#I imagine every character that had their shows ended (or cancelled) in a void place

[stressedimaginativecat]

Villain rando: Are you three like friends or something?

*Lord Dominator and Bill Cipher shrug*

Slade:*deadpan* I'm being held hostage.

___

Dominator: *about Slade* Old man Joe is just the coolest ya know?

Villain rando: Who's Joe?

Dominator: *inhale* JOE M-

___

The Beast:*about Belos* 🎶Something wicked this way comes~🎶

Dominator: Congrats you literally described everyone here

Cozy Glow: Excuse you i'm a delight!

___

*in a library like place Slade sits comfortably in an armchair and reads a book*

Dominator: Heeey Joseph!

Slade:..*sigh* What is it?

Dominator: Beast says that there is new folk about to appear soon in these ports of Void and i with Bill plan on bullying the villain newbie a bit.. A lot actually.. So! Ya wanna come and make em cry?

Slade: Who will be gracing us with their presence?

Dominator: That Belos.. Philip guy.. The one who killed and cloned his brother a lot or something like that *shrugs* A worstie like us

Slade: Joy.

Dominator: Are you coming then?

Slade: I pass.. *resumes reading* Have fun.

Dominator: *looks at the book cover*.. Why are you reading Warrior cats?

___

Emperor Belos: Why is a child there?

Cozy Glow: Mind your own business.

[makiema]

I love Dead Apple so much and not just bc it’s fan service galore but also bc it’s riddled with a shit ton of symbolism which gives like a LOT of insight into characters! and also character dynamics!! The best example is ofc Fyodor’s monologue that has so many implications in what 4-5 lines but, my personal favorite is the Soukoku moment. part of it has to do with the fact that they’re da OTP but that aside, the meaning behind it and the representation of it all is so subtle and beautiful, I fall in love every time. so anyway thought i’d share my thoughts on the scene uh putting it below the cut bc it got long lol

First off the idea of Dazai enclosed in a circle, above the ground, beyond what can be called the realm of humans, can be construed as an allusion to his detachment from everyone. And, in a way, the manifestation of his ability “no longer human”. The main theme/conflict in DA is characters vs their abilities (and by extension, abilities represent issues each character faces and eventually overcomes) but a physical representation of “no longer human” is not possible like it’s not an animal/person/anything; it’s more like a concept. so, it’s represented on a symbolical level with Dazai trapped in a circle up above, cut off from the human world under. And the fact that Chuuya is the one who breaks into the circle is a reference to how he shares his pain and faces the same issue— isolation. (Only difference is that Dazai’s detachment is self-imposed while Chuuya’s isolation comes from the alienation he’s subjected to by others) This motif is explored in Fifteen too when Dazai decides to live after learning about Chuuya’s identity. But anyway coming back to DA, the main conflict (ability vs human) is resolved by winning against the ability and also by accepting it to a certain degree (like when Kyouka says that she needs Demon Snow) Now Dazai does it too— he wins against “no longer human” and also accepts it; but all that happens with Chuuya in the frame. The moment he touches Chuuya, he uses his ability to save him which shows his acceptance of an ability that others detest and even, he might personally hate at times, but that can be used to save someone. Unfortunately this ability also represents his nullification from being human—the deeper psychological issue as far as Dazai is concerned. However, someone does break in and make it possible for him to fall back on the ground, in extension, makes him human again/reminds him of his humanity/brings him back to the human world. And that ofc has to be Chuuya, someone who does share this issue of alienation thanks to him being half Arahabaki and half human. so, basically the subtext here is that just like Chuuya needs Dazai to save him from himself (something that is literally represented) Dazai needs Chuuya too (something that is represented thru a series of metaphors, symbols and motifs) Chuuya is the figure that makes Dazai think living is worth it simply bc he has it far worse than Dazai, he has a literal God trapped in him and his first 8 years is a void, so if someone that alien/“non human” can still push on then why can’t he (this is the message in Fifteen) and the message in DA is that Chuuya experiences the same isolation that Dazai does. The freeze frame of both of them, enclosed in a dividing bubble, cut off from everything, is strongly suggestive of this. so, Chuuya can and should be the one who helps Dazai win against his ability or rather, fight against his issue; he is the person who can help Dazai reconsider human ties and consequently, make him feel like he’s as much a part of this world as anyone else. because when isolation is shared, it doesn’t really feel like isolation anymore. the sharing becomes significant and like a doorway— it is the first of many potential bonds that are in fact possible for Dazai, giving him a chance at belonging. just like he belongs beside Chuuya, just like his ability can be used in tandem with Chuuya’s, he can, in fact, belong with others too and co-exist with them along with his ability. The things separating him from others are his own fear of loss, his uncanny intelligence and his weird ass ability but, with Chuuya in his life, the gulf closes bc Chuuya is far too strong to die on him and actually needs Dazai’s ability to survive; Chuuya is quite possibly the only person grateful for Dazai’s ability because it’s literally a life saver in his case and also, Dazai’s intelligence doesn’t put him on a solitary pedestal (like Fyodor) bc Chuuya has enough physical strength to counter it and hence, stand his ground against it. He has been doing that since they met and thanks to their rivalry, Dazai didn’t end up developing a God complex like Fyodor. (he still has an annoying superiority complex but it could have gotten worse if Chuuya wasn’t there to sort of humble him) Chuuya can stand beside Dazai as his equal and he’s imbued with every human quality imaginable; he is entirely reliant on the connections he has forged and values and embodies qualities like trust and loyalty to a profound extent, so he becomes the key for Dazai, the key to save Dazai from himself, from the darkest part of himself. The darkest part of Dazai is actually his double, Fyodor and by the end of DA, Dazai is with people while Fyodor is not which signifies that Chuuya has indeed saved him. When Dazai says, “I hope that man fulfilled his loneliness” with a soft smile, it’s not just an observation, it’s more than that— it’s a v subtle personal realization. so what DA implies is that Chuuya can and does reach him at a place where no one else can. and that is something that serves as a constant reminder to Dazai that he’s not really non-human/cancelled from human society like he thinks he is. Just by existing, Chuuya helps Dazai overcome all three of his issues: 

suicidal tendencies— he thinks living is worth a try as opposed to his prev conclusion that there is nothing worth prolonging a life of suffering.

isolation— there’s a strong sense of belonging and connection with chuuya in DA that, in turn, foreshadows the development of future connections with others something that Dazai does crave but, doesn’t/can’t pursue bc of his own fear of loss (oda and ango) and also bc people idolize him too much and altho it doesn’t seem too bad on the surface, it does end up alienating him bc the dependency is working one way (akutagawa and atsushi) 

superiority complex— he counters Fyodor by saying that even if humans are ‘sinfully stupid’ (and who is a better example of this than chuuya lol. the fact that the panel of fyodor saying this comes right after a chuuya panel is no conincidence it’s fairly telling) there’s nothing wrong with it! dazai’s superiority complex could have gotten worse and developed into a god complex just like fyodor’s had chuuya not strived to maintain an equal footing with him or if he hadn’t seen chuuya, someone who is actually half-god, going out his way for people and in a way, being more “human” than he ever can bc chuuya considers himself at the same level as others, if not lower (i mean, his self esteem is so low that he thinks he has to swear loyalty to a p*do) unlike dazai. so yeah that self-sacrificing nature and sense of loyalty, which may seem “sinfully stupid” is something appreciable to Dazai simply bc empathy, loyalty, trust,etc are things that human connections are based on. things that dazai lack, but chuuya embodies. things that dazai wishes he had so he could belong. so anyway, my point is chuuya just being himself does a number on dazai’s superiority complex whcih in turn helps him challenge fyodor! 

