girls when they just finished watching aotv

the one like is from claudia

Neighborhood Watch S2 Ep1: Shindig

Hello!! We finished the first session of season 2! And jesus christ- a lot happens, it was a bit disjointed! But I’m here to try and make sure it’s all coherent! (my own personal comments will be in the tags) So let’s go!

A week has passed since the Season One finale; the Dome’s been dropped, and everyone in the Main Cast knows that John is a monster. Since the Dome is gone, the rest of the town had been unlocked for us to explore!

During the week, Song buys new flowers for her house at the florist- she runs into Louis, who’s been buying native wildflowers to improve his lawn. He runs into some interns who work for the mayor, who offer him some free seed packets for some newly discovered flower- They grow quick, with thick thorny vines and stems, and are ready to bloom within a week with beautiful tie-dye-esque colors. Louis declines, not trusting anyone who’s a part of the government, and the florist owner, Kathy, is wary of the flowers due to how quick they grow; they can very easily become invasive.

Song does archery practice with Amira in her backyard- Amira has not mentioned John being a monster, and Song hasn’t asked her about it. Amira does mention, however, that while hiding in Song’s house during the s1 finale she found a black book with a red gem. That’s one of Song’s spellbooks, and Song vaguely says she uses it to help protect herself. Amira shows interest in it, and Song discreetly tries to sense if Amira has the potential to become a magic-user- but Amira’s aura indicates she doesn’t have any ability for magic at all, which is odd because all humans normally have the capacity for it; the center of her soul is dead-blue.

Shelby starts her Twitch-streaming again, with the internet being back up, and when she’s not busy with that John spends time with her; Not only because she’s his friend, but as a way to make up for making her worry so much (and to avoid the rest of the Main Cast). Sometime during the week John tries to go the park, but sees Louis there and immediately turns around to go home. He also fills in Emmett about the events of taking down the Hunter, omitting the fact that he is one himself.

Markus keeps to themself for most of the week, ordering take-out (there’s only one Uber driver in Greenville, btw, his name is Kyle and he sells weed on the side) and healing from their wounds. At some point, they get rid of Emmett’s corpse with carrion beetles, and use his bones to make bonemeal for various projects- including their worm farm. Towards the end of the week, they decide it’s been long enough- They march right up to the Doe/Waters household and knock on the door. Shelby is busy streaming, and so John answers. He freezes when he sees it’s Markus, and in a cold panic he closes the door. Through the window he sees that Markus looks sad, and they walk away. John feels awful, and is still reeling from the cold panic, but he doesn’t want to make it awkward by opening the door again, and they’ll want to talk about that night, oh no, god you fucked up- And so he decides to head to the park, as part of him still finds nature to be calming/ feeling a bit like home. He people watches, observing the librarian reading a book, until it starts to get darker out, and begins his walk home.

Meanwhile, going back to Markus walking home, I feel it’s time to mention that some more neighbors have moved in during the week- Two of them being Heath and Sammy Clark. Heath, a 5′6 blonde guy, jogs up to a dejected Markus and invites to him and Sammy’s get-together (in fact, they’ve sent out invites to the entire cul-de-sac). Markus doesn’t seem too into it, and heads home.

On the topic of new neighbors, I’ll summarize them now:

The Clarks have moved in across from Phil. Heath is an outgoing trans man, and Sammy is a very quiet and hairy ginger man who’s almost 7ft tall.

Bonnie McMurry moves in next to Shelby and John. She’s a sweet older lady in her mid 60s and lives alone, though she had a bunch of odd-shaped boxes with her labeled “Lois”. Shelby had asked about it, revealing Bonnie had an adult son who passed some years ago. During the night, loud music can be heard from her basement.

William Krieger is a socially awkward and reclusive man with a pencil stache. He keeps his pet rats in his many coat pockets.

Kenneth Feinstetter lives across the street from Louis. He is a loud and boisterous man with glasses who will tell anyone willing to listen to him about his ridiculous conspiracy theories regarding Greenville.

Some moving trucks come in at midnight. Lucretius Wayne introduces himself to the neighbors, sending out gift baskets of high quality. He’s charming, and even the Pattersons like him.

Louis recognizes Lucretius as the vampire Lestat. His ex.

But the time for the Clark’s party is here, and Markus decides they’re going. They get all dressed and give themself a pep-talk about how they’re going to make friends. They head outside and see the Pattersons are heading over to the party as well, and for a moment consider heading home, but then Lucretius appears with some wine and greets the Pattersons; Karen waves at him, and Bob seems... jealous? Markus decides to go, if only to see this drama unfold.

Louis doesn’t like being left out and decides to go. As he’s walking over, William approaches him and wants to be invited to the party. Louis makes a comment about if William is really going with a jacket that has so many pockets, and William responds he’s got to bring his family with him. Louis doesn’t like William, who’s standing far too close to him, and so when Philip approaches Louis takes his chance to leave. Kenneth approaches Louis and asks if he’s seen anything weird, or out of the ordinary? Louis almost says no, but then mentions that he’s never seen Lucretius leave his house til after sundown- he might as well try and direct suspicion towards his ex.

Song decides to bring some wine over, and as she exits her home Lucretious greets her; They compare the wine they’re bringing, and he offers her his arm. She takes it, and together they walk to the Clark household. Louis sees this, and though his expression remains calm, his grip tightens. The Sampath family is going; Amira waves to Song, and she and Lu wave back.

