#very frustrating

[intercal]

desert winter

[hurlumerlu]

i feel like i’m missing something about the ashtray that you’re seeing, so i must ask, what do you find so fascinating about it?

Well this is probably going to end up being a bit embarassing for me, but no, I don't think you're missing anything about the ashtray. I think it's meant to add just a touch of unease and not much else.

The reason I'm so obsessed with it - my neuroses aside - is because of how gratuitous it feels.

As a transition shot (which I'm using to mean "first shot we get to signify we cut from one scene to another", my apologies if it's not the right technical term) it's kind of a jarring one: a simple, abrupt cut from a relatively colorful shot of Kant in his home to this close up of an object in predominently dark and sepia tones. It's also not the most informative one.

All the clues as to where we are (the computer, the notebook, the chair, the lamp) are background things, out of focus. The one thing that is in focus is something that's never really been brought to our attention: yes, the captain is the only character we've seen smoking so far, and yes, the ashtray is technically present in his office when we're introduced to him, but I had to look for it to find it and would have never noticed it otherwise:

So we've got all those rather discreet, almost subliminal informations about our location, and smack in the middle of it the figure of a naked woman tits up, laying under one of tv's most beloved phallic symbols, and it's just... why? Why put that shot in? What's the point? They very well could have just put a shot of the office through one of its doors, they even did it in the cut version.

(informative, very easy to read, but does not set any particular tone)

But they didn't want to, so it has to be purposeful. My thoughts on its purpose below. It turns into me trying to analyse the captain and Kant's relationship, so it gets kinda long, and just as a heads-up, I discuss sexual coercion down the line.

So, like I said in the begining of my post, I think it's meant to add just a touch of unease and not much else. I stand by it, but I am very interested in that unease. Frankly, even if it was the most tasteful sculpture of a bare lady I had ever seen, I would still question its presence in Christ's office (where he works as a police captain.) But it's pretty far from tasteful, isn't it? Regardless of aesthetic considerations (I think it's fugly), it's an ashtray. The captain stubs his cigarettes and drops their ashes on the figure of an arched, naked body. There's inarguarbly an element of sleaze to that choice of prop, or as my wife would put it "yeah, it's here to tell us that cap's kind of a creep."

And it's not the first time the subtext got sleazy around these two either. They had one of their talk in a bathhouse (probably a universal spot for gay hookups, but certifiably a thai spot for gay hookups) in a steam room (even if there wasn't a long history or eroticising those places, Style almost jerked off/blew Fadel in one last episode). Of course, it's also an hommage to spy stories, spies sure love their saunas, but I don't believe it's only that. Because 1/again, that FadelStyle scene one episode prior. 2/I will not do JoJo Tichakorn Phukhaotong the insult of implying he does not know his gay porn and 3/

they didn't have to touch. They could have exchanged informations and gone their separate ways without touching even once. If they had to touch it could have been a hand on the shoulder or a handshake. (That's what I thought would happen! When we got a glimpse of that scene in the trailer, and I wrote my very first fic for this fandom, I genuinely thought the scene would only be an hommage to spy stories, and that all the potential sleaziness I was seeing there was just, well, me being me. I wrote the fic because I thought the show wouldn't go there!) But instead we got the captain following Kant to a bathhouse, the both of them meeting in a sweat room (something made explicitely sexual in the previous episode), Christ telling Kant he has to "up his game" and to not "tell anyone about this" and then slapping his thigh in a manner very reminiscent of another thigh grab we saw in episode 2, this one definitely sensual.

I'm calling that subtext, and I'd say whoever did the cut for the tv version agreed with me, since they completely removed that damn ashtray. Now, it could simply be a matter of female-presenting-nipples, but I'm willing to bet the thigh grab was also cut (if I'm wrong, feel free to point and laugh). EDIT: @deliriousblue checked, and I was in fact wrong! They kept the thigh slap. I don't think it detracts from my point too much, though, as it doesn't negate anything I said before about sexual subtext/coding. (but If anything, it makes the switch from ashtray close-up to wide office shot stands out even more)

So there's something sexual lurking in the outskirt of Kant & Christ's relationship. It's implied, it's light, but it's there.

