zoro ignores the commotion as he finishes the last of his alcohol.

"Give me that!"

You snatch the swordsman's cup and drink the last few drops of liquid, grimacing at the bitter taste. Angry, Zoro jumps to his feet and readies his swords to fight.

"Nami, that dog mink stole our treasure! Get her!"

At the sound of the cyborg's cries, you realize that you're in the presence of the woman whose room you were in earlier. Gulping, you hop off the table and sprint out of the gazebo. Nami, the woman with tangerine hair, begins to heat up at the news and reaches for her Clima-Tact.

To your luck, you're long gone from her sight before she could use her weapon. You head toward the maze of residences that engulf the city, taking sharp turns and running down alleyways to lose them.

Moments later, you run into a cute predicament.

"Stop right there! Freeze!"

A laugh erupts from your chest the moment you spot the Straw Hat's talking reindeer. He holds a small paw right in front of his other one in a kung fu stance, but he's so cute and tiny that you're incapable of feeling scared.

Looking at the cotton candy in your hand, a wicked idea comes to mind.

"Give back our treasure, you mink!" he growls.

"Ah, but that would just be upsetting." You feign a frown. "If I returned the treasure, will you-teia let me go?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Even with cotton candy?"

The reindeer's eyes soften as you wave the strawberry-flavored candy in your hand. His hands relax, and he slowly reaches out for it.

You hold it back.

"No can do. You-teia have to clean it first with water!"

You give him the candy and pull out a water bottle from your knapsack. With a wicked smile, you pour water onto the cotton candy, causing it to melt in the reindeer's hands until it's fully gone.

"All done! Enjoy!"

As you run past him in laughter, he realizes what you had just done, looking back and forth between the melted (practically non-existent) cotton candy in his hands and the spot where you once stood. Tears well up in his eyes a second time as he realizes that he just got fooled.

Two streets down from yours, an annoyed Zoro runs after a fuming Nami with her Clima-Tact out and ready to attack. Jinbe is on the other side of town with Brook and Usopp acting as lookouts. When she sees your tiny furry figure at the end of the street, the two humongous bags of the Straw Hats' precious treasure riding on your back, Nami erupts into flames and hurtles down the path to catch up to you.

You run faster. Suddenly, at an intersection where four streets meet at a marble sculpture of the island's ancient hero, appears the Straw Hats' idiot Captain and another one of his nakamas with the Paramecian Devil Fruit power, holding the talking reindeer in her arms.

"O-Oi, is this really the mink that made Chopper cry?" Luffy asks Robin as he looks at you confusedly. Chopper wails, flailing his hands around as rivers of tears flow down his face.

"T-That's her! S-She"—he sniffs—"she stole my cotton candy and made it disappear!"

The three watch you laugh, one arm clutching your stomach.

"There she is!" Franky's voice rings out from the street to the west, the creepy blond man running after him.

"Get the treasure and stop her, you idiots!" Nami commands from behind, and the Straw Hats follow immediately. You channel your Electro and shoot bolts toward them, effectively knocking them down besides Nami and their Captain. Nami unravels her Clima-Tact, generating a gigantic Thunder Ball of electrified air. She hurls the ball toward you, but you send it flying back with a magnified fist of your Electro.

"What do you think you're doing?! You can't do that to my crew!" Luffy hops on your head and blocks your line of sight. You scream.

"Get off me!" You push him off you as you run out of breath. Digging into your knapsack, you grab the piece of venison meat you were saving for dinner and shove it in his mouth. Luffy bites down on the meat, distracted, so you take the opportunity to leave, heading east.

Despite your attacks, the blond man of the crew—Sanji, you believe his name is—stands back up feebly and uses every bit of his energy to still run after you.

He closes the distance between you, but he's too slow to catch up as he sees you stand on the ledge of a stone bridge.

Turning around, you shoot him a wink, causing him to swoon.

"Bleh! Thanks for the treasure, Mugiwara! Garchu!"

Sticking your tongue out at the defeated crew, you dive into the river and swim toward the estuary leading to the sea, never to return with your treasure safe and secure behind you.

[ssa-dado]

MY ITALIAN MOM & “HOTCH NEVER FUCKS”: a case study

(Rant + I need your help)

- TESTIMONY REPORT

Last year, my mom and I decided to watch Criminal Minds together. Based on some promotional photos, I thought she’d thirst over Hotch as much as I did. But after 10 episodes of absolutely zero interest on her part, we switched to another show (this is what happens in my household - if the woman doesn't thirst over a man after 10 eps, we switch the show). Recently, I was rewatching an episode on my own when she wandered in and was shocked to find out that I liked Hotch.

“HOTCH? Really? I thought you liked the Broomstick!”

For those needing clarification, she was referring to none other than Dr. Spencer Reid. Yes, Reid. The Broomstick.

“…How can you like him? This guy never fucks. He’s too serious!”

Since then, every time I mention Aaron Hotchner, she hits me with some variation of “he never fucks.”

Naturally, I defended him, valiantly, into the trenches. But my mom, a visual learner, demanded proof.

“Is there an episode where he actually fucks? Or at least where he’s naked?”

And so, I did what any devoted fan would do: I cued up "the fisher king pt1" Because that’s as close as Hotch gets to “fucking” on screen. Plus, there’s that one 30-second-long nipple scene in dim lighting that since 2005 (?) has been the holy grail of Hotch thirst content.

I thought it would win her over. It didn’t.

We watched Part 2, and after 40 minutes of me pointing out all of Hotch’s deliciously Hotch moments (evidence below) she hits me with:

“He goes there because at home, he doesn’t fuck.” (“There” being Elle’s apartment to clean up her blood.)

The audacity (S3 Rossi kind of sass), and she asked me:

“Is there an episode where he shows his shoulders? His legs?”

I immediately pulled out the iconic Hotch Marathon™ scene in less than a second. Her only comment?

“He has no ass.”

I mean, yes... but he has an athletic ass #justiceforflatasses

“And skinny legs.”

Supermodel legs.

Still, I counted it as a win when she deflected my comments about his broad shoulders and arms and the fact he has body hair (she a fond appreciation for hairy men), but then she hit me with:

“He’s skinny.”

That’s peak S7 Hotch appeal, so I pivoted, pulling out the dad bod Hotch content™ (S10Ep20). That tight shirt. The one that’s this close to bursting. BOOBIES. ARMS. MUSCLES. BOOBIES. GUCCI TIE. BOOBIES. AND MORE BOOBIES.

We watched the entire episode because she got invested in the case, but at the end, her verdict?

“So, where was the hotness? These aren’t even tight shirts. You can’t see anything, not even a dick outline.”

... GIRL ...

(I was three seconds away from showing her The Gif™ from Love and Human Remains, but I restrained myself)

- THIRSTY HOTCH DATABASE

Which brings me here, Hotch humans. I need your help. I’m building a Thirsty Hotch Database™ to convert my mom (and for personal research reasons too)

What are the hottest Hotch moments I could show her? Episodes, scenes, gifs, pics, anything.

(Mind you, she admitted Thomas Gibson is a handsome man but insists Hotch “has no sex appeal because he never fucks.”)

I refuse to let Hotch’s honor be dragged through the mud like this. Also, I’m genuinely curious about your picks for Hotch’s hottest moments. (Are you creeps like me who find the scene where he passes out in the ER in S4Ep01 oddly attractive, or are you normal people?)

Please reach out however you’d like - DMs, asks, comments, tags, reblog this, carrier pigeon - I’ll take any leads.

And if you’re interested, I’ll keep you updated on The Case of Hotch vs. My Mom.

OPTIONAL BACKGROUND MATERIAL:

- THE PROFILES

Unsub #1: 52, female, Italian, loves crime shows, self-proclaimed connoisseur of “male bums.” After thirsting over Bridgerton’s Duke, she now binges no-ad TV shows during family dinners. Builds harems of fictional men, only continues shows if at least one character is “thirst-worthy.”

Unsub #2: 22, demisexual (that’s me). Crime show addict, inherited taste from Unsub #1. Chooses shows based on cast thirst-potential, only to end up sexualizing Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner and dedicating a Tumblr to his idolization.

- VICTIMOLOGY

The victims: Any tall conventionally attractive middle-aged man with broad shoulders, hairy (but no facial hair), an athletic or dad-bod build, and, preferably, a “fat bum.”

Please, for the love of Hotch (and justice for flat asses), help me win this case. You are my last hope.

[alpaca-clouds]

Some Observations about Nocturne Trailer 2

Netflix, why are you doing this to me? Why can't you be normal about this and just release like two scenes as a preview before the release - instead of dropping a whole new trailer on us three days before season 2 drops. *sighs* Why are you doing this? My hyperfixation forces me to write an analysis. Also: Why so many complicated shots? This makes it so hard to reduce it down for tumblr's 30 pictures per post. *goes to scramble pictures together*

So, yeah, to keep it under 30 pictures, I put screenshots together. Just so you know.

We start of the trailer with a couple of shots of Erszebeth. It is not quite sure of those shots are from one scene or multiple scenes. Though it seems to me that at least the two I edited together above might be from the same scene, probably in the first episode of the new season. Erzsebeth learning that Drolta is dead, from all that we can tell. And it is noticable that Erszebeth is back to her normal form once more. A bit more on that later.

We then see multiple shots of our protagonists in some ruins that from all we can tell are outside of Machecoul. It almost looks from some of the things that the ruins might be the Chateau de Machecoul. Though I am not sure if that makes sense. The position should be about right. If it really is the Chateau it is funny, because it actually belonged to Gilles de Rais once. As you might know, I wondered when Nocturne was announced was announced whether Gilles de Rais would show up, given it is France and Gilles does feature as a villain in some of the games. It does not seem so, but at least my history nerd self wanted to call out that this castle once belonged to him. :P

I am certain that this scene also is from episode 1 of the second season. Probably one of the first scenes int the new season, as they probably check in with Alucard exchanging information about what happened and so on.