Markus approaches the Pattersons and asks how Karen is doing (bc, yknow, The Curse), and she says she’s doing much better. Bob thanks Markus, who says that while they don’t like each other, they don’t want his wife to die, and Bob says he’ll owe Markus a favor because of their help. Markus squirms away.

John and Shelby are going as well; John prepares a snack tray to bring along. As the two of them leave they hear music coming from Bonnie’s basement; as much as John wouldn’t admit it, part of him is glad he’s away from the noise.

The Clarks are greeting people as they enter; John approaches, sees the rest of the Main Cast and seriously considers leaving, but Shelby interprets this as general social anxiety and reassures him it’ll be fine. He makes eye contact with Song as she approaches- her gaze hardens, and John looks away. Lucretius asks Song if everything is okay; she responds by saying not everyone in the neighborhood is getting along at the moment. Lucretius is invited inside by Heath.

Inside is very spacious; the archways leading to the different rooms have been altered to be taller, and even then Sammy has to bend over a little bit to avoid hitting his head. There’s snacks, drinks, etc. Sammy offers Philip some alcohol, and he turns it down. Markus is in awe of how tall Sammy is, and heads to a corner to vibe. They can hear the spiders behind the bookshelf in their corner. William shows up to stand next to them, and Markus bluntly tells him that they want him to go away (”Please go away. I can say it in four different languages if you’d like.”) William’s smile starts to fade at Markus’ insistence, and he actually starts to look angry, but then gets distracted by a snack tray and scurries away.

John and Shelby have bumped into Kenneth, who’s informing the both of them about some kind of drama going down on Twitter. John doesn’t have social media, so he doesn’t quite know what he’s talking about, but he likes listening to people talk and wants Kenneth to like him- especially since Kenneth doesn’t know about his monstrous nature. Shelby brings up the fact she’s a Twitch Streamer, upon which Kenneth looks her up on the Internet, and then awkwardly excuses himself.

Everyone starts to vote for which party game to play. John approaches Philip, who’s trying to tune his guitar to bring some extra entertainment to the party, but Phil is having a bit of trouble tuning it. Lucretius appears and offers to tune it, and plays a flamenco riff (and winking at Louis), absolutely showing up whatever Phil was planning to do (John doesn’t interpret it that way, though, and thinks it’s nice how Lucretius helped out Phil). Markus and John both notice Bob Patterson and Louis going off into one of the other rooms of the house- Bob has noticed Louis’s reactions to Lucretius, and asks if they know each other. Louis tries to play it off- not every person with a southern accent knows each other, Bob- but Mr Patterson wants to know if Lucretius is anything similar to the monster he saw the previous week, if something supernatural is going on. Louis says nothing supernatural is going on with any of the new neighbors, in response Bob whispers something to him before storming out. Louis, apparently a bit shaken by what Mr Patterson had whispered, takes a moment before leaving the room and heading back to the party.

The group has decided on Two Truths One Lie. Some highlights:

William glaring at Markus the entire time

Almost every normal neighbor hoping that Markus’s “I have over 300 bugs at my house” bit is the lie

Everyone immediately guessing Philip’s lie (divorced but on good terms)

Kenneth putting one of his truths down as him “knowing the truth about this town.” Song asks him what that means, and Kenneth invites Song over to his house to look at his charts and notes some day.

Lucretius smiling at Louis the entire time is was Louis’ turn (we find out Louis is allergic to wool)

Flirting with Song when it was her turn (He’s been flirting with her the whole party, I should add.)

And then it’s Lucretius’s turn. He grins, and gives his options: 1) He was born in Louisiana. 2) He has a skin condition that prevents him from being out in the sun 3) ...And he’s bloodthirsty monster.

Louis knew this, but Song doesn’t pick up on the danger; like almost everyone else, she’s incrediby charmed by Lucretius. John was too, actually, but as soon as that was said, John realizes that Lucretius’s charm is all part of a lure to get prey, and that he could be something similar to John. Markus realizes the danger as well, and deduces that everyone in this room could be in danger- so they summon a bunch of cockroaches to scare everyone away. Almost no one notices it was them who caused the roaches- except for William, who’s been staring at them the whole time.

People start running away in the chaos- Heath faints, Sammy tries to stomp the bugs (shaking the house with this, actually), and Louis tries to get ahold of Song, but Lucretius has taken her hand before he could do anything and has gotten her out of there. Lucretius offers to walk her home, and she accepts. Once outside, John tries to make eye contact with Markus- a “did we both notice the same thing” kind of look. Markus sees this and looks almost panicked, an “oh god not again look” (Unknown if it was fear about John or the event happening), before their gaze becomes sad. A monstrous roar appears from inside the house, and Markus races inside. John tries to head in too, but Louis calls out to him and says they need to talk. John anxiously says something about getting rid of the roaches and attempts to get away, worried Louis wants to talk about That Night, but the Crooked stops him (”John. This isn’t about you”). 

Meanwhile, inside, Markus sees Sammy angrily stomping at the roaches. Markus, not wanting to have their bugs killed, leads them out with food. Sammy corners Markus and, speaking for the first time, growls a comment about how he didn’t see what Markus did was necessary, and that he knows about their kind and would appreciate that Markus never do that again. Markus stammers an apology and runs home.

