#this is a theory that has not panned out yet

[getvalentined]

Thinking about finally throwing all my FF7 meta analysis and lore deep dive stuff onto a sideblog. It'd be reblogged from here, but I'd be able to organize it a little better, have a directory so people could find things more easily, and maybe it'd stop people from regurgitating things I say word-for-word for brownie points when they can just find and reblog the fucking original post(s).

[he-is-lightning-in-a-bottle]

I'm so relieved!

For a while, I've been scared that My Lovely Liar would make it so Sol Hee couldn't hear Do Ha's lies. I didn't want this to turn into some supernatural fated romance show when the premise (a woman who can hear lies) is otherwise so engaging. Just look at the stellar TV that same premise created in the US with Poker Face. I wanted to see the kdrama romance version of that scenario play out, and I feel like the show is setting us up for it what with the potential political intrigue from Do Ha's mother being a politician, to the murder mystery of Do Ha's ex girlfriend, to Sol Hee working for the rich and powerful and corrupt (ie criminals who are above the law because of money) and clearly being endangered because of it. The second half of this drama has the potential to be quite explosive, and I really wanted Do Ha to be a disproportionately honest person rather than just someone who's immune to Sol Hee's power. The final scene of episode 4 was therefore quite a relief! She heard him lie!!

As for what that particular lie means, I think it's obvious. Lies and Truth aren't the same as Fiction and Fact. They are, unfortunately, more subjective. If Sol Hee heard a man who honestly believes he has no children say, "I am not a father," it would ping as the Truth. Because that man believes it to be true. But he may in Fact be a father and have a child out there who he doesn't know about, a child the mother hid from him for her own reasons. The man didn't lie. He just BELIEVES a lie.

Likewise, Do Ha believes he killed his ex girlfriend. But I think we'll discover the full set of Facts over the series and firmly establish that Do Ha is not a murderer. Maybe he feels guilty because she committed suicide, so he thinks he killed her even though he knows he didn't murder her. Maybe he got black out drunk that night and is afraid he actually did kill her even though all he remembers are incoherent flashes. I think it likely has something to do with his mother, too, given her creepy statement about the victim becoming fish food. (Did she break them up? Did she find the dead girl and cover it all up because she thinks her son is guilty? Worse, did she kill her and gaslight her own son, taking advantage of his PTSD?)

In any case, I am soooo happy she heard him lie, even if the lie sounds scary, because I'd much rather have an intriguing plot than any fated soulmate bullshit.

[i-cant-sing]

Yandere Batfam x reader who cant feel pain

HEhehehe i just remembered a disease and I just had to write about a reader with it x yandere batfam.

Have you guys heard of CIPA? Its "Congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis" which is basically a genetic condition when a patient cant feel pain to any noxious stimulus and can also not sweat, and yall are probably like "but SNoWWW, that doesnt like a diSEase. More like a superpower!!!" um no. You need to be able to feel pain or else you wont know what part of your body has been injured and get help before its too late. You could have thumbtack plunged in your foot and u wouldnt know unless it got infected and u probably saw ur foot changing color.

And now yall are like "but SNoWw, the anhidrosis part, where u cant sweat, sounds nice! who would to look like a sweaty pig in this age????" NO! Sweating is a necessary physiologic phenomenon because it lets your body cool down as it releases heat. If you dont sweat, you'd overheat and DIE!

Okay now that we've covered the basic info, lets get into it:

So, Batfam finds out about reader when she's just running into danger with little to no care for self preservation, and they dismiss it as you being just another dumb teen wanting to be hero and "change the world". Time passes by and Bruce is impressed by your passion and decides to take you under his wing.

It isnt until months later that Bruce discovers something odd about your behaviour. You were standing in the kitchen with the rest of the batkids, laughing and having a good time when he saw Dick had pulled out a hot pan of cookies from the oven and placed it on the aisle. The pan slipped, and without thinking, you had grabbed the hot pan with your bare hands very calmly and placed it back on the aisle, without so much as a hiss of pain or even a sweat.

And now that he thinks about it, Bruce has never seen you sweat. Not during training, not during summer, not even when after you ran laps around the mansion.

With a quick search on the Internet, he finds out about the disease and of course its Dick who he confides in first about his suspicions. Soon, the rest of the batfam has heard the rumours and now they're all watching you keenly to see if its true.

But Jason is the one who tests out the theory quickly by spilling some hot tea on your hand when you were busy talking to Tim about the importance of sleep. The room goes dead silent as they watch your hand turn red, yet you fail to react. It took you a few seconds to realise that they're all looking at you, and when you follow their gaze, it takes you a few seconds to react.

Or fake a reaction.

You shriek, pulling your reddening hand as you run to the sink and run it under cold water, your mind trying to come up with an excuse. But you know its too late when Bruce's hand comes to clasp your shoulder, pulling you away from the sink as his eyes examine your injured hand and... you.

"Bruce I-"

"I know, Y/n." He gives you assuring nod, carefully bandaging your hand as you sat in his office. "You have CIPA, hm?"

You looked down. Why bother lying? He's Batman, he'll find out anyways.

Bruce lifted your head and smiled gently at you. "Its okay. I'm not disappointed in you. I just... you could've told me." You shook your head. "If I did, you would've treated me differently... like a freak."

He sighed. "You are different, but I would've never treated you like a freak. You're not a freak. If anything, between us, I'm more of a freak than you." He was talking about being a hero, but you giggled at the thought of him referring to being a rich dude who cosplays in spandex.

Bruce cupped your cheek and smiled. "I promise, no one will treat you like a freak. But we will have to take some precautions for your safety."

-

He lied. You've never felt more like a freak than you do now.

Every single day would start off with Dick waking you up and sticking a thermometer in your mouth because he needs to make sure that you're not overheating, even though Bruce has set a thermostat in your room that he controls and he's programmed it to turn your room temperature change by the hour.

Then Dick would start checking you all over for any bruises or injuries, even a scratch, that you may have caused yourself in your sleep. Originally, Damian was the one who had a whole checklist as he examined your body, but that all ended the moment you smacked him when he asked you to lift your shirt. Dick would just have you go and check yourself in the bathroom and trust you when you said you're all good. Also, you're much nicer to Dick than you are to the rest of the brothers (its his puppy dog eyes and that sweet voice that compels you to do as he asks. He's just too nice.)

Dick would then lead you to down for breakfast with the family, where Alfred already has your glucometer out because of course, they must check your blood sugar level every day, lest they find out you're diabetic or something. Only then would you be served your meal, which is a highly nutritous, perfeclty seasoned, balanced dish because they want to make sure you dont have any vitamin deficiencies (because how would they know???? you dont feel pain). But you cant eat just yet. No no, whichever brother is closer, most often Jason, will first taste your food to make sure its not too hot to consume (because you dont realise you've burned the roof of your mouth that one time when Tim ate a slice of pizza that was fresh out of the oven and huppahhuffpuhh the morsel out). Jason would then give you the go to eat and you finally do. You make sure to finish the whole plate (because otherwise Bruce will make note of it and then interrogate you "medically" why you didnt feel like eating all of it?)

After breakfast, while the rest of the batkids get to go to school and work, you dont (because Bruce thinks that your immune system could be weak and he cant risk you catching any diseases from the outside.) No, you get a special trip to the infirmary where Bruce and Alfred do a more thorough medical check up, taking your vitals, JOTTING IT DOWN, while Alfred hooks you up to an IV drip of vitamins. And even though they go to such extents to ensure that you're healthy, they still take you to a skilled doctor once a week for regular check ups. Bruce wanted to keep the doctor in the house to do daily check ups, but you talked him out of it that you dont want to feel like a lab rat who has her blood taken every day. Once a week is fine, Bruce.

Once the medical check up is done, Bruce would then take you with him, either to Wayne enterprises where you sit in his office as he imparts you "business education that no school can teach you." which you believe because... well he has managed to triple the Wayne wealth even after his parents death. If he's working from home, then he'll let you accompany him in his home office where you can either read a book he chose for you (because Bruce prefers to homseschool you himself) or do a puzzle/case he created specifically for you. If he's working in the batcave, then he'll let you tag along but you can only work here by brainstorming or doing some computer research, but in no way are you allowed to ever go on field and fight. No, not since your last incident.

Just 2 months ago, you were patrolling with Jason (because Bruce refused to let you go alone now. He just wont risk it) and you encountered some bad guys who were a little more well equipped than you two had expected. A fight broke out, and in the process you got hurt badly. Of course, you didnt realise it because you didnt feel any of the punches or the bone fracturing. Jason could only look at you in dread as you smashed your head against the villain's head until the guy passed out, all while your nose bled, you were covered in bruises from top to bottom, AND you had a bone sticking out of your arm.

"Jay? I think I'm hurt?" You asked as blood coated your teeth.

After that, Bruce forbid you from going out on the field altogether because you just dont know when to stop. If it werent for bones sticking out or blood dripping down your face, you wouldnt know that you've been injured.

Anyways, at lunch, almost everyone has returned from work/school and you get yet another balanced meal (temperature tested by another brother). You're now scheduled for some exercises, usually conducted by Damian (under Dick's supervision because otherwise, you'd just be smacking that devil's spawn.) You guys use the gym in the basement, where Damian makes you run on the treadmill for some time, during which he does not take his eyes off you once because he needs to know when he should stop you, especially since you dont sweat or are even huff. If he didnt keep time, you could probably run for a long time and not realise that your legs or lungs are begging you to stop and take a break. As you hop off the machine, he's immediately taking your temperature. He does it after every exercise he makes you do.

After that is done, you spend time with Tim who likes to have you try on little gadgets that should "help you feel pain", but so far, he hasnt had any luck (but he doesn seem to be doing good in disguising trackers in your daily wear things). Oh and Damian loves to join in because he gets to sneak up on you and prick you with needles to help Tim see if your sensory pathways work. They dont, but you dont need your pain receptors to detect Damian coming up behind you as you smack him when he tries to prick you.

Then dinner is served, and then you're ushered straight to bed where Dick, or more often- Bruce has you do a self check like the one Dick does in the morning, but Bruce also makes sure to check your eyes to see if you "accidentally scratched your cornea" or whatever, tucks you in, tells you that he's so proud of you for how youre handling this and that you can come to him anytime, for anything. He kisses your forehead, wishes you goodnight, and leaves.

Half an hour later, Jason sneaks into your room with the goodies- junk food and video games. You two have the strongest bond because Jason is the one who treats you the most normal, and Jason does it partly to piss off Bruce but partly because he cares about your mental health. He knows it cant be good for you to be cooped up in the mansion under supervision like a bird in a gilded cage.

So sometimes, he sneaks you out of the mansion and takes you out on late night rides on his bike. You can even watch him fight villains, but you're sat far away and can never interferre.

Unfortunately for you two, this sneaking out will have to end because Bruce had recently decided to set up some cameras in your room because he wanted to make sure you slept well without any abnormal breathing patterns. Bruce hopes he doesnt have to use restraints on you, because he's not blind. He knows you're uncomfortable with this intricate routine and knowing your impulsive self, you'd probably break your own bones to get out of these restraints. And then he'll be forced to use sedatives and he really doesnt wanna rely on drugs... he likes your company when you're not droopy.

And as Bruce had anticipated, you broke down. You finally tried to leave, and he could see the color draining your face as you realised that there is no leaving.

"Why isnt the door opening?" You asked Bruce, as his four sons slowly surrounded you.

"You dont have to run away, Y/n-" He tried to calm you down but you flinched away, eyes wide as you looked at him like he was going to harm you.

"Bruce, why isnt the fucking door opening?" Your voice trembled, shooting him teary glare before focusing your eyes back on the boys who were closing in on you.

"You're meant to stay here, inside, where its safe." He answered, heart aching at the alarmed stance you took, your fight-or-flight was going to kick in. He took another step towards you, hands raised in surrender. "We can keep you safe-" thats all it took for you to bolt as the boys began chasing you. Realistically, you knew you couldnt escape them but something about their intensely concerned calls for your name had you jumping out of the window.

Glass shattered and sharp shards embedded themselves in your skin and feet, but you didnt react to them. No, your brain wasnt screaming in pain, it was screaming for you to get out!

Adrenaline pumped you to run into the dark woods surrounding the mansion, but you were soon knocked to the ground by Dick, who cushioned your fall by placing you on top of him as his hands wrapped around your form like a cage. "Y/n, calm down and listen-"

You began thrashing in his arms, screaming in agony. "Let ME GO! YOU'RE HURTING ME-!" Dick's arms loosened instinctively and you took that as a chance to elbow him in the throat and run, thanking some deity for letting Dick forget that you cant feel pain.

But your relief is short lived as Damian catches you and pushes you to the ground harshly. "Damian! Be careful! She could break a bone-"

"Bones can heal, Drake." Damian barked back, pulling you up before he pushed you against tree. "Let me go, you maniac-" Damian's hand clamped around your throat, making you shut up. "You're the one who's a maniac. Look at you! You've fucking hurt yourself because if your astounding stupidity!"

You whimpered, clawing at his hand wrapped around your throat. "Dami- p-please let go- you're hurting me!" You cried out, but your eyes went wide as he squeezed your throat and bared his teeth at you. "Not falling for it, dumbass." So... fooling Damian wasnt as easy a feat as it was fooling Dick.

You stopped the act and looked at him dead serious. "Let me go, Damian, or-"

"Or what?"

Or what? Or what? Did he think you were out of options? Out of escape plans?

You dont know why, but that triggered something inside you.

Damian and Tim could only watch as you suddenly slammed the back of your head against the tree. "Y/n-" He gasped in horror as you leaned your head forward before slamming it back against the hard rough surface. This time, Damian's hand that was wrapped around your neck felt your blood around his fingers.

"Its my life and I get to decide how I should live it." You sneered before raising your head again to bash it, but Damian's hand quickly slipped from your neck to the back of your head, cushioning it when you smacked it back, the skin on the back of his hand breaking as it made contact with the bark.

You pushed him away and tried to make a run for it, but Tim grabbed your wrist. You tried to pull away, but he had a death grip on it. "Y/n, stop! You need to listen-"

"Oh is that so? I think I need this." You used your other hand to punch yourself in the face (because Tim would've dodged it if you punched him), making your nose bleed. But you didnt feel any pain, and now you were acting like a super soldier zombie that has no concept of self preservation who is going through fucked up lengths to prove her point.

Your eyes caught the sight of a glass shard poking out of your thigh. "Wanna see something cool?" You pulled out the shard, not paying mind to the blood oozing out. "Y/n, stop-" Tim begged, and you saw Damian froze in the back as you raised the shard.

They didnt know what your next target was- slashing your wrists, slitting your throat, or stabbing your stomach, but fortunately, they didnt have to find out as Jason came up behind you and injected you with a tranquilliser.

Sadly, you never felt the prick or sensed the hero sneaking up behind you.

thoughts? also, what other diseases would u guys like me to write for. i just adore these cool medical abnormalities lol

[wonderjanga]

What do you do?

