#currently on ep 9 for reference

[ghost-bard]

im so sorry but i really truly dont trust anya the child in edge of midnight at all, like most untrustworthy child ive seen in media in a while

[runninguplenorahills]

Does it ever drive you crazy?

Because it surely drives me crazy and I’ll never get over it. Not only are the characters positioned identically and the scenes are shot in the same way (except for the fact that there’s no table in between Joyce and El), El is also wearing two iterations of what is essentially the same outfit in the scenes with Mike and Hopper while the scenes with Joyce and Mike have the same context of crafting glasses that block light, and the scenes with Mike and Benny both take place at a fast food restaurant with the serving hatch in the background. The colors yellow and red are also present to varying degrees.

Furthermore, we have the dialogue with Hop in s2/ep.3 “The Pollywog”:

EL: “[Mike] said he needs me.”

HOPPER: “I know you miss him kid, but it's too dangerous. You're the last thing he needs right now.”

And the dialogue with Mike in s4/ep.9 “The Piggyback”:

EL: “I- missed you”

MIKE: “yeah, I missed you too[…]”

And the fact that both scenes function as reconciliation between the characters after a fight. I’ve written a post on this before, so you’ll find more about this HERE

Then the dialogue with Joyce in s1/ep.7 “The Bathtub”

JOYCE: “This will keep it dark for you. Just like in your bathtub […].”

And the dialogue with Mike in s4/ep.9 “The Piggyback”:

MIKE: “Okay, so, hopefully, this blocks out any peripheral light, right?”

As mentioned before, Mike and Joyce are both crafting blackout goggles for El to use in the sensory deprivation tank here.

The scene with Benny in s1/ep.1 “The Vanishing of Will Byers” has Benny speculating about how El ended up in her current condition and although I wouldn’t draw similarities between this and the particular scene of Mike and El at the Surfer Boy Pizza, I do want to point out that this is the first time we see El in the Benny’s Burgers t-shirt. A t-shirt that gets mentioned by Mike later on during his infamous monologue.

Additionally, Benny’s Burgers is actually featured as a location in s4 for the first time since s1. I personally think this is reason to believe that s4 aimed to remind us of Benny and s1 to some extent. Which then brings me to the similarities between the aforementioned scene of Benny and El and the scene of Mike and El in s1/ep.2 “The Weirdo on Maple Street”.

Dialogue with Benny in s1/ep.1 “The Vanishing of Will Byers”:

BENNY: “My name’s Benny. Benny Hammond. See? Like this, here. I got you. Don’t worry, it’s okay. Nice to meet you, yeah. And you are? *reaches for her arm, revealing the number - El flinches and pulls her arm away* Eleven? What’s that mean? What’s it mean?”

EL: “No”

BENNY: “Well I’ll be damned, she speaks.”

Dialogue with Mike in s1/ep.2 “The Weirdo on Maple Street”.

EL: “No”

MIKE: “Oh, so you can speak.”

[…]

MIKE: “Hey uhm, I’ve never asked your name. *El shows her the number on her wrist* […] *Mike surges forward to touch it- El flinches and pulls away her arm* Sorry, I’ve just… never seen a kid with a tattoo before. What’s it mean? Eleven?”

Which is almost identical. Now, considering that Mike makes a direct reference to s1 in which he mentions not only Benny/Benny’s Burgers, but also meeting El for the first time, this similarity doesn’t seem entirely irrelevant. Especially keeping in mind that the above depicted scenes look identical, this probably functions as a way to underline that Mike is clearly lying about his feelings during his monologue to El.

Mike is consistently depicted as and paralleled to someone who takes care of El, like a guardian (e.g.:“I care for you… so much” - right after bringing a plate with food on it, etc.) and while this is far from being new information (it quite possibly has been discussed to death), I will never get over the fact that they’re constantly trying to remind us of this familial relationship during scenes that are supposed to be romantic moments between Mike and El, going all the way back to:

S1/ep.8 “The Upside Down”

MIKE: “They’ll be like your new parents. And Nancy, she’ll be like your new sister.

EL: “Will you be like my Brother?”

MIKE: “What? No, no.

EL: “Why ‘no’?”

MIKE: “Because… ‘cause it’s different.

EL: “Why?”

MIKE: “I mean, I don’t know, I guess it’s not”

[…]

MIKE: “Well…I was thinking… I don’t know… maybe we can go to the Snow Ball together”

[…]

MIKE: “I’ve never been, but I know you’re not supposed to go with your sister.”

EL: “No?”

MIKE: “I mean, you can, but it’d be really weird”

[…]

They kiss and the first thing Mike says afterwards is “Nancy”

[allykatsart]

Fallen Emily AU Masterpost

Main Comics

The Fall of Joy

A Spark of Hope

Missing You Something Terrible

Something Worth Fighting For

A Gentle Smile

(bonus!) Dad v Dad 2

Broken Promises

Trust issues

An Unwelcome Visit

The Space Between

Dear Charlie, Mistakes Were Made

Fixing Things

Closure

On the Mend

Anything

Horizons

Aching Anger

Despair

Forging Family

(bonus!) Divorced

Virgin Territory

Interlude: Mercy or Faith?

Feeling Overwhelmed

Homecoming

Burning Bridges

Ashes on Water

Healer

Broken Purpose (WIP)

Designs

Emily (Current sketches)

Fallen Emily Reference sheet

Emily (Future?)

Vaggie redesign

Stickers

Pride (Alastor & Emily)

Asks

Adoption

The Vee's

(non canon) Redemption...

Sera Discovering Hope

Emily's Trust List

Paradise Lost

Drinking

Valentino vs Lucifer

I.M.P

Emily Sketches!

Birds in Cages

Emily's Design & Plot

Charlie's POV

Does Sera hate Lucifer?

People defending Sera

Read on Fanon

Dubs

JoeyKatVA

Ep 1

Ep 2

Ep 3

Ep 4

Ep 5

Ep 6

Ep 7

Ep 8

Ep 9

Ep 10

Ep 11

MiracleWorks

Ep 1

Ep 2

Ep 3

Ep 4

RainMelody

Ep 1

Ep 2

Ep 3

Ep 4

Ep 5

Ep 6

Ep 7

Ep 8

Ep 9

Ep 10

Ep 11

Solarianights (Hella Dubz)

Ep 1

Ep 2

Others TBA as they come out

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - I'm using the word "ridiculous" a lot

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Dec 2024 Week 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Your Sky (Sun iQIYI) ep 5 of 12 - OMG they’re so fucking cute I can’t stand it. It’s too much. Everyone is adorable. Including the father. (That said, I wouldn’t recommend watching Naughty Babe with your dad. That’s a big leap there, cutie pie.) The 10 minutes of holding hand negotiation and then finally walking together across campus was truly fucking fantastic. This show is GLORIOUS. Now we also know when it finally does move from dreams to reality, that these two can kiss.

Actual name of this show?

How to Train Your Seme

Speaking of names, Fah's brother, whose name I forget, is now going to referred to by me as Sarcastic Cupid. Because that is his role in this narrative. I love him very much.

On a completely different note, and I know this is not that kind of show, but this is me so I have to say it, if these two ever do have sex it’s gonna take them hours. They just gonna spend half the night negotiating. Which is kind of tantric, but my goodness would they even make it into bed?

ThamePo (Fri YT) ep 2 of 12 - i just love this show!!!! so happy to have this one my screen. The dads have to save the little musical family! So cute! And illegally pretty.

Love Sick 2024 (Sun iQIYI) ep 14 of 15 - They substantially took steps to fix Phun‘s dad character in the new version and I really like that a lot. I'm chronicling my experience with 2024 as compared to 2014 here. 

