#bicera reply

[biceratops7]

Kissing these tags on the mouth rn, your brain is a beautiful place 😭

I just wrote a meta on how Crowley increasingly not wearing his glasses is a show of vulnerability when it comes to Aziraphale. He knows how glaringly obvious his status as a demon is with those damn eyes, he cannot ever meaningly pass as anything but the fallen without those glasses. to show them would be to lay bare what separates him from Aziraphale, and to any other angel, makes Crowley lesser.

And isn’t that just the thing? None of that even matters because Aziraphale adores them regardless. Unease, terror, fury, whatever feelings those eyes are supposed to be provoking, how could that all not be meaningless nonsense when they’re looking so sweetly at him? How could Aziraphale not be in love with anything that makes Crowley so himself?

Dang it guys

we only ever talked about HALF of why these scenes were a big deal, like I just realized this today and my heart is going insane.

It’s not just that Crowley’s pissed at Gabriel for treating who he thinks as Aziraphale this way, the last thing he says to the people about to kill him is a benign and peaceful wish to see them again.

And like- this is Crowley trying to replicate Aziraphale to a T. So he legitimately just sees him as this endless well of compassion, someone who is always warm and accepting. It’s not just their friendship throughout the years, he remembers Aziraphale’s kindness on the Eastern Gate. When the angel had absolutely no reason to trust this random demon who just slithered up next to him. Crowley knows that he’s loved. Maybe not like that quite yet (although he’d be very wrong), but he knows that around his friend he’s always welcome and safe.

And Aziraphale?

Well he just thinks Crowley’s the coolest fucker alive, like he is laying it in THICK and enjoying every second. Listen to that charisma, look at that smirk. These are traits that are typically only appreciated in the context of how good it makes Crowley at tempting, a job he hates. But Aziraphale doesn’t see someone manipulative or regard this persona as signs of his “demonic nature”, he just sees Crowley. Someone charming, fun loving, and cute.

This is when we get to know precisely why they love each other, what exactly they see in the other.

[biceratops7]

I really do not want to come across as cruel so please believe me when I say I mean this gently-it is incredibly frustrating to see someone take the time to write out a super long response defending their own actions (like putting character criticism in the tag) and then when someone else takes the time to articulate a response the first person not only does not take the time to read it but reblogs the post announcing they are not going to read it. I actually agree with being able to post character criticism in the tag (it makes the part of my brain that craves organization happy) but do you see how this makes it nearly impossible to have a productive conversation or come to an understanding? In the future it would honestly be better to not respond at all and hope someone else takes up your cause if you do not have the mental energy or time to read everything and for some reason cannot wait until you do to respond. I genuinely hope you have a good rest of your day and you do not even have to publish this if you are worried it will open you up to harassment, you can just think about it.

I swear to frick I’m about to check if there’s a typo in that post because I clearly said “I will read it” and did. I had thoughts but then when I read different replies I got a clearer picture and deleted that response because I felt it to be unnecessary and redundant. quite a few people pointed out that announcing my intent of interaction was silly, and that person screenshotted the interaction and made a rightfully frustrated post, I get it.

I should not have said anything at all, I should’ve just read it later without comment. Deleting the post now would just be irresponsible so I’ll leave it up, but I agree it was rather stupid.

Edit: don’t worry about being “gentle”. If you need to be like “hey that wasn’t right” then you shouldn’t need to be soft about it. If harassment comes I’ll deal with it but I trust most of it to be along the lines of “that was stupid!” and it was. The only thing I’m still like “wait what?” for is the idea that I was willingly ignoring the post and its contents.

[biceratops7]

Done!

(ALL CREDIT FOR IMAGE TO @sherlockig, who I hope doesn't mind me using this picture)

(Credit also to @knowlesian, for starting me on this line of thought. I hope to see more of their excellent meta on the matter.)

So, this image of Stede, from this angle in particular is just so evocative of religious imagry. He's bleeding, dying and beatific.

The white clothing, his hands aren't just tied in front of him, they're clasped, almost in an attitude of prayer. Expression - serene.

So we know that what happens next, is that Ed shows up.

What we DON'T see, is what happens after they meet. What we DON'T see, is who is bearing witness to all of this. (give you one guess)

Izzy, who was aptly named by knowlesian as "The most Catholic thing" in OFMD, and that is counting Nun Nana. Izzy is taking this all in.