I think part of the purpose is just a little playful nod to porn clichés, but I would argue that there's a bit more to it, because Kant and the captain's relationship actually has a very clear sexual component.

Not in that I think they fucked (in canon. i don't think they fucked in canon. i do think it should be explored in fics.), but the plain fact is that Christ is whoring Kant out. It probably didn't start that way, the begining of their partnership was probably more "you have names and contacts and I want them" but how could it stay like that? Once Kant gave all the name he already had, once the captain started to assign him to cases he had no previous contacts with, no point of entry, do we really believe Kant wasn't expected to exploit a sexual angle? I think the people who say Kant didn't have to make Bison fall for him are kidding themselves, and not only because there would be no story if he hadn't. Our societies are far less suspicious of the idea of a stranger suddenly getting close to you because they're hoping for sex than it is of a total stranger getting close to you with hopes of friendship. That's just how it is! You make friends in the circles you already run in, and with the general understanding that real intimacy will be slowly built overtime. Meanwhile a random hookup can have access to your bedroom the very night they met you. There's just no contest: for the kind of missions Kant seems to be sent on, with absolutely no backup or cover story or anything, seduction is pretty much the only trick up his sleeve, especially if the captain presses him for fast results like he did in the show. (not to mention that, on an almost "meta" aspect, the captain chose a young man who's Thai BLs level of conventionally attractive to do his dirty work) The captain may not have said "I need you to have sex with dangerous people", if only to have a layer of legal plausible denial, but he certainly expected it, and even if - a big if - Kant got the idea himself for expediency the first time, Christ kept placing him in situations where he would have to do that again. The captain's a pimp, the currency is intel, and the show said "you don't have to face it if you don't want to, that might be a bit much for a romcom, but we are not shying away from it." Or at least that's where my reading currently lands.

And I do think it's interesting that the two times we were reminded of this aspect of sexual coercion, it was followed first by the KantBison mutual dubcon of episode 3, and second by the captain actually bothering to look physically threatening to Kant for the very first time. Because as you pointed out in the tag under this post, the show plays super interestingly on First Kanaphan's actual height and how often Kant is dwarfed by others, but the captain almost never bothers to use his own considerable height. He sits. He lounges. When he gets up it's never into Kant's space. He can turn his back on him without fear. He doesn't threaten, he reminds. Until Kant himself threatens not just to quit but to bite back and suddenly the confrontation is physical, even though they're not touching. A reminder not just of the consequences, but of their respective place. Then it passes, and here's the nonchalance again: Christ goes back to his ashtray.

And if I may abandon sincere media analysis for just a second and be a little cheeky? Here's a picture of the captain in his sofa, knee slightly parted, Kant coming toward him. And the cigarette I called one of tv's most beloved phallic symbols?

yeah, it's pointing up.

[nyaa]

[velociterv]

Got on my mom's FB and found the discussion about gastric carcinoma in different Belgian varieties. Way more talk about vaccines causing cancer and epilepsy than population genetics. If we didn't use vaccines and always fed raw there would be no stomach cancer apparently... *head desk* this is fine!!!!

[fanaticsnail]

Okay you guys, I don't know what to do about this silly problem and it's getting a little bit annoying for me.

If you've sent me an ask, know that I have actively seen it in my notifications and I want to respond. Truly, truly. You guys are the best and I can't believe the sheer number of you that want to talk to little ol' me.

However.

My asks are broken again.

It starts off with the initial number I think I have, (mostly kissing booth requests and I love you all for it. So many kisses, and I can't wait to write them), and then it only shows 20.

I click in there, and it doesn't even load. Like it does the little circle rotaty-loady thing and it refuses to load, and then I click back and it shows 20.

