#but i also get and like the symmetry of 6 episodes

[thosewildcharms]

Yes on hoping this is their ending 🙏 like this is everything we could have wanted for them and when in TWD universe are there actual happy endings? My anxiety cannot take putting their tired asses through any more Situations because I’m that scenario it’s pretty much russian roulette in terms of it being a matter time before they die. The image of them in love and reunited with their children is all I wanted and could hope for. Don’t understand people’s obsession with the continuation of stories, sometimes an ending to a narrative is a good thing! Unless we see them make cameos later on (in Daryl, Carol, or Maggie’s story) I want to kiss them farewell into the sunset lol

completely agree anon, well said! it IS okay for things to end, and i'd rather they end it here on a high note then potentially let it devolve into something less satisfying. this was a story that needed to be finished and they did that and did it beautifully.

[noneorother]

All the music you didn’t hear: The Good Omens soundtrack is lying to you. *Part 1*

The Bonkers Meta Series part 2: Electric Boogaloo.

I so rarely get a chance to misuse my experience in classical music, but here we are. When I realized on my most recent watch-through of the series that the David Arnold score was brilliant, but also really wonky in some parts and I couldn’t put my finger on why, @embracing-the-ineffable suggested I listen to the album soundtrack to compare.

And when I tell you what I found hidden in there, you’re going to need Eccles cakes...

1) The Song is the Clue

So right up top we have this banger. The 12th track on the album is the orchestral backdrop to the scene in the Job minisode where Aziraphale reveals Crowley’s crow/goats. The duration is 2:22 (the only track with multiples on the album), and if you look at the track by itself it doesn’t mean much. But the song just before it is actually from this fucking scene:

You know, the one where there’s a song that’s a clue to a mystery. Except Clue is capitalised, and Aziraphale pronounces it. I’ve seen guesses that this is a reference to the movie Clue, but I would put a lot of money on the fact that we are supposed to read the title of the song currently playing at that moment in the show *as a Clue*, which is super convenient, because the word Clue is capitalized in the track listing. 

Seems like the overlords of Good Omens have a message for us : The song is the Clue. It’s what God wants. Cool cool cool. WHAT SONG?

2) Symmetry in all things 

Before I straight up tell you, we have to go back and look at season 1.

Now I’m far from the first to notice tons of parallels between the story, details and even lines in both seasons. It got me thinking that maybe there are some fun synch-up parallels between the two season’s soundtracks, seeing as they are both 6 episodes long. Here’s the end of S1 and then S2

Oh that’s a bummer, I thought to myself. 

They don’t even add up to the same number, or playtime, and neither of them is exactly 60 tracks. But do you want to hear a secret? S2 is actually missing 3 tracks on the album. And because there are 2 discs in S2 (cute), the numbers of the tracks start over again from 1. Remember how much God likes sevens? Check out where all the weirdness is happening in disc 2 (I’ve added the missing track listings in red to add context):

After checking each track with the show and listening side by side (for reasons that will become clear in another post) I can definitively say that there is something *very weird* going on at the end of episode 4. 

First is track 7, Zombie dressing room, which seems to actually reach over two distinct scenes of the photo evidence in the dressing room and then Shax in hell even though it only has one title.

But *between* these two scenes we get an eerily silent wine date with Aziraphale & Crowley.

There’s really no music or even sound here besides the dialogue and room tone (until after the cheers), and it seems like a very intentionally silent version of a ritz date from season 1.

My best guess is that we are supposed to divide that track into two tracks of 7, before and after the date to get a second track 7. Or maybe the silent one is missing music? The third track number 7 is the weirdest one. It’s this scene here, when Nina parks her bike, and Aziraphale parks the car at the end of S2E4.

If you take a close listen to the music, it’s a jaunty little piece, with an oom-pah base in 3 ⁄ 4 time. The thing is, this music does not exist in any Good Omens album. Please feel free to correct me, but I’ve tried to find any part of any song that this could even be a reprise of, and I Shazammed it to be sure it wasn’t anything else. This song does not exist anywhere except in this scene. (It quickly morphs into a reprise of the original theme once Nina leaves Aziraphale). It’s an invisible song.

So we have 3 tracks at the end of S2E4: a long one, a silent one and an invisible one. Only one of which is numbered 7, but that all fit into that place in the track listing.

Which, when we add the two extras to the original total of fifty-nine we get... sixty-one! Hey wait a minute.

How are we going to get to 62?

3) The real missing track. 

So the real reason we had to go back to the S1 album was because it contains the missing track that God is talking about. Let’s compare the last tracks on each album.

I’ve highlighted the mismatch between the in-show music and the album in S2, which means I had to add A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square back into the S2 album because guess what, it’s not in the S2 album. Even though it plays in the show. 

You want to know how not in the album it is? Amazon had to track it in the show as a season 1 song. They had to give Tori Amos credit for her song on Good Omens in the X-ray bonus features because that’s how not in the album this song is.

So my fellow beings, if the song is the Clue, then It’s what God Wants.

And if God wants a happily ever after with Aziraphale and Crowley on their own side, then by Job, I think Neil is going to give it to her.

-----------

And there's more where that came from! Part 2 coming shortly.

[soshadysoquiet]

TUA S4 thoughts.

Below, spoilers.

Okay. Lord gonna need some strength to get through this coherently.

Basics first:

The Music: Maybe 2-3 good songs. Dissapointing. Let's talk of a mo about Baby Shark: to me it wasn't funny, the song being such a social media present one in this world really took me out of the show. Yes sure the funnies of parents having to listen to kid music and them being stuck that way but I really wish they'd taken the time to make an original annoying jingle. TUA is usually such a delight for the ears that this hurt me bad! Plus they then kept changing whether the song was on or off, seemed like Diego could control it somewhat, but then why would he turn it back on for them riding into the final battle?

The Dialogue: Felt forced and cheap in places. They can use the word 'fuck' now and seem to therefor have decided they don't need to make the characters have witty insults for each other.

The 'Themes' of the show: Why has my quirky family drama been turned into a 90's romance film. Who asked for this. No.

The "Plot": When your own characters don't care about the plot for the sake of shindigs you think will be more entertaining then you know you fucked up. It made sense the first 2 series them having side quests. Less so in the third. Even less so now. Literally at times they had to say to each other 'oh yeah shouldn't we find Ben?' I'll be here in the corner raisining. Also they came up with these 'stages' for the apocalypse but had one guy throw up, a couple things go boom and then they merge, it was one of the least threatening depictions of apocalypse I've seen - though that could be that it wasn't shot in very interesting ways.

Also side note for why there were so many shots that started upside down and rotated? Like I get if Klaus is upside down, and yeah the umbrellas are inside out, but it (plus the Bennifer monster) gave me too many stranger things vibes.

Now the sub-cast:

Jennifer: Love that for 1/2 the protagonist of the apocalypse she had little to no love put into her character, I legit kept forgetting her and Ben were part of the storyline. I loved that she was birthed from the squid, but why put something eerie and cool like that in and make it have meant nothing? Such a waste.

The villains [Gene, Jean and Abigail/Psy(sp?)]: Whilst I liked the idea of memories infecting the timeline, literally all of these guys was Tell don't Show. And for a series with only six episodes I do not want my time wasted with some side-character villains getting a dance number over the main cast. Despicable. Also there were WAY too many villains here especially if you then also count Reggie as one. Literally make Jennifer be trying to link up with Ben and coercing him (then Viktor could break through to him briefly from past experience of a similar relationship - the symmetry is nice) and have Abbigail be pulling the strings. There were so many side characters of no import that I lost track of the main cast. Hell, make Kenny's Mom be the bad guy I'd have loved that! Also, I like that Abigail was somewhat evil, but then they tried to make her good too? No thank you. Pick a lane not everybody needs redemption.

Special RIP to Diego and Lila's twins that Never Even Got Names 💀 fucking hell that's lazy ass writing.

Now the main cast:

Viktor: He deserved better, why bother to introduce that he's had a girlfriend, slept through the entire town, and owns a bar when you then don't talk about any of it. He's told to 'grow up' it's so specific, what does it mean? Also since last we saw he was the sort of ride or die for his love type (with both Leonard and Sissy) this is a frustrating turn with no explanation. Also his whole fight with Reggie and getting things off his chest arc felt forced and not as well written to me. And his character seemed to have been given zero changes from the last 6 years. I miss when his powers actually had a sound element to them rather than just, Havoc from X Men hands. You're taking the Viktor out of my Viktor.

Allison: We have no explanation of how she and Klaus found each other and fell in together. No info of how she and Reggie parted ways. We only hear that 'Ray left her' and nothing else. She says no one wants her at the party but then seems to know Gracie? Has she talked with Any of them since? Nothing was addressed from the end of last season, or even referred to being addressed in the past. I don't see the point of her new powers, or any of them having slightly off or new powers when then some of them don't? Either way, her rumours are so classic and now she's floating people? I see the link and if they'd been developing new powers over 6 years fine but no. You're taking the Allison out of my Allison.

Luther: Praise be, I did like Luther this season. He mentioned Sloane (shock horror, a love interest from a time gone by being brought up?!?! In TUA!!??) he was cracking me up and was really being Best Boy. Although I felt a lot of his dialogue was flat, and it seemed really out of character for him to start attacking the piñata? I don't think we've ever seen him physically lash out unless angry? It looked to me like 'oh yeah here's another silly gimmick that will be a haha. Diego, sure. Luther, no. They also decided (not surprised but always so disappointed) to make him getting ape-i-fied again humorous and not the soul destroying thing it would be. Also, why was he ape-i-fied??? His ape-ness came from the serum not the marigolds? Generally though, I really did enjoy him this season.

