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stagefoureddiediaz · 1 month

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Costume Meta 7x01

Aaaaaaannnnd we're back!!

OMG I cannot tell you how good it feels to be back writing costume meta - I have missed it so very much and this first episode has given me lots and lots to talk about so lets crack on with it shall we!

Where to start?! Firstly - Its amazing to have Alayna Bell-Price back in the driving seat and she is a genius because she knows the characters better than anyone and I have to say from my perspective there is a pretty clear difference between this episodes costumes and the ones from season 6 - not that s6's costumes were bad, just that you could see the shift of having a designer who didn't know the characters to the same level. I’m going to go in order of character appearance in a non uniform capacity for this one I think so we’re going to jump around from character to character a bit. There is no Maddie or Hen this week, as we don't see them out of uniform, but every one else is accounted for and I've included Norman and Lola as they've got a multi episode arc and their costumes are interesting and playing into a colour theme!

putting it below the cut as its a long post and I on't want to overtake everyones dashes! Enjoy!

We start off with Athena in this pale pink high neck ribbed sweater with large bell sleeves. I've spoken a fair amount about pale pink over the last couple of seasons of costume metas and how, in clothes its representative of childish and immature behaviours or thoughts. That holds true here - the pale pink is playing into Athena's childhood - when she developed her fear of cruise ships - its creating a connection between her childhood experiences and the woman sitting in Franks office.

We get a flashback that shows her in yellow and orange - the yellow for communication and the orange for transformation. A literal moment where we see Athena transform from the innocence of youth to her developing anxiety and fear around cruise ships. Its really clever visual storytelling connecting adult with child and shows us her fear is genuine and founded in something that she may not have been able to articualte fully as a child, but she can as an adult, even if she doesn't actually articulate it to Bobby.

Our next non uniform costume is Chimney. The lighting is really low in this scene, so it's kind of hard to be 100% sure of the colouring, but he seems to be wearing either a dark navy or black button up shirt under a dark green and black bomber jacket. The use of really dark green in combination with black, Back is a colour that can be about hiding ones vulnerabilities - concealment and masking, but it is also a colour associated with magic (generally dark magic) as well as pessimism. The green is growth and renewal, and the hope for a better future. to use them in combination i this way is playing on Chimneys insecurites and fears, his desire to keep the 'magic' alive in his relationship with Maddie, but it also speaks to his growth, that he goes home and talks to her about it (even if he does come up with an insane plan to 'date forever').

Eddie in the locker room - aside from being shirtless for much of it and pulling some epically good faces - was a super interesting costume choice. Especially the use of his watch! first though - Denim shirt time! We don't actually see Eddie in a denim shirt all that often and we've seen him in the super washed out one far more than dark denim shirts. I've been laughing a little bit at a few people (on twitter mostly) claiming its the same shirt he was wearing at the hospital during and after Bucks coma and it being a play on bringing Buck back to life. While I like the theory, its actually a very different shirt - the one in the hospital was black with a grey wash out and was made of velveteen - so different colour and fabric.

This shirt, is however one we have actually seen Eddie wear before and its far more telling than if it were the hospital shirt. You need to bear in mind that this scene is about Buck and Eddies respective girlfriends (or lack there of) and the fact that Christopher has a girlfriend now as well. This shirt is the same shirt Edie was wearing when he (re)introduced Ana to Chris in 4x08 (breaking point my beloved! the gift that keeps on giving!) and this puts a conversation about Marisol and things going well with her into the same category as Ana - suggesting she is ultimately destined for the same fate as Ana. the other thing that plays into this narrative is the use of the watch.

Eddie does not put the Christopher watch on until after he has found out that Buck has broken up with Natalia - so during the entire conversation about their respective girlfriends, he is only holding the Christopher watch, rather than wearing it.

In the picture below from 4x08 you can see that Eddie is wearing his black 'work' watch rather than the brown strapped 'Christopher' watch. Remember that the first time we see the Christopher watch is when he goes for his first date with Ana in Jinx, so he already has this watch and in theory should be wearing it in this scene. The fact he isn't is pretty telling and I'll go into that a bit more later when we get to Chris's (and Eddies) date scene.

Then we have Buck in his outfit of many colours! The white trainers, continue to play into my theory of Buck wearing them when he is in key points on his journey to discover his self - her it is about showing his growth - that he ended the relationship with Natalia - this is a massive thing when we saw how long it took for him to end things with Taylor - The man who clings is growing and getting out before it drags him down!

The jacket is similar in style to many of the ones we've seen him wearing in season 5 and 6, but this one is much brighter and more colourful. I know I go on about white meaning bad things for Buck, but that isn't relevant here - the white bad things happen to Buck theory is much more about t-shirts, jumpers and shirts rather than jackets - its an under-layer rather than a top layer that = danger. So i'm not thinking of its relevance here for this scene. What I am going to say is that this (according to my spreadsheet!) is the first time we've seen Buck in a white jacket of any description. To me, it's playing into the idea of purity and rebirth which is what white is often associated with. This plays into the comment Eddie makes welcoming Buck back to 'the land of the living' but also implies that Buck is starting a new chapter and making a fresh start - the check patterning suggests it might not all be plain sailing though.

The check pattern is an interesting one, obviously check pattern theory comes into play here, but whether its only in relation to the reveal that he split with Natalia, or if its also foreshadowing Buck getting himself into danger/trouble down the line, remains to be seen.

I'm going to quote myself again because I did predict that this scene may be about his relationship with Natalia when we got the stills dropped - the costume department never let us down!

The only thing I can do is scream into the void about check theory because check does't bode well for people - they always end up in the middle of the drama (see my check theory posts linked on my pinned post for more) and while they come out the other side (99% of the time) Buck in check for that scene in 6x18 pretty much doomed his relationship with Natalia (its specific to her and not C&K's baby as Buck wasn't wearing it when he delivered it!) and as that shirt in the still is very un Buck like, has not only yellow ochre in it, but also its a white base (and we all know buck in white is a bad sign!!) and its check patterned - my theory is that this scene is connected to Natalia in some way - either Buck is not being true to him self in more than one way - that things are going to/have come to a head for their relationship (my kingdom for a reverse of Buck to Eddie about Ana in 5x03!!!) and lead to a pretty big change in some way (fingers crossed for Buck to end it and then finally break down and deal with his trauma!!!) Some other things about that shirt - the colour combination - the green blue and yellow ochre are giving me call backs to coma Buck (another reason I think it might be connected to Bucks unresolved trauma around his death and Eddies absense in his dream)

In the quote above, I was also referring to the blue and white check pattern shirt he was wearing when he and Natalia got together, but there was also the fact that in the balcony scene at the end of 6x18, we also saw her in one of Bucks white shirts. I wrote in my 6x18 meta about how those two things combined didn't bode well for that relationship going forward, and thats what leaves me unsure about the check pattern on this white jacket being purely about something that has already happened. If I put my Buddie goggles on, I would perhaps suggest that the troubled times ahead may be more connected to Buck and Eddies relationship, and this would fit in with a couple of the things Oliver and Ryan have said. The thing with check theory though, is that generally speaking if it's on one of the mains, they come out the other side of the dram/trauma stronger than before. So if it is connected to Buck and Eddies relationship, then we can expect it to be in an even stronger position on the other side of whatever goes down (and at this point you can't strengthen their relationship any further and keep them as just friends imo!)

Chimneys forever dating proposal to Maddie, connects with his outfit when he's talking to Hen - it's the same jeans and black shirt, so the meanings of black, can be continued on into this scene - the idea of magic and hiding his vulnerabilities. The addition of the jacket with this brickwork pattern in its weave is a fun choice, it's playing into the idea of building something, but also plays into the idea that Chimney has his walls up - again fitting in with the black meaning of hiding his vulnerabilities - because instead of expressing his fears to Maddie ad then them talking it thorough, he comes up with his insane forever dating concept. the fact that much of this scene is a contrasting parallel with the scene from season 1 when he is pretending to be someone else entirely for Tatiana all ties in perfectly with this costume. The fact that he reverts to wearing blue (ran out of picture spaces so I couldn't include one) later on - when he's realised his plan isn't realistic, talks to Maddie and they end up back on the same page is really good to see - the blue being a signature Chimney colour and is indicative of him being true to himself.

Bobbys blue suit and blue check patterned shirt. The brightness of the blue is a really important choice - it's the only time we see him this brightly coloured on the cruise until he ends up in the bright red at the end. This is important because this is the moment when he's still all excited and hopeful for his honeymoon cruise - everything is good in Bobby's world at this moment in time - the check pattern is telling us that it's not going to stay that way for long. From her on out we see the colours of Bobby's costumes slowly beginning to dull and take on a washed out tone, but here in this moment all is good.

Athena's bright yellow dress is all about making her stand out - communicating with the audience, she is the brightest person in the room (in more ways than one!!). The thing with yellow, apart from the communication aspect, is that it can also be a symbol of anxiety and fear, so this dress plays rather nicely into the theme of Athenas fear of being on that ship.

The colour does have other good traits too - its fresh and bright and is a colour of happiness in its more jewel like tones and I think we can see all of these meanings in these scenes - Athena might be anxious about being on the ship, but she is also happy and enjoying herself with Bobby in that moment.

Lola and Norman. Lola is the one we need to focus on in her very bright very check patterned Victoria Beckham dress. Obviously the check pattern plays into check pattern theory, but the red also acts like a neon sign to the audience - highlighting that Lola is in danger - the ga won't pick up on check theory, although they might connect the dots about the fact this check patterning looks very like a cage - foreshadowing her being held captive later on, but also as a nod to the fact she was incarcerated previously.

The red is also a nod towards romance and love - playing into the rekindling of their relationship and romance in the aftermath of the freeway 'see me Norman' incident.

Ok so Christophers date night and by extension Eddies date night! This is where this meta is goingto get a bit messy and I'm goingto jump around a bit becasue I need to talk about the way colour theory is at play in all the scenes in Christophers bedroom, so we're going to talk about Christophers bedroom as one big thing rather than the two separate scenes that it actually is. They are extensions of one another and build on so much of the groundwork we've already seen in previous seasons.

Chris in plaid check yellow and red check plays perfectly into check pattern theory - it’s a signifier that something is about to go down with him - namely that the fact he’s dating multiple girls at the same time.

He’s also wearing a white shirt which is not a colour we see on him all that often - in fact, the only times we’ve seen him in a completely white shirt is with his suit in 5x01 when suit shopping and again in 6x08 for his school dance. He did wear a white vest when dressed as wolverine for halloween So as you can see its not a common colour for him, but the times have seen him wear it as a solid colour have been connected to school/girls and dating (i’m including the suit shopping in this because Ana was there and it was kind of a Eddie and Ana date of sorts - in that it was suppose to be for this Christening - meet the family - date type thing).

The most interesting thing is the plaid hooded shirt though. It was such an interesting choice to go with for a couple of reasons. the colour way is especially loud - we tend to see Chris wearing greens and blues and greys, with the odd other colour thrown in occasionally. So red and yellow are not common colours for him to be wearing.

On the red front we see him in it a couple of times - the adapted skateboarding scene and the scene in 4x10 when he joins Eddie and Ana on the sofa - getting in the way of their date night. We do also see him wear red in Christmas related episodes (so I don’t tend to count them in the same way as the Christmas colour theming will nearly always override any other colour theming intention - the use of stripes or check or other patterning is more important in those episodes!).

On the yellow front things are even more clear cut - the Tsunami arc, the aftermath of him falling off the skateboard, Mays graduation party and 5x03’s Eddie Ana break up! These (apart from the tsunami shirt) were all bright almost neon yellow.

This new plaid shirt is more into the yellow ochre part of the yellow spectrum, therefore tying much more to the tsunami arc, which is actually really fitting if you think about it in a little more detail - its a connection, not only to Buck, but also to loss and grief. Eddie might have been using his secret weapon (Chris) to get Buck out of his moping (read mourning) over not being able to go back to work, but Christopher is also still grieving the loss of his mother at that point as well, so its not just about cheering Buck up, its also about giving Chris a chance to do something fun and distract him from his own grief. That is why the use of yellow then ties in so nicely with its use on Chris now.

The other thing that really grabbed my attention about this shirt though is the fact that the two times we’ve seen Buck have a conversation with Chris in his bedroom, he has sat in the same spot and has been wearing one of those two colours - post shooting in maroon and this episode in the yellow ochre - if you watch those two scenes side by side, you see that they’ve used almost identical camera angles as well to film Buck.

I've spoken a lot about the use of maroon as a colour connected to parenthood - especially fatherhood , which is how its intended to be read on Buck - connecting to Eddie and his being shot, pushing Buck into a parental role in Eddies absence.

That alone is a pretty loud reference to Christophers connection and relationship to Buck, but then we have the yellow ochre of it all.

I feel a little bit insane about how close my prediction was on what the Buck Christopher scene was going to be about - this is from the meta I wrote when t he stills dropped;

Whatever this scene transpires being about, based on what we've seen with Buck wearing yellow ochre, we can assume its going to continue to play into this idea of Buck not being fully truthful with people and fitting into the role he thinks people want him to pay rather than being true to himself. I do want to add to this theory by looking at Christophers shirt as well. The grey/ yellow combination is a bit reminiscent of Breaking point (the episode that really is the gift that keeps on giving) because we get Chris in grey and Eddie in tan - that is yellowish toned whilst not actually being yellow There isn't a good screenshot of them together, but the placing of Chris and Buck in the new one has echoes of Eddie and Chris in that scene (one that is interestingly enough playing into the idea of changing family dynamics, but also the moment before and the one that happens afterwards at Bucks loft, directly placing Buck into a parental role (as an aside the idea of Buck being a miracle worker plays into the theme of Eddie looking for magic, just saying!))

Indirectly this scene was about Buck not being true to himself with people and fitting into whatever role he thinks people want him to fit into, only this wasn't an active situation - this was a scene where Buck could draw on his experience of having done that in the past to help Christopher - the line from Eddie 'you didn't end up being like you' is such a call to this and actually shows how valuable Bucks own experiences and learnings are in helping Chris (we've all been joking about Eddie choosing Buck to help him with this Chris's issue, but in actual fact he was the perfect person for the job - not just because of his being a 'reformed player', but also because of his relationship with death and the death of a loved one where you are reliant on others for their memories of a person rather than having your own)

The thing with the Yellow ochre (this meta here that i've already quoted from above is the place to go if you'd like more detail on its use on Buck more widely) isn't just its about it's connection to Buck, his place in Christopher's life and more loosely to the will of it all, (the fact that Buck and Eddie are both wearing the same colour ways as in the hospital bed will reveal scene and are both on the same sides of the screen in both scenes is a stroke of genius and is meant to connect these two scenes together) its also its connection to Shannon.

The first time we meet Shannon, she sits on Christophers bed in more or less the same position as we see Buck and Eddie sit, and looks at where Christopher has been positioned in all these conversations, and she is wearing a burnt orange top thats pretty close to the dark yellow ochre we see Buck wearing. Shannon wears a lot of yellow - as in it there are only a couple of times we don't see her wearing something yellow or with yellow in it and those are key scenes (which I will talk about later on).

