#i feel like there's a version of this scene in the 60s run where he bends metal bars with his bare hands. i think i remember that.

[vulpinesaint]

awesome. i was literally just thinking about eddie brock breaking out of that technologically advanced cell with his own brute strength. you idiot ‼️ that guy is jacked as fuck ‼️ you set the decibels too low ‼️

[positivelybeastly]

I wanted to get your thoughts on a topic surrounding Beast that has personally annoyed me. I've never liked how Hank is usually seen as the oldest man in any room he's in by fans. Despite being part of the same original class as Scott, Warren, Jean, and Bobby, Hank is always treated by fans like he's around 60-70 while characters like Scott and Jean are still treated and written like they're in their 20s. I partially blame the Fox movies messing with the generations and ages and having Hank as an older mentor to people he's around the same age as in the comics. I partially blame how Hank became progressively less of a man of action as the comics continued while his peers were continuing to run around doing athletic feats.

But it is disheartening when I see fancasts for movies and Hank is always at least 20-30 years older than the casts for characters like Scott and Jean. One positive about our current clone Hank is that he's unquestionably young again. The Infinity Comics even poked fun at this with Scott saying Hank didn't want to play basketball because he was "Afraid of losing to his elders." But what do you think? Does this bother you as well or do you not think it's a big deal?

So, I completely understand where you're coming with this, and it does bother me a bit, too. I think there's a whole ass confluence of factors that have led to this impression, but you've correctly identified at least a few of them.

The Fox movies. Replete with inaccuracies as they are, it feels almost churlish to rag on them for making Hank notably older than everyone else in his generation because there is just so much wrong with those films, but, as the entry point into the franchise for a whole generation of fans, and having created a whole sub-genre of X-Men fandom that occasionally touches the comics but otherwise stays hermetically sealed, it's created this persistent impression that Hank is Old.

Kelsey Grammer was born in 1955. That made him 34 years older than Shawn Ashmore, 27 years older than Anna Paquin, 18 years older than James Marsden, 13 years older than Hugh Jackman, 11 years older than Halle Berry, 9 years older than Famke Janssen - he's only 15 years younger than Patrick Stewart, and only 16 years younger than Ian McKellen.

That is a huge age gap, and it's not just the actual age gap, either, it's the kind of performance that Grammer gave, which is very much in tune with TAS Beast - he is not a very youthful and exuberant Hank McCoy. He feels older, distinguished, he wears a lot of suits, he's only in one real action scene, and even his costume is less revealing than almost any of his comic costumes.

No, I'm serious, it has an effect!

The version of Hank from the Marvels is played by Grammer 20 years after X3, and yet I think it's undeniable that he looked and felt younger in the movie made way later. Partly it's thanks to the CGI, but I also think the fact that he dresses in a pair of shorts and a lab coat plays into it, too. Young people wear less, old people wear more, generally speaking.

And that's not necessarily a problem, because Grammer's performance is excellent, and there are touches that make it feel right for this version of the character in X3, like the fact that he's notably fit but appears to have gone a little to seed, and the fact that he's straight up in government now. But. A popular performance is a performance that gets remembered, and codified.

Hoult being the only member of the actual O5 in First Class and being carried through those movies as an original X-Man, with characters like Scott and Jean being introduced in Apocalypse as very, very young teens, only exacerbated the problem, on top of being a version of the character that doesn't have much resemblance to Hank McCoy anyway.

There's a whole subsection of the X-Men fandom that only really interacts with the series through those movies and writes about those movies - check AO3 sometime, and see how much is still being produced for the XMCU fandom, even though the main series is over and has been for years at this point. For them, Hank is only ever one way - Old. And even when he wasn't old, he was stodgy.

Which leads us to the next problem - the fact that Hank, often, will act much older than he is. It's glaringly obvious especially when you look at 60s Hank, who's already contending with the fact that young people in the 60s looked like they were 40 despite being 16; on top of that handicap, he's canonically the oldest of the O5 (by a whopping whole year, wow, much age gap), but also the one who dresses most formally, and speaks the most formally, and looks the most adult, because of his mutation.

He is physically the largest because of his massive limbs, ergo, you mentally code him as Older. The things that he does to hide and blend in, the suits, the primping, the big words, the stuffiness, all code as Older. You can also really see it with how he changes from classic Hank to feline Hank.

Like, there is a passage of time here, but despite the gap of around 15 years publication time, in-universe, it's only meant to be a few years. Hank is maybe 29 in the first page, 33-ish in the page, but the process of mutating and needing to affect a more distinctly human and more controlled appearance, the trauma that piled on multiplicatively, the darker tone of the comic as they went on, Hank just became older, relatively speaking, and artificially so, in a way.