Diego: Love that we're throwing every over used marriage-in-pieces trope in the book at these two. Love that. Especially as they seemed to have sorted out some of their communication issues. I get their trajectories but was so deeply, Deeply bored watching it. Diego was sadly pretty dislikable for the whole season, which was real sad because I had grown to love him. There were some funny moments don't get me wrong, he's got too much personality to be a boring character, but whilst they didn't have to have a perfect marriage it was so dull and in hindsight such an obvious set up for the bleh that was to come. Plus they threw in a 'don't make me turn this car around' type moment to show how 'he's a parent now look wow' but I can't imagine any of the siblings hearing that and not laughing at him.

Lila: Again, marriage and wrong-conclusions and it was so boring. She's such a fun character and she was reduced to 'ooo how can we make her be a cheater and with Five' Why do you even need to do that? I just feel sad about it. And it doesn't help that we Don't Know Two Of Her Kids Names and neither her nor Diego seem to think of them for however long they're on the road, and she mentions them only once in the 7years of subway hell and both of them seem relatively undistressed without them. Sure, parents do need a break, but if you don't care about the kids visibly you know for sure I the audience member ain't gonna. Also why the eye lasers save for again a brief gag? It makes no sense when she then also has mimics abilities?

Claire: Let's give Claire a side note at this point. I do so hate it when shows decide to make children their parent's brains and moral compasses, take little to no time to show any bond between parent and child until the last 2 episodes, and instead choose to spend that time showing us how naturally fractious a relationship they have. Love that, so much. Never seen it before really. I get it's normal, but when ever other part of the show is cookie cutter predictable I don't need this too. Give her an actual personality that isn't "the wise old rebellious teenager"

Ben: Wow. So glad that A) I had to hear a character explain crypto currency for me, so glad we wasted precious time of a 6 episode series on that. B) Ben had changed 0%. C) that he had Even Less input and impact at the end emotionally than in any previous season and this one was About Him! And do you know why? Because D) they basically used star-crossed-lovers-can't-help-ourselves and made him use every creepy stalker OTT moving way too fast line in the books especially when Jennifer at a lot of moments was verbally saying she wasn't into it.. Also why does he talk about her like he's a 12 yr old and, idk, it was a shame to have no real impact from him until the end when he's suddenly scared and pushing Viktor away to save him but we see no connection from him and Viktor previously as to why he'd listen it would make more sense if it had been Klaus or Luther at this point.

Klaus: Now, I know a lot of his storyline this season came from the comic, and sure it's good material, that should probably have been used Throughout the seasons rather than crammed into 1 day. But let's chat for a hot mo: Now I like that we got to see him be nasty rather than the precious uwu Klaus that I've been guilty of perceiving at times, and that we see some of the negative effects of addiction on the family for the first time. Great moments, important. BUT. I'd have felt his rage out at Allison and turn to drugs would have been a lot more impactful if they'd bothered to show him waking up to the sound of being screamed at, barely able to hear his siblings, struggling to focus on them and wanting to drown it out. But we don't get that, the horror of what this means for him. Then we proceed to got through this whole let's have him want to get shot by a drug dealer (don't quite get why - or how Claire knows he's immortal now? did the powers back thing ever come up??) have him kidnapped and forced to prostitute himself, take more drugs (but still use his powers?) Develop a new power though without using the comic's fun quirk that he has to take his shoes off, and then bury him alive. Wow. this guy had plenty going on, but sure. Then -he can save himself, I thought this might become something poignant - he's able to conjure the dog to Go to Allison and lead them there, but no, he just gets rescued again. Gee I wonder what grave he's in Mom? All I don't know Claire, how about the Only One That's Been Dug Up? I thought it was really interesting to see his moments as a teen with Allison, and how he was living with her and thought they handled the worry about death/germs etc thing well tbf. Though also how the hell did he get home from being 13 hrs away and why nobody cared to go with him was pretty low.

Five: Dear lord that moustache was awful and I'm glad they all called it creepy and he had no concept. I despise 2 things they did here: made it canon that he gets romantic with Lila. Made going back into the literal apocalypse that he spent time having flashbacks about barely if at all affect him - it's unsure if his hesitation going back into it the second time was hesitation to go in there, and that's what I hoped they would do, but then, no. no. Please, Pleeaasse don't take away this nice, safe space I had in this nice, safe 'you literally can't sexualise him with anyone it would be so problematic' character and say 'they held out 7 years but yeaaahhh they hook up.' don't see why it was needed. It didn't 'heal' him, it was a plot for conflict but I've got plenty of other conflict plots that can end with Lila and Diego fighting without having to make every damn character have a god damn love interest! I loved their bond before, it was so fun and special to see a male and female not have to fall in love, and they ruined it. And it was for nothing? And they didn't have time to make the 7 years feel like 7 years and it was lazy writing for cheap conflict in my opinion. I hated it, I hate that it's "canon". I don't think I can describe just how awful I found it and unnecessary. I also don't buy that Five would be willing to not drink the marigolds as much as the others, or that there would be a timeline full of given up fives that sit around a diner. It was fun to watch though. And up until they started the montage in the subway and we knew where it was going I was enjoying Five in this season. that boy has had such a shit life and this is how it ends?

I will say that the flashback to them as kids was my favourite part of this series. It's always good to have a little deeper insight into how they interacted as children but I do have some Opinions here too of course: Reggie saying 'you look ridiculous' to Viktor, no, he made their outfits? I felt that was lazy writing when Reggie in the past has laid into Viktor's insecurities much more keenly: 'That outfit is only for your brothers and sisters / we've been over this, you're not special take it off / I will not have you wasting time with frivolity when the Academy has important work to do, leave us." etc. Also I thought there might be something different about why they all forgot their Ben memories. It was brutal yes, which I appreciated, but I can't believe that these guys wouldn't see their father kill their brother and not One of them flip their shit? Idk, it was a little... good and bad I guess.

I think that's it for now, if anyone read this far then well done! I might write a fix it post in a bit for my own entertainment.

[farm-witches-fic-recs]

Our farm witch friends really delivered with their faves last month and we're here this week to share the last of that list. Thank you to everyone who responded to pass along the fics you love and help keep this fandom reading (and writing)!

Check these community fave works out and leave the authors some love!

=========

Bound by symmetry (barelypink) “I am and always will be a sucker for a slow burn. This one is a diamond.”

Goodwill (@spiders-hth-is-an-outlier) “I don't know why I love this as much as I do. It's really sad, but also really joyful. It unfolds so beautifully. I love all the introspection. And the socks. I'll always love the socks.” 

If not now (MoreHuman, swat117) “There is no truer test of a relationship than all the time in the world.”

If you say run, I’ll run with you (upbeat) “Wonderful, different take on the wedding.”

Language of Love (pandorasdaydream) “This series takes the 22 min tv episodes and fills in the moments we don’t see. David and Patrick are fleshed out, while staying true to Dan Levy’s characters. The series is beautifully written and developed.”

Left unsaid (@treepyful) “A very detailed day in the life of a rare pair in the Fandom. Like, so so detailed. But every word is glorious and intentional, and somehow, though there's only like 6 words of dialog in the entire fic, so much gets said. Also, there's one of the most incredible descriptions of a thunderstorm that I've ever read.”

Neither snow, nor rain (middyblue) “Christmas slow-burn.”

Post hoc ergo propter hoc (various) “I love all of the installments in this political AU because I liked the West Wing a lot but it was never queer enough. This series has all the humor and dialogue and romance and Queer Feelings (tm) you might ever wish for in a beltway workplace drama, plus President Johnny Rose and Stevie Budd as his (eventual) chief of staff.” 

Prismatic (thetrustytaco) **WIP**  “You only see b&w until you get close to your soulmate! Gah! Not finished but so good so far!!”

Sleepless (@wellschitt) “This fic is funny, sexy, and full of heart, and at just over 10k, it's the perfect length for a reread (or in my case many, many rereads) when you need a quick pick me up on a stressful day.”

Time until the end of time (@ships-to-sail, yourbuttervoicedbeau (@kiwiana-writes)) “I've been into the idea of a waiting room on the way to the after life for a long time, and this piece totally does our characters justice. If you have an ache in your life, it will knead it and might even heal you a bit.”

Value added (theMaura) “Short. Hilarious.”

Vampires Are People Too! (@petrodobreva) “It's a rare thing indeed for a fic author to create a unique, fully realized alternative world while still holding on to the spirit of the canon work that we all know and love, but that's exactly what petrodobreva manages to pull off in this teen vampire AU.” 

Winning the Game (@ladyflowdi) “One of the most hilarious laugh-out-loud fics in the fandom.” 

[bereft-of-frogs]

last minute 'night of the fire' theory very very long post~

Ngl I'm kind of hoping for 100% flashback to mirror episode 3, partially because I love symmetry and partially because I've been waiting SO LONG for this flashback, I want ALL OF IT. Maybe with a small bridge at the end. Cutting back and forth I think would be too much.

I'm leaning towards the Jedi coming to Brendok either on a completely unrelated mission to the twins or utterly by accident. The leaker that predicted the nude scene in episode 6 (so I now trust them completely lol), said they think the reason the Jedi are dispatched to Brendok 1) might cause a lore complaint 2) connects to TPM and 3) made Sol remind them of Qui-Gon. I can't quite figure out the lore complaint, and the political subplots of TPM don't make sense (nothing about trade routes or taxation fits for why they'd be sent to the seemingly abandoned - except for the coven - Brendok) so I'm not sure about that, but I'm wondering if it follows TPM's plot of being on the way back to Coruscant from a mission of some kind and somehow being sidetracked? Or they're just assigned there to check up on the coven or they're investigating something, or searching for something, but I don't think it initially has anything to do with the twins BECAUSE:

then yeah, not unlike Qui-Gon in TPM who meets Anakin and is like 'nice, side quest' when they land on Tatooine, Sol just happens upon the girls in the forest and accepts this new padawan acquisition side quest. This could also explain why Indara initially takes the lead in the first confrontation (she's higher ranked, in command of the primary operation), but then keeps deferring to Sol about what he saw and how he wants to proceed with the test.

