#galaxy brain posting

[favvn]

@flopsy-art all these notes, and you are the only one to point out my crucial mistake in wording. Thank you <3 (And god does it make Spock so heartbreaking as a character!)

I am once again thinking about how in The Naked Time, Spock has an emotional breakdown after contracting the virus and cries about the regret he feels for not loving his human mother vs his shame he feels for his ongoing friendship with Kirk, but before he contracts the virus, Spock finds LOVE MANKIND written on the wall. And it's been written and discussed to death about what it means, I know this, but it's telling that Spock not only loves in spite of his Vulcan upbringing and continued adherence to their customs but that he holds regret and shame deep down inside because the love is still there, regardless.

Whereas Kirk likewise has his virus-induced breakdown over the opposite: his self-inflicted pressure to not love an individual, either due to fear of distraction from duty, losing his position as captain due to the ethical conundrum of "How can a captain date one of their crew?" (no, I do not know the details of how Starfleet manages crew relationships, but I'm assuming rank is an issue, especially where captains are concerned), or even the unspoken taboo of the show's production era, his sexual orientation, hence his focusing on the ship as the only safe and constant outlet for his love. But after this, Kirk finds SINNER REPENT written on the wall, as if to say his altruism isn't the full truth, as if what he desires is what he denies even with the virus lowering his inhibitions.

And like my god. What foils to each other! How damned telling the literal writing on the wall is for them! I am going to eat my fucking sweater!

[megamindsupremacy]

on one hand, I don’t think Bill is all that particularly interested in sex or any of that nasty human goop stuff. On the other hand, the sentence “he fucked that triangle” is so objectively hilarious that I’m nonetheless taking every chance I have to say it. He fucked that triangle hell yeah

[emedeme]

Let Luffy do the poster thing, he deserves it!!!

[uselessnbee]

you know i think it would be absolutely hilarious if after some time Percy would get so fed up by Mr. D never calling him by his actual name so Percy would just decide to do the exact same thing to him and start calling him anything but Mr. D/Dionysus

like mr. D would be like "Hey Peter Johnson" and Percy would turn around and with a straight face be like " yes, Dave?" and everyone else is just watching horrified like wtf Percy? do you want to be turned into a cockroach????

or Percy would be talking with someone and be like " Derek told me-"

" who..?"

"you know our camp director? god of wine and all that?"

"......you mean mr. D./Dionysus "

"yeah Dylan...so anyways he told me-"

and then it would become this thing between Percy and Mr. D where they would always try to come up with the most stupid and outrageous wrong names to annoy each other as much as they possibly can

everyone is horrified at Percy and just waiting for Dionysus to smite him but Percy and Mr. D are secretely having a fucking blast

[nounaarts]

LEAKED SCENE FROM SONIC MOVIE 3 ??

*queue 80’s music*

Here’s all their crimes listed :)

[dustykneed]

is this how tsfs went? i think this is how tsfs went. source? trust me bro. he chose the danger

unintentional coincidence but thinking about it this sorta reminds me of this post by @muirmarie! if you enjoyed the comic you should absolutely go read it. i'm insane about it

[izzystizzys]

“…I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I still don’t quite understand”, Fox says, for what must be the dozenth time that hour. His heartbeat pounds behind his eyes in an incessant drum of hurt, and his head aches with every breath like someone’s taken a rusty fork to the inside of his skull and raked his brain out. Fox’ eyes are beginning to burn the way they start doing around hour 80 of a shift, and he has to suppress the brief urge to check over his shoulder. Not even Stabby could come up with a ploy this contrived to make him sleep. Probably.

In front of him, General Grievous coughs awkwardly, long spindly durasteel limbs shivering with its force. “Certainly”, he vocalizes, in that deep, watery cadence. “For your glorious triumphs in battle, your awe-inspiring victory over me in close combat, and your undeniable warrior spirit, I accept you as my consort. I have proven my skills through the ritual capture, and thus, by Kaleesh custom, we are now wed, Commander Fox. I will honor you as my war-bride, and visit vengeance upon your enemies. I swear it to you.”

Expectantly, Grievous tilts his faceplate to the side, and Fox only just catches the suppression of the manic giggle that wants to escape him. Yeah, probably not Stabby - maybe a dying fever dream? Has the infected gash from that skirmish on the lower levels five rotations ago finally decided to end him? If so, it’s not fast enough for Fox’ tastes.

