#which just begs to question…

[hylialeia]

you don't get it. she loved him once. she didn't have a maester, she had a brother. he sold their mother's crown to keep them fed. he said Dany, please. she loved him, once.

[tempests-bards-and-birds]

i've been thinking about the word choice in neuvillette's voice lines about the archons, specifically how in saying that deus auri "won" the authority of geo and that the narukami "took" the authority of electro he is very much implying that they came into possession of the authorities deliberately; however, he then calls the anemo archon the "recipient" of the authority of anemo, which seems to imply less that he took it deliberately and more that it was just given to him, which does seem align with what little we know about how venti became the anemo archon (because both of the other viable candidates were. yknow. dead). what's particularly interesting about this to me, then, is that it seems to suggest that neuvillette has done at least some modicum of research into the older archons (the stuff with nahida doesn't count because he was actually conscious while it was happening), which it does make sense for him to have done. either that or i'm just reading too much into arbitrary word choices lmao

[riddlelover]

The quality is terrible but I can't stop thinking abt this still from the reanimator dvd set

Why is his shirt so open. Whore.

[meraki-yao]

Translation of a Bilibili Video Analysing the Paris Love Making Scene

HOLY SHIT THIS LITERALLY TOOK ME ALL DAMN DAY

Preface from me: PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT MY ORIGINAL CONTENT! THIS IS JUST MY TRANSLATION OF THE FOLLOW VIDEO MADE BY 搭火箭都要追剧 A CHINESE RWRB FAN. I REPEAT, THE CONTENT IS NOT MINE, I'M JUST A TRANSLATOR (that being said I did a little bit of commentary, anything in brackets is my own thoughts)

All photos are unedited screenshots taken directly from the video

Preface from OP: The content of this video is very subjective and shallow, if it's different from your opinions, you're the right one (a Chinese saying which basically means "this is just my thoughts don't come at me") and it's most likely to be very different from any official BTS.

Didn't translate the first part because 1, I can't really translate it well due to cultural references 2, I... don't really agree with it, but did like 90% of the video

Also since it's about the Paris love-making scene, there's sexual content, you have been warned

For the moment when Alex slips his hand under Henry's shirt

When Alex slides his hand across Henry's naked waist, his fingertips, the most sensitive part of the hand is touching Henry's bare skin and stirring his desires, which is why Alex's body tenses: he clenches his jaw and takes a deep breath in.

In contrast, Henry is absorbed in the romance of it all. He's been in love with Alex the whole time and finally, the man of his dreams is here with him, touching him.

For the couple of shots where they stand naked with Henry touching Alex

1, Close Up Shot of Henry's hand gliding up Alex's arm

Henry told Alex that he's in good hands, therefore Henry's the one to lead this dance and set the atmosphere, so most of the light is on him, with the bright spot being shone on Henry's wrist which leads the audience to focus on that point

He starts with his fingertips running along Alex's vein, but the brightest spot doesn't follow the movement of his hand and stays focused on his wrist and the lower part of his thumb while the rest of his hand is in darker lighting. This is to strike a contrast and to put the focus on Henry's hand and therefore his movement. The reason only part of his hand is illuminated is because his entire hand is lit, the frame's lighting loses its balance and looks abnormal, and won't match the more subtle, softer tones of the romance in the movie

A highly saturated orange/golden light is chosen, which increases the feeling of content and ambiguity (I don't that sounds weird but it's the closest word I can think of, but a more accurate description… Imagine the use of steam in a shower sex scene) which also hints that this is going to be a lovely night

The use of light and the contrast of brightness on different parts also serve to convey Henry's emotions and internal thoughts. Even though their first night in Alex's room and their hook-up during the polo match were both really intense, but it was more about the surging, frantic sexual desire between the two. Now Henry doesn't actually know how Alex will react and is somewhat worried about it, which is represented by his fingers in darker lighting. But at the same time, Paris is the first time Henry can be so physically close with his long-time crush and be extremely honest/vulnerable with him, and later understand and feel each other on a spiritual level (… Woah.). He feels contentment from that, which is what the brighter area conveys.

