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queerfables · 6 months

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Why all the crowd scenes look the same, aka: Something is WRONG in Soho

I'm not even gonna tease and draw this out because it's so cool it doesn't need the fanfare. Ready?

Season 2 takes place over the course of 5 days. During that time, most of the passersby in Soho - maybe even all of them - stay exactly the same. It's the same people every day, wearing the exact same clothes, and they wander through the neighbourhood in paths that don't make any sense. You won't be able to unsee it. I can't believe it's taken us this long to realise.

Don't believe me? Rewatch the scene from 2x03, I Know Where I'm Going where Shax confronts Crowley outside the bookshop, appearing in a series of different guises. Pay attention to the people going past.

I've marked out five people you see on screen when Crowley first exits the bookshop at 39:37:

Numbers 1, 2 and 3 are following the path right. Number 4 follows the path left. Number 5 crosses the road.

Here the five people are again, at 40:19, when Crowley goes to return to the bookshop:

Number 5 is still visible in the distance, in the direction she walked in. This makes sense! But numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 are rounding the same corner they just passed. It's as though 1, 2 and 3 all decided to turn and head back the way they came just 40 seconds ago, and number 4 has circled the block to join them.

This on its own would be super weird, but they're not the only people to do that in this scene. The man in the purple sweater from the first picture crosses the road, then appears back next to the bookshop, then starts walking back the way he came again.

Here's the part that made me absolutely certain, though. At 40:05, a man wearing an orange hoodie with blue sleeves walks past Crowley, who is heading towards the bookshop entrance.

The camera cuts to a view from behind Crowley, and a moment later, at 40:08...

He reappears in front of Crowley and walks past him again.

It's such a distinctive outfit, there's no mistaking it. They are absolutely fucking with the background characters and they are absolutely doing it on purpose.

Your turn. There are at least three other characters in this scene who pass by multiple times. Watch it again and try to spot them.

This scene is really chaotic and obvious, but the phenomena I'm talking about is much bigger than just one scene. Let's go back to the first thing I said: the background characters don't change. All our leads do. Maggie and Nina wear distinctive outfits, clearly demarcating each new day. Even Crowley and Aziraphale, who in season 1 were like cartoon characters with wardrobes full of identical clothing, vary their looks. Crowley changes his (very subtly) each day; Aziraphale is less rigid on timing, but he has a few different coats that he switches between. The background characters, on the other hand, wear the same outfits every single day. They walk by on the street but they never actually seem to have a destination. They sit in the coffee shop or pub and don't eat or drink anything, and nearly everyone leaves together exactly on closing time. It's eerie.

For reference's sake, here's a rough timeline of season 2, with pictures of Maggie and Nina's outfits to show the passing of time. I had to outsource this section because my post was too image heavy, lol. The main point I wanted to make is that five days go by.

Five days, and all the same faces keep showing up in the background, and almost none of them change their clothes. I'm not entirely sure what it means, but there's no way it's an accident. It might, in fact, be a game changer. To me this is proof positive that something is not as it seems. I've been a massive Clue skeptic, adamant that I'd only be convinced by the most unambiguous evidence, and honestly? This is enough to move the dials. It's too big for me to ignore. Whatever grand explanation of Good Omens we come up with has to account for this. I don't have it yet, but my current working theories are that Crowley and Aziraphale are under some seriously heavy surveillance, that time warping is involved, or that reality itself is not what it seems.

It would take a really long time for me to go through all of the background characters who turn up over and over but I do want to show you what I'm talking about. To wrap up, then, I'm going to pick out some memorable characters and walk you through a few of their appearances through the week. I highly recommend looking out for this yourself on your next rewatch and seeing how many other characters you can recognise.

Yellow Skirt

The first person I kept coming back to as being not quite right. You probably remember her from the first episode - she's the one who waves and walks past Maggie and Nina the night they're locked in together. Incidentally, she's also Person Number 3 in the scene with Shax.

Day 1 (2x01 - 36:20):

Day 2 (2x02 - 42:03)

Day 3 (2x03 - 06:36)

Day 5 (2x06 - 30:00)

Coolest Leather Jacket In The World

It's not so easy to recognise people wearing lots of nondescript dark colours, but I love his hair and his jacket, so he stood out to me. I think there might be a lot more people who are wearing fairly nondescript clothes who I just can't recognise from episode to episode.

Day 2 (2x02 - 16:44)

Day 4 (2x04 - 41:20)

Day 5 (2x06 - 29:20)

Dressed In Mustard

Ms Mustard shows up everywhere. If you want to see what I mean about their paths not making sense, pay attention when she comes on screen, because she'll often show up a few times in succession and walk very purposefully to nowhere in particular. The thing that she is doing, essentially, is behaving like an extra in a tv show. Which of course she is, but you're supposed to make that invisible by not having the same person go back and forth in the same scene, or changing up their outfit each in-universe day to give the sense time is passing. Not doing that is a really deliberate choice.

Day 1 (2x01 - 22:37)

Day 2 (2x02 - 42:03)

Day 3 (2x03 - 01:49)

Day 3 (2x03 - 37:07)

Day 5 (2x06 - 29:59)

Swishy Dress

This character shows up a lot in the first episode. I've struggled to find her in later episodes, though. None of the characters seem to follow the same patterns or show up to equal extents each day, which makes me think this isn't a straightforward time loop. I haven't actually cross referenced character appearances to in world times, though. Possibly this is a project for someone who's more across the time-related shenanigans than me.

Day 1 (2x01 - 22:43)

Day 3 (2x03 - 07:01)

Yellow Vest

I've only seen this guy a handful of times, always around the French restaurant. I wonder if there's significance to that.

Day 2 (2x02 - 41:06)

Day 4 (2x05 - 12:49)

Fuzzy Blue Coat

Another background character who shows up frequently. The blue doesn't stand out quite as much as the yellows and reds some characters wear, but it's very distinctive.

While we're getting a lot of shots of the street, it's worth noting that I'm pretty sure the vehicles we see are also just the same few cars repeating each day. A lot of them are in neutral silvers and monochrome, but there's a couple of blue cars, one red, and one black and white that I'm fairly sure I've seen over and over through the season.

Day 1 (2x01 - 22:45)

Day 2 (2x02 - 42:04)

Day 3 (2x03 - 02:00)

Day 5 (2x06 - 40:10)

Day 5 (2x06 - 48:56)

Day 5 (2x06 - 50:06)

One final note: Whatever this is, Nina's employee who you see in the background at the coffeeshop sometimes isn't affected by it. He's wearing different outfits each day. On the other hand, some of the other shopkeepers do seem affected. I'm fairly sure Mr Brown and Mrs Sandwich wear the same outfits a few different days, only changing because of Aziraphale at the ball.

And that's it! Thanks for reading and I hope your mind is blown as much as mine is.

EDIT:

Hey I don't mind anyone pointing out production reasons that this might be the case or disagreeing with my analysis (over-analysis, some might say 😉). Please be kind about it, though. I'm not ignorant of the practical limitations involved in film making, but some of these costumes were really distinctive in a way I thought might be intended to draw attention.

For those of you who do find this theory convincing, I feel I should mention that I was working under the assumption that this stuff would have taken a few days to film, even filming it all together. That would strongly suggest that the actors were deliberately costumed the exact same way over multiple days of shooting, which made me think it had to be purposeful. @coranax was kind enough to point out, though, that behind the scenes videos said the extras were filmed separately to the main actors because of Covid protocols. In that case, they could have done it in just one day and that weakens my confidence in its intentionality.

Finally, all of my points about the scene with Shax in 2x03 stand. That was not a case of accidental continuity errors, it was really elegantly choreographed to enhance the tension in the scene. I say that with confidence because the extras are doing exactly what Shax is doing: circling Crowley, appearing where he doesn't expect them, creating a whirlwind sense of being off balance and out of control. I think it's really cool and effective, whether there's a deeper meaning to it or not.

#good omens #good omens meta #fable talks good omens

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quartzalynlove · 11 months

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No Kisses

Pairing: hobie brown x fem black reader

Summary: Hobie forgot to kiss you before leaving. You decide to mess with him

A/n: I'm still figuring out how to use British slang so if anyone has tips I'll gladly take them

Being Spider-Man was a huge responsibility, even for someone as allergic to responsibility and consistency as Hobie. Of course, he was devoted to his city and the cause, but you never knew that devotion could surpass you.

Honestly, you weren't mad that Hobie forgot to kiss you before swinging out of the window, but it would have been fun to act like you were. He left around noon, and it was eleven at night when he returned. In the living room, you laid on the couch snuggled in a blanket and rewatching one of your favorite shows. Hobie knew where to look first when you weren't in the bedroom. Already unmasked, he went to join you on the couch. However, when he greeted you and patted your thighs for you to move your legs, you didn't budge. You kept your eyes straight ahead at the TV screen.

Hobie's brows furrowed in confusion as he waved his hand in front of your face, "baby?" He called.

An annoyed sigh came from you as you moved Hobie's hand from your view. He knew that face. The tight lips, slightly squinted eyes, and a small scrunch of your nose. You were irritated. Normally, Hobie would've thought you looked adorable in your little mood, but it was obvious you were irritated with him.

"I do somethin' wrong, babe?" He asked with a tilt of his head.

Finally, you looked at him, but it was only a quick glance before your attention was redirected at the TV. Your look made Hobie wince as his fist thumped lightly on his forehead.

"Ah, shit, what'd I do?" He mentally recounted his entire day.

After coming up with nothing, Hobie crouched next to you and placed his hand on the free couch space in front of you.

"Look at me, baby?"

Adding a slight pout for good measure, you stood your ground as Hobie tried to get your attention again.

"Babe, please." he called, but you remained a statue.

Unfortunately for you, however, Hobie knew a sure fire way to grab your attention. By this point he had caught on that you were pretending. He's seen you when you were mad at him, and you had a habit of not staying around him until you calmed down. Besides, the two of you normally had very good communication. You gave him no choice; if you wanted to play, the gloves were coming off.

Hobie lowered his voice. "Peng ting."

The statue blinked at that stupid phrase. Hobie didn't just throw that phrase around with you; it only came from the deepest part of his heart. It was like a second name he had given you. You relaxed your face without even noticing, but a smile spread across Hobie's.

"There you are." His voice was honeyed as he tapped a finger underneath your chin, inching closer.

You tried to resist, moving your face as Hobie continued to tickle the underside of your chin.

A quiet laugh came from you as you finally spoke. "Stop."

As a smile stretched across your face, Hobie felt warmth spread throughout his body.

"Nah, I thought you were having a laugh wit’ me, babe; thought you were mad at me?"

"I am!" Taking your hand from under your blanket, you playfully pushed away Hobie's face

Before you could draw it back, Hobie grabbed your hand and ran his thumb across your knuckles. Now on his knees, Hobie leaned in closer to you.

"Right." Hobie went to kiss you, but before your lips could connect you sat up, taking your hand back and folding your arms over your chest.

As you stared down at Hobie, he curiously stared back while resting himself in your lap.

"So, I can't kiss you, is that it?" He asked.

With a small eye roll, you turned away. This was really the performance of your life.

