#i have a few more screenshots from this scene i want to post so. apologies in advance lmaoo

[riftstone-of-the-calm]

fire and lightning

[ghostflowerhotpotch]

Meet the Parents Part 1

Okay! So, someone requested to talk about Gwen’s scenes with both of Miles’ parents, and I thought it would be nice to do something a bit more light.

As always, we start a bit early.

(Also, this post has been needed to be redone THREE TIMES because tumblr keeps thinking I want to delete the entire post while I am just trying to delete a screenshot or a line.)

This part is something I wanted to mention here because 1) I don’t have that much to say about it to make it a post, but still wanted to mention it, and 2) I just think is nice.

Gwen quickly apologizes to Miles about snapping to him like that. I think this is great because while it is a small thing, I feel is nice and realistic that Gwen can quickly admit that she shouldn’t have done that. I feel in any other piece of media Gwen would had stayed mad or made Miles apologize (or maybe one from just a few years ago, I am traumatized by the stuff I watched as a kid.) But she doesn’t have that kind of pride, which I like.

Besides, I think Gwen didn’t want to waste time on stuff like that. The watch is fine, nothing happened; she wouldn’t want to ruin the mood over this.  

Yeah Miles didn’t really seem to care that much anyways, and of course I notice Miles looking at Gwen lips. And considering where Gwen is looking, I believe she may have notice that too.

Do I think he was going to go for it? Maybe, I think he would have definitely tried if they had a few minutes together and didn’t think anybody was watching, I don’t have any strong evidence for this one other that I do think he was trying to get closer not to try at that moment, but maybe find a way to get close enough to do it.

No idea if it would had happened or not, I think even if I believe Gwen is trying to not start something between them (not today at least,) I am not sure Gwen would had refused. Again, the girl is whipped.

Oh boy, I can't never watch this scene without feeling so bad for Miles and Gwen, to be honest I don't know which one I feel worse on this scene.

Obviously Rio and Jeff aren't trying to mess up stuff on purpose (At least I don't think neither of them expected Miles to care this much, or for Gwen to needing to leave as she did.)

But imagine being in the position, going with the assumption that they were having a moment (that may or may not lead to kiss, I think they needed just a few more moments for have the proper mood, but that's just me.) And then your mom/the mom of your crush pops in out of nowhere.

Little sidenote, does neither of them have super hearing?

Perhaps super hearing is too much, but for what I remember their sense are heightened, including sound.

This has been showcased in other spiderman properties in other ways, and part of the reason I thought they had it (or at least Miles,) was because later, when Spot is whispering to himself that he is going to be much more than a villain of the week, Miles hears him.

And this is with Gwen and Pavitr screaming as they hit the shield who also makes noise when hit.

For me when I saw that scene I was like "Wait how did he- Oh yeah, super hearing."

Maybe it was just for a joke and I am thinking this too much, but for me it meant that their hearing is better than average.

Which leads me to...how lost in their own world were these two that they didn't Rio coming in; specially since I think because is not a regular staircase but a ladder, being talking quietly to themselves, they should had hear it.

Guess they were too busy focusing on something else.

I literally watched this multiple times in slow motion to make sure I wasn't imagining things, and then a couple of times at regular speed to make sure this was something that you were meant to catch.

You know? Something funny that happens in a lot of these posts, is that I do an analysis because I thought may be fun or someone requested it, but I think to myself "It will probably be boring, what is there to analyze or catch on this one?"

And then I start looking things at slow motion and be like no fucking way.

I love this because you can actually see that Gwen is actually nervous around Miles' parents.

Yes this isn't necessarily new information, specially watching the rest of the scene; but I what I liked about seeing this in slow motion is that you can see how Gwen goes from the surprise, to trying to act as if she didn't get spooked, to preparing herself to present herself to Miles's mon.

That's really the part that I found most interesting, how Gwen looks down for a second in what it seems she is taking a deep breath before smiling and presenting herself to Rio.

I also love how during all of this Rio doesn't stop looking at Gwen (After all I am sure this is the first girl Miles had brought,) and Miles is just lamenting this is his life.

Another thing I want to bring up while we are here, is that while in another previous scene Rio and Jeff were judging Gwen (I think it was just overprotectiveness, even if I don't think it was nice or fair for them to do so,) in these shots when Rio is trying to meet Gwen, she is trying to smile very friendly and act as normal as she can while looking so awkward.

While she probably still is judging a bit in this moment, I think she was trying to at least act nice and warm because first presentations are important.

Then Gwen puts her foot in her mouth.

Okay, story time.

I am from Latin America (not Puerto Rico, but there are some cultural similarities in certain aspects;) and I remember an american friend of mine, who didn't really understand what was the big deal about Gwen using Rio's first time.

Me, and another latino friend (he was born in America but his background is Mexican,) were just mildly horrified and not just because this was established earlier (which honestly? Smart move from the movie really.)

Here is the thing, how this works depends from the culture, if the parents are immigrants themselves, children of immigrants, and also the type of environment they grew up and how they are as a person.

But for me, my friend, and a bunch of other latine people I know, you would either need to say Mr or Mrs (last name,) or (First name.) In my case, using a last name or first time depended from where I knew this adult (friend of the family, the parent of one of my friends, coworker of one of my parents, etc.)

Considering Gwen is a teen and she is "friends" with Miles and just meeting him, growing up for me I would had needed to use Mr and Mrs Morales until they told me to call them something else, if that got to happen. It would be important that I wait for them to tell me so or I would have my mother chiding at me for being disrespectful.

I am bringing this up because again, my american friend didn't know why Miles's parents were being so hard about this, but for me it made this scene all more investing by the fact that I was on the other side of this cultural discussion.

(Again, take this with a grain of salt. Rio looks like she moved from Puerto Rico to New York a good while now, and for what I gather Jeff and Aaron were born and raise in New York. So how they do things may still be different that what I can talk by personal experience.)

Also I brought those frames of Rio because 1) We see the exact moment Miles knew Gwen fucked up, and 2) While still smiling and looking cordial, we can see the shift in Rio's face.

This is important because Gwen is trying to talk warmly and excited, how she has heard so much about her and knows her first name even if Miles never officially present them.

Meanwhile Rio is probably thinking that 1) This girl cannot just be calling her by her first name just from minute and 2) Oh yeah knows her so well and doesn't know she and Jeff hate that.

Small thing, but I like how Miles goes beside Gwen as soon as he gets his mom properly standing on the water tower.

Yes, it makes sense because this is the "friend" he is presenting and he of course wants to make sure everything runs smoothly with his parents because, feelings aside, one of the friends he always talks but never shows up is finally here and he doesn't want any issues from either side.

I still adore that he went to get beside his girl as soon as possible.

We already talked about Gwen messing up by calling Rio by her first name, so I will not dwell into that.

Something I like about this scene is that when Rio and Jeff first realize Miles isn't in her room, Jeff storms up but Rio stares at the sweater. I believe this is because she was the one who notice it was from someone else while Jeff thought Miles just dipped.

Which brings me to Miles and Gwen's expression here.

Is not a huge reaction but if you watch this scene close you can realize Miles and Gwen were mildly surprised by Rio bringing this; now while it could be just at Rio having the sweater, my theory is that they are both thinking into

1) Gwen's hero costume is probably in Miles' room, considering she has a shirt showing her arms she actually is going to change to her suit later rather than having below her regular clothes like Miles.

2) They are realizing that they got into the room at one point that they didn't know, meaning they could had been caught when Gwen broke gravity for a few moments to open the portal.

3) They are both wondering if Miles' parents may think there is more going on between them because hey how often do you find clothes in your son's room of someone who you don't know, while not knowing how long that garment has been there?

Maybe there are more options that I am not thinking but for now this is what I am going with.

Brief side note but Jeff, what are you doing.

We saw Rio come from the centre, where we later see Miles go down a ladder; meanwhile Jeff instead of using that one (Even if Rio isn't on the ladder anymore and could just come behind her.) is going by one of the legs of the water tower.

He even hit his head while doing this.

I am starting to understand where Miles got his half-second thinking that normally pans well enough but not all the time or working all the way in some cases. Jeff you cannot talk shit about your kid you are the one that when having an available ladder decided to pull a Rambo and climb.

Jokes aside, is interesting how in a way, this confirms neither one here knows what to do in this situation.

Gwen is nervously trying to act out as a responsible nice girl without realizing that cultural differences can make you look disrespectful even when you are trying to be friendly.

Miles is watching this as passively as he can while probably thinking to himself that maybe Kingpin killing him didn't sound so bad right now (I know that would be my thought process if I was in his shoes.)

Rio came almost out of nowhere while looking at Gwen non-stop in a way that makes her look a bit insane when you see it closely.

And Jeff apparently needed to establish himself as someone who doesn't need to use a ladder and is completely fine after hitting his head with a random tube; is okay it was all part of the plan.

Nobody here knows what they are doing but pretend everything is fine, is hilarious.

Gwen still doesn't catches onto that being a no-no and Miles is just looking at the situation unfold but no idea what to do.

I think this is a good time as any to mention something that we all notice but I am still thankful for it: More Gwen screen time.

In the first movie, we got to see Gwen get awkward, but because the focus was mostly on Miles and Peter B, as well as being a significantly shorter movie than this one; the only significant time we see Gwen being kind of a mess while when she was trying to pretend she was a student.

This altogether makes sense because regardless if she has been Spiderwoman for two years now, she probably has never needed to infiltrate in a school and spend some days there. For me it felt plausible she was overall a collected and cool character that only stumbles in really out of there situations that no one would be sure how to do without warning.

This movie? Oh no, Gwen is just that awkward.

I think is important to highlight that 1) She didn't have too many friends, we only get multiple mentions of Peter from her past, not other friends, meaning she probably only was close to Peter and anyone else was just in o-kay terms for school but not much else, and 2) Since she has only needed to deal with May Parker; she isn't sure how to present herself when talking to the friend's parents.

Let alone the guy she is currently crushing on.

(I bet anything that at this point Miles was thinking "Oh is just downhill from here isn't?")

We talked about Gwen, let's talk about Rio and Jeff.

