#don't get me started on colors and patterns in season two

[all-that-jazz-93]

Something I've noticed in my many rewatches of season two is how incredibly deliberate they were with colors and patterns. But one that really stands out to me is this scene from 2x03, when Daniel reveals Whitney Frost's true identity. When Peggy remarks that every eye in the country is on Whitney, and yet no one sees her, we're shown this image of Whitney on the cover of a magazine.

What does the pattern on her dress look like? That's right—camouflage.

Even better, this was not the first time Agent Carter gave us that particular bit of visual symbolism.

This was:

[nataliesscatorccio]

Dead cabin guy and his technicolor dreamcoat have haunted me since the wardrobe reveal in season two, and today im going to make it everyone's problem.

Travis wears the coat first. He and Natalie take the blessing and go out to look for Javi. Travis hallucinates (prophesies?) that Javi is dead and buried beneath the snow, but Natalie shows him it's only a fox. Travis finds the strange, mossy tree stump. The next day Travis has strong feelings about which direction is best to search for Javi in, and we don't see more of him until Nat reveals the bloody pants. Not that weird, all things considered. New season, new wardrobe additions. Hiking on a caloric deficit with PTSD, you'll probably hallucinate. Pretty standard stuff.

Then Nat wears the coat. She takes it to lay Jackie's bones to rest at the crash site, and while she wears it she sees (hallucinates? prophesies? I'm not sure!) the white moose that they'll later lose to the lake (ergo the hunt, ergo Javi dies for real but more on that later).

We get to Old Wounds, the hunting competition, and Lottie wears the coat now. You see where I'm going with this but just to be thorough: she enters the realm of death dreams, talks with Laura Lee, almost freezes to death.

Episode five. Melissa wears the coat. Maybe that's not important! Maybe it's just to show that they all share the wardrobe, and that the side characters are as equally All In This Together as the main characters are. Or it could mean something that a peripheral character, wearing important wardrobe, framed in antlers (not unlike Travis in 2.01), has the line "maybe he did die, and that's his ghost." It's a little suspicious, and at this point starts to feel like a pattern.

Who wears it next, who wore it best!? That's right baby, it's Paul! For his dreamworld drifter, hallucination hunk Coach Ben Scott. Nicholas Urfe himself. Ben spends almost all of his time in a dream, until *drumroll please* Paul, very pointedly, takes the coat and walks out the door. "Where do you think you are, Ben?" he puts the coat on. "You had to have known you couldn't stay here forever. [...] What matters now is that you aren't welcome here anymore." Following Paul means committing to death (to dream), and until interruption that's the choice Ben makes. Because letting Paul (and the coat) go would mean committing entirely to reality.

Of course, the pièce de résistance is something I didn't even notice until I went looking for it. The first dozen times I watched, I thought that after Lottie's beating Shauna brought her a blanket. "Lottie's cold." But she doesn't. She brings her the coat. Lottie is laying with it when, in a fever dream, she witnesses/hallucinates/prophesies parts of the hunt.

It's there again (on the back of the chair) when she sits by the fire and speaks for the wilderness, appointing Nat their queen. Ben watches, having woken from the dream himself, as they all bow to Natalie and leave reality behind for good.

Of course, there are a lot of times when characters hallucinate strange things in the cabin while not wearing the coat, because they're all starving to death and traumatized. Mari. Shauna. Akilah. But in addition to that, it seems like a pattern worth noting that in each instance where a character wears the technicolor coat, the line between the real and the imagined seems to blur with more ease. Does dead cabin guy's technicolor dreamcoat help the Yellowjackets connect to the dream realm?

I'll be brief here with the biblical parallel: blah blah Joseph is the favorite son (you were always its favorite), his father gives him a technicolor coat (they're nothing special, they don't change color in the cold or anything). blah blah Joseph starts having prophetic dreams etc etc his jealous brothers throw Joseph down a pit (the wilderness chose) and bring his bloodstained coat back as false proof of his death (hanging on a branch. a couple miles back). You get my drift.

Does it mean anything? Who knows. But in a series where wardrobe is such an integral part of the storytelling, it felt worth paying attention to.

[gatorbites-imagines]

Hey you said in a post you were looking for requests for invincible don't know if your still wanting requests for it or not but I was really hoping for a wholesome damien darkblood x reader story. he and Robot are so far my favourites I just started the show though, not done with season 1 yet.

Damien Darkblood x male reader

Headcanons

I love robot too, hes really grown on me the more episodes I’ve watched.

Damien Darkblood is a pretty blunt and dry witted person, or rather, demon. He takes his job as a detective very seriously, wanting to find the truth and bring forth justice. This also means your demon lover would be working way into the night, and would be gone for longer periods of time to do cases.

In the beginning this would have unnerved you, mainly because the cases he takes are dangerous and could put him in danger. Your lover does his best to reassure you though, even with his flat and dry tone, since the different tones in human language confuse him.

You two would have likely met during one of these cases, since Damien doesn’t really go out to look for a date or partner. This would either mean you were a victim, a witness, a suspect, or maybe a hero or detective. But for the funs of it, lets imagine you are another detective.

You wouldn’t be doing cases to the same level as Damien, seeing as he can sense crimes that happened through touch, giving him a different view than what you, a normal human can spot.

Damien tends to see things from his own perspective, meaning he doesn’t see the full picture at times, but being his lover means you have an easier time getting him to broaden his horizons compared to everyone else your lover works with.

You both being detectives also means your apartment or home looks like something out of those detective shows, with different corkboards on the walls, with hundreds of pictures or notes, and different colored strings connecting it in patterns only you two understand.

When it comes to detective work, there are times you’ll tag along on Damien’s cases, mainly when he has to interact with others like Cecil or the guardians of the globe, seeing as his dry and cut tone tends to annoy people. You won’t take them insulting him as casually as they do though, so it’s a bit of a give and take for other people involved.

After long days of little sleep and nonstop work, you always end up dragging Damien to rest somewhere. As a demon, Damien wouldn’t need to rest, eat, drink or sleep like a human does, but seeing as he loves you, Damien would go along if you just wanted to cuddle.

He will act tough, but you always catch his tail wagging a little when you cuddle, and you scratch the back of his neck or under his chin. Hes nice and cold as well to your surprise, so there’s no need to worry about cuddling in the summer.

Because I said so, Damien purrs, but only around you and only when you are alone. There are always cases hanging over the both of you, but you two decided to take days where you put off the work and spend it together. This is when Damien is most likely to purr.

Hes your personal weighted blanket, since hes got a stocky build. Him laying on top of you is the best if you like that kind of stuff, plus, his tail somehow always ends up wrapped around some part of you. This also goes when you are laying on top of him though.

Damiens big hands are also great at giving massages. Your demon lover always jokes in his dry tone that you humans are so frail, since you get sore muscles from all the walking or running you guys do. But he always ends up massaging your legs and feet if you need it.

His claws are very nice as well, as he runs them through your hair when you cuddle. He would never scratch you, your lover never wanting to hurt you, but he will go out of his way to put just enough pressure for it to feel good.

If it follows canon and Damien gets sent back to hell by Cecil, you know the ritual to bring him back. You also rub it in Cecils face when it turns out Damien was right, and what little respect you had for the guy will be gone. You wont save him from your lover bluntness again after that.

[willpowers]

literally obsessed with tumblr learning all about the batshit stuff happening on neopets. the seasonal attack pea drama, while it may actually be the funniest thing to happen this year (saw a girl on fb cry about wanting to burn down TNT hq over it), is not even half of it.

basically, it all started a few months back with the Faerie Festival. It is a yearly event, and it usually roughly follows the pattern of people donate items, each item being equal points regardless of rarity. Those points can be spent on exclusive, high value, rare items that can either be only found during the festival, or are normally extremely expensive and hard to obtain. So every year, people would fill their safety deposit boxes with junk items such as driftwood, bottles of sand, kelp, other items that you could barely sell for a single neopoint, in hopes of being able to make bank during the festival.

this year, however, was a curveball. now, there was a daily limit on donating items, as well as points being awarded based on rarity classification. All in all, now there was a finite amount of points you could get, and all these hoarders now found themselves with piles of items that were useless even in the event.

also, every day you could receive a faerie quest.

for those who don't know, faerie quests happen one of two ways. either you get randomly assigned one as a random event when browsing the site, or you spend real money (about a dollar fifty USD), to get a fortune cookie which gives you faerie quests.

each faerie has a different pool of items requested, and will give a specific prize. Some will increase speed, some level, ect ect. However, there are some that offer more valuable prizes, and are therefore the rarest to get, which is the faerie queen herself, who offers great stat boosts all around, and the fountain faerie, who gives the incredible boon of being able to use her fountain, which allows you to change your neopet into any color imaginable without having to spend millions on a paintbrush.

now, getting a daily quest sounds reasonable, after all, what are the odds of getting the elusive fountain faerie or faerie queen?

well! in this event!

it was 100%.

so that meant EVERY DAY of the month long festival people were able to most likely get a free dip in the rainbow fountain, tanking the value of paintbrushes, and greatly inflating the value of the potential things she could ask for.

things were CHAOS.

in response to the chaos, what did the devs do? they increased the pool of items the fountain faerie could ask for SIGNIFICANTLY, making people hoping to scalp these items unable to predict exactly what she would ask for, and what items they should raise the price of.

now this pandemonium only lasted for a few days before they also made it more likely to get requests from other faeries, still with a focus on the rare ones, as a way to calm things down a bit.

also, every day, you could receive a gift box. inside the box was a random item of INCREDIBLE rarity. for instance, I got a sword I was able to quickly sell for 10 million neopoints. More neopoints than I had ever seen in my years on the site.

so not only were things fucked up by the faerie quests, now most high ticket items in the game were quickly tanking in value now that every player had a chance to get thirty of them within a month.

for a poor player like me, it was great fun! i finally got the chance to get neopets in colors i have always wanted, and was able to get a good chunk of neopoints in my bank for things i wanted to start collecting. things were well.

however, the players that had spent hundreds of real life dollars securing their spot in the neopian elite, were not happy.

many a discussion thread on the site and off were battles of peoples opinions on the changing of market value for items. however, the festival ended, and so one would assume things would go back to normal, right?

wrong.