Shannons appearance in Christophers room to read the letter she wrote him had her in this black top with a floral patterning on it. She was also wearing green trousers (which can be seen in the still below but aren't actually seen during the scene.

I actually really loved the green trousers and black top as a choice because the top is very Shannon - it sits perfectly with the floral patterns we saw her wearing when she was still alive. The green trousers are a bit of a departure for her, but I think its very intentional for two reasons .

The first is that they are very much in the Eddie trousers wheelhouse, especially in combination with black - he wears green khaki trousers a lot. The inference being that the black and green combination is an echo of Eddie.

The second ties to Christopher. Green is also a colour we've seen on Christopher a lot, it's probably the colour we see him in most. It's being used as a reflection of the fact he is growing and transitioning from child to teenager. But having it here in this scene - on Shannon connects a Christopher growing up without his mom.

Both of these combined really connect into Shannon in this scene, tying the three of them together and on Eddies efforts to keep her alive for Christopher - the underlying implication that his growth into who he is so far is as much to do with Shannon as it is to do with Eddie.

Her necklaces were not identical to the ones we saw her in in season 2, but that's most likely because they don't have them any longer, so they've replicated them as best as they can. The other little nod that I enjoyed is the brown bracelets on her right wrist - the same place Eddie wears his brown strapped Christopher watch!

But the top they have her in plays into a couple of other things - the prominent yellow flowers make an obvious connection to Buck from the previous scene, but they also tie into the 'I want a divorce' scene from 2x17 where she is wearing a dark blue dress with bright yellow ochre flowers all over it. the dress is not especially close to the top in the wider sense - blue dress with white squares v black top with florals in a variety of colours, but the yellow flowers are the prominent aspect of both items of clothing and play into the yellow theme connected to Shannon and then to Buck.

This is espeically relevant when you remember that Eddie is in a black suit in that scene and he's wearing black when he gives the letter to Christopher.

The black for this sequence of scenes is such a poignant choice - its Eddie mourning all over again, not for his loss, but for Christophers loss. I did find it telling that again in this scene, we have the absence of the Christopher watch. Eddie has very rarely not been wearing a watch in his scenes, so the times when we don't see him wearing one are very telling.

For me, in this sequence of scenes, it's about the fact that they are not about Eddies relationship with Christopher, but about Shannons relationship with Christopher. The watch is much more about Eddie and Christopher, so to have it absent from this story arc makes total sense and is symbolic of Eddie being a good father

Then we have Christophers grey shirt - I said when we first got the stills from that scene, how it was likely to be connected to complex family relationships - a la when we’ve seen Buck wearing his grey shirt. And what do you know - the scene was about complex family dynamics/ relationships.

It wasn’t perhaps in the manner I was expecting, but that series of scenes played with the full scope of Chris’s complex family relationships - from the relationship he has with Buck -not only as Christophers friend, but also as more or less Eddies co-parent (the way Eddie asked for Bucks help screamed co-parent rather than friend imo - that whole burnt out car scene was two co-parents discussing their child!) to the relationship he has with his dad - which is a pretty great relationship, but it is a complex one.

The relationship he has with his mom - or the fact he feels he doesn’t have a relationship with her despite Eddies best efforts, because as he grows up she feels further and further away.

Eddies 'date' night with Marisol. Again I ran out of pictures (30 is not enough!) so you're going to have to use your imagination or go back and rewatch the scene for yourselves, but trust me when I say that Eddie is wearing the same shirt he was wearing for this date night as he was in 4x10 - when Christopher interrupts because he can't sleep!

It's also a similar tee to the one Eddie wears when he has his breakdown and trashes his room (that one was more green when this one is much browner). Its slouchy and has cut and stretched raw edges at the sleeves and on the pocket - in the same way his breakdown shirt did. there is an element of being in familiar surroundings and being comfortable at home, but stretched out raw edges and Eddie generally tend to mean not so great things.

Of course there is the element of his parenting skills being tested by Christophers having more than one girlfriend, but if that where the only reason, then it would've made more sense to have him in that shirt when he's listening in to Chris talking to Buck, rather than when he's on a date with a new girlfriend.

This is especially true as the screen time for that tee has more connection with Marisol than it does with Chris. Combined with the fact that once again, like in the locker room scene, he is not wearing his Christopher watch in this scene and that speaks volumes.

If we are to read the scene as being about Christopher soley, he should be wearing his watch because that watch is a physical embodiment of the importance of Christopher in Eddies life - that he puts Christopher first in all things.

Got to say I was a bit shocked to see Marisol in his bright magenta silk spaghetti strap top when you consider the costumes we saw her in last season - mostly dressed down, t-shirts, jumpers and dungarees so this is a complete 180 for her character.

There are a few interesting things connected to her outfit, firstly it low key ties into Natalia - we saw Natalia in a red version of this top for her first proper onscreen date with Buck (when they go to the badge and ladder joint) so there is an interesting low key parallel to draw there. There is also the fact that her bracelet is a chain one - much like we've seen on all of Buck and Eddies previous girlfriends - although those have been necklaces, so I'm undecided if this chain bracelet is paying into the same trope as those.

Then there is the pink of it all.

You see Eddie and Pink on his girlfriends doesn't bode well for Marisol.

Both Shannon and Ana wore pink. Ana wore it a lot - there are two examples below, but generally speaking its her most commonly worn colour - including on her first date with Eddie in Jinx.

The first example below is from the first time we see her in the Diaz house. the shades are different, but the fact that the first time we see both characters in the Diaz house they're both wearing pink, speaks volumes.

The other key use of Pink is when Shannon is at the beach with Eddie and Christopher and she tells Eddie she's pregnant - Eddie takes it as the sign he has been looking for - the chance to effectively start over with their marriage, but this is the beginning of the end for their relationship, even if she hadn't died a short while later. She is wearing pale pink in that scene and it's the only time we see her wear the colour in the show.

The fact we can also contrast the use of pink with when Buck wears it is telling in its own right - we see the relationship between Buck and Eddie strengthening when Buck wears pink - May's graduation party, the tsunami, the Hildy coffee machine - all moments (big and small) that show the development of various aspects of their relationship and its ability to endure.

Essentially all this use of pink on the women he has had previous relationships with, doesn't bode well for Marisol and the longevity of her relationship with Eddie. How quickly it will end I can't say, just that it will end.

I spoke earlier in this post about colour theming for the episode and this is where I talk about it!

Pink - and in particular the very bright pinks we saw scattered across the episode. Marisol above wearing it, isn't just about connecting her to Ana in costume terms (especially as at this point that costume is a departure of her costumes from s6) it also connects her to the other characters we see wearing bright pink in this episode - Lola and Norman.

At this point in time I'm not sure if we're going to see it play out as a theme across the season, but its use in this episode was very loud on characters that are going to be around for more than 1 episode. It suggests that there is some underlying theme that connects them (by this I don't mean that they're gonna meet and hang out I mean that personality traits are going to be similar)

Magenta and bright pink in colour theory means a few different things, and like with all colours, has positive and negative traits. Generally speaking its a loud and brash colour thats designed to stand out and draw attention to it's wearer.

Things that are considered positive traits for this shade of pink are; intensity, acceptance, kindness and it's supportive and uplifting nature. It's connected to naive love (as in lust rather than the passionate and enduring love of red) can also be considered a nurturing colour.

Negative traits are; intensity, volatility, arrogant and impatient, irritability and irritating and frustration. it is also said to be a stress inducing colour and is said to be overly emotional.

Theres a clear and fairly loud connection between Lola and Norman getting into danger - Lola is in magenta trousers when she is kidnaped. Norman also has bright magenta flowers on his shirt at this point as well. My guess at this point is that we're supposed to lean into the stress inducing element, and also the irritating nature of the colour (On Athenas part at the very least!) and we'll see if those are the themes that play out for Marisol as well down the line.

Norman is in bright pink when he's lying and claiming she's unwell from being outside or too long. We also see that he is wearing pink in the ditsy print shirt later on (again I ran out of picture spaces!)

Athena's black top in this scene is much like the use of Chimney in black in his scenes. It's all about power and authority but it's also about her hiding her vulnerabilities. The other thing it does is creates a huge contrast with Bobby and all of the other passengers - she is the only one in black in the scene and it contrasts her with the underlying white of Bobbys shirt - juxtaposing them and visually putting them at odd with one another.

Like I said above about him becoming increasingly pale - here we see Bobby in a sea-foam green shirt - its the palest and washed out colour we've seen him in on this cruise (grey pyjama shirt not being included as its blink and you miss it and a pyjama tee!!!). Sea-foam green doesn't really play into the traditional meanings of green - there is still the element of renewal about it (the sea washes the sand etc)but its mostly a self-conscious and uncertain colour - both things that perfectly sum up how Bobby is feeling in this moment.

The other fun thing about this outfit is the palm tree shorts the patterns Bobby has worn in relation to this cruise, up to this point (and that includes the shirts from season 6) have all been tropical themed but on his shirts, the fact that they've now slipped down onto his shorts is a visual representation of him becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the way his honeymoon is going - that the tropical vacation vibes are slipping away.

Athenas red and white shirt, in my opinion is showing her cross purposes - its the duality of investigating and being on a cruise in a shirt. The bright red ties into the red and blue first responder colour way the show uses (for obvious reasons) while the white and the palm fronds, the lei flowers and the watery theming of the pattern fit into the troipical cruise they're on.

Bobbys red shirt contrasts with the lavender that we see on Athena - its not a colour we see on Bobby all that often and that makes its use all the more important. Especially considering the entire cruise thus far we've seen him in blues and greens - especially pale closer to pastel tones.

This red is bright snd bold and unlike his usual choices. Red is a colour of cross meaning - there is obviously the connection with love and the heart, which is absolutely at play her - his love for Athena is spurring him on and is part of what is pushing him in to investigator Bobby mode - and its representation of love is what is going to be the key player in the up coming episodes on the ship - when he is looking for Athena during the evacuation etc. But the other meaning of red is war, courage and anger and that is very much present here in this episode, and will (i'm assuming) be later on in 7x02 and 3.

The other thing I think its worth pointing out at this point (which is pure conjecture on my part at this moment in time but that I think will become relevant in the next two episodes rather than this one) is the foreshadowed parallel with Buck in season 5 when he broke down Eddies door. The bright red we saw him wearing then was an uncommon colour for him, in the same way it is for Bobby here. It's paralleling the way Buck was prepared to go into battle for Eddie, with the way Bobby is prepared to do so for Athena - going to war for your closest person, your loved one and doing what you need to do to save them.

Putting Athena in lavender the moment she gets to go into cop mode was a choice that had me giggling! Lavender is a colour of relaxation and order so for her to start wearing it the moment she gets to start being a cop again - speaks volumes for her state of being - it shows that her fear of being on the cruise ship and of being alone with bobby, has been overridden by her need to do her job and start investigating things. Its the perfect colour for this moment and for the impeding trouble brewing on the ship - Athena will bring order to things as order has been restored to her inner world.

Hopefully you've enjoyed this little canter through the costumes of 7x01 we're back in business and I can't wait to read your comments in the tags and comments 🥰

Tagging for those who've asked to be tagged - drop me a comment on this post if you'd like to be added to the list for the next meta 😎

@theladyyavilee @mistmarauder @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @mandzuking17 @spotsandsocks @loveyou2thecore @wanderingwomanwondering @oneawkwardcookie @leothil @copyninjabuckley @nathleigh @shammers86 @crazyfangirlallert @missmagooglie @inandoutoffocus @katyobsesses @radiation-run @gayandbifiremenofmine @lemotmo @bi-moonlight @satvojihusana @crazyaboutotps @princesschez75 @mongreloer @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @sherlocking-out-loud

#911 abc #I hope you enjoy!#its good to be back #I can't remember my costume tags 😂#911 costume meta #season 7 #s7 costumes #7x01 #Kym costume meta #Kym colour theory #911 costumes #long post #the costume department never fails #still feeling feral about so much of the stuff I got right and the new stufff I've spotted

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whenmemorydies · 17 days

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Preliminary thoughts on The Bear, race, power and privilege

I’m a non-Black woman of colour who has spent all of my life in the west…so I’ve consumed a lot of television media that is produced by and for the white gaze. The most obvious way that gaze plays out is when people of colour are non-existent in a cast, or when they are included, are tokenistic, bit players.

A more insidious manifestation is where POC are cast to play parts that could just as easily be played by white folks: characters that have no interiority or external relationships related to their cultural identities, wider communities or individual or collective histories (for example, Mindy in The Mindy Project for most of its run, or the characters of colour in Season 1 of Bridgerton).

I've had some thoughts about how The Bear (thankfully) avoids tokenistic and "colour-blind" representation. I also have some thoughts about how the show models meaningful allyship. I'm so keen to discuss this with folks and hear what others think about it too.

Unambiguous and unapologetic

The Bear is confined in its universe, particularly in season 1 where it’s focus is tightly bound to the physical location of The Beef as the setting for almost every scene. Episodes of The Bear are generally not very long, so time is precious (every second really does count). These factors necessarily limit how deep we can get into each character. But the show is so good at drawing on different means of communication: images, lighting, score, soundtrack, phrasing, callbacks to previous episodes, other cultural references etc, that each episode is like a jewellery box with gems waiting to be unpacked and pored over. I've said that I have started reading this show like a tarot deck because of how rich the symbolism in each episode is.

So despite the constraints of time and setting, characters of colour in this show are also so very rich in their realisation and portrayal. These characters are unambiguously and - this is important - unapologetically racialised: through language (see: Tina’s use - and occasional weaponisation lmao - of Spanish), physical appearance (see: Sydney’s two-tone braids and her stunning, prolific collection of headscarves throughout the show), culturally distinct names (see: Sydney Adamu, Ebraheim, Tina Marrero, etc), food (see: Carmy’s peace offering to Syd in ep 1x03 of Ebra’s family chicken suqaar - a popular dish in the latter character’s birth country of Somalia), etc.

GIF by @chefkids

These may seem like small and inconsequential details to some. In fact I’ve been seeing a lot of commentary from folks online saying that what they like about The Bear is that race isn’t mentioned at all on the show. But make no mistake: race is all over this thing. The examples I've given are only some of the many references to racialised histories and cultures that build out the broader fabric of multicultural Chicago here.

What is not present in The Bear is a script that is wasting time explaining the characters of colour and their rich inner and outer lives to white folks. Those things are just a given and we are invited to witness them being brought to vivid life by this cast and crew. And I am fucking here for it.

Respect and allyship

Another thing I LOVE about this show is the respect given to, and the recognition of, the experience, talent, drive and ambition of its characters of colour.

This is most obvious in the relationship between Syd and Carmy who are signalled as complementary equals in many ways. Others have written on the importance of the representation embodied by Sydney’s character and you should search out that analyses, especially when its authored by Black women. The only other thing I’d say about it is that I love Sydney’s character and I also love endgame Sydcarmy (even if it’s only hinted at in the last second of the last frame of the last ever episode lmao…I will take whatever I can get of these two 😭).