 All in all from the way Dazai and Chuuya’s arcs and their interactions are planned out, it’s safe to say they are indeed soulmates and I’m not trying to push this romantically, bc altho the canon is strongly suggestive, it’s not of romance per se it’s more like suggesting how they need each other to complete and save each other. Like, Dazai needs to incorporate Chuuya’s qualities and vice versa to become better versions of themselves and also needs each other on a very literal level just to survive/live on. Asagiri mightn’t draw them holding hands or smth or use conventional soulmate tropes/proofs that’s fanfic material but I’m just saying that it is v much canon that they really do complete each other and absolutely can’t survive w/o each other and that to me is really really beautiful <3

[natsspammityspamspamham]

Dino Watches Anime (Jan 13)

With the snow outside and cancellations everywhere, I have more time to kick back, relax, and not do anything. Seriously, playing out in the snow and being an absolute bum is my specialty.

Dropped

Darwin's Game 

It just seemed like Mirai Nikki but updated to smartphones instead of flip phones and with a new interface and system. Seriously, it’s like someone watched Mirai Nikki and went “I can remake this and rake in the money”. The animation wasn’t good (according to our local sakuga geek, there were less than 10 animators who worked on the 40 min premiere because of the inhumane conditions of the studio which adds to the yikes), the soundtrack was great (but I won’t watch a show just for the soundtrack/seiyuu cast), and overall, I felt like I didn’t want to put myself through a show like this.

Uta no Prince-sama

I couldn’t do it fam. I watched two episodes and nearly cried on the inside because it felt like Kiniro no Corda but with a new bland face with new bland characters. I never watched either of these fully. I tried to watch just for the seiyuu (*ahem* Miyuki Sawashiro), but imagine having your life hobbies made into an absolute joke by a character who can’t even read music and is in the composition department while her main song of choice is “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and the ikemen around her and swooning over it and writing their own songs for her. The guys all have the same faces too! They’re triangle heads that can only be differentiated by colour palette. I’m telling the difference based on voices at this point. I don’t want the ikemen, but I would like people to be into my music too ya know! You may think that I’m dropping this anime purely out of spite for the story and characters, and you’re damn right I am. 

Seasonal Stuff

Pet

This is this close to being dropped, and I don’t mean for the strong BL vibes. It’s a little cringy but not that bad (I’ve watched a lot of cringe straight romance and to me it’s all the same). It just feels so poorly constructed right now. The universe just hangs by a thread with characters I feel ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for. Everything in this anime feels so cheap. I’m giving this one more week before I give it the axe.

Rikei ga Koi ni Ochita no de Shoumei shitemita 

Okay, this anime is stupid, but we all went in knowing it was going to be very stupid. You’ve seen the screencaps. You’ve seen the cliches. Now get ready to have a pretentious science spin on it as if you haven’t seen these scenes a million times before elsewhere, and the characters (at least one of them) know it. The art... it’s present. I mean, character designs are giving the guys of Reddit what they want (especially with Sora Amamiya being really popular and singing the OP along with voicing the main character). Yuuma Uchida is also there. Nothing really worth noting here except “stay in school kids so you can become a pretentious science kid with no people skills!”

Dorohedoro

I might just watch this anime in place of “Pet” because this anime has a much brighter outlook and despite being CG genuinely looks better anyway. It’s the horror that I wanted to fill the void with (since Pet genuinely isn’t scary or innovative). Everything was pretty good with the first episode! I’m looking forward to seeing more!

From here on out, the rest of the seasonal list are the ones I look forward to the most! Get that head lizardman!

Runway de Waratte 

At first, this doesn’t seem like something that would come out of Shonen Weekly, but it inspires a good message about being who you want to be even with limitations if front of you. You have a girl too short to be considered a model and a guy who designs fashion without having the money to pursue it further. I know nothing about style, but I do know things about being short! Maybe that’s why I have such a soft spot for it...

ID:Invaded

This anime gets more interesting as we go along. I’m all into murder mysteries and things like that, and with the sci-fi mixed it, I checked to make sure I was up-to-date with this one. Each episode gives a new mystery with more details outline our jaded and imprisoned detective’s motives and backstory. I wasn’t sold on the character designs at first, but once you get over that hurdle, it’s all good. I like the psychological aspects of it too!

Kyokou Suiri 

Ever wish you had a female protagonist who was upfront about her romantic motives? Ever wanted to watch a show involving youkai? Here’s the show for you! Plus, her character design is so cute. Mamo sang the ED for this anime too. The animation is great, the story looks amazing (read ahead a few chapters in the manga), and this is one of my most highest anticipated anime for the season!

Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun

Here’s one of my favourite pilot episodes! This anime left such a strong impression on me that I went straight to my non-otaku friends going, “You’ve gotta see this guys”. The art style is consistent with the manga, and according to the not-so-quiet manga readers, we’re in for a really good anime. 

All the characters in this anime are also adorable and really simple-minded on the surface. Hanako-kun being a boy is a really funny twist on the local urban legend (I’m one of those kids who never dared to say “Bloody Mary” in the washroom so what can I say?)

Recently Completed

Hana to Alice: Satsujin Jiken

Remember Aku no Hana? This is what happens when rotoscoping has a bit more budget. This anime was slow, a little cringy, but it felt really real. The voices felt real, the characters felt real, and the story felt... mostly real. I don’t regret watching this movie art style and all because I think it captures a bit of the exaggerations of being a teenager (rumours blow up like balloons)

Sennen Joyuu

Satoshi Kon really has a certain way of telling stories. I’ve watched Perfect Blue, Paranoia Agent, and Tokyo Godfathers, and while this didn’t have as strong of a punch as the latter, this film was still strong. It shows a story of a young maiden’s resilience, perseverance, and undying love... all things I can’t relate to... but it was good!

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo

This show was a trip. You thought it was a fanservice anime until things got really heavy. This anime was funny, it made me feel things with the themes it took on, and it made me remember that the best girl doesn’t always have to win to be a good anime. The art was cute and sweet, the voice acting was so fricking funny (according to the cast, the improv wasn’t always included but the ones that were left along with the dialogue were pure gold), and the story was exceptional for an anime which seemed to have no base whatsoever. And plus, this had something a lot of anime don’t... A CONCLUSIVE ENDING. Give this anime a watch if you haven’t. It’s melodramatic comedic romantic teen drama at its finest.

Orange

Speaking of melodramatic romantic teen dramas, here’s another one that fits that bill! Minus the comedy, more suicide, and far less cohesive plot. Imagine throwing letters into the Bermuda Triangle and having your 16-year-old selves really reading those letters. I was wondering how they were going to explain sending their letters to the past, but they should’ve come up with better BS than that. Aside from really bad plot holes, this anime was alright. It was slow... really slow. I finished this whole 13 episodes plus the movie in about 2.5 hours after trimming the slow recaps. 

The art was alright. The story was slow, but near the end (excluding the last episode and the movie) it got really heavy. It hit close to home. I struggled with suicide for years, and I felt what this character felt. Certain lines of that dialogue just hit hard. It was depicted in a way that didn’t feel as romanticized. He wasn’t saved by just one person, his trauma didn’t go away just like that, it took a group of friends and planning to help him realize that there was more to life then just regrets.

Would I recommend this? I mean, it was recommended to me, but I’m not forcing this anime on anyone... not because of the themes but because it was darn boring and cliche 70% of the time.

Still Watching

Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha

Same things apply as previous entries

Hunter x Hunter (2011)

My brother expected me to finish this a while ago but I put it on the back-burner because the number of episodes seemed daunting. Everything else is good though.

Sousei no Onmyouji

I only watched the first episode.

Boku no Hero Academia Season Four

Same things apply as previous entries. It seems like the Overhaul arc will end in the next episode or two (depending on how much they milk this).

Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

Groundhog Day but isekai. Seriously, this is a pretty big staple in terms of big isekai. Everyone’s fighting over who’s the best girl meanwhile Subaru is trying his best not to die every five minutes. Seriously, Subaru is a champ and what I’d want out of a Mary Sue isekai protagonist. Get em Subaru. Prove to me you’re not a car.