Louis leads John to his house, where he asks what John knows about Lucretius. John tells him (how the charm is a lure, how he might be like him), and Louis says that John is strong enough to take him on in a fight, but not strong enough to survive; Song is in just as much danger in Lucretius’s presence as she is in John’s. At this comment John tense and seems angry, and Louis said it wasn’t meant to offend: He needs John’s help to kill Lucretius, after all. Stakes, garlic, crosses and etc might be useful. Also, Louis tells John, Bob knows about Lucretius, the house shook when Sammy tried to kill some roaches, William has rats in his pockets- there’s a Lot more to deal with than John being a monster, or even Louis’s ex being a vampire.

Meanwhile, Lucretius has walked Song back to her house. He says it was a pleasure to hang out with her this night, and Song agrees- but the night isn’t finished yet; Would he like to come inside for some coffee?

He accepts, and is invited inside.

Louis really is THEE messiest bitch in vampirism

Hi Tracy I recently found lackadaisy a week ago when the trailer came out through my other fave VA such as micheal , Sungwon, and the hunnicast. And its apart of the reason i started to get into VA myself and Digital art and write . so thank you :)

Anyways to the detrement of myself i read it in a Day when i saw the trailer came out and I read the entire series in a day, and i feel like i read it so fast i missed out of some key details. I love making spec scripts and like to make them accurate. Can you please clear up a few things as for me , if any are not allowed to be explained as its yet to come up feel free to skip it.

I read the official Wikipedia but I really wanted to make sure i get things right. So here it is !

Does mordecai really think that mitzi killed atlas is that why he left? Is he seeking revenge imfor that by being apart of marigold and take them down?

How and when did Mordecai join lackadaisy and why did he leave for marigold ?

Does mordecai like working for marigold , is he like a double agent between lackadaisy and marigold kind of not really fully on anyone's side ?

When did he join marigold and why?

Why did Victor stay at lackadaisy ?

Though serafine and mordecai are in the same gang does he dislike sarafine and why?

Is serafine a supplier? Or is she triggerwoman? Or both

Are the pig farmers just a bunch of people who dispose of ..bodies I guess or do they also supply alcohol to gangs and which.

Is serafine against lackadaisy , and trying to bring them down , and why?

Are the abrogasts now a supplier for marigold and Lackadaisy but trying to keep it a secret from marigold ? And why did they stop working for lackadaisy

Why doee Viktor not approve of ivy in other relationships is he just protective ?

I know Ivy likes freckle but why exactly and when

Who is mordecai torturing in the latest chapters of Lackadaisy and why ?

Again so sorry for all the questions , I just want to make my spec scripts as accurate as possible

Thanks Tracy !

Hey, thanks for reading and for your interest!

A lot of my answers to these would be in the form of a question - specifically, "what do you think?"

It's not that I wish to be evasive, but an author hanging over a reader's shoulder to spell out all of the subtext seems a bit untoward and self-defeating. I realize you want clarity so you can write something yourself - which is lovely - but some things are meant to be interpreted, and some things are simply not answered yet by the story.

Anyway, my apologies for skipping over some of the questions. Here are the ones I can answer without over-explaining.

Spoilers below for those who haven't read the comic to date.

-------------------------------------------

How and when did Mordecai join lackadaisy and why did he leave for marigold ?

He became involved with Lackadaisy after Atlas saved him from some trouble he'd gotten himself into. (More accurately, Atlas offered up a minor favor and then watched to see if Mordecai could save himself.) Mordecai left Lackadaisy shortly after Atlas' death. Look for clues as to why in Mordecai's discussions with Mitzi.

Does mordecai like working for marigold , is he like a double agent between lackadaisy and marigold kind of not really fully on anyone's side ?

Can't answer the whole question, but it's hopefully obvious he's not really enjoying himself.

Why did Victor stay at lackadaisy ?

Resignation.

Though serafine and mordecai are in the same gang does he dislike sarafine and why?

The Savoys aren't from St. Louis. They don't know Mordecai's past and reputation as an indispensible hand to Atlas in Lackadaisy's glory days. To his dismay, the Savoys aren't intimidated by him, nor are they inclined to venerate him for his history, nor are they going to cede group control to him - they're intent on sussing him out for themselves. He's not really the most socially adroit individual, and when others don't immediately buy the cold murder-man persona he wears like a stiff business suit, he doesn't really know what to do about that. Also, Serafine carved a symbol into his chest with a knife, so…

Is serafine a supplier? Or is she triggerwoman? Or both

A little of both. She's mostly a hired gun under Marigold, but the Savoys were previously hijacking Marigold convoys heading up the Mississippi delta, and using the goods to supply their hometown. No matter how much firepower Marigold's runners brought along, the Savoys would get the better of them. Recognizing talent, Marigold hired them to St. Louis to stamp out competition that might have risen up in the vacuum the fallen Lackadaisy left.

Are the pig farmers just a bunch of people who dispose of ..bodies I guess or do they also supply alcohol to gangs and which.

The pig farmers were moonshiners and bootleggers, making their own alcohol and buying it off the river. They also did favors for Marigold - for payment presumably, and under the assumption that it made them allies with a powerful establishment who might return the favor at some point. There wouldn't be a lot of overlap between their respective rural and urbanite clientele, and Marigold definitely wasn't interested in any of the low grade river swill the pig farmers were buying up, so they didn't perceive them as competition. Instead, Marigold saw the pig farmers as a convenient tool, and used them as such.

Is serafine against lackadaisy , and trying to bring them down , and why?

In the sense that she's working for the competition, yes. It's probably not personal.