We then get a couple of shots that seem to all come from the same scene: The resurrection of Drolta as a night creature. The lighting makes it clear that it is the same scene, and it is the hell machine that Emmanuel somehow got. I do wonder if we get an answer this season where that machine came from.

At least this seems to make it clear, that indeed vampires can be turned into night creatures. At least with this machine. Not quite that sure about the forgemasters like Hector and Isaac.

Something I am starting to wonder: Is it part of this specific machine that it just puts the same soul back into the body again? Because we know it for certain that Edouard, Jacques and now Drolta have the same soul once more in the same body, despite the monster transformation. So this makes me wonder if EVERYONE revived with the machine has the same soul again...

We also see the eclipse end and several shots of Erszebeth grimacing, which makes me wonder if she loses the control over her god-form right at the beginning of the episode. Not quite sure about what is happening there.

We have a couple of shots of Alucard, Richter, Annette and Juste in front of Juste's home. In some of them the house is burning, in the others it has stopped burning. I am going to assume that after the first check in everyone parts ways and Richter decides he wants to check on Juste - so this group heads over to Juste. We see a couple of dead bodies. I am right now not quite certain if the dead bodies are the vampires that Richter and Juste fight together in S1 or another bunch of vampires.

Then we have a couple of shots at the Chateau of the Marquis with Erszebeth, Tera and Olrox. I would also not be surprised if this is in episode 1 or 2. Fairly early at least. Something that is noticable: Erszebeth and Tera are out in the light during what looks like day, while Olrox still sticks to the shadows. It would make sense that Erszebeth is immune to sunlight and that Tera has now inherited this from her.

We also have some shots at the Chateau at night, where Emanuel and the night creatures are there. Also noticable, as @mysteryanimator pointed out: Thyme is here. The girl that Drolta picked out for Erszebeth in season 1 (and who now is clothed in the same colors like Olrox). I wonder if she is a vampire now.

And there is anohter shot sequence at the Chateau, once more clearly a different scene. We see night creature Drolta fly over the Chateau and then an army of night creatures and vampires. I am fairly certain that this is a scene that takes place fairly close to the finale. Basically the typical mustering of the army that so often happens before a big finale. Though I guess... I am not sure. If they do not have a transmission mirror, an army at the time would march at least two weeks to reach Paris from Machecoul... And I am fairly certain that the finale happens in Paris.

Now, one scene that I am not fully sure about: We have a French Repubilican army (Blues) in a daylight fight scene. We do not know who they fight - outside of Drolta that is. So right now I am very confused about the context. This is probably a mid season action scene. But I really have no idea right now where this fight might be happening.

Now, I am assuming we are still in 1791~1792 like season 1. But still, the fact that the show takes place in Machecoul is probably not an accident, as it is the place where the War in the Vendée (the biggest massacre of innocents in the French Revolution happened) took place.

We also have a couple of shots of people in a street (Annette, Richter and Alucard among them), with Blues standing guard. I would argue this is close to the finale and Paris.

Now, here is something interesting: We see this beast in the trailer, which seems to be the same beast as in the poster. And it is not a bear, it is a wolf. I have heard some speculation that it is the Beast of Gauverdan, but I do not think so. Though I am wondering what is up with this wolf.

This happens in the same stone circle as Maria's introduction in the show - and the same scene we also see Juste and Tera fight in the trailer. And if you direct your attention between the legs of the beast, you see Tera is standing there.

So I am going to assume that Maria is crashing the fight - and then somehow this beast shows up. Probably one of hers. It is clearly magic. But right now... I am not sure what is up with it.

Then we have these shots of Olrox and Mizrak, this time in what looks like a sunrise. And in an interesting reverse of the scene in the last episode of season 1 now it is Mizrak who is crying while looking at Olrox.

I have no big theories here, but I am just so looking forward what the two of them will do in this season.

We have also these shots of night creatures marching. As the sky is read above, this seems to be also in the finale - as the red sky shots are pretty certainly happening in the big finale.

I am assuming this is Paris, as I said. And I might be mistaken, but I think the building to the right of the first screenshot might be Notre Dame?

But it is nice to see the night creatures fighting on the good side as well.

Then we have a couple of shots of Juste - clearly from a couple of different scenes.

Again, we had this long discussion about what flowers that are. And I will still argue: To me this looks like Prunus 'Kanzan'. A variant of the Japanese cherry blossom. There was some discussion whether it could be a peach flower or an almond. But the Kanzan bloom looks the most like the one in the screenshot.

We also see that Juste has this one ring - more later. And again the screenshots of him and Tera fighting.

Also, is it me or is he using Alucard's sword in the fight scene?

Then through the trailer there are a couple of shots that seem to be from the same scene of Maria fighting someone in a church and then summoning Seiryu there, while her eyes turn black and her magic looks quite different as well.

And now with this scene I am not quite sure when it could happen within the show. Because this looks like the church in Machecoul (if it is the same church that stands there today, the church is by the way named St. Meme, which I, a millennial who is too much online find quite funny).

But I really wonder why Maria is back in that church. Does she confront Emmanuel again? Is she gonna kill him?

Then there is this short scene of Alucard warning a group of formally clothed people of the army of vampires and demons approaching. And I do not want to lean to far, but I am almost certain that these people might be the National Assembly in Paris. If it is, this would be interesting, because it would mean that some interesting historical figures might actually show up in this!

There are these two money shots, but they are clearly during the final battle. What else is there to say? Mirroring between Alucard and Richter.

We then also see Alucard commanding the Blues probably also during the Battle of Paris, clearly against Erszebeth and her army. That army we also see a couple of shots.

I kinda love the color layout for those shots from the finale. With all the colors except red and blue being very desaturated. Love that style going on.

And mind you. Of course: Red is the color of the vampires here, and blue the color of Richter. But also Red, White and Blue are the tricoleur. Which is just A+ for theming for the guys at Powerhouse!

There is also this shot of Mizrak running towards a battlefield. From the colors going on this is probably the battle of the Blues against Drolta and whoever Drolta is fighting together with. There is another shot after this, which shows Mizrak being shocked. And I am almost certain that the scene of Mizrak and Olrox we saw earlier takes place after this battle.

I am wondering really who the Blues here are, and why Drolta is fighting them. I am assuming Mizrak might try to warn them that they are about to fight demons and is too late? I am not quite sure.

Then we have this sequence of Olrox being forced to kneel before Erszebeth finally. This seems to take place at the Chateau of the Marquis - so still in Machecoul. So I am gonna assume that this also takes place fairly early. Probably within the first four episodes.

I am going to go out on a limb and say this scene does not end well for Olrox. Because I am almost certain that Erszebeth and Drolta kinda know already he is working against them. He might have to flee in the end?

Okay, let me talk about something. We see this one scene of a Black woman in Egyptian garbs raise a chalice and also shots of a woman turning into something after having drunken from a chalice. Some people guess this is both the same scene and is the turning of Drolta, but I am not fully certain.

Mainly because the one woman has straight hair and also a bit lighter skin than Drolta. Though I would not be surprised if the chalice is the same. But yes, I am sure that the screenshot of the kinky haired woman is in fact Drolta's turning, which kinda makes me think that I am right and we will indeed see the backstory of how Erszebeth and Drolta met and how Erszebeth came to drink from Sekmet! :P

As I said, I am almost certain that the reason that Drolta is back is because we need to learn from her how Erszebeth came to be.

Though I do have to wonder what the context is. Because we definitely see Alucard and Richter fighting Drotla underneath a red sky in what probably is Paris. Which would probably mean that Drolta is still fighting with Erszebeth during the finale...

Then we have also these few shots. Which is clearly some sort of museum or private collection where Richter and Annette are fighting some night creatures. It is an Egyptian collection, and I guess they are there because they try to find out what the hell is going on with Erszebeth and what is up with Sekmet. Probably somewhere in the middle of the season.

Given that Maria is not here, I wonder if the "Maria in the Church" scene might happen in the same timeframe.

Some more shots from the battle - probably in the finale. Bonus point for the street barricade. Do you hear the people sing?

There is also this very short shot. And this one makes me wonder. Because this does not look like a collection or a museum, this looks like it happens outright in Egypt. Of course there is a chance that this might happen either in the Otherworld (I might have very much the suspicion we might have the characters go there). But it could also be that Alucard has travelled to Egypt before coming to France trying to find something out about Sekmet. And this could be a flashback then? I am not sure.

There is also this shot. I think this is in the church in Machecoul, which might also mean that he is with Maria when she summons Seiryu. The thing glowing here is clearly the ring that we saw before on his finger. Given that in the game he has a matching bracelet with Lydie and Maxim, it might be a callback to that.

I am assuming too that this is the scene in which he regains his magic - as later on we see him using magic.

Then there is this sequence with Annette. This clearly is in the "realm of the anchestors". And I am going to go out on a limb here: I am almost certain that "realm of the ancestors" and "the otherworld" and such will probably be the same place here. We saw Annette there once in season 1, but as I said before: I assume that Richter and Maria might also eventually learn how to connect to this.

And I am assuming that here Annette is going to have some sort of revelation or her ancestors might be showing her something? Probably episode 5 or 6?

The trailer ends on this in-air fight between Richter and Erszebeth. Something that you notice if you slow it down: Erszebeth in this already has lost her left arm. So this is probably very close to the end of the fight. It looks fun and dynamic - and yeah, probably happening in Paris.