I also believe that, like in episode 3, what we're going to see on screen is for the most part objective truth. Popular theory is that Osha had things literally altered in her memory, but if that was the case, and we were meant to be seeing things from her perspective exclusively, we wouldn't have all the scenes that she had no way of witnessing. I think we're meant more to wonder about what context we're missing, rather than the essential veracity what's being shown to the audience. (*with possibly Mae in her room, who does seem out of character, that could be a vision of some kind, I'll cop to that one)

like the scene where they hear something in the reactor room and Koril goes to look and doesn't find anything. We're just missing the context, which I think is Sol spying on them (or whoever is shown in the trailer scaling the exterior of the fortress, I'm inclined to say Sol though)

I do NOT think the Council or Vernestra ordered them to do anything. There's been a lot of 'the Council ordered them to wipe out the witches' theories floating around and that makes 0 sense, both because in the show a big thing is confessing to the Council, and because Headland keeps saying one of the issues being explored is how far-flung these missions get and the lack of oversight. They were operating independently, probably without good communications (BIG high republic theme, that the long-distance communications networks are shaky at best, and we saw last episode they're still not great), and had to make decisions in the field they independently chose to cover up. Vernestra also really does not seem to know anything about what happened besides their cover story.

I also still don't think it's a conscious, premeditated decision even among just the four to kill anyone. I think there's probably an argument over the girls, the coven overrides Aniseya and won't let Osha leave, the Jedi push back on that because Osha clearly really wants to leave, and things escalate from there. With the spell on the table...yeah I just don't see this as that simplistic a situation as 'the Jedi just decide to slaughter everyone because reasons'.

Already posted a longer version of this, but still feeling good about my theory that the coven casts a spell on Kelnacca (at the very least) to puppet him into the fight, Sol steps in to keep him from killing Torbin, and Indara attacks/kills Aniseya to break the spell (which possibly rebounds and takes out the rest of the coven). Would cover why the witches all seem to die at once, why Aniseya's body is separate, and why Mae accuses Indara of attacking the unarmed (she doesn't think of her mother's magic as a weapon, while in Indara's eyes, she's eliminating a threat to their lives)

I'm a little shakier on this one, but I'm inclined to speculate (ok I just would really, really like this) that they do a Parent Trap (Jedi and surviving witch/possible Sith each taking one twin) and one of the reasons they want to cover it up is because they know there is something left back on Brendok for Osha (counter to Sol's sus line 'there's nothing back there'), but they want to make the decision easier for her or they've specifically cut a deal to each keep one twin and stay out of each other's way. (Could explain Indara's 'this isn't a road you want to go down' if they'd agreed to all stay separated...but also that was probably just a Matrix reference lol...)

That would also be a reason they don't want the Council to know. Making deals with the Sith (or any dark side group) and leaving an innocent child with them? That would be BAD, especially given how Vernestra reacted to the revelation Mae was still alive. Killing a dark-side coven that was threatening them? Yes also bad. But is it 'hide from the Council for 16 years while wracked with guilt' bad? Especially because the Jedi aren't particularly into punitive justice, it's not like they're going to be executed or something. They all (minus Sol) more or less exile themselves anyways. I can't quite figure why they keep this secret while they're so haunted. There has to be another layer to it, possibly something to protect Osha. (Sith keep making deals in this series...was this another one? Though the Jedi probably would not know they were Sith.) (Ok that last part was really just spitballing.)

I'm so looking forward to finally finding out but I am going to miss the mystery! I guess there will be a few things remaining to guess about the finale, but 'what happened the night of the fire' has really been the core mystery for me and I'm a little sad there will be no more theorizing. And I have to wait until Autumn for the next High Republic book???? Tragic.

I guess we'll all find out in a few hours. I'm gonna go see MaXXXine first though.

*I am going back on one thing, ok so either the initial reason for the assignment to Brendok is what I thought above, initially unrelated to the twins and connecting to Qui-Gon's side quest vibes in TPM, or they ARE specifically sent for the girls because of the prophecy. That could raise a lore complaint among the kind who were freaking out about Anakin and the prophecy back when episode 3 aired, and that could connect Sol and Qui-Gon. But I don't know how much these writers know or care about Qui-Gon's prophecy side project, it hasn't been brought up at all in the series. And like the main critique you CAN'T make about the show is that it doesn't telegraph its twists. It seems unlikely that they'd toss a massive curve-ball in at the last act. Plus, it really doesn't seem like the Jedi know beforehand that the twins were created in any other way than uh, traditional methods (Indara asking where their father is). I'm not sure how I feel about this one, I don't love the prophecy thing in general, but that might close the 'lore complaint' hole I'm struggling with. It would just fall under a general 'I would have liked more foreshadowing' like a lot of theories I'm kind of meh on, but wouldn't totally ruin things for me. But honestly, given how much they freaked out about a characters noncanonical age...a lore complaint could really be anything at this point.

And all the interview material about a 'lack of oversight' still makes me lean more towards 'they got sent out to do something unrelated and decided to pivot without checking in first and got in over their heads' which is also fairly in-line with what we see happening with other High Republic Jedi, that they have to make more decisions in the field than the more centralized Prequel era.

I'd also prefer the latter theory, because then it would tie in thematically to The Phantom Menace AND a moment in the show from episode 4: when Osha touches the umbramoth and muses that she caused its death by disturbing. That might have just been to point out that she still follows some of her mother's ideas about the Thread (that everything is connected, and to pull on the Thread is to have consequences), but it could also be a nice bit of foreshadowing, that disturbing something, even in what initially appears to be a minor way, could have dire consequences. Not unlike in The Phantom Menace, when essentially an accident of fate, choosing Tatooine to land to repair the hyperdrive, which leads Qui-Gon to randomly stumble on Anakin, leads to the destruction of the Jedi Order and the rise of the Empire. And given that my other main theory (that Sol is going to be framed from the deaths and this is the solution to the 'how to kill a Jedi without a weapon' riddle, to destroy a Jedi's legacy) also mirrors the fate of the Order in the PT, I just think it would be really neat if this was also a microcosm of something that happens to the Order as a whole in the PT (a chance meeting leads to destruction).

But now we're fully in the realm of 'what I want'/'how I'd do it' vs 'what I think is likely to happen or supported by the text/leaks/supplementary interviews'. I just think it would be a neat thematic package and just be nice as the vindication of The Phantom Menace continues, as someone who has loved it since 1999. XD Likely? Maybe not, but I have put up with so much shit for 25 years for liking TPM, it would be nice for a new Star Wars thing to be that directly linked to it.

Ok I'm really going to go see MaXXXine now. Bye! Pray for me that Indara doesn't turn out to be an evil Sith lord, I really doubled down on that on Reddit, I do NOT want to make that apology tour...

[hopefulgardenshark]

I cannot stop thinking about how Hell became actually LESS dangerous than Heaven in S2.

In S1, both bureaucracies were rather deadly. In S2, despite the demons attack etc, Hell feels more... flexible? relatable? a non-issue? Heaven, on the other hand, is this cold, cruel corporation, full of itself. Our lovely angel couple is more at risk from Heaven than it is from Hell.

We go to S2 from the end of S1, when we get this (sorry for editing, not good at this):

So, in practical terms, at the end of S1, Crowley is free of Hell thanks to Aziraphale's negotiating skills. Aziraphale THOUGHT about the fact that he needs to negotiate the best outcome for his boyfriend. He also felt IN THE RIGHT, EMPOWERED to negotiate, because he was dealing with.... demons. In the series he is consistently shown as more afraid of angels than demons, whom he considers as a lesser lot. He also believes Crowley is better than that and that he can free his love from the hellish influences. Crowley can be non-aligned, what would make him less demonic, but most importantly: it would put him out of danger.

Now, as far as Crowley is concerned, in the very same situation:

Right.

All lovely, but he gets strictly zero outcome for Aziraphale. Why? I can only think that Crowley knows Aziraphale still sees himself as a part of Heaven. And that he would not like to be a non-aligned angel. So he just throws an emotional firebomb. Sounds familiar (a hint: S2 ending) ?

And this is how we enter Season 2.

Crowley is on friendly terms with Shax, absolutely doesn't care about Beelzebub (they seem to have rather fond memories together), and is not PERSONALLY afraid of demons when they come. What a change from Season 1 when he was escaping in fear...

Of course, it does help that Shax seems to have a crush on him: the way she looks at him from half-closed eyes, and lowers her tone of voice during their first scenes together. Also Beelzebub is astonishingly friendly and sympathetic (and we all know why now) warning him about the danger Aziraphale is in . I also could not help but notice that this time the powers of Hell are personified ONLY by two women-looking demons, what might explain less testosterone in the interactions, less than we got with Hastur and Ligur. Now, we know that Crowley is safe from Hell, but Aziraphale is not.

Heaven however is another story. Aziraphale's relation with Heaven is still unresolved. We actually do not really know what it is. And is weighting heavy on both of them. Crowley is afraid of Heaven in a very complicated way: he is afraid for Aziraphale, not for himself. And Heaven has certain power over Aziraphale, who still wants to please and, even if is not deadly afraid of Heaven, but well, concerned?

Finally, we get the mirror scenes in episode 6, and this is really, really brilliant: when Aziraphale uses his negotiating skills with Metatron to improve Crowley's prospects; and Crowley just throws an emotional firebomb.

So, I am not sure, but we might have exactly the same in S3? For the symmetry?

[vegaseatsass]

GAP the Series ep 6 thoughts (spoilers!!)

Am about to embark on an epic two-day backread (dw this is like. self-soothing behavior, not an obligation) but first!! Let me quickly journal about GAP: The Intricate Rituals Series.