Are the abrogasts now a supplier for marigold and Lackadaisy but trying to keep it a secret from marigold ? And why did they stop working for lackadaisy

The Arbogasts stopped interacting with Lackadaisy when Atlas died. Mitzi was struggling to keep the Lackadaisy open and had run dry of the funding she'd need to buy the high quality alcohol the Arbogasts traffic in from Canada. She went to some, uh, lengths to acquire funding, though, and has proceeded to try to re-establish a business relationship with the Arbogasts. The complication is, in the interim, in Lackadaisy's absence, Marigold had taken over the route.

Why doee Viktor not approve of ivy in other relationships is he just protective ?

He's not thrilled that Ivy keeps finding ways to be ever more entangled with Lackadaisy.

I know Ivy likes freckle but why exactly and when

She sees a challenge in a boy who doesn't talk much, I suppose. Presumably she thinks he's cute too. Also, she's looking for trouble she needed a new dance partner.

Who is mordecai torturing in the latest chapters of Lackadaisy and why ?

Gracie, a former jewel thief who went to prison. When he came back, he forcibly took over his uncle's business, which involved buying alcohol from Marigold. Mordecai was supposed to kill him, but he seems to think Gracie might have some information that would be important to him.

is it horrible that I adore LRF Danton? Easily my fave from that film, hate the real guy.

(I love that I am a person to turn to for such confessions, anon!) Look. Look. LRF was made in such a way to portray Danton and Camille Desmoulins as the main heroes. It makes Danton super positive (I don't remember a single negative thing. Hmm... he is inappropriate with one of Duplays for a moment, but it's blink and you miss it. Maybe I forgot something, but he is presented as amazing in every way, and always correct.)

So it's not surprising that he has fans. I think the actor gave a good performance - despite his height, he embodied the energy and Danton's passion (in lack of a better word).

If it makes you feel better, my favourite from LRF the first time I watched at 13 was

Louis XVI! I am not even kidding. I liked the actor a lot and how he portrayed Louis. Of course, the (not so subtle?) pro-monarchy vibe of the film helped, but still. I really, really liked the guy, you have no idea. I don't know Louis enough to tell if the portrayal was accurate or not, but man, I loved that guy. Not enough to change my opinion on frev though lmao.

random Louis headcanons bc i care him:

He does that thing where he’ll press his really cold feet against Lestat’s calves while they’re in bed under the covers. It annoys the living hell out of Lestat.

He is a coffee SNOB! even though he doesn’t even drink it, he can tell them apart by smell. He brews a fresh pot on his bougie french press every morning and uses it to water/fertilize the garden outside.

Kids LOVE him!!!! idk what it is, but kids are always so fascinated by him and he’s so good with them. He somehow became backup babysitter for one of their neighbors in the suburb at one point— a nurse working night shifts, whose daughter always begs for Louis because he is the best at story time (he breaks down Shakespearean tragedies or Dostoyevsky novels for her)

He’s still endlessly fascinated and amused by modern slang and likes to try out new phrases around Daniel just to make him laugh. Dan’s favorites so far have been “Sucks to suck,” “Get off my dick,” and of course: “Okay, boomer.”

I think I’ve written about this before but I’m putting if here again bc it’s my fave headcanon that makes me weepy every time: he buys almost all his books second-hand and has a collection of all the things people have used as bookmarks before him. Business cards, gum wrappers, ticket stubs, etc. They’re kept in a line on his bookshelf.

Louis 100% eats people who watch tiktok without headphones in public. He may have “no regard for age or sex or will to live” but there is special hatred in his heart for people who are Unapologetically Obnoxious.

He found an xxl The Vampire Lestat shirt at the thrift store and now he wears it to bed every night with nothing underneath :)

*slides this E4 deep dive under the door right before the deadline*

Sick of being sick, this took forever to finish.

The good:

I really liked the touches of “ordinary people doing extraordinary things.” Louis is blind but he still shoulders the grenade launcher. Danilo is a physical therapist and runs into the fray to aid the wounded. Talia is a Marine, sure, but she’s a basically a radio operator. She probably joined to pay for college or something. And she goes with John to FLEETCOM after he said she didn’t have to. Then she flies a bunch of civilians to safety while a bunch of jackals are eating Jacob Keyes for dinner. Riz and Vannak and John are made for this, literally, but many people who weren’t went above and beyond to defend Reach in a losing fight.

John going up against the cloaked elite (the Var Gatanai mentioned at the end of last episode, I assume) is pretty great, as is Talia jumping in with a tire iron. And the energy sword fight toward the end? Mm-hm.

Soren’s “kid watching Mom and Dad fight” moment with Jacob and Halsey 😂 Why do I think little Soren drove Jacob to the edge of his sanity?

John’s FACE when he gets called up during Jacob’s speech. I’m never going to stop finding that funny.

The episode does a good job letting the audience breathe in between the action. Soren especially provides some levity.

The bad:

Vannak deserved better.

Jacob got a great ending, better than his game self, but we never even got to see him step foot on a ship. His promotion to admiral doesn’t even make sense. However, he was the only flag officer who didn’t bug out and deserves props for it.

No Kai, but I didn’t expect her since she’s likely on her way to Onyx with the S-IIIs. She’ll probably be furious once she learns Reach fell and she wasn’t there to fight.

I want The Chief & Cortana Show. This is why I’m here. I will forgive the absence of my faves if we get lots of John comforting Cortana after she leads the Covenant to Earth. Or just a really good reunion.