Another assorted shot is this one - Mizrak protecting Maria. I am not sure where this happens, but my best guess might be that this is also connected to the Seiryu sequence and that Mizrak might be with Maria and Juste during these events.

Given that Maria seems to be in a rather dark mindset, I do wonder if this is before they get Tera back?

Then we have also a shot of night creature fighting night creature with Jacques showing up in the battle. (Also, note, that the detail of design is very different on main-character night creatures than on the background cannon fodder lol)

Lastly a couple more screenshots I just put into one picture, because tumblr limits me to 30 pics per blog. lol Two of them is Juste doing magic, which I am assuming is during the finale. And while the one with Maria using a very different one is in the same set of scenes towards the end of the trailer, the background clearly is the church again. I do wonder though what is happening with her magic there.

Then also we have a collapsed Mizrak in the arms of a pissed looking Olrox under a red sky. Again: Red sky is probably during the finale. So I am going to assume dear Mizrak will get wounded. It would be interested to see if he might get so gravely wounded that it might become a topic of discussion whether or not to turn him into a vampire? That would be interesting for our personfication of Catholic guilt.

And yeah, that's it.

My hyperfixation is happy. Three more days to go.

[thewistlingbadger]

Originally I was going to respond to someone else's reblog of this post because I thought it was a good discussion and good points were made. However I also found that it was too harsh and critical of you for my liking so I'm going to respond to your post right here without the input of others. In this post I'm going to provide additional perspectives as to why people are upset about the direction Jinx's character took.

1. Jinx canonically is mentally ill, we see her mental illness at a young age and her mental health problems only become more apparent as she gets older. Lots of fans relate to Jinx due to her mental health issues and her mental illness because they struggle with similar issues. So to have a character that provided representation to those who struggle with mental illness and mental health issues no longer struggle with those things no longer be battling an illness she was born with is incredibly disheartening. Because she was validating all these people and now suddenly the show has taken the opposite stance. Season one for a lot of people showed that you could be mentally ill and not be treated like a villain. You could be as complex as Jinx and have heroic moments like she did in s1. S2 eliminated Jinx's mental illness because in the eyes of the writers there was no way to make her a "True Hero" if she was still struggling with that stuff if she was still killing. They literally put an episode in season 2 where Jinx seemingly no longer had mental illness and everything was so good in that universe. Episode 7 gives off the impression that Powder is a better version of Jinx because she doesn't struggle with her mental health, because she's well adjusted, because she has all her family, etc. But remember, "there is beauty to imperfections" they make you who you are. Powder is an alternative version of Jinx but she is not "better" than Jinx. So one perspective is that Jinx no longer struggling is bad because it takes away representation for the mentally ill and it gives a poor message to them ("you would be better if you didn't have your illness").

2. Yes, people DID want to see Jinx get worse, and for multiple reasons. The first one I'll talk about is game accuracy. Arcane is based on the game League of Legends and in that game Jinx is an EXTREMELY unhinged character she is constantly bombing piltover with a smile on her face. She has a lot of Joker vibes in the game and because the show is based on the game people expected Jinx's character to go in a similar direction in the second season. When her character did NOT go down that path it left people feeling disappointed, ESPECIALLY since the finale of s1 suggested that Jinx's character was going to go down a darker path. People thought that with Jinx firing the weapon at the council and with Silco dying, Jinx was about to go apeshit and wreak havoc. But she didn't. Instead she got really calm.

Another reason why people would have preferred to see her go on a downward spiral is because villainy is entertaining. Jinx's character was already antagonistic in season one she was already doing bad things and it was a major reason for her popularity. What she did was wrong and incredibly tragic but it was also really fun to watch. People liked how incredibly twisted she was and wanted to see more of that side of her and they didn't get to.

3. Jinx's characterization in season 2 goes against a major message and takeaway from season one and by doing so it undermines season one. Season one discussed Jinx's inner conflict of identity and the past vs the present. At the end of the season Jinx finally decided who she was going to be. The message of the finale was ultimately that you can't change the past and you can't change who you used to be. All you can do is accept yourself and live in the present. That is a really powerful and strong message that we all need to hear and it was a lesson Jinx needed to learn. But in season two Jinx doesn't act on this lesson. She decides she's not going to be herself she's going to be who she used to be. This goes against a key theme in season one and that was incredibly frustrating to watch.

4. The direction of Jinx's character in season two was just bad writing all around. Not only did it go against who Jinx was set up to be in s1 and it went against the message of s1, it also just broke general writing rules. Character arcs are supposed to be progressive. We're supposed to see characters grow and evolve. We see Jinx go through this in season 1, she goes from "Powder" to "Jinx". But in season two Jinx's character is REGRESSIVE, it's about going back to the way things used to be. She isn't growing, she's shrinking. She's not evolving as a character she's reverting back to who she was at the start of the show. Season one ends with the promise of Jinx becoming herself and acting on her identity more confidently. This promise is immediately broken in season two, with Jinx LITERALLY saying the line "Jinx is dead." In season two Jinx acts nothing like how she acted in season one, she quickly reunites and reconciles with her original family and she even goes so far as to start answering to the name Powder again. This just feels like a complete betrayal of who she was in s1 as well as a complete betrayal of season 1 itself.

So TDLR there's many reasons why some are upset at the calmness of Jinx's character and there's many reasons why they SHOULD be upset. I think it's natural to want to see your favorite character happy but I also think it's natural to expect the story to behave organically and the direction of Jinx's character didn't feel organic.

are people seriously mad Jinx got better as the show went on? Like really? You would have been happier if she continued to be tortured in that way her whole life? Yall do realize she’s ill right? Idk i don’t get that but I like the character so 🤷🏻

[telomeke]

MY 2024 TUMBLR TOP 10

Yes I'm really late with this (totally on-brand for me 🤣) but that is the downside of waiting for 2024 to end before posting about it – and then taking too long to complete the task. Still, better late than never!

I was tagged to do this by @he-is-lightning-in-a-bottle at this post here. Thanks dearie! 🥰 (And if you'd like to play along too, there's no need to trawl through your posts manually, thank heaven. Just go to this website – Jet Black Code – and it'll list your Top 10 Tumblr posts in seconds. 👍😊)

So my activity on Tumblr (particularly writing about Thai BL) took a serious dip in 2024 (especially the latter half) for a number of reasons:

Work has ramped up in the post-COVID era, with work projects now coming onstream fast and furious. This has left me with a lot less time outside of work, which translates to less time for QL-watching, and (obviously) also less time to post about it.

My favorite queer auteur Aof Noppharnach Chaiyahwimhon has decided to step back from writing and directing (see these posts here and here), and in his absence I'm finding that non-Aof QL offerings are (perhaps unsurprisingly) disappointingly patchy in quality, which has turned QL-watching into a bit of a crapshoot (and less of a draw). With my short attention span I frankly need a show to be arresting in some way to stay committed – although I must add here that I don't need it to be highbrow art, just entertaining enough without being unduly insulting to the gray matter. So even a trashy series is fine as long as it's made clear to us we have to leave our loftier expectations at the door (memories of KinnPorsche flashing in my mind here – which also tells me my gray matter can handle quite a barrage of insulting if a show is entertaining enough 🤣). I was momentarily heartened by the promise of Khun Aof helming the GeminiFourth vehicle Ticket to Heaven in 2025 (such a beautiful trailer, a lush mini-movie almost), but I've come around to thinking this is more of an activist statement by him (commenting on the mainstream Christian/Catholic position vis-à-vis LGBTQ+ issues, remembering also that Khun Aof has a Catholic background). With this as the context, there's a high chance this show will never get made due to various sensitivities (but I live in hope nonetheless!):

With Khun Aof taking more of a backseat, my main feed for BL – GMMTV – seems to have pressed the pause button on more thought-provoking fare in favor of shows that are more formulaic and mass-market (read: vehicles for their branded couples, squarely aimed at the less discriminating and freer-spending sectors of the squealing teen audience). I've written more about it at these links here and here. And it's tough to keep watching GMMTV series when the plots don't deviate much from a well-worn template, rehashing narrative tropes because the formula is a proven money-spinner. A case in point: Kidnap the Series – never thought I'd give up on a show brimming with episode upon episode of a macho, shirtless, simping Ohm Pawat, but all that radiant manflesh still wasn't enough to keep me interested, which simply goes to show how dire the situation is. 😬🤷‍♂️ And with GMMTV enticing me less and less, I've been posting even less about BL as a result too.

Anyway, this explains why I have more original posts in the first half of 2024, while the latter half was mostly reblogs of other people's posts (and in keeping with the dictates of the game I'm only listing my own posts here, for what it's worth).

So after all that, on to my Top 10 for 2024:

✨NUMBER 1✨

My most popular post of the year was about a mysterious monk who inexplicably kept popping up in various Thai BLs: 👀

Appearing in Bad Buddy, KinnPorsche and The Sign, he was also sighted in non-BLs Pee Nak (still LGBTQ+ friendly), The Cave, Hemimeta, The Believers and The Murderer, resolutely a monk in all but the last one.

So working collectively, the BL fandom somehow managed to track down and identify the actor who plays everyone's favorite BL-friendly monk – he's Werawat Jumroensarn, not actually a monk in real life but nonetheless still a highly-religious Thai Buddhist who adroitly brings a sagely, monastic vibe to all his roles. The Thai BL fandom salutes you, Khun Werawat! 🙏💖

‌

✨NUMBER 2✨

This post was an explainer for the sudden flood of videos and GIFs on Tumblr showing Babe Tanatat all dressed up in traditional costume finery and performing a ceremonial dance somewhere outside Bangkok, while Billy Patchanon flapped about him gaily and garudaesquely in decidedly more normcore and less flashy garb.