Bruce has literally no idea about Marvel’s personal life. As a result, the JL have no idea about his personal life. The only thing they know is that they want Marvel to have their jobs. Cause, Marvel already let them rants about whatever they’re passionate about. Once they find out his job, and if he’s maybe passionate about what they’re passionate about, they can yap together!

Supes: *ranting*

Marvel: *listening intently*

Supes: “And, you know, I’m a reporter-”

Marvel: *sounds surprised* Wait, you’re actually a reporter?”

Supes: “Uh… yeah? Did you think I wasn’t? You’ve heard me go on fifteen minute rants just about it.”

Marvel: *shrugs* “I just thought it was something you were really interested in. What company to do you work at?”

Supes: “The Daily Planet?”

Marvel: “Oh, I’ve heard about them!”

This went on to be an hour long conversation of them exchanging tips, talking about which companies can’t be trusted, which reporters are good versus bad, and so on. They probably would’ve gone on longer if some aliens hadn’t tried to invade earth for the millionth time. Even then, after the battle, they continued the conversation back at the Watchtower. Clark was honestly so happy about this entire thing because whenever he talked about reporting to Marvel, he would normally just nod along and ask questions. Instead, this time, the Cheese actually yapped with him instead of patiently listening. Clark was like 50 percent sure Marvel was a reporter now, and he was right. Technically. Billy was a reporter.

Meanwhile, Bruce is hypothesizing that Marvel is a teacher or caretaker of some kind because he’s really good with kids. Most of these kids are, for a lack of a better word, idiots. He is the only hero that’s interacted with them that hasn’t lost his temper yet. A good example of this was when Marvel was obviously having a bad day and Jon came to talk to him since Clark was busy.

Marvel: *nodding along, as he stress bakes, stirring something in a bowl* “That’s nice. Can you go get some flour for me?”

Jon: “Sure!” *runs off to grab a bag of flour and as he comes back he accidentally drops it and gets it all over the floor, now looking guilty* “I’m sorry.”

Marvel: “It’s… fine.” *takes a deep breath and is trying so hard to not lash out him* “It’s fine.” *takes another deep breath and smiles at him* “Jon, you’ve made pies with Mrs. Kent before right?”

Jon: “No, mom doesn’t like making pies. I make them with Grandma though!”

Marvel: “That’s who I meant.” *hands Jon the bowl* “Hold this please?” *walks over and picks up the flour bag, and puts some into the bowl Jon was holding before putting the bag in a sink* “Mix that and pour it into the pan while I go clean this up.” *ruffles his hair*

Jon: “Okay.” *determined to help him make the best pie ever*

Later…

Batman: *walks into the kitchen* “Marvel-” *does a double take when he sees Jon* “Why is Superboy’s entire lower half covered in flour?”

Marvel: “He dropped a bag of flour earlier.” *shrugs as he lets Jon put a bunch of sprinkles on the pie*

He later watched the feed of the kitchen and that’s how the Marvel potentially being a teacher theory came into existence. Of course, this incident wasn’t the only reason, but still.

While all this is happening, Diana thinks he’s has a job in the archeological field because the man seems to love history.

And Billy does. His dad and mom loved it, and at first he only got into it because they liked it, but he realized he actually found it fascinating.

So, here are the options.

1.) Reporter

2.) Teacher/Caretaker

3.) Archeology

They finally asked when they couldn’t take the suspense anymore.

Marvel: “Oh uhm… well, I don’t work often, (doesn’t work often as Marvel, he works quite often as Billy) but every now and then, I help with unloading pallets and stuff.”

That was… not what they expected. After this conversation, Clark not so sneakily snuck Billy his business card for the Planet. Wondy straight up just gave him the card. Batman didn’t know what to do other than reset to his default and actually sneakily snuck like a thousand dollars to Marvel.

[agatharkn3ss]

Rio's flower theory (contains spoilers!)

Some people have noticed how Rio's flower kept making appearance in the last episode, so naturally I re-watched it for the 100th time, and made note of every moment we see the flower because I have a theory...

First appearance - Rio presents it to Agatha when she crawls out of the ground

Agatha pushed it out of her hand, but it's unclear what happens to it - I thought maybe it looked like she put it in her coat pocket, but actually I think she just threw it to the ground, she would be too angry to keep it. And so we see the flower back in Rio's hands when she merrily hops along the Road. She doesn't stop playing with it even when they stop to look at the trial house.

The flower (and also her knife) is also present in the trial. As we saw with Agatha's locket, amulets and Joe's spell book, the trial seems to let the witches keep things that are important to them.

When they exit the trial, frantically trying to save Teen, Rio is back playing with the flower again, silently observing Agatha.

This continues until the campfire. Seriously, why is this girl stimming so much?

The interesting bit is when Agatha returns from Teen. Her hands are in her pocket, so we can't see whether she's holding something in her hands or if she's taking something from her pocket. But in the next frame, as she sits down to join the coven, she has that flower in her left hand! I think Rio must have put it on the seat, waiting for her. There are some interesting looks!

Finally, when Rio gets up to go after Agatha, the camera pans out and we see the flower has actually been left back on the log, where Agatha sat... What is the meaning of it?....

So in summary, the flower has some deeper meaning to Rio and she seems to really treasure it, maybe even use it as a stimming device, maybe trying to control her emotions?

Enter the Marvel promo for Death tarot card!

In one hand, we see Death holds her dagger (looking familiar?), in the other hand she holds an object that people believe to be Death's black heart. But it also reminds me the shape of a flower. So what if Rio's flower IS her heart? That she keeps offering to Agatha?

But I wonder if Agatha realises the meaning of the flower yet. In ep.1 she looked a little surprised when Rio says she does have a heart, that it's black and beats for her. It would be hard to believe that if these two were an item for centuries, that they wouldn't end up knowing everything about each other. So Agatha's "you don't have a heart" could just be a snarky, hurtful comment to reflect Rio's possible betrayal (the "job" she had to do) or a more literal fact that she doesn't believe Rio can be truly human in any physical way (no heart, no scars), because she's Lady Death. Or both. So maybe Rio hid that part from her? They certainly seem like they didn't even talk and reconcile after the dramatic events because Agatha seems surprised at Rio's hurt and regret when she tells her "scar story".

Anyway, I digress... In short, I think flower is (or at least symbolises) Rio's heart.

Bonus content - we actually get a glimpse of that flower in ep.1 as it makes its appearance even in Agatha's fake reality. Even though the camera angles make it impossible to see it most of the time, there are scenes when Rio moves her head just enough that we can see a bit of her her clip - which looks eerily like the flower!

While there was no actual flower in their ep.1 fight scene, Agatha is wearing a flowery robe and the wallpaper is all flowers. So I think there is a deeper symbolism there that the show is trying to subtly incorporate - does it all link to the Green Witch powers? Or the language of flowers?

Even Teen places a flower on Sharon's grave, where would he even get it from in that dark place? And finally, Jen uses blue flowers when they summon the green witch (Lilia offers a rock, Agatha adds a leaf and it's not clear what Alice adds - some dust or fruit?)

So... after all that, I don't actually know anything about plants or gardening. So does anyone know what type Rio's flower even is? I mean, there literally is a flower called Rio, could that be a hint or is it too simple?

EDIT: My bad, Rio is a proprietary company name who sells those flowers. But what about this flower called Surprise Lily? (also called Resurrection Lily!) Doesn't look quite like Rio's but I like the name as it would be quite funny if it was true...

[iwtv-theories]

All hints of past Devil’s minions (analysis)

Ok, before I get started I’ll preface this by saying some of this evidence has obvious (and literal) counter explanations and some of the easter-eggs could simply be foreshadowing for a reimagining of future d.m. But, in case they did have a past together , I might as well mention all the possible hints for fun.

1)Armand mentions “Tabula rasa”(Latin for a 'blank slate’ ) and then he turns his head to Daniel .

In philosophy 'tabula rasa' is a theory that says : at birth the mind is hypothetically a blank or empty slate before receiving memories that shape them into who they are. The term “tabula rasa” linguistically is derived from a wax-covered tablet (tabula) used for written notes, which was blanked (rasa) by heating the wax and then smoothing it to be reused and have new words written on it. Yeah , certainly sounds similar to someone's powers (memory alteration via words). What's very telling is the fact Daniel in response to this says annoyed: " disregard... as Armand remains off the record." It seems like a very tongue and cheek joke (from the writers). Because Armand was taken out of Daniel's narrative as well . Like Daniel said in ep 5 : "Armand redacted himself. which is why I don't remember." In qotd, Daniel & Armand would also often watch 'blade runner', and in that film , the 'maker' was able to manipulate/create memories in the ‘short- lived’ replicants’ lives.

2)[Let’s talk about the Alice proposal]. First we have Louis talk about his time in Paris (as the camera pans to Daniel and Armand) : “she was giving me permission to explore a life apart from her” .Armand: *tilts his head*: and then mentions Alice.

Armand may have let Daniel explore other romantic relationships like Alice (if he was with Louis) to make the dynamic more fair . So Daniel may be conflating fragments of his lost memories of Armand with memories of his ex Alice (since he was with them at the same time).

Armand may have replaced himself with Alice. Or he may have 'redacted' himself and Daniel's brain tried to fill in the gaps in memory naturally, since they were both romantic partners to him (around the same time). Daniel already had to be reminded by his ex wife ( Alice) that he didn't own a buick with her (which he probably drove in the past with Armand) . Daniel already "conflated events" : mixing up Louis for a human he met at a rehab , so it wouldn't be the first time he's mixed people up in his head.

-Louis about Daniel &Alice: “you were talking past each other “.

-Daniel to Louis : "Did you gravitate to San francisco as a hub for homophiles? " Louis: “ Paris was the more formative LIBERATION for me...you felt FRERER to hold her hand in Paris, I wonder why that is?

Then of course we see the framing of the proposal scene. Daniel says almost proudly that he did surprise Alice , which if he surprised a mind reader I could see why he was proud. Then Daniel has a flashback of Armand silently looking at him. Louis : “and what did she say when you finally asked her to marry you? " Daniel turns and looks at Armand confused as they both stare at each other . Daniel now hears Armand’s voice from the past . Armand: “Louis, perhaps we should- “. Daniel: “She said , no” . Armand : “she wanted to say yes, but she didn't trust you yet .”

Also, isn’t it interesting that an episode later Armand says it’s wrong to go into Daniel’s memories. So why did he (allegedly) go into Alice’s? And if so why is Daniel an exception? Is it really just because he’s a “guest” in the house (like Armand claimed) ? Did he really go into Alice’s mind or was he just admitting how he felt at the time of the proposal? Also if he supposedly didn't read Daniel's mind how did he know he was thinking of Alice initially? Either he knew he was taking about Alice, because he was around during that time. Or he read Daniel’s memoir that referenced her and Daniel in Paris (which would already be a hint Armand is more interested in Daniel than he lets on).

Also, Armand says Daniel was thinking of “Alice” after Daniel says “she’s tired of your dilettante vibe.” Alice may have said it , but the word ‘dilettante’ is considered an archaic term that originated in 1733 and is borrowed from the Italian word "dilettante" meaning "lover of music or paintings”. Given Armand’s old fashioned vernacular, and origins in the Italian- art scene . It makes me wonder if he actually said it (not Alice)

And … before the proposal flashback, Louis says in relation to Alice and Daniel in Paris : “I SEE I triggered a memory.” But for Daniel , when thinking of the proposal, the only visual memory he SAW was of Armand . Which begs the question why did a failed marriage proposal trigger a memory of Armand (for Daniel) ?

Lestat asking Louis to be his companion and turning him was already compared to a wedding at a church. Daniel may have “finally gotten his shit together “ (got sober) and asked to be turned and be Armand's companion and Armand said "no" . And this still subconsciously hurts him deeply. In the books, armand's refusal to turn him was the biggest issue in their relationship. It could be a similar pain to when Alice first rejected his marriage proposal (or his pain from Armand's rejection was displaced on to Alice's rejection, in his distorted memories). Similar to him thinking he drove a buick when married to her.

Also , isn’t it interesting that in Daniel’s first flashback of Armand, the first thing Armand says as he looks at Daniel is , “no.” And the second flashback is: “(s)he said no.”

I also find it interesting that Daniel first remembers Armand via a dream and of course Alice (could be a ref to Alice in wonderland which is a story heavily associated with dreams). A hint he’s mixing the 2 up? (Alice and wonderland series) : “In the garden of memory, in the palace of dreams, that is where you and I shall meet.” *Literally remembers meeting Armand (in his memory) via a dream….

3) This next scene could have a lot of logical explanations. And it could be heavily symbolic and foreshadow that past d.m did happen. But if past d.m did occur it’s also possible Armand wasn’t simply worried about the talamasca showing Daniel the trial-script (which Armand may or may not have assumed burned in the fire). But, was worried about Daniel learning about their affair and telling Louis. Daniel to Armand: “you could read any mind you want. Why didn't you?" Armand: "I was in Love". Daniel snears at Louis: "you believe that?" Louis: I believe... he could have gotten lazy. Armand: "It was love." Louis sarcastically: "Sure, and Love. I suppose he was loving in those times... (angrily)Love!"

Armand then immediately turns away from Louis and asks three times if Daniel was left alone to talk to anyone (talamasca) during dinner . And Louis looks visibly confused on why he's harping on Daniel, and not the fact he just alluded to the fact that he thinks Armand doesn't love him anymore. And louis say exasperated : "WHY do you ask, LOVE?" There's a lot of symbolic weight in that last sentence. He literally is referring to Armand by the nickname 'love', but he's once again alluding to his doubts of Armand's love by emphasizing the last word. He's also asking why on earth is he bringing Daniel up in this conversation??? The dramatic pause between the 2 lines, may symbolically tell us the answer : " Why do you ask (about Daniel)? (Is it) LOVE? ".Armand may have been trying to figure out if Daniel found out about the affair, and told Louis.

And to answer Louis' question on ‘why he’s asking about Daniel’ we hear a drink being prepared and Armand is shown in both shots as the drink is poured...

And what does Daniel say shortly after : "Rashid, more vermouth next time.It's just HIS (Armand's) were better (*smirks)." Armand's odd look in response is possibly because he's wondering if this was or wasn't a subtle jab at their past relationship. “ They were not compatible / He tasted like Vermouth."

The drink symbolism could be a hint that Armand was asking cause he was afraid an ex-romantic relationship had been exposed. Not to mention, this whole scene was spurred on by Armand saying he doesn't read minds , cause of "love". And in an earlier episode he apologized to Daniel (for Louis going into his mind) saying "it was wrong to go into your memories ." Maybe Armand feels guilty about what he did last time he went into Daniel's memories?I mean …during this whole scene he could have just read Daniel's thoughts/memories to know what he actually knew or if he met up with the talamasca during dinner. Instead he openly admits he tried to hack Daniel’s computer : “you have everything we have , unless you're HIDING something on your encrypted laptop.”And funnily enough the only thing the Talamasca agent said to Daniel, at dinner, was he 'shouldn't fear Armand'. Sus.