While I do want to have a post about them and what they do in this movie; I want to preface this by saying that while I don't approve how they are behaving here, I can get it.

Is not the worst I had seen (specially in real life, I had seen presentations like Gwen's go SO much worse.)

Rio and Jeff have no idea what going on with Miles, they notice there are lies, he is missing classes, and being unreliable; they don't know what to think. And the fact that he mentioned a bunch of names of people he claims to know but are never around, makes it look like Miles is making people up just to keep them distracting.

And then one of those mysterious people show up.

Miles is 15, and has been Spiderman for a year, while struggling to balance his personal life and his hero life. Regardless that he is head over heels for Gwen, I think is safe to say Miles never attempted to bring a girl or talk about a girl before this, because even if the girl he is crushing on wasn't in another dimension; there is no way this boy found time to date.

Which makes the other viable conclusion that Miles has been hiding this girl because she is up to no good; and doesn't help that she looks older.

(Canonically, she is 15 months older than Miles, meaning she is 16 or 17 at the latest. I think Rio was being catty when she said Gwen looked old enough to vote, but she is not that far off that range, and I could believe Gwen looks older because she is stress out for obvious reasons.)

Is not nice for Jeff and Rio to assume Gwen is automatically the reason why Miles is doing the things he is doing, but is not the craziest of conclusions.

And like they both admit later in the movie; neither Rio nor Jeff are sure how to take care of Miles now that he isn't a kid but is not an adult either.

Everyone is struggling here really.

For me, this a very face palm moment in a way, but I also think is just makes sense.

Once again, Gwen thinks she has this in the bag; her dad is a captain, she probably has met her dad's coworkers before and get along well, she probably had this exact joke with the previous Police Captain. And it was never an issue because they met her in the quality as the daughter of one of their coworkers.

But Gwen is not being judged by those standards anymore, and her dad's coworkers don't behave the same way Miles' parents do.

So I think Gwen is just trying to be chill and do the things that had work in the past, but really she isn't sure what she is doing (and I do believe Gwen is noticing this is not going smoothly,) and trying stick with the usual is somehow making things worse.

Miles finally talks in this conversation (Earlier he was just saying something to himself,) and trying to salvage this the best he can.

You know? After seeing Gwen trying to act casual and failing, Rio coming out of nowhere, and Jeff trying to act tough in ridiculous circumstances; Miles is probably the most normal one here.

He has also stuck up with Gwen's fake name; I wonder if he is trying to keep this consistent in the case Gwen used her fake name with other people in this universe and the teachers at the academy may remember her with that name.

(I don't know what's worse, that the teachers didn't notice a complete new student that came out of nowhere, with no records or similar. Or the fact that Gwen decided to use a fake name despite not being from this dimension, meaning there is nothing tracing her back; at best she was trying to avoid being linked with this universe's Gwen Stacy.)

Couldn't catch a good screenshot because this was movement, but before she said those words she was nodding a little; which I interpret as "Oh thank fuck he remembered that lie because I am not sure what to say anymore with them."

Guess who, once again, put too many images and made the post way too long. Yep.

I swear I don't know how I keep doing this.

Will post the second part of this particular scene today, hope you guys enjoy it despite how long it is!

PART 2

[smedenn]

My final predictions: to then go back and look at after the Full Moon Episode and laugh at myself

I'm just going to compile everything I personally believe about the full moon, my predictions for things in it based on the trailer/past episodes, and just some miscellaneous other things.

Disclaimer: 1. these are all theories and this post is for fun 2. excuse all my screenshots bc I didn't feel like cropping them lol

Scenes in the trailer

Scenes I KNOW will be in The Full Moon

These three scenes are in the Stolitz Duet preview that we saw at the LVL UP panel - so they're confirmed :)

Scenes I'm CONFIDENT will be in there (but not confirmed)

They are using the book! and we are pretty sure Stolas is giving Blitzo the crystal in this episode. So this scene is pre-crystal :) Most likely the beginning of the Full Moon Episode.

Also Blitzo's suit jacket has blood on it! Which is important because that would prompt him to take it off (not wanting to see Stolas while covered in blood) and explain why in the rest of these scenes he's not wearing is jacket

So this scene would match up (Blitzo's outfit), which additionally goes along with all these scenes:

In all these scenes he is wearing the same outfit :) therefore part of the same episode <3

It's harder to say for Stolas, since it seems he's wearing the same outfit he wears a lot- but these are the scenes that I think are in the Full Moon based on 1. his outfit is the same 2. the scenes are simillar 3. the mood/theme of the scene would make sense

(this shot is the same as one posted earlier, where we see Blitz in his Full Moon outfit, therefore probs also apart of the Full Moon episode)

I believe this scene is in the Full Moon because it looks like it follows this gif that was posted on the Helluva Boss twitter:

ADDITIONALLY, at the beginning of the duet that was shown at the LVL UP panel, we hear Stolas "throw up" as he sings about "butterflies in his stomach". Therefore, we think that Gif is the beginning of the Stolitz duet, which is then followed by the scene in the trailer (pictured above), and then the rest of the Stolitz duet (shown at the LVL panel, you can find it on youtube).

Okay hear me out- it is MOST LIKELY in the full moon episode, for obvious reasons. (but.. what if its not... what if this is stolas sadly looking at the full moon in the apology tour or something... knowing he won't see blitz for the first time since they started seeing each other.... what if.....)

The only reason i'm pretty confident this is in the Full Moon episode is because... i want it to be? lmao. Like this could definitely be Blitzo sulking after things go wrong.

Scenes I think are definitely possible but i'm not confident

Notes: I was watching the trailer and realized theres most likely not a lot of scenes in it from Sinmas, since there's only a few from Mastermind (supposedly). They probably don't have a lot of animation done for the last two episodes. Therefore most scenes have to be ghostfuckers, apology tour, and the full moon.

I think it's pretty easy to see which scenes are confidently most likely from ghostfuckers and apology tour. So that leaves some scenes that might be from anything but are more likely from The Full Moon (since they probs don't have a lot of animation done for the last two).

ADDITIONALLY, they've been working on The Full Moon for what- 6? 7? Months? meaning it has to be a longer episode (at least 20 mins, most likely 30 mins). The crystal scene cannot be all of it.

Therefore I think these scenes have a good chance to be in The Full Moon, but i'm not confident and i don't really have any definite evidence for it.

(Stolas wearing the same fit therefore all the same scene) (could be a flash back?) (Could be after they breakup and Blitz is trying to make things better?) (Stella could have said something stupid which causes Stolas to get mad. Then she leaves, Blitz shows up, and they hang out???) (Maybe they don't break up, and agree to try to work things out/restart, and this is the beginning of that?) (So many options)

(could be apart of a song?) (I saw someone say we were maybe getting two songs this episode?)

(okay hear me out-) (Yes I agree this is most likely in an episode further down, like sinmas, after they develop their relationship further) (but what if-) (the idea here is that stolitz kinda breaks up/fights at the beginning of the episode, and then, and then this happens) (like i'm not certain what the context could be, like why Blitzo is there and why Andrealphus is attacking) ( but what if after their fight Blitzo saves Stolas's life, he shows up, shows he cares in this way-) (thus setting up the plot for apology tour) (where they decide hey- maybe we can work this out)

(Im including this because I DONT THINK it will be in The Full Moon, but I guess? it's possible) (because anything is possible) (but I think this is a court scene) (which is most likely going to be about the divorce?) (which btw, we think this is a court scene because of the trailer scene with mammon, he's obviously in the same room as these two, and he's wearing a suit? also Viv posted a video of Bryce Pinkham, who voices Stolas, saying a line that indicated he was in court, talking about Blitzo). (anyway) (I think this is A LOT of important plot) (and I think that would be too heavy to include in the Full Moon Episode) (I think it's more likely to be the B plot of another episode like Ghostfuckers or Mastermind)

Plot Predictions (theories?)

Okay so based on all the scenes we have, this is my official conclusion / prediction for how the episode will go (half based on my own wants and half based on evidence)

Starts with the Stolitz Duet.

Blitz goes to work with I.M.P and gets covered in blood. takes off his coat

Gives Moxxie the rest of the work for the day because he has "important business to attend too"

He goes to FIZZAROLLI'S HOUSE hehe

his important business was essentially asking FIZZAROLLI HOW TO SPICE UP THEIR DATE

bonus points if he asks for dating advice / confesses it might be more than it seems

Fizz shows him around, shows him some stuff (thus the scene where he's holding the uh....toy)

Thats where Blitz gets that big ass candle

Because he leaves here

and heads to Stolas' Palace

he shows up, either suspecting nothing and thinking it will go perfectly normal, or just pretending that everything's normal

he's excitedly showing Stolas the stuff he brought (like the candle and maybe other things that he got from Fizz)

Stolas interrupts him, suggests they should talk or something idk but theres some segue into him giving Blitz the crystal

They fight !! Thats when Blitz takes it badly, theres miscommunication, Blitz yells about how "You think you can just toy with our feelings because we are smaller"

At some point Blitzo reaches for Stolas' hand, maybe after saying something that crosses the line, and Stolas sends him through a portal (bc in that one scene, if you watch slow enough, you see blitz reaching for stolas' hand but ends up through a portal instead)

Cue: Sulking.

After this, is all really just headcanon? very loosely put together scenes that are pretty based on nothing, just assumptions. So take it as you will:

17. Maybe even cue: talking to m&m, talking to Loona, talking to someone and realizing he wants to try to fix this, or at least talk to Stolas again

18. Potentially returns to the palace, where Stolas is in the garden (and personally I think he fights with stella in that scene where he says "do you have any remorse for what you do" but I guess this could be to Blitzo aswell). Blitzo is half trying to act like things are normal, trying to kinda win him back, or talk to him or SOMETHING

19. Stolas catches an attitude bc wtf blitz pls be normal and communicate wtf

20. Idk what really happens here uhhhh

Or OR OR

22. He returns

23. and Andrealphus is attacking the palace

24. boom thats where he defends stolas

25. hahah please I just need NEED to know the context of that scene

26. so I hope its in The Full moon and I think thats what it would be.