The event turned out to be a worship ceremony put on by Idol Factory in faraway Nakhon Phanom, to honor the Great Naga of the Mekong even as The Sign deployed naga and garuda mythology in its storytelling, making waves here on Tumblr for fusing Thai supernatural beliefs with BL.

It was a highly respectful gesture from Idol Factory, thanking the nagas for allowing a representation of their story to be told as part of The Sign. Also respectful was the decision to have Billy abstain from the performance, probably because he was playing one of the garudas (who are mortal enemies of the nagas). All of which goes to show just how much belief in the spiritual and supernatural is woven throughout everyday life in Thailand. 👍

Babe, Heng and Songjet's little dance video at the link above is also breathtakingly beautiful. If I were the Naga being worshipped I'd certainly feel very honored indeed. 😍

‌

✨NUMBER 3✨

Ooh. 😵 This was one sex-drenched post, all about the visual rhetoric surrounding Tharn and Phaya's first time consummating their forbidden love and lust for each other (at least in their current reincarnations) as portrayed in The Sign:

So hot was the subject matter that despite my clinical descriptions and focus on the art direction, Tumblr's wonky algorithms (or possibly just some overworked backroom staff? 😂) decided that it was all too... too... (swoons into a deathly faint here) unseemly for the delicate constitution of the average Tumblrina in the BL fandom. (Yeah, right. Did no one survive KinnPorsche, Pit Babe or Playboyy??? 🤣)

And so they BLOCKED IT. Not once, but TWICE, which sent me scurrying to Admin with a flurry of appeals and explanations (that finally succeeded in getting the post reinstated, thank goodness). 😬

But really, all I was doing was noting how the lighting, colors, props and cinematography were working together to echo the breathless sensuality throbbing onscreen, when our two protagonists gave in to primordial desires much greater than themselves and attempted to unite their bodies as much as they could to counterbalance the heavily pre-ordained intertwining of their souls.

I think Idol Factory did a great job all around with this scene (both the players in front of the lens as well as those behind it). But was my post really all that raunchy though? I'll have to let you decide. 🤔

(above) The Sign Ep.7 [5/5] 19.47 – Phaya hungrily tops a gasping Tharn, even while a hard-working lamp from the Austin Powers range of home furnishings tries its best to do double duty : casting a sexy magenta light on everything while clumsily censoring any possible glimpse of Nagaruda penis and buttcrack 🤣

‌

✨NUMBER 4✨

Ah. Hmmm. 👀 Oops! Well, well...

I assure you, gentle reader and fellow BL fan, that I am not wholly possessed of a one-track mind – and yet somehow the next post here has also managed to turn all sexy and magenta while winking slyly at unspoken meanings hidden between the lines. Again. 🤣

Taking my Number 4 spot is a light-hearted post about Wandee Goodday nodding tongue-in-cheek at some legendary Thai porn, and this sideways jokery also shone as an example of WDGD's early charm, wit and intelligence. There was so much to look at and write about in the series, and I was especially taken with the lighting and art direction (all that yellow and magenta, standing in for Yoryak and Wandee) that I wrote reams about it.

But then… I decided not to post any of that, when the latter half of the show began to wander woozily about, punch drunk and semi-directionless, leading to an ending that turned out to be quite a letdown.

They squandered the obvious chemistry between the two leads and allowed a promising sexbuds-to-soulmates love story to meander to an unsatisfying conclusion. So many clever elements, but all set free to run wildly in a plethora of uncoordinated directions. This one disappointed me in the end, and it makes me sad to think of what might have been. But its fun moments were fun indeed, so I guess it's not a total loss. Inn Sarin really needs to start dialling back on the plastic surgery though. 😂

‌

✨NUMBER 5✨

Oh thank goodness there was 4 Minutes for us to lose our minds over collectively in 2024. Sleek, shiny, sexy – and that was just Great's car collection (the show itself, even more so 🥰).

Ah the mystery of it all! So convoluted was the Sammon plot that I found myself churning out post after post (work deadlines be damned) trying to guess at the underlying logic coursing beneath the spooky narrative onscreen, adding to the roiling cauldron of fan theories on Tumblr aiming to explain it all.

In the end Be On Cloud chose a more middle-of-the-road resolution, but there's no denying 4 Minutes captured the imaginations of so many. I remained impressed through to the end, and I will say it again: Director Ning Bhanbhassa Dhubthien is one to watch, especially if her sure hand is allowed to rein in the excesses of Khun Pond and Dr. Sammon's wilder imaginings.

But my most popular post about 4 Minutes wasn't anything to do with the screenwriting, cinematography or directing though. 🤔

As usual, a pithy take (only nine words!) is easier to like and reblog on Tumblr, and all I did was point out a cute detail about the merchandise – when you place the black and white cat plushies (standing in for Great and Tyme) side-by-side, the random color blocks on the side of each, marring the individual symmetry, form a perfect and symmetrical heart when it's cats à deux:

And of course this is signaling how each completes the other in GreatTyme's unconventional, multi-pronged love story. Big AWWWW here 💖, but then again let's not forget how DARK it all is so let's go in with a black-and-white color scheme to remind us we ain't in Hello Kitty World, but also let's not get too dark so it's soft soft kitties all the way, but oh dear that's too cute so let's give them grumpy, frowny faces and make them look as malevolent as can be. Oh! But how then did we end up with MALEVOLENT cat plushies, spawn of brooding kittenish evil, pets and pride of Chucky? Then again, why not malevolent cat plushies for the win? 🤣

I can't help thinking the constant push and pull between commercial considerations versus artistic vision in Thai BL will always follow a similar trackway, though Be On Cloud seems to have done a better job with 4 Minutes than GMMTV on most of their offerings, is my take on the subject. 😍

‌

✨NUMBER 6✨

OK, so I'm not watching The Heart Killers, nor have I ever seen The Taming of the Shrew (that one episode of Moonlighting and 10 Things I Hate About You don't count), but nonetheless it tickled me no end to see Shakespeare credited as a co-creator on My Drama List for this series, and my Number 6 post was a signal boost for that:

This wasn't just some editor at MDL having a lark, though I do approve. Willie Shakes is also credited on other Asian productions there (As We Like It and The Banquet) and he now has his own MDL page too. 😂👍

Anyway, credit where credit is due! 😍 (Move over Mr. Kaewpanpong, a new William has joined the BL fold. 🤣)

‌

✨NUMBER 7✨

If you've ever been mystified by the vagaries of romanized Thai spelling and pronunciation, my favorite Thai (and Canadian) chef Pailin Chongchitnant has a nifty little vid that goes some way to explain its complexity, linked in this post:

Prior to this, I had so many questions: 🤣

Why does Pat in Bad Buddy spell his name with an 'h'? Why does Google Translate spell his name with an 'r', and why does the Google lady pronounce it Pat-tara?

Still in BBS, why does Pran's mom call him (to my ears) Bprrraan when Pa calls him Bpaan? (Like, where did the 'r' go?🤷‍♂️)

What's up with the 'l' in Tul Pakorn's name sounding more like an 'n'? WHAT DO YOU MEAN Suvarnabhumi is pronounced more like Suwannapoom!? 👀😂

I now have a better understanding of the linguistic (and socio-political/cultural) contortions going on behind the scenes here after watching Pai's video, and I hold her encouraging words to heart (as dear @recentadultburnout reminded me in a comment on the post 🥰): "Whatever you do, it's just all various degrees of wrong." 🤣 Not a put-down, simply Pai letting us know that the language is far more complex than can be summarized with the puny 26 letters of the English alphabet. 👍🤩

‌

✨NUMBER 8✨

A little out of character for me, but this post has no images. And then it starts out with "There are no words..." when the post is all words. 🤣

It's really a short post about the whiplash we all went through when the arguably milk-and-water Last Twilight aired its episodes on the same day as the sex-forward Omegaverse-inhabiting Pit Babe. Really, there are no words that can do the experience justice. 🤣

‌

✨NUMBER 9✨

Are we descending into a pattern here? 🤣 Post Number 9 consists of a single image and no text (except for the subtitles):

Well I did caption it in the ALT Text though: 🤣

Wandee Goodday Ep.6 [4/4] 8.06 – Yoryak references the night it all began, when he rescued a trashy pile of a doctor outside a convenience store

‌

✨NUMBER 10✨

And rounding up my Top 10 was a signal boost bit of BL reportage, linking to the GoyNattyDream in-car interview on YouTube with Mew Suppasit and Tul Pakorn, BL royalty and officially a couple in real life:

Mew and Tul had soft-launched confirmation of their romance in the months preceding with tons of social media posts showing them hanging out and holidaying together, but from what I can gather this was the first time (or if not the first, at least one of the earliest times) they out-and-out confirmed their relationship, and candidly spoke about it, on the record. 💖

A big step for Thai BL, that paradoxically has to operate in an industry where people in positions of influence can sometimes be homophobic to actors who are (or even suspected of being) queer in real life. 👀

Congratulations to the happy couple, and congratulations to you too, dear reader, if you've read this post all the way down to here!

Not much else to do but tag others – although this is so late I figure everyone's already done it. But since I've not been on Tumblr much I've missed who's done it and who's not, so I'm just going to tag people at random, and if you've already done this please link me to your post so I can read it. 🥰 And even if I've not tagged you but you'd like to play please do so (and tag me too, so I can read your post)!