Caged Again (Fri Gaga) ep 7 of 10 - Why is this absurd show so damn good? When Sun has to beg it’s just too much. It’s too sweet and aching and hurtful and wonderful. Catnip = the sex herb trope was not anything I’ve ever thought I would see in my lifetime. Okaaay now. Relax little show. Too far.

Fourever You (Thurs YT) ep 12 of 16 - The extended version is clearly better. But I’m not gonna bother to pay for it. Again, I’m liking the new couple more and more each week. I still prefer the first couple of course cause Pond but it’s enjoyable enough.

Note: I'm super grateful for those posting them as clips here on the hellsite. Because man can these boys kiss!

The Heart Killers (Weds Gaga) ep 4 of 12 - this show is so entirely and utterly ridiculous. I don’t even know what to do with it or myself. Or what to say. Carry on, I guess?

Also I don't know what GMMTV is smoking to tease this one, but I'll take a hit next time they pass the BL bong.

Perfect 10 Liners (Sun YT?) ep 7 of 24 - I am living for Pond & Sand. they are pretty much all I care about. Yes including the upcoming couples. I just want pond sand. sure the main couple was fine it was a perfectly serviceable ending to their arc such as it was. All in all I enjoyed this episode big smile on my face most of the time.

Secret Love (????) 1-60 of 81 eps - Someone dropped a cut together of episodes one through 60, and I actually quite enjoyed it. It’s a total soap opera and very much a pulp. But I kind of love that right now. Frankly, 1-60 is a completed story arc. If you want that. I will probably watch the whole thing if anybody ever uploads it or it turns up grey anywhere. But this was quite satisfying. Ridiculous but charming fluff about two stepbrothers, who aren’t really stepbrothers, who have loved each other forever and are reunited under trying family circumstances. 7/10 passes the sniff test

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Our Youth AKA Miseinen: Mijukuna Oretachi wa Bukiyo ni Shinkochu (Japan Tues Gaga) ep 7 of 11 - ARGH. The pain. what an absolutely stellar show. I can't believe we are only on ep 7!

See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga) ep 9 of 13 - I love it. This show is fantastic. It’s classic BL, it’s hitting all of the tropes, and it reminds me of some of the best that Taiwan has done in the past. I’m charmed and enjoying it immensely. Taiwan isn’t great on endings so I’m reserving judgment, but what a current highlight to my week. I like these boys so much. Please be kind to me and them, Taiwan?

Eternal Butler (Taiwan Fri Gaga) eps 1-2 of 12 - Ever 4, a sophisticated AI combat robot, becomes the personal butler/bodyguard to Luo Bu Shi, a spoiled yet lonely young heir. And I like it a lot. Odd with a very old fashioned yaoi feel. Also actually kinky (not Thai kinky), I mean it's no JBL but I like it. Dommed into reading = hot. 

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 12 of ? - I love our new rescuer, he v cute! Nice addition to the cast. I hope we get more of him. Otherwise, this was more of the same. I’m getting pretty fatigued with this bully stuff at this juncture.

Love in the Air: Koi no Yokan (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 8 end - A lackluster adaptation of some already questionable content, that managed to lose all the limited charm and massive chemistry of the original. It was a mistake to do with less runtime not to mention put both climaxes in the final episode.  Too much all at once. By dividing up the two rescues and keeping them exclusive to their respective couples they highlighted the formulaic nature of the narrative and weakened the foundational friendships. The best thing about the original was the friendships both between the semes and the ukes. By having each boyfriend simply rescue his own boy without help, we didn’t get to see the depth of those friendships at all. For this reason, this installment was weaker than the original. My final feeling at the end was simply “OK whatever” not a ringing endorsement. 7/10 but barely that.

It's airing but......

Spare Me Your Mercy (Thurs iQIYI) ep 5 of 8 - on hold because it went out side genre conventions and I'm not sure what to expect. I'm waiting until it ends, then if safe I will binge.

Be Moon - Falling for my enemy's son (China YT) movie from HBD Studio airing in short bits but I couldn't find any this week.

Winter Is Not The Death of Summer (Thai ???) - has been picked up to air on WeTV, or something? Criminals who meet in prison fall in love. I did find it on YouTube, initially un-subbed, then subs happened by which time I got distracted. The first episode seems to be only six minutes long. It is very pulp. But it is intriguing. For now it's to the wayside until someone tells me it landed safely. Occasionally Thai pulps want to be edgy and it's not a good look on them.

0.5D (Japan ????) 4 eps - Supposedly a completed short. "Sales ace, Sada, has a secret that only his junior, Daiki, knows. He has pretended to have a gf for years, resulting in him being a virgin. But now Sada has fallen in love. Confused, Sada seeks advice from his junior." I sense another queer Cyrano De Bergerac. I can't find and it's good very poor review so Imma stop looking. Info here.

The Renovation (Thai mini One31) 2 eps - Writer turns his blossoming romance with holiday resort owner into a novel. Eh is it worth trying to find?

It Ended But?

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days (China Sun Viki) paused at eps 9-10 of 12 - I have been told the ending is OK if not great. I’m gonna hold off for a bit.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Final still to come:

12/29 Sangmin Dinneaw (Thai ????) ??eps - trailer Childhood friends (Thai & Korean) reunite after being apart for ten years. As the boys reconnect, their bond matures and feelings of romance begin to develop, in Thai.

Impression of Youth (Taiwan ????) ??eps - rumors are this is supposed to start this month.

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

10 years later and it's still one of BLs best cuddles (Love Sick)

Always like a seme who asks permission. (Perfect 10)

(last week)

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

[madkiska]

watching the entirety of jrwi: riptide again. here's some important things from the first few episodes that I feel we forgot (<110 mentions too though)

Jay

Had night terrors similar to those of Kubakinta's curse in episode 5, and they eventually start returning even after Loffinlot's curse is lifted ○ All of them were about her family and/or the navy ○ I simply think people leave her out of the nightmare stuff and she deserves it. Hurt her more, please (he said, lovingly)

was actually very upset at having to use her medal to get a Loffinlot rebellion to shut up ○ This could be because she didn't want them to guess she was a spy, but I choose to believe it's because she felt guilty

"If you're gonna be sailing with someone, you should have a good relationship with them. [nervous chuckle]." She says, while asking him for information about the Black Rose Pirates (ep. 10)

Said "thank god they didn't find me" after a nightmare about the navy attacking. Even when she was supposedly a spy, who one day would have to return to the navy ○ Very unclear if she was scared of her dad, or if it's because she was a secret spy so the navy would've just killed her

Rewatching, she was suspiciously into the plundering and gold and stuff. Like that was real sus. It doesn't fit her current character much

The only one among them who's gambled before

Chip

The entire thing literally starts off with Bizly holding a lit match

Called Gillion "Gill" and Jay "Sureshot" from an early stage

Was SO much more of a bastard. Lied to Gill constantly, didn't care about anything but the money, etc.

Had aggressive hand tremors alongside Jay's night terrors ○ Gill cures it with lay on hands

When he gets drunk married, they talk extensively about how he'd be released when he's dead. Welp.

They did actually break up and it was fine and they were still friends. They parted on good terms

Is really fucking good at chess ○ Beat Earl twice and Jay once. Jay had a point of exhaustion after a nightmare but Earl had no excuse ○ Lost to Gillion though, but only cause of prophetic screwup ○ This kid is smarter than he lets on, y'all

Was the first one to have a backstory dump while Jay is asking him about the Black Rose Pirates, yet still we know jack shit about his life before them other than "orphan"

Gill

Charlie has referred to Gillion with 'they' many times. I can pull receipts.

When describing Gill, Charlie said: "He's more.. elven, if you had to make a comparison. 'Cause I don't wanna be a fish guy". Oh, honey.

