when introducing himself to Father Jud, Blanc says "my mother is—was very religious" which is not a slip you make if your mother has been dead for a long time (compare to Knives Out where he says "my father was a police detective" with no hesitation)
his litany against Christianity in that same scene feels very personal, which could be for any number of reasons, but I think the line I mentioned in the previous bullet point is meant to provide context for it; he's expressing anger towards his mother and her loyalty to the church during her lifetime
similarly, when Blanc has his "road to Damascus" moment and his speech about giving grace to those who deserve it the least but need it the most, he's not really (or at least not only) talking about Martha; he's realized that he needs to find forgiveness and grace for his mother as well
Blanc's mother being dead would make him a thematic parallel to Monsignor Wicks, whose own unresolved trauma with his deceased mother informs his hyper-religious worldview (which stands in opposition to Blanc's hyper-rationalist one)
it also seems very intentional that when Father Jud prays for Louise, it's because her mother is dying and she doesn't want their last words exchanged to be in anger
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Shoutout to that very funny blip in French history where it was basically accepted that the king would have a wife (diplomatic concerns, ensuring the bloodline), an 'official' mistress (helping manage court and household affairs, patronage, sometimes surprisingly large roles in royal administration) and then also potentially several women he just actually wanted to have sex with.
The maîtresse-en-titre (French: [mɛtʁɛs ɑ̃ titʁ]) was the official royal mistress of the King of France.[1] The title was vaguely defined and used in the Middle Ages but finally became an acknowledged, if informal, position during the reign of Henry IV (r. 1589–1610), and continued through the reign of Louis XV (r. 1715–1774). It was a semi-official position which came with its own apartments, estates and a title if the woman did not have any.[2]
Some individuals having this position acquired significant power and more influence than the Queen of France, as some mistresses were known to advise the King of France in state affairs if he was so infatuated, broker favors for clients, elevate others in social mobility, forge alliances and negotiate with foreign diplomats.[3]
In contrast, the title petite maîtresse was the title of a mistress who was not officially acknowledged.
^ from wikipedia
I can't find the exact citation now, but apparently one of Madame du Barry's jobs as Louis XV's official mistress was arranging his assignations, and she was blamed for his death since he got smallpox from a prostitute she hired for him
and to my sluts, celibates, workaholics, uncharming losers, temporarily embarrassed yearners, unfettered aroaces, chic divorceés, emotionally avoidants, freshly-freed, kraft cheese slices, catchy songs and all other singles: HOLD THE FUCKING LINE‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️
set him on fire. drown him. skin him alive. do that thing where they'd tie someone's limbs to 4 different horses and then make them run in different directions. deprive him of sleep for 10 days in a row. bury him in a wooden box with only the head sticking out and feed him fatty foods so that he'd rot from the inside. what else did I miss, I'm open to suggestions
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Okay, real talk now. People love to tag male characters in posts about women, but this post is gonna take this seriously. Is there actually a canonically male character you believe is a trans woman? Or at least has made into a trans woman for a fanart or a fanfic? Excluding the ones canonically implied.
Sound off in the tags! Link to the fanart or fic if available. Do it. Give me the girls. Make more women.
(original tags: she literally had tears in her eyes while she explained that her pikachu had a boy tail shape. i was like hey she can still be a girl. all we know from her body shape is what her body is shaped like. maybe if we asked her she would say that she feels like she’s really a girl. and my kid was like BUT POKEMON CANT TALK 😭😭😭😭 so i was like ‘ok. pikachu. if you want to use he/him say ‘pika’. if you want to use she/her say ‘chu’. and if you want smth else say ‘pikachu’’. and my daughter had her say ‘chu’ and i was like see there you go! now. she doesn’t HAVE to change her tail shape. she can totally be a girl with a rectangle tail. but if she would feel more comfortable with heart shape bc she prefers it, or so that people won’t assume she’s a boy, i can make that happen. so pikachu what do you think? do you want tail surgery? and pikachu agreed enthusiastically! so. plushie gender-affirming surgery first thing tomorrow i guess!)
her results look great, congrats pikachu! 💖⚡️🏳️⚧️
Idk much about cinematography, but this is such an interesting shot to me. The way the ultrawide lens makes the sides of its skull disappear from view, leaving its face taking up most of its head. The face itself is flattened by the lens, and further flattened by the relatively diffuse lighting.
