#like idk it just rubs me the wrong way

[dreadfuldevotee]

I'd like to discuss the elephant in the room. Why did we get zero Loumand sex scenes? We got hints and implications, but season 1 was pretty explicit. Do we think that that's a creative choice or something else is happening?

I'm glad I ended up ruminating on this for about a week because episode 7 & 8 really solidified my opinion on it.

I do wanna start by saying that it's very clear to me that there was supposed to be more explicit scenes between them. There has been some thoughts tossed around that censorship happened with the 9 pm timeslot (as opposed to the 10 pm timeslot of S1). I believed this hearing Assad and Jacob talk about the BDSM dynamic between Louis and Armand, but what really sold me on this was Production Designer Mara LePere-Schloop talking about the bedroom set and more specifically about their beautifully carved custom headboard. (If you're a production nerd like me or just want to know more about the design philosophy of IWTV I recommend giving the entire thing a listen!).

I think there are several reasons I think as to why they decided to leave any more explicit scenes on the cutting room floor but above them all is: you cannot separate Armand's sexuality from his abuse. I am really against pulling a "well if you read the books" card but reading just the first couple chapters of "The Vampire Armand" makes me understand so much about not only Armand as a character, but the care being taken to his adaptation. It's clear to me that alongside Rolin & Co.'s commitment to not watering him down to a one-dimensional villain they are also trying to not fall into Anne Rice's tendency to romanticize his trauma.

Sex and sexuality is not the same pillar of Louis and Armand's relationship it was in Louis and Lestat's and so I don't believe their story suffers from the lack of on-screen sex. But I also firmly believe that maybe we don't need to be slutting out the character who we literally just watched talk about how he doesn't remember his life before being sex trafficked. And even when he was "freed" he was still being repeatedly assaulted at the hands of, and under the eye Marius de Romanus. Like it is extremely important to remember that Armand's craving for dominion in his relationships is a manifestation of trauma that deserves the same level of care and depth given to every other trauma portrayed in this show.

I think people have gotten too comfortable calling IWTV a romance when it has always been Gothic Horror. Romance and sex are pivotal to the story but I have found the demands for sex scenes this season a bit absurd and also? unfounded? Loustat share more kisses on screen but there are two sex scenes and both are very plot relevant. I truly figured we were all in agreement that the eroticism of this show is found in the various displays of power, and the dynamics it creates and not the actual clapping of ass-cheeks...which also wasn't happening in S1 either. S2 does not suffer because of the lack of sex-scenes, but the likelihood if it suffering trying to make one work is

[jakeperalta]

have quite literally never been less excited about a taylor announcement in my life

[doufudanshi]

for anyone who criticizes jyl for bringing soup to yiling instead of like, money—

we should first ask: could jyl actually have given wwx money? she must have something, you say. the jins are rich! she could even give him some of her betrothal gifts.

but realistically jyl probably didn't have much money at all! let's think this through. not only did she not marry jzx yet at the time of her yiling visit, but (based on many, many imperial palace tv shows lol) all her worth would be in betrothal gifts of jewelry, fine clothing, or other misc items, which is 1) heavy and difficult to transport without notice, but that doesn't actually matter bc it's ultimately 2) disrespectful to sell and worse to have the gifter find out when they come by for tea and you begin chatting about the event in two days and they say oh where's that one-of-a-kind jade bracelet I gave you wouldn't it match the also one-of-a-kind silk garment that lady jin gave you sooo well oh you will look so lovely in it won't you wear it.

or worse, have it recognized in some random pawn shop on the street by someone who has never really liked you and WILL get you in deep shit for it.

does jyl have any money from the jiang side? well, jc has been busy at work rebuilding lotus pier and the clan since before wwx's defection, and even if he's not borrowing a shitton of money from the jins (which he almost certainly is), he definitely has the opposite of surplus funds. he's also busy organizing and buying gifts for the wedding too, making him go more in the red because you know the jins aren't going to want cheap-ass things even if you don't have money.