In this single shot, the bright and dark areas are fairly equal, which also means these two emotions are in equal conflict at this moment

Then Henry's hand slides up towards Alex's shoulder and he switches to touching him with his fingertips, which, with its sensitivity, means Henry can feel any tiny change on Alex's skin. He feels Alex's excitement and comfort, which in turn makes him happy and bolder, which is also conveyed in the change of the light in the frame: the fingertips that were previously in dark lighting gradually shift into the brighter area, representing his worries fading

2, The following shot of Henry facing Alex's camera right, Alex's back against the audience, camera left

The light is still on Henry which means this shot is still conveying Henry's feelings

There's a clear contrast of light on his face which makes his face seem more 3D (again sorry for the weird translation but I can't find any other words) and attracts the audience's attention more.

The contrast is also represented in Henry's characterization. To explain this, we need to understand what a cognitive schema is: cognitive schema is a psychological concept which can be summarized as when a person is exposed to an object, event or person, they will use precious experience and knowledge to make a general judgment and description of them thus predicting their next actions. So in the case of Henry, at first since he's a prince, the audience and Alex, using their cognitive schema will assume he's prim and proper, when in reality he's horny (ha), flirtatious and adorable (so in conclusion, he's actually a babygirl)

Henry then lingers his hand on Alex, and glances at Alex with a flirtatious smile, enjoying Alex's shiver under his touch.

3, Shot of Alex facing audience camera left, Henry back against audience camera right

The light is now mostly on Henry's back, increasing the romantic atmosphere of the shot.

The light is also on Alex's torso and cheek forming a light contrast, which turns the audience's focus onto Alex. The larger dark area indicates he's being led by Henry in this situation, and he doesn't really know what Henry's gonna do, therefore his nervousness is the dominating emotion, represented by the dark area.

But he's also enjoying Henry's touches, which is why the light is still mostly on Henry but also partly on Alex now, almost like an extension of the contentment that Henry feels

The lamp that in-universe is providing the lighting is on the right side of the frame. If a similar light source isn't placed on the left side, the left side of the frame would seem too cold, which would destroy the atmosphere previously created. Therefore a mirror was placed there both for spatial balance and to create a reflection of the lamp's light, creating a small light spot on the left, balancing the coloring and lighting of the shot.

To the right of the mirror where the light can't cover is a small cupid statue. The statue not only adds to the romantic atmosphere but also indicates what's about to happen, as cupid symbolizes love and sex. Cupid is also a mischievous God who enjoys pranks, which also somewhat describe the boys' relationship: cupid shoots out the silver/lead arrow of aversion and revulsion that leads to their misunderstanding and subsequent hatred, but the shoots out the golden arrow of fall that led to them falling in love with each other and living together happily ever after.

Alex keeps watching Henry's hand as his hand slides down and looks back up when Henry touches his chest and takes a deep breath. Henry smiles brightly at Alex's reaction.

Alex then becomes intoxicated by Henry's touch as his sexual desires take over him

When Henry picks up the key that means a lot to Alex, Alex clenches his jaw. The highlight in his eyes allows the audience to immediately catch the change in his eyes that's filled up with lust.

So to conclude this part, a lot of attention was given to the placement of props and the lighting: the saturated golden creates a romantic but steamy/foggy (meraki seriously can't find the right word) setting, which is a filmmaking technique often used by Wong Kar Wai, in fact a similar lighting was used in "In the Mood for Love" (Matthew is a true fan)

For the shots of them kissing on the bed

There's a red mark on Henry's chest which OP explained in an earlier video that would have been caused by Alex grabbing there when thrusting forward

There's another possibility which is Alex getting excited when being behind Henry but he doesn't really know what to do so all he can do is grind against Henry. But Henry feels and sounds divine, and Alex gets impatient so he leaves marks on Henry's arm and chest

To prove her hypothesis op did an experiment with her own arm: she chose her arm because just like the part of Henry's chest that's marked, part of the muscle curves (into the elbow just as the chest muscle curves into the armpit) it's not a easy place for fingers to exert force, thus can draw a closer, more subjective comparison.