SO wrong.

the people who were running neopets almost IMMEDIATELY AFTER sold the company to new hands.

thus, more changes begin to happen.

some were amazing all around! the new team seems very dedicated to slowly restore functionality to the games, and have cut ties with all NFT bullshit their predecessors did. in a public statement they have enthusiastically announced that they plan to gain profit from the site by putting more investment into real life merch, some of which started quickly to happen!

in fact, hot topic started selling collecter blind box pins! once again could i go into a mall and walk out with neopets merch, ah, those were the days.

(well, actually, people would buy the entire stock and resell it at an upcharge, causing a whole debacle about that, but thats real life drama, not the neopian kind im talking about)

now, it all seems good. people are positive. they even have a great new idea to raise activity and add structure to your daily use of the site!

daily quests!

now it is structured as so. Every day you get about 5 daily quests, and completing all of them gets you 20k neopoints. not a shabby amount, but not nearly enough to make you a neo-billionaire.

every day you finish all your quests gets you one day closer to a weekly prize, given if you complete seven days of quests in a row!

and! every quest you complete has ITS OWN prize! talk about incentive!

however. guess what those prizes were? both the weekly mega prize and the daily prizes, some given out simply for feeding your neopet?

SOME OF THE RAREST ITEMS IN THE GAME

before people would spend their entire neopian career trying to get a petpet like a krawk, or a kadotie, or a rare paintbrush, or even a great battledome item

now people were being handed them like stickers at the dentist!

so once again, the billionares are mad, the poor people who simply want to enjoy fun items that were once out of reach are happy, and all in all the entire economy is in shambles!

and now, here we are! at the yearly advent calender! a daily chance to get prizes!

AND THEY DO IT AGAIN

to explain the huzzah over the seasonal attack pea, know that it is in fact the second most powerful battledome weapon, going routinely for tens to hundreds of billions in neopoints. something that most players would never dream of being able to acheive.

and it is being randomly handed out like candy! (until they decided to remove it from the prize pool, which caused riots, so they put it back)

so once again, pandemonium!

if youve ever been interested in starting or rejoining neopets, nows the time! things are getttting interesting!

[snek-panini]

I'm trying to get the last of my Binderary projects posted, so today we have books #8 and 9, Fault Lines by Marabelle123. This is a long canon compliant Good Omens fic (pre-second season) that I've had on my to-bind list since I started making books three years ago. It's unfinished and had its most recent update in early 2020, but based on how the existing story feels I'm fairly sure it was close to the end and feels complete enough to be satisfying. It's very in character and captures a lot of the specific feeling from the pre-miniseries fandom, that the relationship between the leads defies all definition. They're as close as it's possible to be and their relationship has teeth sometimes but their bond is as undefinable as it is unbreakable. Give it a read if that sounds like your thing; it's excellent.

The cover for this one is made of two colors of faux leather, cut at a diagonal with no overlap, with the title in silver foil htv. I've never done a cover like this before but I'm in love with the result. It feels very sleek and sexy and modern compared to the more vintage elements I usually favor. And I didn't have enough of either leather to do two full books, but I still wanted to use them and have the volumes match. I think it was an elegant solution.

More pics under the cut! I tried some new stuff with this one.

You may have noticed above that this is a Coptic bind, my favorite for unfinished fics because of the "out" option it leaves. If the author ever returns to it and posts more chapters it would be fairly easy to take out the stitching and add more signatures. I still stand by this motivation, but after a silence of four years and no response from the author when I reached out for permission to bind it I'm reasonably sure this is it for the story. That let me try out some stuff I'd be reluctant to do if I was planning to add pages. Have a look at the spines:

Sadly I couldn't make the page count work with a single volume, since you can't do much to mitigate spine swell in a Coptic bind, but the volume split let me do some long stitches in the center that look like wings. There are plot-relevant feathers in the fic, so it's fitting. I thought of sewing one of them in white for that sweet Good Omens balance feeling, but I didn't think it would pop against the white paper and would leave the set looking unbalanced so I stuck with black on both. To get the pattern right I cut out a wing shape the same width as the spine and traced it and poked holes for the outline, then flipped it for the second volume so they'd be mirrored. You can also see that I did something different at the head and tail, more visible here:

This is a Coptic endband. I found out these existed a couple of months ago and absolutely had to try them. They're woven into the signatures and cover with a separate thread, after the rest of the stitching is done, and they're supposed to add some stability to the wiggly spine that you always get with these books. Unlike other types of endband, they don't have a core. I had a lot of trouble with them and had to pull out the first one and redo it with a different thread (embroidery floss is better than crochet thread for this) but I have no regrets about the finished product. They do stabilize the spine some, though not as much as I'd have liked. I really like how they (and the longstitch section) dress up a Coptic spine. I've always thought the plain ones were a little lackluster for how much work they are, but I love all the texture and interest this one has. Would absolutely not do black on black again though. Very hard to keep track of which thread I was supposed to sew under against a black background. I'll be using a contrasting color next time.

Interior photos. The doublure on the inside of the cover is a striped lokta (I think; it's been a while since I bought it). The title page image is a free-to-use image that I found on I think Vecteezy. Unsurprisingly, given its title, a big theme in this one is underlying cracks and misalignments that the characters don't realize are there until there's a massive disturbance, and that's why I had the text on both the title page and the cover not line up. Things are slipping, things are cracking, and there's extra work to be done on both sides if you're going to stabilize or rebuild. Comparatively, the typeset is quite plain and simple, with only two fonts, no chapter header image, and no section break images unless the break falls on the last line of a page, in which case there's one gray line. I think it's well-suited to the story; there is a bit with an illuminated manuscript, but mostly the characters are busy introspecting in between managing crises. They don't have the time or the energy to dress things up prettily.

And that's it on Fault Lines! As I mentioned earlier, I reached out to the author on Ao3 for permission to bind but never received a response, so I really hope they don't mind that I made these. I love their fic, and I love the bind I made.

[dimepdf]

Hi! Would you be interested in doing like a puppy interview, lie detector interview, or friendship test (since it is important for couples to be friends!) sequel to your wired interviews for either (or both) joe keery and joseph quinn?

FRIENDSHIP QUIZ. + JOSEPH QUINN

masterlist. / taglist. / any request? synopsis. Joseph Quinn and his girlfriend of three years finally do the Glamour friendship quiz! series masterlist. author's note. i love writing interview fics so much ahhh.

pairing. joseph quinn x reader

word count. 1.2k

genre and warnings. fem reader, reader is referred to as girlfriend, nicknames (honey, baby, etc), literally just fluff, black coded, butterfly locs, love a black woman are the blueprint, Joseph being a simp AGAIN

Stranger Things Y/n L/n and Joseph Quinn take the Friendship Test | Glamour 

The couple stood side by side together facing the camera. The interview started more comforting as the pair bumped shoulders, Joseph putting a bit more force into his attack, sending Y/n stumbling in her tall heels and falling flat on her ass with a contagious laugh that had spread to Joseph. 

Y/n L/n and Joseph Quinn friendship exercise. 

"Joseph and I had actually met during the production of season four." Y/n used her hands to explain a lot of things. Her dark ombre French tip nails were used to gesture with every word that came from her mouth. 

Y/n was one to upkeep her appearance, saying that her unique style fit her even more unique and colorful personality.

Her dark hair was styled in black and blonde long butterfly locs that were decorated with an assortment of hair jewelry. 

She has her hair tied in a half-up, half-down style, leaving two mixed-matched strands out in front of her face. The length of the locs reached just the curve of her bum. 

Y/n was always one for fashion, her fanbase applauding her sense of fashion at its peak even rubbing off on her boyfriend Joseph the male seen taking a risk from his comfort zone through paparazzi pictures of the couple out in public.

Her brown and earthy-toned top had draped sleeves cropped just above her mid-torso, the printed pattern being a pleased pair with her dark brown belly button jeans that flared enough to show off her chunky black heels that hitched her to the perfect height to catch the eye level of Joseph.

"I remember I met Y/n on the first day that I got casted." Joseph smiled, his arms crossed and his hand resting on his chin as he recalled the memory as if it was the happiest memory ever for him. 

"He was so adorable, walking up to me in his wig and just rambling about how much he loved my work." Y/n chuckled, fidgeting with one of the numerous silver ringers scattered across her fingers.

"I just remember getting so nervous walking up to her and I had just had a silly flowy wig on. I didn't really know what I was saying, but I definitely just wanted to talk to her." Joseph admitted heartfully that his eyes were glancing at the woman who he had truly fallen in love with from behind the camera. 

"He talked, like, a lot." Y/n snorted, her golden glitter glossed lips forming into a pouted smile, recalling the happy memory. 

"My first impression of Y/n was—well, I knew of her before meeting; I knew of Stranger Things already—but I remember just being, like, excited. I don't even know how to put the excitement into words." Joseph spoke honestly, halfway breaking into a nervous chuckle. 

Having to publicly admit to falling in love with his girlfriend before meeting her in person had caused a flush to appear on his pale cheeks, turning his face a light pink hue.

"So since our first intention meeting, I would sort of just see him popping up everywhere to the point where I was just like 'okay, I might as well talk to the guy’ and found out that he wasn't just some annoying snob, it was just his accent." Y/n mocked him in a very dramatic British accent. 