When I think of that, the idea of darkly clad, long haired Ed, bridal carrying his half dead opposite to his cabin, it's giving Pieta.

Now the thing IS, is that image is in conflict with Izzy's image of Blackbeard. That image is decidedly nurturing, decidedly feminine, even if it's divine.

It's Blackbeard that inspires wonder and awe. Izzy knows that "A person with wonder and awe knows that God Blackbeard is the perfection of all we desire: perfect knowledge, perfect goodness, perfect power, and perfect love." More or less, based on the definition of goodness and love he might have.

This is the scene we don't get before Izzy starts his rant about how Ed isn't Blackbeard anymore.

TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE.

Blackbeard is literally handing Blackbeard over to Stede.

Now, Ed explains it all quite nicely to Izzy about his plan to kill Stede, yadda yadda. But he's telling Izzy that Blackbeard is something you can take off and put on. That all that adoration is for a sham.

Speaking of adoration. Before the duel, Izzy tells Stede this:

"Edward adores you. Why I'll never know, but he does."

That word adore is doing a lot of heavy lifting, if you consider adoration to mean: ��"Adoration is the word used to express those acts of divine worship which are directed to God Blackbeard only, and of which the characteristics are recognition of His perfection and omnipotence and our own complete dependence upon Him."

Edward incurs Izzy's wrath, not ONLY for being softer and vulnerable when he gets back to the Revenge, but ALSO because he transferred the things Izzy had given him (I don't think Izzy expected a return of those things. 'God' doesn't worship you back) to Stede. That VERY FIRST (possible) image that he got of them together was true and not to be stood for.

I really didn't have a point for this, except to dig out a few thoughts that I'd had on a previous conversation that maybe 3 of my followers will be interested in.

[biceratops7]

Literally have never seen the full contour of someone’s penis or vagina at either of those places, idk why you think you did something there

Anyway it's great (/s) to know just how many people in the OFMD fandom would apparently be grossly offended by men walking around in their underwear at Pride. Really makes us queer folks feel safe.

[biceratops7]

1. It’s possible I saw “early intervention” and “aba” and jumped to conclusions. I assumed the topic was on the treatment of autistic individuals.

2. If that was in fact a correct assumption, I don’t appreciate the implication that I don’t consider or care for my peers with higher needs. I advocate against aba in large part because some are more vulnerable to historically abusive practices than I am, and we all have the responsibility to help eachother. I do my best to listen to those with experiences I can’t fully relate to, and I’ve heard mostly awful accounts from that demographic in particular because they can’t easily advocate for themselves in the moment while harm is occurring.

What I’m not understanding is how on earth you think you can possibly expand your knowledge on our treatment without expanding your knowledge of our condition. That is the most baffling sentence in this whole statement.

You just followed me and I notice your only post is how you're pursuing work in aba. I'm going to try and not make assumptions, but as someone who is autistic I'm telling you that you should seriously consider rethinking your mind set on our treatment. It's important for us to learn coping strategies for safety, but aba takes it leaps too far and aims to erase our autistic selves all together. The goal is to make us live as neurotypically as we can full time, even if it comes at the expense of our well being. This goal is neither healthy or even possible.

I appreciate your input.

This is a personal blog for me documenting my time switching jobs from an administrative to a clinical role. That's it. Maybe I'll find new research that I can share. I am a BCBA, and a damn good one, but my time has been spent in the legisltative process. I only have worked with direct intervention and assessment part time and I wanted a blog I could share tips and research for other clinicians. I treat all of my individuals with respect and I always strive for normilzation, but as someone diagniosed with autism you should be aware of how large the spectrum is. Some people need more help. \

This blog is not even for that, it's for clinicians who might want to expand their knowlegde or resources on the practice, not autism. Not really sure what you're talking about. But thanks lol.

If you're mad at my blog title, which is the only thing I can really even place, I'm modifying MY behavior. I'm switching jobs and I want to document.

I'll just remove the aversive stimulus and unfollow :)

[biceratops7]

Oh awesome!

unironically i'm so charmed to see so many people getting to enjoy a classic novel together in real time across the world, and sharing posts about it, and just genuinely enjoying a piece of art simply for the sake of it

love is stored in the dracula daily

[biceratops7]

“Crowley just wants Aziraphale to be himself”

Such a lovely and true take. When Crowley’s trying convince him to team up and save the world his main talking point is essentially “you will lose the unique identity earth has allowed you to nurture, and I will mourn that.”