let's say jyl did get a significant bride price (aka given money money)—not only does that go to her family (jc), but it is given during the ceremony (which, again, hasn't happened yet). and, realistically, jc probably will have to use it to offset the costs of the above.

beyond that, let's just take this scene from a storytelling perspective. sometimes it is simply about the emotional resonance. the vibes. let's say jyl did have some funds to give wwx. but imagine if jyl was like here a-xian take all this money 😐 ok sure useful for some period. but is that the gift that wwx would want during the first time he's gotten to see her in months, and likely the last time he will see her in a long, long time (possibly years)? would that be impactful for the story?

meanwhile, the soup she brings represents her love. we hear in the extra, from wwx's own words, the care she put into selecting the ingredients, making sure the lotus root is fresh and perfectly ripe. it also takes hours for her to even make iirc. wwx derives so much comfort from it—that's why it comes up again and again. it is one of his first memories of feeling safe in lotus pier, of home. it provides wwx some semblance of normalcy. he hasn't had any this entire time, and is likely something he aches for whenever he's homesick or sad or questioning his choices. it is simply, given the circumstances, incredibly thoughtful. (and how meaningful was it to see wn treat it with such respect? seeing that is literally the moment in the chapter when wwx realizes—ah. the wens are people I cherish as well.)

and regarding jyl coming in her wedding dress—it is not for herself. it is for wwx. we saw how devastated wwx was just to even hear that jyl was getting married because he had to hear it from someone who wasn't jc or jyl. and to immediately then realize he cannot go? even more heartbreaking. and jyl, who clearly knows wwx extremely well, would know, without having to ask, how upset wwx would be to miss such a huge occasion in their lives that was previously a given. this is what she can do to offset that, even just a little. because jyl came in her dress, wwx gets to experience a piece of her wedding even though he cannot physically be there. not to be a 2000s mastercard ad, but there really are some things that money can't buy.

idk there's also some fist-shaking at the class discrepancy in the scene. and I get it. it sucks! her dress is certainly lavish, and the wens are farming on a corpse mountain and have only just started making a bit of money. yes, it's fine to think that if you were in the character's shoes, maybe you would've found it to be in poor taste—but the story isn't about you. it is about these characters, and what this scene means to them. and I'm of the camp that if there is no indication that wwx is upset by any of this, and in fact moved by it, there really isn't reason for the reader to be righteously indignant about these things on a character's behalf. that's just not the focus or the point of the scene.

plus, jyl is sharp. she is likely more aware of the discrepancy than most people think. she has also been shown in the text to not just be another sheltered, spoiled noble (re jzx soup incident). but if what you want is guilt from jyl—I personally think that guilt is performative, and accomplishes nothing. her guilt would've only made wwx unhappy. instead, here is an action that is meaningful and brings joy to wwx. to share her joy with him is not selfishness, nor is it some lack of awareness of their situation. if in this moment, she shows off her dress, if she revels in her joy, her happiness, it is for wwx, and wwx is incredibly moved by it.

and let's face it—wwx, of all people, would want to see jyl in a wedding dress that cost more than rebuilding lotus pier from the ground up. he wouldn't want anything less.

[gwyoi]

I feel like over the past maybe 10 years there’s been a lot more visibility for people with vitiligo and lots of people drawing people with it but at the same time a lot of content feels almost fetishy to me if that makes sense

[hometownrockstar]

This is directed at skinny people, fat people u can do whatever you want its chill. Ok so i have discussed this before but there's a popular phenomenon where thin people on here and twitter and whatnot want to show how they are progressive by talking about how they find fat people hot, either through popular text posts or in fandom where they talk abt a character as being hot SPECIFICALLY in relation to their size. And my issue is not with seeing fat people as attractive FOR their fat traits, its just the prevalence of it from skinny people usually sounds very performative and almost chaser-y with how it is almost solely focused on sexual desirability of fat people.