"It's crazy you wanna give me an 'I'm home' kiss but not an 'I'm leaving' one."

Hobie's head tilted, resting on his arm as his eyes searched around in thought. He looked up at you again.

"I didn't kiss you before I left?" He asked

As a reply, you simply glanced at Hobie before leaning fully into the couch with a light sigh. A small laugh came from Hobie as he began to stand before sitting down next to you.

“My bad, baby, I’m sorry,” He leaned into you, his eyes gazing over the features of your face. “But I can make it up, can’t I?”

When you turned back, you were met with a hungry smile on Hobie’s face that caused a small smirk to form on your lips.

“I don’t know.” You shrugged.

Hobie couldn’t stand you playing hard to get like this; he wanted nothing more than to kiss your lips, your cheeks, and nose thousands of times. Why did you have to act so cruel?

“Why you gotta act mad with me, baby?” Hobie started poking at you, but you wouldn’t give in.

You cocked an eyebrow as you glared at him, “Acting,” you turned away again. “Nah, I thought you loved me.”

Suddenly, you felt two of Hobie’s fingers turning your head one last time to meet his gaze, and his face was dead serious.

“Aye, don’t play like that, baby,” He said. “You know I love you.”

A smile spread across your face as you felt his touch on your cheek, “Do I?” you asked.

From your dark eyes to your gorgeous lips, Hobie’s eyes traveled. His entire hand cupped the side of your face, his thumb stroking across your skin.

His voice could barely rise above a whisper, “Yeah,” he said before leaning in to place a deep kiss on your lips. “Yeah, you do.”

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reikurusu · 4 months

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Because apparently I can't let anything go... So a few days ago I made a post about Buddy Daddies' first anniversary coming up and I wasn't going to make something "official" but the brainrot is too strong so here we are... This Sunday, January 7th, it's exactly one year since the first episode of Buddy Daddies was released! And I think that calls for a celebration! I put everything under a cut because this got really long

I came up with a few things that the fandom could do to celebrate this adorable family! Of course these are not exclusive things! If you want to contribute anything that's not listed below, go for it! 1. A weekly rewatch of the episode that aired a year ago Starting Sunday January 7th, we rewatch the episode that aired on that date last year. Nothing is stopping you from binging the rest of the episodes that day, of course! It would just be fun that a lot of us watch the same episode on the same day (or through a watch party if anyone knows how to do that)! 2. Create!! This is literally what it says: create! Just anything related to the episode of that week! There are so many options, but I'm just giving a few things I could come up with - Fanfics surrounding that week's episode. Dive into a scene you wished had more details. Write a scene you feel should've happened in the episode but didn't. Write a scene for a headcanon that you have. Really anything you want (it would be fun if it had something to do with that week's episode, but no one's going to punish you if it isn't). - Make a gifset for that week's episode. Make a set about your favourite character from that episode, your favourite moment, favourite quotes, favourite outfits,... Anything goes really! - Make fanart! There are so many talented artists in this fandom who make amazing pieces of art! It would be fun to see you make something that links back to that week's episode. I'm thinking about redrawing your favourite screenshot in your style. Draw your favourite moment. Draw a scene that you wish happened in the episode. Redraw your favourite piece of Lily art in your style! (I know this last one is less linked to the episodes but who cares). You brilliant people can probably come up with other things still! - Write a theory/headcanon/character analysis/... I have seen so many people write insightful posts about things that weren't explicitly shown on screen. There are characters we get very little background info over. Characters that we know a few things about but it feels like there can be so much more written about them! Write about your headcanons, both for past and future versions of the characters. Write your theories about certain things. It feels like there's still so much to say about this anime and a lot of people out there who know how to put those things into words! - Make an edit! This can be a video edit, a literal photoshop edit. Make wallpapers, phone backgrounds, profile pictures, memes,... Anything you want really! 3. HAVE FUN!! I know it sounds like it, but there really aren't any rules to this! Just have fun! It would just be fun that whatever you decide to post is in some way linked to the episode, but that's not set in stone, obviously! Just enjoy! I think it would be fun to dedicate a week to each episode (so a 12/13 week event if we count the recap episode), starting on the day that episode first aired last year and ending the day before the new episode aired (ex. for episode 1: starting on Sunday, January 7th and ending on Saturday, January 13th). You can decide if you just want to post something about your rewatching the episode or if you want to create something. If you want to make something, you can do multiple things if you want. And again: no one is going to punish you if you posted something from episode 1 during episode 2's week! We're all busy and don't always manage to get something done in time, so don't stress about not being able to finish something "on time". Lastly, I think it would be fun to make this into a hashtag as well! I thought of using the tag #Buddy Daddies Anniversary (very on the nose, I know, so if someone knows something more fun, please share it with the group). And like I said before: HAVE FUN!!

#Buddy Daddies #Rei Suwa #Kazuki Kurusu #Miri Unasaka #KazuRei #Buddy Daddies Anniversary #Me 2 days ago: I'm not making this anything official #Also me the past 2 days: but what if I did #It really doesn't matter what you make #It would just be cool if it was linked to that week's episode but again not an obligation!#We're just celebrating this family!

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hazashiovo · 30 days

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Father!figure Joel random headcanons with fem!reader?

(now that I'm reading my request again it sounds pretty vague :/ I'm gonna try to tell some ideas or details. So, would be cool to see how joel cares about reader's hobbies like bringing her new things, what does he do when reader gets sad, or when someone in town is messing with her, how does he reacts when reader shows him affection like making him a gift or hugs him or kisses his cheek, or how does he teases her when she's shy of some subject, etc)

I love this! Especially since I see Joel more in a platonic way.

Joel Miller father headcanons

Joel would be TERRIFIED to be a father again.

After losing Sara he kept living with the feeling that something bad is going to happen to you too.

Even so, nothing is going to harm you while Joel's there ,and he's always there for you.

He had a hard time accepting you as his newly adopted daughter,but once he made peace with himself? Best dad ever.

You like drawing? He left a box with a ton of art supplies.

He found them a while ago but didn't know at that time that you like art.

You enjoy music? He got you your own guitar,which also comes with music lessons only from him.

He knows how much you like listening to him singing,so it became a habit for him to sing to you,and once you gain more experience you'll be able to sing with him.

Maybe you like reading, Joel makes sure to bring you to this huge library,a bit far from Jackson but it's totally worth it.

You returned home with toons of books to occupy your time.

It doesn't matter which hobby you have, he will always be there to support it.

One thing I learned from the show,is that Joel likes hiking.

He used to do that with Sara when things were still okay, so when he started this with you it felt like a part of him healed.

When exploring a new place,he found an old shop full of video cameras and photo camera,and so he started collecting photos of you two. He even made an album where he keeps the photos with you.

If there was a fire that would be the main thing he would save.

When you got older he became more protective. He knew those Jackson boys barely wait for a new girl to get with. Well not this girl,not his little girl.

If you're queer,he would be completely oblivious. My man doesn't have a gaydar,not in the slightest.

If you would hang out with a girl pretty often he would just assume you're best friends or something along the lines.

Now if he accidentally saw you kiss with said girl? S-H-O-C-K.

Joel's not homophobic,don't get him wrong,but he just never expected it. And never actually saw it coming.

But if he saw you and a boy kiss,he's all protective father mode on.

Of course he's not a meat head, he'll understand that you have the right to a relationship just as much as anyone,but that doesn't mean he's also fond of the idea of a boy around you.

He'll only accept it for your happiness,but if that guy ever hurts you? Oh well, it's not his fault for what's about to happen.

Fortunately he trusts you can pick the right person, whether they're a girl or a boy.

At times when you're sick he can't help but remember Sara, he'd also remember how worried he would be for his daughter,the same worry that he feels for you.

He makes sure you stay inside and makes you drink and take the pills the doctor prescribed for you,even if you don't like it.

If you ever return from outside hurt, expect to never hear the end of it. For some time he wouldn't let you leave Jackson, mostly because of his fear of anything happening to you again.

But he's not that kind of Father,so after a while he will reluctantly give you permission to go outside Jackson again.

Movie nights.

Joel finds those old DVDs with movies he used to watch before the apocalypse,and he just loves rewatching them with you.

You'll be all snuggled up in his chest,head right where his heart beat, everything reminding him of his movie nights with Sara after a long shift at work.

Joel feels really happy and fulfilled that you trust him enough to be this vulnerable around him. Especially since this world is cruel and full of dangers.

He's dead set to never let anything or anyone lay a finger on you,even if it costs him his life.

My daddy issues are sueing me.

#joel tlou #joel miller #joel miller x reader #joel #joel tlou2 #joel headcanons #joel miller headcanon #tlou #tlou headcanons #reader #x reader #platonic #father x daughter #tlou2 #the last of us x reader #fluff #fluff headcanons #fluff imagine

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kerizaret · 19 days

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Hello everyone and welcome once again to my brain! Today I want to ramble a bit about

✨️ Tsukasa and Rakunosuke (Emu's grandpa) parallels ✨️

Because I feel like we don't talk about them much. Or at all actually

Now, I'm not pulling this out of nowhere. It's quite literally stated at least once, outright, in the game, that Tsukasa is really similar to Emu's grandpa (or even twice – but the other time I'm unsure 100% whether its about Tsukasa specifically, which I'll get to later). That's not to mention the other little things throughout the stories that I think similar between the two

So here's just some thoughts I've had on the topic after rewatching some events, more or less cohesive

1) Tsukasa's PXL auditon & WMS speech

Starting at the very beginning, we've known ever since the wxs main story that there's something in Tsukasa that has drawn Emu in to him already the first time she's ever saw him, at his audition for PXL, which made her hire him herself. She says "found you" at that moment, as if she's been searching for someone exactly like him. Out of all the possible candidates who applied who she might've seen, why Tsukasa specifically?