The agent says this AFTER Armand just killed Malik. And before this convo with the talamasca, Daniel said himself: “1000s of kills, when has Armand ever spared a life ?” Yes, exactly, so why does the talamasca agent seem so confident that Armand isn’t a threat to Daniel? . Are they really just that bad at keeping their assets alive? I guess Armand usually only targets certain types of people, but still . And why does Raglan warn Daniel about Louis??? Louis hasn't killed anyone since 2000! Even agent Rashid says Daniel shouldn't have accepted Louis' invitation if he wanted to get out alive. Who knows maybe they're like, Daniel if Louis finds out about your little affair - you're going to die (just like Antoinette).

Not to mention that in the episode commentary of the scene, Assad says that Armand was suspicious "that they knew" . And I mean -after they both question Armand's 'love'. It makes sense he’d jump to the conclusion that they might know about the affair . Anderson (Louis) then says about the scene: " Louis known for a long time something is wrong. A lie is being told. I think Louis and Daniel have been sort of like kept things for Armand." Which yeah- sounds more like d.m proof than Armand simply trying to figure out if they know about the trial script.

4) louis : “we’ve been TOGETHER 77 years . Should we let the MATH of that settle.” Well, that’s certainly interesting math, given the fact Armand said in the prior episode they’ve been “TOGETHER” for “ 70 years.” Logically ,I know Armand is simply “rounding down” (which is already out of character tbh). But SYMBOLICALLY I find it really interesting that Armand when Daniel is in the room says “77 years”, but when Daniel is in another room he always says “70 years “ . Maybe a symbolic hint their affair lasted 7 years ?

Think about it, what did Lestat say when explaining his affair with a human who he later turned into a vampire : “ For 7 years …if your companion no longer wishes to share his body with you. If every word out of his mouth is disinterest or vitriol for 7 years ! You still hope ... that he'll love you, like you love him . But, what do you do? (picture of Antionette pops up).Do you find affection elsewhere? “ . Santiago: “Antionette Brown, ladies and gentlemen, later the vampire Antoinette . 7 long years . “

Also , Daniel had to be reminded by his ex wife Alice that he didn’t own a Buick while they were together . His publisher also had to remind him the dates must be wrong for when he owned the car - cause child car seats weren’t even mandatory until 1985, the year he got Alice pregnant . Daniel told his publisher he owned a Buick 7 years before 1985. Cough it was probably Armand’s car (and the timeline is jumbled in his head). And they were together for 7 years. Daniel didn’t even own a credit card in the 80s but he thought he drove a luxury car in the 70s???? Sus

Louis while with Daniel , also says to Armand : “do you care to Join us?” Armand to Daniel: “Mr pointe du lac will join you at course 7.” Daniel: “7?... wait “(Armand rushes away from Daniel). Maybe that's symbolic?

who knows , Lestat (was separated from Louis) and lived with Antoinette for years- only to later get back with Louis. Is it possible that something similar happened between Armand, Daniel, and Louis ?

Not to mention when Armand says to Daniel “77 years and it still feels like a slight.” (it pans to Daniel, and I can’t help but think the real slight would be to Daniel, if they actually were together during that 77 y long marriage). Daniel in the last episode screaming : “77 years based on a seismic lie!” (Makes me wonder if the trial isn’t the only seismic lie). I'm sorry, I still find it interesting that ‘home-wrecker’ molloy destroyed their marriage “almost to the day” of Louis & Armand's anniversary.

In the show they also changed Marius/armand’s relationship so it now lasted 12 years. Which in the books is also how long Daniel/Armand were together . I could see Armand/Daniel having the “chase/get to know you phase “ for 5 years and then actually be together for 7 years. Since in the books they knew each other for 4 years before dating for 8) .

5)This next scene could also be heavily symbolic ,when Louis is discussing his courtship to Armand (the camera lingers on Daniel cause the dialogue may have also applied to him): "Some of my most pronounced feelings and thoughts were taking shape. When my mind was being touched by Armand's I became deeply excited and driven to form new conclusions about myself and vampiric life in the abstract." / Louis: "Is something wrong, Daniel?" Daniel: Something you were saying made me think of, um... Louis : "Think of what?" *Armand turns to look at Daniel* Daniel:" It just flew out of my head. It's gone." *Camera pans back to Armand looking at Daniel* Who may or may not be wondering if Daniel almost remembered something. Also the fact during this whole scene Daniel is clicking on the “escape” button over and over as Louis describes his romance with Armand (it may also be symbolic that young Daniel would not want to hear any of this ).

5b) We already know Daniel’s memories have been slowly coming back in relation to Armand (when something or someone triggers a memory). They’re not completely lost- he can get some of them back. Another proof d.m happened in the past is what “triggers a memory (of Armand).” There's the examples that have an obvious explanation: he searches on his computer the painting of Marius which he already discussed with Armand, and when he asks about Armand’s diet ( he remembers when Armand almost made him a meal). But the other things that trigger Armand to flash in his mind… are very suspicious. The first time he remembers Armand in s1 was when Armand placed a blanket on him (*which book Armand has done for Daniel before) . And in s2 Daniel also has a flashback occur when Armand (for the first time in Dubai) says “Daniel” . This whole convo occurs because Daniel was asking Louis about hallucinating his ex (and then Daniel sees a vision of Armand from the past ,HMMMM). And he also has his memory of Armand “triggered “ when he sees a photo of a Parisian couple near a fountain + thinks of how he was rejected by his ex-wife in Paris. Daniel’s subconscious is reminded of his past with Armand - when he thinks of a combination of France , romance, and heartbreak.

6) Armand says about Daniel: “the boy…he’s still in there .”If young Daniel knew about Armand/louis I could see him being jealous and resentful of that relationship in the 70s and 80s. And so older Daniel (subconsciously) just needs to shit on their relationship , whenever the opportunity presents itself . Louis: “ I’d like to introduce you to the vampire Armand, the love of my life…my love ran a theater troupe for over a 150 years, Daniel.” Daniel: “the love of your life (Lestat) was in a box “. Daniel to loumand: lestat , lestat, lestat… love of my life or ‘rebound of my life ‘, with you two? “ Armand and Louis mentioning first meeting in a park: “with a habit of chasing after the wrong kind of love”. Daniel (sarcastic): “oh, what better place to find the right kind of love than in a public park. “ Louis who has told Daniel about dream- Lestat for multiple episodes, but then dream Lestat mocks Louis’ “ I love you” to Armand . Pans to Daniel squinting and then spitefully smirking : “Are you schizophrenic Louis ?”Louis: “we’ve been together for 77 years, Daniel.” Armand : “47 more than he did with lestat”. Daniel (smirks and looks at Armand): “keep selling it.” Louis talking about his and Armand’s romantic library dates . Daniel deadpan and sarcastic : “hot.” Daniel pressing the “escape’ button over and over as Louis describes his romance to Armand. Lestat to Loumand : “let’s see how long (your relationship) holds” . Daniel sarcastic and smug : “interesting phrase , what do you think he meant by that Louis? “ Daniel :*breaks them up “almost to the day” of their anniversary. *

It’s so funny how often Daniel questions their “love “ for each other . Like ,great job keeping a professional-objective lens, Daniel.

And speaking of “love “ I have to mention something else . The fact Daniel (in the 70s) uses the term "homophile" is VERY telling about his true desires. "The homophile movement was a collective term for the main organizations and publications supporting and representing sexual minorities in the 1950s to 1960s around the world.Proponents of the term 'homophile' hoped to emphasize the romantic rather than sexual aspect of same-sex relationships by replacing the -"sexual" suffix with the Greek root "philos," meaning LOVE. " In the books, when they first got together Daniel called Armand his "LOVER" and Armand called him "BELOVED" and “My LOVE.” Daniel deep down wanted "love" from a man , but before the interview in the 70s he only acted on his sexual desires (where there was no emotional intimacy and it could more easily be dismissed as just needing a fix, experimentation, etc). So yeah… Armand and Daniel both were hyper sexual but deep down they both wanted the same thing- Love . And young Daniel may have really LOVED Armand ,if they were together . Armand would have been the only man he ever loved.So yeah , even with amnesia , his bitterness may slip out (subconsciously). I mean, imagine Armand chose Louis over you: and you had to hear Louis talk on and on about his ex Lestat, mention while he was courting Armand that a hallucination of Lestat mocked Armand repeatedly . Hear how Louis didn't even want to call Armand his “companion" and just wanted to be friends with benefits, and in the end Louis chose to be with Armand to spite his ex Lestat. Then he proceeds to hook up with 100s of guys a year while being with Armand (despite being devastated Lestat slept with 1 other person). And it is made abundantly clear that Armand was just a “rebound” for Louis- and Armand still chose Louis over you! I’d be bitchy and want them to break up too . XD

Obviously, Armand was toxic as hell to Louis through out their companionship though. No debating that.

7) so again, this is a crack theory, I’ll admit . But remember how Daniel tells Louis . “Memory is a monster.WE forget , memories don’t .” This I believe is a reference to repressed memories . Because irl when you’ve repressed a traumatic memory : your emotions and behavior still reflect that forgotten trauma ( you just don’t know and understand the root cause of your behavior). Why Daniel suggested Edmr to Louis (it helps recover and re-contextualize lost memories to better understand your present behavior ). So my point … Daniel and Louis may be acting in certain ways that they don’t even understand (because of their repressed memories). So What if Louis found out about the affair and Armand erased it ? It would possibly explain some of Louis behavior toward Daniel.For example, whenever Daniel gets distracted from Louis's story because he's looking at Armand - the camera pans to Louis and Louis' expression is certainly... interesting whenever this occurs.

It would possibly explain some of Louis behavior toward Daniel. Louis laughing about Daniel’s heart break about Alice (*which may actually be about Armand ). Louis smirking and side eyeing Armand, when Daniel said he wasn’t interested in Armand’s blood ( *Daniel as a human used to drink Armand’s blood). Daniel in s2e5 interrupting louis to say 'follow up with Armand' and Louis side-eyes the hell out of him XD.

In s2e5 Louis also says very angrily : “who would care if another drug addicted homophile disappeared. The Berkeley barb?” (Alluding to Daniel being closeted ,mocking his past drug habit+ college newspaper, and implying he was insignificant). Now even though that was technically part of the reason he initially approached Daniel in the 70s (and Louis sadly does have a habit of saying mean stuff to people he cares about) … it’s still odd how much venom he said it with in the present . Especially in contrast to the speech flashback in the same episode (that had the opposite sentiment).

Also something else I always found really strange. In the last ep of s2, Louis verbally defends Daniel from Armand (telling Armand not to hurt Daniel). And right after this Louis moves in to shake Daniel's hand - Daniel immediately backs up afraid . We also see Daniel be afraid of Louis in the s1e1 script : “ The attack on the tape is horrifying … begging and screaming … suddenly Louis transports himself across the room and presses the stop button. Molloy tries to hide his fear as Louis towers over him.”The strange thing is- if it's simply just a human reaction because Louis' a powerful vampire & Daniel has a subconscious fear of Louis after he attacked him in the 70s. Then WHY wasn't he even MORE afraid of Armand (after all the shit Armand did to Daniel in the 70s)?? Why does Daniel not even flinch after he destroys Armand's 77 y long relationship (and theoretically created a perfect reason for Armand to attack him)? Is it because he subconsciously knows Armand wouldn't actually harm him???

8) [Armand brainwashing Louis]. So remember how Armand ‘s memory powers work- by repeating a phrase over and over again until the victim believes the memory or thought implanted? Even if this was completely unintentional/accidental on Armand’s part. I do find it interesting (and strange) that Armand essentially implanted in Louis mind that he was “partial “ to Daniel. Partial means you like someone OR you have a bias in favor of someone over other people in a conflict. I just find that kind of ironic cause before s2e5 , Daniel/ Louis were constantly beefing while Armand was essentially the referee trying to get them to chill the F-out . And at least for a good portion of the show it seemed Armand was the one actually “partial” to Daniel. It just made me wonder , if we’re missing something . Also , if Armand really only met Daniel once, and was still jealous and resentful of how much attention he garnered from Louis, why did he implant the thought in Louis' head that Daniel could be "fruitful in later times'???? Wouldn't he never want to see this guy again? (Even if he's supposed to be a symbol of their companionship enduring, idk, I still find it weird. Even Daniel questioned the reasoning in the beginning of the ep) .

9) I’ll be honest , I’m probably wrong about this (and it’s a crack theory). Like 90% chance It's not true … but it’s been bothering me ever since s2e5 aired. And yes, there may be some symbolic reason I’m missing (like the dialogue is similar to show the contrast between Louis and Armand’s treatment of Daniel in the 70s ) . But … something about the speech Daniel recites at the end of ep 5 is very strange to me. Not only because Louis, in Dubai, in e5, says the opposite sentiment (to said speech) . But because the words echo what Armand says or heard in e5 .

Daniel to Armand in e5: “I’m a bright young report with a point of view .” The speech repeats this line , and when Daniel says it in an earlier ep the camera pans to Armand looking at Daniel, then turning away to smile . speech : “ If things ever get bad again, these are the words you’ll hear LIKE a tape playing over and over in your mind , LIKE a song.” Armand about the tapes : “ I played the tapes twice … over and over until it was pounding in my brain LIKE a hammer ...(to Daniel) LIKE a bath … LIKE honey on your tongue .” Not to mention Armand’s powers work by repeating the same words “over and over again” . Speech: “Listen as though I’m the voice of god or an angel“ (literally in ep 5 we see Armand taken aback when Daniel is scared and starts saying “oh , my god” over and over again.And in the books Daniel described Armand as his “dark god”. )

Speech: " There are stories that need to be told." Armand: " Do you want to hear my story?" speech: You’re not insignificant " Armand to Daniel : “That makes you special.” Speech: “these words will lift you up and carry you.” (lmao, Armand’s words literally lifted and carried Daniel off the ground too ). Who knows, the line “what will it be tonight the good nurse or the gremlin?” may have a deeper meaning.

But again what really threw me off was that Louis (in Dubai) said about young Daniel in ep5: “who would care if ANOTHER drug addicted homophile disappeared? The Berkley Barb?!” speech: "You’re NOT insignificant or a junkie. you're a bright young reporter with a point of view.“ They’re literally opposing thoughts?? Not to mention it was Armand in ep 5 who called him a "reporter" & Daniel told Armand he was good at getting "angles" as a reporter (hello, 'perspective' is a synonym for 'angles').