This will be me for the next few days because it’s getting colder where I am so watch me slip on the ice and die!

[legobiwan]

Whumptober #9 (shackled)

TW: THIS GETS SCHMOOPY YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. I RARELY WRITE ROMANCE BUT YOU KNOW, TIMES CHANGE, THEY COME TO AN END, FOR A START. 

Fandom: Good Omens (Aziraphale/Crowley)

Notes: This not at all what I generally write, but these two have hijacked my brain in some weird ways. Less angst than usual, far more schmoop than I amn generally comfortable writing but it’s good to expand one’s horizons. Still grappling with these characters and universe, so thank you for bearing with me, the bar has been set high in the Gomens fandom, dear gods. 

-----

To shackle (v.): to chain with shackles. See: shackles (n.)

Shackles (n.): a pair of fetters connected together by a chain, used to fasten a prisoner’s wrists or ankles together

Aziraphale hadn’t been there when it happened. He fought in the war, of course - everyone had fought in the war. The actual Fall had went by unwitnessed, however, save for the small tug Azirapahle had felt in his chest when Heaven had opened to that great maw, flinging no less than one-third of his angelic siblings into the impenetrable void.

No one knew for certain what happened after, and first-hand accounts from demons were rather hard to come by. Rumors spread - some had tried to crawl back to Heaven, they said, the enormity of their error made real by the loss of Her Grace. Others welcomed their Fall, dancing, reveling in the maelstrom of indignity and damnation, internalizing their pain to use as a cudgel against others. Still some struggled in the new order, neither desperate for a return nor willing to accept their new fate with open arms. 

Soon enough, they all came to know their place, essences shackled to Hell, to their new master.

That, at least, had been the rumor in Heaven.

But Aziraphale had seen the angry, red welts on Crowley’s wrists and ankles in the beginning, and wondered if the rumors were true.

To bind (v.): 

1. To tie or fasten (something) tightly

 2. To cohere or cause to cohere in a single mass

 3. To impose a legal or contractual obligation on; be hampered or constrained by

All things being equal, it wasn’t that difficult to summon and bind a demon. Aziraphale found this perplexing. For a mortal to summon and bind an angel - well, it just didn’t happen and woe betide the angel who found themselves caught in such an embarrassing (and dangerous) situation. One would think Hell might take better precautions, but if the multitude of accounts regarding demon-summoning in the 1800s were anything to go by, this type of activity was categorized more as an occupational hazard than existential threat.

Still, Hell almost always came out on top, as the humans did have a tendency to enter into ill-conceived arrangements with whatever demon they had managed to wrest from the occult plane. The maths worked out in Hell’s favor (between the two sides, it was widely accepted Hell had better accountants. The devil was in the details, after all), and the house always wins. Doubly so when it came to making bargains with the agents of Hell.

And besides, the humans - well, one generally didn’t call upon a demon to do good deeds, now did they? It wasn’t a net loss for Heaven - those sould had been written off the ledger years before Hell got involved.

(Not that demons were called on to do good deeds, in general. That was, excepting certain situations involving Aziraphale and one particular demon.)

Crowley had disappeared three decades into the 16th century.  

And then one day, he staggered into Aziraphale’s quarters, complexion chalky, his hands shaking as he grasped the flagon of wine on the angel’s table, downing the contents in one long gulp.

“Where were you?” Aziraphale asked, hours later, neither he nor Crowley having moved from their spots on the floor.

“Summoned. Humans. Nasty business,” Crowley croaked, laying his head on the angel’s thigh. It took less than a minute for the demon to still, mouth open, snores soft as his chest rose and fell with a regular rhythm. Aziraphale wrapped an arm around Crowley’s chest, eyes shuttering closed with uncharacteristic sleepiness. 

The next morning Crowley was gone.

To chain (v.): to fasten, bind, or connect with or as if with a chain. See: chain (n.)

Chain (n.): a series of usually metal links or rings connected to or fitted into one another and used for various purposes (such as support, restraint, transmission of mechanical power, or measurement)

Most humans used a calendar to mark time. Aziraphale, being an angel and therefore accustomed to thinking of events in terms of decades and not weeks, used Crowley as his personal calendar. Or more precisely, Crowley’s clothing.  

Linens gave way to fitted garments. Heels rose, then tapered in concert with bottoms, which peaked and fell like the tides. And as fashion changed, so did Crowley, a serpent in new skin.

By the 1970s, Crowley had recycled his pants from the Victorian era (“Reusing pants, Crowley?” “Eh, everything comes back, angel. Besides, think of it as Sloth in action, er...non-action, this is. Why make the effort to miracle up something new when I can use something old?”) The long velvet jacket had been a nice touch, although Aziraphale had not been convinced by Crowley’s hair, and certainly not the mustache. It was during the contemplation of said facial hair (and how he might tempt - persuade, rather, the demon to shave it off) that the angel noticed the glint of silver, evidence of a long chain looped around Crowley’s neck. Aziraphale, having lost track of fashion fads somewhere in the eighteenth century, took it as another adaptation of the times and thought nothing more of it.

Except it was now the 1980s, and wide lapels and polyester had given way to egregious shades of neon and tight spandex pants that left little to the imagination. Cheeks flushed, Aziraphale was keeping his gaze trained on the demon from the waist-up, thank you very much, when something caught his attention. A raised outline, on the demon’s chest. If he concentrated, Aziraphale could hear the subtle scrape of metal against metal as Crowley sauntered through Soho. 

By the time the 90s had rolled around, (and had thankfully ended the spandex era, there was only so much temptation the angel could withstand), Aziraphale had a working hypothesis.

“It’s nothing, angel,” Crowley responded to his inquiry. They were two bottles of wine in, inhibitions fading with the afternoon sun.

“Crowley, you’re been wearing that - that thing for the past three decades. You can barely keep the same style for five years! Just tell me what it is.”

The demon glanced down at his chest, silver links showing just above his collarbone. Crowley tucked the chain under his black shirt, not meeting Aziraphale’s eyes. “Why does it matter to you?”

The angel frowned. It didn’t matter, shouldn’t matter, but - two bottles of an exquisite Shiraz was making it difficult to remember why. It was something about consistency. Something about being marked, about the symbolism. It was like wearing an amulet, or...Aziraphale’s mind searched for an appropriate metaphor. 

Or like a wedding ring, he supposed.

Crowley sagged in his chair.

“It’s Hell, angel.”

“What?” Aziraphale’s stomach sank. 

“I mean, literally, Hell’s idea. A way, uh,” Crowley pulled at his collar, muttering at the floor. “A way of reminding me who I belong to.”

Oh.

Oh.

“Crowley, this isn’t some kind of punishment, is it?” Aziraphale bit his lip, casting his eyes upwards. “For our, uh - you know?”

“Oh, well. No, I mean. The Arrangement - no one knows you’re involved, angel, don’t worry.” Crowley made a show of looking at his watch. It was new, large, and incredibly fancy. “Oh hey, look at the time, angel, I’d better be going.” The demon was already halfway across the room by the time he finished the sentence.

“Still on for the theater tomorrow?” Crowley called over his shoulder, jacket crumpled over his arm. 

“Yes, but Crow - “

“Super! Great! See you later, angel.”

The door slammed shut.

“No one knows you’re involved, angel.”

But Crowley hadn’t said Hell didn’t suspect one of their own. 

To cuff (v.): to handcuff. See: handcuff (v.)

To handcuff (v.): 

1. to apply handcuffs

2. to hold in check; to make ineffective or powerless

They had both been cuffed, dragged to their respective organizations, wrists locked together, hands immobile, rough, celestial and demonic rope playing the part of handcuffs. An angel in the guise of a devil, at the mercy of Hell’s whims. A devil, masquerading as an angel, offering himself to a second Judgement.

A simple snap would have broken their bonds. The line between angel and demon was not the thick, measured boundary both sides pretended (they were of the same original stock, after all), but in this case, there was an important difference. Simply put, bindings for an angel would not contain a demon and vice versa.