Smote a bald person by using his hair as a whip (ep. 4)

Was given anxiety and self-doubt alongside jay's night terrors and chip's tremors ○ "What do you want?" "I want the feeling of satisfaction I've been chasing my whole life." ○ This was episode FIVE.

First mention of the prophecy and how Gillion wasn't their ideal student is ep. 7, after he divine smites + prophetic screwups and deals like 60 damage to some beetles ○ Chip spends the next 30 seconds in gay awe

He refers to the crescent moon Niklaus tattoo as "my zodiac" (probably a bit) ○ It's not a lil basic white girl moon this thing is the entire size of his forearm

Gill had never heard about the Black Sea - it's unclear if the Undersea just don't know, or if that's just how sheltered he was (ep. 10)

Biz: "What would Gillion do. If he just had no goal - was just sitting there." "Gillion always has a goal." "Would his goal ever be to just.. Sit there?" "Absolutely not." ○ Later, Chip expresses that he doesn't know what Gillion likes. What he would want out of winning a bet. Gillion doesn't have an answer

Other

Apple, in a couple of early battles, acted like Gill's familiar (see: ep. 7)

They also pecked at his Niklaus tramp stamp and looked all confused at the idea of eating seeds

The specific crescent of the moon in the Niklaus tattoo is known as a symbol of "corruption" (ep. 9) and its antonym is the sun, for "life", similar to the yin and yang ○ Interesting to consider after what the tree said in 110 <_<

Pretzel has a masters degree in couple's therapy (ep. 10)

The Albatross/Millennium Chipper was described as the colour of rosewood or mahogany

Captain Lizzie's first introduction was a wanted poster, and Chip wanted to turn her in for the prize, then decided to try learn from her instead

Chip/Bizly called Old Man Earl "Erol" for a loooong time ○ Maybe it's an accent thing but I have an uncle called Erol and so this stands out to me

[searchingforglendowerwithleah]

so im following you for trc mainly, but i did used to watch 911 too (this was long before bucktommy even happened and i stopped somewhere around s4) so i really have no context for the current drama taking place. i am curious though - why are people so unhappy with bucktommy? is it just cause most people are buddie shippers or is there something else? not trying to stir the pot or anything im honestly just curious

Bahahah omg sorry to my TRC people I have been actually going off the rails about 9-1-1.

Ok so I am definitely a Buddie stan however, my most prominent reason I don’t like Tommy is his behaviour in Season 2 (in case you forgot Tommy is in Hen Begins, Chimney Begins and Bobby Begins Again having been apart of the 118 before Buck joins). In these episodes Tommy is very antagonistic to Hen and Chimney with some hella racist and sexist moments. HE LITERALLY REFERS TO CHIMNEY AS THE DELIVERY GUY. Whilst not nearly as bad as Gerrard he is not at all likeable (or interesting). This behaviour is pretty much shrugged under the rug when Tommy is randomly brought back to the show 5 seasons later as a love interest for Buck.

Tommy also seems to not really undertand Buck. The best example is Chimney’s bachelor party when he doesn’t get dressed up with Buck for the 80s theme Buck planned. And then Eddie literally plans to do a couples costume with Buck in comparison. Not to mention at said bachelor party Buck and Eddie are all over each other (watch that ep ‘There Goes the Groom’ if you want a comparison in chemistry).

Frankly I think a lot of people just got hot and heated over Buck kissing a guy and that immediate gratification became a vehicle for the ship to gain popularity. There is no care for the romance. I’m not going to get into some of the politics of the fandom fights however there has definitely been some xenophobic attitudes towards Eddies character and just the Eddie hatred from Bucktommy fans is super weird. There is way more stuff surrounding this and in general just examples of Bucktommy being a bad ship and Tommy being condescending. Him calling Buck Evan, getting him basketball tickets when he hates basketball, low key pressuring him to come out.

I think the conversation around queerbaiting is alsonotable. Bucktommy kind of feels like a bandaid on the queerbaiting allegations that surround Buddie. The show notably has lots of representation but none of the queer ships are between two main characters. Like no the most popular fanon ship can’t become canon but you can have this half assed ship. Although in the long run I do think Buck coming out as bisexual first and having this relationship is a great potential segway to Buddie, especially if they pull off Eddie’s repression storyline.

Buck and Eddie out of the main cast have had the most tumultuous record of relationships. None of their relationships feel important compared to the other relationships because they aren’t paired with other main characters so they aren’t as pivotal to the story overall. All of the other MC’s (I’m talking like the MAIN CAST) are paired up with other MC’s. This excludes Hen and Karen (with Karen technically being reoccurring) however, their relationship is notably pre established.

It is so clear to me that Tommy is a distraction for Buck from his true feelings for Eddie. The show needs to actually let that romance play out. No relationships Buck or Eddie get into outside of eachother will ever live up to the other main ships because they cannot compete with the the history that the show establishes between the two.

At this point Tommy has even brought up Eddie as the competition and accused Buck of having feelings for him. As long as Eddie breathes then Tommy has to settle for being second best in Bucks eyes because Bucks only defence to that accusation is Eddies alleged straightness.

Imagine your ship hinging on the fact that one of the characters was settling because the person they truly want doesn’t like them back. What strong foundations! Especially strong when Eddie’s arc this season feels like an inevitable coming out is upon us.

Like Buck literally says “I don’t have to sleep with everyone I have feelings for and I don’t have feeling for everyone I sleep with” after this. He has in canon essentially said I have feelings for Eddie — I don’t have feelings for Tommy and then Tommy leaves. If that isn’t the nail in the ship coffin I don’t know what is.

If Buck and Eddie go canon it will genuinely be one of the greatest queer slow burns on television. They deserve to have a dynamic relationship that is equal to the other main ships on the show in terms of screen time and importance.

Overall it’s definitely a bit of a ship war and like people are entitled to their opinions but it actually has larger implications for the shows representation and character arcs as a whole. Tommy is not the epitome of evil but the slander is defintely valid. Honesty I just don’t understand why people prefer him and Buck when Buddie has such rich history and potential. The only thing going for Bucktommy is that it’s canon — well WAS canon rip.

Sorry this was so long and unedited and I’m definitely missing loads of stuff!! I’d recommend you start watching the show again however the last three episodes have been TERRIBLE so maybe just go watch some Buddie edits on TikTok.

[personwithatophat]

What is Generation Loss

Ive noticed that alot of people interested in genloss, dont actually know most of the branching facets of it. which, if you arnt there for it, checks out. genloss is kind of all over the place. So without getting super deep into plot, heres a rundown of all the places and pieces where genloss happens. especially if you read my theories, because I know i dont exposition as much as i should. The Social Experiments - TSE

ep.1 https://youtu.be/6NtFYeJ-WK4?si=n_cDiQcecLa6pR-3 ep.2 https://youtu.be/J6itxrDyQWM?si=H8yr71Hp9gxSOxZw ep.3 https://youtu.be/eA9U4U9LOe8?si=MSxRcwkjqylmA2Pu - This is the first 'major' installation and story, but its only on the vod channel. Comedy/horror full of liminal vibes and meta symbolism, streamed live on twitch as an interactive show. The Founders Cut - TFC TFC - https://youtu.be/JF062QZT_0A?si=K9Q6aLbORSRE4ouY - The revisioned version of TSE thats shorter and more focused on the horror aspect of the show. Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@generationloss This is the official youtube channel. all videos under this channel are considered canon to the story of generation loss and the channel is used primarily to promote soon-to-be releases with more highlighted detailing. Twitter -