So this episode made me feral. I'm like "no way can they top what last week did to my brain" and then Sam was out here licking Mon's thigh and barking. GAP girlies, we are truly God's strongest soldiers.

Thigh-licking aside, Thee Moment for me this week was Mon: It's nothing Sam: That means it's something. Mon: How could you possibly know that? Sam: I'm that type of person. How could I possibly not know what it's like? I mean first of all hhhhh Sam recognizing herself in Mon's attempt at disregarding very strong/obvious emotions!!! They are so socially different yet still mirrors of each other!! But second of all, Mon has become such an expert at decoding Sam's chaotic hot-cold indirect communication style, and I realized this week that Sam's approach to understanding Mon when avoiding or withdrawing from her isn't to learn how to read between Mon's lines and carefully interpret her like Mon does with Sam, but to urge Mon towards direct communication, push her past her kneejerk social graces to tell Sam the things she would otherwise swallow down. Not sure if I'm explaining this well but I find it really lovely, that they're both so attuned to each other and so invested in really understanding what the other is thinking and feeling, but they have different, complementary skillsets in how to go about seeking answers: Mon is incredibly perceptive and Sam is incredibly assertive. They're learning from each other too!! Not only is Sam paying close attention to what Mon is feeling but she does this cute thing where she lists off all the evidence of what she's observed (you didn't answer my texts and said no to dinner!), like a student first learning how to do mathematical proofs kdjfsdff Mon meanwhile asks more direct questions of Sam every episode. "What am I to you?" It's no longer enough for her to rely on non-verbal cues. Tl;dr im love them.

"What do you want to eat?" "Your lips" WANNA SUCK MOUTH ENERGY STILL GOING STRONG. Sam is so openly horny it is such a delight to behold.

Jim telling Mon she almost broke up with her fiance when Sam kissed her lmaooo she gets it!! I'm also wondering if she (whether deliberately or subconsciously) shared that to try to provoke a reaction in Mon. Sam's friends are just always stirring the pot to try to make Mon/Sam happen, so the symmetry of Jim taunting first Sam and then Mon with kissies seems intentional. Regardless, I am living for how hard they all ship Sam/Mon, and how they lack a single shred of remorse for Kirk. "If you guys have a beautiful affair we won't tell!!!"

I loved Sam's apology to Jim for oh so many reasons (why is she such a sexy gremlin? "You slap me, I'll kiss you." Sam who taught you to be like this!! I know it wasn't grandma!!), but one of them is all the apology language she's adopted from Kirk and Mon. The fingerheart attempt was so uwu I am having trouble typing about it, but also I'm clocking the snack bribery as something she picked up from Kirk. Before Mon became her role model on how to human, Kirk was there. Like esp if he's been mitigating her grandma's influence on her since she was a kid? I can just see why that was such a central relationship for her before Mon came along. Like I am sad! That he wasn't actually reading the room and wingmanning for her with Mon in ep2! I would have loved that as a story choice sooo much more, he's more annoying for his heteronormativity goggles, and it legit sucks that he's pushing their relationship in earnest when AT A MINIMUM he knows Sam views marriage as a kind of punishment/failure of girlboss aspirations. But I still suspect (what I am anticipating we'll see of) Sam's sense of obligation around his proposal isn't exclusively about obeisance to her grandma. I think there probably was real love there and he probably was a transformative and vital support for her for a lot of her life. Idk I haven't backread any of the tag or anything so this may be a realllly unpopular take lmao but I'm compelled by mess and it's more interesting to me to think that Sam really has loved and depended on Kirk as a partner for most of her life, but she isn't in love with him, something that only became crystal clear after meeting Mon.

On the heteronormativity goggles note: proud of Nop for getting his shit together this fast! I mean I think he always knew, and last week Mon just took away his reason to keep lying to himself about it, but it's nice that he can comfortably transition into Mon's lesbianism supporter. SHE NEEDS ONE

Noticed that she started wearing rainbow earrings after their little discussion btw. Is she beginning to embrace her "like"-like-a-lover-not-like-a-fangirl feelings... signs point to yes. Honestly atp I think all she needed to take that bouquet and propose to Sam herself was some explicit confirmation that Sam sees her as girlfriend material and not as a weird servant-sister, so it's devastating that instead of getting that grounding, the rug was pulled out from under them both. The preview for next week feels v "I don't know if we were dating but I do know she broke up w/ me" and that's the kind of gay representation I desire MOST so thank you but also ow.

Ok sorry for tl;dr post but the last thing I'll say is that right now my reading is that before her conversation with Nop, Mon was not looking too closely at her feelings for Sam or what they could mean about their relationship or her own identity, and that's why for example she gets so upset Sam calls her an outsider but NOT that Kirk is doing couple-y stuff with Sam right in front of her! She knows she wants to be close to Sam and important and more than a sister or a servant to her, but she can't fully-fully embrace the word for what it is that she wants without Sam naming it first. Mon's issue is one of internal expression. On the other hand, I think Sam completely knows what she feels for Mon, and probably always has. She felt guilty and exposed that Kirk was being couple-y in front of Mon because she fully sees Mon as her girlfriend! (Did she not google "how to make up with your girlfriend" lol I mean.) But for her the issue is one of external expression: she can't say what she knows she wants and feels out loud, because at best it would get her disowned and at worst it would get her killed in a car crash like her sister, so she's left slapping her friends and inventing lip-biting games instead of using her words.

Ep 1, Ep 2, Ep 3, Ep 4, Ep 5

[violethowler]

Inverted Mirror: A Discussion of Shiro & Sendak’s S7 Fight Scene

Back before Season 8 came out, I wrote at least one meta on my @fandomoverflow sideblog about the fight between Shiro and Sendak in response to seeing the constant hate being directed at the writers because people saw Keith being the one to kill Sendak as undermining Shiro’s recovery from the trauma of his time in the Empire’s prisons.

The original post has since been deleted and only exists as reblogs, because this was back before tumblr’s porn ban opened my eyes to the importance of archiving and preserving fandom activity. But after I decided to put together a masterpost of all the meta I’ve written, I figured that I would try to write my thoughts out again to reflect on my understanding of that scene years later and see how my thoughts now compare to my thoughts then. 

And one thing that I still feel very strongly about even after all this time is that complaints about Shiro not getting to be the one to kill Sendak overlook the symmetry their fight in Season 7 has with their previous duel back in Season 1, and the significance of what that all represents in terms of Shiro’s character arc and the show’s themes. 

In their first fight back in Season 1, Shiro and Sendak are evenly matched. It ends in a stalemate with neither able to back down without the other killing them, but also unable to strike without being killed themselves. Sendak’s victory in that fight only comes from Haxus intervening and taking Lance hostage, distracting Shiro long enough for Sendak to knock him unconscious. 

In their season 7 fight, Shiro and Sendak are still evenly matched, and Sendak only gets the upper hand when his ship crashes on Earth’s surface. But Keith’s arrival in the Black Lion turns the tide and ends Sendak before he can kill Shiro. 

The common pattern here is that both times they fight, Shiro and Sendak are evenly matched. The only time one is able to get the upper hand over the other is when outside circumstances interfere, whether it be the environment they’re fighting in, or the presence of their allies. 

And it’s specifically the question of whose allies are present that determines the outcome of each of their battles. Shiro faced Sendak alone without backup in Season 1 and lost because Sendak brought reinforcements. In Season 7, Shiro has the rest of his team ready to swoop in and help, while Sendak is the one fighting alone. 

It’s a demonstration of the show’s emphasis on teamwork and working together that has been hammered in from the very first episode of the series. When Shiro and Sendak fight, the one that fights alone is the one that loses, while the one who fights with the support of others is victorious. 

And it also serves as an encapsulation of Shiro’s character arc that I observed in one of my previous meta a few months after Season 8: that Shiro started the series trying to deal with his problems alone without relying on anyone, and that he had to learn to admit his vulnerabilities and accept help from others. The point of his arc, like I said in that earlier essay, was a rejection of the mentality that someone is weak for needing help to deal with their problems, both physical and mental. 

So having Keith be the one to kill Sendak when Shiro is cornered after the ship crashes serves as a visual embodiment of that message: that Shiro doesn’t have to face his demons alone.

Which is further supported by the fact that the series has already established a consistent track record of Keith saving Shiro. 

First in Season 2 when he flew the Black Lion for the first time to rescue Shiro from the angry wildlife of the planet they crash landed on. 

Then again in Season 3 when he rescued Clone Shiro as he was about to die from lack of oxygen and supplies in his stolen Galra fighter. 

And finally in Season 6 when he refuses to let clone!Shiro fall even to save himself. 

Even outside of life-threatening situations, Keith has always been willing to jump in when Shiro needs help: 

During the paladins’ very first training exercise in S1E02 “Some Assembly Required”, Shiro freezes up at the sight of the Altean gladiator charging towards him and Keith doesn’t hesitate to throw himself in front of Shiro and block the gladiator’s blow. 

So Keith killing Sendak rather than Shiro doing it is the culmination of this pattern the series has been building up from the very first season (barring any moments in Season 8 that were cut due to WEP’s meddling of the final season).

Part of the reason I think people reacted so negatively back in 2018 to Keith dealing the final blow to Sendak instead of Shiro is that they were expecting the story to resolve Shiro’s trauma with a big, cathartic confrontation with the major figures of the Galra Empire responsible for his pain. Something like Zuko facing his father during the Day of Black Sun in Avatar.

But even if that was the kind of story the writers had been planning on for Shiro and his PTSD, Sendak would not have been the Ozai in this analogy. 

Back when Season 7 first came out, I saw a lot of fans at the time acting like Sendak was a major source of pain and trauma for Shiro because of the scene where Shiro has a panic attack while Sendak’s memories are being downloaded in Crystal Venom. 