Also , maybe just a huge plot hole but Louis later claims that when a “vampire commits to coffin” it’s nearly impossibly to wake them up , even if a “jet engine” flew by. So how did Louis wake up to save Daniel after Armand closed louis' coffin (and Armand told louis to "rest') ? Was it just because he was in so much pain that he couldn’t fall asleep? Was he fighting his instincts to save Daniel? Was Louis just over exaggerating how powerful a vampire’s sleep in a coffin is? Idk maybe it’s just a plot hole or I’m over-reading it . We do see Louis help Armand move Daniel later (so he obviously was awoken at some point). Maybe all the lines in the speech were a coincidence or just meant to juxtapose Louis and Armand's behavior. And Louis just heard the convos between Daniel/Armand from the other room, before saying the speech. But I always found ep 5 odd because of the discrepancies .

Heck, the ep prior we have Louis and Armand fighting as Daniel tries to listen to the San-Fran tape of Louis /Armand arguing. The first thing Daniel hears on the tape is his younger self essentially yelling at him : "You've forgotten man! You don't even understand the meaning of your own story!" (Which may or may not have more symbolic significance than we realize). And then the whole ending scene (of ep 4 & the audio of the tape playing Armand's voice) is abruptly cut off and the preview of ep 5 plays . Maybe it’s a hint Armand cut off and changed the ending to the following ep of San Fran too ??? “Same precise edit on 2 brains.” Who knows maybe Armand changed it cause he was afraid that certain details may start jogging memories of the affair .

And technically it would be a parallel to how Lestat let Armand take credit for saving his ex’s life (which generally changed how Louis saw the 2). And , s2e5 greatly changed how Daniel saw Louis. Armand may have done something similar to Lestat . But again it’s a crack theory … and I’m super happy with Daniel and Louis just having that nice moment (and becoming friends) . But those details always just threw me off , so I had to mention it (just incase there was some crazy plot twist in the future).

Also, if this is the case, I don't think Armand saved Daniel for romantic reasons at the time (but a different reason entirely). We see in episode 5 after Claudia's death Louis is spiraling due to grief and not abiding by his usual diet. Every night, in the 70s, he'd have sex with a young-queer male sex worker and then kill them . In the Parisian flashback we see Armand not eat but select bad guys for his coven to drain, as Armand tells Louis : "I understand you supplemented your diet (with animals)... I like how you withhold. It's alluring, it's practiced, it makes me wonder what's in there." One of the reasons Armand was attracted to Louis in the first place was because of his diet!!! But in the 70s , Armand every morning had to clean up the dead bodies of young boys whose backgrounds eerily resembled Amadeo's ( that would probably mess with anyone's psyche especially when Armand rarely ate and generally only chose shitty people or those who wanted to die). In s2e5, Armand and louis literally fight over who Louis chooses to kill (and it's implied to be an ongoing issue). Armand: "With a BOY! Things got heated with a BOY… And once again I'm here with mop and mindlessness to clean it up!” Louis: “so the room’s dirty, I’ll clean it up.” Armand: “NO! YOU make the mess I clean it up … unfortunates and broken CHILDREN. FINE!" Louis sarcastic : "Oh, FINE! the 'fine' that doesn't found like fine!" Louis later says to Armand : "sorry". And Armand retorts: Meaningless word, meaningless, a neighbor saw you while he was taking out the trash. I had to chase him down." ( Armand's face looks almost... guilty? And then the camera pans to Daniel looking at the body).Louis , surprised that Armand hasn’t killed Daniel yet : "He's alive?" Armand : " Oh, the BOY? The fascinating BOY?He's fine. He's just fine. Oh, he's fine. You're fine!This is fine! We're all FINE!"

I think Armand snapped on Daniel since he had no one else to lash out at. And, he also high key mentally snapped over Louis saying 10 hours with Daniel was more ‘fascinating' than decades with him) .But more importantly, Armand knew that covering up for injured Louis, required killing 'the boy' (like he did the neighbor) . And Daniel doesn't fit Armand's kill-code. Unlike most of Armand's victims Daniel's 'transgressions were ordinary' and unlike Malik who was 'begging for it in an hour' (Daniel fought for days) . Daniel was not Armand's usual target. Armand usually just cleaned up the dead bodies of the young sex workers (not kill them) . Armand: “128 boys and you’re the first he hasn’t consummated and drained, that makes you special.”Armand says Daniel was "special" because he was the 'first boy’ that ended up still being alive by the time Armand got there with his "mop". The fact Armand literally counted EVERY ‘call boy’ he was forced to clean up is probably an indicator Louis' choices in victims bothered Armand more than he lets on.

Also the show keeps on implying over and over that Armand doesn’t really drink blood very often (in the Parisian flashback louis asks if Armand is going to eat with his coven which he doesn’t) . Then Louis mentions twice to Daniel that Armand ‘rarely eats’. In the books, ancient vamps could go years without blood. Then we’re told later in Dubai by Louis that Armand generally only targets certain humans who cause a lot of harm to the world , and this is backed up by the flashback in Paris .Armand in Paris describing his target: “while their country men starved and clutched their ration cards, they made quite a killing on the black market . Enjoy yourselves .” But in front of Daniel he says : “ they (humans) were all the SAME to us, cattle for our DAILY suppers .” And he also says to Daniel that in Paris he often drank the blood of young men , like Daniel “for sport.” So what’s the truth??? The books say Armand (usually) only killed humans that were “evil doers” or that wanted to die. So … is he lying or exaggerating a facade to Daniel? Is he trying to look worse (and more bloodthirsty) in front of Daniel for some odd reason? Why? Well, maybe he’s trying to say things that would decrease the chance of Daniel remembering him. Armand even says to Daniel: “He had taken a mortal lover ! Hah, more heresy!!!” Armand just had to slip in his backstory that he personally finds the idea of banging a mortal sacrilegious and that he’d never EVER do it ! Though protest too much, maybe !

10) Throughout the present storyline we have Armand constantly protect Daniel. Which is narrative whiplash from what we saw in the flashback of the 2 first meeting. It begs the audience to question what changed from the 70s till now ? Is it really just because Armand thinks Louis likes Daniel? We have Armand stop Louis from exacerbating his Parkinson’s symptoms, and immediately apologize for what Louis just did. Then, when Louis goes into Daniel’s mind and mocks him over his failed proposal. Armand tries to stop it and then comforts him. And the next day (while Louis is asleep) Armand apologizes for Louis using his powers against Daniel for a second time. And throughout the present storyline we never actually see him use his powers against Daniel (despite all the jabs and provocations). Perhaps not using his powers and apologizing for Louis doing so - indicates his guilty conscious over what he did to Daniel? He wishes he could apologize but he can’t do so sincerely without exposing the truth . He has to stay in character (or else it could destroy his relationship with Louis).

Before s2e7 Daniel never verbally acknowledged any of Armand’s apologies . But when Armand says Louis “forgave (him)” for Paris . We then have Daniel say: “I didn’t forgive you.” And for some reason , Armand looks hurt that some ‘ insignificant mortal ‘ doesn’t forgive him. And then he tries to put back on his calm facade . But it’s fake, because he immediately changes the subject away from Paris to something personal , and mentions how Daniel’s past addiction did far more damage to his mind than his memory wipes in San Fran. Which ...(after Daniel's vermouth line) maybe Armand brings up the memory wipe cause he's not sure how much Daniel knows and whether Daniel is secretly alluding to ‘not forgiving him’ for memory-wiping their relationship. Or perhaps he's (lashing out and bringing up the memory wipe) because he knows if Daniel knew the truth , he probably would not forgive him for the 2nd larger memory wipe . Then he sits back down and backtracks : “fine , you want an apology . I’m sorry. WE thought it was the right thing to do“ passive aggressive or not… It’s interesting that he's even willing to say it at all, when he won’t even dignify Louis with one. “ you’re mad I erased it? You have no right to be.” The last time Armand said "sorry" to Louis was in Paris. Ever since Louis laughed and sarcastically said he was “sorry” for leaving him multiple times a year. Armand has never apologized to Louis, again. Armand :” tri-annual fuck off and find me, with apologies to follow.” Louis laughs and says sarcastically : “I’m sorry”. . Louis : “so-so. “ Armand: “what’s that? “ Louis: “sorry” . Armand : “meaningless word . Meaningless .” Hmm, then why are you constantly apologizing to Daniel??? Is it really just an empty gesture/manipulation tactic ? or is there a deeper reason?

11) Armand brings up Lestat (his and Louis’ ex) asking: “Did he BREAK you Louis? Are you broken?" Later Daniel says " That's why I go after you real Rashid . YOU (unlike Armand) I can fucking BREAK!" Then Armand whispers 'excuse me' and storms out . The only other time Armand asked to be "excused" and stormed out was when Daniel called him a "rent boy" (which would obviously be triggering regardless but even worse if Daniel was his ex).So the whole "BREAK" line may have a deeper meaning than the literal interpretation. Maybe that line hit a nerve cause he actually felt like Daniel 'broke' him. Armand talking about Daniel: "He wants YOU in pieces." Armand to Daniel, the supposedly 'insignificant mortal': " I did it to protect me… from YOU, Mr. Molloy. Why do I owe YOU my shame. Why do I owe YOU. "

Note , in s2ep7 he says he ripped out Claudia’s diary pages that had his name in them (aka memories of himself ) from Daniel’s viewing . And literally yells that he did it to protect himself from Daniel. He pretty much admitted he may have erased himself from Daniel’s memory to “protect (himself).” Meanwhile he may have rationalized erasing Louis attempt in San Fran as “protecting him from himself.” Begrudgingly he apologized for erasing Daniel’s memory but immediately shuts down Louis concern . Weird priorities ,Armand .

12) If Armand was overthinking , and contemplating whether or not Daniel knew about the relationship because of : the 'vermouth' line, 'I don't forgive you', and saying how Louis' romance with Armand 'reminded him of something', etc. And then he sees Daniel has the trial -script which was given to him by the talamasca . And the talamasca has surveillance on all vamps. Is it that hard to believe that Armand assumed Daniel already knew about the affair (because of the talamasca) ? And did this partially as “pay back” ? Especially when Daniel should only remember Armand torturing and trying to kill him. And all Daniel does (after blowing up his marriage) is adjust his glasses and stare into Armand’s eyes, with apparently no fear . He may assume Daniel already knows , and just doesn’t tell Louis (cause Daniel isn’t sure if Louis would be angry at him). When Armand looks at Daniel , at the table, this might be when Armand thinks: *it's officially confirmed Daniel knows about their past relationship*. In a show that already has the motif of “pov changes the perception of a story” . Anything is possible …

13) Armand to Daniel (who he supposedly only met once): “It’s in your nature , Mr . Molloy . Can’t get OUT THE DOOR before lobbing one MORE bomb.”

In the novels, Daniel was infamous for leaving Armand over and over again. This was because Armand would constantly refuse to turn him, leading Daniel to feel unloved , leaving, doing substances , and mentally begging for Armand to come and find him again. This also echoes Louis’ behavior in the 70s too: “tri-annual, fuck off and find me. With apologies to follow ( after a drug binge).” But maybe the last time Daniel left - he dropped one last bomb , on their relationship. In the books , Armand turned him in 1985 , the same year that show-alice was pregnant. It’s possible this was the bomb Daniel decided to leave Armand with . But here’s the thing. Armand was a child whose whole life was negatively affected by his parents abandoning him . He may not want to contribute to that. As Armand said “children” are “innocent.” He was abandoned by his parents, abandoned by his maker /lover who raised him as a teen and called him “son”, he felt abandoned by Lestat. And he probably felt abandoned by Daniel & Louis walking out on him over and over . And he may not have wanted some “innocent “ kid to deal with that cause of his & Daniel’s relationship . In the books Armand had a soft spot for human kids . It could make his words as he turned to Daniel have more symbolic weight : “the sleep of an infant . Blank slate (tabula rasa).”

And (after turning him) he may have left cause he couldn’t deal with being abandoned AGAIN. Not after Louis just left and Daniel has done so - many times before. So he “abandoned“ him first. In the books , he said he left Daniel after turning him cause he assumed Daniel would hate him for turning him into a 'monster' . Armand says in the show: “those we make ourselves are bound to despise us “ (and this is a quote directly from TVA where he mentions turning Daniel and his resentment for Marius). In the unpublished draft of one of Anne rice’s books , Armand reunited with the vampire-Daniel and says “I didn’t mean to abandon you." Note before the finale, Armand talks about memory wipes , turns to Daniel and says “a few days after we abandoned him.” And then he almost cried (now could he just be crying about Louis attempt that he mentioned right before this, of course. Assad even said that event traumatized Armand and there is narrative proof for that) . But I only mention the scene for two reasons. 1) the timing of him crying the second he turns away from Louis ,looks at Daniel , and says he ‘ abandoned him’ (makes me wonder if he’s thinking of the last memory wipe where he actually abandoned Daniel). And 2) “Abandoned” is such a strong word for someone you barely know , don’t care about , and find ‘insignificant’ . why not say ‘ditch ‘, ‘dump’, etc? Even Daniel an ep prior says “your boyfriend (Armand) is ditching us.” When Armand does say this line we even have Daniel close his eyes , turn away, and blink rapidly like he’s trying to emotionally process something (but just doesn’t know what ). Then Armand puts back on his calm mask and the next thing he says is “continuing on the record , I was a coward, Mr molloy. “ As Daniel just stares at him.

So, maybe... If Daniel wants Armand back , he’ll actually have to find Armand after he’s run away ( like Armand always did for Daniel). Daniel: “Have you heard from my maker?”

14)People always question how Daniel and Armand could have had the affair - if Armand was with Louis. But there’s several possible explanations. This scene alludes to one possibility . *pans to Louis sleeping in the day*. Armand : “he’ll awaken when the sun sleeps. We should probably wait for him.” Daniel smirks : “probably” . *prolonged silence as Armand smiles at him and then looks away. After this, he breaks the silence, and brings up "blenders" ( possibly recollecting his time with Daniel , during the day) -in the 1970s he would constantly wreck Daniel's blenders .

I mean… think about it, guys. Armand has been shown to be able to go out in the daytime since the 70s, he hunted in the day in s2 , and in the day he did not “wait” for Louis to talk to Daniel ( about “ fetishes”, and his sex life). Armand literally could have just had the affair in the daytime while Louis was none the wiser sleeping. And Armand also mentions in s2e5 that Louis would leave him for prolonged periods of time “tri-anually." So 3 times a year he could have just been with Daniel (on night island). And of course it’s also possible they had a “brief separation” similar to how Lestat was separated from Louis for years and lived with his human lover…

Other possible eastereggs:

-Daniel seemed very upset after reading about a failed relationship between a vampire and human . And if Daniel is mixing up Alice with Armand . There’s a possible parallel between Charlie/claudia and Armand/Daniel. Aka both eating pink & white ice cream with their vampire lovers. In the books Armand would often take Daniel to restaurants and cafes too. And, the way Louis mentions he knew the street that Daniel & Alice went to and the strange look he gives Daniel , as Daniel describes the moment .... makes me wonder if he found out about them , when Armand/Daniel were in Paris .