https://x.com/Generationloss1

the twitter is similar to the youtube but is also canon to the story and uses more images for promo, this is where people find the cryptic updates, teaser images, or schematics. Chronicle 0 - https://x.com/TheChronicle0 Cron 0 is a series of mostly unrelated diary entries from a character called Miss 'Zero' Roads. whos been shown to us as a perceived young adult working at an A/V shop, going to school, getting over past trauma, and is apparently from the 1970's-90s. Zero has had scraps of her story scattered over genloss entries since she was introduced. Merch Shop - https://generationloss.tv/?srsltid=AfmBOopXdCUeFiwzLFHLgxjrea2qb1JaKymLKyxjYsFxfr_ZW4_27I0p The merch shop is also canon on the website there have been some cases of story, such as a letter from the founder in the about page, a very short game that released as promo for TSE and has since been removed, and the VHS tapes of the founders cut which were sold fall 2024 and have significance that hasnt fully been explained or unpacked so far. The Founder Game - TFG https://www.thefoundergame.com/chapter-select The founders game is the newest large installment to the series, featuring 9/10 chapters of choose your own adventure style thriller based gameplay with the new protagonist 'Ben'. Genloss is currently broken up into 'generations' or seasons the difference is that each 'generation' refers to a storyline instead of a release date. Content thats based around ranboos character, showfall media, etc are part of Gen 1, and right now anything outside that is reffering to gen 0, which has both been follow up content, and prequel content. Hopefully this helps at least one person out, I know some of this can get lost in everything like how chronicle 0 is buried under the twitter but if theres still any confusion or any other questions/comments then feel free to reach out! Id love to start a conversation :) -Tophat

[glorious-sunset]

LBFAD Opening Artwork – Hidden Meanings

The created artworks used for the opening scenes of LBFAD (Love Between Fairy and Devil) are unique and have many hidden layers of meaning! Sheer genius on the part of the artists and designers :D Here are my interpretations of these stunning works of art.

Image 1: Bone Orchid (image above)

Although I’ve posted stills, each image actually moves. Here, flowers bloom on the Bone Orchid and leaves grow on previously bare branches around the sides. This is the original form of the Bone Orchid prior to DongFang QingCang (DFQC) transforming it into a bracelet for Xiao Lanhua (XLH) in ep. 9.

The two parts of the Bone Orchid, the crescent-moon-shaped bone and the vine of the orchid plant wrapped around it, each represent DFQC (the Moon Supreme) and XLH (who was disguised as an Orchid), and their close bond. This is a new magical artefact that DFQC created from his blood in ep. 9 (similar to Lady Yan creating the Heart-hiding hairpin). That he chose to give it a form symbolising a bond between himself and XLH is deeply significant! Consciously, he may have meant their connection through the one-heart curse, but subconsciously he already had deep affection for her by this time.

Orchid flowers blooming on the previously bare vines of the Bone Orchid represent the blooming of their love for each other. (As their love blooms, XLH bonds with the Bone Orchid to the extent that removing it would end her life by ep. 29). It also refers to the many times that XLH makes flowers bloom when DFQC does something to make her happy :D The leaves growing on the bare branches around the sides of the image symbolise XLH’s resurrection of DFQC’s Tree of Emotions and his healing process. The Bone Orchid represents the love between our Fairy and Devil which is the central theme of LBFAD, so no wonder it is the first image we see!

Image 2: Xiao Lanhua

Here XLH first transforms from an orchid flower tethered to its stem, into human form as a young and innocent girl. The white swirls around her represent her usual spiritual powers (not her green Goddess powers). When she uses her powers to repair destiny leaves, etc., her energy appears as white light (important note - we see a different type of energy later in the opening artwork!) The pink tinge to some swirls represent her femininity and affection. XLH appears weak and vulnerable but her love and tenderness are the most transformative force in the series. Her reflection in the water below shows an orchid plant only, not a girl – this symbolises the illusion of her orchid form in hiding her true identity.

Image 3: Haishi Rescue

In this scene from ep. 3, initial obstacles to their love are presented including their power differential (symbolised by her small size within his giant hands), his view of her as an object and his underlying lack of emotions. The city of Haishi is below, the giant Sun made of DFQC’s formidable Hellfire is to the left, and the floating debris represents the destruction DFQC has wrought and is trained to continue to wreak. His mission is to destroy Shuiyuntian and conquer the three realms.

XLH looks vulnerable, her cloak resembles an orchid petal, and white/pink swirls of feminine energy again surround her. However, DFQC has just saved her life and continues to shield her within a protective bubble – an important ongoing dynamic of their relationship.

Images 4-7: Flashback

Images 4-7 are artistically presented as a series of opening doors, like opening the pages of a history book. They are a flashback to events 30,000 years ago and set the scene for current events and obstacles to the love between the OTP.

Image 4: The Two Tribes

The two different tribes that our OTP belong to are presented. Shuiyuntian is light and airy, and floats above the clouds with dozens of golden birds flying in the sky. They are the emblem of Shuiyuntian (as the crescent moon is for the Moon tribe) as shown by the golden bird brooches worn by celestials. Similar to Shangque transforming into a black dragon, the true form of some celestials may also be of golden birds and they can transform into this form. The position of Cangyan Sea below Shuiyuntian, the darkness in which their people live and their comparative lack of manpower (there is only one black dragon in the image) suggests that they are oppressed by Shuiyuntian.

Image 5: Battle of Two Tribes

Prior to Lady Chidi’s sacrifice, the people of Shuiyuntian and Cangyan Sea fight each other, their forces coordinated by Lord Dong and DFQC. This is the culmination of a hundred millenia of warfare between their tribes. Again there is only one dragon, and Lady Chidi in the forefront leaps into Cangyan Sea territory to confront it. Her red cape traces her active path through the battlefield. White and red swirls of energy (+/- blood) emanate from her.

Image 6: Lady Chidi’s Sacrifice

After invading Xuanxu realm of Cangyan Sea, this is the pivotal moment where Lady Chidi explodes her spirit to seal the 100,000 soldiers of the Moon tribe. Red blood sprays from her body and her earth magic envelops the Moon Tribe soldiers, sealing them within the earth. Her sacrifice foreshadows XLH’s own sacrifice in ep. 31.

Image 7: The Capture of DFQC

After the sealing of his soldiers, a weakened DFQC with white hair is suspended within the circular Haotian tower, his arms and legs magically bound. Magical glyphs surround him to seal him in place, representing the magical seal of the Haotian matrix.

Image 8: Xiao Lanhua of Arbiter Hall

Back to the present - the series opens by introducing us to XLH of Siming Dian (Arbiter Hall). The archways in this image are similar to the archways in the lower level of Arbiter Hall. Vines grow around the pillars, symbolising that XLH’s primordial spirit is connected to the plants at Arbiter Hall. The trees behind her may represent the nearby Shuyu Forest that she frequently visits. As XLH moves to the right, new white trees start to grow in front of the black trees, demonstrating her ability to create new life and make plants grow. White swirls of her spiritual energy again surround her.

In line with her selfless and giving nature, XLH offers up her spirit! She does this four times in the series: 1) In ep. 1, she offers up her life and spirit to protect Changheng, whose destiny leaf had changed and was destined to have his body and spirit destroyed (more detail here). 2) Also in ep. 1, she fuses part of her spirit to DFQC’s, restoring his spirit and body and giving him a part of her spirit (which he later extracts in ep. 33 to resurrect her). 3) In ep. 31, she sacrifices her life and spirit to protect DFQC’s life, to resurrect everyone that died on the battlefield and free the 100,000 sealed soldiers of the Moon Tribe. 4) She promises the Great Turtle in ep. 33 that she will sacrifice her spirit to defeat Taisui and bless the Three Realms. XLH’s fate to sacrifice herself is another obstacle to her and DFQC’s love for each other :(

Image 9: DFQC’s Tree of Emotions

Thanks to XLH’s resurrection of his Tree of Emotions in ep. 1, DFQC begins to grow beautiful glowing golden leaves on its previously bare branches, symbolising his breathtaking transformation.