This ended up compounding with storylines like X-Force, where he was explicitly written as being out of shape, sedentary, more cynical, less funny, all of these character tics that you just instinctively associate with age. A similar sort of thing happened with Professor Xavier - he was written to be much, much closer to the O5 in age in the original 60s run, judging by certain contextual clues and character backstory, but as time went on, his baldness, his disability, his relationships with notably older, adult women, his authority, all contributed to him being aged up and up and up. It's subtle, and it happens over time, but it does happen.

And, as you've touched on, Hank just became much less a character of action as time went on.

Hank actually became much stronger over time, going from being able to lift just one ton to a full ten tons by his modern mutation, but even with that power upgrade, his character archetype has been firmly nudged over, from the original X-Men's Big Guy bruiser, into a full on genius/mad scientist.

That is now his defining trait, because comic book writers like to have an easy source of sci-fi problems and solutions to tie up their plots, and use of brawn is just not considered to be an appropriately Beast solution to problems anymore. See also the move towards showcasing characters with flashy powers like energy projection and psionics over raw super strength, which I think is why characters like Colossus have really suffered with staying relevant in the comics these last few decades.

Hell, it's gotten so bad that Hank's trademark visual action style has, by and large, fallen by the wayside. It used to be that Hank did this kind of sequence all the time:

He does still do it, very, very occasionally, but the last time I can really think of him doing it is during S.W.O.R.D volume 1, back in 2009. Which, again, has a very bright, upbeat, energetic Beast. This sequence communicates energy, vitality, youth, and even though Hank hasn't aged that much, the lack of use of his old visual signifiers means that he feels older - or, maybe it's more accurate that he feels less notably young. Either way, the effect is the same.

On the one hand, this overall ageing up doesn't bother me as much as a lot of other Beast related foibles - the fandom's refusal to shut the fuck up with their one war crimes joke, for one - and it is a thing that Hank often tries to consciously foster, so that he feels more trustworthy and less dangerous, but it removes him from his friends in a way that I hate, and it makes him less human and less fun and, honestly? It makes him less popular, more remote.

You only have to see how people conceptualise Beast in headcanon or X-Men '97 fandom posts to see how Beast being older knocks on to his relationships with people - he's not regarded as Jean and Scott's mutual best friend, he's regarded as essentially Charles' friend, as the mature one.

People don't conceptualise him as funny, as overtly romantic, as sexual, as goofy, as lovable, he's distinguished and controlled and sometimes even cold, and that's just. Not Hank. Not in his entirety, anyway, not fully. Hank is such a good character precisely because he swings so wildly all over the emotional spectrum, is all of these things and more, and yet it all still makes cohesive sense when you key in to his character. Removing his warmth, his immaturity, his humour, his youth, hurts that complexity.

In short? #LetBeastBeYoungAndGoofyAgain. We're well overdue.

[sjofn-lofnsdottr]

I am feeling particularly talkative about my dumb dudes today apparently.

This next guy isn't done with the MSQ yet, unlike the previous three I've word vomited about. I made him because I was struggling to understand the appeal of the male viera. It felt like 99% of them looked the same, had the same uwu vibe (no offense to the uwu viera men out there), and were just sort of ... meh. Perhaps, I thought to myself, if I made one, and stared at his stupid face long enough, I would Understand.

He started out as a bunny version of Dusk, because I wound up making bunny versions of Dusk, Mercuriel and Errol in the character creator and bunny Dusk seemed friendliest.

I named him Bjalla, and Bjalla made it very clear immediately that no. No, he was not Bunny Dusk.

And get the fuck off his lawn, while he's at it.

He is level 16 or so in that shot, not quite done with the Limsa intro MSQ. And he is already So Done With Everyone's Nonsense. No matter, I thought. I'm going to make this Bunny Dusk thing work. I'll give him tiny glasses, Dusk always wears tiny glasses, it's part of what makes him so Dusk.

And then I had to accept I had accidentally made a crabby grandpa rabbit. He isn't like so many viera I run into, who are young in body AND spirit (some of them claim to be in their 20 or 30s! Nonsense!). This man has Seen Some Shit before any of you bastards were even born.

Fine, I decided. Fine, if he's going to be a Real Boy, I should refresh on the whole viera lore thing. Really ponder it. And holy shit, I'd always thought it was intensely weird and clearly in the service of trying to explain why there were only ladies in battle thongs representing the race, but it is nigh impossible for me to conceive of a male viera that doesn't have a shitton of trauma as a result of where he came from (unless, of course, he was born outside of that culture to begin with, then he has a chance!).