"I was just truly a fan of hers. It was surreal seeing her as this actual human being standing in front of me, like an angel—I definitely came off a bit too strong at first, but I feel like she liked it, yeah." Joseph smiled before biting his lips, his finger tapping along his chin, trying to hide his embarrassed smile. 

“Oh god, I remember just thinking he was such a freaking dork.” 

"She treats people with such realness, like the first conversation with her, it feels like you've been friends with her for years. She is just so insanely down to earth that you don't really expect her type of vibe from such a talented actor. She's just taught me so much about being humble and just self-reflection in general." 

"I don't know, I'm really happy that I took the chance cause now I've just learned to love his dorky personality and how much it fits alongside mine." 

Exercise one: Stare into each other's eyes for three minutes. 

"Why are you laughing?" Joseph chuckled, staring down at the woman that beamed up at him with the brightest smile. Y/n's laughter was light as she used her hand to shield her mouth from habit. 

"Dude, I hate eye contact so bad. You know this—your eyes are pretty, by the way." Joseph squeezed his eyes shut tight, scrunching up his face at the compliment. His face was unable to move from its flushed state.

"Thank you, honey. I think yours are quite gorgeous as well." He managed to mumble it out through the tight, thin line he formed between his lips. 

The next 2 minutes passed in complete silence, counting the times Y/n would make Joseph chuckle by pulling a face at him. 

Exercise two: Give each other compliments. 

The couple was then given small blank notebooks and a pen for each. Another hush fell over the room as the two scribbled seemingly lines from where they had stood.

"Okay, ah, this is so—you’re going to make fun of me later for this. I know it already." Joseph started, clearing his throat as his eyes flickered to Y/n and back to the notepad.

"You are the most healing person that has managed to ever be welcomed into my life. I am always so honored that you trusted me so much with your genuinely really entertaining and just all-around talented lifestyle." Joseph grinned, his hand reaching to caress her face. Y/n welcomed the gesture before pulling away with her eyes widening.

"Wait, you're gonna rub off my highlighter." The couple broke into another laughing fit, with Joseph bending down to cradle his stomach. 

"Joey boy, my very best friends." Y/n teased her eyes, flickering from her notes to his eyes.

"I feel like I absolutely never tell you enough how admirable you are. You're so persistent about being a very genuine person that just works so hard for everything that you deserve. You're like an anchor of hope to me, always grounding me back to reality." Y/n finished, her lips thinning as her eyes almost glistened as she read from her notes.

Joseph was wrapping his arms around his girlfriend's shoulders and pulling her into a gentle embrace. 

Exercise three: Trust falls.

Y/n hesitates on her face as she backs away from Joseph, still holding his hand as she gives him some distance. "What? I'm not going to drop you." Joseph reassured her as he watched her brow furrow and teeth protrude from her grimacing lips.

"No, I trust you. I just don't trust my heels." Y/n groaned, turning her back to Joseph, practicing leaning back the second time she stumbled a bit from her ankle rolling from the shift of weight in her heels. 

"My lord, see the things I do for beauty." Y/n's fall was gentle, her legs stiffening as she leaned back into Joseph's arms. 

"Oh okay, well that was…freaking boring." Joseph had spit out a chuckle from her sudden bluntness.

Joseph's fall was less graceful, the male quickly discovering how weak his girlfriend was as the pair stumbled to the ground, erupting in another fit of laughter. 

The video ends with Y/n’s heel lifting in the air, the only thing caught in the frame before they crashed to the ground together.

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[likesomekindofcheese]

Promised- Finale (Grigor Dymov x fem! Reader, Arranged Marriage AU series)

Series Summary: When Emperor Peter's behavior towards your family threatens the alliance between them and Russia, the only way to solve it from breaking is through an arranged marriage with his friend, the handsome but heartbroken Count Grigor Dymov. A man you barely know.

Previous Chapters: One//Two//Three//Four//Five//Six//Seven//Eight//Nine//Ten//Eleven

Chapter Summary: You and Grigor enjoy a long-denied honeymoon

Content Warnings: Some discussions of sex and cursing and mentions of pregnancy and babies- don't worry, Y/N isn't pregnant. But VERY fluffy!

Word Count: 1584

A/N: Thank you guys so much for supporting this series throughout! Now I thought was the best time to conclude it! When season 3 of The Great comes out and should I get inspired, there might be a season 2 of this fic like what @ladystrallan did with I Really Wish I Hated You (which, btw, highly recommend if you love The Great Fanfics). Who knows?! But I hope all of you loved reading it as much as I loved writing this series!

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You and Grigor were planning on returning to court. You both just wanted something denied to you when you were rushed to be married and when there was a coup- a honeymoon. Three whole months of a honeymoon.

The days were never more lovely- lovemaking at night, awakening when one felt like it, the most sumptuous meals, playing cards by the fireside, reading to each other, and you showing off the various songs you knew how to play. You were starting to teach Grigor chords and his clumsy practicing of scales with mutters of “fuck!” at a mistake could be heard. You still kept shooting practice, but you were relaxed, not caring if you missed the odd target.

It was quite warm for Russia the past two weeks. Flowers were deep in their bloom in the gardens, and it was green everywhere. The vineyards seemed to be a far brighter green than you expected. Perhaps springtime was arriving sooner than you expected or maybe it was a warm spot for a few days. You had to wear your lighter silks as opposed to the warm furs to keep one safe from your new home country’s notorious chill.

As you and your husband toured the grounds together that afternoon, there were fruits of light green and dark purple. You would both look at each other, pluck the small fruits, and try bites of them yourself, feeling the juicy sweetness burst on your tongues, as if only briefly. Grigor would wipe the juice off of his sleeve and give you a kiss and you would taste the grape in his breath as if combined with yours you made your own special wine. Grigor was in his favorite deep green. You had insisted he keep a few buttons down so you could see some of his chest hair. You insisted it was absolutely sexy of him when he wore shirts (especially white ones) with a few buttons undone and he took note. Yes, it was the wrong color today, but you didn’t care. Perhaps that could wait for later tonight when you would hop on him like a rabbit until you screamed each other’s names, not caring about disturbing the servants sleeping below. You were in a bright red dress with golden floral patterns all over it and you perfumed yourself with rose water.

You matched and complimented in your dress as had your souls on the inside- each perfect and making only the other look better when beside it.

You emerged from the kiss and wiped your hand on your skirt.

“Could you hold my hand, my dear?” you asked, presenting your hand out.

He raised his eyebrows.

“Oh abso-fucking-lutely,” he replied, eagerly taking yours.

It was warm and encompassing, the fingers intertwined within each other to feel the pulse of each other. As you both walked back home, the day was fading. The sky turned into a mix of orange and pink and the crispness of evening etched around you. Once you approached back to the manor, the housekeeper greeted you both and assured you that dinner would be ready in one or two hours. Olga, the little servant girl, handed you back your beloved dog and both of you cooed over her.

“Oh and Madame Dymova! Here! Messenger said it’s from Paris! And it’s for you and the master!” she added on, handing over a letter with a familiar wax seal.

Before you could comment on it, Sonya let out a bright bark for want of attention.

“Here Sonya- found this! Here- Good girl!” Grigor offered.

From his pocket, he pulled out a truffle and fed it to the eager and always hungry pup.

“Would you like some wine? There’s a new one they just made here and it’s fucking astounding,” he offered.

“Oh, yes! And ask the kitchen for a plate of bread and cheese and fruit, perhaps?” you asked.

“I don’t see why not!” he replied, giving you a peck on your forehead before going down to the kitchen.

You made your way to the back porch area outside on your white seats and white chairs. You found it had not grown so chilly that you would require heaps of blankets as you have in the past. Sonya lay happily on your lap panting away. Though grown, she still saw herself as a puppy who had to have every last of her needs attended to, or else her mistress would hear her barking and mischief. But you loved her more for it.

You pulled from your reticule an unopened letter from the dress of your pocket. It couldn’t be your family- you heard just yesterday that you were an aunt to a beautiful little niece. Both you and Grigor were already making plans to travel and visit your family and for you to be introduced and be acquainted with his own. So, who could it be? Was it Catherine about her baby or the new education laws? Orlo recommending a new philosophy book to you? Who? You saw the name on it and gasped.

“It’s George! George wrote to us!” you told Sonya, who only tilted her head.

You then ripped it open and smiled, your heart touched by the contents. From the corner, you saw Grigor come out to approach the table. He smiled, holding two glasses of wine, and giving one to you.

“Why thank you, darling!” you chirruped at him.

“No problem at all,” he answered.

A servant immediately arrived behind and held a platter of cheeses, slices of bread, and apples. His blue eyes went to the letter.

“What is that? Who is it?” he asked.

You smiled, handing him the papers.

“Why, it’s George!? Can’t you believe it? She’s in Paris of all places! Oh, that must be wonderful! And here…she said she met someone who she truly loves and who loves her! Oh, I’m so happy for her! We must write back and ask her more about this!” you squealed.

“Why- how good for her! I’m glad!” Grigor wished genuinely with a shrug and a relaxed smile.

Both of you held up your glasses of wine.

“Should we toast to her?” you asked.

Grigor shook his head.

“I have a better one. To what brought us together in the first place. Here, Y/N-to the alliance!”

“To the alliance!” you agreed, daintily clinking your glasses.

Both of you took a first sip.

“It won’t be too long before we return- so much will be different…” Grigor began.

“I’m just glad Marial is in prison…I’ve slept better at night since then…” you sighed.

He did frown briefly. He took a deep drink and set down his glass.

“Well…part of me is eager. Been worried sick over Peter.”

“But you always are, you silly shit!” you teased, setting your own glass down.