Image 10: The Great Turtle

I believe this is another flashback. At the end of XLH’s first life in Xishan, her parents disguised her as an orchid plant with no human form. At this time between her first and second lives, she meets the Great Turtle. The orchid flower sprouting from her hand is the new form she transforms into, and orchid petals float around her during her transformation. The Great Turtle calls XLH an old friend in ep. 9 as they have met before – in this scene.

To the left of the image is a crescent moon with a dead tree growing on it. This symbolises DFQC (the Moon Supreme) and his Tree of Emotions which was dead at that time 30,000 years ago. There is a wisp of haze around the tree indicating that it has the potential to regrow. Despite XLH’s destiny to sacrifice herself for the Three Realms (which she might have discussed with the Great Turtle here), DFQC is waiting in the wings to change her destiny!

Image 11: Our Fairy and Devil

XLH gazes upward in hope, while DFQC’s eyes are closed and his head bowed, portraying both his reserved nature and that initially he was emotionally closed off, aloof and distant. The asymmetric gold crown that DFQC wears indicates that this scene is from after their return from the mortal realm back to Cangyan Sea – XLH also wears Moon Tribe attire.

On the Bone Orchid between them are flowers in full bloom, representing their love, which is now in full bloom :D Also between them is DFQC’s Tree of Emotions, now fully regrown with gorgeous white blossoms similar to the scene where he sits beneath his tree in ep. 24.

Despite the beautiful development of their love and of their characters, war between their two tribes is imminent. The image of Shuiyuntian between them sports a red flag, indicating their impending invasion of Cangyan Sea. Cangyan Sea is outnumbered, represented by one dragon vs. dozens of golden birds, and they face annihilation at the hands of Shuiyuntian D: Another reason for DFQC to bow his head, as he faces both the destruction of his realm and the loss of his love at this time.

Image 12: Peace Reigns

Just look at the swirls of energy emanating from XLH and DFQC as they float in a boat along the Oblivion River! There are again white swirls for XLH, but DFQC has red and gold swirls for Glazed Fire!! This scene occurs after DFQC’s return at the end of the series! :D The red belt around XLH’s waist is reminiscent of blood pooling from her wound in ep. 31 when she stabs herself with the Zhengying sword. This image (and the opening theme song Jue Ai, “Farewell Love”) pays homage to both her sacrifice, and DFQC’s sacrifice in ep. 36 which produced his Glazed Fire. Only through both of their sacrifices, were they able to bring about first a ceasefire to war, then lasting peace between Shuiyuntian and Cangyan Sea, breaking through a hundred millenia of unending conflict!

Only by creating peace are they finally able to be together happily. The boat is deeply significant for our OTP - there are three situations where they are alone together in a boat during the series. XLH reminisces fondly about this in ep. 24, and Siming sends a boat for DFQC (and fireflies for Changheng!) as a sign that she knows their most significant connections to XLH. To the bottom right are the peaceful waters of Cangyan Sea with the watchful eye of a black dragon at rest. To the top left is a peaceful Shuiyuntian with Yunzhong’s watchful “Eye of Heaven” (seen in ep. 14) accompanied by a flower in bloom, symbolising peace and prosperity. The positions of each are in poetic parallel to image 4 which showed conflict – the defensive black dragon in image 4 is now restful, and the golden birds also seem to be resting :)

Here is a link to my article: How Immortals age in cdramas – clues from LBFAD

All of my LBFAD articles can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

[nabi-unveiled]

Nabi Notices (May 7, 2025)

So I didn't make one of these last week. Between LFLS, Top Form, and Heesu, there had been too many tears in the previous week. I was a bit drained...and out of time to write.

But this week has been all about the plushies and happy things. So many spots of joy. Thanks to everyone who sent a message to my inbox or a DM over the past week. I've appreciated every single one of them. It's like sharing a meal. I put HIGH value on it.

The Things I Noticed This Week (and last):

I watched a good number of shows in the past two weeks. This included currently airing shows and a few older shows I binged. I rewatched My Stubborn way too many times, but I've never been one to deny myself something that brings me joy. Hold back if you want. As long as it's legal, safe, and doesn't hurt anyone, I'm going to indulge.

Fabulous Fit

I love mixed denims so I really like Jun's pants during My Stubborn. Add in that his shirt said "smile" while his bestie's said "Life Sucks". Mixed up pants and mixed messages. It feels appropriate for this show.

Fascinating Find

During the emoji tag game, it became apparent that I hadn't finished I Feel You Linger in the Air. Turns out I had only watched the first episode. So I binged it this weekend, and yeah -> I needed that in my life. It's very much stuck in my brain at this point. In the best possible way.

But it sent me on a deep dive about frangipanis (plumeria). I love flowers and flower symbolism, but I didn't know much about that particular one. Jom tells us that the name means misery in Thai. Yai says it's a gentle scent that's liberating and enchanting and smells like Jom.

But if you explore the meanings of plumeria in various cultures, one of the meanings is "love long in absence" and that feels like a beautiful symbol for this couple.

Fantastic Frame

I loved this shot in the extra of Secrets Happened on the Litchi Island.

Between the strawberries, the book, and the parallel positioning with the resting angel, it's like a little picture of heaven. At some point in my life, I'll make a list of all of the shows that reference The Little Prince.

Fun Flourish

Side note: I just realized I had misspelled "flourish" in previous weeks. This is why I love my copyeditor at work. They catch all of my mistakes, and they are always nice about it.

It seems odd to say a memorial service was my fun flourish, but I enjoyed how the service for Way in Pit Babe 2 was held in the garage and that the car served as the altar. It felt true to this crew.

Although my mind did keep wondering how difficult it was to light those candles and keep them in the right position for filming. I also wondered how many candles they actually needed since the wax would melt as they did their takes.

Favorite Fragment

Watching Business as Usual is a case study in me overthinking things. I constantly find myself looking for deeper meaning in the dialogue when it really isn't that deep. It feels to me like a show that should have layers, but...it doesn't. Not really. However, I really enjoy watching it and thinking about the characters.

I loved the mutual exchange of "I'm mad at you", but this particular line was my favorite this past week. Because we all need to give ourselves a pep talk from time to time. And it was a great example of how Min Jun has grown (hopefully) and how our leads are finally meeting each other in terms of communication. The preview didn't look promising, but I'm hoping the finale doesn't revert to more miscommunication or give us noble idiocy.

My Queue for the Coming Week:

Where will the wheel spin this week? Who knows? I certainly don't. These are the few things that I'm confident I'll watch.

The Next Prince (Ep 1)

Something's Not Right (Finale) 😤. I hold no hope.

Business as Usual (Finale). 🙏 I hold moderate hope.

Top Form (Ep 9)

My Stubborn (Ep 4). Can it be Sunday now? Please.

Love for Love's Sake (Ep 5)

There will definitely be more. I'll probably start Moonlight Chicken since it won the poll.

[designation-zi]

It’s interesting to me that Tessa, despite humanizing the drones after digging them out of the dump and fixing them up, didn’t give N, V, or J more human like names like how the Worker Drones on Copper 9 have

Instead (at least what we see in ep 5) she uses their Serial Numbers as their names which would have been displayed on their yellow “Marked For Disassembly” armbands (and are now currently on their new “Disassembly Drone” armbands)

As for Cyn and why she isn’t referred to as her S/N too, it’s because it’s not visible on her armband. It’s worn out. But her Part Number isn’t. Her P/N starts with CYN (the full number being CYN-N??A to be more exact. It’s a bit hard to make out) which is why that was the name given to her

Also of note is that N, V, and J’s P/Ns also start with CYN, but end with MYKX instead (which kinda reads as “Cyn makes” ? Alluding to the fact “Cyn” / The Absolute Solver made the disassembly drones?)