Here’s how it happened: Fox has no kriffing clue. All he knows is one moment an emergency alert tore him from precious Scream Closet time this morning, he went to rescue the Chancellor’s dumb ass again, and whoop, here he is on General Grievous’ ship with the war-criminal himself declaring them happily married. And eyeing him up and down like a piece of candy.

Why, Fox thinks, desperately, does this always have to happen to me?!

Chancellor’s still kidnapped, by the way. Fox has other priorities for the time being.

“I swear to aim my weapons in your service”, Grievous continues, when it becomes exceedingly clear Fox is not going to break out of his shocked stupor anytime soon. “I swear to aim true and strike with murderous intent, I swear to uphold the sacred bonds of our clans in the name of our union, I swear to raise a strong, bloodthirsty brood of warriors with-“

“Wait”, Fox interrupts, once his brain has caught up past the astromech dial-up sound it seems to be playing on repeat. “Uphold clan bonds? You murder your way through my brothers like a rabid nexu on spice on the regular!”

Grievous’ faceplate, which should be for all intents and purposes totally expressionless, does something that reminds Fox strangely of contrition. It has him gaping and shivering in discomfort, in any case. “A fact I regret, but acknowledge lies in my past before the fateful crossing of our paths. I am a warrior at soul, you must understand, my worthy mate.” Durasteel faceplates don’t turn soft. They don’t. And coughs don’t sound loving. They simply do not. “But I uphold the bonds of these sacred vows under Kaleesh law, that I swear to you, my beloved.”

“All I did was grapple you to the ground”, Fox says, mourningly. “Cody has kicked you in the head dozens of times and you’ve never tried to marry him.”

“He is not you, and his battle lacks the lustful vitality and love of violence of yours”, Grievous declares, and Fox really cannot tell whether the sound that erupts from him is a lovelorn sigh or a hacking death-gurgle. This cannot be his life.

Just then, a droid conveniently enters, putting a pause to all Fox’ sufferings. He’ll need to tell Thorn to research Kaleesh divorce proceedings. Or, better yet - he needs to blow up this whole karking ship including himself and destroy all evidence of this ever happening.

“Generals Kenobi and Skywalker awaiting in custody, Sir”, says the droid, nervously. “They are here to rescue Chancellor Palpatine, but we cut them off just out of the hangar bay.”

Internally, Fox rolls his eyes so hard it hurts his brain. “The Jedi can wait”, Grievous hacks out, and for once Fox agrees with him. Let the two dick around onboard, there’s bigger issues at hand.

“But Sir”, says the droid, all twitchy with an anxiety Fox eternally wonders who the kriff programmed into the damn things, “what if they try to escape and -“

A deep, growling noise erupts from deep within Grievous’ massive metal chest, amplifying Fox’ pounding headache by a thousandfold. “I have no time for this”, he snarls at the cowering droid. “Remove yourself from my and mine beloved’s sight.”

“Roger Roger”, the B2 squeaks, hesitantly, before adding on - “The Chancellor-“

Harrumphing petulantly, Grievous stomps one massive, clawed foot and makes what feels like the whole viewdeck shake. “I will twist his head off his body like a rotten fruit”, he declares. “That will get those pesky Jedi off my ship faster, and then we can continue saying our vows.” He pauses, thoughtfully, and then hooded eyes ringed by what must surely be rotten flesh fix on Fox inexorably. “It will be my wedding gift to you, beloved, an offering of peace to your brothers.”

Fox opens his mouth to protest, but quickly snaps it shut again when his husband already turns tail and storms off.

Huh. Maybe this marriage thing isn’t all bad.

[dandelion-roots]

No matter what you do, you just can't shake him off, can you, Chūya?

[lyrics: Florence + the Machine | id in alt]

EDIT: I made a whole ass janky animatic to this song, enjoy!

[shaylogic]

Messy Masterpost: I don't have the words so here's a mess of links and ideas

@captainfantasticalright's Dead Boy Detectives: a breakdown of Dante's hell. This post is a masterpiece of understanding how the Hell/afterlife dynamics work in Sandman Universe and DBDA, and it's sent my mind buzzing like crazy

My post about Simon's book

Not just any book

Theory about Simon's brother/father? Being a part of Burgess' Cult ("Order of Ancient Mysteries")

Thank you @niko-sasaki-dbd

Ba'al ==> Sa'al

Seems like Simon may have gotten a demon-summoning book that worked from his brother who may have been involved on Burgess' cult from Sandman. He died with book in hand, and that's the one he's tearing apart on repeat in Hell. Tumblr user listed above identified what the book might be, based off the image.