To me, that flatness really puts me as the viewer into its shoes. It's the flatness of having just woken up. It's the flatness of not feeling anything. Perhaps even the flatness of expecting the worst — the flatness of lifting your eyelids with the same hard effort that it takes to drag your feet to the gallows. Bc of the presence of its narration and half-open eyes, the show does make it seem like it was half-awake all the time that they were repairing it, but we know it couldn't have been.
Murderbot doesn't know what it is waking up to.
Before it has a chance to get its eyesight or other visual input back online, before it is able to review security footage, it thinks it "knows" that if it's coming back online, then it had either already killed its humans and was about to find a recording of that horrible memory... or it was about to kill them. Either way, it was about to watch them die.
The actor barely even looks like himself here. The flatness makes him seem dead. This is both the least like "a person" Murderbot has ever looked throughout the season because it looks dead; and the most it's looked like "a person" bc the flatness functions like a mask, allowing the audience to project all the wealth of complex emotion onto it that an actor could never convey.
Compare to this other shot of Murderbot lying immobile:
No flatness to be found! The form of its skull which had looked flattened to almost a cube in the previous image is naturally rounded here. This is a person awash with life and emotion, fully present in the horror of its situation.
The lighting here is stark and direct (there's not even a discernible fill-light!) which creates black shadows and emphasizes every worried groove in its skin; this expression is animated with fear. There's no borrowed grief here, no dull dread. It's all sharp adrenaline and helplessness, and so the face is shot to appear smaller within the head — the sides of the skull are actually visible here due to using a greater focal length.
It, the face, and it, Murderbot, are protectively shrinking in on themselves. They're trying to escape right off our screen, and the effect on the viewer is visceral.
It's not just a show that did a "decent job of adapting a book" and "cast great actors."
It's also got great cinematography that's really firing on all cylinders to communicate Murderbot's interior state to the viewer.
Anddddd...
unrelated...
while I'm on this scene, I'm just gonna toss in one of my favorite shots for to trigger pain and heartbreak:
Brightened, color adjusted, and touched up, for my own "nefarious purposes" (see: crying on the floor):
The way it... lingers... on her face as the last image flashing before its eyes...
29. Which podfic would you consider your wildest ride?
Hm. Most recently? One Equal Temper of Heroic Hearts by ladysisyphus. It's a long'n, with the viewpoint character looking for an old friend while drowning in his regrets and also the friend's regrets. Really colourful side characters, each with different speech patterns. The frame music was WALL OF SOUND and simply wrangling it to play nice with a voice track was a mission. Somewhere in the last half hour there's this huge ECHOEY bit which I'm immensely proud of... It Was A Time (fond)
46. How would you describe your podficcing style?
Uhm. Musical, maybe? In that I like adding music, and I put a lot of thought into pace and pitch and dynamics.
57. What's something about your podficcing style that you pride yourself on?
I was born with a reedy little voice and every scrap of warmth and depth you hear was bitterly fought for. I did diaphragm exercises for that.
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I feel like when I say ‘relatable’ what I really mean is ‘resonant.’ I don’t want characters who I feel are like me, I want characters who have emotions so strong I can feel them through the page.
I think this is important because a lot of us forget the power of stories to make us feel things about characters who are not like us, who have experienced things that we never will. The purpose of listening to someone else's story should not necessarily be identification, but understanding.
27, 38, and 43!!! okay, for 38 i know and LOVE your use of sound effects hahaha
27 Have you ever come across podficcing tips that don't work for your process?
Yes. One piece of advice is to clap hands or click your tongue when you realise you've made a flub so it's easier to spot in the rough edit.
Eh. I stammer too much, and my recording would look like a horizontal Christmas tree if I did that. So I just edit things wihout those markers.