I also see the show’s respect and recognition manifest in The Bear's investment in its staff, particularly in season 2. Everyone who worked at The Beef has a role at The Bear and Carmy, Syd and Nat fund the ongoing training and upskilling of their largely racialised staff to make sure this happens. Ebra and Tina are paid to attend culinary school (Carmy also gives Tina his prized knife for her studies and beyond). Marcus is sent to stage in Copenhagen to develop his skills as a patissier. And then we have The Bear itself - what started as Carmy and Michael’s vision, is now the whole team’s baby, with Sydney literally being made the captain of the ship by Carmy at the end of ep 2x09.

GIF by @savagegood

Part of what was so tragic about Carmy's fridge spiral at the end of season 2 was that he didn't get to see how beautifully the team came through in a crisis. Instead we had him internalising, regressing and lamenting how he had let everyone down. This language centred Carmy as the be all and end all of The Bear (saviour vibes) when this couldn't have been further from the truth (particularly in a season where the man spent so much of his time not in the restaurant but chasing manic pixie no-last-name-having Claire....but I digress).

Carmy is his best when he checks his ego, takes a step back and realises that he is not alone. He is part of a whole chosen family supporting one another at The Bear. And I get the sense that the folks creating this show know that we need more white folks using their power and privilege to step back and facilitate access, and less gatekeeping white saviours taking credit where its not due.

After all, and paraphrasing Viola Davis, the only thing that separates people of colour from anyone else, is opportunity.

12/04/24 Note: I’ve amended this post because I forgot to mention the most pivotal example of Sydney along with her relationship with Carmy. Also made some slight stylistic changes to phrasing cos i fixate on errors lol

#the bear #the bear hulu #the bear fx #white gaze #critical race theory #carmen berzatto #sydney adamu #tina marrero #ebraheim #marcus brooks #allyship #white privilege #power #chris storer #joanna calo #sydney x carmen #sydcarmy #carmy x sydney

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borathae · 1 year

Text

↳ Index [Day 29 - Waxplay]

Pairing: OGC!couple

Kinks: Dom!Jungkook with so much *spice*, sub!Reader, waxplay, doggy style, tattoos & piercings, blindfold, sensory play, leather handcuffs, praise, body worship, nipple massage, dirty talk, vaginal fingering, edging, strength kink, tears, squirting, facial, cum swallowing, the aftercare!!, jungkook needs to calm down like seriously good sir stop being so hot wtf, he is both gentle and rough and i *screeches*

Wordcount: 8k

a/n: he makes me *throws chair against wall* you know? ogc koo once again deserves the world and a good fuck, no joke 🧡

If there was one thing about your relationship with Jungkook that was awesome, it was the fact that you never stopped discovering new things together. May it be new recipes to try out or new ideas for your weekly dates, new places to go to or new kinks to try in the bedroom. You never ran out of new experiences. Truly, life with your husband never becomes boring. Just last week, you tried surfing for the first time and loved it a lot. You were just a little clumsy at first while Jungkook learned how to do it within ten minutes. He is talented like that. Another time you tried out the most delicious baked brie bites for dinner. You ended up dancing in the kitchen to random upbeat songs while the food was in the oven. That was still back when you were living up north in your little cabin.

You sometimes missed that life. The cabin was so cozy and you had the loveliest four seasons. The winters you had during that time will always stay in your memories and especially the Christmas party you had with all your friends. You miss the cabin when you think back to those times.

You wouldn’t change that life with your current life however. You dreamt of owning a house by the coast ever since you were a kid. You always imagined yourself all alone in that house, until Jungkook came along and you built your dream life with him brick by brick. The walls may have had a phase of shakiness for a few months in the beginning of construction, but this has been so long ago that those cracks have long been repaired and taken care of. You don’t really think about those times these days. They don’t even seem real to you anymore.

How could they? When life with Jungkook was all you ever dreamt of and more.

Jungkook is holding you close, rocking his hips against your thigh while his lips were on your neck. He kisses it slowly, having his eyes closed. You have your eyes closed as well, moaning softly as a slow R&B song on the bluetooth speaker controls the tempo. You have the windows open so you can still hear the occasional call of a seagull flying by. His kisses feel so good, wrapping your body into the warmest blanket of shivers and tingles. His hand is traveling up and down your torso, making your skin prickle wherever he touches you.

The sunset is the most golden of oranges tonight, soaking the world in its colours. The air smells like fresh ocean and the sweet smell of your husband. You know you can only smell the second scent because he was so close to you.

You two had a glass of red wine after the fanciest dinner ever. It was homemade pizza but you made them look like hearts, which made it fancy. Bam wanted to snatch a piece until you very firmly told him to behave. He then behaved like the well-trained puppy the two of you raise him as, lounging by your feet as you ate and chatted about your days. Bam is already in his crate by now, sleeping soundly because he had a long day of running around the garden, sniffing Jungkook’s feet (he has that peculiar habit lately) and playing fetch with you on the beach. It was Jungkook’s turn to do Bam’s evening routine and while he was busy with taking care of your furry son, you prepared a little surprise in the bedroom.

It was you. You were the surprise. Dressed in Jungkook favourite negligee and wearing fine jewelry solely so he could take them off of you. Then you pressed play on your favourite playlist and waited for him to return. Jungkook called the playlist “smexy time” and till this day the name makes you chuckle.

“No way, darling”, Jungkook gasped once he returned and then hurried to where you were standing on the balcony just to take you into his arms for a deep kiss, “you look so fucking beautiful. I can’t believe you’re real.”

“Do you like it?” you asked him.

“I love it”, he answered you and then he picked you up just to twirl you until you were squeaking in laughter.

He set you down afterwards, “dance with me, my love”, he whispered.

“How long?” you asked him.

“Until the sun set behind the horizon”, he answered you and together you fell into a slow, oh so touchy dance.

Lips followed the rhythm of your hearts, tongues danced with each other, hands ran over the other’s body in exploration and the deepest gazes were exchanged. Laughter filled the night and whispers of innocent adoration met the other’s ears answered by an equally as lovely whisper.

And while you didn’t expect Jungkook to react to your outfit with such romance in his heart, you didn’t complain. If there is one thing your husband is good at, besides being the best person ever, it has to be being romantic. You always joke that he is the most hopeless romantic ever to which he always answers you with “how can I be hopeless when I found you?”

Jungkook lifts his lips from your neck, kissing the shell of your ear instead.

“The sun’s almost set”, he whispers, sending shivers down your spine because it felt so good to have him whisper against your ear.

“I know”, you breathe.

“I want to treat you like a queen tonight”, he says and sighs as he takes your earlobe between his lips to nibble on it softly.

“Aren’t you always treating me like one?”

Jungkook chuckles, trailing his kisses to your cheek.

“Fine, then I wanna treat you like a goddess”, he says, making you giggle.

“You’re such a sweet talker.” Your gazes meet. You reach up, running your fingers through his long, fluffy hair. He has the prettiest eyes in that light. “I love that so much.”

Jungkook smiles, eyes lighting up in fondness.

“Are you still into the idea?” he asks you.

“Yes. You?”

“Yeah, my cock’s really hard though.”

“I didn’t even notice”, you tease him with sarcasm in your voice, tensing your thigh where his hard dick is currently resting.

Jungkook chuckles, “you know I can’t help it. You’re the sexiest woman ever. Especially in that negligee”, he says, running his hand along the curves of your waist.

You chase his touch with a fluttering heart, fingers falling from his hair to instead hook them in the straps of your dress. Jungkook watches you carefully, hand lingering on your hip to massage it slowly. His breathing is quickened, his pupils dilated.

“You’re so hot”, he whispers, eyes following your fingers as they tug down the straps. More and more of your chest gets exposed until finally your breasts reveal themselves to his eyes, “shit baby”, Jungkook gasps, gulping hungrily, “are your tits getting prettier day by day? What the hell? How are you so beautiful?”

"You think so?"

"Of course I do. You’re so goddamn gorgeous."

Spurred on by his praise, you arch your back to get the negligee more down your body. Jungkook takes over for you when you have reached your hips. He pulls the dress down your legs, placing it on the bed afterwards. Then he reaches for the leather handcuffs you laid out as part of your surprise. He tangles them from his fingers, eyes gleaming playfully.

“Still wanna be my prisoner?” he asks you.

You present your wrists to him, “why don’t you find out?”

Jungkook gets back on bed, leaving two loving kisses on each of your inner thighs and three up your tummy. He leaves out your breasts on purpose, riling you up by whispering a sweet praise which made his breath swirl over your sensitive nipple.

“You tease”, you whine.

“Mhm, yeah”, he agrees, taking your hands to pin them above your head. His knees are on each side of your hips, his long hair is hanging into his eyes. He is smiling, caressing your wrists. His strong fingers are around them, holding them in place, “I’ve got you now”, he rasps.

“You do”, you whisper.

“Now, can you be my good girl and keep your hands just like this?”

You nod your head.

“That’s my girl”, he say, eyes softening in fondness.

You gaze at his body as he works. Black boxers and no shirt. He had a shirt on once, but took it off after you ended up stumbling back into the bedroom, making out and groping each other needily. The shirt left his body the moment he laid you down in the soft sheets of your bed. It is now lying forgotten on the floor.

The light of the setting sun has changed from golden orange to pinkish red. It really brings out his tattoos. Jungkook extended his sleeves last month, so now he has tattoos spanning over his shoulders as well. They reach just about enough of his chest to make them look so incredibly sexy. He is seriously the most handsome man in existence.

“How do you feel?” Jungkook asks, having finished securing the handcuffs around your wrists.

“Good. It’s comfortable.”

“That’s good to hear. You know what to say when it starts to hurt.”

“Yeah.”

Jungkook smiles, running his fingertips down your arms.

“Good girl”, he praises, leaning down to kiss your forehead.

“Koo”, you whisper, feeling dizzy. He is so gentle. It’s driving you insane.

“Relax now sweetie, I’m getting the candle.”

“And the blindfold”, you remind him.

“Of course, how could I forget?” he says in a chuckle, giving your cheek a soft pinch before climbing off of you to strut to the bedside table where a candle is burning. It was a candle especially made for waxplay and you asked Jungkook if he wanted to try out this kink tonight.

“Okay damn”, Jungkook laughed back then, having to sit down at the edge of the bed, “that is. Phew.”

“Is that okay?” you asked him, sitting down next to him. You placed your hand on his back, rubbing it soothingly, “this was obviously just an idea. If you’re not in the mood for it, we don’t have to do it.”

“No, no I am. I am. I’m just”, he exhaled sharply, “this is like so hot. I’m a weak man, you can’t tell me that so casually.”

You snickered and leaned in to kiss his shoulder. “So was that a yes? Wanna explore it together, baby?”

Jungkook looked at your lips, “yeah, I do. Wanna explore it with you”, he whispered and leaned in to finally kiss you. And the rest is known already.

Jungkook returns to you, placing the blindfold on your tummy for now. He is sitting on the bed next to you cross-legged, looking into the now blown out candle.

“What’s wrong?” you ask him, using your abs to sit yourself up. Your tied wrists you keep resting on your lap for now.

“Did you ever, like, get wax poured on your body?” he asks, studying your features.

You shake your head.

“And you trust me to do that to you?”

“Kookie, I trusted you to choke me again after what happened, didn’t I?”

He nods his head.

“So what more do you need to know that I trust you blindly?” you say, picking up the blindfold with just a little bit of struggle, “quite literally tonight.”

“I know you’re trying to be funny right now, but I kinda wanna cry”, he confesses and pouts, sagging his shoulders, “I’m so thankful for you.”

“Aww Kookie, you’re so cute. Don’t cry”, you say.

“I can’t help it. I’m such a sap”, he says and rubs at his eyes, “okay, okay I’m good. I’m good again”, he mumbles and straightens his back. He is so cute.

He scoots closer, draping an arm around you behind your back. Like this your arm is touching his chest. He leans in, stubbing you with his nose until you tilt your head. His kiss is so close to reach, just one little movement and you could have it.

“I wanted to say something sexy right now, but all I’m thinking about is the fact that I haven’t done this either and I’m nervous”, he whispers, cracking you up.

“It’s okay, we’ll take it slow.”

“Mhm yeah, that sounds like a plan”, he smiles, pecking your lips before sitting back to look into the candle.

“Okay let’s try it”, he says, tilting it over his own wrist.

“What are you doing?” you ask him.

“Trying it on me first in case it’s too hot. I don’t wanna hurt you."

"Oh? So it’s better if you hurt yourself?"

"I can take it, I’m a big boy."

You snort, "fine, but do it carefully.”

“I am”, he says and finally tilts the candle. “Oh”, Jungkook lets out, wiggling his fingers as a reaction to the wax hitting his skin.

“And?”

“It stings a little, but I really like it.”

“Can I?” you ask him.

“Yeah. Where?”

“I don’t know, uhm. Arm?”

Jungkook takes your tied hands and pulls them to him so he has a nice surface of your arm to pour the wax on, “I'll do it now.”

“Okay.”

Jungkook tilts the candle. The wax hits your skin. Hot and sharp. That's how it feels.

“Ah, oh. Okay”, you let out a breathy laugh, “I didn’t expect it to feel like that.”

“Is it too much?” Jungkook asks worriedly, “see? That’s why I wanted to be first, because I knew this would happen. Now you’re hurt and-“

“Kook”, you stop his whining by kissing his lips.

Jungkook exhales shakily, eyes fluttering closed and fingers closing around your hands.

“I'm okay”, you whisper, “you don’t have to worry, I’m a big girl too.”

Jungkook lets out a breathy chuckle, “fuck, sorry. I'm always such a nervous mess with stuff that could potentially hurt you. You know me, I’d have to murder myself if I ever hurt you. Like not in a suicidal way but a revenge kinda way.”

“I know”, you giggle, pecking his lips, “you're so dramatic, please don’t murder yourself.”

Jungkook peels his eyes open, gazing at you. You do the same.

“Do you wanna do more?” you ask him.

“Only if you want to.”

“I do.”

Jungkook smiles shyly, “then I wanna do more.”

“Awesomesauce.”

He giggles, “oh god. I haven't said that in ages, have I?”

“Hehe yeah”, you giggle, scrunching your nose up.

Jungkook does the same before leaning in and claiming your lips in a sweet kiss. One you retort happily, scooting closer to him just to get more.

"I'm so excited", you mumble between kisses.

"Me too", he answers you, breaking the kiss to look, “I just realised that I tied up your hands wrong. You wanted to be on your tummy, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, why?”

“You can’t do that like that”, he says, “wait, I’ll fix it”, he adds and sets the candle aside. He lights it again to make sure more wax can be collected, then hurries back to you. He climbs on bed behind you, wrapping his arms around you to reach your wrists.

“Fuck, that’s nice”, you whisper, resting your head back against him. His chest feels so strong like that, his arms are cradling you so nicely.