The comparisons between Zira and Stead confuse me but the comparisons between Crowley and Ed are even more confusing. They both share a darker aesthetic in fashion yes but that’s about it.

Thank you, Anons. I was so hoping that folks had read my post about OFMD, and I’m glad people have (as well as this post, which is where the tag you are referencing is from).

I do definitely feel a sense of confusion around the comparisons between Aziraphale/Stede and Crowley/Ed. I have thought about it more since writing that first post, and I feel that I again need to emphasize how much I enjoy both Good Omens and Our Flag Means Death, but that to me, they are completely different shows and characters and therefore shouldn’t be compared because they deserve to stand on their own.

The entire conceit of Crowley, in my opinion, is that he is not beholden to the standards and gender roles that humanity has created. He is a supernatural entity, and while he has plenty of other things that he is dealing with (such as the pain of Falling and not being “good enough” to stay in Heaven), the human part is what he has fun with, and is why he can play with gender so readily and embrace that androgynous beauty that we all know and love.

Ed, however, is completely beholden to those gender roles and is shown performing traditional “masculinity” throughout the show. He wants to be more like Stede and tries to dress like him and learn the niceties of aristocratic table manners, but he is still operating within those specific standards. In some ways, I feel like Crowley is what Ed wishes he could be, but for all his pirate-y badass outlaw ways, Ed still has that urge and need to conform.

In contrast, Crowley never wants to be like Aziraphale. He doesn’t want to fit in with the angels (and would probably miracle a Whoopee cushion onto Gabriel’s chair every single time he goes to sit down). Nor does Crowley long for “finer things,” but instead wants Aziraphale to be himself, to see how wonderful he actually is, and that he doesn’t need Heaven or any of it because they are on their Own Side.

It’s two different characters who, while on similar journeys of self-discovery and identity, take very disparate paths on those journeys. And the relationships that both of them are in or starting to be in (Crowley with Aziraphale, Ed with Stede) have an influence on those journeys, but again, in very different ways. Crowley has known Aziraphale for thousands and thousands of years and it’s a relationship of familiarity and having been through so much together and slow, steady growing attraction and love that has developed and deepened over time. Ed and Stede have only just met, so theirs is a relationship of newness, of seeming intense initial infatuation that strongly has the potential to grow into more, but hasn’t gotten there just yet.                              

Another moment that comes to mind when I think of the differences between Crowley and Ed and their relationships is the moment in OFMD where Stede and Ed share clothes paralleled with the moment in GO where Aziraphale and Crowley switch bodies. Of course, Stede and Ed dressing up as each other was fun and it was cute and silly, but to me, it represented them still only knowing each other on the surface. Aziraphale and Crowley, however, have (literally) been inside each other’s skin. The amount of trust Aziraphale places in Crowley and vice-versa is only something that can happen when you’ve known someone for a long time. It’s deeply intimate and personal, like letting someone see your innermost soul, or your underwear drawer.

So, yes. Two different moments that reflect two different characters and two very different--not better or less--relationships. Again, I know there are some similarities on the surface, and my goal in writing this was not to deny those, but to highlight how, when you look more closely, Crowley and Blackbeard do become quite different, and they deserve to be recognized for the unique, wonderful characters that they are.

I hope this all has made sense. Thanks for writing in, Anons! x

[biceratops7]

I hope more people get on the “scene 28” train, ive been mildly obsessed with it ever since I e noticed the pattern in the inspiration boards 😂

scene 28 anon again - i looked up their actual filming schedule and did some math, and they get five minutes of episode done a day including covid time. so scene 28 is a little over 10 minutes long and i’m sooooo curious what it is

deancas makin out probably

(but genuinely what the fuck ???? im like nervous excited ready !!!!)