He smiled at the words. You thought there was never a more beautiful smile than that of Grigor Dymov when he was well and truly happy. Your heart would always burst with love for him at the sight.

His letters seem fine and happy though…he’s thrilled about the baby. Got a name picked out and everything!”

“What if we have a baby- will we be even ready for that?” you suggested.

So far, your courses were like clockwork and Grigor would spoil you with bedrest and vodka and embraces when the cramps tormented you. But that doesn’t mean the time would never come. In fact, with all the fucking you had been doing it was a pure miracle it hadn’t happened yet!

“I don’t know if we’ll ever be, Y/N…but what about life after the coup? Things will be so…so different. Peter’s not in charge as much. There’s a royal baby on the way. George is in France. Catherine’s changing all the laws to what she wants. Everything is upside down…” he muttered.

“But we can take it…” you assured him.

He clutched his hand onto yours in response and you used your other hand to rest it on his cheek. He relaxed into it, using a hand to touch yours.

“We can take anything as long as we’re together, darling,” he replied.

“Of course, we can, my dear husband…” you cooed.

"Oh, say that again!” he insisted.

You crawled on his lap, kissing his face- his freckles, his forehead, his cheekbones, his chin.

“Dear husband, dear husband, my Grigor, my darling…” you mumbled between the kisses.

“Fuck, you make me hard. Keep it up and I might have to have you on this table before dinner!” he confessed.

“Wait until after dinner!” you insisted with a joking slap on his arm.

“If Countess Dymova requests it, who am I to deny her that!” he gave in.

You giggled and paused. Both of you breathe deeply the warmth of each other and the closeness.

He kissed you with soft lips again, but there was a chasteness- a tenderness to how he cupped your cheek when it happened. You cuddled into his chest as the sun set and he placed an arm around you to draw circles on your back as the dog lay contentedly smiling on the floor with her pink tongue out.

You were happy. After such chaos you had been through- you were completely happy. Dinner was about to be served. You had a home in court and out. You had a precious pup. You had friends. And most of all, you had found a happy, faithful marriage. And a husband who you loved and who loved you.

And this time the wine did in fact not taste like shit.

[bbbexe]

MINORS DNI

I can't draw digital to save my life, so I made my monster!Poppet oc Kalix, traditional. (I have been diagnosed with Vinnel brainrot, there sadly is no cure. Also I didn’t make this species, its heavily based off of a creature from game I used to play called a Kivarok)  Their main fur color is black, with the shaded in parts being a really really dark purple. Their horns and claws are orange with a yellow gradient at the top/end. Similarly, their diamond patterns are orange, and get more yellow that further they are away from their torso. They have 7 white eyes on each side (on the front view i forgot to add one pair you did not see that, nothing is wrong :'))) ) that they can close individually. Will usually close all but their two main ones to not look 'weird' or have people feel like they're staring at them. Kalix's eyes also don't usually have pupils, but they consciously make pupils so that, along with their exaggerated body language/movement, speech, and gesticulation, their emotions can be read more easily while masking in public. Pupils are orange. The first three diamond patterns on Sir are eyes, one being a light yellow color, and the others becoming white. Their eyes / horns / patterns / claws have a slight glow. Has four arms in total. (maybe one day i'll have the urge to try and draw on ibis paint) Kalix's blood is orange :). They also have a mouth on their main head, but really really don't want to scare people they want to be friends with, and keeps it closed and hidden for the most part. They are 6'0 because I wish I was tall :').

I've been completely obsessed with @eldritch-spouse's universe for the past few days and just had to make this. I love love love her writing and really suggest you check out her blog if you like yanderes and monsters >:D Under the cut is some of my oc's info if anyone is interested :D (it's a lot of rambling lol)

Tw mentions of cannibalism and other illegal stuff.

“Nothing can last forever. There isn't any memory, no matter how intense, that doesn't fade out at last.” ― Juan Rulfo This is Kalix! (Named them this purely because the word makes my brain happy) They are a young adult monster, who suffers from loneliness brain damage! With symptoms that are very similar to ADHD. They forget what day of the week it is often, forget words mid conversation, and have a shit short term memory. Often forgets to eat and has a habit of not eating until their tail-head starts to nip/chew (omnomnom) at them. Will constantly loose things, even if they are currently holding said thing in their paw. Brings noise cancelling earbuds around and wears gloves because they are touch averse. Usually has one part of their body moving, leg bopping, playing with their fingers, etc. (heavily projecting here lol, they just like me fr) Are a residual hermaphrodite who flip flops between sex depending on temperature/season (has a slit covered by their fluff) and goes by all pronouns. Demi ace/aro (hahaha slowburn + oblivious to their own feelings, have fun with that Vinnel). Has a hard time understanding sarcasm and understanding their own feelings.

Kalix's tail has been named "Sir" as they thought the word was cool. They usually eat / drink using their head-tail. Sir is Kalix's subconscious/lizard brain, though they don't seem to realize that themself, thinking the tail-head as more of a sibling/pet. (and example for the subconcious/lizard brain thing being, Kalix stubbing their toe, wincing and making a joke, Sir whimpering and getting teary like the crybaby they secretly are) They can consciously control Sir for about 30 minutes before a headache starts cracking open their skull (usually their species would be able to do this all the time, but shhh don't tell the poor child, they'll cry). While talking through Sir, Kalix can mimic many many sounds / voices. It would honestly be easier to list what they can't mimic than what they can. They do have a tell though, as when they speak through Sir, they have a slight whisper echo. Also sadly because of brain injury, they can't cut off Sir's senses from their own. Wagging their tail super fast like a dog when excited / to stim will leave make them super dizzy. Sir also has a taste for human/monster flesh :))) Has some other abilities, like being able to store stuff in their shadow (they do this more often and don't get nauseous from it unless they try to fit a bigger object inside. Kalix usually makes it look like they're pulling stuff out from their chest fluff becuse i thought that would be silly), make shadow apparitions for a limited amount of time, wrap themselves in shadows to hide or stalk their 'prey', and if they really push themself, they can teleport through shadows (within a certain range etc.) at most two times a week. They feel nauseous and get headaches after this, and using their power too often/long or trying to store large objects will make them violently ill. (won't stop the dumbass from overusing their abilities to pull pranks on The Clergymen though) Has little physical strength (for a monster at least), although they can jump pretty high when spooked (hehe get it? halloween pun :> also foreshadowing~) Speaking of Halloween, it's one of Kalix's main hyperfixations. Their hyperfixations include: Halloween, (and by extension) candy making, horror book reading, driving (although ironically if Kalix is a passenger they get extremely car sick), juggling (picks this up after they see Vinnel do it and realize 1. its a fun way to stim and 2. they have four arms. they are terrible at first), baking (which is kinda funny cuz they cannot cook for shit), insect related stuff, (piss poor) sewing, and drawing (they usually like to draw stuff with the combination of gore and plants).

Always has candy corn on them (or it seems that way, it’s just in their shadow. Kalix likes how it looks like they can just summon candy corn out of nowhere).

Also do not let them drive. They will turn it into a car chase. Somehow. (They just like slamming into the cars chasing them and showing off their drifts and sharp turns) They work as a party planner / decorator and will practically beg on their knees to Admin to help decorate for the holidays, especially Halloween. (Admin will have to wrangle them during other holidays to make sure Kalix doesn’t start making them Halloween themed as well...

”Decorate your own apartment Easterween themed, Kalix...” cue Admin’s signature tired eye roll as Kalix gives the smaller human puppy dog eyes) After they learn The Clergy has rent able rooms, they'll definitely start living there. Kalix's room will be completely Halloween themed all year long. They'll also ask Admin if they can help out around the Clergy / help them (Kalix feels bad for Admin and all their responsibilities, but also thinks they're amazing for being so focused and hard working)

Kalix is a complete virgin, having not even touched themself because again, they see Sir as a ‘pet’ or sibling sort of, only that Sir is attached to them. Kalix always chalks up Sir’s similar reactions to them as both them and Sir having grown up together.(if this sentence makes sense? basically they chalk up Sir having similar reactions to how they feel inside to just them growing up being attached to each other) Also them denying full heartedly that they are a crybaby and that they like the taste of human/monster flesh. To be honest, after a few months of being around Kalix, The Clergymen will probably pick up on Sir being more connected to Kalix than the oblivious lizard (idk why but my nickname for them is lizard despite them looking like some lizard/cat/owl/spider mix. it just fits. also all the picures of cute dumb little geckos connect with Kalix in my mind) realizes. Although Kalix sure as hell won’t realize themself, and won’t have any kind of sexual interaction with anyone while under the impression that Sir is a pet. Someone’s gonna have the explain the them eventually or Vinnel might somehow go even more insane.  (is a sadist masochist switch with a gore kink, though it'll take alot for them to admit it (or it would have if not for Kalix's first meeting with Grimbly and realizing they did not want to be a daddy/mommy/partner to the little dude, just a friend) Oh, and before i forget. Kalix unironically eats the most burned, charred, barely edible, can-barely-be-considered-food stuff. Completely unscathed. And they like it. They will eat coal (burning or not) in front of people occasionally to see their confused/grossed out/horrified reactions / to assert dominance. They're Vinnel's poppet for a reason :))))

They lived most of their life alone and when they were gracefully given a year long vacation by their warden, Kalix decided to try and make friends by integrating themself into human society. (Most others where they live avoid them/are afraid of them or occasionally someone will pity them but Kalix really dislikes that and would rather be ignored.) They stumbled upon The Clergy's Eye while stuck in a daydream / thought loop of how they were going to make friends. Going over the persona they had crafted (aka how they were going to mask the anxious, lonely, self conscious, and quiet crybaby they really are) and generally practicing conversations in their head. They were trying to go to the town's most popular bar, but ended up walking into The Clergy's Main floor / bar area (if im not mistaken). Kalix is just about able to handle being around Santi’s / and others pheromones due to years of exposure therapy (not a demon of my sort, will make sense in next post i prommy). (Ima make another post about how they met the TCE staff for the first time because this is hella long, thank you so much for reading if you made it this far. I hope you enjoyed my super self indulgent skrunkly child. I also left some stuff out that I really want to show via my writing later on :D)

[the-slasher-madame]

Hey it’s me again lmao. I loved the last head cannons you did for me so I wanted to come back. Can you maybe do head cannons for teaching Brahms, Vincent and Thomas how to crochet? I’m learning myself and I think it’s pretty fun. Thank you stay groovy <3

I will eternally groove my humble broski, just for you. Ahhh I love this cause I knit!!! I was knitting a blanket but I vastly underestimated how much yarn I would need, so it may just be a scarf instead (I was gonna knit in strips...it may not be a single strip). My aunt crochets, she'd make dresses for my dolls when I was younger. Enjoy dear!!!