It could be just about him boasting about making fantastic shows, which of course is a part of it. But I feel like this isn't all, that there was something else that she noticed, that maybe she didn't fully realise at that moment

Then later, in Wonder Magical Showtime, after Tsukasa's motivational speech, Emu specifically thinks back to that audition and how she felt something special there. And, most importantly, she thinks it as if she's talking to her grandpa – like he's somehow tied to it, to her realisation that Tsukasa is the one

Putting aside the fact they were fighting for Rakunosuke's park, which obviously makes Emu think back to him, there's something more. Emu doesn't think anything of the sort about Rui, even though he was the one who came up with the night show, or about Nene. Nor did she mention any kind of this strong feeling/conviction about having them on the Wonder Stage in the main story

She's focused on Tsukasa, because he's the one that brought all these people together and gave them the last push they needed to fight for PXL. He's the one they listen to, he who understands what this park was all about and why they need to save it. He's standing on the stage her grandpa built, looking at all those people working here, and he's leading them, telling them this dream CAN be made a reality and it's more important than anything else

And I feel like she could have looked at that and been reminded of her grandpa a bit, with how much he loved the park he built and brought people together with the same ideals and love and made dreams come true

2) Miles

Speaking of WMS, I'm sure we all remember Miles, the sorcerer Tsukasa played in the night show in WMS, and how he was a character very clearly based on Rakunosuke. It's not very surprising it's Tsks who got this role, but it's still interesting to me. It feels like no-one else would've been able to get this character right and neither would Emu as Shao with someone else playing Miles

I won't get into what "Miles" Tsukasa says in the play, because that's just the script and not a representation of Tsukasa himself, but I do want to draw attention to the specific scene where Emu's father is watching the night show and looks at Tsukasa, then says this:

This is the first time that – i suspect – Tsukasa is outright "stated" to be like Rakunosuke. Here I say "suspected" since I'm not 100% sure of it for two reasons. One of them being that as we know, the ensekai translation is sometimes often bad. For that I looked up the original text as well as an old translation of the event on YT to check for differences

The line ends up being similar in meaning, more or less, but a bit more vague. That also ties to my second doubt though, which is that Emu's father might be referring not to Tsukasa himself, per se, but rather to the character of Miles he's playing

I feel like both can make sense, in their own way (and the event is a Tsukasa focus for a reason, too), but for here I'm throwing it more as a hint than any kind of outright proof. Food for thought

3) Tsukasa and Rakunosuke's deams

Then, as we reach Popping in my Heart! and learn more of Rakunosuke from Riley's pov, there's another interesting thing that pops up. That is, the fact that Tsukasa and Rakunosuke share the same dream

And then, that's when Emu confirms what I've talked about before – that this whole time, she's felt something about Tsukasa being so reminding of her Grandpa

So Tsukasa has all this time "carried the same spirit" as Rakunosuke – which is possibly the reason why Emu has been feeling strangely drawn to him from the beginning

4) The Wonderland SEKAI

Hey. Hey. Remember this line?

(tl by tsukasa's #3 fan on YT)

Yeah, this one. The same reason why wxs even has "Wonderlands" in their troupe name

You know what else has Wonderland in its name?

That's right! Tsukasa's SEKAI!

Tsukasa's SEKAI. A different world that's created from his feelings, that's a place born from his desire to make everyone smile with his shows. A world that just recently expanded to include plushies representing all those different shows – different worlds – wxs created as a troupe. It's a world that Tsukasa, in a way, made by himself (albeit unconsciously)

Oh did I mention the Wonderland SEKAI is also, primarily, pre-wl, a theme park? With a big ass ferris wheel and several stages and a castle and a train and a merry-go-round, a rollercoaster and more? You know, kind of just like Phoenix Wonderland? Which was built by Emu's grandpa?

Do you ever think about that? That both Tsukasa and Rakunosuke "made" their own "Wonderlands"? That the SEKAI is so similar to PXL? Because I do

Anyway. Those were the main similarities or references I noticed, but I still have some few other miscellaneous thoughts i had aside from that that I'll sum up a bit quicker

Tsukasa and Emu's grandpa both care more about the shows (& pxl) themselves and the effect they have on people to make them smile than any kind of fame or recognition

A reminder, too, that despite the movie's popularity, nobody really knew that Rakunosuke worked on "Smiley" (or that it was even a Riley Entertainment movie at all)

There's also the fact that both tsks and rknsk get stuck more on the excitement they want their audiences to feel rather than on the technical sides or worries about how it would be possible – as seen with Rakunosuke convincing Riley to include all his dreams and ideas in "Smiley" without focusing as much on the budget and all to install that wonder in the viewers, and Tsukasa doing anything to perfect his acting, and also agreeing to most of Rui's stunts and experiments and production ideas as long as it gets the audience to become more immersed

I noticed as well that they're both people who wear their hearts on their sleeves, who easily get emotional and enthusiastic, who empathise a lot with the others' emotions and struggles, becoming happy when something good happens to them

^ he cried here. And later at the fan festa seeing nene sing confidently and happily he teared up again

And also just *gestures vaguely at pandemonium event and Rui's "tsukasa's friends' happiness is his own happiness" line*. Yeah

Most importantly, Tsks and Rknsk both care so, so much about shows ending with smiles and not tears

And overall about everyone smiling and being happy. Like Tsukasa telling Emu in the main story, on the ferris wheel, that when her grandpa meant making EVERYONE smile, it included Emu, too, and he wanted to make sure she's happy as well

There's also everything with Emu, too. The way she's very clingy with Tsukasa, always throwing herself at him (not that she isn't with everyone, but she does seem to jump at him the most often)

She's also implied to open up a bit more around him – in Smile of a Dreamer, when wxs expressed their worries about emu hiding her problems, KAITO implies that its unusual she "hasn't told EVEN Tsukasa"

And it's Tsukasa who first understood that, despite how it may seem that "she always is so optimistic and says whatever's on her mind", in the end "the bigger the problem, the less likely she is to talk" (paraphrased quotes from smile of a dreamer). And also underdstood what's the most important to her and how to give her a push to voice her worries to them

It's Tsukasa who Emu first got so scared of leaving their troupe and her behind

I simply feel like Emu is aware of the similarities her grandpa and Tsukasa share and, subconsciously, trusts him a lot and gets attached to him easily

Anyway. This is just a bunch of thoughts that came to mind that I wanted to share and hear your thoughts on maybe too. I love emukasa so much they have such a great dynamic, and I feel the implied similarities between Rakunosuke and Tsukasa add a lot to that too. I'm really curious if it'll be something they'll explore more in future events. Because I feel these parallels are there for some reason

#this might make sense or not #i just want to throw it out there #keri rambles #prsk #project sekai #wxs #tenma tsukasa #ootori emu #wonderlands x showtime #someone take these characters away from me or else

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arminsumi · 9 months

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hiii! It’s me again! (i’m becoming your fan fr)

so, I wanted to came up with the idea that during the raid on Liberio (s4) armin meets the violetevergarden!reader who is marleyan weapon who got badly injured, and and first sees armin as a treat when he wants to treat her wounds ^^ i would like to see that also with Eren but i think it will be too much work for you…

i will thank you in advance, hope you have nice holiday! take care of yourself ( ˘ ³˘)♥︎

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🍒 ꒱ Marley's Guardian

Armin x fem!Marleyan!reader

Overview; Armin feels compelled to help you after you emerge from a fight with Mikasa and Levi badly wounded.

Contents; canon!au, fluffy angst, fraternizing

Warnings; major S4 spoilers!! injuries, war/battle setting

Note; i rewatched a bit of this show and cried, i forgot how beautiful it is. thank you for your lovely request my angel 🥰 you take care too!

p.s. i'd loveee to write this for Eren too but maybe another time hehe

"Keep your eyes and ears alert for her." Levi's voice echoed in Armin's head.

"Mikasa and I will be responsible for slaying Marley's Guardian. The rest of you stay far away from her. I don't need anyone dying on me tonight."

As much as everyone was bitter to admit it, you were the strongest enemy on the other side of the sea.

In the Scouts you were referred to as Marley's Guardian; known to be the soldier that protected them from taking a finishing blow during the Battle of Shiganshina.

Now the invasion of Liberio was at hand.

You were perched on the rooftops, alert and ready for battle when a bolt of lightning descended from the sky and struck the center stage where Willy Tybur was currently giving his impassioned speech.

You watched as his blood was squeezed out of him by Eren Jaeger. The roar didn't send chills down your spine, nor did its appearance frighten you. For you there was nothing to fear, except...

"Your mission is to keep Levi away from Zeke." your captain had instructed beforehand. "Avoid confrontation with two Ackermans."

Armin sat in a vacated apartment, watching out the window as you leaped from rooftop to rooftop and became smoothly airborne in the night sky.

Mikasa and Levi swarmed you, their hearts panging as loudly as yours.

Although you were Armin's enemy, he looked at you with amazement and awe in his big eyes. He was taken by you.

"So that's her..." he thought, watching your battle intently.

You moved swiftly and calculatedly, like a cat.

Armin's eyes struggled to follow you, they were darting around the night sky. Sometimes he lost you, and only found you again when he saw a flicker of ODM gear.

"Blood...?" he muttered under his breath when he saw you again.

You changed course desperately. It seemed like you were trying to escape the overwhelming fight.

You headed straight into the window of the vacated apartment building where Armin was hiding.

"Where is she going — !! "

He pulled out of sight just in time before you hurtled through the window with a violent smash.

The glass was pierced, shards flew everywhere. The sound of breakage and your body thudding on the wooden floor startled the atmosphere.

Armin flinched and reactively shielded himself with his arms as some glass shards struck his body. His cheek begun to bleed, a thin river of crimson ran down it.

He kept one shaky hand on his sword, ready to draw it. Knuckles white.

But his grip loosened when he saw you struggling to push yourself up with two hands.

It felt like a major moment when you and him looked at each other for the first time. For a second, Armin admired your beauty, albeit with a bit of bewilderment in his chest.

Your chest was violently heaving up and down. He could see you were pained by the impact of hurtling through a window, but injured by the fight with relentless Ackermans who now flew back hurriedly to Eren in the main battle.

You looked at him and he looked at you. Panting. Him less than you.

He lowered his gaze to your abdomen. "You're bleeding." he commented.

You didn't respond.

Armin cautiously approached where you limply laid.

"I just want to help you, I promise." the blond assured.

But as he approached you, you made a swipe at him and shuffled away like a cat. He very nearly got scratched.

"I'm not going to hurt you." he said earnestly.

His uniform was stained with blood, his blond hair bespattered with it too.

Armin drew closer. "You can trust me." he said.

He wondered why your eyes were still fearfully staring at him. Then he realized you were eyeing out his blades and gear.

"Will this help?" he dismantled his ODM gear and let it fall to the ground with a metallic thud. "I'm unarmed now."

The apprehensiveness in your face dulled out, but you still had a look of bewilderment as he came closer.

You felt puzzled.

He was a soldier, an enemy; a threat. So why did he show tenderness and humanity to you?

Slowly – for what felt like an infinity of a time – you let him draw closer to you.

He was cautious. Curious. Confused.

Cautious that you might try with your last bit of strength to kill him, but curious about if you would let your enemy treat your wounds. And confused, because he had no idea why he was betraying Levi's order's to stay away from Marley's Guardian.

"It's alright." he said comfortingly.

You remained still, your piercing eyes calculating his movements as he took off his military rucksack to retrieve medical supplies. It made him nervous to be your object of focus, even if you didn't seem hostile anymore.

When he showed gentleness in how he wrapped the bandages around you, you felt... well, you felt something, but you couldn't quite understand what it was or what it meant.

"Your name... what is it?" you asked him. You felt you just had to know his name, at the very least.

He looked up at you, his breath hitching. "Ah – ah, Armin." he said.

"Oh. The God of Destruction?" you remarked.

Armin felt awkward and awful. "I am the Colossal, yes." he admitted almost guiltily.

"That's very strange. You're the God of Destruction, but you're helping me. Why?" you asked blankly.

You seemed doll-like to him, he was absolutely intrigued.

"I... I don't know. I couldn't just leave you here to bleed out."

"But that's what you're supposed to do."

"I know, but I couldn't." he said, temporarily biting an end of the bandage.

Your blood got all over his hands and uniform but he didn't care.

"I don't understand." you furrowed your brows and began to tear up. It was all so confusing that it made you want to cry for some reason.