But when you look at the details that the show gives us about Shiro’s experiences as a prisoner of the Galra Empire, Sendak actually has very little to do with the trauma associated with Shiro’s time in the arena. 

Sendak was never once shown or mentioned as being part of any of Shiro’s memories of his time in the arena, and when they meet face to face in “Fall of the Castle of Lions”, their reactions are distant and impersonal.

There’s no recognition of each other as anything other than a Paladin of Voltron and a General of the Galra Empire. 

And before the fight even begins, Shiro takes a defensive position, waiting for Sendak to make the first move. 

When Shiro is captured, Sendak does mention being impressed that Shiro managed to escape and wanting to see if the rest of humanity had his spirit, but this only really indicates that Sendak was aware of Shiro’s performance in the arena.

It doesn’t confirm any deeper knowledge of what happened to Shiro beyond what we already learned. Especially because his reaction to Shiro’s prosthetic arm during their fight shows that he didn’t know about it. Which indicates that Sendak was not directly involved in what Shiro endured. 

And the scene where Shiro hears Sendak’s in the memory chamber during “Crystal Venom” is directly indicated to have been Alfor’s corrupted AI giving voice to Shiro’s private fears and insecurities, as Lance’s experience with the airlock earlier in the episode established that the corrupted AI could mimic the voices of other people such as Coran.

So while Sendak may have been the instrument the castle used to trigger a panic attack, the details of Shiro’s backstory don’t support him playing any significant role in the horrors Shiro endured beyond that of a spectator in the arena.

This contrasts with his reaction to seeing one of the people directly involved in his torture and modifications when Haggar confronts him aboard Zarkon’s command ship in S1E11 “The Black Paladin.” His immediate reaction to seeing her is to angrily growl out “you”, demonstrating that he knows exactly who she is. And then almost immediately he goes on the offensive. 

Haggar was directly responsible for everything that happened to him and has a deep knowledge of things even he didn’t know, based on the fact that she announces her presence by referring to him by the name his fellow prisoners gave him. Unlike with Sendak, Haggar is personally invested in fighting Shiro and tormenting him for his lack of gratitude to her for “making him strong.”

So just in terms of the volume of information we have about each character’s relationship to Shiro, the character built up as the biggest source of trauma for Shiro in regards to his time in captivity was not Sendak, but Haggar.

If the narrative had been meant to build up to Shiro personally winning a battle against a major source of his trauma (and I won’t rule out the possibility that this might have been one more thing carved out of the final season by Bob Koplar’s meddling) like how Zuko fully broke free of his father’s influence by confronting Ozai during the eclipse, the Ozai in that scenario would be Honerva, not Sendak.

Especially because Honerva was the one directly controlling his clone self in the second half of Season 6 and forced him to turn against his team.

If Sendak was meant to correspond to any character in this ATLA metaphor, it would be Admiral Zhao.

Who, if you recall, was also finished off by outside interference during his rematch with Zuko during “The Siege of the North Part 2” when the Ocean Spirit dragged him into the Spirit World. And I don’t hear people arguing that Zuko was robbed of closure because he didn’t get to beat Zhao again.

But even outside of that comparison, Sendak actually does fit as the Zhao of Voltron in terms of their roles in their respective narratives. 

Zuko and Iroh are our first Fire Nation antagonists, but we quickly learn that they are banished and are not representative of the Fire Nation military capabilities. Zhao, on the other hand, is Team Avatar’s first look at an actual military leader of the Fire Nation who directly opposes them.. 

Similarly, while we get brief glimpses of Zarkon throughout the pilot, Sendak is the first actual military leader of the Galra Empire who comes into direct, face-to-face conflict with our main characters. And by the time the Paladins return to Earth in Season 7, he and his Fire of Purification are all that’s left of it.

Galra civilization as seen in Season 8 was reduced to scattered colonies living on isolated planets, trying to stay alive while salvaging what they could from the remnants of the empire’s infrastructure. With the throne empty after Lotor was left in the Quintessence Field and Honerva killing pretty much all the potential claimants at the Kral Zera during the timeskip, the Galra Empire ceased to exist as a political and military entity by the time the Paladins returned to Earth in Season 7.

The only people left who were shown to still be loyal to Zarkon’s ideology that the empire stood for are Sendak and his Fire of Purification.

So by killing Sendak to help Shiro, Keith symbolically fulfills his own words from when he tried to kill Zarkon back in “The Black Paladin”:

“This is my chance to put an end to the Galra Empire. I have to take it” 

But as I said, a big Zuko vs Ozai moment does not appear to have been the approach that the Voltron writers were taking with Shiro’s PTSD. 

His arc, like I said back in 2019, was about learning to rely on his team and accept that needing help from others did not make him weak. 

So contrary to what people were saying back when Season 7 dropped, Keith saving him from Sendak did not undermine his arc, but was (at least part of) its culmination. 

TL;DR: 

I don’t if this attitude is still common this attitude in 2022, but a lot of people post-Season 7 were insisting that Shiro should have been the one to kill Sendak, and years later that take still annoys me because it misses the point of Shiro’s character arc, exaggerates Sendak’s importance to said arc, and dismisses the multiple layers of symbolism and meaning in having Keith deal the final blow. 

[captainvulcant]

Communication and Escape Velocity - Couples in Good Omens Season 2

Something that I really love about Good Omens is all the little ways in which things are balanced (light and dark, good and evil, young and old, etc), and mirrored (various couples vs each other, the Them vs the four horsemen of the apocalypse etc). As someone who likes both symmetry and metaphors this is very satisfying, and I love that we see it in season 2 also with the three main couples portrayed.

What I find super interesting though is the differences in each relationship, particularly with regards to the speed the relationship progresses at, and the amount of communication between the partners.

First we have the newest couple: Maggie and Nina

I don't think we're told exactly how long they've known each other, but certainly their relationship as anything other than people who work on the same street is new. Throughout the 6 episodes their relationship progresses the fastest, from acquaintences to acknowledging their feelings for each other. They also have the most open and frank communication of all three couples (even when they are disagreeing their communication is proactive and they both understand what the other is trying to say), and though they don't end up together their resolution is still satisfying because you know that this was the right decisions for them in that moment, reached together through good communication and good decisions.

Communication 9/10 | Speed 8/10 (8 rather than 9 simply because they also put the breaks on their relationship)

Next we have Gabriel and Beelzebub

If we assume this takes place four years after the first series then Gabriel and Beelzebub have been meeting up for that whole time and their feelings have developed in this period. They've also gone from enemies on opposite sides of a celestial war to leaving everything behind for each other. For humans this would be a reasonably normal timeframe for this kind of change. For beings as old as these two this is like getting the bullet train vs going via donkey.

When their relationship starts they're not open in their conversation, but as it progresses they start to be more honest with each other and their communication improves. They realise that they both have a lot in common and that neither of them wants the war to go ahead. They realise their feelings for each other and make a mutual decision to leave for a new life together.

Communication 7/10 | Speed 7/10

And then finally we come to Aziraphale and Crowley

Their relationship has been building for the past 6000 years. It is the slowest of slow burns, but much of that is because their communication is not in harmony. We the audience knows they're in love, random strangers they pick up in cars know, people serving them coffee know. And they know, or at least each knows they love the other. But, unlike the previous two couples, this is not communicated well between Aziraphale and Crowley. In fact, the couple with the best communication even tells them this

They had to invent an apology dance because they're so bad at talking (ok, admittedly this is my interpretation, and it is hilarious, but I do think there is something to Aziraphale and Crowley's invention of so many rules and habits and routines with regards to each other. It's like dancing - they like to follow a certain series of familiar steps because it gives them a safe framework to work within when it comes to each other. This is also shown in their formulaic approaches to getting Nina and Maggie to fall in love).

But this results in a situation where, when they do communicate, they often say things they don't mean

or say things to obfuscate what they do

That isn't to say they haven't made progress from season 1, they definitely have. But the other two couples are there to hold a mirror up to Crowley and Aziraphale and say, look here's what can happen if you would just be honest with each other. Instead, Aziraphale and Crowley tend to assume what the other means in any conversation and usually get it wrong (hinted at in their conversation about Gabriel at the beginning of the series and then clearly shown in that disaster of a conversation at the end).

Instead they give each other gifts and quality time and use physical actions to try and express what they can't communicate well in words

Communicating might not solve everything and make things simple and easy (Maggie and Nina), it might create more problems and cause a series of ridiculous events (Gabriel and Beelzebub), but, as we have seen, when these two are alligned in their communication and thinking and goals they can create miracles of such magnitude it sets off alarms in heaven.

Communication 2/10 | Speed (Pre Season 1) 1/10, (Post Season 1) 4/10

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Maybe you’ve done this before (so feel free to ignore this - actually feel free to ignore it either way if you don’t feel like doing it 😅) , but if you had to pick the wardrobe for Buck, Eddie, and Chris for the buddie canon confirmed episode what would you pick for each of them? Your costume metas are so fun so I think your answer to this would be too. 🖤

DJ my darling!!

this is such a fun ask and I've been pondering on it for a few days!!! What kind of outfit we'll see them in really depends on the location of where we get canon confirmation, as well as when it happens!!

If it happens this season, then I'm kind on hoping we'll get some colour paralleling of the lasagne scene from 6x01 - with yellow and blue being the colours worn - especially as I've been banging on about the use of yellow and blue in queer storytelling for a little while (its in so many other queer stories, especially recently) who is wearing the yellow and who is wearing the blue depends very much on who makes the first move - but I'm kind of leaning towards Buck in yellow and Eddie in blue, because I really feel the blue on Buck has bee na deliberate choice this season and is very much tied into his own healing arc, so I think once he gets to the point of being ready, we'll see him change colours in some way as the blue will have done its narrative job for him! I would quite like to see Buck in either a knit polo of some sort - as he's been wearing a lot of this season, or possibly something simialr to the grey jumper form the kitchen scene. I don't want to see him in a hoodie though - those are for when he's seeking comfort and thats not what he'd be doing in a nbuddie canon scene!