Jungkook hums softly, kissing your shoulder.

“That’s it baby, lean into me. I’ve got you”, he whispers, opening the metal clip of the chain keeping your wrists together. He takes your hands and then guides them behind your back, “I’ve got you all to me”, he adds before chuckling playfully.

“Yeah”, you sigh, squirming on the sheets. It’s so nice to be his prisoner. He’s the most amazing captor. You hope he’ll never release you again.

The clip closes, Jungkook snatches the blindfold from your lap. Then he runs his hands up your arms until he reaches your shoulders. He massages them for a little, lips dancing over your neck slowly.

“I’ll put the blindfold on now, yeah?” he whispers.

“Yes, please do it”, you sigh, gasping when Jungkook places the soft fabric over your eyes. He guides it to the back of your head, closing it carefully.

“Too tight?”

“A little, yeah.”

Jungkook fixes it, “better?”

“Yes, that’s good. I really like it.”

“Me too”, he says, kissing the back of your head, “you look so pretty like that.”

“God Koo, I’m so wet”, you confess, rubbing your thighs together, “you feel so good.”

“You too sweetie, you make me so hard”, he whispers, pressing a loving kiss to your shoulder, “do you wanna lie on your tummy now, mhm?”

“Yeah I do.”

“That’s my girl. Come, I’ll help you.”

With Jungkook’s gentle hands you lie down on your stomach successfully. He even makes sure that your hair doesn’t tickle you and that your neck is relaxed.

“How are you feeling?” he asks.

“Good. I’m comfy. Thank you, Koo.”

“That’s good to hear”, he says, letting his eyes travel down your body, “okay but look at you. You’re a literal goddess”, he gasps, running his hands down your back.

“Fuck”, you whisper under your breath, parting your legs needily. He’s got you so riled up without actually having done much. Jungkook’s just that good. He knows exactly what to do or say to get you all hot and bothered.

“I’ll get the candle and then we can start, yeah?”

“Just hurry up, god, you tease.”

Jungkook chuckles.

“I see someone’s getting impatient”, he says, giving your butt a soft spank, “naughty girl.”

“Urgh just do it, you doofus”, you groan, rolling your eyes mentally.

Jungkook snickers. He loves teasing you so much. You are always so cute when you pretend to be annoyed by it.

He crawls off the bed afterwards to get the candle.

You listen to him, shivering in excitement. You can hear his steps, when he blows out the candle and then feel the mattress dent beside you. His hand touches your upper back, making you gasp softly. It feels so warm now that all you can concentrate on is your sense of touch. You squirm, thighs pressing together in search for friction.

He chuckles, letting you know that he is watching you squeeze your legs together and therefore figured you out.

“I bet your pussy’s so wet, isn’t she, sweetie?” he rasps.

“Please Koo”, you plead, “don’t tease me.”

“I’m not”, he says in a snicker.

“Koo.”

“Okay, okay. Fine”, he laughs, “I’m already starting.”

He lifts the candle over your back, keeping it on your shoulder area.

“I’ll tilt it now, yeah?” Jungkook makes sure.

“Yeah, tilt it”, you say, waiting for the burn with held breath.

Jungkook is holding his breath as well, tilting the candle as slowly as possible. The wax drips down in three dots, making you gasp and for Jungkook to remove it quickly.

“Too hot?” he asks, watching you writhe on the mattress.

You groan, trying oh so hard to wiggle your shoulder.

“Baby, please say something. Did I hurt you?” Jungkook insists, voice shaking in emotion.

“No, it really surprised me”, you say, “do it again please.”

"Okay, but not much", he says, moving the candle over your back again to tilt it.

The first drip makes you groan and wiggle, the second drip makes you gasp and by the time Jungkook let the third droplet fall on your shoulder blade you are moaning.

The burn is sharp and only really lasts a second before dying down as a numb, bearable pinch. It feels so intense now that you can’t see what he is doing.

“How is that?” he asks you, letting a fourth droplet land on your skin.

“It's, ah, it’s good”, you rasp, “more.”

Jungkook tilts the candle, finally allowing for more wax to pour on you. He moved the candle further into the middle of your back for it, making you arch in surprise.

“Holy fuck”, you gasp, clenching your hands into fists at the intense yet addicting sting. You can feel it spread all over your skin. It cools down slowly, keeping the burn going for oh so long.

“Was that too much?” he sounds so nervous again.

“No, it wasn’t. Please just…” you sigh, “...continue. I'll tell you if it gets too much.”

"I'm sorry, I know the constant questions are a mood killer. I'm really nervous”, he says, "sorry", he adds in a whisper.

"Kook", you say, flip your head so you face him, "don’t apologize for that. I'm sorry if I made it sound as if I was annoyed by it. I just want you to have fun and not worry so much about whether you're doing good or not, you know?"

"Yeah I know. I do. I'm having lots of fun. The wax looks really sexy on your skin", he says, touching the drying wax right between your shoulder blades.

You sigh, chasing him happily.

"Feels good, Koo", you tell him in hopes that this would help him relax.

"It feels really good", he agrees, "it's still so warm. Does it really not hurt?"

“It didn’t hurt you, did it?”

“No but I'm a pain slut, I like it", he says, cracking you up.

"I like it too, doofus", you giggle, nuzzling into the sheets comfortably, "so please more. Wanna be covered in it."

"Okay, okay. I’ll do it for a little while and you tell me if it gets too much, yeah?"

"Sounds like a plan."

Jungkook leans down to kiss your marked back, straightening up afterwards.

“I love you, sweetie.”

“I love you too, Koo.”

He guides the candle to your other shoulder blade, stopping when he is right above where your upper arm begins. He tilts it, making you gasp shakily as a good amount of wax drips onto you.

You can feel the warmth run down your arm. It is sharp at first before turning into an intense prickling. You really hope for more.

"This is so hot”, Jungkook murmurs, voice raspy as he keeps it low. Tonight is a secret between you and him. He doesn’t want to ruin it by talking too loudly.

Jungkook guides the candle along your arm, leaving a trail of wax on it. The handcuffs jingle as you squirm, your throat produces the neediest moan. Quite frankly, it’s helping him get into the mood more and more. You are so reactive. It’s so hot.

"You're doing so well", he begins to feel confident, you know that he does because praise begins to come natural to him, "you look so pretty with the wax down your arm."

"Koo, don’t stop", you beg, waiting for the next pour with a racing heart. You don’t know where he will place it next and it is this uncertainty which ruins you in the best way possible.

The burn comes on your right arm, starting on your shoulder before stretching all the way down to your wrist.

“It's so hot”, you croak, “feels so good. Please Koo, don’t stop.”

“I have to wait for more wax to melt”, he says, placing the candle on the nightstand and lighting it anew for now, “but that’s okay, yeah? We're still gonna have fun, right?”

He places his hands on your upper back, running his thumbs along your muscles in a slow massage. He leans down, lips brushing your ear.

"We don’t need wax to have fun, do we? I just gotta touch the right spots and you're more melted than the wax."

"You're getting cocky", you sigh, shivering like crazy because of his whispers.

"Yeah and you're into that."

"Tzt", you click your tongue, "whatever."

Jungkook chuckles, kissing down the side of your neck until he has your shoulder under his lips. He kisses the little drops of wax he left, making you sigh and tingle.

And while he kisses you, his thumbs trace the outline of the big patch of wax he left in the middle of your back. The skin around it feels hotter than the rest of your body.

“You’re the prettiest woman, baby”, he praises, having the biggest heart eyes as he looks at your marked body. The wax is white once it dries. Jungkook thinks that it looks so good on your skin. Also maybe that it looks as if he nutted all over your back, but he keeps that thought to himself for now. It’s a really hot thought though, riling him up to the point where he has to fight the urge to take your helpless body and fuck you until you’re unable to speak. Consensually obviously.

You squirm and mewl for him. His fingers are dancing down your torso. It tickles so much. You hope he doesn’t ever stop.

Jungkook places his hand on your inner thigh, watching in delight how you part your legs in reaction. He can’t see your pussy from where he is sitting, but he knows that she must be dripping. You are panting like crazy.

“More”, you whisper, squirming desperately.

Jungkook hums and finally knows it’s safe to move. He slips his hand between your legs, running two of his tattooed fingers through your swollen folds.

“Fuck, oh god, Koo”, you keen, body trembling. You didn’t think he would actually go through with it. You are burning up. The touch feels so good.

“You’re fucking soaked”, he rasps, “fucking hell baby, you’re seriously so wet”, he says, sliding his fingers into your pussy.

“Ah Koo”, you moan, fingers closing in a desperate fist as he stuffs you with his fingers. It doesn’t hurt at all. On the contrary, it feels like heaven.

“Slid right in. Fuck baby, your pussy’s so greedy”, he teases, fucking his fingers in and out of you slowly. It makes the wettest of sounds, riling you up so much. He is right. You sound so wet. Fuck, you didn’t think it would be that much already.

“Koo please”, you mewl.

Jungkook leans down, kissing the edge of the dried wax patch in the middle of your back. And while he worships your marks, his fingers keep moving in you, making the sweetest love to you.

Honestly, he’s got you so needy that it only really takes him a few minutes before you are moving your body in that distinct way you always do before a good orgasm. Jungkook is kissing up and down your spine when you begin squirming, lifting his lips to sneak a glance up at your face.

You’ve got your lips parted, letting out the softest and neediest moans ever. You look as if you are in heaven (you are). You are so ready to cum. His fingers are fucking you so good.

Jungkook feels you clench around him and he knows it’s now or never. He pulls out.

“No”, you gasp loudly, hips shooting off the mattress in an attempt to get him back inside.

Jungkook laughs, pinning them back down.

“Why???” you whine, squirming under his strong grasp.

“More wax has melted”, he says nonchalantly.

“Oh god”, you whimper, “why would you do that to me?”

He chuckles deeply, “because I can.”

And with that, he abandons your terribly weak body on the bed to fetch the candle again.

You feel so betrayed. He edged you. You were so ready to cum around his fingers and now he edged you. Oh it hurts. Your pussy feels so empty now that you don’t have his fingers inside you anymore.

You can hear him blow the candle out and then hurry back to bed.

The mattress dents beside your thighs and a second later, you feel his weight on the back of them. He squeezes your thighs together, using barely any strength for it as you are way too weak.

You whimper, trying to fight the handcuffs. All that squeezing he is forcing you to do is keeping your pussy sensitive. It’s not enough to bring you over the edge, but just enough to remind you that you are abysmally horny right now.

He grips your tied hands and moves them aside to expose your entire ass to him. He rubs his palm up and down on it, sending electricity through your veins.

"You've got the best ass", he whispers.

All you can really do is whimper and mewl. Also fight for air. Oh it’s so hard to breathe.

“Take a breath for me, sweetie” he says and you try to obey as best as possible. Again, breathing is so hard when he’s got you so good.

Sharp, hot pain hits your left buttock.

“Ah fuck!” you yelp, twitching like crazy.

“Okay that was fucking hot. Baby….are you okay?” he rasps, eyes glued to the big patch of wax he left on your ass.

“This, this just- ah-ah”, you shudder, having to almost sob afterwards. This just felt as if he spanked you, except that the burn lingers longer and goes oh so much deeper. You want more

“That was so hot, seriously”, he says, placing his hand on the wax stain, “fuck, you’re burning up there.”

“Koo please”, you whimper, finally spilling tears, “please, please.”

“What do you want?”

“More.”

“You’re a fucking goddess”, he rasps, speaking in his native dialect. There it is. The telltale sign that he’s turned on to the brim. That deep, raspy almost lulled voice only comes out when the sex hits just right for him.

The wax hits your other side, forcing your body to flinch in reaction and for your throat to produce the most desperate of moans.

“Fuck, that’s hot”, Jungkook presses out, watching the wax spread over your ass. Some of it even manages to run down your hips, most definitely covering the sheets. He can’t bother to think about the clean up though, all that really matters is how much you are squirming.

He tilts the candle again and uses up the last of the melted wax to cover the middle of your butt, completing the picture that way.

You whimper and flinch, hands clenching into fists and arms tensing as you are trying to fight the restraints.

“How does that feel? You’re squirming so fucking much”, Jungkook asks, placing the candle on the bed for now.

“Like, like you spanked me b-but then it burns longer”, you stutter and sob softly, “Koo I wanna cum.”

“Fuck baby, you’re driving me insane”, he croaks, digging his thumbs into your lower back to massage it desperately, “my cock’s seriously so fucking hard.”

“Koo, please can I cum?”

“Are you even listening to what I tell you?” he asks.

You shake your head, “please”, you beg, lifting your hips only to get them slammed back down into the sheets.

“Stay down”, he growls, tattooed fingers holding you hostage strongly, “I should actually spank you for you not listening to me. I’m talking to you and all you’re thinking about is cumming?” he spits, scrambling your horny little brain. He’s so hot when he pretends to be mad at you for disobeying.

“Koo please”, you mewl, fighting the restraints desperately.

“Tch.”

Jungkook gets off your thighs and then off the bed.

“Koo?” you gasp, head shooting up in fear, “Koo where are you?”

He is as silent as the night. You can’t hear where he went.

“Koo please where are you?”

The floorboards croak on your left side. You turn your head to it, listening with bated breath. It was just once and now it’s silent again. Your heart is pounding.

“Koo please say something”, you beg, shivering like crazy. He’s left you all alone. You feel so destroyed. It’s like he edged you again without having to touch you. You want him back with you, “please I’m begging you, where are you?”

Nothing. Did he leave the room?

“Jungkook?” you whisper, having to whimper and squirm your hips, “please come back.”

Hands grab your ankles all of sudden, surprising you so much that you squeal. In one harsh tug, they managed to tug your weak body all the way down the mattress.

“Ah”, you moan. Jungkook’s back. You happily let him grip your arms and force you to straighten up until he can wrap his strong arms around your waist. He travels one of his hands up between your tits until he can rest it on your throat. His lips press themselves against your neck, he moans as he inhales your scent. He releases his air by growling deeply, lips coming to brush against your ear.

“You were so fucking cute right now. Did you seriously think I’ll leave you when you’re such a fucking mess, mhm?”

You can only make a sound for him. You solely stay up like that because he’s holding you. Without his support you would have already collapsed. Just imagining Jungkook standing at the foot end of the bed, watching you squirm and beg for him is ruining you. Judging by his now exposed boner grinding against your back, he also used the time to get naked. Did he touch himself while you were squirming?

“You can feel, can’t you?”

You nod your head as best as possible.

“It’s so hard for you, baby”, Jungkook rasps, resting his chin on your shoulder, “your tits look so fucking empty, don’t you think?”

“W-what do you mean?” you croak out.

“That”, he says and then the burning sensation of wax dripping onto your chest follows.

“Ah”, the sound is high-pitched and broken. You arch your back, trying to flee but he presses you back into him with his strong arm.

“Just like that”, he whispers, guiding the candle to your other breast to let wax drip down on it. He was ready for your attempt to flee this time around, pressing you into his chest. It makes his muscles tense and flex and for your back to grind against his pierced nipples. Jungkook moans in bliss, eyelids fluttering. That shit feels so good.