27. They have a moment of mutual understanding, almost an unspoken "yes I love you too, idiot" and thus decide to work on things

28. setting the plot up for Apology Tour

lets out a breath anyway, that really concludes everything I think about The Full Moon and all the evidence/hints/peaks we've gotten for the episode.

Here is some links to some things I mentioned

the trailer incase you haven't seen it

LVL UP duet "when I see him"

Bryce Pinkman Voicing sneak peak

Helluva boss twitter

[renchant]

What's happening?

heres some context before i get into what happened november 23rd

delilah made her tweet about quitting content creation about a month ago

(she did come back but its still important she made this post at all.)

people noticed she had unfollowed zam, wasn't friends with him on discord anymore, etc. which was very surprising as they had been very close before as far as we could tell.

she even left the kaboodlesmp without, as far as i know, a proper goodbye stream within lore. the account just quietly unfollowed her in october and said goodbye to her alongside ivory and ivo in a tweet made at the end of the season.

we didn't know what was happening, but it was clear (atleast to me and my friends) that SOMETHING was going on behind the scenes.

exactly a month after delilah made her tweet shown above, which was 2 days ago as im posting this, delilah posts this tweet about princezam being emotionally abusive.

im going to be including alot of interactions that happened under this tweet, and related things, because i think its important to see EVERYTHING.

I apologize if the formatting is messy and hard to follow, tumblr doesn't let me properly rearrange images for whatever reason.

bormethius immediately replied with these tweets

he also had this interaction with someone under that tweet

& posted this on his alt

Delilah and Bormethius had this interaction under Bormethius's original reply to her tweet

Thats where Bormethius's response ends currently.

Subz's replied to the original Delilah tweet with this

And replied to her tweet asking Bormethius what she lied about with this.

Subz said these things in his discord server. These screenshots are from my friends so I don't know the full conversation or context, but I think they're important to include regardless. These are taken November 23rd/24th

That's what Subz has said. He might've said more in his discord but I'm not going to go looking for more. If anyone wants to look for more, you're welcome to.

vPluto replied this to Delilah's original tweet, which Delilah later hid.

Delilah responded with this

Delilah had this interaction with someone under that tweet

vPluto also retweet Bormethius's original reply to Delilah, and that's where his response ends.

Coinmonke replied to Delilah's original tweet

Delilah responded with this

These are screenshots of messages between Delilah and Coinmonke

Do with this information what you will. Zam has yet to say anything about all of this, and Delilah & Bormethius both seem to be making documents about whats been going on the past few months.

There are some people claiming to have known Zam in highschool and that he was a massive bully, but I will try and add that in a reblog, or a seperate post, at some point since I personally haven't looked at all the information there and wanna make sure I get that all down accurately and this post is already getting really long.

UPDATE NOVEMBER 26TH: Zam has released a statement saying that Delilah was the one who emotionally abused him and has provided screenshots in his statement. You can read it here.

[bee-dot-exe]

I really wish I wasn't writing this. I just can't believe it. Put on your seatbelts I guess. Kinda long and kinda heavy post ahead. Take care of yourselves.

I follow Shelby, but I don't really watch her. When I saw her go live and I saw that it would be a more serious stream, I got kinda worried, but I didn't think a whole lot of it I guess. And slowly but surely, as I scrolled on here, I saw the occasional post not only saying they were proud of her, but saying negative things about Wil. My heart sunk, and to be honest, from what I'd seen, she didn't name any names, why were people blaming and saying these things about him, he didn't do anything?

So while I absolutely supported Shelby regardless, at the time I hadn't look further into anything, and avoided posts with either of their names for my own well being.

I came here this morning and there was a screenshot of his Tweet. And I felt like I was gonna throw up.

First of all, what was that. That was a response, sure, but that's about it. It was not anything genuine. It was not an apology.

Wilbur, this hurts me, like I genuinely feel like the air was punched out of me as I write this, Not only that what Shelby said was true, not only that you admitted it, but that this is the response you can't up with?

I remember finding you one day three or four years ago, and not to be parasocial, but I immediately felt connected. Wrapped around my brain. I was hyperfixated, felt understood in a way few others has made me feel before, maybe something similar to attraction grew.

And now I don't know what to do. I don't know if I can watch some of my comfort videos or vods. Listen to one of my favorite bands. Keep talking about/infodumping/introducing one of my comfort creators.

I can't stop thinking about people you were friends with not wanting to interact anymore. Of even though you weren't really on QSMP you probably definitely won't be anymore. Of Lovejoy maybe probably slowly stopping. Of the fact that I haven't really watched Tommy in a while but your friendship was once very dear to me and I don't know anything behind the scenes and I hope he will be okay. Of this really happening.

And I'm sorry. I'm sorry for fans past present and future. I'm sorry for Shelby and any other had been or possible future victim. I'm sorry for you because you did this, you dug this hole further and further, you are watching this happen.

I'm going to update my pinned post and change my blog layout. I'm not going to write about him or post about him anymore, but I'm not going to delete what I have written or posted, because I was at one point and still am proud of it, and a part of me will continue to hold these things near my chest. I'm gonna go now cause I have a headache.

[alittlefrenchtree]

Curious Anon again! Sorry to send you so many asks but your mind is so interesting! You also said this on that ask about Taylor acting: "Taylor was so organic as Alex I was almost immediately on board with him. For me, it was everything to do with the sincerity and heart with which he played him, rather than being an award worthy performance or not. It wasn’t perfect but it was perfectly Alex so it was good. And I suspect the very few of my issues with it would fall on the directing and the editing of it rather than Taylor’s work". Could you please elaborate on how you suspect the few issues you have with Taylor's performance as Alex could fall on the directing and editing of the movie rather than Taylor's work please? I have my suspicions cause I've thought the same as well, but I would love to hear what you think.

Please don’t apologize I love these kind of questions 🙏 Thank you for asking them 💜

[yes, I did take photos of my screen with my phone because you can’t screenshot on prime video and I’m too lazy to find a cleaner solution]

The main moment I had in mind when I wrote this was the "Alex is so in love he could die" shot. Yeah, yeah I know. Let me explain before y'all jump in my inbox.

First time I saw this shot, I knew what the movie was trying to tell me but the message never reached me. And it was so weird because I was very much in tune with with Alex’s feeling at the moment. Karaoke!Henry was my Oh. moment about Henry and the moment I, too, fell a bit in love with him as well. So I was very much on board with the projet. And the worst part of it is I see everything Matthew and Taylor have done and why it has worked on most people.

I know how it supposed to contrast with how animated Alex’s face is in every other scene of the movie. And there, everything slow down, quiet down and he’s stunned by the weight of what he just realized. I know, and it’s there and yet it didn’t work on me. It never does actually. And to be honest, I don’t know what could have been made differently to reach me. But I think my issue isn’t with Taylor’s acting because, making Alex’s feelings for Henry very visible on his face isn’t an issue for me anywhere else in the movie. My best guess is that there is another take of this shot that was made for me but has been cut off and left on the floor of the editing room. But I don’t know what the directions given by Matthew were and sometimes, a scene doesn’t work also because of this. And given how many times I disagree with Matthew’s directing over the course of the movie, it wouldn’t be really surprising. 

Like in this?

Who even did the blocking of this scene? Why nobody saw this and said this look ridiculous? It doesn’t make any sense to me.

Same vibe for the reunion hug at Kensington. As soon as I heard "I’m coming to London tonight" I was SO HYPED. I wanted to feel everything with them and— the camera was set a million miles away from them in a very awkward angle and an unpratical setting that deflected most of the intensity of the scene for me?

I’m not sure what was the intention here. I guess there was the symbolism of the stairs with Alex climbing them and Henry running down to him and the parallel with the KP night scene and the idea of being a distant (un-allowed) witness to something very intimate and maybe the idea of making it a bit messy and not hollywoodish for realism? I also imagine Henry collapsing on Alex made more sense on stairs but— I don’t know. I would have been happier with a different setting.

So yeah, these are a few moments I didn't get the feeling(s) the movie was trying to make me feel but didn’t quite succeed certainly because of elements that weren’t related to the cast's work.

Anyway, thanks again for reading my posts so throughtfully and sending these asks, it was fun 💜

[elstreem]

Camelot Movies appreciation post~

Warning: very, very long because I have no idea how to condense my thoughts. Also very rambly. I would include more screenshots but I don't really have much, but I do have a few for the 2nd movie!

So when I first watched these film adaptations I was pretty harsh on them and with the first film specifically, I was left wanting for more because of how much it cut out. While it's a shame that they had to, given the constraints of film (one hour and 30 minutes for each film, for an adaptation of a chapter with I dunno, 200k or more words?) I remember feeling disappointed with what it didn't do (no Arash Airlines, no goofy Bedivere moments, and booting out Hundred Faces).

But being the simp I am rewatching the movies some more, I did realize it what was trying to do with its more limited time, and it did a good job showcasing just how horrifying the conditions of the Sixth Singularity was for the people living in it...and something that only recently came to my notice, something that the films did a great job at building up slowly and subtly, was Bedivere slowly opening up to Fujimaru and Mash. And Bedivere finding out, he was not alone.

So with that in mind, I don't mind the first film as much as I did before, because now I notice how Bedivere went from being distinctly cold and unfriendly (pushing away Salia when she asked him for help, and refusing Arash's offer of food and immediately leaving after the conversation ends) to putting his trust in Fujimaru and Mash, and it just warms my heart. Because, really, he was on his last chance to fix his mistake, and he knew he was going to die once he finished his journey, no ifs, ands or buts about it. He had no reason to reach out to others, so really, it makes all sense he was in this quiet despair at the start of the movie.

But then, as in the game, he saw Fujimaru and Mash trying to protect the refugees during the Holy Selection, so he stepped in to save them. A little while later, he also witnesses da Vinci apparently sacrificing herself for their sake, but in spite of that Fujimaru didn't give up. And that's when Bedivere first takes an active interest in someone else outside of his mission, curious of who Fujimaru is as a person.

So when Fujimaru asks for his help - he actually touches his hand, in contrast to what happened earlier in the movie. He physically reached out to Fujimaru and began to trust him, too.