So in my opinion, i dont think skinny people should stop talking about finding fat bodies attractive altogether, but rather show their love and support for fat people and characters in other means as well. Portray a fat character as admirable, charming, pretty/attractive (without solely sexual attraction), or just plain normal, all the kinds of things you portray skinny characters as being.

[thedeafprophet]

Struggling for the right way to say this, but I'm kind of put off when I'm talking about something important relating to disability and surgery and it gets turned into a gender/transistioning thing

Like don't get me wrong, gender affirming surgeries are very important! and equally as life saving for many people. And i understand that being important

Its just that when someone is talking about physical disability and life saving surgeries, thats kind of a different topic altogether, and it kind of comes across as speaking over disabled people and their experiences.

[aureentuluva70]

Ok but I absolutely ADORE THIS

[shadamypositivity]

is this a safe space to say ive never really cared for the concept of Shadow working with G.U.N. 🧍‍♀️

[mthras]

uhhhh am i the only one who cringes when sylus calls us "sweetie" or "kitten" in en loc? 😬

[sanasanakun]

The weed is making me courageous so I think my biggest unpopular opinion for Bg3 is I don’t think Astarion is sexy or cute or anything at all really. He’s just there. Like he’s just a dude with an attitude problem lol like I keep seeing people compare the man to a renaissance painting like he’s fucking Lestat. Dude wishes he was Lestat lmao he’s just some white man with high cheekbones 😂😂

[msnihilist]

Hey, what you think about that Cosmo and Wanda call Timmy "precious gift" like in special "abracatastrophe" when he have 8 old by his parents?

I don't think that Cosmo and Wanda should imitate anything that Timmy's parents did, tbh.

[moldy-flowers]

The interesting experience of being pro Sasuke, anti konoha, pro tobirama, anti Naruto ending, pro Sasusaku, anti Itachi, pro Sakura, anti SasuNaru, pro Tobirama×Izuna, anti Madara, pro karin, anti Orochimaru, pro Uchiha and anti Hashirama. And also as much as I hate the guy danzo was kind of hot when he was younger...

[mrspockify]

Hey friendly reminder that you can ask about the status of fics in a way that’s respectful of the author, and also friendly reminder that you’re not actually entitled to updates and information and you don’t need to come in with that kind of attitude. If a fic hasn’t been updated in a long time, you can assume there’s a reason for it, whatever that reason is, and you don’t need to be upset that the author didn’t give you the reason. You can just subscribe and wait, maybe even leave a nice comment if you want to offer motivation, but come on.

[sonic-adventure-3]

it is kinda funny to me when ppl say things in the vein of “jazz is perfect to represent rouge because of it’s chaotic nature”, cause like sure, okay, i can understand why you’d say that, but that’s the kinda thing you say when you have not listened to any jazz at all.

jazz can seem chaotic, sure, but it seems odd to me to define the whole umbrella of jazz as chaotic when you absolutely have not listened to actually chaotic sounding jazz subgenres like bebop. i just generally extremely dislike the descriptor of “chaotic” for jazz because i think it’s fundamentally untrue, there is absolutely logic and order in jazz, it’s built upon a rich tradition. jazz can be complex, frantic, energetic, and is often improvisational, but i don’t think it’s chaotic.

also i think that suits rouge far better than actual chaos, cause rouge is absolutely a complex and logical person, she just acts first and foremost on her desires

[lesbianamalvada]

how you feel about bisexual people saying they’re gay

I don't like it when people use gay as an umbrella term because it's literally not. I know one bi girl who always went "i'm sooo gayy" and I'm like "I thought u were bi??" and she was like "it's just simpler to say gay". I really don't get how though? Bi and queer are the same amount of syllables as gay. To me it's more confusing if ur talking about how gay you are and then people see you with a boyfriend/girlfriend. I guess it's not that big of a deal but it's def a pet peeve of mine and rubs me the wrong way.

[faaun]

i feel rly sad and conflicted abt one of my best friends on earth but idk who to ask for advice bc i usually would have consulted her in this situation lmao