“Please”, you squeak out.

“Wanna take it slower again, mhm?” he asks, "I know I've been a little rough with you, haven’t I?"

"No slow", you shake your head, “more please.”

“Fuck baby, so hot”, Jungkook rasps, tilting the candle over your other breast. He feels confident to let a good amount of wax drip onto you.

“Ah, ah, wait ah”, you stutter, writhing desperately.

“I’m stopping”, he says, lifting the candle, “does it hurt? Should I take it off?”

“No, I just”, you take a shaky breath, pressing yourself closer to him, “I wanna cum. It feels so good on my nipple.”

“Fuck”, he exhales, eyes flitting down to your nipple. He didn’t even realise that the wax got all over it. Now it’s covered in a slowly drying layer of white wax, “you’re right, it’s all over your nipple. Holy shit, that’s so hot. How did that feel?”

“Intense. Really, really hot”, you say and then retort to keening, rubbing yourself against him desperately, “please make me cum, please.”

Jungkook growls quietly, you can feel it vibrate against your back. He gives your waist a soft squeeze, rolling his hips into you and therefore grinding his cock against you.

“You’re making me weak”, he says, kissing your shoulder, “not yet, “he says afterwards, “I wanna cover your other side too.”

“Koo please”, you beg weakly, head falling against him as you completely give up. You just wanna cum. Everything feels so intense. His hot, naked skin, his cock against you, his strong hold, the hardness of his nipple piercings, his kisses and the still drying wax on your tits. You can’t handle much more. You just want to cum.

Jungkook tilts the candle over your naked breast, letting the wax run down your skin. The sound you let out goes straight to his cock. You don’t even sound like his normally always so collected wife anymore. Your voice is all frail and high-pitched and your body’s trembling so much. You are also so heated up, skin covered in a layer of sweat. It’s running down along the lines of your tattoos. Jungkook swears, you’ve never been sexier before.

“Please”, you beg, fighting your restraints again which results in your fingertips brushing over his cock.

Jungkook moans throatily, lifting the candle and gathering your newly marked tit between his fingers. He holds it, letting it sit in his palm as the wax dries slowly.

“It’s covering my hand too, baby”, he lulls, “it’s so hot. Fuck, that must feel so good on your nipple. Mhm?”

You nod your head weakly. You are trying to touch his cock again. Maybe if you jerk him off, he’ll finally let you cum. Your nipples are pulsating. They are so sensitive, it’s unbelievable. The wax bordered almost too much on them and now you are suffering the consequences in the form of a dizzy head and a heavily leaking pussy aching for a stuffing.

“Of course it does”, Jungkook rasps and does the unthinkable of taking your nipple between his fingers to massage it. The wax is still wet enough that it smears between his fingers and your oversensitive nipple, adding a layer of unbearable to the massage which you weren’t ready for.

“Seriously”, you croak, collapsing for just a second and then Jungkook is holding you upright again.

“Don’t give up on me, sweetie”, he coos, rolling your nipple between his fingers.

“I wanna”, you croak, soaking your blindfold with your tears.

Jungkook chuckles, kissing your shoulder, “I’ve got you baby, you can’t give up yet.”

“Please”, you are trying to touch his cock again, barely managing to do it.

“Mhhm cute”, he purrs, releasing your nipple to instead place his hand on the back of your head, “you’re so needy”, he taunts and then pushes you down.

You let it happen gladly, moaning loudly when Jungkook presses your head into the sheets, keeping your hips up with his right arm still around your waist. You can feel the wax on your ass crack because of it.

He lets go of your head, placing his hand on your covered ass. He traces the cracks in the wax, grabbing his cock with his unoccupied hand.

“Don’t think I didn’t notice you trying to touch my cock”, he says, placing his heavy length on your ass to grind it against the wax.

You can barely feel the contact because of it, whining for more instantly.

“I’m so big tonight, baby. It’s reaching you all the way to here”, he says, showing you the spot on your lower back.

You sob, sticking your ass out in hopes he understands.

“Wanna have it, mhm?”

You wiggle your ass and let out a needy sob.

“Then say it.”

“Please feed me cock, Koo”, you beg without hesitation.

“There we go. You sound so sweet when you’re cock needy”, he coos, rewarding you by stuffing you with his big, girthy length.

It makes the wettest, nastiest squelching sound as he fills you up, forcing so much of your juices out of you that it’s dripping onto the sheets.

“Shit baby, it’s like a whole lube bottle exploded inside you”, Jungkook gets out and groans, eyes focused on his cock, “you’re so wet.”

You can only moan and sob happily, feeling your entire body spiral out of control now that you finally have his cock. The emptiness is finally gone. You have Koo’s cock. This is the best thing ever.

Jungkook fucks you slow at first so he can see how he is shaping your pussy. His cock is all wet and white from your juices. Your pussy is so swollen and pretty.

“You’re creaming my cock, baby. That’s so fucking hot ”, he rasps and then he begins to pick up speed.

He makes sure that you feel each one of his thrusts. Hard and deep. It forces your ass to slam against his body and for the wax to crack more and more. Jungkook fucks you right through it, nails digging into your hips from gripping you so hard. He can feel the wax brittle off your ass, but he doesn’t care. You are trembling and writhing in the distinct way you do when your orgasm is close and this time around he doesn’t want to stop. He knew that you wouldn’t last long. You are so desperate that Jungkook is surprised at how long you are able to hold out. He expected you to cum the moment he sticks his dick inside.

“You’re making me cum”, you choke out and sob loudly, fighting the restraints, “please Koo I’ll do anything.”

“Say thank you.”

“Thank you Koo. Thank you”, you squeak, tightening around his cock more and more.

Jungkook deepens his thrusts, grinding his teeth because that makes his balls slap against your clit. You twitch and sob each time that happens, creaming his cock without an end in sight.

“For what? Mhm?” he challenges, staring down at your face. The blindfold is soaked in your tears. It’s so hot to him.

“For your cock! Thank you for your cock, Koo”, you wail, “please mercy.”

“Fucking shit, you’re so hot”, Jungkook growls, feeling himself tense as well. You are begging so sweetly. He abandons one side of your hips to connect his fingers with your clit, “cum. now”, he growls demandingly, making you scream up with just one swirl.

Jungkook is happy for your house at the moment. Just imagining that you guys would still be living in your first flat with all those neighbours surrounding you, is giving him the shivers. They would probably think that he is murdering you.

“Jesus fuck, keep screaming like that. That’s so fucking hot”, he talks you through your orgasm, cock throbbing like crazy.

“Harder”, you beg.

Jungkook obeys, putting his all into his thrusts. Fast, rough, deep. He shakes your entire body because of it. You bite the sheets, muffling some of your screams with it. But not much. He’s making you cum so fucking hard that you can already feel a new wave of electricity built up. And you know for a fact that it’s going to make you squirt.

It happens three strokes later, bursting out of you with such strength that it covers the floor and most of Jungkook’s lower body.

“Shit sweetie”, Jungkook’s hips stutter, “holy fuck, I’m gonna cum. That’s so hot. Keep squirting baby, that’s my girl.”

And yet he still makes sure you get the best out of your high, rubbing your clit just how you need it and fucking your g-spot just how you crave it.

You collapse after your high finally stops shaking you, forcing his cock to slip out of you therefore edging him right before he could release.

You didn’t even notice it happening until you hear Jungkook let out a little sob.

“I was so ready to nut in you”, he whines, “fuck baby, this just hurt”, he croaks and then the distinct sound of him jerking off like a madman fills your ears, “fucking shit you edged me like crazy, fucking holy shit this was the worst”, he chants, tugging on his cock angrily.

You use whatever magical strength suddenly possesses you to flip yourself onto your back and then sit up. You seriously don’t know how you even managed to do that because you feel dead. Maybe it was the insatiable desire to be kinky with him that helped you.

You tilt your head and open your mouth to stick your tongue out as far as possible.

“Shit yes”, Jungkook growls and then his tattooed fingers tangle themselves in your hair at the back of your head. He holds you strongly, keeping your head his willing hostage.

You moan loudly, arching your back to show off your waxed covered tits to him. Jungkook lets out a guttural moan, hand twisting around his tip.

“I’m fucking cumming”, he presses out, shooting his cum all over tongue a second later, “uuurgh fuuuuck”, he groans, brows furrowed and lips curled back to show off his grinding teeth. His fingers tug on your hair more, tilting your head back further. He covers parts of your blindfold as well, cursing in the heaviest dialect you ever heard him speak in.

You welcome his every drop with a needy moan, feeling in heaven. His cum is so hot tonight. It must be because he’s especially horny.

Jungkook finishes off in seven aggressive strokes and then he lets his cock drop, riding out his afterglow by spanking your face with his dick.

You mewl, squirming needily. It’s so hot.

“Good job”, he lulls, spanking your tongue twice, “swallow.”

You obey gladly, swallowing all the cum you had on your tongue.

“Good girl”, he praises, “clean.”

You know what to do, sticking your tongue out to clean his cock off all the cum he smeared all over it. Jungkook is holding your head the entire time, purring deeply and with his eyelids barely staying open. That’s the type of overstimulation he fucking loves. Just about bordering too much. It’s the best shit.

“You’re doing such a good job”, he praises, guiding a still dirty spot to your tongue so you can clean it off.

You do so with a happy mewl, swallowing his creamy cum gladly. He tastes so good.

“There we go, all done”, Jungkook says and leans down to kiss your forehead, “you just did the best job”, he whispers, kissing your lips next.

His tenderness brings tears to your eyes. All of the tension is finally falling off of you. You are crumbling and you need him to hold you when it happens.

“Koo”, you choke out, sniffling like crazy.

“I’m here”, he says, moving without hesitation to take you atop his lap and into his arms. He’s brought you into this state a hundred times before, so he knows exactly what to do.

He opens the clasp on the handcuffs. Your arms are around his waist instantly.

Then he tugs the blindfold off as best as possible. Your face is hidden in the crook of his neck instantly, your happy little sobs are muffled by the position.

Jungkook knows that you need that right now. You always get like that when the sex was way too good and he managed to get you so deep into subspace that only crying makes coming back to reality easier to bear.

“I’m here my darling, I’m right here with you”, he soothes you, rubbing your back.

He knows that you aren’t upset or sad or in pain. You sound different when you are. This right here is relief, happiness and a well deserved release of tension. He knows that it is because you let out little giggles between loud sobs, “I’m right here with you baby, right here. I’m keeping you safe, my baby. Hear me? Nothing can hurt you.”

“Koo I love you”, you sob, hugging him tighter.

“I love you too my love”, he promises you, rubbing your upper back slowly, “you did so well tonight. I’m so proud of you, sweetie. So, so proud.”

You lift your head, revealing the utter ruined state you are in to him. Jungkook simply smiles and cups your cheek. You lean into him instantly, teary eyes barely staying open.

“Thank you”, you whisper, hiccupping in order not to sob again.

“No, thank you”, he says, “you’re such a good girl. I can’t believe that I’m lucky enough to have you.”

You giggle, nuzzling your face into his palm. Jungkook is melting on the spot.

“You are so cute”, he says.

“Koo, I’m safe”, you whisper cutely and then you fall around his neck, growing oh so small and tiny on his lap as complete comfort overtakes you.

“Yes my sweetie, you are safe”, he whispers, cradling you against his strong chest with the intent of never ever letting you go again.

He will carry you to the bathroom later and there he will run you a hot bath. He will clean the wax off of you and praise you for being his good girl. And later he will hold you until you fall asleep in one of his shirts.

845 notes · View notes

hyenahunt · 5 months

Text

Saga: Rivals - 21

Writer: Akira

Season: Winter

Characters: Jun, Hiyori, Seiya, Jin, Mika, Madara, Akiomi, Sora

Proofreading: 310mc (JP) & hyenahunt (ENG)

Translation: kotofucius

Akiomi: Ahaha… Oh, how I wish you'd told me that much sooner.

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Location: Reverse Live Stage

Time: Hours later. Reverse Live, at the start of the second day.

Jun: “♪~♪~♪”

“Lilith! The original heretic! The revolutionary who spoke against God’s deception when none dared to!”

Hiyori: “Lilith! The mother of humanity, flung into the depths of Hell! How she screamed of love and sang of hope, no matter how far she fell!”

Seiya: “Lilith! That is who we are! Buried in the depths of history, we are the true idols, long forgotten by the world!”

Hiyori: “How long it has been! How I waited to meet you again! In the darkness, you were the only light I could see!”

Seiya: “I love you! I’ve loved you since this world came to be!”

Jun: “Destiny split us apart, and yet, we’ve been brought together once more!”

Hiyori: “Never shall we part again! Your warmth is forever ours!”

Jun: “Now, let us embrace! Let us love together, even if the very world forbids it!”

Seiya: “We are Lilith! It is to love you that we’ve arrived…!”

“♪~♪~♪”

Jin: …Ooh, how passionate. Or maybe over-the-top. Kinda like Valkyrie, actually.

Mika: Hey, you ain't ever gonna catch us sayin' love, love, love over an’ over like that! We’re passionate but artistic! Even if we’re speakin’ about love, we’d be a lot more subtle 'bout it.

Madara: Hahaha. It does seem like a refined… or rather, popularized version of Valkyrie’s methods.

They’ve got extravagant production for their stage too, probably thanks to the big shots all wanting to suck up to Hidaka Seiya —

So, their melodramatic lines suit the atmosphere, actually.

But unlike Shu-san, they’re not drowning in their own world. Instead, they're opening it up to the public; they gaze into their audience’s eyes and actively pull them in.

Akiomi: Lilith… I’d been wary of what tactics they might use, but they've been taking an unexpectedly materialistic and straight-forward approach.

They maximized the promotion, stage production, and everything else they could; and even shamelessly used Hidaka-daisenpai’s fame to call in an army of fans.

War is essentially about numbers. With everything so perfectly coordinated like this, well, there's no way to fight back through ordinary means.

Hidaka-daisenpai has truly made the most out of his advantage as an active, highly popular, professional idol.

He is on a completely different level from us, who finance our own small-scale concerts within the confines of an idol training school.

Even budget-wise, he definitely has one or two more zeros on us, I'm sure.

Madara: Hahaha. Especially when we as Ba-barrier don’t really have that much work, so we have no funds for battle, either…

We've turned our lack of cohesion into our selling point, making a novel show with each of our unique charms and gaining an upper hand that way.

In other words, we resort to clever schemes to put up a semblance of fight, so we’re at a disadvantage against planned head-on attacks.

Mika: …They’re so vulgar. I don’t reckon I like ‘em. They’re totally different from Valkyrie, 'kay?

Sora: HaHa~♪ Yep, totally different!

Valkyrie paints a single color over and over until it reaches a density no one can reproduce —

But Lilith kinda takes a bucket of paint and goes “splash!” with it, I guess~?

…And by spilling that much paint, they erase all the other colours.