-It’s a little weird Armand (a vampire who can’t even taste alcohol) is so good at making Daniel’s drinks. Daniel even writes in his notes that it’s weird that the drinks taste like ‘ Rashid’ was trained at the Dukes.so yeah- why is a vamp that good at making Daniel’s drinks just to his liking . Experience? Also when Louis mentions that Daniel was curious about how Armand’s blood tasted . Daniel asks for a “refill” - hinting that maybe he has had Armand’s blood in the past and that he will get a refill (once he’s turned in s2). Also, it’s ironic when Armand says to Daniel “I wouldn’t allow you near my neck if-“ and human Daniel literally bites his neck while being turned, in the books.

- In s2e1, Armand says " The boy from San francisco" ( and he speaks normally until 2 Lines in particular.He then takes 2 large pauses with a pained expression as he says: " He's still in there... we can find him". Not only is it suspicious on Armand's end but it could also allude to the rest of s2 having hints in the narrative that 'young Daniel' (who was with Armand- is still in there) . Like Daniel getting upset thinking about the 'proposal' along with other scenes.

- Louis said having sex with a vampire ,as a human, is something you can never really forget . And Daniel “really” thought he had sex with a vampire . Maybe it just wasn’t Louis? I also find it narratively interesting that almost all the vampire couples meet each other when one of them was human : Lestat/louis, Claudia/madeline, Armand/Daniel . And , in the novels, the biggest issue for Daniel and Armand’s relationship was the fact he wouldn’t turn Daniel. I also would just find it ironic and funny if Armand who criticized Claudia and Lestat for being romantically attached to humans , ends up doing the same decades later .

- I just think having Daniel’s words bite him in the ass , would be narratively fulfilling and hilarious . Daniel : “This is great , you shared a boyfriend” (maybe you and Louis did too?) Daniel : “it’s a telenovela!” (You know a common trope of telenovelas and soap operas- amnesia causing you to forgot your lover ). Daniel to Louis: "you took (him) back... lover, murderer, maker (cough Maybe Daniel will take Armand back ). “you talk about him 50 years later like he was your soulmate. Locked together in some fucked up romance.” ( Well 50 years ago, Armand in both the show and books locked you up for a bit… but you still ended up dating him.) Louis: "He was MY murderer,MY mentor, MY lover, MY maker... death, rebirth, coming out." Daniel ('have you seen MY maker') Molloy judgey as hell: "coming out? What's sexuality got to do with it? "

- Daniel mentions how when someone wants to create emotional distance from a situation it becomes impersonal, “ going from I to oneself , himself.” This obviously refers to Louis’ words in relation to San-Fran , but the camera also pans to Armand looking uncomfortable (as Daniel explains this). Armand already did something similar when recounting his past “This is amadeo . He is …” But what Daniel said , had me thinking . Armand was plenty comfortably in s2e5 addressing Daniel by his first name. But now he (almost) exclusively refers to him as “Mr. Molloy” - maybe because he wants “emotional distance” from him? Armand about an ex: "THE NAME! THE NAME! unuttered in our home for... years!"

- Daniel in the show says terrified “ It’s you who’s fascinating ! You can read minds right?” (Aka he was terrified but was telling the truth- Which Armand sensed.)This echoes Daniel’s thoughts of Armand before they first started dating in the books (but were still getting to know each other post entrapment) : “in mute fascination, Daniel had watched Armand.”/ “Daniel found himself fascinated. sometimes trying to write down the things Armand had told him.”

- Armand says to Daniel : “you are going to teach me how to be fascinating .” And he also told Louis : “we are teachers of one another .” In the books once Armand and Daniel become a couple he says : “you will be my teacher .”

- Daniel asking Louis for the dark gift: “give it to me. “ Louis to Daniel: “and I paraphrase … you said give it to me, make me a vampire” . Daniel to Armand in the books : “give it to me, damn you , immortality as close as your arms . “

- In the books when Armand for the first time admits he loves Daniel in Pompeii … he “gently puts (Daniel) on his knees , using his hands” . This is after Daniel looks at a pompeii mural of a naked character kneeling . It contrasts the scene of Armand telepathically and aggressively putting Daniel on his knees when they first met . The visual storytelling of both scenes would show how far the relationship has changed since they first met (how could the show runners not do it? It would be a wasted opportunity!)

- Daniel’s apartment has a painted blue sky . In the d.m chapter Armand was said to be fascinated by blue skies and he’d also painted clouds in Marius’ paintings .

- Daniel & Armand talked about Marius’ painting and Daniel later remarks about the “stolen Rembrandt” (we see Armand smirk at the mention of this ) . It could be a hint because Armand used to steal paintings and give them to Daniel . We even see in s1e1 Daniel doing a puzzle of a famous painting- that in the books Armand showed Louis.

- Daniel also complains about Armand’s disguises as Armand stares and smirks again. Maybe thinking about how young Daniel enjoyed his human costumes. Armand literally impersonated a human attorney to get Daniel out of jail (could he have just used the mind gift? Sure , but that’s not as fun, is it? ) Bro prob loved his disguise when Armand bailed him out of jail, dropped him off at a hotel to sleep off his hangover , and filled Daniel’s wallet with multiple $100 dollar bills. Did I mention they weren’t even dating yet ? Also Louis’ excuse for Armand’s ‘Rashid disguise’ was : “my love was in charge of a theater troupe for over a 150 years .” So are human disguises just something he does on the regular for fun 😅 ? Or is Louis just that in denial XD ? Both? Obviously he may have just done the disguise so he could monitor the interview without being directly involved or mentioned in Daniel’s book (even ripping himself out of Claudia’s journal pages that mentioned him). But yeah… if he also wanted to be extra careful about Daniel not remembering him: pretending to be a 20 something year old human servant , using a different name (would help) .

- It may be a coincidence, but when Armand finally broke character in s1 (and started to take off his gloves to remove his contacts) he does so right after Daniel called himself a "wh*re". That's what caused him to break character. Which, given both their backgrounds, and if they did date- Armand may really dislike Daniel calling himself that.

- I feel if (in the show) d.m did happen in the past .They placed some interesting eastereggs to allude to it. In the show , Daniel interviewed Louis on divisdero street and then Armand kept him in the apartment for days and Daniel was eventually let go . This echos how in the book: after Daniel interviewed Louis on divisdero street , Daniel finds lestat’s house and meets Armand for the first time .Armand temporarily imprisons him there and then lets him go (saying he’s going to watch him and if he grows bored of him he’ll either eat him or simply lose track of him). But then he gets to know Daniel over the years and they eventually get together. My guess (if it happened in the show): Daniel with what little he remembered …and using his skills in ‘investigative-journalism ‘ found the apartment on divisdero street again and Armand was there- then the chase began. Armand in the book stalked Daniel until they became an item , and in the show he observed and stalked Louis and Lestat before they hooked up too ( a pattern of behavior ) .

-(Maybe just me coping) but sometimes I wonder if one of the reasons we didn't see Daniel's turning is because it would give too much away (and that it may be shown later, contrary to what the producers claim). For example, Daniel's turning in the books was "beautiful" . And in s2 Louis even says Armand could be a part of a "beautiful" turning. It's possible the turning was a lot less violent/'spiteful' than we expect (especially if Armand mistakenly assumed Daniel knew about their past). There's also a few easterggs in the show alluding to the book turning. For example: Armand putting a blanket on Daniel in s1 (is something he does after turning Daniel.) He put a blanket on him and said : “by the time you wake up you’ll be one of us.” Daniel says “quite the house plant” in reference to Armand’s purple magnolia tree which is similar to the purple wisteria tree Daniel sees when he's turned. Magnolia trees represent “everlasting love” and wisteria trees represent “enduring love”. Get it … immortality , everlasting love, ‘enduring’ being a word used often by the vamps . Armand also says he wouldn't let Daniel near his neck (which is ironic cause Daniel drinks from Armand's neck when being turned). Armand also says “I was a coward, mr molloy" which is similar to Armand telling Daniel "I'm a coward, I can't let you die." (before turning him). And before he's turned Armand tells Daniel he’s dying, and Daniel makes a sarcastic joke (that's very similar to something show Daniel would say): "yeah, yeah, as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death." And when Armand says he'll turn him (Daniel just goes silent in disbelief ). Also, Daniel not believing Armand hasn't turned anyone -is a callback to the turning where Armand says: "I've never turned anyone. I know you never believed me-" And then Daniel cut him off to say he "no, I believe you". Also there's the scene of Louis describing Madeleine's turning : "The lamb (pans to Daniel) smiling up at the wolf (pans to Armand) ." For all we know - the fact it wasn't a ' spiteful' turning may actually cause Daniel more confusion and questions regarding his maker. And it may make him wonder what else is Armand hiding . A possible reason for Daniel looking for him.

[gdinthehouseee]

I Belong To You: KWON JI-YONG x READER

summary: after years of being separated, and a night of stolen glances and unspoken feelings, your ex-boyfriend, ji-yong, invites you to his penthouse.

word count: 4024

tags: angst to fluff; exes to lovers, jealousy, slightly spicy towards the end

ao3 link

Ji-yong swirls the amber liquid in his glass, watching the way it catches the light, pretending he doesn’t notice the way cameras keep panning to you. But he does. How could he not notice the way you’re dressed in something stunning, the way you continue to command attention without lifting a finger, the way you’re pretending not to notice him too. He knows you a little too well for your liking—he always has.

Briefly pulling him out of his own head, the audience erupts into polite applause as the host rattles on about the next category, but the words barely register in his mind. He knows the drill—clap, nod, look engaged. He’s done this a million times. But tonight, it’s different. Not because you’re here. No. The two of you have been pretending not to see each other sitting so close yet so far from each other for a few years now.

Tonight is different because this time you’re not alone.

The artist you recently collaborated with is sitting beside you, leaning in too close, whispering something in your ear that makes you laugh. Ji-yong doesn’t have to check his phone to know what’s already happening. The cameras have caught it, the fans have seen it, and the internet is losing its mind. There will be clips, slowed-down edits, overanalyzed expressions. People will pick apart every second, searching for something—anything—to confirm their theories. Some will say you’ve finally moved on. Others will refuse to believe it, insisting you’re just trying to make him jealous. And maybe, in some twisted way, they’re right. Because the longer Ji-yong watches, the more certain he becomes that you know exactly what you’re doing. And it’s working.

The whispers had been there for months. Quiet speculations, half-serious comments under posts.

"Why haven’t they been seen together lately?""Ji-yong didn’t like her last three posts… something feels off.""She used to wear his jewelry all the time. When’s the last time we saw it?"

But nothing set the internet on fire like the day you released that song. It wasn’t an outright breakup anthem—no names, no obvious details. But it was melancholic. Raw. The kind of song that settled under the skin, playing in the back of people's minds long after it ended. And the lyrics…

You weren’t angry. You weren’t bitter. You were heartbroken. It didn’t take long before the theories started rolling in.

"Wait. Wait. WAIT. Is this a breakup song??"“Please tell me she just felt like making a break-up song…” "If they’re still together, why would she write this??""IS THIS ABOUT GD???”

Some refused to believe it, digging for loopholes, convincing themselves it was just a song. But the more they analyzed the lyrics, the deeper they spiraled. Someone found an old interview where you had casually mentioned, "I write best from experience." And that’s when the internet really lost its mind.

Breakup edits flooded timelines. Your old moments together—laughing, whispering, looking at each other like no one else in the world existed—now repurposed under the saddest soundtracks imaginable. Fan accounts were in shambles. Some mourned. Others coped through denial. But one tweet said it best:

"If this song is really about Ji-yong, I don’t think I’ll ever recover."

Ji-yong saw that tweet. And he hasn’t recovered either.

He should have known tonight wouldn’t have been any easier than the last few award shows. From the moment you walked into the venue, the cameras couldn’t get enough of you. The fans couldn’t stop screaming your name. And now, as you stand on stage beside him, accepting the award for Best Collaboration, Ji-yong feels a familiar, sinking weight in his chest.

You thank your team, your fans, everyone who made this happen. Your collaborator smiles beside you, the two of you standing close—too close—and Ji-yong knows the internet is already eating this up.

The lights shift. The first notes of your song together play. 

Ji-yong leans back in his seat, jaw tight, as you and your collaborator exchange a glance before stepping into position. The performance is effortless—smooth, intimate, rehearsed. Every look, every touch, every perfectly timed harmony makes it clear why the song was a hit. The chemistry is there, and Ji-yong isn’t the only one who notices. Fans are already screaming. Social media is probably on fire.

And then—just when Ji-yong thinks he can finally breathe—the lights don’t turn up again, in fact, they dim even lower. There’s a pause. Murmurs ripple through the venue.

Then, a single spotlight. It lands on you, and the opening chords of that song begin to play.

Ji-yong stiffens. He hears the collective gasp from the audience, feels the energy shift. Because this—this wasn’t publicly announced. This wasn’t planned. And yet, here you are, standing alone in the center of the stage, staring straight into the camera as you sing the first words.

"I don’t blame you, I just miss you."

The same line that had sent the internet spiraling. The song is stripped down—just a piano, raw vocals, and heartbreak woven into every note. Ji-yong doesn’t move, doesn’t blink, doesn’t breathe. The entire venue is silent, hanging onto every word. Because this is the moment. The confirmation. The truth. No one can deny it anymore. This is the breakup song. This is the proof. This is what the fans had been speculating about for years.

The camera pans through the audience, catching dropped jaws, wide eyes, people clinging to their seats. Some fans are already in tears. Others are recording with shaking hands.

And Ji-yong? He’s gripping his phone so tightly his knuckles turn white. Because the way you sing it—soft, emotional, your voice cracking just enough on the high notes—he knows it’s real. He knows it’s about him. 

When you reach the bridge—the part that had wrecked him the first time he heard it—your voice softens, turning almost fragile. The lyrics cut through the silence like a confession, every word laced with something raw, something unspoken. He feels it in his chest, the weight of your voice pressing down on him like gravity. The way you linger on certain lines, how your lips part just slightly before the next note—it’s all too familiar. Because he knows this song. He was the one who used to hear those words before anyone else. He was the one who knew what they truly meant.

Then, for the briefest second, your eyes flicker across the room.

And when they finally land on him—just for a moment, just long enough to steal the air from his lungs—Ji-yong forgets everything else.

It’s barely noticeable, but he catches it. The slightest hesitation, the way your breath hitches before the next lyric, the flicker of something deep in your gaze before you force yourself to look away. But he saw it. And it’s enough. Because no matter how much time has passed, no matter how many headlines or rumors or new collaborations have tried to fill the space between you—this moment tells him everything.

You still feel it, too.

Ji-yong exhales, shaking his head, running his tongue over his teeth before looking down at his phone. Without a second thought, he opens the contact that never blocked him. The contact that maybe should have blocked him all those years ago. The contact that shut the door, yet never locked it.