Questions/speculations/wishful thinking:

Why did Ackerson take the Spartans’ gear? Mr suspects personal vendetta but I wonder if Ackerson has reasons beyond that. He said the Master Chief is “just a guy in a suit.” Does Ackerson want to put someone else in the suit? It would fit with the running theme of the people In Charge want John to be replaceable. Halsey wanted to replace John’s mind, does Ackerson want to replace his body?

One of the trailers shows John walking out of FLEETCOM in his armor, so he obviously gets it back at some point, but I want to know Ackerson’s agenda.

John says they need people like Keyes giving orders, or they’ll be left with people like Ackerson. Well, now Keyes is gone, so who will be Ackerson’s foil? I can’t really think of anyone on the show or in main canon. Miranda is the only possibility and smart as she is, she’s not ready for that.

I don’t think Reach has truly fallen yet. There’s enough footage in trailers (like John walking out of FLEETCOM in his armor) to make me think this is going to drag awhile. Will we get Operation: First Strike? Maybe I’m majoring on a minor, but in an S1 episode Parangosky tells Jacob to call Admiral Whitcomb. Admiral Whitcomb leads Blue Team and friends in First Strike.

Cortana will be forced to lead the Covenant fleet to Earth. This is how we get that shot of John on the drop ship with Jupiter in the foreground.

Vannak is dead and Kai is leading the S-IIIs. Silver Team is getting split. Is John going to get a new team or is he going off by himself? I’m inclined to think the latter at least for the immediate future.

Vannak is going to get hauled to The Body Shop better known as Castle Base for some new parts. They did it with Kelly.

It’s hard to speculate on what next week holds, since aside from Kai with the S-IIIs and John getting to the Halo, Paramount is being tight-lipped about the back half of the season. From the trailer, I suspect we’ll find out what role Kwan plays going forward and what happened with John and Cortana getting separated, and we’ll meet the S-IIIs. Next episode is called Aleria, which according to Halopedia is some butt-end of nowhere colony nobody cares about. I’m not even sure what to make of how it could relate to the episode based on what I’ve seen.

P.S. I wrote this 3 weeks ago but was sitting on it. That being said, given the fact that someone took a video of George using the restroom, I thought that now was as good a time to publish it as ever.

I've arisen from the dead to write another think piece that not a single person asked for but that I think is important, and that is the trajectory of the F1 fandom.

I want to start off by saying that not everyone who is a fan of F1 is in fandom and vice versa. Not everyone who watches F1 is heavily involved with the drivers off track. Likewise, some people just read the fanfiction and watch the edits but aren't very aware of the racing (yes, they exist).

That being said, F1 was transitioning from fans to fandom for over a decade. That's due to multiple factors, F1 becoming more entertainment than sport, the lifting of social media restrictions placed on drivers by F1 and the teams. Drivers are now able to have their own social media accounts and independent ventures that help to differentiate and personify them. The transition of members of other fandoms (Justin Bieber, One Direction, Teen Wolf, etc) into F1 as the natural lifetimes of those fandoms end. Of course, this process was sped up exponentially and completed by DTS and the pandemic (this will be relevant later). Now I think we are reaching the inflection point of the fandom which is where my concern stems from.

Every fandom has that one moment where things reach the point of no return. I'm worried because as a 25-year-old veteran of the One Direction fandom whose brain has now fully developed (knock on wood), I know the pattern of how these things end.

Typically, it starts with a collective heightened interest in one or more individuals, people become fans, they give themselves a name, subcultures form (liking certain drivers over others is like picking your kpop bias or 1D fave), the infighting starts and some fights are worse than others (AD21 doesn't even hold a candle to the fights the Larry shippers and non-Larry shippers had in 2013), then comes the literal obliteration of privacy. This is usually done because members of the fandom use information as currency and the more you know, the more dedicated you are, the more you cement your position within this community or fandom that you've built. The side effect of this is the commodification of human beings.

We're seeing the invasion of privacy ramp up right now in a number of ways. It's people demanding insight into drivers' romantic relationships. It's people waiting outside drivers' hotels. It's the fanfiction writing and superimposing of characteristics and qualities onto drivers as a way to feel closer to them. It's full-blown stalking.

Typically, this fever breaks in some sort of peak event where people get hurt, usually socially and psychologically, but sometimes, physically. Then the celebrity has to pick up the pieces. When this happens, it can end in 3 ways. 2 are very common, and the third way is extremely rare.

The first way it can end is by the celebrity losing their mind. I mean this literally, as in a psychological break. It's happened with Britney Spears, Amanda Bynes, Justin Bieber, etc. The pressure and expectations overtake them, and they are unable to continue like they did before.

The second way it can end is seclusion. The more invasive people are, the more they pull back. Think of Dolly Parton, Dan and Phil, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, take your pick. There is a concerted effort to remove themselves from the narrative and return to a sense normalcy. Whether a celebrity falls into either of these first two categories is heavily dependent on their support system.

The last and very rare case is what I like to call the Niall Horan Anomaly. It's the case where you are somehow completely entrenched in fandom and yet manage to exit completely unscathed. Despite being a former member of One Direction, Niall is completely non-polarizing. He has no known enemies and appears to not have any social or psychological damage. He very skillfully navigated fame and fandom and is thriving as a result. This is really difficult to do and I think requires incredible mental strength.

The rise of DTS during a time period where people were socially isolated and turned to reality entertainment to feel connections with others made people latch on to drivers as if they knew them personally. Now that we are on the other side of quarantine, people are taking those online parasocial relationships and transforming them into real life and in-person.