This interview at 12:52 George Rexstrew answering that Edwin's favorite thing about Charles is his unconditional love and acceptance of him.

Post about Charles bearing his soul to the Night Nurse like Orpheus played music to Cerberus

Interviewer talking about "straight friend" Charles "rejecting" gay Edwin, only for George, Jayden, Beth, and Steve to stiffen up slightly. Asking about how Charles didn't have a gay panic reaction to Edwin's confession. This interviewer is actually gay and interviewed on a gay network later, which threw me after this question.

=>If Charles had really gay panic rejected Edwin, it really would have ended like Eurydice, thrust back to the pit of Hell to wallow in the internalized homophobia, rather than being released with the support and healthy love of Charles.

Actors have reiterated multiple times that the case is not closed on Edwin and Charles' romance, they're just getting started and figuring it out in the midst of all the chaos.

People are stuck in Hell because they believe they belong there but Edwin gets out the second time because Charles KNOWS he doesn't belong there! And reminds Edwin of this when he's getting pulled under in it all

Charles went back to his red polo after the confession and escaping Hell with @nerdytacollama's excellent addition on episode 7 specifically!!

Edwin's whole arc was about accepting loving and being loved and his attraction to men, and his love of his best friend, specifically

Steve Yockey saying the confession NEEDED to happen on the stairs out of Hell. One reason being that Edwin may have been too afraid to go through with it after, another being that he could get dragged away forever at any second and it could be his last chance.

[above article pic quote from this]

But also based on the Hell worldbuilding of the Sandman Universe where people only go to hell if they believe in it and believe they deserve to be there > Edwin believing his want for intimacy at all letalone with other men being "such a sinful life" (Night Nurse paperwork) > the upward climb of healthy love from the Dante's Inferno Post > Edwin HAD to confess on the stairs and be accepted! It freed him of Hell~!

Simon moved on from Hell with Edwin's mutual sorrow for the two of them and somewhat understanding/forgiveness? Maybe self-acceptance from the gay guilt

Edwin's form saying he would serve in Hell for living such a sinful life and then be reassigned to a more pleasant state (Hell not an eternal afterlife, just time served and then moving one)

[image posted in @reviewcreature's post with @melefim's addition]

If Edwin went back now, loved and accepted by his friends and himself, would he pass on to the better place?

My post wondering about reincarnation in the Sandman Universe, which others weighed in on in the comments about how it's indeed canon

The parallels of the Lust room in hell being a butcher shop with bloody hanging bodies to reflect the debauchery of bloody writhing lust bodies ===> compare to "Girls' Night" when Jenny was running and hiding from stalker Maxine in her butcher shop behind meat ===> compare Edwin's arc of accepting "sodomite sin" of being attracted to men (challenge to the epitome and catalyst (ha) by the Cat King) and him having been through the Lust room of hell before and him STARING AT THE RED BULL ON THE BUTCHER SHOP WALL (as compared to directly in the first linked post)

The purity of Charles and Edwin's love compared to that and the stereotypes of how male love is depicted in media, as George, Steve, and Jayden have spoken out against gently in multiple interviews

How it's partially childlike, partially deep friendship where two men can hug and cry, partially a crush, partially potentially reciprocally romantic

The juxtaposition of Edwin's archetypical confession to Charles on the stairs of Hell on the way out of the Limbo of it, with Maxine guilty and desperate just below them, not even looking toward the open door

Fans wondering why it was so easy to get out of Hell. The worldbuilding canon saying that Hell is what you make of it (Charles says this in the original Season of Mists Ch 4 comic, Edwin says it in episode 7 to Simon). People in Hell stuck because they feel they deserve it.

@podcastenthusiast's post about being glad Edwin didn't see Simon move on, because then he'd really wonder we he himself suffered so long

==>CHARLES got Edwin out because he KNEW he didn't belong there!!!!

They push and pull each other by the arms the whole way to the top!!!!!!!

Magical weight in the snake pit "nothing's meant to leave this place"

Charles literally dragging Edwin out of Hell for the love and devotion to him!!!!!!!!!!!!

Allegory of dragging him out of his self-rejection and holding him by the face saying over and over "I love you. I accept you. I'm not leaving without you."