Your heart is still racing as you make your way back to your seat. The applause is deafening, a mix of cheers and shocked murmurs rippling through the venue. You don’t need to check social media to know it’s already in flames—fan theories igniting, clips of your performance circulating within seconds. But none of it matters. Not right now.

Because the only thing on your mind is him.

Sliding into your seat, you smooth your dress over your legs, trying to steady your breathing. Your collaborator leans over, whispering something about how insane that moment was, how the internet is probably imploding, but his voice barely registers.

Your phone vibrates in your palm.

“Come over once this is done.”

You stare at the words, fingers tightening around your phone. The weight of his message settles over you, heavy and intoxicating all at once. He’s not even pretending. No casual “Congratulations.” No vague “We should catch up.” Just this. Direct. Certain. Exactly like him, painfully so.

Your thumb hovers over the keyboard for a moment before you start typing. “Yours or mine?”

The reply comes almost instantly.

“Don’t make me wait.”

A slow exhale leaves your lips. The meaning is clear.

You lock your phone, not even bothering to reply, pulse thrumming against your skin. The award show continues around you—more speeches, more performances, more things you should probably be paying attention to. But the only thing you can think about is the fact that in just a little while, you’ll be face to face with Ji-yong again. Something tells you neither of you will be walking away unscathed. You can’t help but think of the last time you were in his penthouse.

Maybe it was the rain that made everything feel heavier that night, or maybe it was the way Ji-yong wouldn’t look at you when he said it. “Maybe we should stop this.”  You had known, deep down, that he was already halfway out the door, that the fights weren’t really fights anymore but drawn-out endings neither of you wanted to name. “Would you have ever let me go?”  He had asked, voice quiet, almost pleading. And you hadn’t answered—because the truth was, you never would have. So he did it for you. And now, after standing under those stage lights, singing the words that had lived in your chest ever since—I don’t blame you. I just miss you.—you knew he was out there, listening. You knew he understood. He has always known you a little too well, and he always will. 

The city pulsed beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, neon signs flickering in and out of focus, their glow reflecting off the sleek marble floors. Inside, it was quiet—too quiet. The kind of silence that felt deliberate, heavy with the things neither of you had said in too long.

You stepped further in, the soft click of your heels the only sound between you. The air smelled like him—something warm, familiar, laced with the faintest trace of smoke. Ji-yong stood by the window, back turned, a cigarette burning between his fingers, untouched. He wasn’t smoking it. Just holding it, watching the city below like it might have answers.

"You came," he murmured, not turning around. His voice was lower than you remembered, a little rough around the edges.

"You told me to."

He finally turned then, his gaze sweeping over you, lingering. His lips curled into something unreadable—half a smirk, half something else, something more cautious. Like he hadn’t actually expected you to show. Like he wasn’t sure whether he wanted you to.

"Hell of a performance tonight," he said, voice deceptively light.

You swallowed, tilting your head. "Which part?"

"You know which part."

Of course you did. It had been impossible to miss—how the audience lost their minds when the first chords of your solo rang out, how the camera panned to him the second your voice wrapped around the lyrics. The ones you had written with him still lingering in the back of your mind. The ones he recognized the moment you sang them.

You shifted, arms crossing over your chest, suddenly too aware of the weight in the air. "Did you mean it?" you asked, voice quieter than you intended.

His jaw tightened. "Did you?"

It wasn’t an answer. But maybe neither of you had one. Not yet. The silence between you stretched, thick with the weight of everything unsaid. Outside, the city still pulsed, but here—here, it was just you and him, standing in the aftermath of something neither of you had figured out how to name.

Ji-yong finally moved, stepping away from the window, snuffing out his cigarette in a crystal ashtray on the table. "Sit," he said, nodding toward the couch.

You hesitated. Not because you didn’t want to—but because you knew what this was. You knew the pattern, the pull, the way the air always seemed to shift when you were in the same room. It didn’t matter how much time had passed, how many miles had stretched between you. The moment you let yourself be near him, the distance never seemed to matter at all. Still, you sat.

Ji-yong watched you for a moment before settling into the armchair across from you, leaning forward, elbows resting on his knees. His gaze flickered over your face, like he was searching for something—like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to find it.

"How long are we gonna do this?" His voice was quieter now, less teasing, more careful.

"Do what?" You knew what he meant, but you weren’t ready to give him that. Not yet.

He huffed out something like a laugh, shaking his head. "You know what. The stolen glances. The bullshit small talk when we run into each other. The way half the internet still thinks we’re secretly together."

You tilted your head, letting the words hang between you for a moment before saying, "Depends on what your definition of ‘stopping’ was."

His lips parted slightly, and you saw the moment the words hit—like an echo of that night, when he’d stood in this very room and told you that whatever this was… wasn’t working. That the two of you should stop seeing each other. When you hadn’t answered, because you hadn’t wanted to stop at all.

He exhaled, rubbing a hand over his face. "You know why I texted you."

You leaned back against the couch, exhaling slowly. "Do I?"

"I saw you up there." His voice was lower now, quieter, like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to say it out loud. "Singing that song. Looking at me."

"It’s a song, Ji-yong." Your fingers curled slightly against your lap.

"Don’t do that." He ran a hand through his hair, eyes flashing. "Don’t act like that was just a song. Like you weren’t—" He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "You meant it. I know you did."

Your stomach twisted. Because he was right. The song wasn’t a lie. It was the closest thing to the truth you could bring yourself to say, wrapped in melody and lyrics and the weight of everything left behind. You had known the moment you performed it that he’d hear every unspoken word between the lines. And yet, a part of you had still been surprised by how much it seemed to hit him.

Ji-yong leaned forward again, his elbows braced on his knees. "Did you write it because you were angry?"

You blinked. "What?"

"The song." His gaze burned into you. "Was it because you were angry at me?"

You let out a breath of something close to a laugh, shaking your head. "No, Ji-yong."

"Then why?"

"Because I missed you."

The words hung between you, heavier than anything else in the room. Ji-yong’s lips parted slightly, but no sound came out.

He exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through his hair, his fingers tugging at the strands in frustration. "So what, you missed me, but you moved on?" His voice was lower now, rough around the edges, like he was forcing himself to stay calm. But you knew him too well—knew the tension in his shoulders, the way his leg bounced slightly, the heat in his gaze.

You frowned. "What?"

"Him." He tilted his chin toward the muted TV, where clips of your performance still played, his eyes dark and unreadable. "You and him." His tongue darted out to wet his lips, and his jaw flexed. "That’s real, isn’t it?"

"Ji-yong—"

"Just say it." His voice was firmer now, raw with something that almost sounded like desperation. "Tell me you’re with him."

Your breath caught in your throat. "I’m not."

Something flickered in his expression—relief, maybe—but it was gone in a second, buried under something heavier. "But you could be, right?" He let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. "You look good together. The internet thinks so, anyway. Maybe that’s what you needed—someone who wasn’t afraid to have you by his side, out in the open."

You flinched at the accusation in his tone. "That’s not fair."

"Isn’t it?" He leaned in, his eyes burning into yours. "You think I don’t see the way people talk? How they say you’re happier now? How they beg you to move on from me?" His voice dropped even lower, like he was choking on the words. "Maybe you already have."

Your chest tightened. "Ji-yong, it was just a song. Just a performance."

"Doesn’t look like that’s all it was."

"And whose fault is that?" The words snapped from your lips before you could stop them, and Ji-yong stilled, his breath hitching.

Silence stretched between you yet again. Your heart pounded, but you didn’t look away. "You were the one who said we should stop, remember?" Your voice wavered, but it didn’t break. "You walked away first. And now you’re angry because someone else was willing to stand next to me?"

Ji-yong’s throat bobbed, his fists clenching against his knees. "I—"

"You don’t get to be mad about this."

"Like hell I don’t." His voice was rough now, sharp with emotion as he sat forward, his hands gripping his knees so tightly his knuckles turned white. "You think I wanted to walk away? You think I don’t regret it every fucking day?" His jaw clenched, his eyes blazing. "Do you know what it does to me, seeing you with him? Seeing the way you smiled up at him tonight, the way he had his hands on you like he had the right?"

Your breath caught, your stomach twisting. "Ji-yong—"

"It makes me sick," he rasped, his voice nearly breaking. "Because it should be me."

The room felt impossibly small, the air thick with everything unspoken, everything left behind. You could feel your pulse in your throat, your fingers trembling against your lap.

And then, softer this time, almost like he hated himself for admitting it—

"It should’ve always been me."

The weight of his words settled between you, heavy and suffocating. You could feel the heat radiating off him, the tension in the space closing in, crackling like a live wire. His eyes searched yours, dark and desperate, and something in you snapped.

Before you could second-guess it—before reason could talk you out of it—you surged forward, gripping the front of his shirt and pulling him in.

Ji-yong barely had time to inhale before your lips crashed into his. A sharp inhale, a shuddered exhale—then he was kissing you back with just as much fire, his hands flying to your waist, pulling you flush against him. The moment his fingers dug into your skin, a quiet, broken sound slipped from your throat, and that was all it took for him to completely unravel. His hands slid up, one tangling into your hair, tilting your head to deepen the kiss. His lips were frantic, almost desperate, molding against yours in a way that felt both familiar and like something entirely new. You gasped against his mouth as his teeth grazed your bottom lip, and he took the opportunity to press even closer, his grip tightening like he was terrified you’d slip away again.

The taste of him—faint traces of champagne and something unmistakably him—sent a shiver down your spine. Your fingers fisted in his shirt, as if holding onto him could stop the past from swallowing you both whole. It was intoxicating. Overwhelming. And so, so dangerous.

When the two of you finally needed to breathe, your breaths tangled in the space between you, uneven and desperate, his forehead pressed against yours like he couldn’t bear to let go. His grip on your waist was firm, his fingers still curled into the fabric of your outfit, as if releasing you meant losing you all over again. His name was on the tip of your tongue, but the weight of everything—the past, the pain, the longing—held it back. Instead, you exhaled softly, your fingers loosening their hold on his shirt just enough to smooth over the wrinkles you had left behind.

"It always has been you."

Ji-yong tensed. His breath caught, and for a second, he didn’t move. Like the words had struck him too deeply, like he wasn’t sure he had heard them right.

And then, slowly, he pulled back just enough to look at you, his eyes searching, desperate for something—reassurance, confirmation, maybe even permission. "Say it again," he murmured, his voice rough.

Your hand slid up, resting against his cheek, your thumb brushing just below the dark smudge of eyeliner that had started to smudge from the heat between you. "It always has been you, Ji-yong."

Something in him broke.

With a sharp inhale, he crashed his lips against yours again, this time with even more urgency, like he had something to prove. Like he needed to remind you, remind himself, of everything you had once been. His hands roamed, gripping, pulling, desperate to keep you as close as possible. You gasped against his mouth, and he swallowed the sound with a groan, deepening the kiss until the rest of the world blurred into nothing.

His hands were everywhere—gripping your waist, sliding up your back, fingers threading through your hair as he tilted your head just the way he liked. The kiss deepened, his lips pressing into yours with a hunger that bordered on desperation, like he was trying to erase the time you had spent apart. Like he needed to remind you exactly who he was, who he had always been to you.

"You don’t know what you do to me," he murmured against your lips, his voice rough, his breath warm as his mouth trailed lower. His lips ghosted over your jaw, down the column of your throat, lingering at the spot just below your ear. "I tried, baby." He exhaled shakily, his grip tightening at your waist. "I really fucking tried to move on."

Your fingers curled into his shirt, needing something to ground yourself as his teeth grazed your skin, his lips pressing slow, open-mouthed kisses down your neck that had your breath hitching. "Ji-yong..."

With a growl, he grabbed your thighs, lifting you effortlessly onto the nearest surface—a sleek, marble counter, cool against your overheated skin. His hands spread your legs, stepping between them as he pulled you in, molding himself to you like he belonged there. And he did. The two of you belong to each other.

Your lips met again in a mess of teeth and tongues and unspoken words, the air between you thick with everything you had left unsaid. His fingers trailed up your thighs, his grip firm, possessive, like he was reminding himself that you were really here. That he could touch you again.

"Tell me you still feel this," he murmured against your lips, his voice rough with want. "Tell me I’m not the only one losing my mind."

You didn’t answer—not with words. Instead, you tugged him closer, your lips brushing his ear as you whispered, "I never stopped."

Ji-yong cursed under his breath before crashing his lips to yours again, this time deeper, hungrier, as if those words had undone something inside him. His hands slid to your waist, gripping tight as he lifted you off the counter effortlessly, carrying you through the familiar space like he’d done a hundred times before.

Your back hit the couch, his body covering yours in an instant. His mouth never left your skin, trailing fire wherever he touched. "You’re mine," he murmured against your collarbone, his hands sliding down, gripping your thighs to pull you even closer. "And I’m yours."

taglist: @thanosscrossmain @maskedcrawford @mirahyun @riddlerloveb0t @onyxmango @sherrayyyyy @seunghyunwifey @mattsturniolosbabymama @redhoodedtoad @bettelaboure @petersasteria @allthoughtsmindfull

[softidiotsposts]

Anyone Can Cook

as the wise tale of ratatouille states "anyone can cook... but only the fearless can be great"

{Hello! Second fic, this time pure fluff for recovery! Warnings: kitchens being messy, mentions of bland food, cooking, mentions of the french and reader is french, picky eaters, incorrect cooking terms (probs) // word count: 2.2k}

masterlist

Leah always mentioned Ratatouille around you, like a little disease that you could never shake. The little blue rat named, Remy, had become a staple in your household- even earning you a nickname based on the rat. She thought herself funny, with you being French and all- even a native Parisian, which apparently made it even more of a gag. One that you didn't enjoy very much.

You didn't get it- the film, while good in a general sense and clearly a children's film- had no idea of what a professional kitchen actually looks like and you liked to point out the serious misconceptions to Leah every time she forced you to watch it.

"Seriously, Lee- I have had enough of this film!"

You grumble when Leah once again picks Ratatouille to watch on your weekly movie night- this makes it twice in a row that she's picked this. Making you absolutely devastated that watching Notting Hill was being put on hold, once again.

You wonder whether revoking her TV rights on film night would fix the problem but then remember that Leah could do absolutely anything and you'd probably let her do it anyway. Even if it's a chef rat based torture.

Still, it's actually getting to the point that you remember practically every single line of the film and the plot never surprises you. Not when Leah insists on watching it all the time.

You don't even think she actually enjoys the film enough to watch it all the time either so it must only be to see your reaction.

"But it's so good- really lets me get the idea of what you do at work," Leah giggles and presses start and the obnoxious "French" sounding music starts to play.

You groan, "This is not what I do."

"Yeah, yeah, Remy- You do some cooking with fancy things, I know."

"Actually, I-"

You're about to correct Leah with the most attitude you ever have when she presses her lips against yours and you melt like butter in a pan. She knows that you can never resist her when she has her soft lips against yours and it works without fail each time- even when you're terribly angry.