As someone who grew up in an era where people hacked airport and hotel cameras to find out where member of One Direction were going and staying, I know that this is only going to get worse. I hate to put it on the drivers to change their behavior, but the drivers need to be incredibly conscientious about what they share, when, and with who. They also need to enforce hard boundaries and put safety measures in place to ensure that they and their loved ones are safe.

Marius and Louis for the character ask

Send me a character and I will do the thing (although I've already done most of the main ones and Armand is on deck)

Louis: 

Sexuality Headcanon: I think Louis is pretty asexual tbh. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t participate in sexual or romantic activities but I think while Louis likes intimacy, his brand is more skewed toward cuddling under a blanket together reading a book or watching a movie. 

Gender Headcanon: Oversized dusty sweaters are Louis’ gender. Also he identifies as tired. 

A ship I have with said character: Louis/Lestat of course! Louis, regrettably, realizes that Lestat is his person. I also think his relationship with Armand is complex and fascinating. 

A BROTP I have with said character: I can’t put Daniel for every one of these (but I think after some awkwardness on Night Island and again in TG, they are friends!) so uh… maybe Antoine. Honestly they’d have a hell of a lot to talk about if nothing else. 

A NOTP I have with said character: Again, I just don’t have a lot of these. Maybe Gabrielle? Although I hope they kissed under the mistletoe one year at the Coven Christmas party just to watch Lestat squirm. 

A random headcanon: I think Louis enjoys folding laundry. For all his sitting around in dusty old clothes, I think he finds the process of folding–especially warm stuff right out of the dryer–soothing. I imagine TG sends their laundry out but also has a pretty sizable laundry room for when it’s needed and I can see Louis doing a load of towels or blankets and then sitting on the sofa and folding them neatly. 

General Opinion over said character: Louis was my first guy in this fandom. I guess you call it a blorbo now. I’ve always appreciated his cynicism and his love of reading, his desire to learn more about his kind. The reunion scene in TVL is one of my faves, as are Louis’ scenes with Lestat in TotBT.

Marius:

Sexuality Headcanon: We wants to be dommed and would rather die than admit it

Gender Headcanon: @uncivilcivilservice said his gender was Roman and yeah, I’m gonna second that

A ship I have with said character: Marius/Pandora is fun. I like him with someone who can stomp on his dick.

And whether you see Daniel and Marius as platonic or romantic, I do really like them together. I think Daniel’s sense of humor and directness are refreshing for Marius, and Daniel gets him to try new things. Marius is a grounding force in Daniel’s life and a constant, even-keel source of love and affection. I also think Daniel could be a great mediator between him and Armand and/or Lestat and maybe that’s why Mr. Molloy is not in the last book. 

A BROTP I have with said character: IDK man… Marius is the person who desperately needs a bro but is awkward and stoic and refuses to ask for help or admit he wants to hang out and thus is often alone (relatable AF tbh). 

A NOTP I have with said character: I don’t really have one. I don’t know, to me a NOTP is a strong aversion bordering on squick, and I just don’t have a lot of that in this fandom. 

A random headcanon: I think sometimes he Facetimes Daniel from Court when he’s not there to ask his opinion about innocuous things like which tie he should wear or what color they should paint a wall, not because he needs another opinion but because he likes to hear Daniel’s take on random stuff and hear what Daniel is up to, and it often leads to long, tangential conversations about the most random stuff.  General Opinion over said character: Marius is great! I don’t know why he gets so much flack in fandom (I mean, I do, but 😑😑). He is absolutely that guy who tries to hold things together and seems like he’s got it all figured out until you get to know him and then you realize he’s kind of a dork and doesn’t know any more than anyone else. He’s just doing his best!

Rec list - Louis x Armand

For @iwtvfanevents A meal to remember. Several excellent Loumand rec lists already circulate so I'll just highlight my all-time favourite one + a few I think I haven't really seen listed yet.

i am in love with him (I gut him as I say it) | vampdf. My fave. A fic that looks at Loumand through scenes in Dubai but also in Paris and in between: how their relationship has changed, the love that was and is, their issues and fucked-up dynamic. Amazing, and sexy, and Armand especially is fascinating. Bonus: a vivid and heartbreaking Claudia POV chapter.

optometry | weathermood. Armand, eyes, the concept of watching + preparing Daniel's arrival featuring the actual Rashid. It's funny and Loumand being weirdos is always appreciated.

raw wound as a destination | the_lame_goat. The Loumand Dubai household is trapped in a cycle. Beautiful, lots of love, tragic.

blind leading the blind | palpalou. On remembering, and what you lose or gain from it. Armand has lost crucial memories of his human life, and Louis is chasing after his. Romantic ans sad and beautiful.

Well, now I want to know who are your favorite cinema vampires?! Maybe a top 10? 😸

Oh man this is tough I love them all - except Queen of the Damned 💀 that was… yeah. That was unfortunate. I’m just gonna say a mix of vampire movies/characters in general tbh bc it’s too hard to narrow down characters in some cases.

IWTV - it’s one of the first movies I really remember loving, and I love both the movie and show for different reasons! I think both Tom Cruise and Sam Reid capture different aspects of Lestat in really fun ways. Also hot take but Jacob Anderson is the superior Louis. Brad Pitt was unintentionally good for the role because of how depressed he was, whereas Jacob wanted the role and it very much shows. Though I’m not a fan of some of the changes the show made, I think it’s still fun! It’s like fanfiction of the original, and I’m all for fanfiction.

The Lost Boys. This will always be one of my favorite vampire movies and I love all of them equally.