Onward tagging:

@bengiyo

@neuroticbookworm

@dribs-and-drabbles

@solitaryandwandering

@airenyah

@grapejuicegay

@waitmyturtles

@twig-tea

@rythyme

@respectthepetty

@relativelydimensional

@wen-kexing-apologist

@colourme-feral

@ranchthoughts

@chickenstrangers

@callipigio

@kattahj

@non-binarypal7

@starryalpacasstuff

@shortpplfedup

@hughungrybear

@pandasmagorica

@visualtaehyun

@inventedfangirling

@recentadultburnout

@dimplesandfierceeyes

@dudeyuri

@lovelyghostv

@dc-alves

@fiddlepickdouglas

@hapiestupid

@yinwaryuri

@writerwithoutsound

@randompens

@nihilisticcondensedmilk

@syrinth

@naniskys

@delesaria-blog

@narcissusneverknewme

@pokomumee

@suni-san

@belladonna-and-the-sweetpeas

@aroceu

@italianpersonwithashippersheart

Tagging @lurkingshan too – I already read and reblogged your post (linked here), but if you think there are others I should check out please do let me know! 💖

‌

[ddagent]

If For All Mankind was just a six-episode series about Margo and Sergei:

Episode 1 would open as standard, with the fake-out of Leonov landing on the Moon. Only it would be cut in such a way that we think Margo and Sergei are both working for NASA (him at Star City, on a payphone urging someone to come; Margo getting the call and leaving 11:59). Then we see the joy in MOCR in Star City and the disappointment at JSC. The rest of the episode is a flashback, primarily to last year's IAC conference where WvB humiliates Korolev on a panel and their mentees share an awkward elevator ride. Then, the focus on getting the USSR to the Moon first, with Sergei providing last-minute code that saves the operation.

Episode 2 deepens our understanding of Margo and Sergei as characters: both have harsh, demanding mentors, except Sergei has a loving family whereas Margo has no-one. Margo's journey is similar to FAM 1.01, where the US is trying to put their own astronaut on the Moon. Sergei and Leonov are working long hours to put another cosmonaut on the Moon - this ends his burgeoning relationship with a graduate student from the recent university. Korolev offers him a drink at the end of the day but Sergei returns home to see his sisters. Margo reluctantly calls her father after Armstrong lands - it lasts all of thirty seconds.

Episode 3 sees a change in their fortunes. A profile is done on Sergei about his work on the Moon landing, giving him a level of national attention. He is also given a permanent position on Mission Control, encouraged by Leonov. Margo goes for her own position in Mission Control and is promoted to FIDO - but she's never quite sure whether she did it on her own merits. The coverage about WvB is watched on both sides of the divide: Margo and Sergei in horror; Leonov toasting to the demise of his rival. The mid-season ends with Sergei returning to the IAC alone: he stands in an empty elevator while Margo is back at JSC.

[heblankhard]

I totally second the thought I saw that Viktor was one of the factory children and ended up getting let go bc he broke his leg, but his immune system would not allow it to heal.

It is fairly obvious in the first episode that they show Viktor that he has a case of femoral anteversion. His leg is turning inward, and the other is not. The reason I doubt this is genetic and something he was born with is that most cases of femoral anteversion at birth do not require braces and can be trained with physical therapy, this is normally the route a doctor will choose. I have personally known people with severe anteversion that did not use braces and did not experience chronic pain from it.

I understand we're in a different world, but just going off clues here.

Meanwhile, he almost looked like he was wearing an altered version of what the kids in the factory were wearing.

Alternatively, we can see Jayce's injury. The same brace, the same symptoms (aside from Viktor having a weak immune system due to fissures).

This frame flashes where he breaks his fibula, gaining an infection afterwards which prevents it from healing properly. Likely, he did not make his brace in the same way that Viktor's was because he was not experiencing femoral anteversion from this being his fibula.

Conclusion: I believe Viktor was an orphaned child in the fissures that got hurt while being enslaved, and his immuno-compromised body could not heal his injury, causing femoral anteversion. Possibly some form of MCTD (mixed connective tissue disorder) that prevents him from fighting sicknesses and possibly leading to organ failure.

[muninnhuginn]

Liu Xiao Overview and Speculation

Thought I'd pull together what we actually know of Liu Xiao thus far and throw in a few of my own speculations for good measure. For someone with so little screentime, there's actually a decent amount to dig into.

This post will contain spoilers up to episode three of yingdu as this is what has aired at the time I'm writing this. I'm going to try and reference episodes and rough timestamps best I can throughout this in case anyone wants to check through themselves.

(Note: made slight edits due to translation issues. See @protect-namine's reblog for more context)

Family

So, our first direct reference to Liu Xiao in the series proper is in season two episode one (~14m), where Liu Jing says that Liu Min doesn't have "half the talent of his younger brother". It's also known that Liu Xiao is currently "away" (later clarified as him studying abroad) and people are anticipating his return.

Essentially, Liu Min is the unfavourite, seen as constantly causing trouble and needing bailing out (with copious amounts of money), whilst Liu Xiao is the golden child. (Interestingly, Qian Jin being so used to solving Liu Min's problems in order to protect the reputation of the company for Liu Jing is likely exactly why Li Tianchen and Liu Min initially came into contact)

Now, Liu Jing may see Liu Xiao as the talented heir to the company, especially as Liu Min was widely seen as a nepo hire (s1e9 ~4m), but Liu Xiao's own opinion on his family seems to lean more towards surface level appeasement, whilst he himself is more distant to them. He refers to his own father as Boss Liu and says that he's not close with him (yingdu ep 2). When interacting with his mother (s2e12), he largely nods along, but it's clear he has his own plans to be getting on with that take priority. And that largely maps to his background machinations in season two overall.

Liu Min

Just going to tangent a second to mention my personal pet theory that Liu Min is likely adopted. Liu Xiao could also be, to be fair, but I think there's more evidence down the Liu Min end for me to be more confident of in this stage.

There's the elephant in the room that these are two sons of differing age who would have been born under the one-child policy. And sure, there have always been exceptions to the policy (and those who are rich are more likely to just pay the relevant fine), but my point is that it's a *choice* to have different age siblings (compare-contrast the Lis who are explicitly twins and the relationship between Qiao Ling and Cheng Xiaoshi who are not biologically related but have a siblingesque dynamic).

The final bit of circumstantial evidence is Liu Min's hair. As you see in the photo above (s2e12 ~18m), Liu Min has had blond hair from a very young age, which significantly decreases the likelihood of him dyeing it. This photo also shows his mum's hair colour is naturally black (as opposed to the brown dye she has in her dressed-up present day aesthetic), which means both parents are black hair to Liu Min's blond. (Side note, but the framing of this photo is so striking in how it directs the eyes to see Liu Min as the clear black sheep of the family.)

If it gets confirmed that Liu Min is adopted and Liu Xiao *isn't* though, then it does cast a different light on Liu Min being seen as the worthless sibling. The fact that in this photo of his childhood he's smiling bright yet his later appearances have him so wrapped in self-delusion that he'll order hits on online strangers and cling to any chance of 'friendship'. The way that when he was younger Liu Jing would show him off to business associates but by the time of yingdu he was persona non grata. Liu Min gets more pitiful the more we know of him.

Emma/Quede Games client

So, let's dial it back to season one. I know I'm far from the first person to think this way, but I'll try to explain how I came to the conclusion that the client in Emma (s1e1) was either Liu Xiao or intentionally influenced by him.

(I'm saying 'influenced by' as an option rather than straight up him for a few reasons, but one of them is... translation choices. See below (s1e9 ~18m):

One translation names Emma as the client in her own case (I'm not *totally* sure she'd be alive to order her own dive, but okay - I'm not going into Emma ep timelines rn) and the other just says she was a player in said case rather than explicitly the client. The other reason I'm saying 'influenced by' as an option rather than straight up Liu Xiao is because he was out of the country during the entirety of season one, only returning in the final episode of season two. So whilst it's possible he could have recruited Qiao Ling directly (phones aren't limited by country, after all) I'm just going to keep it as "part of Liu Xiao's plan".)

Anyway, s1e1, we first find out that there's a client who wants to obtain the financial data for Quede Games before it's released to the public. This eventually leads to financial discrepancies coming to light. Zhu Ye, the CFO, was embezzling money, and ends up under investigation. As we later find out, he was funneling money both to himself and Liu Min. (And once Liu Min finds out his source of extra income is cut off, he goes after Emma as the one responsible)

It's laid out in the episode itself that only the CFO has this data. But who would know enough about the data in the first place to know what it would reveal? Surely it would have to be inside information from someone with reason to bring the company into disrepute. Quede Games is implied to be very efficient at massaging over scandals (Liu Jing makes reference to this in s2e1, as does Liu Min in s2e9) so it would take something big for them to properly break into the news.

Now, the client *could* be Emma, as she did have the knowledge of the discrepancies, but not only does the timeline not match (aka, she would already be dead unless I'm missing something) but it also doesn't align with what we know of her outlook. Emma started as someone trying to make it big in the city, but by the time of her episode, she was close to her breaking point. What she wanted was her parents, not to lose her job.

So, it's probably not Emma. It's not Zhu Ye, because why would he tell on himself? Not Liu Jing, because he seems to think Zhu Ye being investigated is an attack on him. I guess I can't technically rule out Liu Jing's wife, but as we don't even get her name, that seems a long shot. So, who's left with connection to Quede Games? Liu Xiao.

Liu Xiao had Li Tianchen obtain Liu Min's phone from under the noses of both Qian Jin and Liu Jing (s2e12 ~21m). Our only real hint as to what is on that phone comes much earlier in season two, during the discussion between Qian Jin and Liu Jing (s2e4 ~1m). "I'm not interested in your family secrets," says Qian Jin, implying that's exactly what's on the missing phone. Qian Jin is privy to all sorts of dirty secrets in his role as company fixer, so it's curious that this seems more personal than business. Either way though, the phone is proof that Liu Xiao is working against his father, even if he plays nice to his parents' faces.