Here’s J’s disassembly drone armband as an example:

Just some details I found interesting and felt like talking about

[catmomjudy]

Quick and Dirty “Evan” Count

This count is taken from transcripts at:

tvshowtranscripts.ourboard.org

“Evan Buckley” and “Evan” Counts Per Episode:

“Evan” Counts Per Person:

Excluding PAST scenes in 4x05 and Coma Dream in 6x11

Parents are counted together because the transcripts aren’t always labeled with who is speaking. It’s usually easy to tell with main cast, but Margaret and Phillip tag team him a lot.

Notes:

*The name is introduced by the TV reporter in 1x02

*The next usage is in 1x10, where the Catfish Girls all call him “Evan” (once) or “Evan Buckley” (twice)

*Buck introduces himself to new people as “Evan Buckley” 3 times

The 118: Quickly corrects to “Buck” after Bobby says, “Take a seat, Evan” (“Uh, Buck. Everyone just calls me ‘Buck’”)

Red: “Evan Buckley. Buck.”

Lucy: Does not tell her to call him Buck.

*Buck says the name “Evan Buckley” multiple times, but says the name “Evan” alone 3 times:

Suggested baby name (4x03)

Mimicking his parents (4x03)

Mocking/questioning Chim (in 6x10 when Chim calls him “Evan”)

*In 6x11 (In Another Life)

Evan in Dream: Maddie 1; Margaret 2; Phillip 2; Evil Daniel 1

Evan in reality: 1 (Margaret, I believe)

Evan Buckley: Crazy Bobby 1; Real Athena 1

*About the Name “Buck”

He tells Maddie about the nickname in a postcard written the day he starts his probationary year as a firefighter.

He explicitly tells the 118 to call him “Buck.” This scene is shown TWICE: in 2x16 (Bobby Begins Again) and 4x05 (Buck Begins)

After this, no one in the 118 calls him Evan except Chim (once to be annoying in 2x01; twice in 6x10 when he’s trying to impress the Buckleys) and Eddie (once, in 4x14).

He explicitly tells his parents in 4x05 (when they come to the firehouse): “Buck. That’s what people who know me…that’s what they call me.” To their credit, they do call him Buck when they visit in 6x10.

*And because I started this because of a post about Tommy:

Tommy calls him “Evan” 9 times in eps 7x04 and 7x05

He did not refer to him by name after that

The 5 times in 7x04 were all conversational or as greetings.

Of the four times in 7x05, one was in reaction to the wedding invitation, and the other 3 were part of 2 slightly snarky comments and the brush-off:

”Nobody’s looking at us, Evan.”

”Ain’t that the truth, Evan.”

”Evan, I think you’re adorable, but I don’t think you’re ready.”

If you see or note any I missed, please let me know.

(Counts and dialogue from: tvshowtranscripts.ourboard.org)

Updated 11:15 pm 6/27/24 to revise per person counts (to include current time scenes in 4x05) and to add section on “Buck.”

[crowlhoard]

Solver discussion, but it contains info from episode 7, so I´ll put it under cut. 1/2

I wanted to organize my thoughts about the Absolute Solver in a written format, because it's still quite a mysterious entity.

This moment, so easy to miss, is when everything started

A broken worker drone, waking up under the pile of robot corpses, getting an offer from a mysterious entity. The patient zero - Cyn.

And I think that's what made her the main host - while we don't know how humans infected drones with Solver to study it, Uzi and Doll just inherited the programming, which allowed them to access Solver powers, they never were offered a deal. Which is probably why they are capable of fighting it, while Cyn seems under it's total control.

We, as viewers, never actually met Cyn - only her imitation by the Solver. And so we can't be sure that we ever saw actual Cyn, for all we know even in this moment in ep 2

it was already Solver Cyn. Another point for this theory: to both Cyn and Tessa, the entity promised to not discard them. And on the first glance it broke that promise to Tessa. But discard also means "to throw away". And Solver did the absolute opposite of that - it's under Cyn's chassis and Tessa's skin, they are the closest they can be, forever. So to Cyn it could have meant the same - "I won't throw away your body".

I specifically written 'Solver Cyn', because I'm not sure that Cyn/Tessa abomination and the Absolute Solver are the same entity. The reason for that starts in episode 2, where we meet the Spooky Holo Crab - who, unlike the now familiar skinsuit cosplaying drone, refers to itself in plural:

It also drops this little gem of lore, that seems to make more and more sense:

Interestingly, it also refers to J as a host as well

Which means all Disassembly Drones are also Solver hosts. Yet not all hosts are equal, since DDs themselves are created by the first host and nerfed to ensure her control over them

And that's why I think the Solver we saw in episode 2 is the closest to it's purest form, since it's host isn't present to affect it, but it's shackled by the directive given to it by Cyn, which is why it tried to repair J.

Thanks to the recent episode, we also know that humans were able to make a patch, which apparently blocked Solver possession, yet the subjects retained access to Solver powers. Which leads me to fortify my belief that Cyn/Tessa host isn't the same as the Absolute Solver.

The Absolute Solver is a hivemind, 'we', the source of those reality hacking powers. While Cyn/Tessa is the most affected host, and that's why she wants to eliminate all other hosts out of her control. Because if Cyn/Tessa was the Absolute Solver itself, this wouldn't be a problem for her

However, what Cyn/Tessa does have in common with the Absolute Solver - she likes to play with puppets, and she has favorites - team JVN.

But all 3 puppets require different approaches:

J's memories are redacted to suit current needs, in the Pilot she follows company's orders to disassemble worker drones on Copper 9, while her later clone helps "Tessa" investigate Cyn's orders, masked as company's orders. But her true character is now at the precipice as we are yet to see what she actually knows and whether she is aware who her actual boss is.

V is the one who seems to retain the most memories, and her obedience stems not from deception, but from fear:

And finally N - the most redacted of the team. Which is now obvious why - he is the favorite puppet, the one with the best reactions. But no-one can keep those levels of cheer under constant torture, so he needs to be reset the most.

[sketchvelle]

thank you lovely @georgiasbrainstuff for the tag! this was so fun 🥰

~ ♡ ~

last song I listened to: lord of the rings but it's lofi beats (from my lock in and get shit done at work playlist)

favourite colour: purple, in all its shades!

last movie/tv show: season 4 of the americans

currently watching: latest ep of neil newbon playing bg3

sweet/spicy/savoury: SWEET always!!

relationship status: married (for like 9 years lmao 👵)

my current obsession: playing WoW (for the first time in 10+ years!) and also playing (read: dying loads and being a burden on my team) peak!

last thing I googled: person unclipping a dog from a leash (trying to find the perfect reference photo to draw from)

~ ♡ ~

tagging in @jusst-you-race @mintraindrop @powerful-owl if you'd like to share, no pressure ^^

[ber--32]

Headcannoning dates for when the pmmm series episodes took place

some info:

this is assuming the year is 2011

this wont include the pre-intro scenes except if the date in that scene is the same as the episode

i will add timestamps if there are multiple dates in 1 episode

basically episode 3, 4, and 5 are back-to-back

episode 6, 7, 8, and 9 are back-to-back too

this is gonna have spoilers

Episode 1: 25 march, 28 march

25 march [04:27-14:38]

(based on Homura’s calendar in the hospital, which says that's when she transfers to school)

28 march [14:39-23:54]

(I know its meant to be implied that episode 1 is 1 day but i have an explanation i prommy)

Episode 2: 28 march, 29 march

28 march during the flashbacks of Mami explaining stuff at her house

29 march during everything else

[no timestamps because it switches from flashback to current time and it just.]