Near Dark is a very, VERY close third. Jesse is my fave, though all of them are great. I just love Lance Henriksen 🥰

Adam and Eve from Only Lovers Left Alive - this movie is SUCH a chill stoner film I love it so much. I have a tattoo from it

Bela Lugosi’s Dracula - will always be the best version of Dracula, though I do love the Coppola movie as well.

Quinlan from The Strain - WHAT THAT TONGUE DOOOO 😂

Miriam Blaylock from The Hunger - the whole movie is so good, if you haven’t seen it, watch it!

Jerry Dandridge from Fright Night is such a fun vampire character - I love the original Fright Night. It’s so gay.

Selene from the Underworld movies - no explanation needed there lol

Dracula from Blood for Dracula - THE most dramatic bitch lmao I love him.

For YuuMori ask: 6, 16, 26

Yuumori Ask Game

6) Do you have a character you dislike at first but grew on you along with the development of the series?

Hmmm. I can't actually think of this happening to anyone in ynm. Louis was not my fave immediately but I certainly didn't dislike him, I just think that reading the manga better developed his character and pushed him over Albert for me -- those two were relatively tied for my attention before I finally read the manga.

There are characters I may overlooked a little more than I should have (Fred) that I now have strong head canons (read: deranged, absolutely untrue thoughts) about...

Maybe Mary? Mostly because I was sorta shipping Johnlock at that point and felt betrayed by her presence in the story and very much supported Sherlock's careful examination of her intentions? [I really should do more with yuumori johnlock -- i know its because our source material has such strong sherliam connotations but it is still SO FUNNY to me that THE Sherlock Holmes ship is considered a rarepair here]

16) What is your favorite song or soundtrack (from the anime or musicals)?

I unfortunately haven't seen the musicals yet, so I'm going to be choosing off the anime soundtrack (although El and others have shown me some songs from them and they are WONDEFUL, and I'm excited to see it at some point).

That being said.. Twisted Hearts. When I was first watching Dying Wish was SO much my favorite and I was salty at Twisted Hearts the like first 3 times I heard it for not being Dying Wish but it really really grew on me. I can't help but love it.

But all his music is just gorgeous. I ended up buying both EPs and REAL because I loved both OPs for the moriani so much, and honestly it is all a treat.

26) If [character] turns into an animal, what animal do you think she/he will be?

Hmmm I was told to choose the character and so in celebration of finally rolling him in mudae just now after months of attempting, I'll choose Albert.

So hear me out.

I think Albert is a bird with clipped wings. Now... there are a lot of kinds of birds to choose from. I don't think he's a pigeon actually, even though that may have narrative significance [imagine a homing pigeon who can't fly very far], or most common birds to clip -- like ducks, chickens, geese, or parrots and cockatoos.

I think he's something magestic, but not exotic. Perhaps a falcon? Of course a falcon wouldn't have its wings clipped by a competent falconer, but perhaps that's the irony of it? I'll go with that.

Albert just feels sad to me like that. I love him dearly, but he has that impending tragedy in his nature [and what I put him through in fic does not help].

axelle judges bl shows > The Eclipse

/!\ SPOILERS AHEAD

summary: Ayan infiltrates the Suppalo school to try and figure out what happened to his uncle who commited suicide after working there. There he meets Akk, the head of the student prefects who has it in for him, while also hiding a secret of his own.

where to watch: youtube

grade: 8/10

pros:

- the acting was amazing from everyone involved. I’ve been a fan of first & khaotung since their first roles so I didn’t expect anything less from them but they were incredible, there was not one moment where their acting felt off, and it was especially great to see khaotung in such an unexpected role for him that’s actually great for once! another great surprise is also neo, who was finally allowed a more serious role & did great, and also louis whom I had only seen in one role before and had a very solid performance. aj, my underrated fave for years, was also great just like ploy. basically everyone did amazing & I loved this cast :)

- I loved that this show tackled the difficulties linked with figuring out your sexuality & coming out, especially in relation with being lower class, even though I wish it would’ve been made a bit more clear that the reason akk is super closeted & also follows suppalo rules so blindly is bc he’s the only one in his family with a hope of going to university & would get a scholarship from being the head prefect. but in general, it was nice to see a bl show acknowledge sexuality & homophobia. while I do like the escapism of bl shows that pretend like those topics don’t even exist, I also think there is something more touching & heartwrenching to having them get explored. it’s also more realistic while still having a happy, positive queer story in the end so imo there’s only good things to gain from it.

- the overall story’s message was great, and fits well with other high school thai dramas that tackle corruption (which I’ve made video for here.) I also ESPECIALLY liked that the bringers of change are effeminate gay men, bc those kinds of characters have been mocked & ridiculed for far too long in thai dramas. but here they’re brave, iconic, and have otherwise fulfilling lives with a great friend group & also boyfriends. honestly I would have loved to see even more of them but this positive portrayal of effeminate gay men was really important imo, and one of the great aspects of this series which tackled more queer topics in general. but apart from that, I just really liked the message of this series for almost every character, and it worked really well for me.

- the chemistry was really great, which is not surprising since I’ve never seen first & khaotung have bad chemistry with literally ANYONE. as for neo & louis, you can tell they’ve matured as a ship & they feel more grounded and better overall than in futs. the ships were really compelling, especially akkayan who worked fantastic in my opinion!