[biceratops7]

As hilarious as it is to see an enthusiastic gay transphobe and a detransitioned terf team up to insult me on an art blog that hasn’t even reached 100 followers, I can’t resist pointing out the ironic sexism of clocking someone as female based on an art style. I mean come on, at least try a little harder to pretend like your weird obsessions with the trans community are from a place of “protecting” women and gay people

tfw people like you don’t exactly get to be on tv so Good Omens is over here snatching your wig

[biceratops7]

Bro why’d you have to call me out like that 😂

Here's a neat detail:

Not to talk about season 1 Good Omens in the year of our Lord and Season 3 announcement 2023, but I kind of just realized another little moment that's very sweet and true to real life.

I really like that Crowley isn't just fine again after he learns Aziraphale survived the bookshop burning after all. Normally in stories when there's a "surprise, I'm alive!" moment, the characters just kind of celebrate for a minute and then move on business as usual. But Crowley doesn't. He continues to be visibly be shaken and a little unfocused throughout his conversation with Aziraphale, and when he has to explain what happened, he starts crying again.

I don't know I just thought that was a really nice detail because anyone who's experienced similar whiplash in real life knows about that... residual grief period I guess? I think this was a core memory that informed a lot of Crowley's behavior in season 2, you don't ever really forget that moment you lost them no matter how brief. There's just something very loving and vulnerable in him being like "I thought you were gone, and even though I know now you're ok, I want you to know just thinking about it upsets me deeply."

[biceratops7]

@thesnuggliestduckling

BROOO, YOU’RE SO RIGHT!

Guys… guys.

As hilarious as all the “how oblivious ARE you?” jokes about Stede are, I think we’re missing the big picture. This isn’t about obliviousness, it’s about trauma.

Stede isn’t ignorant of the fact he’s in love with Ed. he’s been abused his whole life for his queerness and is having trouble conceptualizing that he’s allowed to be.

Notice how Stede immediately has the instinct to walk back his comment of Ed being “lovely”? This is the same man who didn’t even pick up that his very obviously mutinous crew was planning a mutiny, that shit was learned behavior. He’s speaking as a little boy who was tied to a boat and stoned for picking flowers, and as someone who was told mere days ago a man falling in love with him was “defiling a beautiful thing.”

Homophobia/ heteronormativity is alive and well in this world and Stede, being forced to live in the conservative circles he does, would’ve absolutely been painfully aware of it. The fact that he feels the need to ask a woman what it’s like to be in love with a man speaks volumes after he’s already been happily kissed by one and has roleplayed being married to him when lonely. He’s not just casually making conversation then has a eureka moment when he happens to notice the description applies to him and Ed too, he asked specifically to compare them.

It’s him testing the waters and thinking that maybe “they” were wrong. Maybe he’s not broken or pathetic, maybe he never deserved to be treated as such. Maybe he didn’t “seduce” Edward, or “ruin” him, or “defile” him. And maybe his feelings for Ed are just as loving and romantic as Mary’s feelings are for her boyfriend.

It’s such a beautiful moment when he slowly smiles, let’s out that little breath like a sigh of relief, and tells his wife of an arranged marriage with nothing less than wonder in his voice that what he’s found at sea is in fact love. Fuck, it gets me every time.

There’s an absolutely gorgeous through line of queer liberation in Stede’s half of episode 10 after this scene. How he refers to Ed as his “newfound love”, confidently says they’ll “all be great”. He smears the blood on his face himself, breaks his own flowers, all to reach someone who sees him as perfect and beloved exactly as he is. What a fitting ending to his days of crying himself to sleep because he cannot be what everyone’s failed to beat him into.

[biceratops7]

Bro finally 😭, everyone’s like “lol I’m sooo Aziraphale!” and meanwhile every sensory friendly place for me must be either very simple or impeccably tidy

Gotta love how Aziraphale and Crowley represent both sides of the autistic room spectrum.

From “I gotta have everything I love in one single space at once” to “if more than two things cross my line of sight at a time I am going to fucking kill god”

[biceratops7]

Bestie, this is a safe space, don’t do me like this

ACK-

Y’all I just caught the sweetest continuity moment in Rise. One of the last times they fought… wild animal Shredder(?), Donnie threw literally everything he had at him and the Shredder still overpowered him in a matter of seconds, destroying his battle shell.

This terrifies the shit out of him because… of fucking course it does, and for the rest of the fight Donnie isn’t really like himself. He’s holding his own ok and doing what needs to be done, but he’s visibly shaky and apprehensive to kind of an alarming degree for him. There’s also pretty good reason to believe he was legitimately injured based on how deep the marks appear to be.