38 Do you use sound effects? What's your favourite?
Oh, definitely. Part of the fun. As for music groups, I've been turning to Blue Dot Sessions a great deal because they make just so many themed soundtrack albums and are an excellent resource. For individual sounds... hm. I've used juskiddink's woodland birdsong June and Aspen tree in strong wind so often they're a permanent part of my sound library (lovely nature sounds, no microphone hiss, enough variation to keep things interesting) but I'd have to say my very favourite remains Eelke's Blackbird garden. The very first time I used it, it represented grace after a long and rancorous misunderstanding, in a quiet night, and when it turns up elsewhere it's my personal signifier for... grace.
43. Do you enjoy performing angsty scenes or avoid them?
Love 'em! The intense whispers, the voice breaks, the whipcracks as someone finally loses their temper -- very good fun.
The only time I didn't enjoy it was... well the original fic was written in the frame of a first-person oral history, and when I got to the point where the narrator was describing a loved one trying to suicide, I pulled all the emotion out, very tight and controlled, because they couldn't afford to feel anything while they talked about this part.
And it got to me in a really gruelling way.
So I try to be careful about which angsty scenes I podfic these days. I'm better at understanding my comfort levels now.
how do you tell a girl you wanna burrow through her ribcage and curl around her heart and fall asleep in the bliss of its rhythmic beating against your body surrounded by her warmth and never ever leave without sounding obsessive and weird and clingy?
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Pingxie Exchange 2026: Schedule and Guidelines Post
Hi and welcome to the Pingxie Exchange: a fic, art, and fanvid exchange about the Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling pairing.
In this exchange, participants will be anonymously matched to create gifts for one another during a five week creation period. The gifts will be revealed on August 10th, and authors will be revealed on August 17th: the day Wu Xie welcomed Xiaoge back after his 10-year-long absence behind the Bronze Gate. (Please note that this is a change from previous years!)
(I meant to make this post and announce sign-ups long before now, but I completely spaced. I realize that because of that and moving up the deadline, that has tightened up the creation period. My apologies for that. Hopefully this will still work for the majority of people, because, let's face it... most of us start working a week before the deadline, no matter when it is. ;D).
This exchange is open to all the DMBJ canons (adaptations featuring Wu Xie or Xiaoge and the original novels). It will take place on AO3, so you need an AO3 account to participate--if you don’t have one, you can request it here; if there isn’t enough time, no worries - contact the mods at [email protected], on DreamWidth, or on tumblr, and we can send you an invitation!
Schedule
Sign-ups open: June 14th
Sign-ups end: June 21st 11:59 PM Anywhere On Earth (what time is it for me?)
Matching: June 22nd
Assignments out: no later than June 24th
Assignments due: August 3th 11:59 PM Anywhere On Earth (what time is it for me?)
Gift reveals: August 10th
Creator reveals and treats deadline: August 17th
Further information behind the cut...
Guidelines
This is a ship exchange: as such, all the works created for this event must be focused on Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling. Works with threesomes/moresomes or other pairings involving Wu Xie and/or Zhang Qiling are not appropriate for this exchange, but background ships of other characters are fine.
You will be expected to create a gift matching your recipient’s request. Filling any specific prompt is not obligatory, but try to create something you honestly think your recipient will enjoy!
You must not include anything stated as “do not want” in your recipient’s sign-up.
The minimum requirements for the gifts are 300 words for fic, one sketch on unlined paper for art (traditional or digital; no manips), or 30 seconds of video for fanvids.
After the matching is done, all the requests will be made visible to everyone to allow for treating! There are no minimum requirements for treats (but remember to mind your recipient’s do not wants!). You can also create manips for treats.
Please note: Now that AO3 has changed the way that gifting works on the archive, if you wish to be eligible for treats, you need to select the option "Allow anyone to gift me works" under the "Collections, Challenges and Gifts" section of your AO3 preferences. You must also indicate that you are open to treats in your exchange sign-up.
This is an anonymous exchange: refrain from discussing your assignment in public. After the works are revealed, there will be a one week anon period when the creators remain anonymous before the creator reveals. DO NOT post your creation anywhere but the AO3 collection (e.g., Tumblr, Twitter/X, Bluesky, Dreamwidth, etc.) before authors are revealed on the 17th. If you do this, you will not be allowed to participate next year.