Experiment process: open uses her other hand to grab onto her arm and pull backwards forcefully, to 1, observe the shape of the mark and if it's identical to that of Henry's, 2, observe the time needed to create the mark in order to be the same as Henry's

As shown in the photo, the (faint) red marks are approximately the same shape, width and redness as the ones on Henry's chest. It took 28 seconds to reach this. This approximates the time taken by Alex to "do stuff" (I think she means prep?) from Henry's behind

With how loving and gentle Alex is with Henry it's not that likely that he started groping Henry's chest from the beginning, so the conclusion is when Alex was trying to "move forward" when he was behind Henry (I seriously don't know if she means prep or like, doggy style) but doesn't really know what to do and groped Henry in his nervousness, and this failed attempt lasted at least 28 seconds.

OP thinks the failed attempt was done in front of the window with Henry bending over, gripping the back of one of the chairs, and deduced from the DNC scene: the boys were originally chatting in bath robes on the couch with the curtain mostly closed, but when Zahra barged in, the blackout curtain was out, leaving just the mesh layer closed. There was a bathrobe on the far side of the couch and another in front of the window. So presumably after the talk, they went for another round, Henry ditched his robe on one side of the couch and pounced on Alex (similarly to how he did on Alex's couch), they tumbled around and switched position and ended up in front of the window, Alex remembered he failed attempt in Paris and wanted to make up for it so he pulled open the blackout curtain but left the mesh layer closed, and then he got to work. (...tbn personally I think this is a stretch?)

Henry thinks Alex is adorable but he's also really intoxicated and wants to get down to business asap, so he grabs Alex's neck and presses Alex towards him, kissing from Alex's lips to his neck. He kissed Alex's neck because from their first hook-up and the way Alex immediately stretched his neck to give Henry space when he kissed his neck then, that this is the quickest way to stimulate him. Which is why you can see a faint hickey on Alex's neck

As they kiss they walk towards the bed. During their first hook-up, Henry pushed Alex onto the couch, so now it's Alex's turn to pounce on Henry, which is what we see in the shot: Henry falls onto the bed first, then Alex follows. Alex is really happy and a bit proud that he can drive Henry crazy like this, while (and I quote directly) Henry can't think of anything anymore, and has "please hurry up and fuck me" painted on his face

The mark/hickey on Alex's neck takes the shape of an inverted triangle, with the vertical side and the diagonal side (left down right up, in math it's a positive slope) being more red, which means those two points experienced the largest amount of force

Red Mark on Henry's Chest

Screenshot from In the Mood for Love using a similar lighting

Red Mark Result from OP's experiment

Blackout Curtain Closed on DNC Night

Bathrobe (presumed to be Henry's) on the far side of the couch

Bathrobe (presumed to be Alex's) near the window, Blackout Curtain Open in the background

For the process, deduced with the shot of them laying in bed during the afterglow

The trajectory of sweat on Henry's temple runs downward vertically. If he was fucked lying down, the sweat should run into his ear canal horizontally. Which means he was fucked in a sitting position. For example in the polo match hookup, Henry's sweat is visible in the form of drops running vertically down his face. Also in the afterglow, the sweat also seems to be splattered, which required Henry to have vigorously moved either up and down or front and back. So yeah this further proves that there was a cut riding scene.

Alex also has sweat on his face, and his fringe is wet. So riding should have happened right before they lied down and started talking.

So the process deduced by OP is 1, they tried doggy style in front of the window and failed 2, what was shown in the movie 3, doggy style on the bed 4, riding (OP wasn't aware of the details of the extended Paris love-making scene, but all RWRB fans in China know that there's doggy style and riding that got cut, this is OP's deduction of the order)

Even without looking at the sweats and marks, from the way Henry's signet ring is turned in the movie you can tell that something's deleted, since before Alex intertwined his fingers with Henry, the letter H was facing outwards, and when their hands join the movement causes the ring to turn and for the letter to face inwards. But then the next shot with Henry's hand on Alex's shoulder shows the ring worn normally again, which means something in between was deleted or reordered.