There had been no other choice but to go ahead with the plan. If they ran, Heaven and Hell would follow, track them through every city, star system, every nebula of the universe. If they went to their respective offices as themselves, feigning contrition, they would be destroyed. And fighting, no matter how much Crowley protested otherwise, was not an option.

And so they went willingly, bound not in body, but to the promise they made each other.

To hold (v.):

1.��to support in a particular position or keep from falling or moving

2. to cover (a part of the body) with one or both hands (as for protection or comfort)

3. to have or maintain in the grasp

It took a week after the cancelled Apocalypse for Crowley to break down.

Nothing of note had precipitated the event. They had gone to dinner - an adorable French cafe nestled at the edge of Hyde Park. It boasted a crepe bar, truffle gnocchi, and a delightful Rosemary Vesper cocktail, of which Crowley had partaken of three before hurriedly moving on to the wine list with more frantic zeal than seemed appropriate for the occasion. 

Still, the dinner passed with idle conversation and the scraping of silverware, an altogether pleasant experience. Bellies full, they ambled through the park, Aziraphale chatting about nothing at all as the London sun gave up its struggle to break through the haze of mid-winter, ceding its territory to dusk, then to evening’s dark blanket.

A few ducks huddled near the Round Pond, no doubt to find warmth in the cooling air. Aziraphale envied their closeness, his gaze flitting towards the thin, shivering figure at his side. Ridiculous, really, to be jealous of animals only acting according to their nature.

Crowley shoved his hands further into his jacket pockets, shoulders taut, high around his ears.

“Crowley, is everything okay?” Aziraphale worried at his hands. The demon had been - well, for lack of a better word, off the whole night.

“Mmnnit’s fine, just a little chilly out here. You know, sssnake and all.” Crowley shrugged, kicking at some loose dirt.

“Really, Crowley just - “ In two steps Aziraphale was at Crowley’s side, arm poised above the demon’s shoulders, protective instinct hijacking his better judgement.

Crowley’s eyes went moon-wide.

And then the demon deflated, burying his face in his hands.

“I can’t do this anymore, angel.”

The next moment were a blur. Hands grabbed at thick, woolen clothing, wet eyes found sanctuary in the crook of Aziraphale’s neck, mumbled, broken confessions whispered into his shoulder.

They were on the grass, Aziraphale leaning against a sturdy oak tree, a tangled mess of demon in his arms. The angel stroked the soft, fiery air, whispering nothing syllables as he held Crowley in his arms.

It’s going to be alright, he said. And for the first time in centuries, Aziraphale believes it.

To tie up (v.):

1) To restrain from normal movement.

Aziraphale tightened the final knot. The demon certainly wasn’t going anywhere. Not without his help, that was.  

2)  To keep busy.

The angel chuckled to himself, running a hand through Crowley’s hair, tugging lightly at the roots. They would both by rather busy for next few hours. 

3) Preempt the use of

Yes, well, Aziraphale flushed. That was rather the point, was it not?

4) To connect closely

It was a gesture of trust, all of this, the way Crowley allowed himself wholly into Aziraphale’s care. It was a responsibility, a solemn duty, to be gifted with the small, glowing orb of Crowley’s trust, and Aziraphale swore to never breach, never break what he had been given. Later, he’ll wrap Crowley in his arms, when it was all done, when love poured from the demon in tired, euphoric waves, their limbs tangled together, cocooned by thick, soft duvets and softer emotions. 

Aziraphale smiled.

To secure (v.): To make permanent.

Aziraphale held his hand to his face, silver band gleaming in the moonlight. Long fingers intertwined with his own, the metal of Crowley’s own ring cool against the angel’s lips.

“You’re trapped now, angel,” Crowley hummed, waggling his ring finger. “Shackled by a demon.”

Aziraphale wrapped his arms around his husband’s neck. 

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

legobiwan does whumptober

[acsversace-news]

Can Ryan Murphy return to the scene of the crime and get away with it?

At least as much as any mystery behind the titular slaying, this creative question is what The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story must solve. The Gleemastermind and workaholic TV creator/producer/director’s work is as wide-ranging as it is prolific, with ACS in production at the same time as his other series American Horror Story, FEUD, 9-1-1, the now-canceled Scream Queens, and the forthcoming Pose, Ratched, and ACS‘s third season, Katrina, which may as well be a whole different series.

But however you feel about his other projects, ACS‘s debut season, The People v. O.J. Simpson, is unquestionably his apotheosis. In conjunction with writer-creators Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, Murphy revisited a media-circus murder case nearly everyone thought had been exhausted of any creative or sociopolitical potential, and the result was a kaleidoscopic, knockout-powerful examination of racism, sexism, celebrity culture, journalism, the judicial system, the rise of reality TV, domestic violence, police misconduct, and the whole goddamn human condition. It was one of the best television shows of all time, full stop. Can Murphy, now working with writer Tom Rob Smith and adapting journalist Maureen Orth’s book on the case Vulgar Favors, draw water from that same dark well a second time?

Yes.

“The Man Who Would Be Vogue,” the premiere episode of ACS Versace, is every bit as gripping and impressive as its predecessor, but with two major structural differences. The first is that there’s not even a shadow of a doubt as to whodunnit, and no trial to determine the suspect’s guilt on the horizon. Andrew Cunanan, a handsome young social-climbing sociopath who’d crossed paths with Versace and become obsessed, killed the great Italian fashion designer at the tail-end of a cross-country murder spree; it’s his story as much as the title character’s, if not more so. From the start, this gives Versace a tighter focus, with a tone more in keeping with a serial-killer biopic or a dark Coen Brothers murder-morality play (I honestly catch major Barton Fink/Fargo/No Country/Blood Simple vibes from this thing) than O.J.‘s sprawling canvas.

The second structural change is that while Versace, too, centers on a high-profile crime involving a wealthy ’90s celebrity, it appears poised to tackle virtually the only hot-button issue O.J. didn’t: homophobia. From Cunanan’s quasi-closeted status and resentment of a man able to live more freely on his own terms, to the culture clash between Miami’s thriving gay scene and its reflexively bigoted cops, the era’s prejudices come across like unindicted co-conspirators.

This gives the assassination a truly tragic air. After all, the show’s approach to Versace himself, per writer Smith’s own characterization of it, is one of straight-up celebration. In this episode he emerges as the opposite of what you might expect from his almost grotesquely lavish, Young Pope-esque taste in furnishings and home design: a real man of the people, a guy who’s kind to his employees, who’s friendly to the neighbors, who (as he tells Andrew) wants nothing more than for his “love for life” to shine through in the clothes he designs. He and his partner Antonio (Ricky Martin, restrained and heartbreaking) have an open relationship, but it’s an openness they share together — an “if you’re happy and feeling good, I’m happy and feeling good” kind of deal that the tawdry imaginings of the local cops can’t even begin to encompass.

He’s also a family man. To the extent that there’s any strife in Versaceland at all, it’s because his partner Antonio and his sister-slash-heir apparent, Donatella, are basically locked in a contest over who loves the guy more. As he tells Andrew, his sister is his muse, and their childhood adventures together exploring the local ancient ruins inspired the Versace brand’s legendary Medusa logo. (“I know that many people call it pretentious, but I don’t care. How could my childhood be pretentious?”) For pete’s sake, the thing that wins him over to Andrew is when the young man tells a story about his beloved Italian mother! More than a fashion designer or a gay icon, the Gianni Versace of ACS is a secular saint.