Leah smirks and wraps an arm around your shoulders. In turn you sigh, knowing that there is no winning when Leah has her mind set on something or whenever she uses her ultimate weapon.

It's around half way through the film, when the famous line is said that you come upon the genius idea. Taking Leah through cooking something that cannot be made via a machine- a cooking lesson with the most inept chef you've met.

The words anyone can cook are true... to a certain extent- It comes down to personal opinion mostly, what does one truly classify as cooking? In theory, if making toast with butter was considered cooking then Leah was the expert but when it came to the taste department- that is where your girlfriend falters.

Before Leah, when you still lived in France, you swore up and down you could never date anyone with the taste buds of a five year old- saying that it was the ultimate deal breaker. Now here you are, dating a famous Arsenal footballer that has the diet of a primary schooler.

At first, it had come as a shock- you went to a restaurant on your first date (not your ideal place for a date but Leah insisted) and she ordered the plainest thing on the menu. You were in such shock that you double checked the menu to see if you weren't misreading because who orders chicken nuggets at a Michelin star restaurant? And why did they even serve such a dish?

It also happened to be the moment that you fell head over heels for Leah, so you learned to get over the food very quickly.

Yet, this was a moment to teach Leah a lesson in taking you seriously... or maybe at least putting a stop to rewatching Ratatouille every single week.

So you take a week to prepare everything perfectly, you plan out what you're going to teach Leah to cook, even survey your kitchen staff before opening with a little questionnaire.

Then you make sure that all knives are sharpened, pots and pans are present- even though you're the only one who uses them- and that all other additional equipment is on hand if needed.

After all the prep work, you go out to the market early on Friday morning to buy a whole chicken since Leah is most likely to actually eat it after it's cooked- you're against wasting food in any circumstance. Then circle around to the other side for fresh vegetables. Once you have acquired all that is needed, you return home perfectly on time.

It leaves you enough time to get your chef coat that you wear when working and find the spare one you had borrowed for Leah, then set out all the ingredients on the marble countertops. It looks absolutely perfect and tickles that ocd part of you brilliantly.

In hindsight, you should have given Leah a slight pre-warning as to what the two of you were doing today but the expression on her face when she walks in is priceless- so priceless, you wish you had recorded it, so you can show it to all her teammates and your co-workers.

“What’s all this?” Leah says, clearly confused as she drops her training bag by the discarded sneakers. 

You fan your hands out, presenting all the different things across the countertops with a large grin- just as large as Leah’s everytime she picks Ratatouille over any other mildly interesting film. 

“This, my love, is your cooking crash course with the best chef in London.” 

It’s true, the London’s society of restaurateurs had voted you best chef for the third year in a row and you couldn’t be happier to flex it in Leah’s face. It’s your personal victory and you like to compare it to her Euro win with England- just to watch her turn a little red as she fiercely defends it to be harder. 

You'd normally agree but maybe she won’t be so quick to correct you next time though because as soon as she’s in the white coat with you (and after you had taken a photo of her that will be posted on instagram later.) the two of you are off, cooking what you think is going to be the driest chicken ever. 

“No- not like that!” 

You’re quick to correct her, it’s automatic and you feel as though it’s a little harsh but this is payback for making you suffer through a cartoon rat cooking. 

You place a hand on top of hers and you swear she blushes just a bit but you ignore it, instead guiding her hand to correctly dismantle the chicken into its individual parts. After helping her with one side, you watch as she tries to complete the other- and to her credit, it is not a total disaster. The cuts are a little jagged and some of the chicken looks more like it’s been massacred rather than taken apart but albeit still looks edible. 

Then she looks up at you with proud eyes and you forget about everything for a moment- all the mental gymnastics- and focus on her sweet smile that warms your heart. You come a little closer and give her a kiss on the cheek, careful not to touch her since you've just been cutting chicken.

"You're doing so well, sweetheart."

Maybe it's an exaggeration but the blush appears on Leah's cheeks after it is completely worth a white lie.

"Thanks, Remy, I have the best teacher," Leah wiggles her brows at you suggestively and you roll your eyes in return.

"Well, I do have three Michelin stars to my name," You grin and Leah smiles back at you.

Then you add, "It's like having three of those golden ball thingys that you all pine after."

Leah's face drops a bit, "You mean a ballon d'or?"

Your face lights up and you nod rapidly, "Yes, exactly!"

Leah pulls a face and furrows her brows, "Okay, baby... maybe we should focus on the cooking?"

You nod and turn your attention towards the dismantled chicken in front of the two of you- You resist the urge to cringe and put all the different parts into a bowl that you then place into the fridge.

"Let's wash hands before the next part."

The two of you take turns washing your hands, Leah flicking water at you playfully when it's her turn and you frowning when she does so.

"Take this seriously, Lee- In my kitchen-"

"Our kitchen-" She corrects you.

You raise your brows in question, "Who uses it the most?"

Leah suddenly fiddles with her coat and looks anywhere but you, you scoff but a smile finds it way to your face anyway- then you wrap an arm around her waist.

"Whatever, just focus- as if it were a match!"

Leah chuckles but steps up to the cutting board where various different vegetables are laid out with one of your personal knives that you bring to work besides it.

"So what now?" Leah asks, evident confusion in her voice.

"I want you to cut the peppers julienne and the carrots paysanne."

Leah looks at you with the most confused expression you've seen to date when the French leaves your mouth and all you can do is sigh.

"Peppers thin like matchsticks and the carrots into circles, please."

"Now that, I can understand," She laughs and begins to chop the peppers, first gutting them and throwing the seeds in the bin beside her then slicing them into strips.

You're leaning your head on her shoulder and your arms are wrapped loosely around her waist as you watch what she is doing- Leah's fingers are wrapped around the wooden handle and she guides the blade down each pepper part with some kind of precision.

You smile and encourage her by giving a light squeeze that you feel she leans into-

"Focus, that knife can cut your finger off."

You hear Leah scoff, "Maybe you shouldn't distract me then?"

You don't say anything nor do you move your arms away from her waist instead focus on the way she's slicing the various peppers- somehow, Leah begins to stray from the very thin slices into thick chucks without even acknowledging it.

You smile, "Stop for a second, Lee."

Leah pauses instantly and turns her head to look at you from where you stand behind her, she raises a brow in question and you grin in return. Then pick up a slice of pepper, holding it up for the two of you to inspect.

"Too thick, darling."

You press yourself closer to her back, forcing her to face the board again- this time you place your hands on top of hers, they are slightly warmer than yours and the heat immediately spreads, then begin to slice as you had instructed.

The rest of the vegetables go smoothly and you let them rest to the side before taking the chicken out of the fridge again-

"We are going to bake the legs, use the bones to make a sauce with the peppers and boil the carrots."

You explain, pointing to all the different elements as you do so and all Leah does is nod before stepping closer to you so she can wrap her arms around your neck.

"Yes, chef Remy," Leah chuckles when you scoff.

She gives you a quick kiss that you so desperately want to deepen but she pulls away before you can. Instead, she turns to the board and looks at you with the same focus you see on the pitch.

"Alright, let's start."

The rest of the evening goes... as well as you'd imagine- the kitchen is thankfully still standing, but in a state of utter disarray. The sauce that Leah made under your guidance had boiled over after she turned the temperature up, so that it would "cook faster". You didn't even get the chance to explain that it doesn't work like that, when a blob of sauce landed on the floor.

So there was a large spillage of sauce all over the stove and countertop but that was the least of your worries since the fire alarm had rang... once... twice... and a third time when the chicken was in the oven. Turns out that Leah cannot preheat an oven to the correct temperature either- so that chicken wasn't even dry, as you'd predicted, it was just simply not even there anymore.

All the meat had burned into crispy back sludge and the bones smelt disgusting- so disgusting that Leah had to stand on the balcony as you threw it out. Stating that she would throw up if she had to do it. 

It turns out that nothing was safe from Leah's horrid cooking skill since the carrots suffered a death by over boiling- turning into mush rather than keeping their shape after the plunge in the steaming hot water of the pot.

In the end, Leah and you end up on the plush sofa with white styrofoam take out boxes in front of you and the normally tidy kitchen left in a rather untidy state, much to your dismay- but none of you had the energy to clean on an empty stomach.

You're shoveling food into your mouth when Leah picks up the remote and you dread what's coming. You see disney being opened and the pit in your stomach turns into sickness-

"So... Ratatouille?" Leah giggles and presses play, you music ringing out of the speakers. 

"Darling- No, please!"

[twistedmionn]

Twisted Wonderland iceberg

Explanations ahead (slight spoiler warning)

Tier 1:

everything is self-explanatory, I think

Tier 2:

Haruhi = the protagonist of Ouran High School Host Club. She's a girl who dresses up as a boy (correct me if I'm wrong) and many players who have a female MC consider theirs to be like Haruhi. [EDIT: Thanks for the anon pointing out that I misspelled the name!]

Tier 3:

self-explanatory

Tier 4:

A fair amount of people headcanon Vil as a trans woman because he presents androgynously/feminine and doesn't care about gender roles. This has also caused discussion in the fandom because breaking gender roles ≠ trans.

Tier 5:

People sometimes wish TWST was more like a dating sim and had character/dorm routes.

Some people headcanon that Silver is based on Prince Philip (from Sleeping Beauty) and/or is a prince himself. I haven't played all of book 7 yet (only the parts out in the ENG server) so idk if the theory has been proven right.

Lilia is old and hints at dying soon.

Hot NPCs, such as Deuce's mom and Sebek's grandpa.

Ace and Deuce have expressed interest in Yuu at various points in the game.

Genshin VAs: Leona/Alhaitham, Silver/Kazuha, Idia/Razor are the ones I can think of

Tier 6:

A beastman (I think it was Jack) has stated that he has problems talking to animals, and Ruggie's talent at it is considered something special.

The tweels are considered intersex by some due to eel anatomy (I'm no eel expert).

Kalim is considered the real villain by some due to never really bothering to help Jamil.

Epel's backstory/attitude has many elements that a fair amount of trans men relate to.

There are theories that Lilia and Sebek are twisted from Peter Pan characters. I'm unsure about Silver, but I think I've read something about him being from another movie, too!

Tier 7:

Some people headcanon that Ace has experienced domestic abuse.

There's a theory that Ace will betray Yuu.

Cater has two sisters who boss him around, which is a resemblance to Cinderella.

Malleus might have two pps because well... dragon.

Epel and Deuce had a whole ass beach date. Deuce constantly cares for him and broke the school rules in order to make Epel feel better. Their scenes together (the settings) looked straight out of a shoujo manga. If Epel were a girl, this ship would be considered canon by most.

I'm not sure EXACTLY which languages Jade's VA speaks, but I do remember that he knows German.

In one of his Halloween vignettes, Ruggie — as opposed to Lilia — has indirectly expressed that he has no interest in romance/relationships.

Tier 8:

UH.

[funkylittlelurker]

Crackpot theory I quit literally came up with just now.

They're gonna introduce Amy in S4, that's a given. And I know people really want Silver. Like, really want him.

So what if it was both?

This is what I came up with.

They intro Amy. Yada Yada. She goes on and on about this wretched man in purple who is on a mission to rule the world. She immediately recognizes Sonic, and seems to think he's going to save the world or something. She also mentions that she got a lot of cool gadgets from Tails, including her hammer. Tails is... Confused. Really everyone is confused. Hijinks ensue.

Meanwhile, Stone has become a psudeo villian. That one interpretation where he just wants to finish Robotnik's work. Bid sad wet cat energy. Sonic goes to check up on him, thinking 'Hey, Eggman tried to take over the world once, what's twice? Also, didn't he come back from the dead that one time?' Stone is less than enthused. Obviously the Doctor is still dead, idiot. He talks about how he just wants to complete the doctors work, and he just wants to be left alone. Sonic is weirdedout by his sadness and ditches.

Hijinks galore! Amy is trying, somewhat unsuccessfully, to get Sonic to stop 'the man in purple', while Sonic just wants to chill. And what do you mean Stone is doing legit scary evil stuff?

Oop. We pan in on Robotnik, still alive. He's as confused as we are. A shadow looms over him.

'as if that's what I wanted, more hedgehogs'

He scoffs.

What do ya know, Silver saved him from the ark explosion! Cause he wants to stop the end of the world. Also this weird man in purple.

So Rob recovers, and Stone gets more evil, and Sonic is tired.

Somehow, someway, there's a big climatic scene, and the three groups meet each other.

Amy and Silver freak, cause that's not just 'Agent Stone', that's 'The Man in Purple'. Rob freaks cause, what do you mean his agent is like this because of him? And Stone freaks cause, well, the Doctor's alive!

Yada Yada, Stone and Rob become the campey evil yaoi couple everyone wants

Haven't quite figured it out 100% yet, but this is a good starting point, yeah? I wanna write this.

I'm gonna write it.

[gl1tched-g0th]

Happy Pride. Can we celebrate by, just for the month, having fandoms not be weird about lesbians/lesbian-coded characters.

Can we acknowledge that just because a woman character exists, and doesn't stare directly into the camera like an episode of the Office to say "I Do Not Like Men", that doesn't mean they aren't lesbian?

Can we please acknowledge how fandoms, especially cartoon spaces, are not normal about lesbians and lesbian coding. Can we acknowledge that lesbian is not a "dirty" or "taboo" word, and that it is okay to admit that a character is just a flat out lesbian.

Can we not try to maneuver our way around it by saying "well they could be bi/pan!", like so many people do with lesbian characters. For example:

-Amity from TOH, confirmed lesbian. People still argue that she's bisexual, because she drew herself with a fictional nonbinary character from a book once in the entire show.

-Velma from Scooby Doo, confirmed lesbian. When she got confirmed, people still argued she was bi because she dated men in past shows/specials - despite her being visibly uncomfortable in the relationships in question. Some even argued it was "bi-erasure" to make her a lesbian, which is insane to me.

-Amaya from The Dragon Prince, confirmed lesbian. Before she was confirmed, people said she was a "bicon" instead of lesbian, despite her showing no interest in men within the show. All she did was have a male interpreter (because shes DEAF and needs one), and people immediately paired them together.

-Ellie Williams from TLOU, confirmed lesbian. She shows no interest in men, states multiple times that men are "not her type", has only dated/had crushes on women within all games, the show, and even the comic, and yet people still claim she's bi.

-Robin Buckley from Stranger Things, confirmed lesbian. There's not much I can say here. She came out as a lesbian in the show, and people still call her bisexual. The jokes write themselves.

-Sammy from Camp Cretaceous/Chaos Theory, lesbian-coded. She's often headcanoned as anything but lesbian, often excused with "she never Outright said she's a lesbian like Yaz said she was bi", or that a few crew members said she was meant to be ambiguous. Yet I see nobody questioning why she specifically - the only other main female character, and who has never shown interest in men - is being kept that way.

-Vanessa from The Hollow, lesbian-coded. Developed a friendship with a male character, but has never expressed romantic interest in men. Laughing at a joke made by the opposite gender, and wanting to impress a male character because of a need for validation are not signs of romantic interest, by the way.