Hickey on Alex's Neck

Henry's sweat in the afterglow

Henry's sweat during the polo hook-up

Alex's sweat in the afterglow

tagging @sanneannelies7 and @na-18dia who mentioned wanting the translation in my original post

[whatlovelybones-if]

Im literally just waiting to gaslight everyone. Will it be entertaining tho?

you wouldn’t believe how gullible people can be, especially if you’re very good at lying. MC should probably get an academy award for how good their acting skills is atp

[mxtxfanatic]

Another pro-reader tip for mxtx novels: they are all stories with clear-cut good guys and bad guys and a strong moral message, BUT you have to actually read what the story has to say about characters without taking anything at face value, relying on genre tropes, or using identities and statuses as shorthand to your understanding of the moral system and themes of the story. So no, most characters in her stories are not morally gray (though some are, most can be definitively categorized as either morally good or bad, and ALL of her main characters are definitively morally good), and no she does not write morally gray plots where “morality is just subjective!” If anything, the term I think people are looking for is “morally neutral” (meaning that the thing is not assigned a morality in and of itself) in many cases.

An mxtx character is never designated as good or bad based off their backgrounds or class: Wei Wuxian, Jin Guangyao, Shen Jiu, and Mu Qing all grow up outside of the elite class, but Mu Qing (eventually) and Wei Wuxian are unquestionably good guys while Jin Guangyao and Shen Jiu are unquestionable villains. Shen Yuan, Lan Wangji, and Xie Lian all grow up within the gentry class but are all good guys while Jiang Cheng, Jun Wu, and The Old Palace Master are bad. Likewise, life circumstances or tools don’t determine morality. In mdzs, the sword path (which is the orthodox one) is used to commit genocide by the general cultivation world just as easily as Lan Wangji wields it to protect the forsaken commoners. Wei Wuxian’s ghost path was created to protect himself before being used to protect others, but Xue Yang and the Jin Clan pervert it to cause mass destruction for their own wishes. In tgcf, Xie Lian uses his god powers to attempt to help the Yong’an people while the other gods simply collect worshippers to increase their power and oppress lesser gods. Every character I’ve listed minus the Old Palace Master has experienced intense trauma that has informed their lives and colors their morality, but it does not define why they have chosen to take on certain moral stances.

(This is not to say that mxtx doesn’t have certain tropes she dislikes, as she clearly hates the “dedicate their whole existence completely to another person” trope. Su She, a villain dedicated to Jin Guangyao, dies. Zhuzhi-lang, a sympathetic antagonist dedicated to Tianlang-jun, dies. Hua Cheng, A WHOLE LOVE INTEREST dedicated to the literal main character, dies a whopping three (3) times before he learns his lesson.)

Mxtx does not condemn those who stray from orthodoxy. In fact, every story she’s (currently) written is about the dangers of entrenched and unquestioned hierarchy and status quo giving way to corruption every time. She wants you to question the dominant narrative of the benevolent group who descend from on high to “save the ignorant masses.” She wants you to question the idea that the only people with the right of choice are those at the top of the hierarchy. She wants you to question the idea that even the smallest decision of “powerless” people does not matter in “the grand scheme of things.” She wants you to actually think about the story conventions that you accept as infallible and question whether or not it would make for good shorthand by which to understand well-written characters and story arcs (and also, hopefully, how society is structured at large). So if you find yourself reading an mxtx novel and siding with the mob characters or lamenting how x character was locked into making certain choices “against their will” or being unable to reconcile how a recognized trope led to an unexpected conclusion because “that’s not how it’s supposed to go,” then it may do you some good to stop and ask yourself “was this idea supported by the narrative that I read in the book, or is this an idea I’ve come to entirely from my own preconceived notions of how I wanted the story to turn out based on how other, similar stories have panned out?”

[svtskneecaps]

not to qsmp purgatory post in the month of our lord december 2023, but genuine question for soulfire mains:

i've seen a lot of fanposting about soulfire being connected to ice symbolically the way bolas was to gas, how much of that symbolism was directly pushed or reinforced by the ccs?

as a bolas main, i can think of blue's spawn being a frozen hellscape, bad wearing the freeze armor 24/7, and bad finding green's base with the ice from a blizzard event!