It keeps building up from that point of contact, with Bedivere actually apologizing to Arash for hiding his identity, and accepting offers of food here and there. Another small interaction I missed seeing the significance of was when Fujimaru remarked to Bedivere that the Lion King was a horrible person - but rather than getting angry, or defensive, Bedivere simply reminisced on who she used to be. It's easy to gloss over, but keeping in mind that Artoria is someone Bedivere looked up to, it would have been easy to get offended by Fujimaru's remark, but Bedivere wasn't, and instead, he shared his own memories of her. my heart

And so, even in the darkest part of the movie, with the village under attack and Tristan himself facing Bedivere in battle - it just means a lot more, the scene when Mash steps in to block Tristan's attack, and Fujimaru actually goes into the battle, helps Bedivere stand up, and continued to carry him while walking towards Tristan to deliver a decisive strike.

Actually, these movies overall helped me appreciate Fujimaru more as a character, he's so sweet and caring.

Now, the second film is a better experience with all the flashy battles and more action scenes, but I also loved its quiet talking scenes. I can gush on and on about the scene where Bedivere and Fujimaru are taking a morning walk, especially.

But even at the beginning of the movie, when Fujimaru and Mash go on to check on Bedivere, was very sweet, the both of them so concerned and there is this ease in the way they interact that's so nice to see.

Another easy to miss moment is when the party reunites with da Vinci at Lancelot's camp and they begin discussing and theorizing why the Lion King is the way she is - when Bedivere tenses up, Fujimaru was the only who noticed and glanced over.

It ties later on with what he tells Mash, that he suspects Bedivere wasn't telling them the whole truth, but despite that, he trusted Bedivere would be with them.

My favorite scene out of the movies, of course, was the morning after, with Bedivere opening up to Fujimaru about his fear of a meaningless ending. Everything about this scene - the way Bedivere sounds and looks so fragile, standing on this rocky mountain slope in the cold morning light, and he fact that even Fujimaru was at a loss what to say at first - it breaks my heart.

But then, Mash tells them that Rushd found his determination to keep on living as a way of honoring Salia (oh, and it's sweet that when Rushd kneels down to cry at a distance, Mash goes after him to comfort him!) And Fujimaru tells Bedivere it's the same case for him, that there was always meaning in what he did because he was doing it for someone else, and then the sun rises and bathes everything in a warm glow as Bedivere cries from relief -

It's. Just. So good.

Oh, and another thing I noticed after rewatching the movie an unhealthy amount of times? During that scene, Fujimaru gives Bedivere Arash's dagger. Later on, that same dagger was the weapon Bedivere used to deal the finishing blow to Gawain, and it just - the whole resolution to Bedivere and Gawain's personal conflict -

Bedivere never left Artoria during her life, and was present even at her death, while Gawain always regretted that he was not there for her at Camlann, and he wanted to make up for it by standing by Artoria's side in the Sixth Singularity, even when she was in the wrong. Both Mordred and Gawain actually resented Bedivere for this, and I think a part of Gawain even blamed Bedivere for not saving Artoria.

But during their battle in the film (which is an amazing, if brutal fight) Bedivere won over Gawain using Arash's dagger, proving that his mission to restore Artoria to her true self was the right way. His loyalty won over Gawain's empty vision of standing by her side, and true enough, Gawain wasn't actually standing by Artoria because he chose to battle with Bedivere.

Oh, and another very, very fast moment I never noticed during my first few times watching this - when Bedivere, Fujimaru and Mash are heading for the castle and they run into Tristan, Tristan's attack was actually aiming for Fujimaru's head. And if you slow down the scene enough, it's actually Bedivere who pushes Fujimaru back to protect him - you can tell because his metal arm was actually in the frame for a few seconds, pushing back Fujimaru.

Bedivere, probably, "I just met this guy but I will protect him with my life so I have nothing more to say to you Tristan -"

And Fujimaru definitely trusts Bedivere back, because when they got separated during the vs. Gawain fight, Fujimaru tells Mash they should keep going, believing Bedivere will come back for them.

I am mostly gushing about Bedivere here, here's some love for the other characters:

Nitocris and Ozymandias's final scene together was also pretty sweet. It's a bit harder to grasp their relationship in the film since they have shorter scenes and less dialogue, but when Ozymandias gently touches Nitocris's shoulder and tells her she's done enough, and she regretfully says she hasn't - but the visuals indicate, that Ozymandias actually took her with him to the Egyptian afterlife just before the pyramid crumbled.

Sanzang giving peace to Mordred in their last moments was also very heartwarming. Also, Mordred saying in that battle that they didn't mind dying there and then because they hoped that in the world the Lion King was about to make, there were going to be no fools like them? Poor Mordred needs a hug and therapy. This isn't the post to go into how Mordred has such a depth of character in that they also despaired at putting an end to Artoria, so all I'll say is, I'm glad they got a great dad in Kairi in Apocrypha to make up for all the awfulness they felt with Artoria.

Serenity fighting with all she had against Tristan despite knowing their plan failed was both very sad but definitely an awesome moment. And the fact that she did what was a seemingly useless desperation attack to hold Tristan's attention while Cursed Arm was releasing Shaytan (all the while Tristan was slashing her limbs by the way) - she did good. I'm not much for fight choreographies, but I think the 2nd movie had especially great ones!

So the final conflict, and here's another detail I love about this movie - it's pretty consistent with how each fight wears Bedivere down a bit more, and by the time he makes it to the Lion King, the fight with Gawain had already made him throw his cape as a distraction, gashed his armor, burned away the ends of his skirt (I'm not sure what the correct term is for that part of the outfit), and even his ribbon is gone. At first I thought that Bedivere's hair got loose after being hit by Rhongomyiad, but now, its actually when he activates Airgetlam, you can see the metal tube thingies he's wearing burst apart.

Okay, but that was one indestructible hairstyle though, lasting for 1500+ years and even after fights with fellow Round Table knights, and it was only when Bedivere looses Airgetlam at the end that his hair gets out.

Anyway, silly commentary aside, the music track for the final fight "I am Bedivere" makes me so emotional :'>

Also, the fact that Fujimaru and Mash tear up when they realize the horrible truth that Bedivere was disintegrating before them...but they fight alongside him anyway, honoring the end of his journey. And when Bedivere is so, so spent, and he asks for the last Command Spell? And Fujimaru gives it with no hesitation?

Here, when he was at his end, Bedivere knew again, he wasn't going to die alone...and he had friends with him. Just, the way he smiled...it speaks of so much gratitude.

And he even bids Mash to take care of Fujimaru, before he makes his final charge.

Thank you movies for hurting me in the best way possible.

Oh, and one last rewatch realization? Bedivere actually died onscreen, they just didn't indicate it because it was mostly just showing his and Artoria's silhouettes. But I was rewatching it and then realized, "Wait, he's not moving or speaking anymore..."

He was crumbing away even as he presented the sword, and in the time it took for Artoria to remember who she was...when she finally recalled her last memories of seeing Bedivere's face, I believe sometime during that - Bedivere died. He didn't react to her final words to him, or her touching his face - and shortly after that, his body finally disintegrated, so I think, before that, his soul finally hit his limits.

Brb just sobbing.

So are the Camelot movies perfect? Not by a long shot from an objective point of view. But do I still love them? Hell yeah. I think they are something that can be appreciated with more rewatching, and it makes me sad that most discussions I see about the film are that the animation sequences look different depending on the scene? Which I don't really mind, I think each scene looked fantastic.

One last little addition I noticed recently: the battle damage Bedivere received (the fight against Gawain burned off the chest ribbon and cape he wears, and singes his skirt)...it resembles the state of his First Ascension art, since he also lacks the cape, chest ribbon, and his skirt is shorter there. Not sure if it's just a coincidence, or a proper nod to the in-game art. Either way, it's really neat detail.

[meimi-haneoka]

I am so sorry that I haven't been responding to your articulate and kind answers to my asks. Honestly, my professional as well as personal life in the last month and a half had been a complete mess (it would be more appropriate to call it a tragicomedy at this point) but I had been wrapped up in my exams even though I had tried to keep myself up to date with the announcements. From what I understand, no news of season 2 of CCS CC anime, right? In any case, it does seem that patience would be the best virtue for now. Sigh. On the other hand, I have come across some screenshots of a CCS CC mobile game from a few years back. From what I gathered, it had a scene where Syaoran teases Sakura by saying cheesy romantic stuff in English and then refusing to translate it for her. Lmao. This guy. I am beginning to see shades of Horitsuba's Syaoron and TRC's Li Tsubasa in him. Look at this formerly grumpy little brat being all sly and flirty. Plus I also saw screenshots of elementary school age Syaoran with Fujitaka at the latter's home, presumably discussing archaeology with interest and Sakura serving them sweets and mostly smiling indulgently from a distance. I really want to know the context of this one. Fujitaka and Syaoran's bond was one of my fave in TRC and to watch them in CCS, bonding over archaeology despite the different contexts and origins of this interest in this world would be a joy. You just know that Fujitaka's greatest fanboy is going to be his son in law. (Also, is it just me or is Li Tsubasa more of an anthropologist, like the cultural anthropology kind, than an archaeologist like Syaoran?)

Dear Aubretia, you don't need to apologize! I also don't always feel mentally available, or have time to answer to asks, so I might take some days too! But your comments and asks are always welcome here, whenever you feel like it!! I hope your situation got better in the meantime! 🙏

Yep, April 1st didn't bring any anime S2 news aside from CLAMP confirming in a Space that an announcement might take some more time, but it is surely on the way: now everything is basically left in Kodansha's hands, to make that announcement.

Ohohoh I know very well what you're talking about! The legendary (and defunct) Happiness Memories mobile game! I played that game myself for the one year it lasted, and sometimes I was literally shocked at how pertinent and relevant that game was to the anime (but also manga) storyline...so much that I wondered more than once if Ohkawa wasn't a ghostwriter for it or something... For example, in the game you could play a "photo story" where Akiho practiced with Kaito her introduction for her first day of school at Tomoeda...it was very sweet but I thought it was just "an invention" of the developers of the game... But when the two Drama CDs came out with the Special Edition of volume 7 and 8 of the manga, I was shocked to realize that Ohkawa wrote a line for Akiho where she recounts her first day of school to Kaito, and she says "I was able to greet everyone in Japanese, just like I had been practicing!" <- just like in the game!!! That felt too much of a coincidence (in a CLAMP thing?? coincidences don't exist!!) to me, so I lowkey consider whatever happens in that game "canon"! 😁

I had made some threads on my Twitter account, back then! And I remember I translated some of the content of that SyaoSaku Happiphoto here!!