And if you’re going to kill an angel, you need a demon. That role falls to Darren Criss as Andrew Cunanan, a performance that in this hour alone looks headed for cinematic serial-killer hall of fame. It’s not too soon, I think, to compare Criss’s work as Cunanan — a straight man playing a gay predator — to Psycho‘s Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates — a gay man playing a straight predator. Physically and verbally they’re not so far apart: lean physiques, softly handsome features, gentle voices, a tone of good cheer that sits atop a wellspring of hatred, resentment, self-loathing, and violence like the lid of a pressure cooker. Cunanan’s love of the finer things, his ability to convincingly portray himself as a “normal” young upper-class up-and-comer, and his penchant for creeping around bare-chested and bikini-briefed will also call to mind Christian Bale’s iconic Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. Indeed there are several times throughout the episode — most notably the moment where Andrew sees a news report on the murder he’s just committed and literally mimics the shocked reaction of a nearby onlooker — where you can see Cunanan physically applying Bateman’s “mask of sanity.”

The difference between this killer that one, the thing that makes him closer to the original Psycho than its American descendent, is the sense that underneath that mask of sanity there really is something, someone. The show isn’t above portraying Andrew’s personality in a comical way to make that point, either. With his hoity-toity manner of speech, his compulsive social climbing, and his constant stream of impressive names to drop, places he’s gone, things he’s done, et cetera an ad nauseam, he often comes across like David Hyde Pierce on Frasier, if Dr. Niles Crane had happened to be a murderer.

But there’s pain in Andrew, too. Recall how he screams into the ocean water during his pre-slaying swim, how he vomits into a public toilet as he works up the nerve to pull the trigger. When he bullshits his way into Versace’s presence and winds up attending the opera for which he’s the costume designer, the music moves him to tears. After the show, he clearly wants to believe all the kind, supportive things Gianni is saying about him as they hang out on stage together. (And there’s every reason to believe Gianni means every word, him being such a mensch.) Andrew sucks people in with lies and sucks life out of his resulting proximity to wealth, glamour, sex, and power to fill a hole in his heart, yes, but his heart really does exist. He’s a vacuum, not a void. It’s a subtle distinction, but so far it seems to be a crucial one.

There’s so much more to talk about here: the gauzily gaudy cinematography by Nelson Cragg, capturing the splendor of Versace’s Miami mansion with a lens so wide it’s almost fish-eyed; memorable cameos by Mad Men‘s Jay R. Ferguson and Raging Bull‘s Cathy Moriarty; Edgar Ramírez’s instant likability as the powerful but kindly designer; Penelope Cruz’s appropriately mush-mouthed but resolutely non-caricatured turn as the larger-than-life Donatella; all the stranger-than-fiction touches, like Antonio’s blood-spattered tennis whites, the wannabe model striking poses in front of news cameras at the crime scene, the cops and FBI’s multiple blown chances and near misses in their pursuit of the killer, the bird that got caught in the crossfire when Cunanan made his move. Between the subject matter’s milieu and the swirlingly stylized approach the show takes to it, you may be tempted to describe the result as camp. To do so is to deny the depth of what’s happening here, and the moral seriousness with which Murphy, Smith, Criss, and company are depicting it. Until it all wraps up eight weeks from now, a killer walks among us.

[kyashin]

Voltron: The Fandom of You

Soooooo, hi. I want to talk about Voltron fandom, because I have some positive things to say about it. But first, I want to talk about due South.

due South is one of my favorite shows, and the fandom produced some of my favorite fan content. All around, it was a fantastic contribution to the universe. Well done, humanity.

For the uninitiated, the show is: Canadian Mountie Benton Fraser, the most upstanding and honest (and sarcastic) person imaginable, first came to Chicago on the trail of the killers of his father; and, for reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture, he remained, attached as liaison officer with the Canadian Consulate. It was a buddy cop show, and for seasons one and two, his cop buddy was an Italian-American dude named Ray Vecchio. Some people shipped it.

The show was canceled, and then, after enthusiastic fan campaigning, lovingly revived for two more seasons with Paul Gross––the actor who played Fraser––at the helm as executive producer. Unfortunately, David Marciano was unable to reprise his role as Ray Vecchio, so yikes! Now what? The entire premise of this thing was “sincere Canadian Mountie and cynical American cop shenanigans”. The solution was to replace Ray Vecchio. Literally. Like...in the show.

The first episode of season three has Fraser arriving in Chicago after a vacation in Canada to find this hot blond dude with a way different accent claiming to be Ray Vecchio, who is dark-haired and different-accented and just...you know...an entire different human being. Aaand let’s skip to the end of the episode where it turns out that Actual Ray Vecchio is undercover with the mob, so this new dude is gonna pretend to be him ‘til Vecchio gets back. New dude’s name is Ray Kowalski. People also shipped that.

But the fans who’d like, worked feverishly to get their show back on the air weren’t counting on having half the duo they wanted back erased from the show. !!!!!!!!!!!

Enter the Ray Wars. (Seriously, there’s a whole thing about them on fanlore.)

And a disclaimer: I wasn’t in the fandom for the height of the rage and fury, but I did saunter in as things were winding down, and even then some of the wreckage was still smoldering. That whole kerfuffle was Fandom Infamous for a super long time––and people who’ve been in Fandom long enough definitely know the Ray Wars by name AND reputation. For years, I’d see the Ray Wars held up by others as one of the ultimate examples of “intense fans” and just how Not Good a Look fandom can make for itself.

Here’s the thing though: the Ray Wars took place in the late 90s. No social media, no widespread understanding of fandom throughout the population. Fans were, like, on mailing lists and shit. The people who created AO3 were posting fic on web hosts like Geocities and Angelfire. Some people still called the internet “the web”, AOL was the gatekeeper to the internet things for a lot of people, and fans were figuring out that we could do ~*~*~*this*~*~*~ to make our user names look super unique and cool (not that I did that, just to be real, real clear). In that time, fandoms were very, super insular worlds with very tall, very robust fourth walls separating fans from creators and actors.

And for decades, these niche-occupying fans were accustomed to consuming very heterosexual content––shows and movies and comics and video games––and then writing whole-ass essays about how you could interpret this same-sex ship as legitimate within canon if you tilted your head 23 degrees, closed one eye, ignored the heterosexual ending, and stared long enough at these four screenshots from that one scene in episode 13.

You’d see flinches of contact between Fandom and The Established Source Material Creators sometimes. but it was rare. Anne Rice, for example, haaaaaaaaates fanfiction, and she’d go to great lawyery lengths to erase all she could find of it from the internet. Generally speaking, though, creators lived over there, and fans lived here, and we didn’t have much of an opportunity to interact with each other outside of, like, letters and conventions. There were still disrespectful fans, but you had to, like, make an effort to be a direct nuisance to the cast or crew.

Also, admitting to liking “slash” fanfiction as a woman back then got you “you just like slash because you’re too jealous to imagine your favorite male characters with women” at best and “that’s disgusting” at worst. ...Eh, there was probably worse, let’s be real.

So you can imagine the reaction many of us had when Paul Gross was interviewed about due South’s upcoming third season in 1997 and said of Callum Keith Rennie, the actor who’d play Ray Kowalski, “I tell you, slash fiction is going to go crazy when they see the new guy. He is really good-looking and sexy, the dangerous side of Fraser. It will be totally homoerotic.” THESE WERE THINGS AN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER SAID. IN 1997. KNOW WHAT ELSE HAPPENED IN 1997? ELLEN DEGENERES CAME OUT. AND THEN LOST HER CAREER BECAUSE OF IT FOR A LONG-ASS TIME. WILL AND GRACE WASN’T EVEN A THING YET (1998). NEITHER WAS THE ORIGINAL UK VERSION OF QUEER AS FOLK (1999).

Like, holy shit???

And the thing is? He wasn’t baiting. The show intentionally included a LOT of subtext between Fraser and Ray Kowalski, to the point where the last episode of the show showed Ray having a literal identity crisis because he could tell Fraser wanted to go back to Canada permanently and like, “who am I without him” and then the series ends with the two of them sledding into the actual sunset no I’m not exaggerating that happened WHAT EVEN WAS THIS BLESSING IN 1999.