And then weeks later the second they see Shredder again (actually recognizing him that is), Raph’s immediate thought is to protect Donnie.

Edit: I FORGOT THE LAST PICTURE SO THIS WAS UP FOR HOURS AND MADE NO SENSE 😭

[biceratops7]

Oooohhh… I never considered the judgement angle but I REALLY like it. In fact I kind of recently came to the conclusion that this sort of passive aggressive micromanaging of the situation is kind of Metatron’s whole deal, and specifically why

OK OK OK OK-

Ok is ANYONE else talking about the “evil coffee” theory yet??? Or is that just the discord I’m in

Cause like…. Who the FUCK puts THAT much emphasis on a RANDOM CUP OF COFFEE??

I mean Aziraphale literally says “I made my position clear” and then Metaron is immediately like “aAAH, but I brought you.. an OAT milk LaTé 👹” with foreboding music and ominous shots like some scene straight out of a fucking Disney movie, OH Kay… I see you you Jafar sounding bitch 😭😂

[biceratops7]

@fandomnerdflynn

I do write poetry actually! Wait people wanna see that? Say psych right now-

I just-

the way that queerness actually is shown fairly historically accurate in the show but not to the point where the lgbt community feels like 1-dimensional victims instead of people. The world is still the same as ours, Homophobia is there, it’s just… quiet. It’s not constant aggressive action, or violence permeating every moment of their lives… it’s the background noise.

It’s in the bullying Stede endures for not performing the ideal masculine, but it’s also the simple expectation and eventually enforcement that he’ll marry a woman. It’s in “anything goes at sea” and the calm, almost practiced defensiveness that prompted such a statement. The small confirmation that Hornigold would lose his mind at Ed having breakfast at a table every morning with Stede.

It’s not just seen in queer sorrow but community as well, even joy. How Lucius looks after Jim, Stede, and Ed once their queerness is known to him. How Ed kisses Stede in a quiet place away from expected public, the refusal to discuss Blackbeard further when the truth of being “lovely” to another man garners unsavory looks. In the best circumstances, protecting one another in a world that isn’t built for us is like breathing.

It even comes from people with no ill intentions. Mary doesn’t mean anything by “what’s her name?” but it tells us something anyway, about the world these characters inhabit. About which ones can step comfortably through it, and which ones must think carefully before even revealing they lack such luxury. The quiet understanding in tossing a stone in that perfect path by saying “his name is Ed.” It means something that she reacts in surprise, pleasant surprise, but surprise none the less.

It’s not a show without homophobia, but it’s not a show about it either. It manifests in the narrative the same way it does for most of us day to day: the white noise of heteronormativity.

[biceratops7]

No I’m telling you to care more about real people’s lives than getting the most leftist clout points online. Refusing to vote or do so strategically will likely condemn THOUSANDS more to death just so you can feel good about yourself “sticking it to the system”. It’s more than wrong, it’s disgusting

For fucks sake don’t vote 3rd party.

I would LOVE to not have a 2 party system. It’s a cancer on our country and we need to take action to dismantle it, but just pretending like the bad thing already doesn’t exist anymore and making decisions based on that is a TERRIBLE idea. It won’t change shit and it’ll just prevent us from making actual headway. Trump will win if Kamala doesn’t, that’s the system we live in, the notion that that 200 year old monster of a problem is gonna change in 100 days is absolutely absurd. So let’s just establish that before going any further.

I see people all the time saying to vote 3rd party because “Kamala is just as bad as Trump, democrats just wanna LOOK progressive.” (And before that it was Biden but you get my gist.) because of Biden’s deplorable refusal to stop arming Israel. Respectfully, no tf she’s not, even by just a hair. Kamala isn’t the one with a laundry list of straight up legal atrocities she’s publicly planning to commit if she wins. Being genuinely scared of project 2025 and worrying about ourselves because of that isn’t proof that someone calling for a free Palestine is performative. Genuinely, GENUINELY, what the hell do you think is gonna happen to Palestine if Trump wins? Letting our own country possibly be set back several steps and many of our own citizens’ lives be destroyed to “take a stand” for Palestine when it won’t do shit to help them is just as performative. Actually it’s infinitely MORE performative.