- this is kinda small & random, but I REALLY appreciated akkayan not breaking up once they got together. literally EVERY OTHER bls (even ones I adore) love breaking up the ship before the final climax of the show to add drama, but here I really loved that even when akk wanted to pull away, ayan never let him. they also took a bit longer than other ships to get together & felt very sturdy thanks to it, which made this high school ship feel more mature & beautiful imo.

cons:

- from the beginning of the show, I’ve felt like the pace was a bit weird & the ending was gonna be unsatisfying, for a good reason: the whole investigation plot & all the drama surrounding suppalo felt very much like it was thrown in there so akkayan could meet (because it WAS!) throughout the show, while the romantic relationship had a good pace imo, the suppalo storyline was barely acknowledged at all & most of it is spent on protest scenes that end up all feeling & looking the same in the end. bc of that, not only are the suppalo-focused moments kinda boring, but it also meant that the show had to settle everything in the two last eps, which is why ep 11 was just plot twist after plot twist & led to plot holes and overall insatisfaction from the viewers. all of that to say that the writing is in big part to blame for that, and I wish it would’ve gone differently bc the show could’ve been even better if it had.

- thua as a character, man. he was one of my favorites & was ruined in ep 11. having a queer character who’s been bullied his whole life for being gay outing others for literally no reason felt worse than other outing scenes in shows by straight characters bc DAMN, how are you gonna betray your own like that ;_; and then having him never apologize but everything goes back to normal the next day?? HELL NO. he should’ve been called out by akk & apologized to him, and akk should’ve had an explanation scene with kan & wat as well. this whole part of the episode just... sucked, and ruined kanthua for me.

- that bl short film concept was wacky af I’m sorry... I already didn’t love certain fanservice scenes towards the beginning of the show but THAT??? didn’t fit in tonally with the show at all & added absolutely nothing to it.

- for a show called the eclipse, there wasn’t a lot of eclipsing. it might sound like I’m nitpicking but???? the eclipse was literally one second long????? and it had no fucking purpose at all????? like how random for being the fucking title of the show though :’) I just wish the eclipse would’ve been incorporated into the show more, for example from the first mock trailer I thought the eclipse was tied to the suppalo curse, so I think they could’ve played into that more.

would I rewatch it: sure :)

This was in the top 5 of the shows I was most excited for this year, and while it wasn’t perfect I really enjoyed it & what it stood for. I still recommend as it’s a nice little show :)

gifmaker / cc wrapped 2023

I have been tagged by @soonhoonsol and @khaotunq to post my fave and most popular gif sets I've done in 2023. This is interesting because I got tagged in two different fandoms where in one of them I'm like pretty new in so I have to do a bit of extra mentions and stuff to keep it even :) Thanks to both of you for tagging me, I really appreciate it. Anyway here we go

I actually only gotten back into giffing properly in March and therefore started this tumblr to keep it clean and tidy and all my reblogs and stuff are on my main @lucky-cat-cafe. So for this tag I will have to skip the first two months (You can check my archive if you want to see everything from last year). March: Most popular: Wooyoung & Yunho dancing to “Good Luck” by Beast Favourite: Hyungwon being the cutest most precious bean April: Most popular: a tie between San and Bang Chan Favourite: I think a tie between San and Hyungwon May: Most popular: WooSan by A MILE! This is my most popular post of all year. Can not believe I even have one gif that reached 1k Favourite: Joohoney's Freedom set. Too much effort tho June: Most popular: Changkyun ✦ OVERDRIVE OFFICIAL MV TEASER #2 Favourite: I would say the first two birthday gif sets I did (Shownu & Yeosang). I really like them but after a while it was too much pressure and I stopped them. July: Most popular: Choi San Birthday Gif Set Favourite: Hyungwon August: Most popular: Song Mingi Birthday Gif Set Favourite: Hyungwon September: (The month were I got dragged into a new fandom which I mentioned before haha) Most popular: S.Coups Favourite: Choi San because GAWD!! Special mention: Sand, aka my favourite boy of all time. Fight me! (I never wanted to watch Thai dramas but I have been loyal to First Kanaphan for 4 months now) October: Most popular: FirstKhao (oooh I didn't think I'd have a popular one in that fandom but I forgot about this one) *heart eyes* Favourite: ^this one but to make it fair I'll also choose WooSang because there are a few boys whose smile I absolutely adore and First and Wooyoung are definitely in the top with Kihyun and Yunho November: Most popular: Hongjoong ✧ The World Ep.Fin : Will Official Trailer (will I ever be over this comeback? Probably not) Favourite: Gaipa in Moonlight Chicken Episode 1 (also been loyal to this boy and branching out to other series...look at me go) December: (I did 65 gif set in this month...what is wrong with me lmao) Most popular: Felix ✦ Louis Vuitton Favourite: Yunho and Wooyoung because they are so dear to my heart Well this has been fun. Here's to a good 2024. I will continue as I ended the year. I will not continue the birthday gif sets, which is sad but they take too much effort and time and I need to get back to other things that aren't giffing so I need to slow it down a bit. I will continue my regular gifs the way I have been doing now. There will be more FirstKhao stuff for the people who have started to follow me from the Thai drama side of things and I will continue my rewatch of Only Friends and giffing all the scenes (and other shows once I'm done with that). I will continue my MV series for Ateez and Monsta X and whatever else comes across my radar. Thanks to all the people who have started to follow this blog when I was brand new and for sticking with it. I honestly don't know who I want to tag for this because it's already 2024 and I don't know who has been tagged and who has done it so if you haven't been tagged and want to do this, consider yourself tagged by me. Thanks again to @soonhoonsol and @khaotunq for tagging me 🖤💜