I also remember the one about Fujitaka and Syaoran, I mentioned it in my Trivia post about all the literary references, because in that photostory Fujitaka mentions a particular book to Syaoran while talking about archeology...but unfortunately I didn't get to play that photostory, so I don't know many details about it!! But yes, I totally agree that Fujitaka's biggest fanboy will be his son in law (and this reminds me we didn't get an interaction between them in Clear Card!! This is totally one of those things they can feature in the anime, though! 😁)

Hmmm for Tsubasa and Syaoran, yes, it might be like you say! And it would make sense because despite one is the clone of the other, they are two different people and had different experiences, even their personality is sliiightly different!

[ingravinoveritas]

Screenshot Anon again! Thanks for responding and hope you don't mind me following up but I can't resist. You draw a comparison to GT&DT, and yes! As annoying as GT is with the fan-courting posts, they both really seem like being with each other is a dream-come-true. MS&AL on the other hand, well, baby-trapping is a double-edged sword, isn't it. Every post AL makes is so contrived and desperate. Not as desperate as the stans are to romanticize their relationship though...

Hi, Screenshot Anon! No worries at all, you never have to apologize for bending my ear. I’m glad you wrote in again with more of your thoughts, and as you can see, another Anon has also joined the conversation. (Here’s a link to the previous post, for those who might’ve missed it.)

Anon #2: I think the common theme to every post AL has been making lately is thinking/hoping it will come across a certain way...but then it doesn’t. I will correct you on one little point, though, which is that Michael is not a Boomer...having been born in 1969, he is actually Generation X. I have no idea whether that has any effect on texting style, but I know I have followers who are GenX who would be miffed to be called “boomers.” Haha.

That being said, there is definitely a stiffness and a peculiar formality to Michael’s response. Going with the comparison to Georgia and David again, there is an emotional intimacy to their exchanges, an ease borne of familiarity. Michael and AL have (apparently) been together for three years now, and that sense of familiarity and intimacy was absent from the texts we saw. I would agree with you that he likely didn’t want to betray his disinterest, so he came up with a response that was polite and a bit dismissive.

But if we are going to talk about the contrived and desperate nature of AL’s posts, I have to bring up two more recent posts of hers that more than merit discussion. Michael was trending on Twitter on Friday afternoon due to the stirring speech he’d made on ALOTO the night before going viral. In the midst of all the hubbub, AL posted this on Twitter:

An hour or so later, there came a perfectly timed Instagram post of pictures from a trip she and Michael had just taken to Budapest (presumably where Michael was filming whatever it was he dyed his hair for). There were several photos of Lyra and exactly one picture of Michael in the post, and it was again another unflattering picture taken at an unfortunate angle:

(I mention this because this is a continuation of AL’s pattern of taking/posting unflattering pictures of Michael (or pictures he didn’t even know were being taken). A few other recent examples are from the “behind the scenes” pictures from LTTC that she posted about a month ago.)

Now, two days ago was also the one-year anniversary of the NTA Awards where Michael presented David with an award and a moment that gave us The Hug Felt ‘Round The World. And astonishingly--yet not all coincidentally--Anna also posted this picture in her Insta story...

No mention or acknowledgement of David winning an award. No mention of the event in question at all--just the suggestion that it was her and Michael out on the town. And as WTF-inspiring as the picture of Michael in Budapest was, this one absolutely had my jaw on the floor.

I truly do not understand what possessed her to post that picture or think it somehow sells their relationship, because there is a stark difference between Michael in this picture and Michael in pictures with David from the same night, particularly when you look at them side-by-side:

What I mentioned earlier about the “polite disinterest” in Michael’s texts is exactly what I feel like we’re seeing here. It’s not even so much that he looks completely bored next to her (though he does, especially given how animated and happy he is with David). For me, the most striking difference is in his eyes. With AL, his eyes are muted, subdued--the picture is an obligatory one, as if he is wearing the “face” he wears for the public. With David, Michael’s eyes completely light up, as does his entire expression--he is relaxed, natural, and fully at ease with him.

”Gobsmacked” would honestly be the word I would use to describe my reaction to that picture, especially when every other picture being posted that day was of Michael and David. And Screenshot Anon, I think the romanticizing of Michael and AL’s relationship is being done by people who don’t realize how carefully crafted all of this is, or the fact that the tweet and the Budapest pictures and the NTA pictures were posted at the same time, in a deliberate bid to get AL attention on social media while Michael was trending.

But something I have noticed about the people you mentioned, who work so hard to ship Michael and AL, is that it almost feels like they are compensating. Compensating for what? Well, looking at the pictures above, it seems plainly obvious who Michael has more of a connection with and to whom he is more attracted. A lot of the stans can’t reconcile that with the fact that he’s “supposed to be” in love with AL, so what I find myself seeing is people whose instinct is to post pictures of Michael and David 99% of the time, who then go overboard whenever AL posts something, to show that they are appreciating the “correct” relationship.

Also, Anon #2, you are not the only person who has reached out to me wondering if the text message screenshot could’ve been fabricated. Like you, I also did not doubt it was Michael initially, but to again go back to Georgia and David, we always see David’s name at the top of the texts. AL’s screenshot is cropped, one of the messages is scratched out, and there is a purposeful Good Omens reference awkwardly interjected into the conversation. While it may seem far-fetched to think the screenshot was faked, all of this together does lend a strange quality to an exchange that was already strange by itself.

I have to say, it is a relief to know that I am not the only one who has picked up on all of this, or thought that something was off with Michael and AL’s relationship/these posts, and I so appreciate both of you Anons sharing your perspectives. Thanks for writing in! x   

[insomniactalks]

I have about 10 different asks sitting in my inbox regarding the “leaks” for S3, and I finally found some time to address them today. Instead of answering each ask one by one, I’m just gonna address all those concerns/questions in this post. If you are one of the several anons who’s sent me an ask about the “leaks,” and have been patiently waiting for an answer, keep reading! This is the only time I will address the “leaks” b/c I think it’s best to just wait and see what happens at this point. (Typing this up from my laptop, so I apologize for the length of this post...hehe) 

To start, I’m so sorry if you’ve been waiting a while for a reply. July has been hectic for me. Thank you for ur patience! A few things before I start: I won’t tag Ricky and Gina’s ship in the main tag b/c I assume they may not want to read my thoughts on the matter (which is totally fair! LOL) I think I’ll start tagging Gicky instead from now on b/c that’s also a combo of their names and so I can keep my own blog organized in some way. Also, my thoughts on the “leaks” are less from a Portwell stan’s point of view and more so from my thoughts as an English major in undergrad and grad school. I will try my best not to insert my own bias here. I’m simply looking at the story that’s being told on the show and the evidence.  

Yes, I have seen the “leaks,” both the Twitter thread and the screenshots/“script” from back in April/May. And no, I will not share any of that with anyone b/c I promised the person who was kind enough to share it with me that I wouldn’t do that. That being said, lemme get into it! 

Is anyone really surprised S3 would have another semi-formal event given S1′s HoCo episode (1.05) and S2′s quinceñero (2.05)? We all shoulda known S3 would follow that trend, so I’m not surprised by 3.07 apparently being another dance/formal event, “Camp Prom” I believe is the name. What corroborates “Camp Prom” is the actual evidence to back it up. The screenshots for this are actual pics from crew on set while they were filming, which show colorful 70s-themed décor. It’s not just someone’s words that’s taken as truth, there’s legit posts from crew on their Instagrams. All that confirms is that there will be a dance at camp (which seems so fun! Can’t wait to see it.) The only reason the “leaker” was right about that is b/c of the crew’s behind the scenes pics.

The “leaker” claims Ricky and Gina “have a great moment together” in the prom episode and that they “make eye contact across the room” at some point. I can see how one would easily assume this scenario to mean something romantic for Ricky and Gina, but just b/c 2 characters “share a moment” together doesn’t inherently make it a romantic scene. BTW, the “leaker” never claims Gicky “almost kiss” at prom, they only said what’s stated above. There’s a screenshot of part of the alleged script for “Camp Prom” that claims they “almost kiss.” I have several issues with this “script,” starting with the font used. I’ve seen plenty of official scripts from other shows (Riverdale and SPOP in particular) and even from Tim himself. They all have the exact same font and font size (no idea what that font type is called, but all shows/movies in the industry seems to use it. It must be standard practice b/c that font is sorta boxy and spaced out, making it easier for actors to read). Tim’s even shared part of the script for 1.06 before, and the font used is very different from this “script” from 3.07. I’m not claiming Ricky and Gina won’t share a moment in 3.07, I just highly doubt it’s an almost kiss. This “script” goes from Jet and Maddox on stage, to the coat check area where Gina “spills her bag” before her and Ricky allegedly almost kiss. There is no description for what Gina does after her “bag spills.” It just says she and Ricky “almost kiss” immediately after that. That makes no sense. Any person would be fumbling to put stuff back into their bag if everything spills out. This “script” is missing so much context, on top of being the wrong font and font size, that it makes me question it’s legitimacy. Seems pretty fake to me. Also, anyone notice how none of the “leaks” have ever stated anything specifically about Portwell? All these “leaks” seem to be in favor of only one ship (Gicky), yet official releases for S3, such as posters, the trailer, the “It’s On” music vid, etc, have continually presented Portwell as a team. I’m not saying Gina and EJ won’t be dealing with couple drama in S3, of course they will, but I doubt S3 will be the end for them.