I am not saying you can't headcanon characters as bi, or that bi people are "evil", or trying to ""police"" who you ship together or whatever else excuse people use to derail conversations about this. There is a frequent pattern within fandoms where a lesbian (coded) character exists + has any relationship with a man ever + doesn't explicitly state they don't like men = not a lesbian. And fuck, even when they DO say they don't like men, they are still seen as bi.

Queer-coding is just as eminent as having a character be confirmed as queer. And, surprisingly (sarcasm) that also applies to lesbian coded characters. Lesbian characters do not need to "prove" their lesbianism to the viewers by hating/isolating themselves from men to be lesbians. They do not need to say outright that they don't like men in order to be lesbian coded. They can have relationships with men without being romantically interested in them. Lesbians have been fighting for so long to not be seen as "needing" to be with men in order to just. exist.

And believe me I could go on a whole rant about how this entire issue has roots in misogyny within the community, or how some people still haven't unlearned the idea of how a man and woman can have an 100% platonic relationship, or how people treat calling a character lesbian as a "last resort", but this post is already a wall of text as it is.

Please just be normal about lesbians in media.

[l-amplights]

MY HUGE TPOT 15 THEORIES AND OBSERVATIONS AND JUST RENERAL RANTS AND AUTISM POST. SPOILERS AHEAD

i NEED TO TALK ABOUT EAN AND VERPT(? NO SUBTITLES YET) RIGHT NOW

I NEED PEOPLE TO REALISE THEY CALLED THEMSELVES A LETTER. NOT A VARIABLE. A LETTER. ALSO CALLS VERPT A LETTER.... also awesome 1 legged algebralien and no limbed. we love to see variations :> excited for eventuall floater algebralien

PLEASE CORRECT ME IF IM WRONG BUT ASSUMING THIS IS WHERE THE ALGEBRALIENS COME FROM I THINK THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WEVE SEEN THIS???

HUGE WIN FOR NUMBER AUTISM

SOMETHING I JUST REALISED WHILE GOING FRAME BY FRAME FOR LAST IMAGE, MARKER. IS PURPLE HERE BUT THEN

YOU CAN SEE THE EFFECTS TAKING PLACE!!!!!

THATS AWESOME!!!!

these little shits are remind me of goo man from TPOT 11 (out of the blue)

looking back at goo man im not sure why

IM SO HAPPY THE VR HEADSET HOST FINALLY GOT USED

according to the awesome wiki

"The character was shown during the production of BFB. They may have been the original host of BFB, given the tweet description, but was replaced by Four and X.

Sometime after the VR Headset post was posted in jacknjellify's Twitter, Satomi clarified VR Headset was never meant to be a host or any sort of character, and was drawn simply because Michael thought they would be cool to draw."

HIIII PROFILEY... AWESOME TO SEE THEM BACK. REALLY COOL PARALELL HERE METHINKS BC THEYRE VOICED BY THE SAME GUY AS TWO :>

jumping around a bit. this was shown earlier and not expanded on untill the end. this. this drives me insane

thats ones equivilent of the fourest, it has a link to the equation playground I WAS RIGHT

very interesting its also plant based.

I CANNOT FIND . WHEN I WAS BLABBERING ABOUT THIS SO IT MUSTVE BEEN IN A VC. BUT I CALLED THIS. also barf bag literally my face when i saw this lollll

okkkk back to like the usual time

HI EVIL LEAFY HIIII IM SOOOO HAPPY SHE APPEARED. THIS DOESNT MEAN SHE ISNT LIKE DEAD AFTER IDFB BUT IM GLAD WE GOT TO SEE HER IN TPOT .. AND AS A HOST NO LESS!!

ID ALSO LIKE TO POINT OUT not sure if this is just startled or pin here being AFRAID for a second of EL

ABSOLUTELY HEARTBROKEN RF AND BB GOT OUT SAME TIME. HORRIBLE also neat they used the ending of the bfb intro here

X host.... imagine. life could be a dream

ok let me go over all the style stuff we see here also in order

(starting at the start of cake at stake (or cake at skate))

for the entire first half its just the usual TPOT style so i wont make a huge deal of that

Ean's part is also in TPOT

Pan Flute here's part is in the style of BFDIA specifically the newer episodes, figures, thats what hes from

EL's part is also in BFDIA style (with some very old assets behind), however id like to go over something else here

RIGHT BEFORE SHE APPEARS PIN GOES THROUGH SOME OF HER BFDIA ARC CHANGES. NEAT

also the music in the background here is "The Fiber" (thats what its called in the bfb ost release at least) WHICH IS ALSO THE SONG THAT PLAYS ENTIRELY THROUGHOUT BFDIA 5B!!!! AWESOME!!!!

GONNA BE HONEST NO IDEA WHAT STYLE THIS IS SUPPOSE TO BE... THE ANIMATION IS SUPER WEIRD AND DIFFERENT. it actually reminds me of how sacri animates her shows!!

hold on i need to make a new post i cant upload any more images

[photogirl894]

A couple points of note before we venture into Bad Batch season 3 tomorrow...

Let us remember a few things before Bad Batch season 3 begins tomorrow.

It is NOT Dave Filoni that we "blame" for any emotional trauma. It is Jennifer Corbett and Brad Rau 😝 He may be one of the executive producers, but Filoni hasn't been involved in the writing of this show since the pilot, it's all Jennifer and Brad.

Our theories/headcanons are NOT canon! Which also means that if your theories don't pan out, it's NOT "bad writing". WE are not the tellers of this story, we are the receivers of it. We do not determine how this season is going to go. That is Jennifer, Brad and Lucasfilm. So don't get mad and pissy if certain theories don't happen or if things didn't go the way you thought they would. (Unless anyone dies, then you have every right to be mad 😝)

BE! PATIENT!! If we haven't seen certain characters in a while...be patient. They might show up in the next episode or two. You never know. If we haven't had certain questions answered yet...be patient. They'll most likely get answered in time. There are 16 episodes, so not everything is gonna happen at once. It's okay to wonder, but don't be getting mad that certain things haven't happened yet. We've got a couple months of this and it's gonna be a very long ride if you're not patient!

If things happen in the show that you don't agree with, but other people do, don't be rude about it. Either just keep scrolling and don't engage with discussions about those topics if you're not gonna be nice about them or just block the posts/people who talk about them. It's not that hard!

ACT YOUR AGE!! A good majority of us in this fandom are adults. ACT like adults and don't get pissy about things. Get as emotional as you want (cuz we all know it's inevitable), but still be mature about it all. Follow all of the above points and you should be fine. Don't be hateful, don't be rude, don't act like you're better than anyone, etc.

If anyone has other things they think the fandom needs reminding of before tomorrow, feel free to add them!

Otherwise...once more unto the breach, my friends 🥺 We're in for a long, emotional ride, so let's get through it together!

[dock57]

What do you think about the theory of Shrike being the last of his kind and that's why he wears the red suit?? On other note, I personally have the headcannon that Beebs is Biracial/Mix with other species and that's why Ajax hated him so much.

[I have heard of the theory of Shrike being the last of his kind! I strongly believe in that theory. Only because of several scenes in the show that gives us an implication that he could be the last of his kind. One of the first clues is in the first episode, the Ghost Egg, when Kara is reading their profiles for her next mission.

It says under "Species" for Shrike, it is classified as unknown. We are also told this again in Episode four, Plague Walkers, when Shrike is being questioned by Armstrong.

Once again, for Shrike's profile, he is listed as an unknown species. Although you could interpret that being "unknown" could also means that Shrike's kind has just not been studied by the Primaries, and there could possibly be more of his kind, but we have yet to see anymore.

However, you could also argue against this point, as the galaxy that our protag lives in seems to be fairly connected, as in communication and connections between the planets, especially the access to having space travel from one end to the galaxy and the other. So you would assume that if there was more to Shrike's kind, they would have met a few other to register them. You also do have the other two scenes, one from episode 2, Lythops Liberation, and the scene from episode 3, Us & Them, that could also support Shrike being the last of his kind.

When Beebs asks 62 what will happen to Punti, 62 says "Being the last of your race can be rough," which then makes the camera pan over to Shrike, who is mourning over his ship being wrecked. This could be a hint that is implying that Shrike is also the last of his race.

Another moment is in episode 3, at the beginning of the episode, while Shrike and Beebs are discussing about the faith of Punti, Shrike mentions what LAW has done with him:

It the part when Shrike says "Just look at me! I turned out fine!" That may be implying that Shrike's situation is similar to Punti, with no where else to go, LAW gave him a job and he been raised by LAW. As for turning out fine? Yeah. Not sure about that one... As for the other part of the theory, I have been wondering why Shrike still has the suit on him? I do not think that Shrike is still wearing it because of his loyalty to LAW, as right after this scene, Shrike shows us his disgust in LAW as a whole. The only reason I can pull up as to why Shrike still has the suit on, might be because that Shrike literally cannot take the suit off. As in episode 4, Ricket is questioned by Jawbone as to why he is with a Red, while Shrike comes in to say this:

Which, could have a lot of meaning- or mean nothing as Shrike is also drunk in this scene- but this could imply that the suit is attach to Shrike' body, as he was "put under the knife" by LAW to have the suit surgically inserted. Which may explain why Shrike cannot remove the suit and wears it all the time. Perhaps we might get a reason why Shrike kept the suit! It might be because he never officially resign from LAW, as in episode 4, he did tell Armstrong he never did return back to his duty as a LAW officer... As for Beebs, that is a theory I heard about a few times, but not as common as the first! The only hint I can think of that could imply Beebs being a mixed species is when Ajax is mentioning about his mother in episode 4.

It makes you wonder if Ajax is implying that Beebs' mother is just a "weaker" version to their kind, or perhaps could be another species. However, comparing to Ajax and Beebs' design and physical body, there is not anything about Beebs' physical appearance that could hint of his mother being another species. Though, its not a theory I would knock out! It could explain the disgust that Ajax seems to have towards Beebs' appearance, and not just the cybernetic limbs as well. Beebs' story so far is still a mystery to us! I cannot wait when the lore for Beebs' story start pouring out in the future episodes!! Love reading and discussing about theories! Since I love finding scenes in the actual show that could support the theory! Thanks again and hope you enjoy!]

[kchasm]

Ryu Number: Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton

Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton was… well, the first Earl of Lytton, after Queen Victoria created the title in 1880. He was the Viceroy of India from 1976 to 1880, and, as was the Viceroyal norm, was a real jerk about it, notably throwing a grand gala during an ever grander famine, and by "grander" I mean several million people died. He has a Ryu Number of at most 3.

The protagonist of The Gene Machine, Mr. Featherstonehaugh (pronounced "Fanshawe": "F - silent E - A - silent T - silent H - silent E - silent R - S - silent T - silent O - N… …swap the N and the S - silent E - H - A - U - G - H… HAWE") encounters the Earl of Lytton at the Highborn Club.

"Earl of Lytton" is a hereditary title, and nothing in the game dialogue easily hints at which historical Earl this is supposed to be. The presence of Queen Victoria in the game undisambiguates matters somewhat, since the Earldom was created in 1880 and Queen Victoria died in 1901…

But unfortunately, this means this earl could still be either Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton, who died in 1891, or his son, Victor Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl of Lytton, who took the title after.

(By the way, if you saw the name Bulwer-Lytton and thought, "Hey, the guy to blame for 'It was a dark and stormy night'"—right family, wrong person. That was actually Robert Bulwer-Lytton's father, Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton.)

(I didn't name these people. They came to me like this.)

So can we narrow down this earldom a little bit further? Arguably, yes.

Early in the game, Mr. Fanshawe (who I'm calling "Fanshawe" because even the game doesn't bother spelling the whole thing out after it can get away with ducking it) encounters a certain Joanathan T. Ripper in Whitechapel. The fellow introduces himself as both a Doctor to the Royal Household and a Freemason, and he's got a rather low opinion of his surroundings.

Fanshawe, no fan of the lower class himself, suggests Dr. Ripper take a stand against the area's "peddlars of sin," an encouragement that Dr. Ripper eagerly receives—the implication here being that Fanshawe has unintentionally given this Jack-the-Ripper-to-be some inspiration.

(If this seems a bit random to you, I'm pleased to tell you it actually ain't so—Dr. Ripper here is based on a real person, Sir William Withey Gull, 1st Baronet, who really was a Physician-in-Ordinary to Queen Victoria. A fringe theory from the 1970's—dismissed almost instantly—put forth that he was part of a Freemasonic conspiracy to kill Mary Jane Kelly, Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, and Elizabeth Stride to keep them from revealing that Prince Albert Victor, the second-in-line to the throne, had fathered a child out of wedlock with a Catholic woman—the risk of a potential Catholic heir being enough to justify all of that, apparently.)

(As I said, it's a widely panned theory—but it's interesting enough that more than one author has utilized it for historical fiction, including Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell in their graphic novel In Hell.)

The Jack the Ripper murders began in 1888, which means that if there's an Earl of Lytton, it's got to be the first one. Mind, the real earl looked a bit more earlish…

… Maybe he hasn't grown into it yet? Or maybe I'm taking a comedy point-and-click adventure game a lot more seriously than anyone ever ought to.

… Nah, it's definitely the first one.

"Wait a minute, that's Queen Elizabeth in Civilization V, not Queen Victoria." You're slightly wrong, actually, which luckily for me is wrong enough. Queen Elizabeth's Queen-Elizabethness is used in the Scramble for Africa scenario to sub for Queen Victoria, and is renamed accordingly.

The scenarios do this a lot. For example, here's Paul Kruger, who I promise is not George Washington:

[avelera]

If they actually do “Jayce has been stuck in a time loop” in Arcane Act 3, once I’ve stopped screaming, expect a meta breakdown (AND a mental breakdown) of the elements of Puella Magi Madoka Magica influence I’ve been noticing around the edges of Arcane S2.

I haven’t been quite able to put my finger on it until after Act 2 dropped, but the use of certain textures like when the Wild Rune went nuts in 2.03 reminded me of the animation in Madoka (also Spiderverse of course), and there’s also the Shurima choral rift in To Ashes and Blood which definitely invoked the Madoka soundtrack song “Magia” for me, and of course, if Jayce did show up looking like a bad guy because he’s the only one who knows about the future they need to prevent, that would be a plot arc straight out of Homura’s arc in Madoka. They even share some themes already, specifically the Arcane themes stated by Singed and Viktor in Act 2 that humanity’s love for one another is what drives their greatest atrocities.

I’m still doing my level best (which is not very good) not to get too excited about a theory that hasn’t been proven yet. But Madoka Magica was also a massively influential animated work in recent years so it wouldn’t be crazy if it had an impact on the Arcane creators. And it might be my top favorite take on time loops, how a normal person becomes a chosen one, that I’ve ever seen. So if the parallels do pan out I will probably combust with joy?