Jin: Ooh~… I thought I heard grumbling. Turns out it was the defeated Akiyan and his merry men.

Akiomi: You're truly something… We're your good rivals and comrades from the same school, who have been supporting you this whole time both behind the scenes and out in the open — Is that any way to talk to us?

Madara: Hahaha. I’ve got no comeback since we did lose spectacularly last night!

Smashed to smithereens, in a most dramatic death! If Rain-bows are rainbows, then we must be fleeting fireworks!

Mika: Why're ya havin’ so much fun even though we lost, Mikejima-senpai?

Madara: Well, when the opponent did such a fine job in gaining the upper hand on us, the loss felt conversely exhilarating, see!

I quite enjoy defeat, actually! Especially when it’s the result of an all-out fight!

Mika: I can’t understand that feelin’…

Valkyrie an' Lilith are totally different, but fer some reason it jus' reminded me of the time when fine kicked us down.

Madara: Hmm. Their methods indeed resemble that of the former fine…

If there's a quantifiable way to win, then pouring all you possess will bring definite victory.

In the war last year, Eichi-san used all the lofty assets available to him to invent a game board that worked to his advantage.

Well, he was only making the most of his perks as a rich heir with money and authority… so it wasn’t exactly a low move.

Akiomi: Hmm. In this case, all participating units are new groups formed specifically for Project-Saga…

More often than not, it’s the audience’s first time seeing them.

As it’s hard to tell everyone apart at a glance, Lilith ends up standing out due to their expensive costume and production. Their lavish extravagance only makes them all the more eye-catching to the audience.

Not to mention, the famous Hidaka Seiya is in the group. That’s more than enough name and power.

Though yes, of course, these things don’t decide the entire value of an idol.

But under these circumstances, it becomes a challenge to even put up a fight. Without a good strategy on your side, they'll simply overpower you.

Madara: Wow, how ruthless! I guess miracles don’t happen all the time! Hahaha☆

Mika: Seriously, why d’ya look like yer havin' the time of yer life? I’m right frustrated, personally~ Unlike you, Mikejima-senpai, I ain't a fan of losing!

Madara: Alright! Let’s turn that frustration into motivation, then! We might’ve lost yesterday, but let's win today!

Liltih may have wiped the floor with us, but we're steadily winning against all the other units we’re up against! We still have a chance!

Akiomi: That's right. The rule isn’t as simple as retiring with one defeat.

While we’re nowhere as active as Rain-bows, we're still one of the most senior players of Project-Saga —

As a result, we've amassed fans through all our activities. We won't lose so easily to newbie units.

Sora: Yeah! Schemes and tricks are Sora's specialty~ Magic exists for the oppressed minority!

Even if the conformist majority closes in on us, we'll sidestep them and make a miracle happen!

Mika: Ahaha. Everyone in Ba-barrier's so tough an' dependable~ ♪

Jin: Haha. Who'd have thought you'd get along so well, Akiyan?

You’re definitely having fun being an idol, aren’tcha? Unlike me, you retired with regrets.

Akiomi: On the contrary, I have left my regrets behind.

We had accomplished our role with the success of Rainbow Stage, so we could’ve dispersed right then and there…

But that performance garnered us a good reputation, with many fans requesting that we continue…

And I thought we might come in handy someday, so I continued on with Ba-barrier.

Compared to the other Mentors out there, I am a level below them in terms of achievements, so I did have my reservations. But well, I’ve always been the shameless sort, anyway.

Jin: Really? You’re more competitive than shameless, in my opinion… The more people look down on you, the more you fight back to prove 'em wrong.

I’ve always admired that side of you since long ago.

Akiomi: Ahaha… Oh, how I wish you'd told me that much sooner.

Jin. We are giving our all just to hold our current position; I do not believe we’ll have the leisure to protect you.

However, you are the main character of Project-Saga, so by all means, find a way out of this predicament with your own two hands.

Lilith may prove to be a much stronger opponent than we thought, but if it's you, then surely you'll be the one to win — I’ll say this even without anything to back it up, just as I did in the past.

Jin: Thanks. I think having you there to always tell me that… was what helped me to hold out much longer than I would've on my own.

[ ☆ ]

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#ensemble stars #enstars #enstars translation #hyenahunttl #s: saga #jin sagami #seiya hidaka #hiyori tomoe #jun sazanami #akiomi kunugi #mika kagehira #madara mikejima #sora harukawa

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loveislandthegame · 4 days

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Is anywhere else doing a sapphic route. I'm so bored that I feel like crying. All het players are exploring their options. Not only are the writers making it seem like my MC is playing the game but I have to watch my LI with someone else for months. Why is it that seasons that treat sapphic players poorly always happen to be fan favourites? I really wish the fandom could have our backs at least once mate. Literally nobody seems to care that LGBT players are getting forked over again. Can't we have a female LI appreciation month or something?

i've seen a few people who are doing claudia/bea routes! i love claud but i do hate how the game treats MC like a hoe for pursuing her when i have been loyal...to her . not to mention all the dialogue about theo & OG LI/casa guy getting pissed off every single time i flirt with her during challenges . it's getting old

there's only 9 episodes left, today's recoupling should've been a chance to actually get with the LI we want . instead we're forced to be with OG LI (or casa guy) all while he's being like "i know you have a thing with claudia...🥺" (i miss season 3 more than ever, being able to couple up with a girl in the second recoupling was amazing, should've been the standard going forward. idk why FB decided to regress)

heavy on the boredom. over half of the drama is centered around OG LI & MC . i think the only way i could make it possibly clearer i don't want him is to dive into the code & rewrite the damn game myself. and don't even get me started on sienna

with the amount of times the game prompts you to choose your "main LI," she could've easily been a bi rival that grafts on whoever you chose (like how valentina can take najuma on a date, not just the guys) of course that wouldn't fix her being annoying and one-dimensional, but at least i'd actually have a reason to care.

(it sucks that wlw players already have so few options to begin with, only to be further limited by having to choose one, way before you have to lock in a male LI . in one of my volume recaps i mentioned how the game was already forcing us to choose between claudia and bea)

i think this season is great if you're on a loyal OG LI route (or just burning the villa lol) and at this point it's just unpleasant for literally anyone else. i wish the same, & i try to call out anything "problematic," idk a better word for it, basically FB's piss poor representation of LGBT and islanders of colour. but i'm only one person, and unfortunately a lot of the fandom has more smoke for sienna than anything

and i think that lack of pressure put on FB to do better is why they're perfectly content with screwing over wlw players (not to mention i've seen some people who shrug it off as "well the show is based on straight couples!🤷🏽" ... even though the game barely follows the show anymore, but i digress)

i just hope that theo romancers (& ppl that wanted their casa LI but got stuck with their OG) who are rightfully mad as well are enough for FB to realise how stupid of a decision this was. being extremely generous and assuming the final recoupling is gonna be right at the beginning in the next episode...we'll have, at most, 9 episodes to be in an official couple with our LI. almost 1/5th of the entire season 🙄🙄🙄

an appreciation month for the ladies would be lovely though . i don't have any experience with organising stuff like that but june/pride month is in 2 months ! 👀

#love island the game #litg #litg season 8 #litg s8 #litg tempting fate #litg spoilers

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vagabond-umlaut · 7 months

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STARS.

GLOWING BALLS OF BURNING GASES, LIGHTING THE DARK OF THE NIGHT SKY. PEOPLE OF TALENT, FAMOUS AND MUCH LOVED BY THE GENERAL POPULACE. FORCES OF FATE, INFLUENCING & DETERMINING THE LIVES OF US, MORTALS.

ONE SMALL WORD YET SO COMPLICATED IN ITS MEANINGS, IS IT NOT?

YES, INDEED IT IS— THOUGH, CERTAINLY NOT AS MUCH AS THE STORY OF ONE KING OF CURSES & HIS WIFE— WHAT DO YOU THINK, MR. SUKUNA & MS. KORE?

*The camera focuses on one of the most well-known and beloved couples from the renowned TV show Jujutsu Kaisen. Despite being six years younger in age and over ten years younger in acting experience, the woman seems every gram the seasoned acting professional the man beside her is; although, a lot more cheerful and friendly than the latter. [The almost-absence of space between them doesn't go past the eye of anyone— nevertheless, the interviewer chooses not to comment on the same. For now, that is.] Kore greets the camera with a happy smile and a wave whilst Sukuna acknowledges the same with a minor twitch of his lips— the two of them then returning their focus to the interviewer.*

KORE: *chuckles* AH, NO, I DON'T THINK THEIR STORY IS AS COMPLICATED AS IT IS BEING MADE TO BE. IT IS A RATHER SIMPLE, SWEET AND SUCCINCT TALE OF LOVE, SET IN ANOTHER ERA. SUKUNA: *nodding* I AGREE. KORE'S & MY CHARACTERS SURE DO HAVE QUITE OPPOSING PERSONALITIES IN THE SHOW— ONE, WORSE THAN A DEMON AND THE OTHER, BETTER THAN AN ANGEL– BUT THAT DOESN'T REALLY MAKE THE STORY COMPLEX OR DIFFICULT. THEY FALL IN LOVE LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE DO AND WISH TO STAY TOGETHER FOREVER LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE DO– PERHAPS IN AN EVEN BETTER WAY BECAUSE OF THEIR OPPOSITE NATURES ATTRACTING EACH OTHER.

WOW, THAT MUST HAVE BEEN THE FIRST TIME MR. SUKUNA'S SPOKEN FOR SO LONG IN AN INTERVIEW, RIGHT? YOUR FANS, ME INCLUDED, ARE SHOCKED TO SAY THE LEAST. WOW...

KORE: *giggling at Sukuna, the latter looking away and coughing* SUKUNA TENDS TO BE VOCAL ABOUT THE THINGS HE IS PASSIONATE ABOUT— THIS CONCEPT OF OPPOSITES ATTRACTING IS JUST ONE SUCH THING.

OHH. I SEE. AND DID THAT SAME THEORY OF OPPOSITES ATTRACTING PLAY A ROLE IN DECIDING YOUR OUTFITS TONIGHT?

KORE: *stays silent for a while before answering* YOU CAN SAY THAT... BUT TO BE HONEST, IT'S MUCH DEEPER THAN THAT. *shares a small, almost secretive smile with Sukuna*

OOH! NOW, I'M INTRIGUED— EXACTLY HOW DEEP DID THOSE REASONS BEHIND TONIGHT'S OUTFITS RUN, MS. KORE?

KORE: *huffs a chuckle* NOT VERY DEEP, I PROMISE!— BUT I ASSUME YOU KNOW TONIGHT'S THEME IS STAR-CROSSED LOVERS, DON'T YOU? AS DECIDED BY THE STUNNING HOST OF THE GALA, AND MY DARLING FRIEND, MARA [@margumis]?

YES, OF COURSE!!

KORE: *smiles widely* TONIGHT'S OUTFITS WERE INFLUENCED BOTH BY THAT AND BY WHAT YOU MENTIONED EARLIER. IN MY GREEN DRESS AND GOLDEN ACCESSORIES, YOU COULD SAY I'M THE PRINCESS FROM OUR SHOW– ROYAL, ELEGANT & A SYMBOL OF JOYFUL ENERGY, AS THE COLOUR GREEN DEPICTS. SUKUNA: AND MY RED & BLACK TUX REFERS TO THE EVIL KING OF CURSES— THE POLAR OPPOSITE TO THIS SWEET LADY. *sends a very conspicuous wink to Kore*

THE VISION'S GETTING MUCH CLEARER NOW... BUT WHERE IS THE THEME OF THE STAR-CROSSED– YOU DID NOT JUST CALL THEM STAR-CROSSED LOVERS 'CAUSE OF THE MANY PROBLEMS THEY'RE FACING CURRENTLY, DID YOU? ARE THEY NOT GOING TO HAVE A HAPPY ENDING? OH MY GOSH... IS THIS YOU BOTH POSSIBLY GIVING THE WORLD A SPOILER RIGHT NOW?

SUKUNA: *glancing at Kore with a smirk* AT THIS MOMENT, WE DO SEEM TO BE A BIT STAR-CROSSED, DON'T WE, MY QUEEN? *Kore nods, muffling her laughter with a palm*

WELP, DEAR VIEWERS— SEEMS LIKE THIS IS THE MOST WE CAN KNOW FROM OUR BELOVED ROYAL COUPLE— NOW, RETURNING TO THE IRL DUO– WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ASPECT OF THE OTHER'S OUTFIT?

KORE: NOTHING— EXCEPT THE FACT HE LOOKS A LEGIT FIVE-COURSE MEAL IN THAT SUIT, MAYBE? SUKUNA: *sighing deeply* I WISH GETO WAS YOUR MENTOR IN PLACE OF THAT GOJO– HE IS A TALENTED ACTOR BUT A PATHETIC TEACHER. MORESO IN THE FIELD OF ROMANCE. YOU CHOSE THE WORST PERSON EVER TO ASK FOR TIPS. KORE: *coos, moving to pinch Sukuna's cheeks* BUT THEY'RE WORKING ON YOU, AREN'T THEY? SEE, HOW PINK HIS CHEEKS HAVE TURNED! ALMOST AS MUCH AS HIS HAIR— HAHAHA–

IT PAINS ME TO INTERRUPT THIS CUTE MOMENT BETWEEN YOU TWO— BUT, SADLY I'VE HIGHER AUTHORITIES TO ANSWER IF I DON'T ASK YOU ALL THESE QUESTIONS ON THE SCRIPT—

KORE: *moves a bit away with a sheepish smile* UM, SORRY!! PLEASE ASK. SUKUNA: *rights his clothes, then smiles politely* YES, PLEASE CONTINUE.

THANK YOU!! SO, MS. KORE, CONSIDERING THIS IS YOUR DEBUT GALA, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS?

KORE: I'M TOTALLY IN LOVE WITH THE ENTIRE CONCEPT OF THE BLR GALA '23!! INCREDIBLY NOVEL. INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL. MARA, MY SWEETEST ANGEL, I'M SIMPLY IN AWE OF YOUR MARVELLOUS BRAIN, GIRL! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PLANNING THIS!!! AND I LOVE YOU!!!

WHAT ABOUT YOU, MR. SUKUNA? THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME ATTENDING THESE EVENTS WITH SOMEONE BESIDE YOU, ISN'T IT? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

SUKUNA: *shares a brief yet visibly soft look with Kore, before looking ahead* I'M VERY HAPPY, HAVING KORE BY MY SIDE. BESIDES BEING A WONDERFUL CO-STAR, SHE IS ALSO AN AMA—

*A loud yell of Sukuna's name interrupts him. The camera moves from them, to Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru in the distance, the white-haired man jumping up and down with an exuberant beam while his black-haired companion waves his hand. Kore and Sukuna look at each other once, the former with a bright grin & the latter with a sigh, before looking at the interviewer.*

SUKUNA: *smiling apologetically* I'M SORRY BUT IF THEY'RE HERE, THE REST OF THE GANG TOO WILL BE HERE PRETTY SOON— KORE: WE'RE SORRY BUT I THINK WE OUGHT TO CUT THE INTERVIEW A LITTLE SHORT NOW. *offers a contrite smile*

OH, PLEASE DON'T BE SORRY!! I GET IT. WE ALL GET IT. THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. SUKUNA & MS. KORE, FOR ATTENDING THIS INTERVIEW. I, ON BEHALF OF EVERYONE ELSE, WISH YOU AND YOUR SHOW A STELLAR FUTURE AHEAD! WE ARE CERTAIN JUJUTSU KAISEN WILL BE AN IMMENSE SUCCESS!!! THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN!!