Brahms Heelshire:

This is going to go one of two ways. One, he will lose his goddamn mind. Rage quits like he's fighting sans in Undertale. Cannot sit still long enough and has no patience for the needle and the possible issues of A) the yarn starting to unravel or 2) it's too small/big for him to work with well

Personally, I don't know if that's my favorite. I think the second way it goes is he picks it up instantly (or maybe even already knows how, it seems like something his mother would do it and he'd pick it up to pass the time in the walls/connect to his mother, or she made him learn how to)

Going on the second path, he fricking loves it. Perfect way to fidget, to have a part of him moving. He'd make y'all a blanket to like, celebrate/commemorate your relationship. Then he moves on to beanies (I need him in a beanie like yesterday).

I do think he would get frustrated at first, especially if he's trying to make you something. He also could spend hours looking for yarn online. Could, would, and will

He'd make plushies, but you would have to beg him to. After he makes one, he's hooked (get it? Hehe). Would absolutely make stuffies of you and him, any pets y'all may get, favorite animals, everything (do you need like a pattern/recipe for crocheting plushies? And if anyone knows how to read a knitting recipe let me know haha-)

I love the image of you coming back from a very brief grocery run and he has some granny glasses on, the ones with the beaded string around the back, and he's just working away on a blanket

Relating to that, he stress-crochets. I've stress-knit before, and I can see him doing that if you have to go out for any period of time (keeps his stuffie of you in his lap and talks to it until you get back).

You have unlocked Granny Brahms, before long he starts baking apple pies Vincent Sinclair:

I'm a fairly crafty fellow myself, and I have a personal mission to learn as many types of art as possible. Vincent is the same way, and considers crocheting to fit under this category.

I don't think he has trouble with it at all, he's got pretty nimble fingers and can keep track of the yarn and the hook

I can also see him with the granny glasses, sitting by candlelight in the house or his workshop. AND he already worries about you like a grandmother, it fits perfectly lol

Loves making blankets and throws to stash around the house (IDK why it's hotter than hell in Louisiana). Would try to make things to make the town look more lively, and would store his extra blankets in one of the houses

AKJHFHD I can see him having certain sets of blankets for different seasons, like how clothing brands have the fall sets and winter sets and whatever? He's serious about his blankets

HE'D MAKE JONSEY LITTLE HATS AND BOOTIES OH MY GODDDDD

Would probably explore making plushies on his own, and gift you with one, then another one, and another one, and maybe just one more- (I am attached to my stuffies, even if mine aren't crocheted).

I don't think he'd make a family of stuffies like Brahms, but he'd absolutely make one of you to keep on his desk

Makes Jonesy toys, absolutely

Has a wide, varied range of yarn, and if he has to ask one of his brothers to get him yarn, he is very specific. This man is an artist, he will have the right color and he will dumb it down for his brothers to make sure they get the exact shade he needs

No he'd paint little cards with the color he needs 😭

I think he would like crocheted tops, both for the statues and for you. . . Thomas Hewitt

Ohhh this man is another crafty one, already has like a case full of hooks

It'd be cool to think he might have crocheted his first masks, not sure I'm sold on that but food for thought

Luda would teach him to crochet, it gives him something to do especially when he can’t play with the other kids and switches over to homeschooling

Makes blankets, even if it’s entirely too hot in tex-ASS to wear skin let alone fabric

Anyways along the lines of Luda Mae teaching him, she’d always look out for different colors she thinks he may like. Buys him yarn and hooks and is overall the supportive mother we all want and need

I think he’d also like crocheted clothes👀and he would kill Hoyt for even breathing lewdly near you

Plushies. Makes all the plushies. Makes you all the plushies. Every farm animal imaginable. They are yours

OMG WHAT IF HE HAD SHEEP AND MADE HIS OWN YARN THA’D BE SO CUUUUTE

Thomas makes his own yarn confirmed

I think he’d be really patient with crocheting, but he might get a little frustrated with smaller yarn and hooks cause his fingers are kinda big (yummy)

Awww no what if he made potholders for the kitchen, OH AND MAKES LUDA MAE GIFTS FOR HER BIRTHDAY NO CAP

One time, Hoyt said it was “wrong” and emasculating (not his words, he doesn’t know what that means) for Tommy to crochet, so Tommy crocheted a blanket with the phrase ‘fuck you’ on it and gave it to Hoyt for his birthday

Luda chuckled and told Hoyt he got what he got, Tommy was grinning under his mask, and Monty laughed and stole the blanket (and still uses it to this very day)

Ok I tried!!!! I loved this prompt so much, knitting and crocheting are so much fun and these are the three that I feel like would enjoy yarn crafts. I hope you like it!!  <333333

[ladyfromaspookyforest]

Wheeler/Byers Wardrobe Analysis

Season 1 Part 3

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4 Part 5

EPISODE 5

First things first, this episode contains Will’s funeral and everyone wears black and I’m not going to talk about all their outfits because that’s a waste of time. But why are Mike and Dustin wearing these colored jackets?

Dustin’s in a very dark denim jacket with accents of primary-colored plaid popping out. Mike is in green with blue and green plaid accents. Lucas is wearing all black. At this point, Mike is totally 100% convinced Will is alive and stuck in the Upside Down. Dustin is on board. Lucas appears to be the least convinced of the three that Will is still out there, so him appropriately dressed for the funeral in all black makes sense. I know this post is about the Wheelers and Byers, but I'm going to talk about Dustin for a minute because of how this jacket reflects Will.

Dustin cracks a joke about telling Will Jennifer Hayes was crying at his funeral, like he has no doubt they’ll have this chance. It’s cute. It’s a little naïve but it’s heartwarming. But Dustin’s light attitude combined with this bright pop of color is really fitting. But what stands out to me the most about this jacket is how the plaid emulates the outfit Will disappeared in.

Sometimes I wonder about how Dustin feels, having been the last person to see Will before he disappeared. Dustin asked him to race, then got exhausted and quit. And Will was taken into the Upside Down. It would seem only natural for Dustin to experience guilt over this, but it’s not something we ever see explored. I’d really like to see them finally talk about this in season 5, but that's a whole tangent. Maybe I'm reading too much into guilt we never see, but it feels to me like Dustin HAS to maintain this lightness, this ability to joke at his friend's funeral. Whether it be to cope with the guilt or to cope with the possibility that they might not get him back, I don't know. Regardless, this similarity of the plaid on Dustin's jacket to Will's last outfit visually demonstrates that Dustin is focused on Will's DISAPPEARANCE and not his death, as an appropriate black jacket would.

Mike is convinced Will is alive, but he remains pretty somber through this scene. Much more so than Dustin, so the darker shade is fitting rather than the bright pop of color. But Mike has still covered his black clothes with green (blue + yellow?) as a way of showing that he isn’t really here to mourn. His mind is on Will, but he hasn’t lost him yet, though he doesn't have this capacity to joke like Dustin does.

After the funeral, El’s still wearing this nasty dress and you know what else she’s doing in this episode? LYING. This dress (Nancy's) shows us that she is not being herself and she deceives the party. Mike’s in his little Byers-y coat again as they hunt for the gate to find Will, and beneath it, he’s wearing blue, red, and yellow stripes on a grey shirt. Sensing a trend.

OKAY! So here’s where things start to get really interesting with Nancy’s color scheme. It’s the same. It’s still red and blue but rather than the extremely diluted soft pink and baby blue she’s been wearing, she’s now in brick red and a darker blue. It’s VASTLY different from the way she’s been dressing and yet they’re still in the same color family. There was only one other time we've seen Nancy in these darker shades: the day after she slept with Steve. She wore a light grey sweater with stripes in these colors: brick red and darker blue. That outfit was the first hint at this one. She was already starting to doubt her choices, starting to feel guilty. And here, the guilt has completely taken over. She feels wrecked about what happened to Barb and so, like her mother in the previous episode, she darkens her color palette in an attempt to react with appropriate gravity to the situation.

On the other side of things, Jonathan is wearing not one but two patterned articles of clothing. For the first time. He’s still wearing his own color palette, but he’s got a striped sweater and a checked flannel on. This feels like a small nod to Nancy while her shearling jacket is a bit of a nod to him. Their style is very minutely reaching towards one another.

Let’s talk about STEVE again. He’s come to apologize. He’s wearing green and navy, darker colors than he’s been wearing around Nancy lately. He's been wearing lighter shades of blue, matching her, but here he's in dark shades. In my last post, I talked about the visual of Nancy/Steve and El/Mike dressed in pastel pink/baby blue and how overly gendered and domestic it was. Here, Steve has dropped that. The last time he wore a darker blue was the day of the party when he wore a teal sweater. This scene above is potentially the most likable Steve has been so far this season. And I would argue that the party was another instance of Steve being likable. He feels genuine in both of these situations. He doesn’t feel like he’s being influenced by his shitty friends or worrying about his parents. And the colors of his outfits in these scenes are similar.