"Why are you treating me kindly?" you choked.

Armin forced himself to focus on wrapping your bandages or else he would have cried, too.

He breathed heavily as he listened to the battle outside continue.

"Why!"

He didn't answer you.

When he finished tending to your wounds and was sure that you could make it on your own, he disappeared after giving you a long, blue-eyed stare.

#🐬ocean prince #armin #armin arlert #aot #snk #oneshot #angst #violet evergarden #au #armin x reader #armin x fem!reader #fem reader #armin x f reader #armin x y/n #armin x fem reader #attack on titan #shingeki no kyoujin armin

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wachtelspinat · 2 months

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Heya~

I often find it very difficult to find the right words, so I apologize in advance if any of what I have to say sounds dry or wrong, but I write it from the heart, I promise🧡

I know how you feel now and how much you get lost when that realization comes along. I learn art all my life, but I don’t succeed anywhere. No matter how long I try to do it, I still keep thinking “well I’m not good enough”. To be honest it scares the shit out of me every day, because if I’ll give up here… well there’s nothing I can do for life than. When I was in school, I was desperately clung to every fandom I had as my last hope to get rid of bad thoughts and I found those two silly characters that stole my heart immediately so of course it’s weird to say but since then Overwatch has become my “home”. It was not the perfect game but it was fun until Ow2 was released. Even if my love for OW is died, I understood that Junkrat and Roadhog took a much more bigger part in my live that I could ever imagine. I thought it was stupid, like come on that’s just a characters from the old and dead game but it turns out they’re not just characters, but in a way, my family or friends that helped me go through a lot of dark times, so it’s okey to love them deeply even if they are not real~

I always wondered, why do I make art? Is it what I really like and enjoy? Is it cost all the struggles and tears? But I found you and I fall in love with your arts immediately. I could have a really bad day in university but then I remember how I just go to your page to rewatch, for only gods knows how many times, your works. I love everything about them, how you can build a perfect shape with just one line, how many expressions and ideas your works have. Your knowledge of the anatomy is just… freaking olympic🤌🏻✨ you gave me the second breath in my path of an artist because looking at your works I was wondering if I ever be able to achieve such a high level and here I’m speaking not only about arts with Junkrat and Roadhog, I speak about every single one that I could find🧡 and I understood that art in general have much much more power in it that anyone thinks. It gives hope, inspiration, safety, emotions and so on~ even without knowing it, you can make another person’s life a little better.

All I wanted to say is - you are a fantastic person, highly talented and hard working. I’m sure everyone who follows your work will support every of your decision. I just wanted to say a big thank you from myself personally for everything you do🧡

hey ! i'm really sorry that it took me so long to respond, last week was just hell on earth. the sheer amount of words you put into this hit me right in the heart, and what you said made me tear up even more.

having a really hard time here to form my words, not only because my brain feels so fried, but because your ask is so sincere and i don't think i can possibly thank you enough. it's so weird, there is this constant battle in my head that everything is futile and trivial and i'm having a hard time seeing some kind of point behind my actions (not only art related). on the other hand, i know that WE give meaning to something. that it's the small things that tends to move mountains. i don't know if i'm making any sense here. point is. by telling me that - in my opinion - my irrelevant art has given you sth, if it's just a smile, new energy to try sth yourself, inspiration... you are shaking my world. and i'm grateful for that in a way i cannot describe.

and seriously, i don't know why we make art. because as you mentioned yourself it is always connected with doubts and despair. before i entered graphic design school back when i was super young i thought drawing was me. the one integral part that made me so ~special~. just to learn that a bunch of people draw, all around the world, and they often draw even better than i could ever achieve! in the last months of being in university i relied a lot on defining myself through my art again. because it immensely helped with my self-concept when everything around me just felt like i wasn't good enough. i'm kind of re-learning again that doing art is not the one thing that defines me. because i tend to heavily lean into that. it is after all the one thing i actually like about myself.

so yeah, thank you so much for reaching out. i love your art and the love you put into it, so i'm hoping that - despite the struggles we all share while being creative - you continue to draw, as so will i <3

(and junkrat and roadhog, man... yeah they're not just characters, they stopped being just characters from a game a long time ago for me. i know i'm a broken record at this point BUT their codependency and independency, the balance between grit and gross and sweet and off-kilter, sweat, tears, blood and some ice-cream on the side, begrudging and thankful - it seems stupid to me too because i know most people just see these comic relief mad max rip-offs but every time i think about their dynamics and some of the stories i've read in fan works it grips my heart and i think "holy shit i love them so. much." - i'm still not done drawing them by a long shot i think, it just feels like i've reached a dead end of some kind? because with little time at hand and even less energy left i struggle to form my thoughts into drawings. but i'm working on that. i'm working on doing some kind of tribute, like a zine with my art from 2016 up to today and some more stuff i've yet to draw (had this idea since 2022 and i've just recently learned SO MUCH about zine making and printing and i finally started putting the first files together). because that feels right, like a proper "here look at this i hope this explains why i love them so much")

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affiesque · 4 months

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So, after surviving a crappy year, I decided my reward would be yet another rewatch of Desire Catcher. I know this fandom is kinda tiny, but I always enjoy reading other people’s random thoughts and observations so I thought I’d throw mine out there too.

There are, of course, a bunch of different crime-related plot lines in the show, but this is basically going to just be me yelling about Luo Fei and Lu Fengping, seeing as I remain obsessed with them. I’m always up for discussing these two nerds in love, so feel free to tag me or message me (*waves to @thinkonce-acttwice!*). I’m at about the halfway point now, so I’ll post again once I finish the rest of the episodes.

Overall, I really like Desire Catcher - the various bits of plot don’t quite come together in the end, but for me it’s more about the relationships and themes of revenge, regret, and forgiveness. So, lots of angst, which I’m always a big fan of, and which I suppose says something about me…

Luo Fei! Light of my life, the silent, broody, lone wolf cop - ACAB, of course, but he’s firmly in sad (not-so-little) man territory, which is catnip to me. Plus he has a collection of black leather jackets - need I say more?

Lu Fengping! Other light of my life - Luo Fei’s future boyfriend, I mean consulting hypnotist, the more outgoing, “quirky” one. He’s always in light colors, dashing around with a lollipop in his mouth (I know there's a cute connection with his mom about them, but that aside, “oral fixation vibes” anyone?), teasing everyone around him - contrasted with Luo Fei’s dark colors, grim expressions, and workaholic nature. Though it’s interesting that as the show goes on it becomes clear that some of Lu Fengping’s affectations are really a mask he puts on to hide his pain (yay, angst!).

Their first real meeting happens over a meal; it’s dark, it’s raining, there’s thunder in the distance - foreboding and romantic all at once. There’s definitely a teasing/flirty vibe there, though Luo Fei seems wary of Lu Fengping - in fairness, Lu Fengping is sort of using him for info on his mom’s murder case, though it gets a lot more complicated than that as time goes on.

While there’s a lot of emphasis on their differences (e.g., dark vs. light), it’s interesting to note how similar Luo Fei and Lu Fengping actually are, even if they don’t see it yet. For example, Luo Fei has trance-like visions as he imagines what happened at a crime scene, much like how Lu Fengping sort of walks around in someone’s mind/memories when he’s hypnotizing them.

So I know this is mainly about the boyfriends, but I want to say that I love all the other members of the investigation team too, especially Liang Yin - definitely not a fan of the “woman suffers for man pain” thing, but they do give her a couple of moments of reclaiming her agency, which I liked.

Luo Fei and Lu Fengping kind of dance around the whole I-know-you-know-more-about-my-mom’s-death thing for most of the first half of the show, at least until it all comes out when Lu Fengping hypnotizes Luo Fei (and WTF suggesting that Zhang Yu - you were supposed to be the show’s moral compass!). Like I get that by this point they’re becoming closer, feeling more open to each other, but still - you’re just rooting around in his brain without permission, my guy. Yikes.

I’m a big fan of parallels and I think we get a pretty significant one here between Luo Fei/Lu Fengping and the story of the relationship between Xiao Xifeng and Tu Liansheng. While you could certainly read it as just two longtime friends, the flashback scenes of them raising the abandoned kid together certainly give off a “couple-y” vibe. Given that the show can’t come right out and say anyone is actually gay/queer, to me it’s a way of floating the idea out there and letting people draw their own conclusions.

Speaking of reading into things, I had to go there and look up the various books shown strewn around Lu Fengping’s apartment. There were two romance novels (“Crimes of the Heart” by Allie Harrison and “Yesterday’s Bride” by Charlotte Walker), another female-centric novel (“Things to Make and Mend” by Ruth Thomas), a financial memoir (“The Age of Turbulence” by Alan Greenspan), and, my personal fav, some gay French shit (“Remembrance of Things Past” by Marcel Proust). Kind of an odd combo of things, but there are some bits that do seem to fit with the themes of the show - lots of misunderstandings, mistakes, not wanting to lose the people close to you. The Greenspan book is more of an outlier, but it does have the theme of “the invisible hand” - it’s mainly an economic term, but you could extrapolate it more generally to people acting on instinct, rather than in a calculated way, sort of like how Lu Fengping’s mom acts to save Liang Yin, setting off a chain of events (kind of a stretch, though). And I guess I don’t have to say much about the Proust - feels like the kind of book you’d use as shorthand for “some gay stuff is happening here, folks.” Plus, the book deals with memory and how people can perceive the same thing in totally different ways, which seems relevant to the mom’s death story line.

Getting back to the gay stuff, there were definitely a few things that made me 👀. First, when Lu Fengping says “no problem” a little too forcefully when Luo Fei tells him to wait outside while he changes - like, “don’t worry, bro, I totally don’t want to see you naked, nope, not at all, hahaha” (combine that with his comment “You don’t like men? Haha, neither do I!” in a later episode to Liang Yin - feels like he’s protesting a bit much). Second, they’re always kind of flirty with each other, even if it’s subtle. There just seems to be a bit of subtext in a line like “You’re in a pretty unique situation” when Luo Fei sees Lu Fengping facedown on the floor at one point, not to mention the looks they give each other when Lu Fengping ends up stumbling to his knees in front of Luo Fei (and you can’t tell me that that was a totally accidental push on the part of Lu Fengping’s mentor - he totally ships them too, IMHO). Third, you can’t overlook the jealousy that rears its head when Luo Fei sees Lu Fengping getting flirty with the (eventually evil) nurse, or when he thinks Lu Fengping brought a girl home to his apartment. Fourth, there are several bits of convo that play around with subtext and seem aimed at the audience with a wink and a nudge. For example, there’s the bit in the car where Lu Fengping brings up marriage (sure, it’s in reference to a different character, but Luo Fei has a justifiable WTF reaction), asks if Luo Fei has a girlfriend, and basically tries to set him up with a female client of his (who, it should be noted, sounds suspiciously like Lu Fengping himself - “very outgoing; your personalities complement each other very well”) in the span of about 10 seconds. Luo Fei gives him his best “bitch, please” look and ditches him - I’m with you on this one, boo. Then there’s a weird bit of dialogue when they’re searching a suspect’s very neat and orderly apartment - Lu Fengping says “A man living by himself can keep a place like this clean. He wouldn’t be that thing…” - long pause, pointed look at Luo Fei - “OCD or something like that?” The audience knows at this point that Luo Fei’s apartment is just as well-kept, and there seems to be an implication that Lu Fengping is actually referring to the stereotype of gay men being very neat. And how could I not mention the fight scene in the gym - beyond the groping, grunting, and full-body contact of their grappling session, the looks they give each other afterward, the small smiles when the other isn’t looking, Lu Fengping thanking Luo Fei for bringing flowers to his mom’s grave - it’s a lot.