Were they canon? Eeeeeh. Kinda? It was 1997, I’d call whatever they were groundbreaking, at least for me. And the reason I say it wasn’t baiting is because all Paul said was, “Slash fans will like this,” and many of us did. So, y’know. Truth in advertising. Well done, Paul.

AND NOW IT IS THE YEAR OF OUR QUEERS, 20gayteen, and SO MANY THINGS have changed for the better for LGBTQ folks in the last two decades. Like, Voltron fandom is WILD to me sometimes (in a fantastic way) because some of the fans are actually young enough to have been born after the AIDS crisis, after Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered, after Don’t Ask Don’t Tell––after all these horrible, devastating wounds were inflicted on our beautiful queer family. There are actually fans in Voltron who believe, without a sliver of doubt, that a same-sex pairing can and will become canon.

That’s bananas to me. That there is hope like that! Belief like that! Because I was born at the very end of the AIDS crisis and I didn’t hear the word bisexual until I was, like, twelve, let alone have enough of a support system around me to embrace that label for myself. B A N A N A S.

So of course––of course––there’s a part of me that hopes a same-sex pairing will happen in Voltron. Just thinking about how Dreamworks almost made Miguel and Tulio a canon couple in The Road to El Dorado in 2000 makes my heart twinge with disappointment. (Yes, Chel is great, but.)

See, I’m super attached to Voltron even when the writing is clearly stifled and bridled in by the people whose job it is to sell lots and lots of Voltron toys. I read klance fic and reblog VLD fanart and I have one (1) friend who also watches the show. We talk about it sometimes, and I throw fanart of Shiro at her because he’s her favorite. She doesn’t ship anything, and I am a cheerful little klance-shipping demon. I am in a fandom of two, and it’s pretty great in here.

But.

Voltron’s a lighthearted kid’s show about humans and aliens piloting mecha lions in space to save the universe from space colonialism, and while I will be dizzy with glee if a same-sex couple becomes canon in this show, I want it more for the intended audience of Voltron: kids.

I met a kid last year at Osaka Pride whose mother said, “He came home from school and told me, ‘I don’t feel like a girl or a boy,’” so this young mother brought her child to Pride to learn more about the community that her baby might belong in. And that lovely little human stayed on the fringes at first, apparently shy, until their mother told them, “Go on,” and then they spent the next ten minutes literally jogging around all the booths and beaming at everyone: the trans women in neon dresses cooing at how cute this little sunbeam was, the booth folks selling rainbow-themed merch, the couples hand-in-hand without shame or fear. And when they came back to their mom, they were completely carefree. And I thought, I wish that had been me.

And maybe it could’ve been, if every single cartoon I consumed as a child wasn’t coding gay men as villains, overtly implying that LGBT people had a direct link to actual pedophilia, and aggressively promoting heterosexual romance as The Only Acceptable Way of Love. If I’d grown up in a world where Ruby and Sapphire were on TV being happily in love every week, I might’ve realized what was in my own heart sooner than college.

So there is part of me who understands why people are so emotionally connected to the possibility of a ship like klance becoming canon. I’ve felt that urgent hope, that wild hunger, again and again and again and again in my life, and the only time I’ve ever had that hope realized in canon was in 2016 watching Viktor and Yuuri skate together in Yuri!!! on Ice. I cried. A lot.

I understand the emotion fueling the very, very bad decisions being made. In the simplest possible terms, the people who repeatedly harass the Voltron cast and crew are people who want a thing and are prioritizing getting that thing over the mental health of real people. I think it’s a symptom of internet detachment. When one is flinging words into a void, one doesn’t have to see how they’re received. Their actions––if I haven’t made it clear––are objectively harmful, and I don’t condone them.

But what I want to say––what I wrote this whole thing to say––is that Voltron isn’t a terrible fandom, and it isn’t the first fandom to have loud, overzealous fans who cross the line and make people inside and outside the fandom alike think, Yeesh they’re/we’re all lunatics. Voltron fandom is not The Worst, because I guarantee you if The Ray Wars were happening today, there’d totally be people on Twitter attacking Callum Keith Rennie directly for daring to replace David Marciano. It could have been so, so much uglier than it was, and it was already Bad.

In 1997, the fourth wall still more or less existed, and LGBT content––let alone respectful content––was scarce to say the least, so Fandom Discourse at the time remained generally contained to fan-on-fan unpleasantness. Today, that fourth wall is utterly gone, and I think all fandoms have to adapt to that and learn a whole new code of etiquette. LGBT rep is important, but there are respectful and effective ways to get it that don’t involve harassing the cast and crew. The voice actors and creators and crew of Voltron deserve basic human decency, and to be seen as people first and content creators second. It’s entirely possible for the majority of fandom to interact respectfully with the creators––it’ll just take time and patience, like most things that last.

So listen, everything’ll be fine. Try to have patience with each other. To quote a manga I’ve been translating: “There will be times in your life when you won’t be able to avoid being angry. Don’t make little things bigger than they have to be. Laugh and forgive.” Or, in this case, laugh and ignore. If you like a thing, awesome! Tell people! Or don’t! And if you don’t like something, carefully consider the consequences of what you do after you realize, I don’t like this. I don’t ship sheith at all, but for the last two years I’ve managed to leave alone the fans who do ship it and not send Shiro’s voice actor and his family angry, threatening messages. It wasn’t even difficult, guys. I just, like, read some klance fic instead.

I felt compelled to make this because I keep seeing posts from Voltron fans calling Voltron fandom a raging garbage fire and sure, there’re people playing near dry kindling with flamethrowers more than is advisable, but Voltron fans have created and will continue to create some beautiful content and friendships just for love of a show, and that’s lovely as fuck. If you’re feeling ashamed of your fandom and you haven’t done anything wrong, remember that you’re fandom, too. Keep being respectful, kind, and good. The terrible people won’t go away, but they won’t define the fandom for you unless you let them.

Be kind to each other, and things will improve.

And if anyone tells you your ship is bad, don’t talk to that person anymore, because that person probably has some dry kindling and a flamethrower.

And hey, if you’re at the end of this post and you’re like: Wow, this was way too short, and I would like to read more things this person has written, there’s always my Team Voltron-in-Japan AU. It has klance and Nyma/Allura and I enjoy writing it.

Wow, I’m hungry. Bye! :D/

[dfroza]

the purest gold of life on earth

is (already inside) the heart as a seed of the Spirit in being first chosen to be in Love as a child of Light.

A seed of grace that silently and patiently waits to be discovered, to be sought out in the spiritual truth of rebirth in the Light (in the True illumination) of the Son.

and the Voice of Love is heard as a mirroring of Heaven here on earth spoken through us who have clearly chosen to “believe…”

and the seed of the Scriptures being written down illuminates this, to conserve the True nature of discovering the place of “Home”

(inside, Anew)

and truly, the beginning of real wisdom is the fear of God.

A point made in Today’s chapter 8 of Ecclesiastes that begins its first verse as this:

There’s nothing better than being wise,

Knowing how to interpret the meaning of life.

Wisdom puts light in the eyes,

And gives gentleness to words and manners.

(The Message)

and interpreting the meaning (the definition) of eternal life begins with grace, in pure & simply trusting in Love and its sacred truth.

from Today’s reading in the ancient Letter of Romans as Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments with Ecclesiastes 8:

God’s way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith, confirming what Scripture has said all along: “The person in right standing before God by trusting him really lives.”

[Ignoring God Leads to a Downward Spiral]

But God’s angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being.

The Letter of Romans, Chapter 1:17-20 (The Message)

and the magnificence of True nature here on earth leaves us in awe, to spark a sense of wonder in the amazement of it all. truly designed to inspire us to believe in and respectfully fear our Creator who is Love in pure truth.