Apologies everyone. Trigger warning: L0nnie Byers. So this ding dong showed up at the end of the last episode and now he’s hangin’ out, trying to comfort Joyce. I’ve included a shot of the two of them from this episode and one of Lonnie from his first appearance in episode 2 as well, just so we can take a peek at what he usually wears. Button-downs at least partially undone over a white tank is the norm.

But then later after the funeral, he dresses like this. Lonnie-styled Wheeler colors.

I was actually kind of taken aback by this one, but it makes sense. Lonnie is fixing up the house, talking about how their family has been ruined. He’s calling Joyce “babe.” He’s putting on a complete show of being part of the family unit. He’s wearing his white button-down from the funeral in this scene, unbuttoned in Lonnie fashion, but the outfit prior to unbuttoning and rolling the sleeves resembles the sort of thing Ted Wheeler would be wearing at the dinner table. Bland office attire/bland funeral attire. Then he showers, comes back, and is in pastel stripes. Joyce confronts him about the money and they argue about how Lonnie just wants to use it for Jonathan to go to college. Lonnie is putting on this I Care About This Family front and it’s extremely telling that he does it in blue pastel stripes. This says that while he’s behaving like he’s a family man, he clearly isn’t, and the Wheelers, constantly behaving like the perfect family, are in fact not all that happy or put-together either.

Joyce is wearing this maroon turtleneck this episode. It’s darker than what we’ve seen her in and it’s also the first time she’s changed her clothes since the first episode (funeral getup earlier in the episode aside). She’s falling a little bit for Lonnie’s manipulation here as she just sort of needs someone to help her pick the pieces back up and he was quite literally just there. She lets him talk to her about how this could all be in her head and up until now, we’ve seen her shut down anyone who makes this kind of suggestion, but she also tells him not to take down the lights. She hasn’t given up. She doesn’t fully believe Will’s gone, but she’s conflicted and she’s starting to seem a bit hopeless. This dark top is a reflection of that, as well as the fact that it has a lot less character than what she usually wears.

Then she and Lonnie fight. He tells her she’s a shitty mom and she’s crazy and she yells at him and kicks him out. And in the next scene with Joyce, Hopper comes over and tells her she was right all along.

Here’s Hopper this episode. He’s totally unhinged. This is peak Unhinged Hopper for season 1. He breaks into the lab, beats people up, threatens them at gun point, answers his door with a gun looking paranoid as all Hell, rampages through his house looking for bugs, then shows up to the Byers residence to do the same. The sweaty undershirt is a fantastic way to show us just HOW unhinged he is.

The moment when Hopper showing up at the Byers house to unscrew every single one of Joyce’s Christmas lights is meeting her on her level. The little exchange between his officers after they come to see him is really indicative of this.

“Is he off his meds again?” “He’s been spending too much time with Joyce Byers.”

So I love this scene of him coming to Joyce in general because he’s the first person to tell her he believes her. This is huge. And having it take place right after Joyce kicked Lonnie out for saying she's off her rocker emphasizes the difference between the two. It shows us: this is what Joyce does NOT need followed by this is what Joyce DOES need. And the clothes are relevant because what Lonnie is wearing does not fit into Joyce and her family's lifestyle. What Hopper is wearing does.

As Hopper goes hunting for the truth like a maniac, he’s in civilian clothes for obvious reasons. He can’t roll up to a bar trying to trick the guy who found the body into giving him info in his uniform. But beyond practicality, I think putting Hopper in civilian clothes signals to us that this is no longer a job for him. He’s clearly not on real, legal police business anymore. He starts trespassing and getting violent and going so far as to cut open what is most likely a child's body just because there is a chance he can save Joyce's son. It's not police work anymore. As for the outfits themselves, this screams I Live in the Woods Alone. I don't have a whole lot to say about it, but I will be coming back to it to compare with other outfits Hopper wears later.

*cough* Anyway, I swear the next one will be shorter. It's because I went on Dustin and Hopper tangents. I got too invested in the Jopper moment.

[rroaddkill]

Rant? I guess?? Not really, just rambling.

Something that makes the chucky subreddit mad is when I say Child's Play 2 isn't my favorite and it's rly low in my ranking, now thats not to say that I didn't like it but there are parts that I do! I just don't like how..colorful it is? And I really really hate how fast the franchise goes straight into action so fast, (this EXCLUDES the first two films)

Child's Play 2 is really bright and colorful for a horror movie, and I get it. It's supposed to be morute in a childlike sense, but I like the more gothic elements in chucky movies. Like c1, bride and curse.

Cult of chucky has got to be my very least favorite (except for the last 8 minutes of the film with nicachucky and tiffany), it's so bright and blinding. The constant white color and bright lighting of the mental hospital is almost overwhelming.

Chucky season 1 was okay-ish with maintaining darker colors and dark/timid color coded themes. Chucky season 3 definitely does the gothic-ish theme well too.

Now onto my (mostly, there are some gripes here) positive rambling

Curse of chucky is the BEST for the muted color / dark lighting theme that the Child's Play aura has, and what I mean by aura is (in my opinion) chucky films just don't necessarily feel so beamy and bright, like it almost ruins the dark and nightmarish vibe it should have. Curse of chucky however has the muted/timid colors, it's a slight gorefest (compared to other movies like terrifier for example. Hence why I said slight) and it has the gothic element especially in the house it takes place in. Only issue is that it goes straight into action in less than 10 minutes of the film.

Child's Play 1 also did well with muted colors, the night-time in late 80s chicago (mostly beautiful in this film omg especially with the subtle colorful lights in the streets) and the almost eerie silences throughout the film, and the raw aggression that chucky's character had at the time too. I almost feel like he's nicer as of late, and like yessss emotional maturity you go girl, I wish the films and the tv series would've stuck with chucky being as vicious as he was in the first 3 films, and ALSO not being so open about being alive like in c1, c2 really killed that not even a trilogy in.

Chucky season 2 was AMAZING with my preferred color scheme, not too bright but not TOO dark. I know it offended some Christians but as a devoted Christian, I loved it. No offense taken as I personally don't believe any was delivered either, my only gripes with season 2 are nica's outfits and glenda's outfits..dude..the neon colors gotta go. Glen's fashion was nice though! I liked theirs. Some of Glenda's outfits are faves of mine, especially the ribbed black crop top, and the black jeans with the red straps(?). Onto Nica's outfits, I know that was all Tiffany, however the dresses were so ugly 😭 Nica's own choice of outfits when she left with Glenda and Kyle were sooo much better. Along with her looks in season 3. My only other gripe with season 2 is G.G..ew. hair is too vibrantly dyed red, and the hairstyle doesn't even remotely suit the doll. Not only that but the denim/patterned pin jacket is gross. The rest of their outfit is nice though, it'd be better if the black dress was paired with a leather jacket AND add the pins to that instead because the pins weren't exactly ugly. G.G's makeup isn't terrible but again, doesn't fit the doll.

Bride of chucky, oh where do I even start. This movie always gives me a wave of nostalgia everytime I see it because it was my first chucky movie. And I LOVEEEE the gothic theme all throughout the movie, the usage of blue/purple/red/gold PERFECTLY and those colors don't even really go together! But I gotta say, the set nailed it. The outfitting nailed it. Ronny Yu NAILED directing this!! I love how it toned down chucky's color palette too from the bright childlike colors to fit a gothic film lighting, I also like stitched chucky better than the good guy doll, it's eerie and fits him better. I adore how tiffany made a wedding dress and leather jacket pair work too, her whole makeover and outfit worked so well and it's an iconic scene too! I love love love how this film doesn't stray away from its dark lighting and muted colors either. I wish it was more serious tho, that's my only real gripe with it. And boy I really wish the baby glen scene was extended, at least up until psyches found them in the cemetery because canonically it wasn't that long after Glen killed Detective Preston (I think that was his name). All that aside I love the colors, the outfits and the soundtrack.

Seed of chucky is definitely my all time favorite out of all 7, bride is a close second. I just wish the darker tones made up in most of the movie stayed throughout more of it. I love love LOVE glen's outfit and color scheme! Timid purple works with him so well. Glenda's imitation of Tiffany's look was also adorable...and apologies but, seed Glenda's makeup was a lot better than syfy G.G's. Now Glen and Glenda are my all time favorites (as evident to anyone who's ever met me or seen my account lol) i wish Chucky would've stayed alive and lived with Tiffany and the twins. Finally I wish that as human kids at the very end of seed, there were more scenes with them, especially with Glenda, including the scene where Fulvia gets killed by Tiffany.

I don't know what this ramble really was about or if it makes sense. It probably doesn't. Just a cluster-bunch of my opinions all slammed into one post. I guess the TLDR is

bright colors bad, gothic themes good.

Also child's play 3 isn't included because i hate it.

[grim40]

{Next Gen}~ Monster?- Part 2

Pinkie packed the last of the cupcake order for the day, laying a sticker and writing the name of who was supposed to pick it up. Pinkie swiped her brow with her hoof, it had been a long morning and afternoon, happy that business was bustling.

She looked at the clock and took her apron off. Time to pick up the kids at school.

"Going for the kids so soon?" Mrs. Cake asked Pinkie, coming out of the kitchen with an order.

"Yup! It's early release day. Sorry to leave so soon, but I'll be back in no time I promise." Pinkie happily replied.

"No worries dear. Tempest can cover for you right?" Mrs. Cake said while Tempest carried some empty plates.

"Sure, it's been pretty easy today for me so I'll cover for you while you're back." Tempest smiled at Pinkie.