DATE NIGHT! (Sorry, I just get really excited about this part.) So here we have Mr. Uptight, known-to-not-drink-with-his co-workers-ever Luo Fei agreeing to go out with Lu Fengping after work and proceeding to get shitfaced (or does he…? He seems suspiciously sober after Lu Fengping puts him to bed and leaves the room). It’s tropey (drunken piggyback ride), it’s sweet (Lu Fengping tearing up when he sees he’s been added to the work group chat), it’s typical man shit (drinking instead of talking about feelings). They’re both just so tender and raw right under the surface and it makes me slightly feral, ngl. Also, the bit with Luo Fei’s parents there in the morning - I love how Lu Fengping immediately charms them and how they rush off like, “oops, sorry son, didn’t realize you brought a 'friend' home - we didn’t mean to interrupt!” And, of course, Liang Yin’s knowing smile when she sees them show up to work together the next morning; at this point in the show I’m not sure there’s any character who doesn’t ship it…

On a sad note, poor Xiao Liu - all he wanted was for his boss Luo Fei to be proud of him. Sure, he fucked up a couple of times, but he still didn’t deserve to get stabbed to death like that, nor just become another brick in the wall of Luo Fei’s “man pain.” (Also, WTF Luo Fei - do not throw papers at your subordinates - not cool, bro.) I’m probably reading too much into things, but there was kind of an undercurrent of Xiao Liu having a little bit of a crush on Luo Fei - he seemed so sad that Luo Fei had drinks with Lu Fengping almost immediately after meeting him, while Xiao Liu had been waiting to do that with Luo Fei for years. Interesting to note too that Xiao Liu also favored lighter-colored clothing, much like Lu Fengping (more of the light vs. dark trope).

Alright, well, this got away from me a bit… Looking forward to the second half of DC and all that delicious angst. 🖤

#desire catcher #lu fengping x luo fei #lu fengping #luo fei #my recap

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jadelotusflower · 1 year

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Lois Lane Costume Appreciation (Smallville seasons 4-5)

So in my recent* Smallville rewatch I had a whole new appreciation for the costuming, and in particular, my girl Lois and her colour story/clothing complementing Clark’s in different ways. We often see Lois and Clark wearing somewhat similar clothes - usually both in jeans, t-shirt, and jacket combo in either red or blue, with Clark in one colour while Lois is in the other. But I was particularly intrigued by yellow as the third element of the Superman triad, and while we don’t see Lois wear yellow as much as she does red and blue (or pink and white in the latter seasons) but it seems she is associated with yellow at pivotal moments in her character arc and relationship with Clark.

Standard caveat that I think a lot of this was intentional, but some things are probably me just reading into things and choosing to find meaning in in the visual storytelling. Additional caveat that red-yellow-blue was the standard colour palette of the show and the mise-en-scene relied heavily on this - particularly in the early to mid seasons - so it's certainly not exclusive to Lois and some examples may be coincidence.

But let’s talk yellow! (Expanding on this post)

Yellow is Earth’s sun Sol (in contrast to Krypton’s red sun Rao), the source of Clark’s abilities. It’s the heart of the Superman shield:

It’s the colour associated with the Crystal of Fire, one of the three components that make up the crystal that builds the Fortress of Solitude and houses the knowledge of the 28 known galaxies. The Crystal of Water (transference/transformation) is blue, and the Crystal of Air (symbol of the House of El) is red:

Fire is light and warmth; it can purify and cleanse. The crystal of fire had healing abilities, it's what restored Clark's powers in 4x08 Spell, and throughout the series, when Clark is injured and then healed by the sun, it's often accompanied by a yellow light.

The Crystal of Fire was also found in 4x01 Crusade where Lois first appears: as Lex unearths the crystal in Egypt, Lois comes across Clark (in the form of Kal-El) in a cornfield. (In what is likely a coincidence, Lois will return to Egypt in 10x01, and it's there she makes the decision to commit to Clark in 10x02, and she is possessed by the Egyptian goddess Isis in 10x05).

Yellow the colour of the Kent farmhouse, Clark’s home, as well as the kitchen (hearth) of the house. It's the flowers in the front yard that also draw their life from Earth's yellow sun (the barn is red, the sky is blue).

So basically yellow = healing/home = Clark's heart = Lois.

This kicks off in 4x02 Gone, where Lois wears Clark's red and plaid shirt, the first of several times Lois will wear his clothes over the course of the series. Clark is in a blue check, and it's notable that we first see them collectively in Superman colours for the first time when they are both together in the Kent house (in the yellow kitchen).

In 4x03 Facade Clark wears the same shirt that Lois borrowed, and Lois has a yellow top under her jacket (also note the blue blanket in the background of the barn).

We then see the same (or a similar) top without the jacket in 4x04, Devoted, where Clark and Lois banter and engage in some prolonged eye fucking eye contact. In this scene the primary colours are right there bright and bold, leaving no doubt that we've just been introduced to the Superman endgame.

Now, there may be an in-universe reason why Lois is wearing yellow here - it follows a football game, and yellow is one of the colours of Smallville High. However, Lois isn't exactly the school spirit type and she was wearing this top in the previous episode, so there's no doubt in my mind this was intentionally symbolic.

This is the final episode of Lois’s introductory arc, the end of the beginning, and a glimpse of the future.

We don't see Lois again for a while (and she spends most of 4x08 possessed by a witch). The next one might not count, but her cute breakfast themed pjs in 4x13 Recruit include red yellow and blue (and pink, a colour that becomes more symbolic for Lois in the latter seasons):

Sidebar, but Lois and her parade of themed pajamas delights me so much!

This is also the episode of an iconic save, where Clark goes all WHERE IS SHE on the freak of the week, and rescues Lois from drowning.

In 4x16 Lucy we don't get yellow in the costuming, but at the end of the episode Lois and Clark grow closer, acknowledging that they're now friends, accompanied by some more prolonged eye contact. Clark then looks through his telescope a a yellow shooting star passing between a red star and blue star (to the background of Mark Joseph's Fly ("written in the wind...now it all begins..."), intersecting with a meteor in an explosion of light, much like Lois has barrelled into Clark's life, setting him on a new course towards his destiny.

This show, honestly!

Next is 4x21 Forever, where Lois has found some sleeves for her job at the Talon (which is heavy on the yellow/Egyptian decor), and Clark of course is in red and blue:

Clark's shirt is not the same one that Lois wears earlier in the season, but Lois does wear this shirt later in the series, so she certainly has a thing for Clark's red and yellow plaid!

As Lois and Clark investigate Chloe and Lana's disappearance, she puts on an orange jacket (orange is another interesting Lois colour - a mix of red and yellow that pops up at interesting points in their relationship).

It's telling that Lois very rarely wears prints - she's into bold, block colours, and other than plaid, so is Clark - they often wear complementary costumes, and/or are mirror images (or close to it) of each other, both in the colour and style of their clothes.

I'm not saying this is soulmate behaviour, but this is absolutely soulmate behaviour!

We don't see Lois in yellow again until season five.

Now I know there was a lot of criticism levied at the show for Lois's relationships with A.C. and then Oliver, but honestly I don't really mind - let Lois be a slut in charge of her sexuality! There is no shame here for a girl who attracts would-be superheros, and goes after what she wants. GTFO with "Lois goes through the Justice League" misogynistic line of thinking.

In 10x09 Mera alleges Lois is attracted to power, but I think it's more she's drawn to strength of character, as well as people who challenge her - characteristics Clark shares, and where Lois doesn't quite fit with A.C. and Oliver, she will fit with Clark. What's interesting is that yellow pops up here, but in ways that aren't quite in sync.

In 5x04 Aqua we have Lois in a red swimsuit and Clark in blue shorts, and she is lain a yellow towel when she is saved by AC.

Then as A.C. and Lois get closer, she wears a blue and yellow suit (so collectively, she owns swimming outfits in Superman colours) and then a blue t-shirt but pink shorts. AC also wears orange and green (Aquaman colours), so while we have the yellow and blue, we also have pink and orange which are on the same spectrum but not red - close but things aren't quite right.

Other than the straps on Lois's suit, yellow is also present in the scene with the flowers, and the stripes on the cup (the Kent family mugs are often yellow as well!). Clark is present in the scene long before he walks in on Lois and A.C. kissing - kicking off a pattern where Clark is suspicious/annoyed by the men Lois dates.

At the end of the episode we get Clark in red, Lois inbBlue, and the helpful yellow of the barn props, as Lois wonders how she's ever going to meet a guy that wants to save the world, not own it, and Clark assures her one day she'll meet someone even more special than A.C. The anvils, they be dropping!

This one may be a stretch, but Lois is wearing a light yellow top in the early scenes of 5x06 Exposed aka the episode where Lois poses as a stripper and gives Clark a lapdance, but perhaps more importantly where Lois flexes her investigative skills, first by boldly challenging Detective Sawyer, and then helping Chloe track down a serial killer. We often see Lois in yellow when she's making steps towards her journalistic career.

Next up we have 5x08 Solitude, where Lois is working at the Talon, and we get a very direct Superman costume reference with Lois's top and apron with the Talon logo in yellow where the Superman crest would be.

That Lex is really amused by Lois is delightful to me! I wish that they'd let them share more screentime!

She decides to take down Lex in this episode, and in doing so ultimately helps Chloe uncover Milton Fine's true motives - arguably without Lois she never would have been able to save Clark in the Fortress and Martha would also have died. It also sets up the future Lois and Lex dynamic and her quest to expose his criminal behaviour.

So shame on anyone who says Lois doesn't serve a purpose in these seasons or that she's "not iconic Lois yet". She's not meant to be! She's on a journey, just like Clark is.

There's also this jacket in 5x10 Fanatic and I can't decide if it's a very light yellow or not, but this is when Lois becomes Jonathan's campaign manager, integrating even further into the Kent family. While I don't agree that Clark and Lois had a "sibling dynamic" in these seasons (I'm sorry, siblings don't stare at each other like they do!), Lois was in many ways a surrogate daughter to Jonathan and Martha - they immediately took Lois under their wing, believed in her, championed her, and she in return was ride-or-die for the Kent family.

In 5x20 Fade we continue the pattern of Lois in yellow when there's a romantic interest for her that Clark takes issue with, although in this case he's right as the guy is a hitman. Clark wears a light blue shirt, while Lois is in a red dress with yellow/gold straps - the lighting is also extremely unsubtle:

Incidentally, this is also the episode where Clark accidentally sees Lois naked.