And, of course, Liu Jing mentions in that exact same conversation: "First, Zhu Ye being investigated, now Liu Min. Someone must be messing with me!" Like, yes, wonder who that could be.

Liu Xiao's actions involve secretively working against his parents. I'd say attacking the company by exposing financial fraud would fit the bill perfectly.

Motives and personality

His PV is called 'manipulator' and... yeah, hard to argue against that. His official art features him playing puppeteer to Li Tianchen even. What I *would* like to argue though is what *type* of manipulator he is.

Liu Xiao plays the long game. He's not just "mask on, get benefit, escape". He sewed seeds in Li Tianchen *years* prior and only reaped them in the current day. In a similar way, he speaks cordially to his parents. They both speak of him as though they're proud of him and that he's "much better than their other son". And yet, he's been working against them for some time. He's intelligent and charismatic enough to pull it off.

Liu Xiao's relationship with Li Tianchen is the most telling though, in how he uses his friendship as a leash. On first meeting Li Tianchen (s2e4 ~0m), he validates Li Tianchen hiding away with Li Tianxi when the abuse kicks off. But he follows it up with his speech about animals, clearly framing Liu Lan as a scared animal, whilst implying that Li Tianchen was also a scared animal, but one who could change to become a hunter if he stopped hiding.

Liu Xiao then continues this framing throughout their childhood flashbacks and into the present day timeline (s2e9 ~13m | s2e12 ~21m). The idea is that Li Tianchen can become a hunter but it's *conditional*. Li Tianchen could be friends with Liu Xiao but he has to *act*. Liu Xiao will only deign to be friends with someone who "has guts". I have no idea how much of this was intentional vs subconscious manipulation, but either way, Liu Xiao isolated Li Tianchen's guilt over not acting in order to make him act the way *he* wanted.

Anyway, he also seems to have a strong belief in a higher order (and I'm starting to think said higher order is *himself*), what with his whole "make the timelines into one single river". Liu Xiao's stated aim is to "turn uncertainties into certainties". The world as it is runs in parallel lines, influenced by many factors (personality, other people, etc). Like a game of poker or russian roulette, really.

Given his hunter-prey speech, it seems clear that he believes himself to be a "hunter". That he's doing this not because he has some great need, but because he wants to control events. Win this grand game he's set up for himself. Which is curious because in yingdu ep 2, he says, "you use your unfair advantages to stay in control."

Regardless of what you believe about Liu Xiao's powers, it's hard not to think that this applies somewhat to himself. But it'd be interesting if he saw himself attacking Quede Games and taking down the gambling ring as him "evening the odds" for others. Imo, I'm not sure the idea fits with his personality (as, yk, *hunter-prey* speech), but it could certainly be spun that way.

And any good manipulator needs some good press.

[weewookinard]

Hey, i hope your visit will be ok. And maybe this little idea (headcanon) will lift your spirit.💞 And if you feel like writing it I'll be so thrilled

Buck feels like 2024 has grudges against 118 and him personally. It was very hard to stand and watch his loft in flames and not being able to do anything about it. Yeah, they're putting the fire out but he knows all his belongings are being destroyed right now.

Living in his car in 33 is harder than in 25. Buck had only one night of that and he already felt sorry about not agreeing to his team's invitations, but he didn't want to intrude. Maddie and Chim have Jee and Mara so there's no place for him. Hen and Karen have Danny and the second room is for Mara. Bobby and Athena rent some little apartment and look for a new house. And Eddie just got Chris back from Texas and Buck doesn't want to mess with their reconciliation.

Buck has 3 missed calls and messages from Tommy. He should have heard about the loft from Chimney. They've been dating for 2 months and Buck didn't want him to worry.

Tommy doesn't listen his explanation, he just gives him his jeans, shirt and tells him to stay in his house and take anything he wants including clothes.

And the fire was an awful thing that happened to him especially during the Gerrard's terror. But living with Tommy, wearing his clothes, smelling Tommy on himself all the time, it was worth it.

So, yeah i wanted to write just the outline of the idea but i got carried away, sorry. I hope you like it💓

Rina I wrote a huge ass response when I was on the train and i closed the app and I lost it all because m STOUPID

Do you remember the period before the Halloween episode when we all thought the loft was gonna be destroyed by a fire??? It was such a good time then, us imagining Tommy and Evan living together and in love............. 🥲

Anyway I love the idea of a stubborn Evan who doesn't want to bother anyone and ends up sleeping in his car. Except that this man is LONG and his car is not. Of course it was going to be a nightmare. Plus the noises around the car, and it's freezing outside and he's pretty sure there is someone watching him but he won't ask. It's not because he is too proud to do it though, but really his fear of being a weight for somebody.

I don't really know if he would be sad to have lost his stuff. I mean, kitchen utensils and furniture can be replaced with the money from the insurance. He lost pictures of Jee-Yun, of his friends, and this picture of Tommy wearing some silly apron with a picture of oily muscles, but Tommy knows a guy who can print them again from his phone.

But Tommy's blue sweater was at his place and it's bugging him a lot. He loved this sweater, it smelled like his boyfriend and the image of Tommy wearing it when they met again for a coffee was one of happy memory. But otherwise it's only things he can buy again.

Tommy doesn't have to insist a lot for Evan to come living at his place while searching for a new apartment and new furniture. But he has to insist again and again for him to understand he CAN make himself at home. He can snoop around, he can use Tommy's aftershave, he can raid the fridge if he's hungry. It takes time but finally Evan feels at home. He feels like he can be fully himself here.

Plus, he gets to fall asleep with Tommy in his arms and this? This is the best thing ever, and maybe he likes it so much he takes more time than necessary to find a new place, and when he finds something Tommy has a lot of remarks about it because the ceiling is too low and the bedroom is too small and the kitchen is not facing east how can he cooks like this?????

After six months Chimney asks why he's still there and Evan just smiles and shows him his engagement ring ❤️

[froggerland]

for the character asks: james (o:

First Impression: I am the sheep the show runners counted on with this one. Was annoyed at his cockyness and the way he treats Crozier (the """""main character""""") in the beginning (yes Crozier is very much flawed and we the audience are not meant to agree with everything he does and says (duh) but he is the only one who sees the whole mess coming so you're at least a little partial towards him. Anyways back to jfj). The dress scene is what made me go "oop? Okay we're getting freaky with gender I see???" That took him from diva to DIVA for me. Loved his further development, tearing down his facade of coolness when push comes to shove and the scurvy gets him. Cried a little when he died ngl

Impression Now: Mister Gender. Gender Fitzgender. Safe us Genderman. No fr I love him. The fandom has so many good memes about his cunty ass but he's also just,, so well written as a character and tmenzies really put his everything into this little guy. His whole arc over the series is so well done, dying at the end of the world really forces you to abandon all masks and all of your vanity. Him becoming brothers with Francis is actually so important to me, I'm a little mad that it happened so late in the show (if I had to critize anything about the terror it's that the last 3 episodes or so could have been stretched into 5, but I also think the whole show could've spanned 3 seasons instead of 1). It's like "are we brothers Francis?" "Okay :)" "Yay <3" and next thing you know Fitzie is lying on the gravel with his bloodshot eye and is dying. STILL I love his redemption arc if you can even call it that. His death will never not make me cry bc wtf who greenlit this I just want to talk :)

Favorite Moment: The dress scene. Basic pick but it's a classic for a reason. That's when I was like "okay the writers are actually very cool people" bc this scene (with him "trying on" the dress specifically) serves no real purpose, he could've been doing anything else and discover his bleeding hairline

Idea For A Story: Need to see him get up to shenanigans in high society. Seducing ppl at balls. Embarrassing himself at banquets. Secret dress try on in the hostesses quarters with drunk Dundy or something. Let him be silly and hot in uniforms and dresses

Unpopular Opinion: Are there any unpopular opinions about him?? I feel like everyone agrees he's a diva with so much gender point blank. I support women's rights AND wrongs. Sorry I can't come up with anything cool rn

Favorite Relationship: Fitzier baby. A classic for a reason. I love their slowburn forced proximity enemies to lovers arc (none of these words are in the bible but it captures the vibe I think) but I've also become fond of the disaster throuple of Fitzrossier (I need them to fight over Frauncis like a ragdoll)

Favorite Headcanon: RIP James Fitzjames you would've loved being a starlet in 1920s German expressionist movies (no idea where that came from it just spawned in my head literally 5 seconds ago)

[thee-cult]

The Kdrama Hell is other people/ Strangers from hell in my opinion is the best use of psychological horror.

Jongwoo is an incredibly unreliable narrator through the entire ten episodes of the show.

We can only see the show through his eyes, and he is constantly showing the audience an untrue state of events: I.e. the last episode. Episode 10.

He is showing the state of events in a contradictory way to induce self pity/make the audience pity him. Reducing himself to a victim

He has countlessly changed/confused the timeline of events; in an early episode Yoo Gi-hyeok steps out and says the same sentence Seo Moonjo says episodes later, doing the same action by stepping out into the hall once the gangster/Jongwoo gets too confrontational.

The show constantly tells two different versions of events. Jongwoo’s version. And the one we do not see, yet only in small cases such as episode 10 where we are shown the “true” events of what happened in Eden.

But it had happened further in the series.

When Jongwoo had gotten drunk, lashing out at everyone and was seemingly surprised when he and us as the watcher seen what had actually went down the night before.