KORE: *bows* THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SWEET WISHES! WE'LL BE SURE TO NEVER DISAPPOINT YOU ALL. SUKUNA: *bows* THANK YOU ALL.

*With a happy goodbye and another whispered apology from Kore, and a small smile from Sukuna, both of them walk in the direction of their co-stars and friends– where, sure enough, many more well-known faces can be viewed. The camera returns to the inerviewer after a moment.*

WISH WE HAD MORE TIME TO ASK THEM MORE QUESTIONS, DEAR VIEWERS— BUT ONE THING REMAINS UNQUESTIONED. MR. SUKUNA & MS. KORE HAVE AN IMMENSE POTENTIAL TO BE ONE OF THE LOVELIEST COUPLES IN THE– HUH??

*The camera shifts from the astonished face of the interviewer, to where Sukuna and Kore are walking. Hand-in-hand. The camera lingers there for a moment before going back to the interviewer. The latter blinks at the camera– with a mildly disbelieving yet an excited smile, nonetheless.*

THE SHIP IS VERY CLOSE TO SAILING— OR HAS IT ALREADY SAILED, FOLKS?

#BLR Gala '23 #sukuna 💞 kit #<The Countless Chronicles Of Kore>#kit interacts 👋#kit saves stuff ✅

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jmflowers · 1 month

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Pls talk abt the diffs between st19 and GA. Would love to read your TV production nerd language!

Well, only took me 10 days to finally find time to get to this… my apologies, anon! I hope you're still interested.

I took notes during episodes 20x02 and 7x02 of Grey's Anatomy and Station 19 respectively to formulate my answer to this, but I should disclose that I have not been an avid watcher of Grey's Anatomy in about a decade. Despite my education in technical film and television production, anything stated here is my own opinion. Art is subjective and I absolutely do not have all the answers.

Let's start with Grey's…

So, from when Grey's first premiered in 2005 until the 10th season, the show was shot on film. That fact lends a lot to the stylistic formula of the show, which is not something you ever really want to change. (Fans arrive for a certain feel, thus a production bible is created that is adhered to for - hopefully - the entirety of a piece of work.)

I think it's most obvious in the coverage of scenes; shots are long and flowing, often moving around subjects as they converse with each other. By shooting this way, they would've protected themselves from needing to reset as frequently and it makes the editing process a lot more seamless. Also, in my experience, it just makes it easier to translate a director’s vision from set into the editing room.

(In film school, a lot of people will take a million different angles of a scene, all in little snippets, because it guarantees you'll have what you need for an interesting edit. However, if you work a bunch of continuous shots of the scene, actors get the opportunity to really immerse themselves in it - resulting in better performance - and the final edit has fewer possible iterations of what it could look like. Why don't students do this? Firstly, it's harder - more risk of having something in the background that will screw things up, more challenging to cut together if you have to remove a singular moment, harder to keep steady if you're not comfortable with stabilizing equipment or don't have any. Secondly, professors don't often encourage it because a lot of people are really terrible at camera operation if they're not trained properly.)

Anyways, all that to stay is Grey’s has this really fluid style to how they shoot. Nearly every shot is moving in some way, whether it’s a dolly, a pan, a tilt, etc. Let it be said that they are really, really good at this formula.

Another component of this is wider angle shots so that the characters can be continuously moving – think of those classic hallway walking scenes as a prime example. Allowing the actors to really move in a space helps to build tension without needing a bunch of little cuts and camera angles. This means there are some scenes in the show that only have one camera angle present before it moves onto the next scene, which isn’t super common in my experience.

Not to say that they don’t utilize closeups – Grey’s is a drama so it’d be kind of weird to not make use of closeup shots for the showing of emotion. However, the closeups seem to predominantly occur in the OR. My guess as to why that is would be in helping the audience differentiate who is who (as well as what they’re feeling), since part of their faces have to be covered during operations, but that’s pure speculation on my part.

And beyond all of that, Grey’s is visually still a drama. A lot of moments occur at night. Scenes are often darker, with more focus on backlighting than clear illumination of character faces. I find their blacks a lot stronger, which is probably something to do with their colouring.

There’s also just fewer action-packed moments, since the story often takes place with people just talking, so there doesn’t appear to be as much of an editing technique called “cutting on the action”. Which, honestly, makes sense if they’re filming longer takes. (Shoutout to my prof who constantly gave triple-take homework and made me completely ridiculous about cutting. on. action. You broke me, my dude.)

Conversely, Station 19 has a very different formula…

As an action drama, that was never shot on film, S19 adheres to a completely different bible. One that they rewrote after season 2 (I think? When did the voiceover intros stop?), you’ll probably notice, when they decided to veer a little further away from their identity as a Grey’s Anatomy spinoff.

The first thing I always notice is that a lot more of S19 scenes happen during the day, since the unspoken law of most episodes is that they begin as the team is coming onto their shift first thing in the morning and then stretches through their 24-hour. Scenes are just brighter and more illuminated – more of the sunlight streaming in windows and less of the visible nighttime cityscape you’ll notice in Grey’s. I also really love that they usually begin this time period with the characters at home, whereas Grey’s seems to have episodes finish with that.

Light is also obvious in how things are coloured on S19. Their blacks don’t seem as dark in the final colouring, which may have something to do with the navy blue of their uniforms. It also just feels like there’s more white present on their sets? But that can’t possibly be true because Grey’s literally takes place in a hospital.

Anyways, S19 fully subscribes to the shooting and editing style of an action production. Scenes have lots of coverage (they utilize over-the-shoulder shots which don’t happen as often in Grey’s), there are lots of quick cuts in the edit, and their shots are overall steadier or static with less of the flowy movement that Grey’s has. They also use a lot more closeup and tighter framing, focusing on cowboy and up – unlike the Grey’s formula of a full-body shot. (A cowboy shot covers from the middle of the thigh to the top of the head, ie. you would be able to see the cowboy’s gun in its holster… anything above that is a tighter framing.)

And S19 loves a montage. I can’t say for certain whether Grey’s still uses those, or if they ever really did, but S19 leans into a zero-dialogue montage edit for storytelling. Which I don’t find super common, as I think some people believe it’s a little too artsy or stylistic, but I think is a really effective way to get a plot point across sometimes. Do we really need to know exactly what they said or is it enough to see that they were smiling when it happened? Film and television are visual medias and fanfic writers everywhere are grateful for the gaps in the story that they get to fill in with their own headcanons. (I said what I said.)

I’m sure there’s lots more things I could probably point out on why Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 complement each other while looking like they could be from completely different universes, but that’s all I wrote down while watching them both live. Hopefully my film theory professor and my screenwriting professor are proud of me for this analysis.

Thanks for the question, anon! Always here to answer and talk nerdy if anyone ever has any more.

#film and television production #janelle's asks #anonymous #grey's anatomy #station 19 #visual media #analysis #what else do I tag?#fuck if i know #talk nerdy to me

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lovetohate001 · 2 years

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Ok ok hear me out. A little fluff fic where the reader is an orderly at the lab and has a lot of time with the children. 001 walks in to the rainbow room and sees the reader dancing and singing with the children.

Dream A Little Dream of Me

Peter Ballard (001) x Orderly! Reader | FLUFF

word count: 760

AN: This fic is inspired by Season 4 Vol. 2, where Vecna plays Dream A Little Dream of Me at the Snowball in Max’s memory! I wanted to write a small fluffy fic with this song. So let’s make happy memories with this one!

SONGS MENTIONED:

You had been working at Hawkin’s Lab for five years now. As a promising physics major at your local university, your father’s occupation at the Lab had been a major opportunity for you to get experience out in the field once your studies had been completed.

Doctor Martin Brenner had welcomed you to the lab with open arms, and you had been equally scared and excited to see the gifted children hiding away in the facility. And so, sworn to confidentiality, you had worked with these beautiful children every day. And you had loved every second of it.

“You did so well today, Eleven,” you praised the little girl in front of you, no more than nine years old, who stared up at you with wide eyes and an even wider smile.

“Thank you,” she replied shyly, looking over to Peter, your co-worker, who looked over at the two of you, just as proud. In a way, the two of you were the closest thing to parents that all these children had.

A small jolt of sadness went through you at the thought. These poor children had no real parents…or families. They’d never have a normal life. And they hadn’t been able to choose this life either.

The Rainbow Room filled with the sound of a puck clattering against metal pins. Eleven was trying to get the puck in lane 8 again. She’d been struggling with that for a while it seemed. The frown on her face said enough.

“You’ve got this,” you encouraged her, a tentative hand on her shoulder.

She’d already beaten 002 in their class today. The last thing you wanted was for her to overexert herself.

“I’ll be right back…” with a small pat to Eleven’s shoulder, you got up and went over to Peter.

“I was wondering,” you started, sitting down next to him.

002 looked at the two of you, eyes sparkling with curiosity. Two little red blocks were floating above his upturned palms.

“Can we play music for the children?” you asked, hopefully.

“Are you willing to risk it, even after what Brenner did to you last time?” Peter reminded you, eyebrows raised pointedly.

“Well…at least we know now that Brenner doesn’t enjoy Soft Cell's Heat at all.” You cringed at the memory, remembering how angry he had been, finding the two of you listening to it on your Walkman in the break room.

A sly grin and blue eyes met yours. “I think the song choice wasn’t the best, considering we are surrounded by children, don’t you think?”

“Shut up.” You waved him off, hiding how flustered you were. “I’m going to get my Walkman and bring it back here. I think these two have worked hard enough for today.”

Minutes later, the two of you had taken 002 and 011 down the hall into one of the empty training rooms. A cleaner had been there earlier, leaving the room bare, the smell of chemicals in the air.

“And now…” you hit play, “we dance!”

You took 002’s hands in yours and moved the two of you around in a kind of waltz to the music.

Stars shining bright above me.

You caught Peter’s gaze over 002’s head. He smiled, radiant and handsome as ever. 011 looked so happy. Colour was back in her cheeks. And you could swear you saw the ghost of a smile on 002 as he allowed you to spin him around.

But in your dreams, wherever they may be

Dream a little dream of me

You were dancing with Peter now. Every small little touch he gave you. His hands squeezing your gently. His thumb brushing over yours…your heart couldn’t help beating a small bit faster when your eyes met his again, that same mischievous glimmer in them from earlier.

Breaking eye contact, you saw 011 and 002 just a few feet from you. Despite the competition between the two of them in their classes, they seemed to have oddly found a truce in these few small minutes.

“I’m glad we decided to do this. Even though we will be in trouble for this later,” Peter whispered in your ear.

And you could do nothing but agree. Sometimes it was worth taking the risk. For all you knew, Brenner may have had a change of heart and been an Ella Fitzgerald fan this whole time.

Leave the worries behind you.

Promise to me

You’ll dream a little dream of me

MASTERLIST

SEND A FIC REQUEST / ASK HERE!

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neverevan · 8 months

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Re: Buck's loft decor - they kind of established that his designer /artist girlfriend (Ali) designed the place or at least had a heavy hand in picking things out.

Yeah I can give credit for most of the furniture to Ali, but that's about it. But thank you for this ask, because it made me go down the rabbit hole, so here are the details of Buck's loft in regards to what Ali had influence on and everything that changed since.

So this is the scene immediately before she broke up with Buck and just around the time Buck moved in. Seemingly the pictures by the door aren't there yet, nor are the baskets and the pictures on the shelf by his bed (see later pics), it's very much the bare minimum, right? Furniture, kitchen appliances, TV, some rugs and blankets.

The next time we see the loft is in season 3 when Eddie comes to help Buck pull himself together. If you look at the shelf you have some baskets and pictures there that are pretty distinctive and were not there when Ali dropped him off. Obviously people will have stuff on their shelves in their homes, that's not my point here. But look at the basket and the little box beside it... Whatever's inside, it sure as hell looks decorative to me.

Then moving onto the covid era. There are pictures by the door, but also a new dining table. (The one that was presumably picked by Ali was round.) The rug in the kitchen seems new too.

As far as I could tell this is the first time we see this plant, but I admit I might be wrong about that, because we don't exactly see this corner when Ali breaks up with Buck.

Then going forward with the other small stuff from later seasons (before and after Taylor moved in).

Look at the plant and the baskets on the dining table (you can see them on most pics actually). Clearly decorative.

And then there's the fruit bowl. Again, not trying to generalise one bit, but how many cishet guys do you know who live alone and have a fruit bowl? (Same guy "who's idea about healthy food is a side salad" apparently.)

I also honestly doubt that the gloves and the apron are coming from Ali either, but I'm willing to write them up to Maddie or Taylor (except these are colours we see Buck wear regularly when off duty).

This one is just for my amusement, because look at all those spices! (Actually I will point back to this in a minute.)

And finally this picture to talk about the cleanliness.

That is a hell of a light coloured kitchen furniture. Do you know how hard it is to keep something like that clean? (Unfortunately I do, from experience.) Especially when you're a guy who regularly cooks and bakes and not just easy meals, but like very elaborate recipes, admittedly even trying them out 3 times before even serving it to anyone.

But this is my main point: This is not a real flat. This is not a real kitchen. This is a set.

The set designers' job is to create a set that corresponds to the story and the characters interacting in it (while you also have someone on set who pays attention to continuity with objects and stuff, but sometimes you still end up with Starbucks cups on a medieval set, whoops), their job also includes adding tear, wear, dirt and grime accordingly to the usage of certain places and objects.

Of course, it's more than possible that they never really thought about it from this angle, they just wanted the set to look warmer when filming scenes in it and having it clean for continuity purposes.

All that being said, within the show this is Buck's place and someone's home tells you a lot about the person. So, regardless of it being intentional in most cases, this loft and the items in it aren't exactly what you'd normally find in a bachelor's pad. (Nor do I think someone could afford a place like that alone in LA, but that's an entirely different topic.)

#evan buckley #evan buck buckley #911 #911 fox #anon #ask #I've really gone deep with this one #but remember these are just musings I'm not working on the show lmao #don't have to agree but that won't change my opinions #my stuff

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aftongkier · 7 months

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youtube

Hello again, podcast side of Tumblr.

This time around, I did a video on Ethics Town, a relatively new cosmic horror podcast about a British valley town where nothing is quite as it seems. Right now Ethics Town is a terribly underrated series, so this video is both my analysis of it, and also my attempt at getting more people to listen to it.

Anyways, yeah, watch the video if you want, or not, it's up to you I guess. If you want to, though, I really do suggest you take the less than four hours and actually listen to the podcast, it's well worth your time.