(28&29 because since 25march is on a friday and hitomi says words like yesterday to refer to when she left early in episode 1)

Episode 3: April 5, April 6

April 5 [0:00-9:57]

(since it is kinda implied that atleast a few days have passed since episode 2. And by implied i mean i have a hunch just trust me bro + they wear school uniform the next day)

April 6 [9:58-22:25]

Episode 4: April 7

(its implied that its a day after Mami died. again, by implied I mean I have a hunch. Just trust me)

Episode 5: April 8

(since hitomi says she stayed up all night the night before dealing with the events of episode 4)

Episode 6: April 15, April 18

April 15 [3:54-14:54]

(since Homura says “2 weeks from now walpurgisnacht will descend upon this city” when she meets up with Kyoko and thats pretty close to two weeks from april 30)

April 18 [14:55-22:25]

Episode 7: April 19, April 20

April 19 [4:07-14:40]

(its implied that its a day after ep 6, and i think yk this is basically just a hunch)

April 20 [14:41-22:25]

(because Hitomi says “where were you yesterday?)

Episode 8: April 20, April 21

April 20 when [2:56-7:59]

April 21 when [8:00-22:25]

Episode 9: April 21, April 22

April 21 when [3:27-11:42]

April 22 when [11:43-23:54]

Episode 10: ????, March 28

these are just straight up other timelines. I dont wanna figure allat out. [0:00-21:27]

March 28 (current timeline) when [21:28-22:25]

Episode 11: April 29, April 30

April 29 [3:32-14:27]

April 30 when they have to evacuate [14:28-23:54]

(because walpurgisnacht is like. A real thing and has a real date + the only explanation i have for madoka is wearing school uniform on a saturday because she was too upset to bother changing and they had to evacuate early in the morning. Im talking like 3am. Ignore how walpugis nacht means walpurgis NIGHT plz)

Episode 12: April 30, and then just date whatever once madoka just straight up becomes a concept

[aeternallis]

The Third Song / Why Kim chose to rewrite Chay’s first song 

So one day, I was thinking about what happened to that song Kim was working on in episode 9. 🤔 The tune Kim strums and vocalizes to is pretty catchy, and so I also wondered about how we don’t get a lot of scenes of Kim’s creative process with his music in general, yknow?

I have a fic idea about this subject in the works also, so I figured I may as well write a meta too to get my thoughts in order. Haha!

But before I go on and start ranting, for the sake of this meta I think it’s important to establish the level of fame Wik already has by the start of the show. Admittedly, it’s quite difficult to do this since Kim’s persona of Wik hardly makes an appearance, and the show didn’t necessarily focus on Kim’s life as a celebrity. But from the minimal amount of clues, I think it’s okay to make an educated guess. 

From Chay’s shrine, we know that Kim has done at least one photoshoot with GQ (if memory serves me correctly), and a number of smaller publications. So he’s gotten some exposure already; his fame isn’t limited to the internet, in other words. Due to this, it’s most likely he does have a PR team of some sort, by virtue of being a public figure and most likely because he’s an heir to the Theerapanyakuls’ (very public) business empire. There’s no way Kim can afford to remain a private citizen, not only due to the notoriety of his family, but as well as his own celebrity status. 

Incidentally however, it’s also hard to look at the crowd size in the university during Kimchay’s first meeting as an indicator of his fame, because I imagine the school would have had to make it very clear to the staff that the performance was for prospective students only and perhaps have prevented non-students from entering the grounds to see his impromptu show. Furthermore, according to the trivia session at the time, he’s also starred in a number of MVs, and we know he has a recording studio of his own. 

Yet still, Ohm is not aware of who he is, and if we give Ohm the metaphorical role of being the outsider to all this, it would seem Kim’s fame is also somewhat contained. This being the case, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that Kim is also most likely under a label as an indie artist, since I feel like he does not yet have enough clout that he can move to build his career independently. 

So if I were to take a gander at Kim's fame, I would probably say it’s at the level of Jeff Satur’s just before he made his official announcement of leaving BOC–rising fame to come close to reaching national stardom, but not just yet to say he’s a true international (or even regional) star. 

(Arguably, one can also say that a good chunk of his fame is his good looks, but that’s a different meta altogether, lol)

Having established his level of fame for this rant, now I can maybe make a gander at tackling his creative/thought process. XD 

By the time we’ve reached past the midway point of the show, the audience sees that despite the level of success he’s achieved so far in his career as a musician, Kim is currently in a bit of a creative rut / writer’s block.

We see perhaps a hint of it in episode 4 when he’s just nonchalantly strumming his guitar off camera before Big hands him Porsche’s bodyguard application, but we don’t see it explicitly until episode 9, when he’s visibly frustrated by the WIP song he’s trying to figure out:

So by this point, there’s technically two completed songs between him and Chay, as well as a WIP song that he was struggling with. For reference, I’ll refer to the songs between them as follows: 1stver.WDYS (ep 5), TSiCY (ep 8), Kim’s WIP song (ep 9), and Finalver.WDYS (ep 14). 

So knowing that Kim’s WIP song was partly inspired by Chay, knowing that Kim currently had a song in the works, why did he not choose this WIP song to sing to Chay in their final scene together? Why did he choose to rework Chay’s 1stver.WDYS to become his (Kim’s) Finalver.WDYS, when he already had a song up in his sleeve that was different from the other two? 

Why choose to re-write one of Chay’s songs, rather than use one of his own? 

Thematically and for their relationship, choosing to re-write 1stver.WDYS makes perfect sense. This is the song that holds the most weight between them, because it was the very first one they had worked on together (kinda, lol). It carries with it a powerful sense of nostalgia, of simpler times, and it’s a symbol of all that had been between them before everything fell apart.

Furthermore, Kim came into Chay’s life at a time when Chay had been vulnerable and very much alone. In a way, WDYS–both its first version and final version–is symbolic of Chay’s and Kim’s own narrative journeys, of their respective worlds expanding beyond just the simple (yet also very complicated) existence they’d been living up until that point, into allowing one another into their hearts. The yearning within Finalver!WDYS’s lyrics can apply to both Kim and Chay, which makes it all the more resonate with the audience. 

Yet still, this is only partly the point of view of the audience, not necessarily of Kim himself (although there is some overlap). 

So what would have been Kim’s thought process when he’d decided to rewrite 1stverWDYS? How would he have ultimately decided to willingly choose to steal from Chay? 

After all, Kim is a musician, an artist. One who is starting to grow exponentially in fame, but also one who does take his craft very seriously. Being as Kim is an artist, he would know more than anyone what it means to have artistic integrity in his field. Especially with how the music industry is nowadays, I would imagine that Kim is the type to do whatever he could to stand out, but not so much that he would be the sort to just copy someone else’s style. He has his pride, for one, and he wouldn’t have garnered fame the way he did had he been in the habit of copying. 

On top of that, it's not hard to see that music is very much personal to Kim; it's an alternative avenue for him to express himself and his thoughts and feelings.

In the end, the way I personally see it, Kim choosing to rewrite 1stver.WDYS was very much a calculated move, designed to break through Chay’s defenses, to illustrate his intent in getting Chay back, and what he’s willing to sacrifice and do in order to do just that. 

Nostalgia - This is the first song they ever worked on in the studio, and at least for Chay, carries significant weight emotionally. It’s a song initially about Porsche, and the impact he’s had on Chay’s life. Knowing that this song means so much to Chay, I don’t think Kim is above using that emotional significance and turning it on its head to change the meaning of the song: from Porsche’s influence in Chay’s life to Chay’s influence in Kim’s life, in order to bring Chay’s guard down.  (Sidenote: In a way, WDYS carries more weight than TSiCY ever did, even if that's the song that was meant to express Chay's feelings for Kim. TSiCY was straightforward, and accomplished what Chay set out to do: complete the homework Kim gave him, and express his feelings to his idol while he was at it.) During their final scene in episode 14, there’s hints that it's the first time Kim reaches out to Chay in a month, if not the first time Kim has reached out to him in this specific manner. If Kim has any hope of capturing Chay’s attention as soon as he catches him off guard and he clicks on that video link, Kim has to be able to not only grab Chay’s attention right off the bat, but also keep it. What better way to hold Chay’s attention than to serenade back to him the first song he ever wrote? When Kim chose to rewrite 1stver.WDYS, it wasn’t necessarily to impress Chay, but to grab hold of his attention with the least possible chance of Chay closing out the video and turning his attention elsewhere. 