Even 3 years after watching this show it still has its grip on me. It’s incredibly mind fucking every episode.

What I’m so interested in about this show is how much of it was true events, and how much of it was garnered from the novel that Jongwoo had started writing since he arrived at Eden.

I often jump between it was all purely fiction and Jongwoo was so driven by incredible amounts of paranoia while living there with albeit “odd” roommates that had drove him to murder everyone in Eden residence.

What if he was the only one who had murdered everyone? That the other residents were innocent, even if a little odd.

In his flashbacks to his time in the military, he’s seen beating people up, nearly to death in some cases. Being dragged away. Maybe he was already just wired to be a bad person, who did end up murdering everyone, before writing it off as being pushed over the edge, and blaming everyone else in the residence for provoking him because they were “trying to kill him.” Ultimately painting himself as the good guy.

The episodes are usually always filled with two separate versions of events. Like the when the gangster was attacked in his bed, until he wasn’t. He went unstairs to check out a noise, and that’s when he is attacked. Whether the first attack was a dream from the gangster character or part of the novel that had been scrapped is unclear.

But throughout the show, the timeline is unreliable and so is every single characters personality—especially Moonjo and Jongwoo.

The episodes often end with some creepy moments. Whether a creepy sentence coming from Moonjo or him making sinister faces, the next episodes always start up at the same scene, showing a different version of events. A different interaction.

To continue on that thought—throughout the series it is seen to show Jongwoo writing before cutting to one of the residents, acting suspicious in a way. Or constant transitions between some resident acting out violence to Jongwoo in some lighter, less gruely act. Usually at work or in his room. It shows contrast between what he is writing in his novel, and the real world in which he lives.

Or…

If they were all indeed cannibal serial murderers that had lay low in their murders for their entirety of living at Eden, until Moonjo had met Jongwoo.

So infatuated with making yet another one of them/him at Eden. Seeing the disgust or rage or natural human reaction to chew one another up and spit them out—seeing another version of himself in Jongwoo.

That one line in the dentist office when Moonjo was stitching up Jongwoo’s mouth still sticks with me LITERALLY EVERY SECOND I LIVE AND BREATHE.

Jongwoo: “what are you?”

Moonjo: “what do you think I am, babe? A dentist who lives at a residence? Or a serial killer you’d find in a crime novel?” “Well, it doesn’t matter.”

“I can be anything you want.”

Can we think on how insane that is for a moment?

what if Moonjo had snuck into Jongwoo’s room one day while he was at work and read his novel. Re-enacting parts of the half written novel and placing it into the real world to make this “masterpiece”, as he so graciously puts it. Becoming what he thought Jongwoo would have wanted, what he thought Jongwoo would have found the most interesting. Constantly putting Jongwoo in the center of it all. It was as though some switch was flipped and Moonjo’s goal was now Jongwoo. Hi world somehow revolving around him.

Delicious yaoi sandwich.

Kdrama: hannigram version.

I had more in my little pea brain but I am so tired and I lost my train of thought. Sorry chat.

[having-conniptions]

I need to scream about the kiss in episode 2 for a second

A KISS??? IN THE SECOND EPISODE????

And here's why I'm so INSANE about it

In soooooo many BLs we have these little "they're standing really close and staring at each other, are they gonna kiss?" moments throughout the series (often starting rather early in the show, totally on brand to have a moment like that in ep 2) and then something always breaks the tension. This almost never leads to an actual kiss. Usually, there's a love confession / asking them to be their bf, and then they kiss.

I know it's not always like that, but it's a pattern I've seen happening a lot lately. And as much as I love all the "will they kiss? Ha, gotcha, they won't" moments, I also love a good "happened in the moment" type of kiss. I'm not talking about stolen/forced kisses where one character is always very surprised or even uncomfortable with it. I'm talking about the kisses where both just feel that urge to kiss at the same time and then they do despite not having confessed or anything like that. It's pure nonverbal communication. Reading signals and expressions. Understanding without words. Crossing that line of the first kiss without having to discuss it. Just knowing.

So when I see those "will they, won't they" moments, I always kind of hope they do kiss, even though I know it's too early in the series.

And I feel like that's what happened here. They both had that "are we about to kiss" look on their faces. I saw Phu staring at Cir's lips and thought "damn he looks like he's about to kiss him", not long before the kiss ended up happening. Yes, it was mostly initiated by Cir, but it almost felt like Phu set him up for it. Like Phu was trying to see how far he could tease Cir before he'd give in, like Phu was expecting that kiss.

I though for sure it was gonna be a "will they, won't they" moment. I was like "aha, I know this game. You're not fooling me this time."

And then Cir just went for it.

And honestly, looking back at the ep, I'm not really surprised. Often with these "will they, won't they" moments you can tell that its too early, not just bc it's too early in the series but also too early for the relationship between the characters.

But this didn't feel too early. It made sense. It felt right.

(In episode TWO, how crazy is that???)

Phu spent the entire episode being Cir's boyfriend (free trial version with limited functions). He kept using his cuteness and Cir's feelings for him to get his way. He let Cir hug him, he held Cir's hands, he dried Cir's hair, he put Cir's hand on his head and gave him his sweetest smile - all despite barely knowing the guy. Phu is already so gone for Cir and that kiss, while initiated by Cir, was premeditated by Phu.

[sockatoothewafflebird]

I MISSED IT.

oh my god. if i had known sooner, i would have done something- drawn a tribute, maybe- for this show. this show is a part of me. this show has been with me through so much and it is impossible to overstate how much it means to me. it was there during the best and worts times of my life. i cannot ever ever imagine my life without this show.

so, as a tribute to it, because i MISSED THE DAMN ANNIVERSARY OHMYGOD, i'll tell my story with it. i feel like it should be shared because i know there are others out there that appreciate the show just as much as i do. this is pretty long so uhhh word wall warning teehee

i remember when i first discovered it,

about halfway into 2020. season one had finished airing by the time i found it. i had heard things about this "lumity" characyer and decided to try it out because i was an "ally" at the time (oh, how things can change).

it wasn't on a streaming service yet, nor did my family use cable TV, so i watched the entirety of the first season through clips pirated on youtube.

i fell in love with it. watched every theory video i could get my grubby little hands on, watched reaction videos, watched those iconic lumity animatics and listened to the songs on loop for months. it became a part of me.

and, guess what? i made the lego eda meme my pfp on my school laptop (remember that one guys?? oh man that was a WHILE ago) and someone in my school, a new guy, asked me about it. said he liked my pfp and asked if he could sit with me and my friends during lunch. and now, even after both of us moving thousands of miles away, we're still in touch.

that was FOUR YEARS AGO. i know that seems kind of a short amount of time, but i've never held a friend that long before, having moved around a lot in my life. long story short the owl house got me like half the friends i have today.

anyway, back to the show.

i can never forget the hype when season 2 was announced.

i remember scrounging youtube like a starving dog for any content, teasers, theories, etc etc etc i could physically find. i was a pretty sheltered kid back then so i couldn't see any hype for it on social media other than youtubers gushing about theories. but i felt like i was there with everyone, squealing and kicking our feet together over our favorite show getting a new season.

most vividly, i remember being fucking pissed when i saw that the third season we could've had was cut short. i remember all the angry videos, and the petitions, everyone, everyone was all collectively screaming for this to change. we wanted the show to get what it deserved, but alas, it's Disney. so of course we just had to make do.

when season two began airing i forgot all about my anger. i forgot everything because, i had to watch it as soon as possible. i'll remind you, dear random internet user, that my family did not have cable TV at the time, so i couldn't watch it the second it aired there. i watched youtubers' reactions to the episodes.

it was the best feeling ever waking up on a saturday and seeing all of the reaction streams to the episode from all my favorite youtubers- i had to watch it all through the tiny top left corner of my phone screen and i was ecstatic. i loved being able to watch the show with everyone else, even if i sometimes missed reaction premiers or streams and got to them a day late- it was in the top ten most fun months of my life.

oh, and, do you remember? do we all remember Through The Looking Glass Ruins? the episode where gus develops his character and powers, and also the episode in which... you know... amity and luz indirectly admit their feelings for one another? TO each other? you just had to be there for the EXPLOSIONS that happened online that day. the absolute SCREAMS of joy from everyone when amity cheek-kissed luz at the end. it was amazing to witness so many people everywhere, in my social circle and online, collectively cheering and shouting for joy over a queer couple. a sapphic couple, portrayed positively, and casually, and OPENLY.

you have no idea how amazing it felt, after years of questioning myself, to see that on screen. to see that and to see everyone happy about it.

in the time between season one and season two's release, i opened up about questioning my sexuality to my parents, and they were... reluctantly supportive. i took a ton of time to figure it out myself, like maybe two years of constantly cycling though labels and wondering and wondering and thinking really really hard about it.

i remember seeing luz and amity very clearly being a potential couple in the show, and then they actually BECOME A CANON COUPLE a few episodes later, and feeling utter jealousy because i wanted what they had. the world exploded because, for a lot of people, this was a huge finally moment. finally, we have something good for ourselves. i remember watching and re-watching the lumity scenes in the first part of season two over and over and over, and thinking, "i don't want this with a boy. i want it like that." and it was liberating. i cannot thank this show enough for that feeling of fully accepting myself as a 100% organic home-grown lesbian.

that's just my experience with the show, but i'm sure there are tons of other similar stories, because this show was my first exposure to positive queer rep (raine whispers and amity blight are me favorite characters, i think you can guess why) and that changed everything for me.

anyway, on with the show.