Later in the episode Lois also wears a yellow top and blue jacket, and in a deleted scene it's actually Martha who picks this outfit for her after Lois says "if you ask me, [Clark] needs to finish the chapter on Lana, turn the page, start dating again." It's a very sweet scene, and the future mother-in-law vibes are strong as Martha says, "If I'd had a daughter, I'd want her to be just like you."

Also important to note that Martha is wearing red in this scene, and there is a later scene that was not cut, in which Martha tells Lois rather anviliously "maybe you have to get through all the wrong men, so you can recognise the right one."

Martha choosing yellow for Lois, as if unconsciously knowing what it means, it actually something that it so personal. Also, the face of a woman who knows her worth.

Speaking of anvils, there dropping all over in 5x21 Oracle, where Lois wears yet another yellow top for Clark's birthday, and made him a red and blue cake with yellow candles - and we see later in the episode that the inside of the cake is yellow as well.

Lois also gives Clark a red and blue journal with his initials in gold, wrapped in paper that's red on one side and yellow on the other, with red yellow and blue ribbons. It's actually an adorable gift, and it's a shame there was never see Clark writing in it.

Now, how many yellow tops does Lois own? I actually think this one is the same as in 4x21, so with the one above and the tank top that's at least three (plus the bikini), which is not an insignificant number!

But wait, I spoke too soon, because Lois is wearing another yellow top when she and Lana walk in on Clark rifling though the dorm room later in the episode - there's a different neckline/bodice to any of the previous tops, but I wonder if this is a continuity error because when Lois confronts Clark in the loft later on it once again looks like the top from the opening scene.

Or maybe not? Her hair is obviously different, but I'm not even sure it's the same jacket? The lapels don't look quite the same either, maybe it's not even meant to be the same day.

Lois just chose extremely similar outfits I guess!

The scene in the loft is the infamous "piggybank" conversation, where Clark says, "There are times when I think you don't know me at all, then others when I think you know me better than anyone."

I mean? I MEAN?!?!?!?!

Clark is also holding the journal Lois gave him, which is a nice touch. This is ripe for fanfic potential (if it's already been done, drop a link!).

That's it for the first two seasons of Lois, stay tuned for part 2!

*Recent when I first started putting this post together several years ago, it's been sitting in drafts for an embarrassingly long time. In fact, such a long time, I've completed another Smallville rewatch since then (hence the impetus to finally finish and post this).

#smallville #superman #lois lane #clark kent #clark x lois #clois #costume appreciation #yellow #meta #lois lane costume appreciation #long post #resurrecting this from drafts #2023 will be the year of finishing all that is unfinished #jlf posts

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le-trash-prince · 8 months

Text

OF Episode 6 Thoughts: Top/Mew

I finally got to watch this week’s ep and there is SO MUCH TO UNPACK. I have too many thoughts so I’m splitting them between posts.

First of all: What a fucking episode. I was either laughing or screaming the entire time. I love this shit so much. Everyone in this group sucks!

Mew's bi momma! 🙌

When Mew said “I want you to meet my parents at the end of the year” and then “But don’t count on us still being together” I was like “What the fuck Mew?” LOL. Like Mew, I know you will probably never understand this, but just because you are not seeing anyone else doesn't mean that you are emotionally committed to this relationship. You keep pulling back and giving mixed signals!

“I think the reason I was fine without a relationship was because I got enough love from family and friends” Mew how about you recognize that you’re demi instead of psychoanalyzing your slutty friends!

Tbh tho, I know it's really hard to come to terms with your own sexuality, especially when it's so different from everyone around you. We try to come up with reasons as to why people are different, rather than being able to accept that these differences can be inherent to who we are as people.

I think this episode showed more than any other just how genuine Top’s feelings for Mew really are. And of course this had to be the episode it all came crashing down.

Like the notebook of drawings he gave him? That was super sweet and thoughtful as a gift—ppl prob expect someone like Top to just throw money at his lovers but instead he put time and effort into his gift. You can’t draw someone like that without really looking at them. There wasn’t anything in that gift that said "fuckboy" or “I’m doing this just so you will sleep with me.”

Felt like there was an intentional parallel between Top kissing Mew’s forehead while he was asleep and Ray kissing Mew on the mouth.

I feel like I need to rewatch to process “Mew and Ray get in a fight” and “Ray gave Mew the audio file and Mew believed him”

When Mew and Top got home, I loved how the change and tension felt tangible. Like something about Mew going into the bedroom by himself and leaving Top in the living room spoke to a barrier between them

Mew pinning Top to the bed did a lot of things for me thanks 👍

“I love the way you sound in bed” honestly some cinematic poetry, I was hollering.

As much as I feel like Top was coerced into sleeping with Boston, what can he even say to defend himself with? “I didn’t want to sleep with him?” Well it sure sounded like you did. “I did it because I thought you lied to me?” Yeah that’s not gonna make Mew understand. Lol. Again, I don't know if Top even knows if he's allowed to not want to have sex with someone.

It’s a hard situation with a lot of grey area! And even tho we kind of knew this was how Mew was gonna find out, it's the worst way for him to find out.

Of course Mew is going to be hurt. This is like the worst outcome for him, and it revealed a lot of his insecurities around his lack of sexual experience. Especially after talking big at the beginning "My senses are always correct and I know everything there is to know about love."

I wonder if he even blamed himself for being bad at sex as to why he didn’t enjoy his first time with Top all that much, rather than it simply being that he might not really get much out of sex at all. It's okay if you don't want sex, Mew, or if you don't enjoy it, or even if it takes time for you to enjoy it!

“I’m not worth enough for you to love only me.” Mew. Mew. *shakes him* First of all, Top thinks Boston is a pile of burnable trash. He does not love that man! Second of all, please don’t tie self worth to romantic love or to ideals of monogamy. It is never going to end well.

Again, "I think the reason I was fine without a relationship is because I got so much love from family and friends." Mew are you being honest with yourself? You even said yourself that the reason you slept with Top was because you were worried about him getting bored with you.

I may have mentioned this before, but I think the reason that "mastermind Mew" was so popular with the fandom at the beginning of the series is because people wanted it to be true, because if Mew had seen this coming, he wouldn't have gotten hurt. I don't think it came from "we think Mew is evil or manipulative or whatever," I think we just didn't want to watch a person as naive as Mew get hurt. Because that's what happens the majority of the time in real life. People get hurt.

Sad lonely himbo Top in the bathtub 👍

Overall, I really enjoy watching their relationship. It's very complicated; it's nowhere near as straightforward as a "fuckboy cheats on his virgin boyfriend" plotline could easily be. I don't think they had a solid foundation for their relationship. They enjoy their dates, but there hasn't been a lot of great communication between them, which as I mentioned on a previous post, is very normal, especially for a first or second relationship. And for both of them, I think this is their first real attempt at a relationship, and neither of them know what they're doing.

In the preview, we see a clip of Mew in the bathtub where his expression changes, and it really looks like a symbolic transformation to me. Whether we get revenge era Mew or "let's try this again with more emotional transparency" Mew, I'm here for it.

#only friends the series #only friends #em post #topmew

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beatrice1979a · 6 months

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Redeemed Claw Noir and Shady bug are NOT Ladybug and Cat Noir

They are their own version of themselves.

Oh wait... I should have said ** spoilers*** whatever.

What I'm trying to say is that nobody changes overnight. Claw Noir/Shadybug redemption arc happened in ONE NIGHT!! So I like to imagine that at least 3 more seasons of reverse-Hesperia-Miraculous show will be guaranteed to air after the special. Of course we won't watch it in our current universe. Bummer.

YES they will still be themselves. Struggling with their pain, with their emotional baggage, their FREAKING awesome overpowering strength (wow, these two really KNOW how to fight), their smirks and their silliness and their sassiness. Hesperia has the job cut out for him trying to reform these anti-heroes and bring them to the good side. It's going to be INTERESTING to say the least.

I admit that I spent last night rewatching the special again! and I'm happy the animators kept their quirks. Yes, RIP awesome Shadyclaw outfit *sob* It will take some time for me to come in terms with that.

BUT claw noir was too cool to change.

A hair tint, skip the lipstick, less punk more rock-and-roll, drop the mangy-cat act and go for that Lion King roaring look.

Same smug though.

His trademark:

Look at him!

Paw Noir, Wonder Whiskers, neo-Claw Noir ... just keep that naughty smile on, baby.

I bet Ladybug... YOUR ladybug likes it .

She rolls her eyes on you? Whatever, you're still the cool cat.

Speaking of which, she might look inoffensive with that new set up and natural make up going on but I bet she can still lucky charm a freight train and throw it straight towards the Supremes' minions if they get on her nerves. Self control will be challenging I bet.

I'm RAMBLING! *argh* That's what happens when I spend an unhealthy part of my night reading fics and watching Miraculous and listening to music. BUT I had get this out of my head. Feel free to write any story about their new reformed selves. I'LL READ IT!

BONUS SCREENSHOTS

Later, loser!

...says the dainty-looking-ladybug with the red hair. Fire!

Now off to draw again. Battery charged.

**extra**

Golden-rockstar boy Paw Noir keeps getting me that Bon Jovi vibe. I need to shake that out of my head

#rant post #tumblr rant #miraculous ladybug #claw noir #griffe noire #shadybug #ml paris special #mlb paris special #shadybug and claw noir

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bluntblade · 3 months

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10 Fandoms, 10 Characters, 10 Tags

Thank you to @sinvulkt for the tag :D Let's go...

Rey (Star Wars Sequels)

Rey is at this stage by some way the character I've spilled the most ink over, specifically a post-TLJ Rey Nobody. I love her curiosity, her loyalty and that core of wounded anger. I want her to be happy and kick baddies in the head.

2. Ikrie (Horizon: Forbidden West)

Shape a woman out of abandonment issues and give her a spear. With so little screentime, she's such a fully-formed character, tough yet vulnerable, flitting between rambunctious and melancholy, and "I never cared about the Werak" cuts me to the bone each time.

3. Shiban Khan (The Horus Heresy)

Broken down and built back up, two or three times over. It's heartbreaking to see how he falls into bitterness over the course of the Heresy, and then glorious to see him rise again and become one of his Legion's greatest heroes.

4. Barristan Selmy (A Song of Ice and Fire)

It's fascinating to watch a character shaking off decades of swallowed doubts, forced to evolve by events. If we ever get The Winds of Winter, I hope his progression continues.

5. Keeve Trennis (Star Wars: The High Republic)

Adorable, great haircut, bold and passionate yet warring with impostor syndrome. Also swears like a Corellian kriffing docker, and she has a neat splitting saberstaff. What's not to love?

6. Theoden (The Lord of the Rings)

It still amazes me upon rewatching The Two Towers that Bernard Hill doesn't just walk off with the whole film, his performance is so magnificent. I don't think there's really anything I can add which hasn't been said already.

7. Caitlyn Kirramen (Arcane)

Lawful good, beginning to realise just how how questionable the good of the law she serves is. Her evolving dynamic with Vi is great, she's tougher than those around her expect and of course, she's so very very pretty.