Intent to show Chay that he wants him romantically - This is pretty straightforward, looking at the Thai version of the song, and its translation (Ex: Just you, just having you, no matter what. A world without stars but the two of us will move forward). It’s a song about yearning, of wanting Chay back in his life, of how much Kim has missed him.  Per Jeffy himself, WDYS is a love song. (credit to IYSmomo on Twitter for that translation!)

Sure, his delivery of the song in the video makes it sound like an apology, perhaps, but ultimately, WDYS is a love song–a most selfish one at that, and within the context of that final scene between them, also highlights Kim’s nature as a Theerapanyakul. This boy easily throws away integrity over his shoulder to tell Chay he’s in love with him. Lol If that isn’t in keeping with family tradition, I don’t know what does~  Could Finalver!WDYS act as an apology? Does Kim regret his treatment of Chay? Meh, debatable imo, considering his deception was meant to safeguard his family and figure out the mysterious circumstances surrounding Porsche’s swift employment. Sure, there’s definitely guilt, but regret? That’s up for interpretation. 

Intent to show Chay what he’s willing to give up - Oddly enough, Kim is completely honest with Chay only twice in the show: the first time they meet, as well as their final scene together. By the time Kim sends him the video link, the mask Kim wears as Wik has been completely discarded. It’s a bold and risky choice to get rid of this mask, even temporarily, because this is the armor Kim has in his sleeve that separates his life away from the mafia. And he does get rid of it, not only because he singles out Chay in that video, but by appropriating Chay’s song in the first place, had Chay been a lot more vindictive than what his disposition allows, this is incriminating evidence of his theft. Lol  But getting back on point: Wik is Kim’s livelihood outside of the mafia. Without this mask, is it even still possible for him to operate outside the mafia? It’s a dramatic question, but I think a legitimate one, considering he’s put quite a bit of stock and time in perfecting it, to the point he’s close to reaching national stardom.  Yet still, he gets rid of that mask when he sings to Chay of his feelings. At the very least, for Chay, he’s willing to drop that armor altogether to tell him he’s in love with him. It’s a powerful statement, and imo, shows the depth of his feelings for Chay, in that he’s willing to sacrifice it entirely, if it would mean being with him.

Writer’s Block / Chay is Kim’s muse – Of course, I don’t think we can dismiss the fact that Kim was going through a bit of a creative block during the time we see him in the show. Perhaps we can say that part of the reason Kim chose to rewrite 1stver.WDYS is because he couldn’t think of anything else. Lol Thinking of Chay was able to get him out of the block in episode nine, and he was able to figure out the chords for the WIP song. Chay is definitely a muse and a source of inspiration for Kim. Yet still, I don’t want to be too hasty in making the leap in logic that he couldn’t think of anything else, since we don’t see him past the point after he sings Finalver.!WDYS to Chay. We don’t know whether he continues to struggle with his creative block, or if he manages to get past it (especially for when he and Chay get back together--//hits).

Ultimately, Kim’s gamble to repurpose Chay’s song about Porsche–although he doesn’t know it just yet–works greatly in his favor, judging by Chay’s reaction in the end: Chay not only watches the video all the way through, he’s unable to click “Delete” right away, unlike the other times, when he’d blocked Kim without hesitation. 

The fact that Kim can make that decision to take Chay’s song to use it for his own purposes, the fact that Chay can listen to his own song that’s been stolen and repurposed, only goes to show that at the end of it all, they’re still very much wrapped around each other’s fingers.

[extraordinarilyextreme]

the element of fire plays a big role in YeQing's relationship.

for starters, let's examine the "answer" ZGQ divined for himself on Longhu-shan:

(manhua ch. 108; see also LA s1, ep. 13 & donghua s2, ep. 9)

飞蛾扑火 / the moth throws itself upon a flame. this idiom describes a self-destructive kind of conduct, where a person knowingly brings about their own doom. it represents, in other words, both a fatal and fated attraction.

from ZGQ's pov, it was—of course—laying his life on the line to comprehend one of the Eight Supremes:

(LA s1, ep. 13; see also manhua ch. 109 & donghua s2, ep. 10)

from WY's pov, it was befriending ZGQ despite knowing he harbors other intentions:

(LA s1, ep. 23; see also manhua ch. 191 & donghua s3, ep. 5)

as such, i'm not the biggest fan of how Youku tl'ed the line as "a meaningless struggle." because neither of their choices were meaningless. both of them were acting as Zhuge Liang had: 明知天理在 但是逆大势而行 / despite knowing full well that divine order and destiny exist, behaving in a manner that opposes the momentum of the times.

indeed, it could be argued that associating with each other was not in anyone's best interest. WY even remarks in Biyou Village:

"In truth, originally I could've not defeated you... No! Rather, it should be said that originally I could've not become acquainted with a scoundrel like you..." (manhua ch. 222; see also donghua s4, ep. 4)

which is what makes their relationship even more special. they were never supposed to meet—yet their meeting was inevitable. they are equals; they abide by the same principles, even if their methods are not always the same.

in the live-action adaptation in particular, 飞蛾扑火 is a lyric in 《戎断反应》, which is the song most associated with ZLH/XH (and also FSY/JZL in s1, ep. 17).

(LA s1, ep. 6)

so... make of that parallel what you will. (this is far from the only time YeQing are directly juxtaposed with other canon couples, but i'm specifically referring to the nature and context of ZLH/XH's "forbidden" relationship more than anything else.)

the element of fire also marks the progression of YeQing's relationship in other ways.

in the Longhu-shan arena, ZGQ launches a ball of fire at WY with 赤炼......

(LA s1, ep. 13; see also manhua ch. 108 & donghua s2, ep. 9)

...which is, strangely enough, the exact same spell ZGQ uses during Biyou Village arc to force WY out of danger:

(donghua s4, ep. 5; see also manhua ch. 228)

so the imagery of ZGQ and WY always being separated by [a wall of] fire is really striking to me.

significantly, fire is also the dominant element of the Zhuge family's ultimate skill, 三昧真火 / True Fire of Samadhi, which ZGQ was never able to master until he triumphed over his 心魔 (WY & the Feng-hou Qimen he possesses):

(manhua ch. 311)

so, fire has always stood in-between these two in some way. but, like moth to a flame, they will always find their way back to each other.

(i definitely think that's the direction the manhua is currently developing in at least, esp. given that ZGQ has now found peace with himself and how he regards WY.)

furthermore, in 五行 / five elements, fire signifies a pinnacle (i.e., combustion), with a decline sure to follow. pretty neat, then, that in the donghua s2 opening 《无涯》 / Limitless, WY and ZGQ are matched with the lyrics 缘起缘灭 / fate begins, fate extinguishes:

by 五行 standards, fire is also associated with the organ: heart. given that WY is ZGQ's 心魔 / lit. heart's demon, and also that (in WYLR's words) they've 推心置腹 / lit. given their heart into the other's keeping, i think that really is just more than fitting.

and—finally—fire is related to alchemy. to tempering, to refinement, and to permanent transformation. hence:

Zhuge Qing: unrestrained as the winds, ardent as a wildfire. Wang Ye is melting. He’ll never be able to go back. (from 青春归你 | my youth and yours)

YeQing inevitably altered the course of each other's lives. (but that's for a separate post～)