the second part of season two released, and the fandom went wild. i cried. i sobbed. the finale was amazing, the lumity moments were amazing (they're portrayed as one of the healthiest couples i've ever seen in modern media ohmygod), the story was amazing. every episode, banger after banger. every minute, smile after tear after mind-blowing moment. the owl house team took disney's smelly, rotten lemons, and they made fucking lemonade. the best lemonade i've ever had.

and also, can i talk about how amazing it is to see so much representation of usually horribly portrayed groups? luz is canonically ADHD. many characters could also be seen as neurodivergent (gus my beloved) eda's curse is a stand-in for chronic illness. hunter's entire story is one about abuse, and belos's is a story of how a person can become a monster, about how sometimes monsters cannot and should not be redeemed. this show is a fucking masterclass in rep.

anyway, "season three" (fuck yoy disney) was amazing, and every episode made me bawl.

i remember seeing that they released the episodes in youtube, and i remember the absolute beauty it was to see millions upon millions of views for it. i remember watching the first one while making myself an omelette. that omelette ended up having my tears in it. i'll have you know that i almost never cry at media, so the owl house really fucking achieved something with all of the tears i shed.

i remember crying when luz "died," crying when she came back and screamed in bel-ass' face , "EAT THIS, SUCKAAA"- and i remember crying at the collective "byeeee" from the whole cast. i remember feeling a sense of bittersweetness that it was over. but the whole cast got the endings they deserved, and that was enough for me.

the owl house is a part of me now.

the owl house's run was a comfort when the news was screaming and crying, it was a comfort when i needed escape, and it was a huge part of the person i am today. i cannot ever thank this show enough.

i'll probably draw something to commemorate the anniversary if i ever find the time, but for now, this post is a way for me to send my appreciation towards the fandom, the creators in the fandom, and the creators of the show that made it possible. this show is over now and has been for years, but it will never leave me. happy five years, everyone! here's to many more! 🥂

[fearsomeandwrong]

omg thank u for tagging me again I love it!!

Even though some really weird stuff that can’t be explained have happened im definitely teem rational. i think we see the show from the girls’ pov (mainly shauna’s) so many stuff can be twisted because of the trauma they had witnessed. Also, i think they believed in a supernatural “power” in the wilderness, because they didn’t have faith in anything else. They were desperate to find a purpose. Just like people do when they’re struggling. As Taylor Swift said: “ desperate people find faith so now i pray to jesus too”

ahhhhhh i can’t decide about my favourite teens it’s either jackie or lottie. I love them both so much. my little misunderstood babies 😭😭😭😭😭😭☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️😭☹️☹️. adult timeline (this is probably controversial) BUT it’s shauna and misty. adult misty is probably the funniest person in the world like go off queen! whatever u say i’ll agree! i fear she’s me when i grow up without the murdering of course😇 and shauna well do i REALLY need to explain. okay yeah she was an annoying mum but she’s been through so much i don’t know how people expect her to turn into a perfect mother figure after everything she has faced.

i mean the Yellowjackets soundtrack EATS (just like them) BUT i loved the fade into you scene and obviously the radiohead scene while they were eating jackie. however you can’t deny the scenes with jeff were😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 i love that man i don’t care. HE LITERALLY PLAYED FUCK THE POLICE IN FROMT OF THE POLICE STATION BECAUSE HIS WIFE WHO WAS A MURDERER WAS INSIDE. if this isn’t iconic idk what is. and also that scene when he played that song that said cut my life into pieces after going to that guys gallery😭😭😭😭😭😭 IM CRYING it’s so funny even thinking about i was laughing so hard during that scene

my favourite ship is BY FAR jackieshauna. it’s the most realistic one to me and i have already an essay about them in my notes they’re so tragic i could die about them. every. single. detail. i learn about them is so sad like they’re the saddest people on this earth. i have a soft spot for ships that end tragically 💔

so I don’t remember the episode numbers and everything (IM NOT A FAKE FAN I SWEAR) but my favourite episode is the one with jackie cannibalism scene. OBVIOUSLY. if someone told me to define art i would simply just show them this scene. my other fav is the one with Shauna’s birth. i was for about half an hour. whatever negative thought i had for shauna disappeared the second i watched this scene. “Me and you against the world” just kill me. just slaughter me already.

i would really like it for the antler queen to be nat. she’s the “purest” of them but she’s the queen. it just makes so much sense. she’s also the one that has had the worst healing process by far. i would also like if the antler queen will be a plot twist and someone we wouldn’t expect

i have so many scenes that i love. every jackieshauna staring session. lottie trying to make nat remember and then nat laying on her legs. jackie cannibalism scene. the girls dancing showing they’re still just kids. everything about this show is perfection

my personal theory is that they all go back to the wilderness and die at the end. they have realised they loved the freedom the wilderness gave them and start feeling like it’s their faith. this would be so so sad cause if someone bothers my baby shauna im gonna kill them but unfortunately i just have this feeling no one will make it out alive. they will go insane to the point there’s like 3,2,1 of them. the last one remaining will either live and try to have a normal life (i don’t think so) or die because they lost their purpose.

i have done numerous quizzes cause im obsessed with this stuff and the character that is most like me is lottie. she’s introverted, thoughtful, portrayed as weird and just gets me! she’s sensitive and empathetic and may seem cold to people that don’t know her that much. exactly the same as me im not able to say a word to people i don’t know well.

the craziest thing I’ve done for yellowajckets because now I’ve become insane and can’t leave without it

bonus!!!! well I’ve only stated my most controversial take on here and it’s about lottienat. i totally get why people would like them together but i think other lottie ships make more sense (lottieshauna) another controversial take is the fact that I like coach Ben and i think his acts are completely justified. i don’t get why people hate him so much like he just saw a group of teenage girls eat their teammate obviously he’s not going to be very normal about it?!?

thats itttt. omg i loved this so much and i loved ur opinions !

npt: @pinkcatsthatfly @pangaeaguilt @maddiethegoodwitch @nattylvr @natsboygirlfriend @shaunapolxgist @soapyjackets @soapylot @jackieshaunism @jaxieshauna @eaton-courtney @cassioo

Starting a Yellowjackets tag!

I want to get my mind off of things so: If you want, answer any or all of the questions below and tag 10 people (or however many you want) who also might want to share! I would love to see what you guys have to say!

1. Are you team Rational or Supernatural?

2. Who is your favorite teen timeline character? Favorite adult timeline character?

3. What is your favorite needledrop?

4. What is your favorite ship?

5. What is your favorite episode?

6. Who do you want the Antler Queen to be?

7. What is your favorite scene in the entire series?

8. A theory or prediction you have about Season 3?

9. Which character do you relate to the most, and why?

10. What is the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of Yellowjackets?

Bonus:

11. What’s your most controversial Yellowjackets take?

—

Here’s mine!

1. I am mostly Team Rational because I love the way this show depicts trauma but I also love seeing the supernatural side of things through the survivors’ eyes if that makes sense.

2. Natalie in the teen timeline because I love her compassion and softness underneath the front she puts on. Lottie in the adult timeline because I love her internal battle with herself and how afraid she is of her own mind. Misty is a close second in the adult timeline!

3. “Cornflake Girl” playing while Nat sees the mossy tree for the first time, Callie seeing the Adam Martin driver’s license in the barbecue, and Shauna eating Jackie’s ear. It just goes so perfectly with everything that’s going on (especially the elevated piano while Nat and Travis are scaling the mountain and the lyrics while Shauna takes the bite!)

4. LottieNat is my favorite ship I can’t help it Nat and Lottie are my favorite characters so having them together is a dream (TaiVan, JackieShauna, and TravNat are up there, too).

5. 1x09 “Doomcoming” is just amazing and captures everything I love about Yellowjackets. I love when they let the girls go batshit crazy, hoping we get more Doomcoming vibes in S3.

6. I want the Antler Queen to be Natalie because that would show a true descent for her in the Wilderness from being the most morally grounded one to the leader of the group at their most unhinged and primal. But honestly I think that Shauna might be the AQ after all…

7. I think the Jackie-eating scene is the best in the entire show. The “Climbing Up the Walls” song choice, the bacchanal feast flashes as a way of coping with the horror of what they’re doing, seeing them go fully feral for the first time, it’s such a well crafted scene.

8. I know this probably won’t happen but I’m just going to throw it out there that Cabin Daughter is alive and she will be revealed to have been Javi’s “friend”!

9. I relate to Shauna the most because I also admittedly have a bit of an obsessive/intense personality and I, too, internalize my emotions to a very unhealthy degree sometimes. I also grew up being in love with my childhood best friend who is very, very much like Jackie (and now we have been dating for 7 years!)

10. Mine is a mix of going to a Yellowjackets panel and sitting like 5 feet from the showrunners, doing everything in my power to score early screening tickets to Heretic and Companion, and pretending I was sick so I could go home early from work the day that the S3 trailer came out.

11. The male characters on this show get too much hate🫢 I like Travis, Jeff, Kevyn, and Walter (even though his introduction and storyline are rushed and forced). I don’t like them more than the female characters, but I like them nevertheless and appreciate their contributions to the plot.

No pressure tags! (I’m tagging 15 bc I feel like it) @before-it-felt-like-a-sin @baked-potatoes-rule @jackiesnats @deerest-deer @whodoesnataliehave @stilllsage @fairytwles @glitterfairy-21225 @lesbianforlottie @tr4vnat @lauraleetaylor @cassioo @natsboygirlfriend @soapyjackets @pinkkkkat @natgf123 +literally anyone else who wants to!

[egophiliac]

I have never been more concerned for a JP update from your art than I am seeing a Cheka knowing the context of Leona’s dream.

My bois ok right?????? My sweet nephews ok right??????

well

uhhhh

I'm sure the real one is fine :)