‪@MarkTamayokTVU liked by @YoseConservancy: Another fantastic pic from Ellen. Yosemite Falls flowing with some force this week #reflections @YoseConservancy‬

5.9.19 • 3:36pm • Twitter

as God is Trinity in Father, Spirit and Son, yet simultaneously absolutely “One” who originally made the genesis seed of male and female to be joined Together as “One” here on earth. for sexually, as designed by Love, we’re not supposed to engage our bodies with someone of the same sex. this is spiritual truth, not drafted by man but by the Spirit of God our Creator who made the grandeur of the heavens and the universal garden of Mother earth.

something that is also written about in the ancient Letter conserved in the Scriptures as the first chapter of Romans:

Paul, a servant of Jesus the Anointed called by God to be His emissary and appointed to tell the good news of the things promised long ago by God, spoken by prophets, and recorded in the Holy Scriptures. All of this good news is about His Son: who was (from a human perspective) born of David’s royal line and ultimately designated to be the true Son of God with power upon His resurrection from the dead by the Spirit of holiness. I am speaking of Jesus, the Anointed One, our Lord.

And here’s what He’s done: He has graced us and sanctioned us as His emissaries whose mission is to spread the one true and obedient faith to all people in the name of Jesus. This includes you: you have been called by Jesus, God’s Anointed.

To all those who are God’s beloved saints in Rome:

May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, surround you.

First, I thank my God through Jesus the Anointed for all of you because we are joined by faith as family, and your faith is spreading across the world. For I call God as my witness—whom I worship in my spirit and serve in making known the gospel—He alone knows how often I mention you in my prayers. I find myself constantly praying for you and hoping it’s in God’s will for me to be with you soon. I desperately want to see you so that I can share some gift of the Spirit to strengthen you. Plus I know that when we come together something beautiful will happen as we are encouraged by each other’s faith.

If, my brothers and sisters, you did not already know, my plans were set to meet you in Rome, but time and circumstances have forced every trip to be canceled until now. I have deeply desired to see some good fruit among you just as I have seen with so many non-Jewish believers. You see, I am in tremendous debt to those of various nationalities, from non-Jews to barbarians, from the wisest of the wise to the idle wanderer. So you can imagine how eager I am to join you and to teach the good news in the mighty and diverse city of Rome.

For I am not the least bit embarrassed about the gospel. I won’t shy away from it, because it is God’s power to save every person who believes: first the Jew, and then the non-Jew. You see, in the good news, God’s restorative justice is revealed. And as we will see, it begins with and ends in faith. As the Scripture declares, “By faith the just will obtain life.”

For the wrath of God is breaking through from heaven, opposing all manifestations of ungodliness and wickedness by the people who do wrong to keep God’s truth in check. These people are not ignorant about what can be known of God, because He has shown it to them with great clarity. From the beginning, creation in its magnificence enlightens us to His nature. Creation itself makes His undying power and divine identity clear, even though they are invisible; and it voids the excuses and ignorant claims of these people because, despite the fact that they knew the one true God, they have failed to show the love, honor, and appreciation due to the One who created them! Instead, their lives are consumed by vain thoughts that poison their foolish hearts. They claim to be wise; but they have been exposed as fools, frauds, and con artists—only a fool would trade the splendor and beauty of the immortal God to worship images of the common man or woman, bird or reptile, or the next beast that tromps along.

So God gave them just what their lustful hearts desired. As a result, they violated their bodies and invited shame into their lives. How? By choosing a foolish lie over God’s truth. They gave their lives and devotion to the creature rather than to the Creator Himself, who is blessed forever and ever. Amen. This is why God released them to their own vile pursuits, and this is what happened: they chose sexual counterfeits—women had sexual relations with other women and men committed unnatural, shameful acts because they burned with lust for other men. This sin was rife, and they suffered painful consequences.

Since they had no mind to recognize God, He turned them loose to follow the unseemly designs of their depraved minds and to do things that should not be done. Their days are filled with all sorts of godless living, wicked schemes, greed, hatred, endless desire for more, murder, violence, deceit, and spitefulness. And, as if that were not enough, they are gossiping, slanderous, God-hating, rude, egotistical, smug people who are always coming up with even more dreadful ways to treat one another. They don’t listen to their parents; they lack understanding and character. They are simple-minded, covenant-breaking, heartless, and unmerciful; they are not to be trusted. Despite the fact that they are fully aware that God’s law says this way of life deserves death, they fail to stop. And worse—they applaud others on this destructive path.

The Letter of Romans, Chapter 1 (The Voice)

my reading of the Scriptures for may 10, day 52 of Spring and day 130 of the year:

[anotheruserwithnoname]

Doctor Who spin-offs that might have succeeded

I’m going to start this by repeating what I’ve said many times: I had high hopes for Class when it was announced in 2015. Any new spin-off is a cause for celebration and the fact it was going to fill the void left by Doctor Who taking a year off, all the better.

The end result was loved by many and hated by many, there’s no doubt. And while I disliked it enough to stop watching after a few episodes, I fully respect those who enjoyed it. I’ve written at length about why I didn’t like the show, and the creative mistakes that were made, and I’m not going to rehash them now as they’re irrelevant to this post.

Unfortunately, now that the first ratings for the BBC One rebroadcasts are in - and low - pretty much unless BBC Three has a very low threshold for renewal or the show becomes a surprise hit on BBC America this spring, it’s unlikely to continue past its first 8 episodes, though fans reportedly have started a change.org petition in support of the show. Hey, it worked for Star Trek TOS, Jericho and fan outcry also allegedly stopped Michael Grade from cancelling DW outright in 1985, so I’m not going to pooh-pooh the idea. Just as I respect the fans, I sympathize with them too. I’d hate to see Doctor Who itself pull awful ratings and be faced with cancellation and I would have felt the same with Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood, too (I never saw K9).

One thing I think doomed Class from the start - and this is fully independent of its quality - is that it was pretty much a spinoff no one was really asking for, nor expecting. Of course just because a show starts out of nowhere with a cast of all-new characters doesn’t mean it can’t be viable (look at the CSI and Law & Order spin-offs, or for that matter Star Trek: The Next Generation which started fully fresh except for McCoy’s cameo - and they even remade a TOS episode its second week), but when the overwhelming response I saw when Class was announced was, “Why?” (something I never heard with Star Trek), that’s not a good place to start with. And when it became clear there would be no “known” franchise characters appearing other than the Doctor’s cameo and Mr Armitage (who ultimately didn’t last long), I saw more than a few people voicing,”Why bother?”

There are plenty of ideas out there for a viable Doctor Who spin-off that might not attract the “Why?” response. After the break, I’ll give a few ideas. The image at top gives a clue to the first one, and it might not be what you expect.

(I’m just focusing on Moffat-created or Moffat-era concepts, not RTD’s. He gave us two popular spinoffs from his work, so he filled the quota.)

CLASS

“What? But you just said you hated Class. Why would Class top the list?”

Because I think Class was a good concept that would have succeeded had it (among other tweaks) featured at least one ongoing character who the audience already had some identification with. Courtney Woods had a recurring presence in Series 8 and even became a short-term companion (she travelled with the Doctor in the TARDIS at least twice - that qualifies her as a companion more than Liz Shaw based on some metrics). The Doctor also hinted at her intriguing future life as a President of the U.S. and she was destined to marry the discoverer of the Blinovitch Limitation Effect, a DW buzzword. By having Courtney as the identification point, we could have still had all the Ram and April and Charlie and Matteusz business, Miss Quill could have still done her thing. But there would have been a strong link that a building, a cameo by the Doctor and one minor character who gets offed almost immediately could not provide.

Plus imagine the emotional impact of the memorial wall sequence if Courtney - who knew Clara - was present.

THE CORSAIR

Just the little bit from The Doctor’s Wife, and some stuff Neil Gaiman wrote for one of the Brilliant Books, was enough for me to want more about this Time Lord. I hope Big Finish is considering doing a Corsair series. And if the show had worked out, there could have been some tremendous crossover potential. (Indeed, imagine if it wasn’t the General but the Corsair the Doctor had to deal with in Hell Bent? A fellow Time Lord who likely also loved and lost the way Twelve did with Clara ... and who the Doctor knows is destined to be used for spare parts. Oh the angst!)