Openly gay producer/director Steve Yockey insisting on being the one to write Episode 7 and you can feel it in every color on the screen.

There's no higher power deciding this, despite the paperwork and minders ensuring everyone is sorted. It's an internal self-decided fate, unconscious.

I'm not gonna be able to link and list every pic and organize this in the state I'm in but--

ARE YOU SEEING ALL THE THINGS I'M SEEING?

Girl help I'm getting visions!!!!!!!!!!!!

[slurmdog]

based on this post by @anqelbean - in my opinion shen yuan says "behave" and binghe has to process that in real time without screaming

[favvn]

The Conscience of the King: A Closer Look at Humanity and Tools

Initially, this was to be a post using excerpts from Georges Bataille's writings about work and tools as the things that contain humankind's urge for violence paired with how Jim Kirk and Anton Karidian/Kodos view tools and what that reveals about each character. I made the post but kept typing up the meta since this episode has so many layers to examine. As a warning, yes, this is long. I do not know brevity :)

Something that I keep thinking back to is how Kodos/Karidian confronts Jim Kirk for using tools and argues that Kirk's adherence to a society built by tools is not only "mechanized" but "not very human" as a result. Kodos' argument is that humans don't need tools, lest humankind grow weak and accustomed to devices aiding them. It is humankind's struggle against life itself that defines humanity for Kodos as a eugenicist. Only the strong may survive in this scenario, by their own innate strengths. The use of tools and technological developments gives everyone a chance at living, not just those who fit Kodos' ideals, so tools and the progress made with them are to be rejected.

Yet Spock's research into the Tarsus IV massacre reveals that it was "painless," which suggests some tools were used to prevent the pain of death, be it lethal injection or disintegration chambers like those used by Eminiar VII in A Taste of Armageddon.

As an aside, it is possible the official record is incorrect, although I argue against that idea if only because it makes sense for each survivor (be it Leighton, Riley, or Kirk) to speak of the massacre as a butchering or outright murder. They witnessed the events, saw their loved ones die, and were to be killed themselves. It is not so much a bias on their part but their own humanity decrying the inhumanity of Kodos. It would be shocking if they, of all characters, were to not refer to the massacre in explicitly violent terms. (Of course, by referring to the event and naming it as a massacre, the cruelty and violence inherent to it becomes implied, even if pain was absent.)

This would suggest that Kodos is not only a hypocrite (tools can be used so long as they serve his goals alone) but that Kodos is also projecting his own crimes and moral failings onto Jim Kirk as a Starfleet Captain. ("I find your use of the word mercy strangely inappropriate [...] You've done away with humanity.") Kodos had to be merciless and inhuman to choose to kill the people he was to govern. (He was not the elected governor of Tarsus IV given his statement in the death summons, "The revolution was a success." He seized power.) When Kodos specifically calls Kirk's mercy into question before declaring humanity has been done away with by Kirk's mechanical society, he inadvertently links the two concepts together: to have mercy is to be human. (This claim is further supported by Kodos' later conversation with his daughter once it is revealed that Lenore has been killing the survivors. He exclaims, "By killing seven innocent men!")

Jim Kirk, of course, views tools as they are: not something to hinder humankind but an aid to help. He argues that society has "armed man with tools," which is an interesting phrasing for him to use. (Consider: "society has given man tools") One hopes the intent is arming for defense rather than murder or war, but with an episode like The Conscience of the King, one which uses Shakespeare to hide the plot in plain sight and extended metaphor to recall the horrors of the Holocaust, either intent can be accepted. Kirk could also be recalling the revolution of Tarsus IV, arming oneself against further despots, or admitting to his own desire to kill Kodos. ("If I had gotten everything I wanted, you might not walk out of this room alive.") For all of Kodos' vitriol to Kirk and the tools of society, it is Kirk who ultimately shows him mercy by not yeilding to vengeance (or to Kodos' goading for it).

It is important to note, however, that Kirk is not above using other people for his personal gain. He puts on the act of a charming love interest for Lenore just to get to her father. Lenore is correct when she confronts Kirk about being used as a tool and referring to his cruelty as a result. Of course, there is a dark irony to this in that Lenore is using Kirk in order to fully close the chapter of Tarsus IV in her father's life by killing the survivors. She's the pot calling the kettle black.