[lady-tortilla-chip]

Ya think about how similar the ‘there were no such moments’ following such a heartfelt statement about their hearts reaching out to each other is actually so similar to Dazai’s ‘there’s something I want to tell you before I die’ before popping out his completely fine arm? Y’all consider that perhaps the point of that wasn’t meant to be a code but instead a SHOCK to Chuuya’s system ? Which could’ve been the push he needed to fully leave the vampire state?

[ziskeyt]

if you ever need to deal with social security for any reason as an expat abroad i just hope you aren't abroad in canada as they took all their services out of here and made us use the offices in the us. offices with phones that never pick up and drop calls all the time. anyway after a month i've found out they are processing my name change and it should be finalized by the end of this month, which means i can reregister to vote likely in may. also once i get the updated card that is the last thing i needed to change my name with and i'm finally done with getting all my official stuff for two countries changed. exhausting. technically i could bug the county i was born to get a changed birth certificate but tbh, i am tired of having to deal with this and it isn't necessary so it's fine if it remains unchanged.

[the-acid-pear]

Okay but something that has been driving me insane about Pizza Tower is, how long has that tower been there for?

Have the bosses and co. been living there for a long time now or is this just a side thing where Pizzahead just created the rooms just for like, a few days, like an hotel?

According to the wiki and an official source, Pillar John has been stuck there cursed for years, which means the tower has been there for a while, which still leaves ambiguous the previous question but opens a new one which is:

Did Pizzahead spend years upon years building this tower and hiring goons and just making this whole thing just to torture this italian guy EXCLUSIVELY who then just destroyed his entire work in like, a few hours? 😭

I mean it certainly does fit his silly goofy ass but. 😭😭😭

[chilapis]

Last post before I crash and no-one hears from me until I return from my first final the morrow’s eve (a changed man no doubt) but there’ll never be anything funnier to me than consistently being viewed as a composed and calm saviour by peers while I’m, actively and uncontrollably losing it.

[chronological-barnacle]

him

brought to you by the jangbricks Mata-head-to-CCBS-torso connection but executed in reverse

[revo-depresso]

THIS FUCK RIGHT HERE BEING AGENT 4 ⬇️

[kaiynite]

I’m so excited for Fionna and Cake but I also NEED a Shermy and Beth spin-off about the adventures of Ooo thousands of years after Finn and Jakes time

[caeslxys]

"How could Imogen question the gods when they brought Laudna back" by this same logic she could question why the Matron allowed Delilah to maintain a hold on Laudna for so long or, perhaps more immediately relevant, why the Changebringer would choose to let Laudna be the one to die so. you know. there's room for nuance. Imogen's not the bad guy for correctly insinuating that the pantheon can hurt (or choose indifference) as much as they can help.

[camgirlkaminari]

several thoughts about the new years 2023 sketch that i CANNOT stop having:

he's getting hornier. he's been getting hornier on main the closer we get to the end of the series. everyone scroll his twitter back to 2021 and you will see there is an abrupt spike in horny art around august of that year. horny on main about literally all his own ocs and unapologetic about it

horikoshi has DEFINITELY been looking at all the bunnyboi deku fanart over the last 8 years

the previous two points lead me to conclude that the fandom has been picking up what he's putting down this whole time. shameless deku supremacy bunnyboi deku supremacy etc etc

also thinking maybe deku's steel toed thigh highs were an aesthetic choice and not entirely necessary for support reasons. thotty deku supremacy etc

hori really fleshes out his characters with these sketches it seems very clear to me that ochaco was bribed with free food for this event & kirishima didn't have to be bribed with ANYTHING he's just happy to be here, very on brand

thanks bud i WASNT thinking about their balls but NOW i am

that being said: release the balls cut horikoshi. i KNOW you have a secret balls-in drawing. im a 'do-it-for-the-bit' artist, i know theres a secret bit art folder i just KNOW it

and you KNOW he also did a bunnyboi katsuki sketch. hes a freaque he simply would not let that go undrawn

do you guys think katsuki feels left out. do you think he's mad he missed the memo. where are his eyes pointed, mirko? or ochaco? is he jealous. does he have fomo

katsuki adhd king

it is SO funny of hori to make mirko have to wear clothes while the rest of them wear her costume. so cruel. so inhumane. get dressed idiot

shouto said 👁️👄👁️ as usual absolute comedy king