SPOILERS FOR ETHICS TOWN SEASON ONE BEYOND THIS POINT. CONTINUE READING AT YOUR OWN RISK. / / / / / / / / / /

As with the last post, I also want to share the art from the video. For the first one, I wanted to do something that captured the feel of the Ethics Town logo, which is all black and white and red, so I stuck with a pretty monochromatic colour palette here. The image depicts the Mayor of Ethics, Ian Jacobs, moving the wrapped body of Natascha Flynn to make space for a nearby factory's planned expansions. It was one of two scenes I considered, and I think this was the much better option. The skyline in the background, while not perfect, is meant to mimic the same skyline seen on the Mayor's hat in the logo. The other weird detail here is that everything was done linelessly, which was very weird for me, because I thought it created an interesting look. Oh, also, yes, I did give Ian a ponytail.

The other art piece is a sketch of Ian Jacobs and January Johnson, because I wanted to experiment with how much I could push their designs before they stopped looking like the same person. I also wanted to have their outfits at least be a little similar, so both of them have outer coverings closed around the middle of the chest around a shirt beneath, and both Ian and January have black headware. I considered giving January a white band on his headphones, but it just wound up getting lost. Another notable difference is in the hair, which I imagined here as blonde, probably in a more platinum direction, though you can't tell that very well from the greyscale. Ian's hair is pulled back in the aforementioned ponytail while it's left loose when he's acting as January. January also has a little more stubble, and his eye bags sag a little more. Finally, even though I only really had two colours to work with, I wanted to try expanding on how he acts within each role using the clothing. January's clothes are lighter, thanks in big part to the grey and white striped hoodie, which is designed to make him seem more emotionally truthful than he actually is. Underneath that light tone, though, is a plain black tee, which ties him to the darker colour scheme of Ian and also hints at the fact that, below his friendly and approachable personality hides the dark secret that he is, in fact, the Mayor who has been making such terrible decisions. Going back to the sweatshirt, the grey and white striping is also slightly reminiscent of the stripes on prison jumpsuits, which is a way of representing his feeling of being trapped into bad decisions and being ensnared by Ethics and his secret role as Mayor. Speaking of the Mayor, Ian is a lot simpler. I considered giving him a big, slightly cartoon-y MAYOR sash, but I wound up preferring how he looks without it. Generally, I tried to keep his wardrobe darker and more formal, and, of course, I had to include the fancy hat we see on the logo of Ethics Town. I also reduced the amount of vape cloud around him for two reasons. First, the in-story reason, is that Ian has accepted who he is and the role he plays in the "narrative" of Ethics, so I imagine he's a bit less stressed. It also works really well metaphorically, though, because he's not disguised anymore. When we see Ian at the end of "The Identity Issue," the mask is fully off. Artemis knows exactly who he is, which means that his identity doesn't have to be clouded by as much smoke. Oh, also, it's a cosmic horror podcast, so if I didn't put something tentacle-esque around the main antagonist, there would be problems.

And I think that about covers it. I had a lot of fun listening to the podcast and making the video, and I hope it can bring joy to y'all as well. Catch y'all next time around for The Buried Explained!

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inkyvendingmachine · 1 year

Text

What's an Eldritch Horror Experience Without the Tentacles?!? Season 3, Episodes 14

�� Call of Cthulhu: Haunted Hijinx Masterpost 💀 🎶 Call of Cthulhu Season Three Masterpost 🎶

Warning: This campaign is an edited version of Call of Cthulhu: Song and Dance scenario from the Tales of the Crescent City book. While a lot has been changed, there IS spoilers for it throughout these posts.

happy [UNITED STATES HOLIDAY] have a nice helping of [TENTACLES]!!!! the decent into creepy cult filled abandoned under the sea themed ride is going great ya'll,

ART CHANGES THIS SEASON!! @inkdemonapologist and I are collabing on all the art for these summery posts!! Shazz does lines, and I compose and colour the pieces.

While Bertrum (large ride forme) is busy cursing his employer very colourfully, Henry pulls Joey over to a table with the help of Jack and they start trying to look over him. Bendy is also trying to help, but he’s very dizzy and Joey has broken legs so it’s mostly just flailing. And ragdolling when he realizes that flailing isn’t helping. And panicking about Joey not talking. But does confirm that Joey is probably??? Alive???? He’s just quiet which is very scary in its own right.

Leon attempts to help Joey, but his legs are, uh, vERY BROKEN, and Leon is just a Regular Doctor tm. So he manages to help get them set and stuff but he can’t get Joey back to a walking state, obviously. Nobody could do that…… unless…….

Meanwhile, Prophet is playing carnival games! He found one hooked up to a weird door, so of course he’s just going to play them completely normally by climbing over the counter and going to poke the piece of scenery that’s not a target but seems to be shot an odd number of times with the gun instead of shooting it. Y’know, like a cheater would! It works though, and the weird door-mirror swings open to reveal a spiral staircase descending deeper into the ground, complete with a little bit of yellow mist.

Not wanting to give up on his New Year's resolution of “Don’t run off from the party at every chance you get,” Prophet pops his head back into the other room to insist the other Sheep come along with him, he’s found yellow mist rising from below.

Jack gives him A Look. We’re not sure what kind of look he’s giving, but he’s giving Prophet A Look. While hovering over a still passed out Joey.

Prophet goes over and puts a hand on Panicked Jack’s shoulder, an attempt at being reassuring… but he does still wish to continue.

Joey has started to wake up at this point, at least internally, though he’s not become fully conscious it doesn’t stop Bendy from feeding 10000 questions and bits of information into him all at once. He pushes all that to the side for mental processing later to ask Bendy if they’ve found the ritual yet and stopped Colette from being turned into an Angel Monster Thing??

Well…… Sammy wants to go do that at least! Enough to insist that standing around here isn’t important right now, we should be pressing onwards–

WHICH OF COURSE BERTRUM (big ride) ISN’T TOO HAPPY ABOUT THAT NOTION. YOU SAID YOU’D FIX HIM!!! He slams down one of his many arms right near Prophet and makes it known that nobody will be pressing forwards until someone starts trying to fix him.

Henry… asks Allison to start working on that, and she agrees to do so and gets to it.

Meanwhile, that slamming threat was enough to cause Prophet to decide it wasn’t worth it to try and tug the rest of them along, and he darts off back to the stairs he found earlier, alone.

He manages to sneak down the staircase just fine, despite it being kinda slippery, hearing more of that bothersome music and whispers as he descends. Eventually he reaches the bottom, where there’s another long hallway full of port holes containing old art works, all tattered and broken down as you might expect. Prophet keeps pushing forwards until he finds something actually interesting.

Bendy continues having one sided conversations with Joey, which gives the others enough information that Joey REALLY wants to stop the rituals ASAP, so Henry picks up Joey and starts carrying him towards where Prophet had run off to, others in tow, except for Allison who will stay behind to fix the Bertrums and keep them from throwing more tantrums and/or players. But when they discover the slippery, misty stairs, it becomes obvious that Carrying Joey is not going to end well for him, or the person who is carrying him. While Henry gets Joey laid down on one of the carnival game counters and tries to find a new way to proceed, Jack and Peter find another audio log and play it.

Of Course It’s Bertrum Talking Again.

He’s rambling about how they let his ride art get ruined by leaving it where there’s water and mold and some of them even look torn?? These paints were supposed to be resistant to water damage! RUDE.

… well Jack shoves that in his bag and goes to help out with the Joey issues. He mentions that he might have something he can do to help, which gets him some worried looks, (or… hmmm, it’s been oddly hard to read Henry’s expressions recently) but nobody there tries to stop him. He starts rummaging through all of Joey’s pockets (this is where I, Boo, lost it at the idea of Jack being like “yeah I can help” and then just looting the body and taking off) until he finds the ink that Joey’s been carrying for Bendy.

Without really explaining what he’s doing, Jack pours the ink onto Joey’s legs, his hand scars go all glowy, and the ink seeps itself into Joey and fixes his legs up good as new!! Wow!!

Joey is jolted the rest of the way awake by the terrible, weird, but at least not exactly painful!! Feeling of ink crawling into his body and shoving his bones back together in the most unreasonable way possible. So of course he wakes up clutching onto a terrified Jack, and making only non-worrying noises, eventually writhing around enough to manage to roll off the counter and onto the floor. But his legs are healed! They work just like they did before!! Just… at what cost?

Jack is instantly checking on him, relieved to see him awake but also he had no idea if this would work so uh,..... Did it work??

Joey starts to put together what happened, and asks if Jack healed him, upon getting confirmation, he tests out his legs… and then tells Jack to remind him to thank him later, and then immediately insists that they head down towards the ritual and stop it before it completes nO TIME FOR EXPLANATIONS OR HEART FELT REUNIONS LETS GO.

MEANWHILE, Prophet DOES feel this happening above, and as interesting as it is, he’s rather sure this means the group is doing just fine on their own and he’s free to keep pressing on. So he does. And manages to sneak past one of the band guards absolutely no problem?!? Prophet when did you become so sneaky!??! He continues onto another hallway, where he’s more focused on finding the ritual but is looking in rooms here and there along the way both for it and any other info he might need?? He finds a room with a big mirror in it, and someone is holding up a bowl to a small crack in it??? And there seems to be something shadowy within the mirror itself, the mist isn’t coming directly from it… but he sneaks closer just to try and see if he can understand this set-up even a little bit. It seems like they are… juicing the mirror for yellow ink?? Or at least a component of the yellow ink.

Joey attempts to slide down the railing of the stairs, finds that there is no railing to do a cartoonish slide down, and is luckily intervened by Jack while trying to judge the distance for a cartoon-jump. So they sneak down the stairs normally.

BUT once at the bottom, Joey charges ahead, having no idea how long he was out for! So they might already be out of time!! Everyone else stays a bit back, trying to be more sneaky in case Joey trips some kind of wire or other trap, ready to dive in to help him… but Henry gets distracted by the messed up artwork as Joey turns the corner. He pauses to look closer at it, only instead to get a gIANT TENTACLE SHOOTING FORWARDS THROUGH THE PORTHOLE.

Henry manages to dodge it, but when other tentacles start showing up it turns out that Henry is the ONLY one who managed to dodge it, and the other three boys are all grappled and being strangled against the walls.

Joey has noticed none of this and continues on, also managing to sneak by the guard in between and find the next hallway. Prophet has figured out that the mirror isn’t a full connection to Carcosa, but some kind of link still, unsure what breaking it might do to help them at this point?? At least, not sure enough that breaking it wouldn’t hurt to actually go forwards with it. He backs out into the hallway, looks around confusedly, starts wandering back towards the entrance before realizing that it’s possibly the wrong way. Luckily, Joey also is there now and able to help point him in the direction they want to be going. Bendy has noticed through the lapel pin Henry is still wearing that Some Things Are Going On and tries to inform Joey, but between knowing Henry is not actively captured and the Ritual is still going, Joey decides to press on instead of go back, especially because he’s not quite sure what he’d do against a tentacle monster anyways.

And also, he’s currently dying, he can literally feel it in his bones.

From the ritual.

So… he might not be able to do anything in time if he doesn’t stop that first...

Speaking of the ritual, everyone has started to… hear things. It’s a little different per person, but they all seem to be vaguely remembering events from their last time in Carcosa. That can’t be good.

Team Off On Their Own heads towards the final three doors. The first one Prophet peeks inside and finds a bunch of people tied to beds… kidnapped people?? He waves Joey onto the next room, though Joey is distracted for a moment witnessing some kind of knife? float??? Out of the last room?? And clatter to the floor as it fails to actually stab Joey.

Haha, nice try, fool.

Joey tries to open the next door and finds a nice little sitting room and… Y???! Sitting there having a tea or something?!?! He raises his eyebrows at Joey and Joey IMMEDIATELY closes the door and uses some toon logic to jam it shut. Assuming that any casual sitting means probably not ritual, he’s just concerned about Y trying to interfere with their plans to stop the ritual now.

With that sorted, Prophet approaches the final door at the end of the hallway.

Three of the boys are still struggling against the tentacles with only Henry free, and not wanting to hurt any of the others, Henry starts trying to axe the tentacle that’s been trying to still grab him. He manages to chop it good and intimidate the monster back enough to at least not be trying to grab him anymore, but it still has grips on the others. In fact, it’s gone on to start choking out Peter and Leon! But Jack has managed to slip free during this at least.

Henry pulls out his knife and starts trying to cut some of the tentacles free from around the throat of Peter, who immediately slumps to the floor. Jack meanwhile tries and manages to yank the tentacle off Leon (it’s all that Snake Yeeting practice.) and helps him get away from the far wall.

Henry grabs the unconscious Peter and insists they keep moving forwards away from where the tentacles can reach them.

Peter, ghost form, is standing next to Henry incredulous that this is a problem, unsure why he can’t get back into his body and help. HE DIDN’T MEAN TO GHOST OUT RIGHT NOW!!! WHY IS HE GHOST?!? It keeps feeling like he’s hitting a brick wall whenever he tries to go back into body…

u h hold on,

They get out of range of tentacles and Jack hurriedly goes to check and make sure Peter is still A L I V E?!?!? And yes, he is, just, actually unconscious and would be doing better if he was breathing better (well jack time to perform mouth to mouth). Jack has Henry set him down and gets him into a better recovery position, and Peter is finally able to slide back into body, though is coughing a lot. Leon has also crawled to safety and is having his own mental breakdown but surely he will be fine! Eventually!! Jack checks on him with the intention to send him back up to Allison if he can’t handle it, but instead he insists on pressing on, so… they press on.

Prophet opens the final door and a whole bunch of yellow mist washes out around him. There’s dEFINITELY a big ol’ magic glowing circle in here with a tub in the middle that might have a person inside so uhh, SEEMS LIKE THE RITUAL ROOM. Prophet merely communicates to either “Stop the leader or rescue the lamb” to Joey before starting to sneak in, going for the first option himself. It’s hard to see with the mist in the room, but at least the two entering can hear… probably Y-Dad but not in human shape anymore by the vague things they see though the mist and also the way his chanting sounds now. Since Prophet seems to be going for the first role, Joey decides he’s gonna try to rescue the lamb, and sets himself up to take advantage of any distraction Prophet might make to hopefully grab the sacrifice and yoink her out of the circle and through the door, planning on… coming up with the rest of the plan after that!!

Prophet does manage to sneak up behind the thing and smack it with the baton Henry had given him earlier, which distracts it long enough for Joey to at least grab the figure out of the ink bath and start dragging it towards the entrance, but at that point the creature speaks up.

“Oh, you’ve brought something for me, perfect!”

And Prophet manages to just barely dodge a tentacle trying to grab him, but still feels… the ink inside of him… trying to not be inside of him anymore. It actually seems like it wants to be part of the ritual now, and has started leaking out of his entire face!

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#call of cthulhu: haunted hijinx #a pencil and a dream #henry stien #peter sunstram #jack fain #leon is here too i guess

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