One of the anons bring up Channing and Corbin filming Gicky during rehearsals for the musical for the documentary, and EJ possibly seeing that footage as the director. That’s deff a solid theory b/c the show could do that to add more drama. But here’s the problem. If Gina and Ricky are the leads in the musical, they would be playing romantic interests. Just like in S1, EJ will be in the exact same position in S3 where his girlfriend is playing romantic leads with a guy she has/had feelings for. By S1′s finale, EJ accepts Nini’s decision in choosing Ricky and truly lets her go (which is a moment he’s “really proud of” (2.10)). He learns a lesson in S1 about letting someone go and putting their interests before his own. In 1.04-1.06, EJ was still trying to win Nini back and hold on to their relationship, even when she was clearly done. However, thanks to character growth (and a certain someone! *ahem* Gina) EJ does the right thing. What would be the point in having EJ placed in the same situation as S1 again, where his girlfriend and the guy she has a past with are playing romantic leads, and have him go thru that rejection again? With the same other guy (Ricky) no less? There’s no point in EJ learning the same lesson from S1 again cuz he already went thru that. Don’t ya’ll think the writers know this? I think the more likely story that will be told in S3 is EJ having to confront his past insecurities with Nini, and how that affects his present relationship with Gina. The writers may have set up what seems like the same story from S1, but I’m pretty sure there will be a different outcome in S3. Doesn’t make sense to repeat the same lesson of rejection for EJ’s character in S1 in S3. There should be another important lesson to be learned here for EJ, such as someone other than himself actually wanting to “hold onto what they had over the summer” (1.04). Nini couldn’t do that for him unfortunately, due to the feelings she clearly still had for Ricky in S1. EJ was always gonna be a rebound for Nini b/c she was just trying to move on from Ricky over the summer he broke up with her. Gina, on the other hand, waited several months, during which she was actively moving on from her romantic feelings for Ricky, before she even considered being more than friends with EJ. 

That doesn’t mean Ricky and Gina shouldn’t have a convo or two in S3 to clear the air b/t them, and work on rebuilding their friendship. This may very well lead to Gicky sharing moments this season, but I’m not convinced they'll be romantic moments. Every time EJ witnessed or suspected s/t going on b/t Ricky and Nini in S1, he was actually right. While he did NOT handle it in the right way, his suspicions were correct (esp in 1.02 w/ Ricky and Nini sharing a moment on stage/voicemail and even in 1.04 where Nini and Ricky almost kiss the same day she broke up with EJ). Having already gone thru that with Nini and Ricky, why would the show make EJ live thru that again with Gina and Ricky? Unless....there’s a different outcome! (That being EJ seeing Gina and Ricky interact and actually having to confront his insecurities this time instead of just being on the defensive. Who’s to say this won’t lead to more honest conversations b/t Portwell? Better yet, EJ and Ricky having the conversation they never really had in S1, where Ricky really overstepped certain boundaries in EJ’s relationship and Ricky comes to terms with that now. What if Ricky acknowledges his wrongs in the past and chooses to want a more genuine friendship/comradery with EJ this time? Just a thought.)

Last thing, S3 is confirmed to be only 8 episodes. The writers spent 8 episodes in S2 having EJ and Gina just flirt with each other. I doubt Portwell will date and break up (and stay broken up) in the same season they just started dating. They even set up the strong possibility for a Portwell love confession someday b/c of the following allusions to love in regard to Gina and EJ: (2.06) EJ would ask his future self if “he could learn to love anyone after Belle,” then takes a seat right next to Gina [visual foreshadowing]; (2.08) Howie singing, “No lesson could teach me how I could have loved her and make her love me too” as EJ takes care of Gina while she sleeps by placing his Duke hoodie over her; and (2.11) Ricky and Ashlyn singing “Something There,” a love song about 2 ppl unexpectedly falling for each other while Gina and EJ send e/o hearteyes thruout the performance (at least 3 times!). When writing a story, like the writers for the show, you include these subtle/indirect hints, like love in relation to Portwell in S2, in order to bring that concept back up again in a more apparent way. I couldn’t help but notice the set up in S2 for a Portwell love confession, but there’s a clear lack of a set up for an EJ/Gina/Ricky love triangle. By S1 finale, we knew Gina still had feelings for Ricky, hence the somewhat awkward moments b/t them in the dressing room after “Stick to the Status Quo” performance and their hallway convo before “Breaking Free,” which was the writers setting up Gina’s storyline for S2. She was obviously still grappling with her feelings for Ricky, hence the S2 promo posters placing Ricky b/t Nini and Gina b/c he was gonna be an important part of both their stories that season. It was a love triangle -adjacent situation. In contrast, S2 does not set up a Gicky/Portwell love triangle by the finale. The writers have already set the foundation for a Portwell love confession and a long-awaited conversation b/t Ricky and Gina to restart their friendship. I am hoping that happens with Ricky realizing how poorly he treated Gina in S2, apologizing for it, and wanting to be good friends again.

Bottom-line, let’s all stop acting like the writers are gonna fuck it all up just for the sake of drama. EJ and Gina’s stories (both individually and together) have been wonderfully written so far (the writers going as far as paralleling PW’s first moment ever in 1.01- with EJ watching Gina from the wings with mutual respect for her as a performer, to their 2.11 moment- with EJ proudly watching Gina from the wings, tenderly admiring the kind of person she is. See here for gifs!) This show even brought in not one but two different guest stars to help further develop Portwell’s relationship in S2. Just sayin’. 

I see it this way: Gina and Ricky should be having positive interactions again in S3, esp after S2, and I’m hopeful for their renewed friendship again. And, if EJ and Gina don’t have their love confession this season, that’s deff something to look forward to in S4! Let’s face it, PW love confession is on the horizon, and the writers have set it up that way.            

[amyisherenowitsokay]

claps hands together. hi hope you've been well, sorry i haven't asked much. buuuut. I forgot you wrote a thing until lately. :}

War On Love. How would it have continued/ended, what plot beats where there supposed to be if you remember any, etc?

also this'll sound weird, mainly because I can't really explain it and I'm still working thru it, but I wanted to say thanks for writing it? Finding it again and reading through it reminded me of things I had forgotten about myself for a while. Which has really helped from then to now. So, yeah, as silly as it sounds, thank you. :}

Lmao you're never obligated to interact with me homie, dw. Feel free to send me whatever when you're vibing, but don't also feel pressured to engage. You're too kind.

Long answer under the cut

I go back and forth on whether I'll ever update WoL. It just has so many bad connotations and memories for me about the headspace I was in while writing it, and where I was at emotionally, etc. On the other hand, I'm also incredibly proud of some of the insights I wrote about Gaz's perspective, and the overall plot twists and where it was going. I also still have a TON of writing for it still in bits and pieces, both important chunks and unimportant, AND like 4 chapters of the sequel written.

Sometimes I'm like, well, I could sort of finish it in the same style that like That Thing on Your Wrist and What We Become, which are more written in sort of continuous blurbs with gentle transitions and takes occasions to focus on really important scenes. I think with what I have written, it'd be feasible, but that'd also mean taking time away from my more important projects like Dead Weight and Re:MHNY2, so I hesitate to really commit to anything. You are not the first person to ask though, so that may be something I end up doing in the long term. A quick add up of the chunks of the story I have written says I have roughly 53k words of unpublished story for WoL. On the one hand, a shame to go to waste, on the other hand, I'm not really sure how I'd feel emotionally about trying to dig it back. Like I said, I go back and forth. Just for bonus trivia, since I gave the unpublished word count for WoL, it's sequel, which had a pending title of War on Finality, has 25k words written, and about a 2k words worth of ideas that I wrote, but wasn't sold on including.

I super appreciate btw your note about "things I had forgotten about myself for awhile." That really resonated with me. WoL has is a bittersweet for me because while it was my attempt to push through the gross stuff happening during that time period that I hadn't processed yet, I'm still also really proud of the messages I was going to include, some of the plot points I'd come up with, plot parallels, the OC's character development and direction, and how incredibly different it was going to be from anything I'd written at that point. I think it'd probably have ended up being one of my most emotive fics, and definitely with the (initial) darkest ending.

That being said, the plot of WoL definitely is it's own whole ass post, so apologies for not being able to answer immediately, but I genuinely think I'd break the character limit of tumblr if I tried to go into it all here lmao. Also, since it comes up sometimes from other dm's I've gotten, I think the better idea for me to do is make a masterpost about WoL and where it was going, include some screenshot blurbs for context, etc. That might take a few days, but when that posts, I'll reblog this with the link to the masterpost.

[astronomical-glory]

[You are here] [Part 2] [Part 3]

Three disclaimers for anyone who reads this: 1) This is a headcanon. Your own headcanons (so long as they aren't ableist... i.e: headcanons that depict Volo as a "psychopath" or nothing but manipulative or some flavor of "deranged". Headcanons like that are ableist and sanist and honestly, why would you go that route when there's something so much better?) are perfectly fine; they are your own and you are entitled to them, I am not trying to forcibly conform you to how I perceive his character because that is rude. 2) This post is not for people who are anti-self dx. If you believe that diagnosis is only valid if it's official when not everyone is able to get official diagnosis for whatever their reason or just don't want one, this post is not for you and I kindly suggest not reading this. With that said, this is also going to kinda look like a rant and me being like

And 3) This analysis that spans three posts (originally four, but I combined the last two into one) has a lot of medical text. So if stuff like that bores you and/or you just don't have the attention span required to read all of it, I regret to inform you that there is no TL;DR since I myself have no clue how to condense this much theorizing and text support into a short paragraph that both makes sense and gives the gist of everything. All in-game screenshots except one are by @/voloscreenshots. With that said:

Here we go

This headcanon got started off of a post by @/insanityisimplied where he says:

TW for mental illness talk. Not sure if anyone needs it but I'll put it there just in case.

I don't like that people assume he's just a hot villain character and nothing else. His situation is FAR from black and white and his turn to the dark side wasn't a sudden shift. The game didn't really cover it so its all speculation on my part, but I dunno, it all reads more like red flags than "oo hot villain <3" to me. I'm one of the (probably few) people who doesn't simp for Volo so I may have bias here but that betrayal scene is hard to watch. Mental illness is a bitch, and Volo seems to struggle with some serious shit. I may be projecting here, and if I am I apologize, but Volo post-betrayal just looks like hes going through a psychotic breakdown and I just feel so bad. I don't think it makes him look more attractive, it only makes me more worried, though I understand the appeal.