But when it does load for me, I have a little bit of a pitter patter of my heart about the ideas you guys have and what you want to see written! I have no idea what to do aside from signing out, signing in, deleting it, redownloading it and hoping it doesn't do the same thing again.

I am doing my absolute best in attempting to keep track of fics, ficlets, drabbles and those of you who just want to chat about your day, and talk your ideas through. It's just super frustrating about the tech issue. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. If you've sent me an ask that you've written to me months ago and I finally answer it with a fic, I'm truly sorry for the delay. I assure you, I am getting through them!

I am also still on holiday, and will be returning home and settling in later this week. Maybe chef-husband can sort it out (or his hetero life-mate of a best friend who is an absolute champion in all things tech).

Just thought I'd let you know it's not you, it's not me, it's Tumblr. Gosh, I feel like the elderly grandparent asking their adult grandchild how to get the firefoxes to work with the google gmail dot com.

That's all from me for now. I will get back to full fics soon, I promise! 🐌🖤

[vivispec]

.

[short-wooloo]

The ahsoka show does not allow it's female characters to be wrong

Ahsoka thinks Anakin was a great master, no one brings any evidence (ie everything Anakin does) to the contrary, hell ahsoka herself shouldn't think this, she was on the forefront for hid failings as a teacher

Sabine enables thrawn's return because she put her wants over the safety of others (very Anakin) and no one has anything to say about this

Hera insists thrawn's coming back, never provides any proof (yeah we know, it's called audience awareness advantage), does whatever she wants, recklessly endangers her child, and the narrative never calls her out over this and treats people who do call her out as bad

[angels444yuri]

tfw when u so badly want to talk about something but you're not even sure what it is

[dirtytransmasc]

Alicent after her husband damns her children, the ones he forced onto her, the ones she carried and birthed and loved and spent her whole life protecting. after he leaves her, dying a pathetic death, leaving her and her children alone in the world, even more than he had before. after her children are robbed from her, meeting fates promised to them at birth, ones she tried so hard to change. after being left to roam an empty keep, the sounds of her children's antics now long gone. after hearing her own cries echo in the septs, but never reaching the gods, rattling the walls of her chambers, yet falling on deaf ears. Alicent after she decides she will be king, in her eldest's stead, she will weild her own sword in place of her most trusted friend and closest son, she will fill the world with her words like her daughter had, she will take revenge as she sees fit as her youngest had:

[corellianhounds]

Want to rewrite the Living Waters encounter. Have to figure out if the kid is with Mando or not. In order to do that I have to figure out how I would rewrite TBoBF, a challenge that proved fairly easy with just a few minimal changes— However since I didn’t want Mando reunited with the kid then, I had to figure out where he was. To do that I had to go back to my already-a-WIP stack of ideas for different possible endings for the Season 2 finale of Mando, which came down to several points I wanted to fix

Did not want Luke to show up at all

Did not like the idea of what few other Jedis I knew were still around

Did not want to do a bunch of background research to justify Ahsoka

Tbh hated the deus ex machina ending anyway, worked on changing that

Didn’t want to include any outside material BECAUSE Mando was a standalone show

Which leads to editing/rewriting Season 2 but also

Knowing before all of this that Season 2 should have been Season 3 anyway

Which means at least having a viable summary for an inserted Season 2 that can lead into the revised Season 2 now being Season 3

ALL BECAUSE. I have a world-building and symbolism-laden concept I want to share about the Living Waters. But now any of the later stuff emotionally hinges on the lead-up of prior context. I don’t want to waste a good idea on a bad execution so here we are. Sifting through my notes app yet again

[enchantedbats]

Very horny tonight💀

[fragmentedlegends]

Different cooking styles of the muses—

Astor: The best way to describe it is elegant? Akin to food served in fine dining, Astor likes to take his time with proper brining, seasonings, particular cuts of meat, plating, etc. Everything he does is very intentional and builds off his knowledge of food and cooking.

Ganondorf: Efficient. While Ganondorf has the knowledge and ability to cook, he prefers to spend his time elsewhere. So if he is cooking, it’s to fuel and sustain. Expect a one pot meal that’s packed with protein and spices.