8. Stephen Maturin (Master and Commander)

A canny spy who is nonetheless perpetually baffled and exasperated by the nautical world he has inveigled himself into. Also a thorough nerd.

9. Mahit Dzmare & Three Seagrass (A Memory Called Empire & A Desolation Called Peace)

Cheating a little in part because I couldn't find a solo pic of Mahit that wasn't AI-generated and also because I love them so very much, your honour. These little bundles of anxiety and constant second-guessing, pitched into events far more massive and momentous than anything either had imagined. And they have moments of intimacy to eat rocks for.

10. Yrica Quell (Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron)

You can fit so much guilt and conflict in this bad girl. Quell has arguably the most fascinating "Imperial defector" arc in all the Star Wars media I've read, as she undergoes this evolving moral struggle across her trilogy.

No-pressure tagging @mehoymalloy, @foibles-fables, @meg-noel-art, @dino-trash-kieran, @iron-shrike, @retrob0t, @fancyfrey, @tremendouskoalachild, @robo-dino-puppy and @lilypuffsw

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blade-that-was-broken · 12 days

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I don’t know why asking but I’m curious.

How did you first find out about Trolls? What did you think about Trolls? What were your favorite character?

About TBT

How did you think and feel about Branch when TBT first released? About fact he has four brothers? How do you feel about JD, Clay, Floyd and Bruce when you first saw them? Sure they have reasons why they left but they weren’t thinking straight, their reasons were stupid and worse they even decided to leave and BOOM! We know what happened in TBT.

(Poor Baby Branch being left in Trolls Tree in the middle of Bergen Town and poor JD…)

How did you think about bunker that it was the originally for his brothers as Branch built?

What’s your favorite member of BroZone, other than JD and Branch?

Where did you think Clay was after he left? There was a theory that he didn’t leave Trolls Tree but I’m not sure about that one.

Did you know that Branch was originally going to be kidnapped by Velvet and Veneer but that was changed to Floyd, that I heard about that. It would have been so much angst! :(

What do you think Trolls 4 going to be about if there’s one? (Idk why I’m asking that 😅)

Oh boy... I'm not sure about the first time I saw Trolls.

I have several younger siblings so I have watched a TON of animated movies over the course of my teenage and young adult years (I'm still a young adult, I'm not that old I promise lol) and several of my siblings do NOT shy away from the animated kids stuff. My guess is one of my sisters put it on and since most of us like the musical movies, it kind of worked out. Why I latched onto it for my hyperfixation a few months ago? I have ZERO idea.

My favorite character was Branch. Introvert, sarcastic, organizational nut, overthinking paranoid? Yeah, might as well be me with a little extra trauma and crazy. (After my fixation started, JD was added to that favorite. I'm sorry just that's how it is) I had watched movie one and two and whatever before but I didn't think much of it. And then the third movie came out and my sister watched it and I decided to rewatch the entire movie series - with most of the tv shows - as well because that is what I do.

I binge watch shows and movies and draw. I'm a big homebody and most of my time is spent drawing so that's kind of what worked. And then I watched the third movie and then watched it again and upon the second watching, zeroed in on John Dory's "thought you were dead" and "came back" parts and well, hyperfixation galore.

I didn't really watch anything as it was released; as I didn't really follow Trolls that closely. Like I said, my fixation isn't very old. So I didn't really care? Okay so when I watched TBT for the first time, my favorite character was Branch and the other brothers, I didn't have much opinion on? Except for Floyd who I LOATHED. The others leaving? Fine, whatever, I didn't really see it as much as child abandonment in the sense that others do at the time because he was left with his grandmother who, as the adult - should have been raising him anyways - so I guess I didn't see it the way some others did.

For my dislike of Floyd in the beginning, it was because of that promise. The others didn't promise to come back so I didn't really hold them to that standard but Floyd promised to return (there is also him telling Branch to take care of grandma which... I GET why he said that and it makes sense too for a kid but Branch... Branch probably didn't take it the way kids normally do) and he never did. Twenty years. Look, I get that the writers probably did not have that backstory when they were first writing the first trolls movie, I get it but AUGHHHHH

The second time I watched TBT, I got a bit more of a opinion on the brothers. Eventually my dislike of Floyd softened, mostly because I figure he's not as grudge-holding as some of the others. Trust me, I know how holding grudges can eat you up. Clay kind of annoyed me; like he felt so childish with the whole "I'm serious and boring thing" like dude, just chill. I like Brandy, don't get me wrong, but the whole giants/muppets thing threw me off guard and it kind of wigs me out just a bit. Idk, it's probably just me.

Also them getting so upset with JD when he slips up on Bruce's name in kind of a heated situation irritates the heck out of me. Don't ask my why, it just did.

Anyways, I don't have a good memory so idk on most of this stuff lol

I think it's really sweet that the bunker was built for his brothers too. I know Branch does that specific thing for Floyd, like, that's his favorite and whatever, but it's nice that everyone was included. It was kind of like that holding onto hope that they would at least come and visit or something; like they would always have a place with him. Which pisses me off more about none of them coming back. I'm not saying they had to stay but geez, they coulda called or whatever. This is mostly with Bruce and maybe Floyd. We don't really know what Floyd was up to so idk. Bruce literally just settled down and pretty much entirely forgot about his family point blank. Clay has a bit of an excuse, since Viva was protective and he had to lead people. John has a bit of an excuse too considering he thought Branch was dead.

I think the Clay one is kind of hard. I don't... I'm not sure if I think that Clay and Viva were friends before the escape. And I'm not sure if Clay stayed in the tree or not. Like, that's a hard one. Cause idk if that would be worse, if he was in the tree and never even visited Branch. I know the timeline between everything is SUPER sketchy and aging for Trolls seems to be... confusing at best (considering Branch is like a couple months old when he's performing?? Or something?? Idk) so who knows how much time passed between the band breakup and the escape.

My guess? Not a lot of time is between the two. I know Branch seems to "look" 5-6 or whatever in the first movie flashbacks but who even knows with Trolls; everything about them is wild and uncertain and the writers certainly don't seem to care about timelines/continuity that much. It's fine, I don't really mind, since it is a kids movie but whatever.

I did hear about Branch being the one to be captured once upon a time. I think that's a bit too much angst; the dude is literally full of angst. I'm kind of glad that it wasn't him but I'm also not entirely fond of how Floyd is treated as a character? Idk, I guess that is mostly up for interpretation. I think it would also be really hard to find John Dory, considering he travels a lot and thinks everyone is dead lol. Or at least, Branch. Well, up until after TWT. So... I'm not sure?

Trolls 4... hmmm. I'm curious on how long they are going to milk this. I'm a little worried if they do because if the brothers are in it, John's just going to be treated like the butt of the joke like in TBT and I'm not a huge fan of that, as much as I would love to see more of the bros. I'd like to think they'd do something either more world-wide centric with the other tribes or something a bit more Poppy-centric, since TBT is pretty much solely Branch-centric. Maybe some Viva and Poppy bonding.

#ask #shockingly not au related HAHA #this got kind of long #I usually have thoughts

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tlgtw · 26 days

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Aside fromsoft, are there any fantasy game settings/stories you're into?

Like what was the first game that pulled you in and before you realized you were checking dialogue for inconsistencies?

Zoooooomg, I *wish* had any other answer for this but the first game that "pulled me in" indeed WAS a Fromsoft game; and it was Bloodborne.

This came around a few months after it came out, (Meaning I was 14.) and I'd wanted Bloodborne the whole time because of how wicked fucking awesome it looked. (even if perhaps I was a little too young for it.)

I can't remember how, but by some means or another leading up to or concurrently with Bloodborne's initial release I got into all the "Loretubers" from that time, as they're known now.

VaatiVidya of course--most likely he was the first person I ended up watching, but also the other ones. Like the one who wrote that big book about it basically called like "The Paleblood Hunt" or something, and a few others!

The most significant of which I can tell you for a fact was the 'late' Jerks Sans Frontieres.

Her videos shot straight into my spinal cord because she wasn't a summarizer. She, in a similar sense that I am now, was a detective.

At that point I was still purely an audience-member for that latent genre of YouTube videos. As the consumer I enjoyed all of them, but I liked her's best. And I must've rewatched each of her Bloodborne videos at least a half-dozen times before I finally got my hands on the game myself--for my 15th birthday--and I got *so* scared by my experience in Central Yharnam that I think it took me days to pick up the controller again the second time.

I legitimately considered returning it! It was my first FromSoft game. I'd never played something that just, say, *didn't* have background music all the time, for example. I remember it still, clear as day, how unnerving it was just walking around the early areas hearing just your footsteps and the background rumble and when I was unlucky the screaming sounds of the crows and other enemies.

Precisely, when I first came up that ladder to the Central Yharnam checkpoint, when I heard the scream of the Cleric Beast, it scared me out of my wits so goddamn hard that I stopped moving for like 15 seconds.

I was still *just* turned 15, but at that point I had watched all of Bloodborne over and over again like 80 times. I'd watched tutorials and build guides and cheese strats and weapon movesets and everything else I could about that game, before I finally got my hands on it. I thought I would be, at least, ultimately okay. Cause I would still know everything I'd have to do.

I was wrong.

But I did get through it, hahaha.

In-fact I ended up getting through it so hard that by the time I got my hands on the actual DLC, my main save file was in NG++. So the first time I beat The Old Hunters was in NG++.

Fortunately I was very grinded-up so I think ultimately the experience balanced out.

And nowadays I've beaten Bloodborne so many times that I have the entire level of Central Yharnam actually memorized. Until a few years ago could've draw an accurate map of it from memory (and I have).

With Bloodborne being my introduction, as it were, to the concept of Videogame Story Explained Videos, it was also my introduction to the concept of seriously reading a videogame's story in the first place.

What this wasn't, yet, was me actually going in *myself* to actually cross-reference item descriptions and dialogue, for my *own* understanding. You don't do that sorta thing unless you're specifically involved in discussion. And I was involved in *no* discussions in 2015, or 2016, or '17 or '18 or '19 or anything all the way up to until 2022, because online I have the tendencies of a weird hermit.

Although that is me exaggerating. In truth prior to my dealings with Elden Ring I had been a Redditor and I talked (argued) about the story details of Little Nightmares 1 and 2 (My favourite games.) on the subreddit for those games. By then I had already become the kind of person I am still now, most of all in my disinterest in finding any answers regarding a fictional story that can't account for every extant element... of that story. (As you've seen, and will see more of in Episode X of ERwSET. When an idea I have appears to conflict with work in subject, I drop the idea. And develop one that doesn't conflict with it instead. This is opposed to the alternative of making up reasons or justification to keep the initial idea regardless)

No doubt doing that instead would probably make me a lot more content to make money with... Personally, doing so isn't engaging to me, because I am already someone who writes fiction. And in my opinion, "Videogame Story Explained Videos" are fundamentally a non-fiction genre of video, and for me are more interesting in general when they conform to that, because they interface directly with the media itself, and the material that media's author's put into it. Rather than just the individual video creator's personal experience of that media, of that material.

In part this comes from my background as someone who writes poetry and fiction. Of course.