The episode ends with Lieutenant Riley sneaking backstage to kill Kodos during the Karidians' production of Hamlet. Kirk stops him, but it leads to a larger confrontation between Lenore and Kodos, and it reveals her to be the murderer all along.

In what is perhaps the most striking three-pronged twist of irony, Kodos is killed:

He is killed by his daughter, Lenore. ("The one thing in my life untouched by what I'd done [...] I never wanted the blood on my hands ever to stain you.")

He is killed by a phaser gun—a tool of the society he rejects—and a highly mechanized tool at that.

Kodos steps in front of Jim Kirk, the same Kirk who he planned to kill 20 years ago, and takes the shot that was intended for Kirk.

As an aside, Kodos had to die due to the Hayes Code. Evil can not go unpunished according to it. However, I think Barry Trivers, the author of the episode, did a fantastic job to make what could otherwise have been a black-and-white morality tale into something compelling, nuanced, and wonderfully human. (In other words, the layers. Wow.)

One can wonder if the ending is meant to push beyond the limits of the Hayes Code with the questions it raises. For example, did Kodos intend to protect Kirk, or did he assume his daughter would never shoot him? Does Kodos' death change anything 20 years after the fact, when his daughter has killed seven of the nine survivors? How can Lenore Karidian survive yet lose part of her memory, enabling her to forget her father's death and (possibly) her own crimes by extension? How can Jim Kirk live with knowing his life was saved by the man who wanted to kill him in the past? How can Kirk live with knowing the woman who tried killing him has survived and possibly doesn't remember any of it?

The show, of course, does not and will not answer these questions owing to its self-contained story format. In the end, it is up to the viewer to draw their own conclusions as to the humanity of these characters.

[warabola]

fallen london is the experience of going haha I love quirky dark alternate victorian london. :) there are squids walking around. :) i made a little guy for it and he's an urchin.

two years later: we are all pieces in a larger imperialist game that I once glimpsed through a veil made of dreams in the colour of forgetfulness. my grief is fuel for the tears that will drown another city. there are hierarchies within hierarchies within hierarchies and they are all devouring each other in petty strife at the expense of those below them. monkeys are sinners and, contrary to that published thesis, not the highest epitome of morality or contentment. i have married the squid.

[sundry-whovengerslocked]

so I had a Big Brain Moment...

had this been done? I don't think it has

there's so much more I couldn't fit. so much more. feel free to expand on this (or make it look better)

other things:

since avatar is based off of Asian culture technically zuko also helped save China

all could be seen as an lgbt allegory

mulan and zuko both fighting for their honor (why didn't I think of that sooner, it's so obvious!)

atla had the kyoshi warriors and mulan fought with a fan

atla and mulan both had a strong woman having men to do drag

all have fairly recognizable voices

all at some point had talking animals (mushu, aang's sleep deprivation hallucinations scene)

zuko and mulan both had pivotal hair cutting scenes

all of them being physically different than others in some way (po being the only panda at first and being made fun of for being fat, mulan being a woman warrior, zuko and his scar) (this along with other things fits into the lgbt allegory idea)

badass old men (iroh and bumi, oogway and shifu, the emperor)

po and mulan both meet flower symbolism (the peach tree vs the cherry blossom tree)

atla and kung-fu panda both have turtles/tortoises as wise figures

mulan and zuko both wear badass clothes

all underdogs who eventually earn the respect of pretty much everyone in their stories

zuko and po both being the comic relief at some point

zuko and po both joining an already well-established team and feeling left out at first (the gaang, the furious five)

shifu and iroh both essentially losing a son but in wildly different ways

lotus symbolism (po's birth name being little lotus, iroh's white lotus group, again the flower blooming quote for mulan)

mulan and po being bowed to by someone higher up than them (the emperor, shifu)

[muchanmocha]

Hm.

Specifically the left hip.

Guess what's also attached to Hyuna's left hip.

Now I'm not saying Luka having a hand on Hyuna's left hip means he has something to do with why she has a prosthetic left leg now or that Luka having his name branded on his left hip could be a deliberate choice on his part to reference that

But I'm also not not saying—

[paramores]

If I was writing it, he would be with Rory. I think that Logan was a character who was pushed in a certain direction because of his family, and he didn’t want to be in that direction. He wanted to follow his heart and his love, which was Rory. 

Matt Czuchry on Rory & Logan

[starrvsn]

the amount of don drafts i have isn’t even funny anymore…