Its a personal issue-related thing so I won't go too in depth. People are allowed to think hes hot- I'm not the fun police- But that interpretation is just not for me.

The second paragraph where he states that what Volo was going through post-betrayal looks like a psychotic breakdown is what caught my interest. I knew that there had to be something more to why Volo was acting the way he was, and it not just being the obvious depression and religious trauma.

So this post caused me to want to dig deeper. I obviously figured since the post that sparked this potential epiphany mentioned Volo exhibiting symptoms of psychosis and the creator of said post also had psychosis (which is why Volo appearing to exhibit psychosis was mentioned to begin with), that looking into the DSM-IV and DSM-V for said mental illness was a good starting point.

So. The DSM for psychosis. Reading through it thoroughly and making certain I actually understood what I was reading as I have difficulty in wholly understanding certain things and tend to misunderstand them— I found this:

❝ In their current conceptualization of psychosis, both the APA and the World Health Organization define psychosis narrowly by requiring the presence of hallucinations (without insight into their pathologic nature), delusions, or both hallucinations without insight and delusions. In both of these current diagnostic classification systems, impaired reality testing remains central conceptually to psychosis.❞

Symptoms of psychosis: delusions, hallucinations, formal thought disorder, grossly disorganized behavior, and negative symptoms

Each symptom barring hallucinations, which I can say right off the bat he doesn't experience, will be listed and explained accordingly. Important to note, the above quote has part of it in bold as done by my own choice so to bring attention to the fact that hallucinations are not required for diagnosis of psychosis.

Firstly,

Delusions

❝ Delusions (ie, fixed false beliefs), by definition, are evidence of impaired reality testing: delusional beliefs are ones maintained steadfastly even in the face of evidence contradicting them incontrovertibly.❞

Maintained steadfastly even in the face of evidence contradicting them incontrovertibly...

Taking a minor detour—I will return to the topic of delusions shortly— in terms of formal thought disorder, after more thorough analysis, I can say that he doesn't exhibit any obvious symptoms of it. Again, there isn't really much to sift through for Volo's character since we don't know all that much about him. Yes, he's charismatic and myths and ruins are something he loves so much he takes any and all opportunities to talk about them— you can't look me in the eye and tell me this man is otherwise neurotypical.

I was initially under the impression he exhibited disorganized speech as a symptom of formal thought disorder (otherwise known as derailment),

❝[I]ncoherent speech. This may be speech in which ideas shift from one subject to another seemingly unrelated subject, sometimes described as loosening of associations. Other types of disorganized speech include responding to questions in an irrelevant way, reaching illogical conclusions, and making up words.❞

but after rereading his dialogue he doesn't stray off the current topic and/or abruptly bring up something else. He doesn't come to illogical conclusions based on what he sees before him that would obviously lead to a different conclusion. The manner in which he speaks is perfectly understandable both in diction and how he came to speak about a certain thing (e.g. things like talking about the myths of the Lake Spirits and about helping the protagonist after popping into Cyllene's office unannounced). The way he speaks is more like infodumping in some aspects rather than anything disorganized.

However, I am also under the impression he experiences grossly disorganized behavior only in the form of showing emotions that are not appropriate to the situation.

This being due to his battle loss animation with him showing anger/disbelief to smiling, as well as how he reacts to the player after they receive the Azure Flute when he walks away. But for the record, those more knowledgeable in this than I, I would be grateful for clarification if I am incorrect.

❝ Both the current APA and the World Health Organization classification systems acknowledge that “formal thought disorder” (ie, disorganized thinking, including illogicality, tangentiality, perseveration, neologism, thought blocking, derailment, or some combination of these disturbances of thought) is one of several commonly co-occurring features of psychotic disorders.❞

Returning to the topic of delusions and what kind Volo appears to have, I will start off with saying he appears to experience grandiose delusions.

❝ Table 8-2 defines and describes the types of delusions commonly occurring in individuals with primary and secondary psychotic disorders. These delusions are often divided into two types: ordinary and bizarre.

Ordinary delusions derive from misinterpretation of everyday experiences and, as such, are understandable but not accepted by other members of the person’s culture or subculture (ie, are not articles of religious faith). For example, a patient who believes that an unknown group of conspirators is diverting his savings to a terrorist group despite being presented with evidence to the contrary (eg, bank statements) has an ordinary delusion (more specifically, an ordinary persecutory delusion). Bizarre delusions involve phenomena that are physically impossible or that most people in that person’s culture would regard as entirely implausible.❞

Grandiose delusions are stated to be as such: “Insightless and unshakeable conviction that one possesses special powers, talents, knowledge, or abilities; is famous (or a famous person or character); or holds a special relationship to a famous person or deity”

Volo states at the battle at Spear Pillar that he needs— no MUST know what Arceus is. With how he later laments that with the amount of research into myths and legends he had procured over his life being all for nothing, it appears that he felt that with all his devotion (plus him being of Celestica heritage) that he was someone special to Arceus. That it was his birthright or some other, to be worthy or deserving of being someone who can usurp and subjugate Arceus. Because he is Celestic. Because his heritage is of the race of humans created by Arceus themself— by Almighty Sinnoh. So who better to take God's place than one of their children.

Like the belief of the right to the throne; next in line and all that.

[nexility-sims]

Hello! I hope you are having a great day! I just happened across your story, and I was absolutely blown away by the detailing and just everything (OMG it was so perfect) If you don't mind, can you please tell me how long it took you to set up and shoot scene 14? From the building to the posing and then editing?

this is so incredibly sweet !!!! thank you for taking the time to send such a kind note. 💓💓💓💓💓💓 like, i know people read it, but 😭 i’m touched ! anyway, it’s impossible for me to answer questions with simplicity, so ... i apologize for the wall of text: 

this scene was a little different than the usual. i built the room a long time ago (like last year), since it’s essentially fernando’s work office, and i’ve used it for another scene. however, i would say decorating a room like this one probably takes me ... half an hour? maybe an hour, if i have to close the game and go download more clutter for it. i’ve mentioned before, but most of my sets are box rooms, not actually part of a larger cohesive structure. this one, actually, is part of a building ! i didn’t build it, tho; it was a lot i got from the gallery. y’all will never see the exterior of it because ... it’s not the exterior i use for nakawe palace, lmao. i don’t think building sets for stories has to be as complicated as i make it, but this is what i’ve chosen !!!!! 

for the posing, i can’t totally recall ... i want to say in the ballpark of 15 minutes? i rarely make my own poses, so that saves a ton of time. the more heated arguing is from a single pose pack; everything else is the result of me clicking through random poses and using the tool mod to make it look right. i honestly spend the most time rotating sims back and forth by 5-10-15 degree increments to get the correct visual effect sdjkfksgs

editing ! once i’ve adjusted the in-game lighting to my liking, reshade (now gshade) does the heavy lifting for me. in photoshop, i have an action set that i like to use—it just makes everything richer and more dramatic. i slap on a black and white filter because the preset i use is slightly more sepia, then another layer to brighten things up. this takes ... <15 minutes, since the most time consuming part is clicking through screenshots.

i actually let this post sit in my drafts for a few weeks before i went back to write the dialogue and such. i was a little afraid of it, lmao, because this is a pivotal scene and also a shouting argument (which is, for me, harder to write). the dialogue probably took like 20 minutes? including revising? the two paragraphs i attached took perhaps ... 15 minutes when i drafted it the other week, then another 15 minutes when i edited yesterday. i have to budget 5 minutes for the absolute misery of rereading my rough drafts dfjkldfhdkg 

TLDR; SO LIKE THE ANSWER IS ... perhaps an hour and a half, spread across several weeks? i usually do my scenes in one go, but not the ones i’m posting as of late. 

[cipher-fresh]

random asks just for fun, no pressure to answer <33

do you have any ocs? feel free to talk about them!!

what are your favorite movies? how about comfort movies, if they're different?

what's something you own that you think is really neat?

free space to share/promote any works that you've made !! have you made anything recently?

favorite smell in the world?

1. I have 3 main ones-

a Star Trek one that, as time goes on, is less and less of a self-insert: a Starfleet Captain named Adriel Kelfade. She’s an original species because I really wanted a species with wings.

a Doctor Who one, a future version of the Doctor. I call him the Sunflower Doctor and I wanted to use him as a general thing for DW stuff, so I didn’t have to worry about characterization for a particular Doctor. Designing an outfit was fun, and I also made him Hispanic because I’m predictable

From my own original story that’s 2 years old now is Vinra Arquiel, a 13-year-old boy who develops pyrokinesis. My thesis with him is presenting a healthy masculinity in young male character- he can cry, apologize, he’s open with his feelings, friendly, helpful and eager. My pinned post right now is art of him dancing with his back turned to the camera.

Specific asks about any of them to help me think and develop them more are fun

2. My favorite movies include The Lego Movie, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Upgrade, Into the Spider-Verse, Star Trek: Beyond, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Shazam!.

Comfort movies in my mind are like, eat-ice-cream-on-the-couch movies so the more comedic ones would be comfort movies- as funny as EEAAO is, if I was upset and watched this movie, I’d probably be thinking about relationship with my mom.

3. I have a BIG asexual flag on my wall over my bed- it’s angled a bit oddly but I think the dog more then makes up for it

[ID: A small white and brown dog standing with an asexual flag in the background. /End ID]

4. I’ve posted a few things on my AO3 in the last weeks, and I’m pretty proud of everything I’ve posted this year. I wrote a death scene for Ice Pick Joe that added to the Goncharov Google doc, and I even saw in a screenshot on YouTube yesterday. I think I’m most happy with my Doctor Who one, it’s my shortest one.

5. For some reason, I really love the smell of gasoline? If we pull up to a gas station to refill the car I’ll open the window. I’m not really a scented candle person so I don’t have favorites in a row or something. My sibling on the other hand has a bunch of scented candles and every few weeks a new one will waft around the house

[lizzybeth1986]

I’ve just dived into your perfect match posts, specifically the ones about the different dialogue for the various Haydens. Holy crap, PB put so much coding behind those and yet these days they can’t handle more than one meaningful romance route at a time, or get a GoC characters pronouns right.