If at any point you need to drop out, just click on the “default” button on your AO3 assignment page (https://archiveofourown.org/users/YOURNAME/assignments); we’ll find a pinch hitter to create a gift for your recipient instead. If you need an extension to finish your gift, contact the mods before the deadline.
After the reveals, comment on your gift.
Most importantly: be excellent to each other!
Sign-Up information
Sign-ups will take place on AO3 here, starting on June 14th. There, you can fill out details about your request and offer. You can edit your sign-up at any time until the sign-ups close.
When signing up, you will be able to choose fandom, "character" (this is actually going to be the fanwork type: fanart, fanfiction, or fanvid), and genre tags, as well as specify any additional details.
You will have to select the DMBJ canon you’re interested in creating for and receiving a gift in:
Novels: 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | The Grave Robbers' Chronicles - Xu Lei
TV: 吴邪私家笔记 | Time Raiders (TV 2025)
TV: 盗墓笔记 | The Lost Tomb (TV 2015)
TV: 盗墓笔记2之怒海潜沙&秦岭神树 | The Lost Tomb 2: Explore with the Note (TV 2019)
TV: 盗墓笔记2之云顶天宫 | The Lost Tomb 2: Heavenly Palace on the Clouds (TV 2021)
TV: 终极笔记 | Ultimate Note (TV)
TV: 藏海花 | Adventure behind the Bronze Door (TV) -- Tibetan Sea Flower
TV: 沙海 | Tomb of the Sea (TV) -- Sha Hai
TV: 重启之极海听雷 | Reunion: The Sound of the Providence (TV 2020) -- The Lost Tomb Reboot
Video Games: Time Raiders (mobile game) -- rare canon
Dao Mu Bi Ji - All Media Types
Note: If you just want a general story not attached to any particular canon and you do not have a preference for character interpretation being based on a particular canon, then you may select "Dao Mu Bi Ji - All Media Types" as your canon.
Please use this option responsibly and double-check DNWs before using it.
Note: If you choose a rare canon, then you must also choose at least one non-rare canon.
You are not limited to requesting or creating a work during the canon timelines for those series/books. It’s just to mark which canons you’re familiar with to allow for easier matching: some participants might have a preference for a particular canon era, some might not be familiar with all the versions. You still have to choose your preferred canon eras even if you want to create or receive an AU.
You will have to specify which "characters" you’re interested in:
Fanart
Fanfiction
Fanvid
(That's right, this isn't really a character selector; it was the only way I could include fanwork type preference in the matching.)
You will also have to specify genres you’re interested in:
Action/Adventure
Angst
AU
Canon Compliant
Canon Divergent
Dark
Domesticity/Slice of Life
Fluff
Humour/Crack
Hurt/Comfort
Pre-canon
Post-canon
PWP (only select this if you’re above the age of consent in your country)
Request
In this section, you describe the gift you would like to receive.
Note: please make sure that if you are requesting something that you really would be happy to receive a gift for it. Don't try to pad out your signup by requesting something you would not enjoy. The goal is for everyone, creators and recipients, to have fun, after all!
The requests will be made publicly visible after matching is done, so that others will be able to create treats (additional gifts) based on them! So, please don't write anything in your optional details that you wouldn't want everyone to see.
Fandom - you have to choose at least one. If you’re willing to receive a gift in any canon era, you can just click “Any”!
Character (remember this is really fanwork type) - you have to choose at least one tag.
Genre - you have to choose at least three tags.
Optional Details - here’s where you can go into more detail about your perfect pingxie gift! You can include:
General Likes: your creator may, but doesn’t have to, include them. This isn’t a place for detailed prompts, just general themes you enjoy, like getting together or established relationship.
DNW (Do Not Wants): things that your creator must not include - squicks, triggers, things that you simply don’t like. Remember that you don’t owe anyone an explanation about why something is a DNW, and that DNWs are not meant to be taken personally. Just list the things you don’t like, “DNW: X, Y.”