"Thank you! I'll see you guys later!" Mrs. Cake and Tempest waved at Pinkie hoping out the door and turning back to work.

~

Pinkie waited outside for her kids in the playground, and the bell signaling the end of school rang. Fillies, foals and other kids scrambled out the door of the building. She looked around and found it odd, Discord wasn't here to pick up Ben. Also looking out into the crowd, she didn't see him either. It was the end of the week, so all classes were supposed to be here.

"Mooom!" Snapping out of her la la land, she spotted her two balls of fluff coming her way.

"Haha hey kiddos! How was school today?" Pinkie giggled at her children, Sugary bouncing up and down around her and Bitter standing in front of her holding his back pack and lightly padding his hoofs in a cute pattern.

"It was awesome! Missus Cheerilee bought some treats for us and we colored some rainbows and the seasons!" Sugary went on and on while Bitter took out his drawing to show.

"Haha sounds like you guys had fun! Where is Benny though? Did he come to school yet?" Pinkie asked with worry in her voice.

Bitter shook his head and Sugary stopped bouncing and seemingly turned sad.

"No, we haven't seen him. You know since that feather brain mean griffon."

"Huh. That's odd, for a whole week?"

Bitter looked sad, his ears were down and he slumped down. Ben and Bitter had been friends for a while, even though Ben was a year older. So him not coming to school made Bitter feel lonely while at school. Sure there was his sister to hang out with and her friends, he didn't mind. But of course who would play Sun and Moon card games with him, or Star Swirl's memory game?

"You know what? Why don't we go look for him? I bet he would like for us to visit!"

Bitter's ears perked up and he nodded, Sugary as well with a beaming smile nodding her head too.

"Well let's get goin'! Duck formation, now! Haha!" Pinkie giggled, starting to walk towards Flutter Shy's cabin, her children trailing right behind her.

~

"Alright Benny, food is almost done-" A knock came at the door, stopping Flutter's speaking.

"Coming!" Flutter called out.

Opening the door, Flutter was surprised but happy.

"Pinkie! It's good to see you." Flutter said in her soothing voice.

"Hi Mrs. Shy!" Sugary popped out from behind Pinkie and Bitter poked his head out.

"Oh my. How are you sweet angels? Come in. Would you guys like some tea? I'm preparing a meal."

"Some apple juice would be fine, thank you! We came by to see you and Ben, the kids were a bit sad he has not been to school in a while."

Flutter brought their drinks and said in a whisper, looking a bit weary.

"Oh, yeah. Benny, my poor angel. He has not been feeling well going to school lately. Ever since what happened with that griffon pup and the other kids, he feels, out of place. So I started home schooling him."

"WHAT?!" Pinkie shouted, having a same reaction out of Sugary and Bitter stared silently.

"I asked Twilight on some tips for home schooling, and I started teaching him where Missus Cheerilee left off at. He seems to like it, though I still see him being a bit gloomy. I'm not a good teacher but I do try. He is in the living room if you guys would like to see him."

Bitter started trotting to the living room followed by Pinkie, Sugary and Flutter.

"Benny sweety, your friends came to see you."

Flutter sat down behind Ben, but he only hid under her mother's wings.

"Oh, Benny don't be like that. It's your friend Bitter and Sugary. Say hello."

Ben only hid his face further into her feathers. Bitter sat down before him.

"Benny what's wrong? We're your friends, remember?" Sugary exclaimed.

"Yes Benny. Don't need to hide." Pinkie chimed in.

For a moment, he stayed silent.

"I-I'm a m-monster..." Ben croaked out, his voice breaking and tears welling up in his eyes.

Sugary and Pinkie looked shocked, Flutter only looked at him sadly, her heart breaking again.

"What do you mean? No you're not!" Sugary hopped, her tiny but feisty attitude coming out.

"The only monster is that bird butt, you don't have to listen to her. Remember what Princess Twilight said? Everypony might look different on the outside." Sugary hopped around everyone, finally landing on top of her mother.

"But we all are the same, on the inside! You don't have to worry about anypony else says, we are still you're friends!"

"And we are here to prove it kiddo!" Pinkie joined in with her daughter.

"And we are never leaving you alone my little angel. No matter what." Flutter rubbed her wings on her cub's head.

Ben turned his head from his mother's feathers, looking at Bitter who was holding out a chocolate bar out to him. It was Dark Chocolate, his favorite. Bitter knew he liked it, so to make him feel better he carried one to school, but didn't have a chance to give it to him while he was absent.

Ben sniffled, and took the chocolate bar while giving Bitter a hug. Sugary jumped down and joined in on the group. Flutter and Pinkie looked at the children with soft smiles, Flutter wiping a tear from her eye.

"IIIII'M hoooome~ Gosh the lines for pear jam was awful today- Uh, did I miss something?" Discord walked out of the portal behind him only to stare at the scene before him.

Pinkie and Flutter looked at each other while the kids looked back and forth, and the all burst into giggles and laughs, leaving Discord confused with grocery bags in his paws.

-

Part 1 here~

https://www.tumblr.com/grim40/751038687766282241/ben-sighed-as-he-sat-down-in-his-seat-it-was?source=share

Part 2 of my Next Gen story ^^ still working on part 3, but will come out soon.

Thanks for reading <3

[jastersmohnson]

Ranking Virginia Johnson's 10 best outfits from Masters of Sex

Masters of Sex was known for many things: the outstanding acting, the excellent set design, the hot ape-on-human action—but one aspect that never goes unmentioned with the show is the incredible costume design.

For those who don't know or who became Masters of Sex fans recently, the show had two main costume designers: Ane Crabtree, who did seasons one and two, when the show was in the late 50s and the early 60s; and Isis Mussenden, who did seasons three and four, the mid to late 60s.

Pictured above: Ane Crabtree (left) and Isis Mussenden (right)

Almost all of the costumes the main female characters would wear were hand-made, so if you happened to see an outfit on the show that you liked, you were pretty much out of luck. I own a couple outfits from the show (a couple of Bill's suits, one of Libby's sweaters, and one of Virginia's dresses—which I'll get to later in this post!) and not only does it feel like I own a piece of the show, but I also feel like I own a piece of fashion history in a way since this outfit does not exist anywhere else.

So in my opinion, no other character on Masters of Sex looked better in what they wore than Virginia Johnson (although Betty would be close behind), and I figured I would rank my ten favorite of Virginia's outfits/looks from throughout the show. So let's start!!

#10. Virginia's navy jumpsuit with patterned belt/scarf (season 4, episode 1—circa 1968)

This is one of the first outfits we see Virginia wear in season four, which begins in 1968. It's definitely a unique look, I honestly can't remember seeing Virginia wearing anything other than a skirt or dress.

#9. Virginia's blue polo dress with multi-color scarf (season 3, episode 4—circa 1966)

Right away I should apologize because I do not know fashion terminology, like at all, so I'll probably be using pretty generic terms for a lot of these outfits. But this was one of my favorite outfits of Virginia's from season three. It's very colorful and vibrant and I love the use of buttons.

#8. Virginia's orange/brown blouse and brown skirt (season 2, episode 8—circa 1960)

Although this post is dedicated for the clothes, I will take a moment to say that my favorite hairstyle of Virginia's is hers in the second half of season two, which she sports in this outfit. This is a great outfit, it feels reminiscent of the first season but slightly more modern, as this was the first episode of the show to take place entirely in the 1960s.

#7. Virginia's yachtcore red/white/blue outfit (season 3, episode 10—circa 1968)

Virginia wears this after going sight-seeing with Dan Logan in season three. This is definitely one of the more extravagant of her outfits this season. I like it, I think it really works, even if it does look like she just went boating.

#6. Virginia's abstract blue patterned dress (season 4, episode 9—circa 1969)

This is the outfit I mentioned earlier that is the only outfit of Virginia's that I actually own! I got it on eBay earlier this year. I'm obsessed with that black/blue abstract pattern, I've tried reverse-image searching but I couldn't find anything. This dress only appears in one scene but it still left an impression on me.

#5. Virginia's navy jacket and red/orange turtleneck outfit (season 4, episode 6—circa 1969)

It's interesting to compare Virginia's wardrobe from seasons three and four. It feels like she dressed more conservatively in season three and then went all-out 60s in season four. This is an incredible look, I love it.

#4. Virginia's blue/black dress (season 2, episode 5—circa 1958)

I honestly don't really have much to say about this one, it's just really beautiful. It looks somewhat imperial with the way the buttons are placed.

#3. Virginia's black dress with grey scarf (season 2, episode 10—circa 1960)

Very simple but at the same time it just works so well. It's honestly a look I've tried to recreate myself—and it's pretty easy to do! All you need is a black t shirt and a small strip of black fabric, sew it on, and you've got a little pocket thing for a scarf.

#2. Virginia's navy/orange button-up dress (season 4, episode 3—circa 1969)

Usually with this show, I'll fall in love with the costumes after rewatching the episodes several times. This particular outfit jumped out when I first watched the episode, I love it. It's a shame that it was only used in one scene. As far as I know, it was not for sale during the prop auction. I think only about half of Virginia's seasons 3/4 wardrobe was auctioned off, I'm very curious as to where the other half is, if Isis Mussenden or Lizzy Caplan got to keep them.

Of the two costume designers, I think I prefer Isis Mussenden's work on the show over Ane Crabtree's, but that's more so because I just prefer the style of the late 60s as opposed to the late 50s. However, it is one of Ane Crabtree's costumes that takes the top prize!

#1. Virginia's brown CBS interview dress (season 2, episode 11—circa 1960)

This really is the most elegant outfit from the entire show. It's a beautiful color, I love the unusual neckline, and the brooch is like the perfect cherry on top.

So what are your favorite outfits of Virginia's from Masters of Sex? Really, if you have any thoughts, please share them!! I love the fashion on this show, I love hearing people's thoughts on it and I could talk about it endlessly.