I thinkEddie in blue would be a great choice for him and we've seen it start to creep more into his wardrobe since 5x14 and in brighter tones as well. I also think seeing him in Blue would time in to a couple of interesting touchstones for his own journey - the conversation in Christophers room in 5x17 and the suit he wore to Hen and Karens vow renewal and then in season 6 we've had him in blue sleeping on the couch in 6x09 (as well as a couple of other instances) so I'd really love to see him in blue if for no other reason thang getting to see the couch metaphor play out to its full and natural conclusion!!! I either want Eddie in a traditional henley or in an open shirt and tee combo - which we've seen him wearing more often since mid 5b.

If Chris is involved in Buddie going canon in any way, I'd actually kind of like to see him in grey of some sort - possibly with a nod to whatever colours Buck and Eddie are wearing - and if they happen to be stripes, then so much the better! the reason I want to see him in grey is because its a neutral colour and because as much as Christopher is a central part in them becoming a family unit, I kind of want the buck and Eddie outfits to do all the talking - Buddie should be about buddie and not about buddifer - in much the same way that Chris was there on the fridge in the new kitchen scene - present but not a part of the scene directly, I feel a bit like that should also be the case for them getting together canonically - because they should and will be together because its what they both want for each other and themselves, and not because of Christopher (does that make sense?!!) I'd really love to see Buck wearing maroon at the moment they tell Chris they're together though - really solidifying the maroon and fatherhood aspect and coming full circle with when we've seen Buck in maroon. I'd like to see Eddie in either cream or blue for this as well -

Another reason for wanting blue and yellow is that I'd love the symmetry of their turnouts being blue and yellow and the whole connection to their jobs - it all just ties in so well together and would make me very happy!!!

Of course they could choose to parallel Athena and Bobbys first date and go with brown and blue - which I would also not be mad at, but I feel like the yellow would be a bit more interesting and fitting - especially because of all I've already said 😎

This post is either going to haunt me when I'm a million miles off, or I'm going to drag it out and be really annoying and make it everyones problem if I happen to be right!!!

How did I do?? I hope it was fun to read! thanks for giving me some fun! 💜💜💜

[jonathankatwhatever]

More on 4 June 2024. What was I thinking about? It was so good that it didn’t write into non-local memory. I prefer that to short-term because non-local means a Boundary and the shift over that.

Oh, now I remember: I was working out how to scale the relativistic effects measured in 0Space when it come to me that it scales in 1Space, and that we see this in examples like taxicab geometry, which fits to the Minkowski metric, which fits to Minkowski space. I remember thinking both times I’ve consciously processed this information that a reaction after the rush was that this disproves our work because the tools all exist from that point on. Then I realized: we’re making the enclosure which explains why these things occur so they’d better connect seamlessly.

Then I had a strong Storyline episode where J described herself as mathematically a woman because she is an enclosure for an object, one which replicates the whole, as opposed to something replicating in you like a cancer or a tendency to freckle. The distinction is important because the Boundaries of those Things make the field at that counting level. The male form is penetrative, implanting that which grows in the enclosure.

Interesting. I never expected Storyline to evolve to reach the fundamental of intertwined identity. This finally explains the gender reversal in the Storylines. And I mean that to the informational exchange level and to the IL, because that’s what generates the relativistic effects within 0Space. It’s also the missing juice, the motivation, the animating force.

That was truly startling this morning. I heard a version of your voice say that I was going to understand this material, but in specific terms I can’t remember because they’ve become, they’ve scaled into understandings.

That’s something J was working on with movement. I saw her ask someone to do a move showing beauty, and then showing them how to scale that so the feeling of beauty extended across the body, showing how to enlarge the movement, how to pull it in, how to connect the various motions together in different orders. And then she explained how this allowed her to explore symmetries and groups in not only the 3 and 4 dimensions of actual dance but in the processing in higher dimensions so that dance occurs and can be taught in those 3 and 4 dimensions.

I can see her processing this as 6 dimensions in each held position, 7 connecting those, 8 dividing into alternatives again, but this time of the 3 and 4 dimensions, primal 2:1. Don’t get overexcited. Look at the 6 first. You saw this as a pose with its intangible structure. And 7 enables states of those, so connection is more existences coming out of and extending higher. At 8 we see the pair of D4. So if take an alignment of D3 and the structure which generates that is D4 - trying to remove Observer by lifting it higher, making this as mechanical as possible - and that means the structure which contains, so the potential of that structure.

That’s an essential piece: the 2:1 isn’t fixed but mixed to the extent allowable in that structure. I heard a wonderful description of J by her mother and it mirrored my experience: she learned algebra almost overnight then said she doesn’t need to calculate with it because she was interested in why certain algebras exist and what that means. I remember being given work books when I wanted more advanced learning material, not more exercises. I didn’t care about calculating.

So the general idea seems to be that the tiny relativistic effects measured in 0Space, like the level which makes current flow, is directly caused by the lack of the ideal SBE count. That means a Thing field, with its Boundaries, exists in rsSpace, which is inherently relativistic 0Space. There’s much more. I’m having trouble getting it out, which isn’t surprising given how far out this material is.

If we had pure SBE, pure 1Space, we’d have no resolution because gsSpace would not exist. That would be a prime space. This is really interesting.

Is it possible to take a vinyl record and convert it so the encoded version is iterative? I mean one of the reasons we’d listen to records on repeat was that each trip sounded a bit different because the needle hits the groove a bit differently each time, and that will be in relation to the mood, to the noise in the room. Can that be real? Can effects that small be real? Are they actually small? We’re talking about vibrations to a surface that transmit to a needle which is banging around in a track. I think this is good. It would be cool if there were an iterative processing engine which adjusted for room noise and other effects, like number of people, whether it’s sunny and thus a bit deader air. Oh, that’s an example: the cold air contraction transmits sounds better than the more open warmer air.

Now, what we’re talking about is something beyond these examples. We’re talking about this size exchange, which becomes special relativity, occurring in a Thing field because focus, the Observer, involves SBE3, and is literally 1+SBE3 because we count from the 1.

Oh, that sounds like something J wrote. Almost had it, but not sure what she meant by counting back. It was that she counted k iterations within a completeness limit, but that doesn’t sound right given Kurt’s work. It must be that she identified an identity over large cardinals, an identity of larger form against which proposed axioms test. Identity requires an End, so she constructed an End, which she did symbolically using the kind of brackets we use.

This is really cool. Feels like I’m getting to know myself.

How does contraction work in 1Space? SBE3 to 1+SBE3 to the label Mag10 to indicate this acts as a connector which enlarges or shrinks and which connects past to future. Think of it as drawing inferences across the center square for all those SBE where the center is B and the 1+ and +1 are the Start and End. The different perspectives provide the animation.

One of the difficulties of talking through this is that I//I explains the electric and magnetic fields so they become forces in rsSpace. Something is missing in my understanding there. I need to take a walk. This has been a lot of fun.

[liopleurodean]

The Road So Far: Season 5

I'm back! We're a third of the way through the series, can you believe it? It's been about 4 months since I started watching and recording my reactions to Supernatural. With the end of season 5, here's my season recap!

It's so hard to pick a favorite episode from this season. I'm gonna have to go with 22, Swan Song, but there are a lot of great contenders: 5x08 Changing Channels, 5x09 The Real Ghostbusters, 5x04 The End, and 5x05 Fallen Idols. It felt like every episode this season had something to bring to the table, and the story was gripping from start to finish. The stakes were higher than ever, and I really felt a sense of urgency in the last five episodes.

I also felt like the characters were more real in this season. In the past, there have been times where the characters have acted, well. Out of character. This season, though, really felt true to everyone, from Sam and Dean to Jo to Michael. Ellen and Jo's sacrifice was heartbreaking, and I really pitied Adam the entire time. I think he deserved better, but I also admire his courage and tenacity.

In the end, though, my heart goes out to Baby. The most important object in the universe! I've made jokes about her being the center of the show before, but I was shocked to find out just how much of a role she played. The Impala is my favorite character, and I loved to see her backstory and more of her in the spotlight. (Do you see why Swan Song is my favorite?)

Something funny happened, actually. The day after I watched the finale, Rock of Ages by Def Leppard came on my car radio! It was kind of cool karma. I thought it was funny how Dean tried to make this awesome entrance, but ended up being kind of useless (I'm sorry, man). Instead, it was Baby who saved the day, so maybe Dean had a hand in it after all.

Sam had interesting development this season. It felt like he kind of waffled back-and-forth about being Lucifer's vessel. It was inevitable, but I found myself hoping that Dean would find a way around it regardless. If season 4 was emulating symmetry, then season 5 was full of foreshadowing and time jumps. With the endverse, and trying to kill Mary and John, and the countless prophecies/predictions, the entire season seemed to be built upon how destiny is inevitable (God: 1, TFW: 0).

Speaking of God, I'm still a little confused as to how Chuck plays into this. I know I have to wait a while before I get any answers, but it's still interesting. Also, Becky? Really?

Anyway, you can tell that this was supposed to be an ending. Without even watching the later seasons, I can agree that it should have ended here. If they removed the last few frames with Sam in them, then they'd have a clean-cut story with a satisfactory ending, something that a lot of TV shows don't get (including, ironically enough, Supernatural). I find it interesting that the generally accepted 'good ending' has Dean alive with a family and Sam dead, while the so-called 'bad ending' has the opposite. Obviously, there are other factors at play here, but it's something to think about.

With that, it's time to say goodbye for now! I might start season 6 tonight, or I might wait until next week (most likely). Remember to keep up with my supernatural tags if you do/don't want to see this content. Carry on!