Prompts/specific ideas: if you have any prompts, you can also put them here! You can be as general or as detailed as you’d like but remember that while your creator will try to make the best gift for you, filling a specific prompt is not obligatory. You can include a crossover prompt (with other DMBJ versions or other canons), but make sure it’s not the only prompt you have.
If you chose novels as one of your fandoms, you can use this field to list the ones you’re familiar with. If you're interested in receiving a Buried Tree Devil - Book 3 Donghua gift, you can also mention it here.
Optional Tags: You may use the optional tags to share more about your preferences, if you like.
Offer
Note: please make sure that if you are offering something that you really would be happy to create for it. Don't try to pad out your signup by offering something you could not easily create a gift for. The goal is for everyone, creators and recipients, to have fun, after all!
Fandom - you have to choose at least one. If you’re willing to receive a gift in any canon era, you can just click “Any”!
If you offered "All Media Types" then please make sure that your recipient has not listed a specific canon as a DNW before creating your fanwork.
Character (remember this is really fanwork type) - you have to choose at least one tag.
Genre - you have to choose at least three tags.
Optional Details - in this field, you can tell us more about the kind of works you like to create, for example if you really prefer established relationship, feel best with certain kinds of AUs, or like writing darkfic. You can also tell us if you have a preference of which type of gift you will create (fic or art). We’ll take all of these optional details into account when matching!
If you chose novels as one of your fandoms, you can use this field to list the ones you’re familiar with. If you're interested in creating a Buried Tree Devil - Book 3 Donghua gift, you can also mention it here.
In the optional details of your offer, you can also name one person you don’t want to be matched to, for example your regular beta, and we will do our best to avoid matching you!
Optional Tags: You may use the optional tags to share more about your preferences, if you like. The offers will only ever be visible to the mods; never to anyone else.
Your assignment
You will be matched to create a gift for someone who requested at least one of the fandoms that you offered and one of the fanwork types you offered, with as many similar genres/likes as possible. This exchange will be matched using the AO3 algorithm to generate the initial matches and then tweaked by hand, if necessary, based on the information provided in everyone's optional details.
If you have any issues when you receive your assignment (you have a question about it or think there’s an issue with it), contact the mods as soon as possible. Do not contact your recipient on your own.
You will have to create a gift for your recipient, fulfilling the minimum requirements, and avoiding any stated "do not wants". Filling exact prompts is optional but try to create something matching your recipient's likes that they will enjoy!
You will have to post your gift to the exchange AO3 collection before the due date (August 10th), using the "gift this work to" option to give it to your recipient. Your work will remain in the collection only visible to you and the mods until the reveals happen. Remember to tag your work appropriately, especially if any of the major archive warnings apply, or use the "choose not to warn" warning.
Treating
Treats are additional gifts for the participants! To allow for treating, the requests will be made visible when matching is done. You can create treats at any time until the creator reveals! There are no minimum requirements for treats, and in addition to the fanwork types allowed for gifts, manips are also allowed. As with assignments, you have to respect the recipient’s Do Not Want, and while the optional details are optional, try to create something fitting the listed likes. One treat can only be gifted to one person.
Please note: Now that AO3 has changed the way that gifting works on the archive, if you wish to be eligible for treats, you need to select the option “Allow anyone to gift me works” under the “Collections, Challenges and Gifts” section of your AO3 preferences. You must also indicate that you are open to treats in your exchange sign-up.
Pinch Hits
In case someone needs to drop out, we will look for a pinch hitter to complete their assignment. Pinch hits will be posted to the DreamWidth community and advertised on tumblr.
Extensions
If you think you can finish your assignment, but you need a day or two more, you can always ask the mods for an extension!
Other important information
Make sure to check the email you use on AO3 frequently during the exchange, as it will be the primary means of communication. We might contact you if there is an issue with your sign-up or if your gift creator has a question for you. If you’d rather we contact you on your twitter or tumblr, please leave your handle in the offer section of your sign-up. Follow us on DreamWidth and/or on tumblr to avoid missing an announcement or a deadline! If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to contact the mods at [email protected], on DreamWidth (anonymous comments are allowed), or on tumblr.
A very large thank you to laireshi for writing the rules and guidelines being used for this exchange. They are presented here with minor changes.