Also I am just amazed at the depth you’ve explored some of these stories……wow!!!

Thank you Anon! I'm so glad to see my Hayden Young Project posts are still helpful, almost 4 years after I put it up! At the time I had planned an essay series to go with it, but I was too drained by the time I finished uploading all the screenshots to continue. Maybe one day...

But yes. Hayden was such a perfect example of customization done with purpose and thought towards the differences, while still giving the character itself a strong default core. No matter which trait/personality type you went for, there were certain things without which Hayden would never be Hayden: their questions about life, their thirst for knowledge, their fierce protectiveness, their desire to make sense of themselves and the world around them. They went through so much growth over the course of those two books.

Even so, in the larger fandom that effort and care for characterization was often ignored. More often than not, when PM was still playing, readers would find excuses to hate on Hayden and pretend they had no value. They spoke of Hayden as if they were an object, they hated on Hayden for normal emotional reactions - while their favourite Damien was hailed for his "incredible growth" even though we never once saw him apologize to the people he hurt - and even after the books ended, I would often see posts about how Hayden is "whiny" (fandom loved to wave around the "he's traumatized!" card for Damien yet waved away the abuse Eros had done on Hayden and the hostility they constantly faced like it was nothing). In fact, the whole reason I started the Hayden Young Project in the first place was because several stans (specially Damien stans) were lying notstop about how Hayden didn't have that many variations beyond the first few chapters.

For a character that really was crafted with a lot of care, the fandom clearly seemed reluctant to show any appreciation. And it's a pattern I see with a lot of the early customizable characters. They are far more easily written off as bland and boring and devoid of any development, meanwhile default white/exoticizable brown mains who get hundreds of diamond scenes yet still stangnate as characters - because their writers don't want to admit to their flaws - are hailed as the best written characters ever.

I definitely agree with your point about the current state of characterization in PB! (though a lot of my info is secondhand, so don't blindly believe me on this). I sometimes have a term for the way PB uses customization now - "bandaid customization". It has struck me, ever since I saw the note (post-BLM statement) from the company, as well as their one-year-later update, that they believe making their single main LI customizable is enough. But that doesn't allow for the character themself to explore aspects of their story related to gender or race (eg: TNA with an f!Sam skips over certain things related to sexism, that should affect her, but doesn't really) because the writers themselves seem unable to move out of the headspace that the "default" is definitely white and mostly male. And this is at a time when they prove that they KNOW how to change dialogue to reflect race or gender (eg. The D&D MC's responses to Luke when they discuss his father, or to Hamid when the two speak about racism). So you can get a black character, you can get a female character to romance...but it won't count for much. Because it's a lot more likely the writer is seeing a white and male main when they're penning the lines, and it shows...now more than ever.

Did these problems exist with the early customizables? Yes, definitely. But there was still a little more care and purpose to the way they were written, and not all the advancements PB has the ability to code in now were there before.

I call the currect state of customizable characterization "bandaid" because the company views this specifically as a solution for the lack of race representation, yet it really doesn't solve the core problem. But I may be wrong, and the new books that I haven't heard much about, could be better in this respect.

To go back to the subject of Hayden - not only was the PM team consistent about divergences in traits, but they also did the same for their different skills (polyglot, animal lover, music, massage). I found a number of incredible and really fun scenes that replaced a skill scene - my favourite one being Sloane trying to liven up our first real visit to their house with "baby-shower games" in PM1 Ch7 instead of us playing with Dipper 😄 Oh Sloane. You're such a treasure 💖

I just found the way they built Hayden so fascinating, and I wanted to share it with the fandom too...whether most of them wanted to admit to the value of such a character or not.

I definitely will try to get that essay series done, someday. Thanks so much once again, anon!

[watchingblsnowandforever]

We Are Ep.11

Part 1

*sits with half a tub of ice cream with both AC and fan on because my AC is old and needs a little help and puts my cat on Do Not Disturb mode (aka scratching his belly)*

Hello!!!!

Welcome back to my crack posting! =D

Warning: long post, and since I have like 60 screenshots, there will be a part two 😊😅

I wrote that intro before I'd watched the ep. Me as I was watching the ep was mostly incoherent screaming (so much so that my cat woke up from his nap to give me "what the hell, hooman" look).

This episode was amazing, and I loved it, and I'll probably die of too much fluff, but that won't happen before I finish watching We Are (which- WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE ARE JUST 5 EPS LEFT?!!).

I was giggling and kicking my feet (just like Peem the morning after that Prince Charming kiss) from the very first scene.

Oh, they are so gone for each other (and I am gone for them 😭). The smiles, the trying to hear what the other is doing just across the door ah

So, so true. As a writer that hits.

Also, I'm very glad they decided to showcase creative blocks, even if it was for a few minutes.

Me to PhumPeem: yes, Peem, I would love to know too.

Also- I really wanna know what Ciize was doing back there 😭

Too cute to handle 😭

Jokes (and puns) aside, this scene is quite significant. Previously, whenever Phum was seen in the vicinity of the Fine Arts building, it was only because he wanted something from Peem (yes even that scene in ep. 8, he wanted company from Peem), but now, he's just sitting there waiting for Peem. And when Peem comes down, he's pinching his cheeks right there and acting cute with him and asking what's wrong.

And he keeps on asking, because he can see that Peem is a little moody, and not his usual self. "You're usually livelier than this."

Phum: "Actually, I want to be water too..."

Me: No way, is this what I think it is?

Phum: "I want to be the reason you feel good."

Me: yeah, yep, that's what I thought

No but, you can't tell me Phum doesn't binge watch BLs with his beloved teddy bear. Of course he has a whole arsenal of cheesy flirting lines.

All this time, it was always Phum telling Peem how comfortable he is around him and his friends, how fun it is.

Welp, it's Peem's turn.

I love Phum.

This is both him asking for consent as well as making sure they're on the same page and going at the same pace (which he always does, as I'd said before).

Also, no, he wants you to get closer.

HANDS.

Hear how polite and soft Q is with Toey now? Once Q knew for sure that he's allowed to show affection towards Toey as more than just a mentor/mentee, he decided to be fluffy as heck and never went back (because his love language is giving and showing through actions).

Love that for them both <3

This is such a valid fear.

He was afraid that his love would be too much, and in the process he'd lose the person he loves again, so he thought it better to just suffer alone than confess. Not gonna lie, my heart broke just a little here. (Also, because I'm currently rewatching MSP, I'll be pulling a lot of parallels, and this reminds me of that scene where Sound tells Gun that he's afraid to confess to Win because he's pretty sure he'll get rejected).

Oh, and I keep forgetting to say this, but Satang is such an amazing actor. Watching Sound and Toey, I almost can't believe they're played by the same person.

Phum's lethal weapon and Peem's fatal weakness 😭

Let's be honest though, no one would be able to resist that smile, those eyes and that soft, "Na, krab". Oh yeah, he used polite pronouns here by the way.

I can't always notice the shift from formal to informal or vice versa because I'm not that well-versed in the language (yet) but this was pretty obvious.

Bonus (Peem's reaction):

Tan: flirts with his theerak non-stop 24/7 Fang: *brushes his hair a little and apologizes for making him wait* Tan: *melts into a blushing mess*

That man is so whipped.

And in this house, we stan all whipped men.

This actually reminds me of when I was a wee baby (around 3 or 4 years old, I think) when I rescued a baby sparrow and took it to my dad and told my neigbours my dad would be able to heal it because he's a dcotor (he isn't a vet either) 😭

Also- naming a bird by another bird is so true to Pun's character.

This so relatable oh gods 😭

Also, we got the princess carry for Pride month! Twice if we count Chain lifting Pun in the waterfall, which I totally do.

We finally get being carried to bed but realizing they're laying on top of the blankets instead of just being magically wrapped in them by morning!

*sighs fondly* such a simp. <3

Uh huh, you said that last time too.

Don't lie, Peem, you'd let him hug you every night.

👀

Is this the reason behind the NC rating?

Also, this singular line just gave me a brain worm that is making me write my first smut fic. I blame y'all for getting me into this series.

Yes, of course, Phum, everyone believed your "snort mi mi mi".

Don't think I didn't see your little secret smile, Peem.

(Also, I have a headcanon that Phum just loves to be the little spoon)

Now who's hugging who, huh?

"Go away", he says, while putting his arm around his (not) boyfriend.

See, it was all fun till this point, but you can't be giving me this level of domestic fluff while at the same time telling me they're not even dating yet. That just doesn't work.

So, for me, from this point on, they're an old married couple <3

Frankly though, all the four couples in this series are old married couples that just don't know they're married yet.

Toey: HELP ME!!!

Q: WHAT HAPPENED WHO NEEDS BEATING UP-

Toey: I forgot to do my assignment and today's the deadline 🥺

Q: ... 😑

You don't...?

I thought that was the perfect time to start working on it?

jk jk, kids, I'm a chronic procrastinator, please don't learn from me, learn from your P'Q

(Q reminds me so much of @desi-yearning when she scolds me after I pull an all-nighter to submit an assignment or study for an exam 😭)

Oh. Oh.

Oh my.

I love this scene so much.

This pencil box is very very special to Q, and he's asking Toey to draw on it - something that is irriversible, as Toey himself says.

But this is Q's way of putting together both his loves. This pencil box was picked up by Toey the first time, but back then, Q only knew him as Milk Frappe Boy.

Now, he's asking Toey to do something Milk Frappe Boy would never have been able to (remember, Toey started taking an interest in art only after meeting Pencil Senior), because Pencil Senior disappeared on Milk Frappe Boy, but Q would never disappear on Toey.

On this note, I end Part 1.

Part 2 will be out tomorrow, because as much as I try to deny it, I have these pesky things called responsibilities to attend to, and it's very late here now (not past my regular bed time, but way past my ideal bed time 😭)

Thank you for reading! 😊

Here, have some pizza and a cookie🍕🍕🍪

[If you want, my previous posts: Ep. 8 Ep.9 Ep.10]

And here's Part 2