Bjalla was part of that culture for a long time. He was a master, who had apprentices. HIS master had told him that he needed to make a decision one day: treat all his apprentices like his sons, or none of them. Taking after the man who taught him, Bjalla treated his apprentices like family. This made it incredibly hard when he would lose one, and one day he just ... couldn't do it any more, and walked away from it, breaking the Green Word.

He didn't love learning he apparently Has a Destiny 60+ years later, to be honest. But better than making some kid protagonist do it, he supposes.

Bjalla is old, he is an old man compared to everyone around him, even if you convert his age to hyur-years. "Oh, I'm basically in my 20s," you'll hear Viera players say. Bjalla is in his sixties, by the same metric. He sneers at the old man jokes lobbed Thancred's way. Thancred is a child.

He still has a strong urge to dad people, though, even idiot teenagers who are early in their character development and deserve to be pushed into the ocean.

Or idiot dragoons pretending the whole thing Bjalla saw him do in the dragoon questline is solved now and has absolutely no bearing on their future adventures together.

Old men with PTSD are safe from being dadded, though. They get commiseration instead. Only in spirit, though, Bjalla doesn't like talking about himself much unprovoked. And he has a very high bar for what counts as 'provoked.' Bjalla is an extrovert compared to most feral forest hermits, but he is still an ex-feral forest hermit.

Given the backstory I gave him, the Vault was especially upsetting for him. Not only because of the flashbacks - I love how young he looks here, right back to losing his last apprentice, the one that broke him - but because of what followed.

I've always found the scene where you go to Edmont afterwards so much sadder than the Actual Event. But sending my grandpa rabbit, who has known this exact kind of loss, to go see him made it even worse. He felt fatherly towards Haurchefant too - of course he did - and he's upset about such a kind, capable man's life being cut short, especially to protect him, of all people. But he's even more upset that this fellow father is going through pretty much the worst thing a father can experience.

Losing Ysayle later, another basically-kid in his eyes, who had so much potential in the life she should've gotten ahead of her, was not any better, of course. And later, after the Resistance encampment is decimated by Zenos and company, getting to commiserate with Conrad about all the young lives snuffed out ahead of their time, while these two tired old men are still standing, and how unfair it is ... it was a lot. It resonated with me more than it had on previous runthroughs.

Stuff hits different when you're in a grandpa rabbit mindset, I guess is what I'm saying here.

It's not all sad, of course, FFXIV at its core is a hopeful game, and I enjoy that he's got joy in his life too. He has a whole-ass found family he loves very much, for example.

And a girlfriend that is too young for him but since she's coded as old he hasn't really noticed.

As you likely noticed, his MSQ class is warrior, although I'm also pretty fond of him being a black mage too, of all things. He works through shit by setting his problems on fire sometimes, I guess. He also will frequently be a dragoon or bard, as I think he primarily used those weapons Back in the Forest Times and he doesn't want to get rusty.

Anyway! That's Bjalla, who is right at the end of 5.5 and I'll probably finish EW on him during the lull between 6.55 and 7.0, if not sooner.

He is not in a rush.

[malwad]

Wow guys... I recently rewatched the movie "Free guy" and realized how well the Convin superimposed on this story...

(movie spoilers follow)(+ English is not my native language, so I hope the text will be readable)RK900 is an NPC in the MMORPG "Free City" developed by "Cyberlife Games". He does not know that the world around him is just a video game and works as a bank teller along with his best friend and security guard Hank.

In the real world, Gavin Reed is trying to find evidence that the source code he wrote with his friend Connor was stolen by Cyberlife head Elijah Kamsky. He plays the game looking for the right files inside.

In the game, Gavin gets RK900's attention by walking by humming his favorite song, Mariah Carey's "Fantasy", and he starts to deviate from his programmed algorithm and runs his personality freedom development code, powerfully evolving as an AI.

RK900 helps Gavin, and he instantly catches a crash in response, thinking, like everyone else, that this is a real person, a player, in an NPC skin. They go on a date inside the game to kiss and generally... have a good time....

and then Connor explains to Gavin that RK900 is not really a player, but an NPC! an artificial intelligence character that Connor designed for "Jericho" (the original game he developed with Connor.) Connor created this character as a "perpetual sufferer" with a broken heart and a crush on a certain image. this image is completely based on Gavin, which is why the NPC reacted to it SO STRONGLY. When Gavin finds out about this, he has already fallen in love with RK900, not even realizing that this NPC is literally written off from Connor...