[0carkki0]

What Taimi thinks of Vividatt

Continuation to my song fate predictions insanity! 8D 

If the singer is a female, that’s what Taimi is thinking at the time. If it’s a male it’s what Taimi thinks Vivs thinks, did he tell her so or not. If a female sings, that’s aimed at Vividatt. If a male sings, that can be aimed at Taimi or someone else. 

If there is no singer, the song gets skipped. 

Let us start... X3 PRESS THAT SHUFFLE!! 

With this, you can also tell what kind of music I have on my iTunes. XB 

Before the Personal Story: Song: Hold On by Empiria

Personal Story: Song: The Brave/Agony Applause by Deadlock

Chapter 1: Experiments Gone Wrong: Song: Artificial Sun Projection by Scar Symmetry 

Chapter 2: Interested Parties: Song: Queen of Light by E-Rotic

Chapter 3: Rescue Researcher: Song: Calculate the Apocalypse by Scar Symmetry

Chapter 4: Order Neophyte: Song: Nothing Like the Rain by 2 Unlimited

Chapter 5: Helping Hands: Song: Tempest by Wovenwar

Chapter 6: The Battle of Claw Island: Song: True Stories by Datarock (O . o) 

Chapter 7: Forming the Pact: Song: Blackout by Scorpions

Chapter 8: Victory or Death: Song: Big Ben by Acting Lovers (XD) 

Season 1: Song: Burn to a Cinder by Epica

Episode 1: Flame and Frost: Song: Take My Love by E-Rotic

Episode 2: Sky Pirates: Song: Nephilim by Abingdon Boys School

Episode 3: Clockwork Chaos: Song: Yava! by Babymetal

Episode 4: Tower of Nightmares: Song: One Last Time by Arch Enemy 

Episode 5: Battle for Lion’s Arch: Song: Money and Fame by Scorpions 

Season 2: Song: We Had Everything by Delain

Episode 1: Gates of Maguuma: Song: Wounds by Thunderstone

Episode 2: Entanglement: Song: Under the Sea by Samuel E. Wright (XD) 

Episode 3: The Dragon’s Reach: Part 1: Song: Across the Universe by Scorpions 

Episode 4: The Dragon’s Reach: Part 2: Song: Gj! by Babymetal

Episode 5: Echoes of the Past: Song: Fallen Star by Kamelot

Episode 6: Tangled Paths: Song: No Limit by 2 Unlimited

Episode 7: Seeds of Truth: Song: Special by Halestorm

Episode 8: Point of No Return: Song: Tähti Tähdistä Kirkkain (Star the Brightest Star) by Paula Koivuniemi 

Heart of Thorns: Song: Nights of Ecstasy by Acting Lovers

Chapter 1: Rally to Maguuma: Song: Left in the Dark by Meatloaf

Chapter 2: Torn From the Sky: Song: Poker Face by Blowsight 

Chapter 3: Establishing a Foothold: Song: Nights of Ecstasy by Acting Lovers (again?) 

Chapter 4: The Jungle Provides: Song: Thank God It’s Friday by NINE ICE KILLS

Chapter 5: In their Footsteps: Song: Your Muse by Silent Opera

Chapter 6: Prisoners of the Dragon: Song: Half God Half Devil by In This Moment

Chapter 7: Prized Possessions: Song: Summertime by Acting Lovers

Chapter 8: City of Hope: Song: Eye of the Thylacine by The Unguided

Chapter 9: The Predator’s Path: Song: Kingdom of Love by Acting Lovers

Chapter 10: Strange Observations: Song: Phil by Acting Lovers

Chapter 11: Roots of Terror: Song: Ravenlight by Kamelot

Chapter 12: The Way In: Song: The Eyes of a Child by Tarja Turunen

Chapter 13: Buried Insight: Song: In Vain by Within Temptation

Chapter 14: Sign Cutting: Song: Father/Son by Wovenwar

Chapter 15: Bitter Harvest: Song: Electroheart by Amaranthe

Chapter 16: Hearts and Minds: Song: In the Palm of Your Hands by Leah

Season 3: Song: Where the Light is Bleeding by Sleeping Romance

Episode 1: Out of the Shadows: Song: Kiss Me by E-Rotic

Episode 2: Rising Flames: Song: Lonely Soul by DIABULUS IN MUSICA

Episode 3: A Crack in the Ice: Song: Voodoo by Amber

Episode 4: The Head of the Snake: Song: Mine by Disturbed

Episode 5: Flashpoint: Song: Arisen Composure by Solar Dawn (I have no idea what the lyrics are though) 

Episode 6: One Path Ends: Song: I Wanna Ride It by Acting Lovers

Path of Fire: Song: Beautiful With You by Halestorm

Chapter 1: Sparking the Flame: Song: Cthulhu Dawn by Cradle of Filth

Chapter 2: Blazing a Trail: Song: End My Path by Cipher System

Chapter 3: Night of Fires: Song: Tomb of Tephra by Miseration

Chapter 4: The Sacrifice: Song: 1000000 Lightyears by Amaranthe

Chapter 5: Crystalline Memories: Song: Perpetual Notion by The Agonist

Chapter 6: Hallowed Ground: Song: Mariah Is Hot Like Fire by Acting Lovers

Chapter 7: Facing the Truth: Song: Some Day My Prince Wil Come by Adriana Caselotti (what is going on in Taimi’s head? XD Others are talking to a Goddess and Taimi is according to this song dreaming of a prince??) 

Chapter 8: The Way Forward: Song: Sacrament of Wilderness by Nightwish

Chapter 9: The Departing: Song: God Is an Automation by Sybreed

Chapter 10: Enemy of my Enemy: Song: Mercy Mirror by Within Temptation

Chapter 11: Beast of War: Song: Get Ready by 2 Unlimited

Chapter 12: To Kill a God: Song: Everything Behind by Sleeping Romance

Chapter 13: Small Victory: Song: The Game by Lacuna Coil

Season 4: Song: Bobby Bodybuilder by Acting Lovers

Episode 1: Daybreak: Song: Braveheart by Imperia

Episode 2: A Bug in the System: Song: Highway by A.Toma

Episode 3: Long Live the Lich: Song: Robbie by Acting Lovers

Episode 4: A Star to Guide Us: Song: Stay by Two Steps From Hell

Episode 5: All or Nothing: Song: Across the Sea by Sleeping Romance

Episode 6: War Eternal: Song: I Come First by Halestorm

IceBrood Saga: Song: Vampire’s Kiss by Acting Lovers

Episode 1: Bound by Blood: Song: Your Sweet Six Six Six by HIM

Episode 2: Whisper in the Dark: Song: Crazy World by Scorpions

Episode 3: Shadow in the Ice: Song: Crucified 2013 by Army of Lovers

Episode 4: Visions of the Past: Steel and Fire: Song: Something There by (from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast) 

Episode 5: No Quarter: Song: Gotta Get It Groovin’ by E-Rotic

Episode 6: Jormag Rising: Song: Mi Amante by E-Rotic

Episode 7: Champions: Song: Resonance by M.T. Revolution

End of Dragons: Song: Dehumanized by Disturbed

Chapter 1: Convergence & Old Friends: Song: Wish I Had an Angel by Nightwish

Chapter 2: Outreach: Song: Made of Lies by Elysion

Chapter 3: Your Kind of People: Song: No Rain, No Rainbow by Babymetal

Chapter 4: Can’t Trust a Pirate: Song: We All Fall Down by Aerosmith

Chapter 5: The Scenic Routine: Song: Kill With Power by Arch Enemy (O . o I wonder what made Taimi so mad?) 

Chapter 6: The Future in Jade: Song: Moving Up by Wovenwar

Chapter 7: Deepest Secrets: Song: Big Ben (The Happy Hard-On Remix) by Acting Lovers

Chapter 8: Fallout Song: Ultimata by ERRA

Chapter 9: To Catch a Spider: Song: Chaos Lives In Everything by KoRn

Chapter 10: Empty: Song: Rock Me by E-Rotic 

Chapter 11: In the Name of the Law: Song: Dead Ocean by The Agonist

Chapter 12: Weight of the World: Song: Candle Lawns by Sonata Arctica

Chapter 13: Extraction Point: Song: All Hail Shadow by Crush 40

Chapter 14: The Only One: Song: Blood That I Bleed by Thunderstone

Chapter 15: The Cycle, Reborn: Song: Freedom Fighter by Aerosmith

Overall song: Poet and the Pendulum by Nightwish

What Taimi respects in Vivs: Song: Remedy by Waldo’s People

Perhaps I give explanations by the drawing I draw at work before work time starts. If I have time that is or there are no disturbing people there. X3 

[morallygreyintrovert]

Nobody asked but I’m going to detail my every thought watching this episode here so enjoy:

1. Why on earth did this episode open with an upbeat montage? I literally said “what the fuck”out loud. I don’t know about you after defeating God and losing my adoptive son and my best friend (who confessed his secret love to me then died immediately after whom I’m also secretly in love with) I’m going to be pretty fucking devastated not doing chores?

*also forgot to add but Sam or Jared is looking super good in this montage, especially the shirtless scene. I’m not a Sam girly (Cas girly till I die) but even I was like “jeez is that man fineeeeee”

2. I definitely won’t be going to a pie festival? Like wtf was that?? Why is Sam more upset about Cas’ death that Dean. Dean is just like ‘ah well, shit happens and life goes on’ like sir are we going to pretend you didn’t go completely non-verbal watching the love of you life die in front of you.

3. Vampmines as the final big bad?? Like I think vampmines are kind of funny and that did make me laugh.

4. I do appreciate when shows comes full circles and there’s literary symmetry. A show ending how it started. So I like that it’s an old Case of John’s.