[findusinaweek]

Get to know a mutual better!

Tagged by @sleeplessincarcosa and @thecontractorandtheastronaut! Thanks you two!

LAST SONG- Cast Iron Pansexual by Adeem the Artist! I was very lucky to see them live in the spring.

FAVORITE COLOR- pthalo blue!!

CURRENTLY WATCHING- rewatching Sex Education from the beginning because a new season came out and tbh I have forgotten most of what is going on. Gillian Anderson, please let me steal your closet.

LAST MOVIE- Little Women. The new one. Why does she get with Professor Bhaer? I mean, obviously, I know why, but there is no (I'm making hand gestures) no...chemistry. Nothing. Also, he is objectively hot, but I'm just....not feeling it. It feels off. Now I have to go watch the 1949 one and the 1994 one and decide which I like best.

CURRENTLY READING- I said I was having trouble reading and then immediately started rereading Pachinko. It's like I want to be in pain.

SWEET/SPICY/SAVORY- Spicy and/or Sweet/Sour.

LAST THING GOOGLED- SWITCH GAMEMODE. All caps. Yes I cheat at Minecraft, it's a very frightening game to me. I can and will cry if forced underwater.

CURRENT OBSESSION- finding just fitted sheets and not having to pay for a flat sheet or pillowcases. I don't use pillows or a flat sheet. They make me uncomfortable. I just want (1) one singular fitted sheet. But! I want it to be cute and also maybe patterned and not microfiber and not light colored. And under $30. I might be asking for too much. Also modded minecraft.

CURRENTLY WORKING ON- I guess you could say I am working on the Deimos fic. I'm kinda working on a little mixed media art project for myself. I'm not actually actively doing either of these projects. Building stuff in video games.

I know tagging games mean you have to tag people, but I'm honestly having a low mental health day and I'm already a few days behind(?) on this, so if anyone wants to do this, please do, please consider yourself tagged. I enjoy you all, jut the prospect of tagging is weighing heavily on me.

[atopvisenyashill]

I hear GOT costume slander I immediately run over lmao

Okay look- I know absolutely NOTHING about costume design, absolutely zip. Idk anything about embroidery or symbolism or whatever with costumes. But even through my untrained and unknowledgable eyes I still know the GOT costuming is AWFUL. Its honestly so ugly to me and even before the costume spiralled down into ugly black leather costumes, none of the outfits are memorable to me. The colors (especially for the dresses) are so freaking dull and washed out. Theres not a single pop of color that catches my eyes or interesting patterning or embroidery that doesn't require me having to zoom in just to see it.

Its such a downgrade compared to the books. I LOVE reading the fashion and clothes GRRM describes. Sansa's dresses sound so lovely and everytime a piece of armor or gown is described in detail I swoon. And honestly? I don't really care about symbolism or messages or whatever being told through costuming. Its fine during important events but when EVERY single piece of costume was made with the intent of 'hmmm what does this symbolises and tell about the characters motivation???' it makes the costume so repetitive. Yeah yeah I get it Cersei wears black now cuz power or whatever. Tell me why you don't dress her in RED which is her house color and can give out the message of her being into power by imposing her house symbol and RED IS STILL A POWERFUL COLOR TOO.

Also sorry not sorry but the dresses all look so cheap and strangely kind of washed out. Sansa's purple dress was... fine but where is her lovely blues and greens? Cersei should be bedecked in dripping jewels and rich embroidery whenever she comes on screen. I don't watch medieval inspired shows and movies much but the best dress in GOT looks poor af in comparison with other shows and movies

first of all, you're valid for wanting to slander the costumes aldskjfd i think i'm so shitty about it specifically because they started using got wigs on outlander and jaime went from having gorgeous luscious locks to having a bird's nest on his head, and they stuck some dry ass margaery-sparrow type wig on my main girl brianna for like three seasons in a row it was HELL for me. i can't STAND a dry wig okay lasjfdlk

Okay look- I know absolutely NOTHING about costume design, absolutely zip. Idk anything about embroidery or symbolism or whatever with costumes. But even through my untrained and unknowledgable eyes I still know the GOT costuming is AWFUL. Its honestly so ugly to me and even before the costume spiralled down into ugly black leather costumes, none of the outfits are memorable to me. The colors (especially for the dresses) are so freaking dull and washed out. Theres not a single pop of color that catches my eyes or interesting patterning or embroidery that doesn't require me having to zoom in just to see it.

i'm definitely not a costume expert, much like everything else i talk about i am just a hater with an internet connection and a job that enables my fixations on random subjects lmao. i think black leather can be used well but it can't be everyone wearing it. like my favorite show, farscape, really leans into the black leather look for the main character, crichton, and his partner, aeryn sun, and the villain/pet bad guy scorpius, especially in later seasons. but notably there's several characters who consistently wear really bright costumes like D'argo, Sikozu, Chiana, and the black leather makes sense for crichton, aeryn, and scorpius being that the second two are peacekeepers who are like Fascist Allegory so they lean into the black and red aesthetic, and crichton is a human who looks like the main Fascist Species, so the only clothes he gets are often peacekeeper cast offs (something they discuss often in the show as a matter of fact!). there's just TEW MUCH of it in got. and i agree, i think it's not so much the embroidery or colors being bad as it is they use those ugly ass filters to visually differentiate between the different areas even tho like. moroccco and iceland look nothing alike!! so you lose a lot of really great details under that ugly haze.

Its such a downgrade compared to the books. I LOVE reading the fashion and clothes GRRM describes. Sansa's dresses sound so lovely and everytime a piece of armor or gown is described in detail I swoon. And honestly? I don't really care about symbolism or messages or whatever being told through costuming. Its fine during important events but when EVERY single piece of costume was made with the intent of 'hmmm what does this symbolises and tell about the characters motivation???' it makes the costume so repetitive. Yeah yeah I get it Cersei wears black now cuz power or whatever. Tell me why you don't dress her in RED which is her house color and can give out the message of her being into power by imposing her house symbol and RED IS STILL A POWERFUL COLOR TOO.

oooo but see george is also putting symbolizism into the outfits!! like cersei's revenge dress with the rubies for example! or sansa wearing tully blue to meet with bronze yohn. another thing is that, for example, pink was a more masculine color because it was associated with blood, so for roose, wearing a cape of pink with droplets of blood, that is a STATEMENT, ya know? or how joffrey will frequently wear lannister colors over baratheon ones, or mix baratheon and lannister colors. you're even doing symbolism in that last part - cersei wearing red because it's her house color, it's a targaryen house color and she idolizes rhaegar, and it sets her apart from robert! i think the problem is again, michele had such a narrow definition of power that it made all her later outfits so samey - but that's similar for like half the bts stuff on got lmao, they had such a narrow definition of power, it's why Dany's story is so chopped up, it's why Sansa is melded into Jeyne Poole, it's why Jon Snow is turned into an action hero instead of his canon storyline, etc.

Also sorry not sorry but the dresses all look so cheap and strangely kind of washed out. Sansa's purple dress was… fine but where is her lovely blues and greens? Cersei should be bedecked in dripping jewels and rich embroidery whenever she comes on screen. I don't watch medieval inspired shows and movies much but the best dress in GOT looks poor af in comparison with other shows and movies

I ACCEPT NO PURPLE DRESS SLANDER aldsjfkd but NO YOU'RE RIGHT there's so many outfits that are described, there's house colors, and they're important to these characters! They wear jewelry! They have fancy armor!! But it's nowhere to be seen!!

[bellshazes]

thinking a lot about the moral of the life series, in a things they carried kind of way. (The moral of the story is that there is no moral. Fuck off - a paraphrase.) meaning is what is produced when you set one thing next to another and draw connections. people who win defy the rules, Scott has two in a row where his promise-keeping preserves him, etc. but the patterns always contradict.

but at the end of a season the ghosts cry out for blood. pearl and Scott share lives but impulse says, "there can only be one!" did he know that going in? I can't really imagine it, that the group agreed beforehand that even among the final two someone had to kill their soulmate and themself. certainly not impulse who is the prototypical soulmate, unshakably dedicated because as he points out when bdubs asks if impulse would betray him, he has no choice. my lives are your lives. but he says the same, inverted, to scott: betray your soulmate, you have no choice.

I love a more traditional UHC, but those are different because there's never a question of how long they'll last. You might team up or be assigned a team but no one ever doubts that it will be over, probably the same day you started. the tragedy of third life's optimistic start is they briefly all hoped and earnestly believed peace might last a long time before the killing started. it didn't, and the next season they ensured someone would die every week, either by murder or by punishment. the no red fraternization enforcement was perhaps too much, and for take 3 you are guaranteed someone on your side, in the same color as you til you're both gone.

for me, the life series is compelling because the central question no one living there will ask is how long can this last? but they answer in different ways: devotion, or betrayal; answering revenge, or by con and threat of force; looking sideways at the rules they know will doom them eventually because they have to keep clinging to something that keeps them alive, be it a promise (because I killed you ill stay with you, he loves me!, I'll go after pearl but I won't go after scott) or a principle (take the boogeyman penalty and go red that way rather than die killing my friends, it's me and my dogs) or plain old fear (big b killing cleo, scar's contracts, so many other things). you have to keep living to win, and to win you need allies, and so you find love or its absence that fuels you as the optimistic answer of "forever!" fades to "a little longer" on yellow and "not long at all, not long, not much longer" on red.

The lonely never live long unless they find something to cling to, and even then success is never guanteed. often, the answer is love, requited or misplaced; oftener, temporary convenience. everyone living knows nothing lasts forever, so take what you can get for as long as you can keep it. But ghosts know what the living don't: the end was always already there.