Rhoam: Camp-style. Most of his cooking days were spent in the army and it shows in what he likes to cook with lots of simple, but yummy, recipes. He loves cooking with fresh protein and produce most.

Sonia: Cozy. She’s one for cooking soups, porridge, pudding, rice and chicken dishes—the sort of thing you would want to eat after coming in from a cold rain. As a midwife, she always had fresh sweet rice porridge ready for the new mama to enjoy post-birth.

Revali: Simple. He never really learned to do any complex meals himself. He knows some standard basics and just rotates between them, things like easy stews, rice paired with a simply seasoned protein, etc.

Link: Mobile just deleted the entire section for this so rather than type it all back out I will simply say—he’s an amazing cook and he’ll cook whatever sounds tasty regardless of how inconvenient it may be.

[ftl-faster-than-life]

ADHD be like. Here's a 5 step task. The last step is the easiest and therefore barely counts as a step. And then you forget to do the last step.

[nikikikiko]

ok we did some cooking here

AFK Arena - Forbidden Family Odyssey AU !

Premise:

The Invasion upon Gavus and Eugene's family home proved... semi-successful. Eugene had been captured, and Liberta was acquired quickly by the Goddess, Morgana, but Gavus managed to escape with Lucilla. 10 years later, imprisoned, Eugene catches wind of a suspicious lack of guards. Using his wits, and some of his power, Eugene broke out and began his run for home.

Unluckily... He runs right into a Commander Dawn and the kid's Adventurer companion, and that's only the START of his bad luck on this journey. Let's hope that this journey home doesn't take a ridiculously long time! (It does.) (Horrendously so.)

--

So !!! AU time !!!

Eugene (and somewhat Liberta) - Odysseus's role

Gavus - Penelope

Lucilla - Telemachus

The idea is that Eugene and Liberta were both taken when Conrad and Morgana made an... oh-so "civil" visit to the family home. Liberta, who has no memories unsealed because he never fought Lucilla, is taking the company of soldiers back home with the Adventurer he befriended when they run into Eugene. After a brief fight, Liberta and the Adventurer put 2 and 2 together and realize this is the same Eugene from the diary, and they propose to help him get home (much to the issue of .... literally every soldier there but that comes up later<3)

Essentially, this AU will focus on four-ish storylines... sort of?:

Eugene's story on getting home, his journey back to his family and all the perils it will have.

Liberta's story on finding out who he is, because Lucilla never fought Liberta, undoing the seal is taking a long ass time. He will be named "Commander Dawn" until a certain point in this AU

Gavus's story on protecting Lucilla, since the Hypogeans didn't really stop after they didn't get their Weapon.

Lucilla's story on finding out where her brother and father are, since she wants to see her papa happy again, and he's always looking mournfully at a red diary.

Will I make a fanfic ??? Possibly !!! It's sitting in my mind a lot and I have a bit of the story figured out, but I also might just leave this as a Tumblr-only AU where I just occasionally post content for it instead depending on where my whims take me.

Now, there is a whole lot more planned out for this AU [just not... indetail bUT I HAVE BARE BONES] so if you have any questions, I am more than happy to answer!

take this concept eugene art as compensation for ur time

thank you!

[lewmagoo]

omg, hi! if any of you noticed that my blog looked out of order, i have no idea what happened, i logged out last night and then this morning i couldn’t log back in and my blog looked like it was inactive. i contacted tumblr and they said it was a glitch but i’m not so sure, i might make a backup account just in case this happens again because i thought for sure this blog was a goner

apparently my ask box was also turned off, but i fixed that now too. not sure if i did that or if it happened bc of whatever issue this was

[ghostgrrll]

A reenactment of the two shyest people at work trying to be friends

Person 1: oh yeah haha, if you invited me to hang out I wouldn’t say no haha thought you’d want to know

Person 2: me neither… if that’s what you wanted hehe. it would be fun…

And then they never invite the other person out