5. I like the rock music as the screens pans to Deans machete slicing through a vampires neck.

6. Sam should have let Dean use throwing stars, the boy just loves his toys.

7. Jenny? Who the fuck is Jenny? Like honestly when I watched this the first time I have no idea who she was, I had to google who she was. Like literally like I said I’m all for symmetry but out of all the people they could of brought back? Why her? It makes no sense, 0 sense.

8. However Deans whole interaction with her is super funny.

9. NOOO THE CAMERA JUST ZOOMED IN ON THE REBAR. i can’t believe Dean is about to die like I know he is but I don’t believe it. only 18 minutes into the episode. AHHH HE’S JUST BEEN IMPALED NOOOOOOOO.

10. It’s so sad that Sam doesn’t immediately realise Dean’s situation. The panic in his eyes 😢 Dean refusing to let Sam get the first aid kit or even trying to save him kind of reminds me of the door titanic scene like there was definitely enough room for both of them, Jack didn’t need to die. DEAN DIDN’T DESERVE TO DIE.

11. I know early Dean wanted to go on a hunt and I may have been okay with that (I wouldn’t) but WHERE WAS HIS BLAZE OF GLORY?? it wasn’t even a vampire who killed him IT WAS A FREAKIN RUSTY NAIL. Also that man didn’t not want to live (because of his grief for Cas obvs). They spend MINUTES saying goodbye I’m sorry Sam could of saved him.

12. Dean telling Sam about that night he came to get him from Stanford and he was there’s for hours nervous because he was scared of Sam rejecting him and him begging Sam not to leave him. NOOOO IM IN SO MANY TEARS.

13. Dean telling Sam to “keep fighting” as he choosing to die THE HYPOCRISY

14. “My baby brother” 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

15. Sam “it’s okay. You can go now” me, screaming at my tv in tears “NO IT’S NOT OKAY, DON’T GO!!!!!! IT’S NOT OKAY”

Annnnnd that’s all I watched because I’ve turned it off now in disgust. As it turns out, Enough time has not passed and the grief is still raw. I’ve seen all I’ve needed to see as my fic is canon until a second before Dean is impaled and that’s when my fic diverges from this shit show of a final episode.

That’s all she wrote.

I have watched the Supernatural fully only once, I have rewatched seasons 1-8 a fair few times and episodes with Cas and Gabriel I have watched a dozens times but I have never watched season 15 or the last 2 episodes more than once.

Until today. I have not been able to bring myself to do it but as I have resumed writing my post season 15 fix-it fic, I wanted the end of the show fresh in my mind. So for research purposes I’m putting myself through the pain of watching ‘Carry On’ (I’m not or never will be able to bring myself to watch ‘Despair’ again. Okay maybe I’m being a bit dramatic but whatever)

Wish me luck.

[absolutebl]

And there it is again: In the first episode of Love in the Air, our young hero's buddy compliments him by saying he's handsome, that he "looks like Korean actor."

I've caught just enough of these references in my first year of BL viewing to realize that it's "a thing": Korea is the gold standard of ... something ... to other SE Asians ? Do I have that right ? If so, the ideal of what, exactly ?

Astro’s Eunwoo is generally considered/discussed as the perfect example of Korean masculine beauty. 

10 Korean Male Beauty Ideals

The checklist of Korean masculine beauty standards (as of 2022) is as follows: 

over 183cm (6″+) 

slim/skinny build but toned body (we talking swimmer over bodybuilder) 

a “small face” 

pale skin 

dark defined eyebrows

a smaller mouth

high cheekbones

v shaped or sharp jaw line 

double eyelids & bigger eyes 

high nose bridge 

Plastic surgery is often utilized to attain the final three in particular.* 

Add to the above the global procreative breeding standards for “healthy” masculinity such as: symmetry in face and form, broad shoulders, clear skin. 

SF9′s Rowoon is a great example of an idol successfully transitioning to leading man. He meets all 10 standards and is v tall at 190.5 or about 6″3. 

A Bit About Idols & Beauty Standards 

The visual of the idol group is (usually) the one who meets the most of the above checklist + photographs particularly well. As opposed to the center who is usually the best allrounder and/or most charismatic performer. Ironically the face of a group is usually the best representative in terms of communication and popularity style (handling fans + the press). But idols can/do hold more than one position in a group. 

Position distinctions are becoming less popular in 4th gen Kpop groups. While position assignments, including those based explicitly on Korean beauty standards, were pretty much expected of 3rd gen group formation. 

Idols “visual” judgement tends to be decided upon and called via the same standards as above checklist, but they are permitted to be more androgynous by branding than if they were leading man Kdrama actors.

That said, idols tend to transition to acting if they can meet more of the above named standards (and want to act, of course), specifically height. They will probably never get to play leading men if they don’t meet the height standard so that’s usually the biggest hurdle (pun intended) - except for if they do BL. Of course, there are exceptions if the idol is an extremely good actor or very very famous. My bias, Jinyoung, is short to be an actor, for example. He still gets rolls but it will always be harder for him to play a grown up leading man in a romance Kdrama than someone like Rowoon or Eunwoo.  

GOT7′s Jinyoung in Devil Judge 

How Does this Work Outside of Korea? 

Hallyu has had a profound effect on taste not just in other parts of Asia, but globally. But you asked about Asia.

Here’s a very good YT vid on the subject which basically is focused on women and China, but still addresses why Asian Beauty standards are the way they are culturally & historically. 

So when an Asian country (particularly in the south) calls a character “handsome like a Korean actor” that is code for particularly distinguishing the character as handsome by virtue of his “non local” features: like paleness and tallness. (Thailand also does this with reference to western beauty standards. Both Dean in UWMA and Tharn in TharnType are commented on/called out for/self identify as being handsome due in part to their “foreign” features, but the Thai word used is slang for a “foreigner of European decent.”) 

TharnType 2

Because of the popularity of both Kdramas and Kpop, Korean beauty standards are coming to dominate taste at least amongst specific age brackets of consumers/watchers and in countries where Kdramas and Kpop are particularly popular. In these case, the 10 point check list above comes into play when you get a comment like the ones we see in Thai BL. 

That said, Chinese beauty standards (somewhat different) are also in play in the culture itself (for primarily socio-political and historical reasons, so more prevalent amongst older generations, and places that were occupied by China or have intimate social-political relations with it, like Taiwan), as well as western standards (blame colonialism, Hollywood, and the fashion industry). Taiwan is an interesting case since it has intimate ties on all levels with China, Japan, S Korean, and the west, so their beauty standards are particularly varied. 

Japanese beauty standards (which used to dominate many parts of Asian because they cornered the market on music initially *waves at 90s Jpop* as well as manga, animation, cinema, and porn prior to Hallyu not to mention the whole, ya know, empire thing) have experienced significant pushback in the last 20 years, particularly from Korea. That said, their standards still hold pretty strongly within Japan (of course). They are a lot less formal and proscriptive. But, loosely, Japan tends to like a softer face shape, heavier jaw, and wider mouth and be less concerned about extreme tallness. They do love big eyes though. NCT’s Yuta is a pretty good example of one type of Japanese masculine beauty standard. But Japan has more than one. Remember the culture concept of kawaii is in play. Aka men are also allowed to be cute as a form of sexiness. 

Old Fashion Cupcake 

* Yes, I am well aware this is a terrible unachievable bullshit. I am answering the question not making a judgement call. 

Finally: 

Like most beauty standards, these are the result of classism, racism, and colonial occupational history. Not to mention trends, styles, permissive fetishization, gender binary, infantilization, and core linguistic symbolism and syntax around the meaning of worlds used to define and talk about beauty. 

I’m discussing this shizz from a cultural anth and pop culture analysts perspective. Don’t come at me in the comments because you possess the sadly ubiquitous inability to critically think about your own cultural biases and how these might impact your consumption of a different culture’s pop product. My patience is wearing thin and my ban hammer is immediate these days. 

(source) 

[vicsuragi]

hiya! feel free to ignore this but if you have time, do you have a list of all the things you've watched that have con o'neill in them?

i don't actually have a list but for you, anon, anything (and as close to chronological order as i can get)

cucumber (2015) - con appears in episodes 1, 2, 5, 7 and 8

our flag means death (2022-) - con appears in episodes 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10

telstar (2008) - this one is really distressing towards the end but it has a lot of con kissing and being in bed with a pretty boy

uncle (2014-2017) - con appears throughout the series and i cannot overstate my love for it as a whole even beyond val, as iconic as he is

the batman (2022) - not enough con, but his american accent was really bad in the movie and that was really fun for me

banana (2015) - he was in one episode of this and it wasn't enough but he also was really pretty in it sooo

midsomer murders: schooled in murder (2013) - i didn't finish this episode. but a woman was murdered by a wheel of cheese to the head and con was there so if that's at all interesting to you.

inspector lewis: fearful symmetry (2012) - i didn't finish this one either because this character made me so angry but he plays a researcher who is studying chimps or something and is possibly involved in a bdsm-style murder (it really sounds more interesting that it is)

criminal justice (2008) - features in every episode as ralph stone, a solicitor attempting to get a guy out of a murder charge he isn't sure he committed (also ben whishaw is in it if you like ben whishaw)

happy valley (2016-2022) - fully admitting i did not watch more than an episode of this one but con was there and he seemed very sweet, but he could also potentially be a murderer (or he is just the boyfriend of the lead's sister)

chernobyl (2019) - appears in three episodes (1, 2 and 5), has a perm, is kinda a shitty guy

bedrooms and hallways (1998) - earliest con project i have watched, has a bit of biphobia directed at the lead towards the end, but con is absolutely glorious in it and his character got a very happy ending

and that's all i think i've seen so far, i could definitely be missing one or two things i saw but just cannot remember, but i think this is everything! i'll probably start moving into the earlier projects now because i need to see dancin thru the dark