*Of course,* an author who writes and puts meanings into material themselves, finds themselves more interested dissecting the material and creative decisions of *other authors,* who do the same thing, as opposed to the material and creative decisions of just *other readers.* Who most of them don't--generally maintaining more humane professions and areas of expertise instead.

And probably this is rooted into my tendencies as a 'weird hermit,' too. But, from my perspective, if I wanted to see what a fellow member of the audience thinks are the inner working of this character or imagines regarding the off-screen elements of a story, I would read their fanfiction.

...

That is of course reductive, but I think saying it like that is really funny, so that's why I'll be still saying it xd.

"Everyone consumes, but not everyone makes," you could say. The same way there are less farmers than people in the world. There are less writers than readers in the world. When I analyze a work of fiction, underneath it all what I'm looking for is to see what decisions the authors made, for *their final product:* "What does that do?" "What does this do?" "If it was different, what would that make?" "What does this matter? Does it?"

"Would I do this too?"

And this interest excludes the question of 'why,' predominantly. I'm not interested so much in wanting to know 'why,' because the only way to learn that is if the author themselves actually decides to share "why." I'm interested just in what the final decisions "are."

"Why'd the author decide to make this character do this?" Well, maybe they were really hungry that day. Or maybe they saw an ad on TV. Or maybe they were talking to their friend about something unrelated and their friend happened to say a phrase in a peculiar and cool way and the author decided he wanted to make use of that, too. And everything else that encompasses the spectrum of the human experience.

"Why" is whatever it wants, it's not like it would change what the final product "is," right?

And of course this doesn't preclude the fact that author's can just *lie* about their motivations too. For that reason, actually trying to find out 'why' is generally an impossible task.

And I'm not interested in pursuing those/I'm not interested in not #winning.

Perhaps this, you could say, then, is the ultimate source of my attitude. Not in the way that it's why I actually decided to write and draw and voice and edit my 80% Elden Ring lore series and 15% weird cartoon; "Elden Ring Explained with Snake-Eyes Teieruji." I did all those for completely circumstantial reasons! (And I go into detail about them in Issue #0 of the Kinda-Monthly Newsletter.)

Nor even in how my show is... the way it is! 'Cause even that is just me being really really slow and meticulous, (as you've no doubt suffered) and anyone can act like that~!

But it is, perhaps, what made me come up with the idea of making such a show as ERwSET, at all, in the first place. (And you can also read about the *second* major exclusion in my recounting here from that same article in Newsletter #0, which was the Sekiro-related project for which Snake-Eyes Teieruji was actually created, that didn't end up going anywhere.)

You'd have be a pretty specific kind of chucklehead to actually think of doing, specifically all this; y'know?

But you may be surprised to learn that I'm normally not like this at all, when I play videogames. Most of my creative energy in such regards are channeled into my poetry, art, and fiction. When I eat games, or movies, or books or TV, I don't really feel a want to find out "exactly what the author did for this character" or "exactly what elements of this scene connect with another scene" because I guess, perhaps, I'm too occupied with enjoying myself...

Hm.

Well, maybe it'll be more accurate to say that what I'm presenting, "of myself" in ERwSET, is effectively extremely extremely scripted and deliberate.

I spend months writing my scripts. (sorry about that.) And those months include the meticulous cross-referencing and fact-checking that gives those videos their noticeable pow.

It's a large amount of *work,* that that is. The desk-jockeying kind. And it's not something that can just do itself when you're relaxing playing any game normally. (I'll never just stop what I'm doing while playing a game to fact-check whether I'm currently right about something, while I'm still in the middle of playing it.

For example in my first playthrough of Elden Ring: I wasn't actually sure how Marika's name was spelled until I had finished my first playthrough. That I wasn't sure if it was "Marika" or "Merika" at the time just legitimately didn't concern to me. I just didn't pay that close of attention whenever I passed a Church of Marika or whatever to actually remember how it spelled her name, afterwards.

I actually kept a journal to keep track of all of my sidequests and stuff for my first playthrough, too! So maybe here's another example, haha:

And here's one more dfbjkskjdbfbkjsdkjbfsjdsf. These are all things I actually wrote down in the middle of playing the game so reading these myself is really fucked up I just remember what I was doing when I wrote them:

What I'm referring to as 'the fucking castle' there is actually what I thought the Siofra Aquaduct was, the first time I saw it, hahaha. I was even a little bummed out when I actually got to it, I'll admit. I thought it was gonna be an entire dungeon.)

In any case;

The experience of *creating* something, and the experience of *consuming* something, are just fundamentally incomparable things.

You could never figure out how houses are built by just living in one, even if you lived in one for a really long time. Right?

It's that very sort of thing; in terms of cross-referencing dialogue and noting game-wide consistencies and inconsistencies for discrepancies and explanations, no playing a game inspired me do that, or could. It was my becoming an author of fiction that inspired me to do that, and my burgeoning desire to understand the decisions *other authors* made, for *their* fiction.

"I wanna know how to do that too." Right?

Eventually this desire lead to me writing poems instead.

Which lead to me (once I finally became good enough at writing to realize--as related in that poem I flashed from highschool in ERwSET1) disavowing the written word entirely! TOO limited for me, I though...!

Pictures have WAY more pow than words!!!

And that's how I got into drawing...

(which are like *way* more powerful than words, right, like it's not even comparable, the only thing words are up-to-down unbeatable at is, indeed, non-fiction... but also in being a trillion times faster than everything else to actually work with. I have returned to the written word, since then, as you might tell. And I'll tell you that writing also has one advantage that no other skill on Earth has--and that's you can practice it using only your head. Every other skill needs equipment, lit only needs words.)

...which is lead me to my foray *now;* the likes of 2-dimensional medias like video! (visual + audio)

:DDD

But that's maybe not the kind of question you were actually asking, either... so...

Y'know... maybe it actually *is* Elden Ring, that's what 'pulled me in'.

I'm pretty far-in-deep right now in this, aren't I? And I've certainly never been this deep in something before!

How... did I get here...!?

I talk all about this in Issue 0 of the Newsletter as well but it's because of how Elden Ring served to combined FromSoftware's skills in atmosphere, the acting of the characters, visuals + audio, and gameplay, with George RR Martin's skills in actually have a coherent plot to present with those elements.

I've stated so before so I'll say so again that earlier FromSoft games such as Bloodborne and (especially) Dark Souls 3 are, to *a* meaningful extent, "not worth" looking into closely from a narrative perspective. In the way that their stories were never purposely finished.

The Soulsborne games have the reputation of having stories that are predominantly based on vibes, and that's not by accident. They are based on vibes.

Gameplay, atmosphere, acting, etc. Those are things that dictate the vibes. But they're not precise. You can't find the definitive answer to a character motivation in their boss theme, that's music.

*Power,* of course, they have in spades, but obviously not any 'precision.'

As we know, Bloodborne had a lot of cut content. And Dark Souls 3.

And as a result of the same internal situations (i.e. real life reasons like time, budget, and workforce) that lead to all that content being cut, a number of the questions you would ask regarding the plot details in those games, literally do not have answers *in* those games.

The stories of Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3 are ambiguous. But not in the way that there are multiple answers: In the way that there are *no* answers.

Again, that isn't by accident. The games themselves are obviously, literally, finished products. It was deliberate decisions made during production to *remove* material communicating parts of the story, for variable reasons, from what would become the finished product.

Thus, leading to parts of "the story" being, for the reader; missing.

Most people will frame this as equivalent to "the audience deciding what the truth is." And I think this is completely inaccurate.

"The audience can choose what the truth is" is when there would be multiple possible answers. (Little Nightmares 1 and 2 are my favourite games.)

"The audience can *never* know what the truth is" is when there are no possible answers.

And in my opinion they are completely different narrative outcomes. They shouldn't be equated.

...

...not acknowledging, of course, the *massive* amount of subjective legwork the word 'possible' is doing there, with those vibes-based definitions:

"Possible" as in, coherent with what is (percieved to be) in the text... by the reader?

Or "possible" as in, literally possible to be imagined by someone... such as the reader, whoever that happens to be?

The topic is only more complex from there. (All into academia and shit tho I wouldn't know I'm an art school dropout.)

And... almost definitely that's also not what you asked, either...

Hm...

Well, I ask that you forgive me.

As for *why* Elden Ring was special to me, circumstantially, such that it lead to my actually making ERwSET, the explanation for that will remain in Issue 0 of the Members-Only Kinda-Monthly Newsletter.

As to *what* lead to me becoming this way, as you see before you? (Insane.) I hope I was able to answer it.

As for RECOMMENDATIONS, for games in general, that inspire ME, personally!?!?!? (Specifically, in the way that they inspired me to think about the setting and wonder about how things in there connect. These listing might look random but I'm positive they're exactly what you might mean in you including, specifically, what "settings" I'm into. Albeit, you are getting this from a poet. So... there is that as well. I hope if you end up looking into any of these that you do end up pleased with the experience.)

Hohokum (2014), for PS4 and PC

GRIS (2018), for basically everything

Bloodborne (2015), but note it standing directly *on* Elden Ring

Minute of Islands (2021) for PC and consoles

The surrealist artbook "Codex Serafinianus" by Italian artist Luigi Serafini (originally published in 1981, but still added to by him occasionally with an updated 40th anniversary edition having been released in 2021.)

Gorogoa (2017), for basically everything again

Child of Light (2014), also, for basically everything, somehow

Flower (2009), available on PC (and I really cannot overstate how important 'Flower' is to me, I didn't even know games could *be* like that, before I played this)

And of course, my all-time favourite book "The Vine That Ate the South" by the band The Legendary Shack Shakers's basically only actual member, JD Wilkes. (A book that has all-but baked itself into my genome since I first read it in highschool, and the additional 29 times I've read it since. 'Cause I have been counting. I voraciously recommend the Audible-licensed Recorded Books and RB Digital audiobook version; the narrator T. Ryder Smith's voice is a trillion bucks for that book.)

And y'know what I think I'm wanting to mirror this answer directly into the Kinda-Monthly Newsletter itself. Not all my readers follow me on Tumblr, even fewer'll be online at the right time as to actually *see* this post this before it's buried under everything else I'll post afterwards, and I've just spent the last few hours enjoying the hell out of myself writing all 3100 words of it, gyahahahhahaha!!

So, for those who aren't reading this!

Look forward towards seeing it the first time, in Issue #1 of the T-L-G-T-W Official Fanclub Members-Only Kinda-Monthly Newsletter. (The Issue that'll be available for free.)

My reader, I also hope you don't mind your ask ending up inspiring me to do this. But you might be the first of more, too.

So for now, going forward for any questions and answers such as these asked to me (even anonymously) on Tumblr blog, that activate me like this one has; *they* might just end up in the *next* Issue of the Newsletter, too...!

I can't say for certain I'll announce every that do, ahead of time.

But, maybe... you'll just be able to just... tell. Somehow.

#tlgtw ask #did not expect all of this to come out of me i will not lie #but... i guess I am just predilicted towards this kind of thing. too.#not even gonna lie I really loved writing this xd. Literally brightened up my day.#Thank you anonymous asker. I really appreciated your question.

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