RIVER SONG

This one’s pretty obvious. And Big Finish is already doing a series for audio as it is. Maybe her reappearance in the 2015 Christmas special might have been less of an ass-pull if we’d had a series or two of her (mis)adventures leading up.

MISSY

I think Missy works best in limited doses, but I can’t deny a Sherlock-formatted series with her would rock. In fact, if they want an “adults only” spin-off, can’t you imagine a show where they pull out all the stops and let Michelle Gomez run wild? It would make Deadpool look like The Care Bears Movie.

THE PATERNOSTER GANG

I don’t really need to explain this one as this one is quite often cited as a spin-off that should have been (given that every episode they’ve appeared in has felt like a “backdoor pilot”, especially “The Crimson Horror” that was so much like a pilot, it had people back in 2013 expecting a series announcement as part of the 50th anniversary). All three actors have said they were willing. Neve McIntosh didn’t seem to be too concerned about having to wear prosthetics all the time. As an added bonus, we might have been able to get a longer-term examination of the challenges faced by Vastra and Jenny being a married same sex couple in the Victorian era. There’s a haunting moment in the minisode Battle of Demons Run where Vastra says Jenny was cast out by her family because of her being gay. You tell me that wouldn’t have made for some pretty solid and relevant storytelling.

PSI AND SAIBRA

An augmented human with the ability to tap into computers. An augmented human with the ability to morph into anything or anyone. Sounds like the makings of a network action series right there.

UNIT

Just listen to Big Finish’s current audio drama series featuring Kate Stewart and Osgood and you can tell right away this thing needs to be a TV series. With the added bonus of a possible Jenna Coleman guest appearance if they ever decided to bring back Bonnie.

GALLIFREY

Two options: a series set on “modern” Gallifrey focusing on the General and Ohila and perhaps a new regeneration of Rassilon (played by Ian McShane, if you please); or an adaptation of the Big Finish West Wing-inspired audio drama series that starred Lalla Ward and Louise Jameson (preferably with them starring in the TV version as well).

TIME WAR: THE EIGHTH DOCTOR

Big Finish is already doing this, but ever since he popped in on Cass, people have wanted Paul McGann to come back to TV.

I could name more, but you get the picture (feel free to reblog with other candidates). Note I intentionally left out anything to deal with Clara Oswald and Ashildr as - unlike all the above teases - it was well established from the start that there would be no spin-offs or specials with the two characters given Jenna and Maisie’s busy schedules. And anyway, if Clara comes back it should be on Doctor Who.

My biggest concern is that the failure of Class will result in the BBC turning down other spin-off ideas - including John Barrowman’s proposed Torchwood revival. Time will tell if Chris Chibnall - who was responsible for the revival of UNIT, it must be said - comes up with characters worthy of spinoffs or, indeed, conceives of any new shows himself. And who knows, maybe Patrick Ness’ Class will live to fight another day.

[jillmckenzie1]

A Death Without a Body

If you’re currently married or you were ever married, I’ve got news for you: your marriage is insane. I hate to be the one to tell you, but there it is. People you know, people you love, will take stock of your relationship and life choices and say, “They’re cuckoo banana-pants. No doubt about it.”

Luckily, you aren’t alone. Everybody’s marriage is insane—yes, including mine. From the outside, they’re nearly impossible to understand. From the inside? Well, it ain’t much easier. Some days you can feel an almost religious degree of closeness to your partner, while during others you feel like you’re seconds away from committing a felony. There’s a reason why the old cliché of “marriage is work” endures.

Statistically, somewhere between 40 to 50 percent of marriages will end in divorce. Is it because one or both parties aren’t putting in the work? Maybe, but not always. The reasons for divorce are as vast and mysterious as the reasons for getting together in the first place. Relationships ebb and flow like the tides. Sometimes you’re brought to rest upon a sandy beach. Other times, you’re battered against the rocks.

Noah Baumbach knows a little something about that. He’s the child of two successful writers, and his adulthood was informed by the conflict between a comfortable upbringing in Brooklyn and the divorce of his parents. Like many of us, he went through his own divorce, the white elephant gift of marriage, and he watched friends and family experience the same situation. It’s no wonder he’s so well-suited to make the searing drama Marriage Story.

Every marriage has its low points. Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) and Charlie (Adam Driver) are going through exactly that. They’re visiting a divorce mediator, who has suggested they begin from a place of positivity. He suggests both parties write down positive qualities they admire about the other and read them aloud. Charlie is willing. Nicole is not.

While they live in what appears to be financially comfortable circumstances in New York City, their life isn’t easy. Charlie is an acclaimed avant-garde theater director. He’s worked his way up from nothing and is now on the brink of taking his show to Broadway. Nicole started in less-than-ideal circumstances as a teenage film actor. Now people are taking her seriously as a performer, and the pilot for a TV series beckons to her in Los Angeles.

All of that would be complex enough without factoring in the challenges of parenthood. Their young son Henry (Azhy Robertson) is a delight, but successful parenting requires communication and compromise. Nicole and Charlie mean well, they just feel that their marriage has come to a crossroads. Their divorce begins with the promise of amicability. They swear they won’t get lawyers involved—until they do.

Nicole “temporarily” moves back home to West Hollywood and her daffy mother Sandra (Julie Hagerty). She’s also taken Henry with her and secured the services of skilled attorney Nora (Laura Dern). During a visit to Los Angeles, Charlie is served with divorce papers. He feels blindsided and meets with legal shark Jay Marotta (Ray Liotta). From there, Nicole and Charlie see each other and themselves becoming the kinds of people they never expected, in both positive and negative ways.

Since Woody Allen was canceled, a void has existed. It’s a void that needed to be filled with movies about upper-class New Yorkers existing in a gauzy bubble of neurosis and privilege. Noah Baumbach has filled that void, and he does so with a sensitivity and perception that Allen has always lacked. He makes films like he’s the anti-Michael Bay, with long scenes allowing us to get to know the peccadilloes of the characters. When things get tense, and boy howdy, do they get tense, Baumbach organically shows us the build-up, the explosions, and the regrets.

Baumbach’s screenplay tells a very specific story of divorce, one where there are no sole villains or one-sided blame, only people engulfed in a confusing and wrenching process. True, it doesn’t exactly help things that Charlie had an affair with his stage manager. It’s also unhelpful that Nicole essentially decides on her own to move across the country and take Henry with her. We see them at their best and worst moments, and while we might not agree with the choices they make, we always understand why they make those choices. That’s good screenwriting.

A meaty script attracts good actors like sharks to chum. Everyone in the supporting cast has their moment to shine. I particularly liked Alan Alda as Bert Spitz, Charlie’s second lawyer who counsels him to behave with forbearance. Laura Dern continues to prove she’s one of the most skilled actors working today, and I loved the monologue she delivers about the entrenched sexism women frequently face in divorce proceedings.

If you’ve spent time on social media, there’s a decent chance you’ve seen a clip from this film of Scarlett Johannsson and Adam Driver in the midst of a volatile fight. That scene contains good acting, but it’s hardly representative of the strong work both leads do here. Their best moments are less showy. Watch an early monologue Johannsson delivers to her attorney as she tells the story of their relationship. Watch the scene where Driver, who is in no condition to be an effective parent, tries to conduct a normal visitation with Henry while being observed by a court-appointed child advocate. They both do outstanding work, and in Johansson’s case, she delivers a career-best performance.

I’ve been through divorce. I’ve seen people I love go through divorce. The only commonality in those situations is that you don’t want anyone to be in pain. You want them to move on with their lives and live well. Marriage Story is certainly not what I would describe as a fun time at the movies, and I can’t imagine watching it again. Yet it’s a film made with such skill and compassion that I think everyone ought to see it once.

from Blog https://ondenver.com/a-death-without-a-body/