At the end, when Gavin and Connor prove that Elijah is a thief and return his code, Gavin talks to RK900 inside the game. he tells him in plain text that even though he is an AI, he can only exist inside this game. so they definitely can't be together. and finally says in plain text (for stupid Gavin) that it was Connor who wrote the program that lay in the essence of his personality and all these feelings of the NPC are Connor's feelings !!! So Gavin returns to the real world and finally realizes that he has been mercilessly stupid all this time and goes to Connor to fix everything...

yes, Gavin and Connor are finally together, but... there's a bit of a sadness at the end because RK900 is single and still loves Gavin. but it seems to me that although he liked Gavin, for the most part this is the result of his "program", so that he, further developing as an AI, will overcome his feelings. there is more, next to him is his best friend Hank, and also Dude (at some point, Elijah sends a muscular, unfinished version of the RK900, created for Free City 2, into the game. > the concept of this character is very similar to the RK800 - 60, there is even a scene where the "evil" version of the RK900 tries to kill the him and his friend (in our AU Hank!) helps him win!!!) So RK900 won't be left alone! ❤

Another funny coincidence: the NPC has a fish! literally Connor reference 🤭

I really want to draw a lot of frames for this AU, but I understand that I will be satisfied only if I literally redraw the entire film, and I’m not ready for this yet lol

[flieslikeamoron]

For the WIP game: Sleight of Hand is among my very favorite fics. I know it's nearing the end; what about writing it has surprised you, or was the most challenging, or have you loved most?

First of all thank you so much! It's definitely been a long-ass journey (I've been writing it just over a year!) so I really appreciate the folks that have kept reading, and I'm so happy you've been enjoying it.

I think the main thing that surprised me is it's so long. I've written 60-70K stuff before, but this is basically twice as long as anything I've written. It's longer than most published novels! When it took me like 30K to get the first kiss I had the classic "Oh. Oh." moment. But of realizing it was going to be a monster. 

There are a lot of challenging things! The last couple parts (16 and 17) were very scary because there's so much time and emotion invested that has to be paid off. So if those big moments where Eddie breaks or those moments of emotional catharsis don't feel authentic or fall flat then the whole entire fic I just spent a year writing doesn't work and it was all for nothing. (A little extreme, but bad endings do ruin stories! Ask Game of Thrones!) So a lot of the challenge is the mental side of psyching myself out. But it is also a writing challenge because I was trying to do a lot of things! And one challenge I didn't expect was I was so focused on getting through those two parts, when I finished them my brain was like, "Well, we did it. We're done!" And I'm going, "No, but look at all these scenes left in this outline." And my brain was like, "I don't know her." So I had to go away from it for a while and I read some books and stuff. (The Imperial Radch series. I love!) It's been clicking back in again, but that's definitely a challenge when your brain just doesn't have the juice.

But writing challenge-wise, which is probably what you actually meant. Let's see... Some of the things where I had to go through a bunch of versions. The whole thing where Eddie is getting himself to a headspace to try to be all in on this and to be brave. (After running out on Steve while he's sleeping.) So much of it's just him in his head. And then making that turn natural without over explaining tooo much. And actually just Eddie in general. Like having those moments of self-sabotage and fucking up and not turn people off the character. 

And then definitely the phone sex scene, the handcuffs, and the two love confessions. Those all felt high difficulty and took a lot to get them where I wanted them. All the sex in this fic is hitting character beats or relationship beats, but those two scenes in particular the beats are complicated. And the love confessions, you just want it to not feel cheap or unearned and to feel true to these guys. I usually don't do actual love confessions in my fics where people say "I love you." Like they say it in the way they act or they say it like "I know" in Star Wars or whatever. They needed the actual words here, and I think they've earned this moment of saying what they mean by not saying it for so long and being at the brink of the whole relationship being destroyed. But yeah, that was a challenging one. I was writing that scene almost the whole time I was writing the fic. I wrote a very, very early version of the "you're out of my league/no, you're out of mine" thing forever ago, just a few chapters in. And it was way too flippant for what the fic ended up being, but I kept adding to it and writing bits of it as I went. So there was a draft of that scene when I started that chapter, and it still took forever to refine it because the tone's off or this part doesn't work and originally the tattoo reveal part was in the same scene, but then I realized I needed to make it two separate things etc.

What have I loved the most. Well, one thing is talking to people in comments and on here about the boys and the fic and all that! That's really fun. Also two of my favorite parts that I love the most are the phone sex scene and the handcuffs. I'm sure it's at least partly because they were hard to write. What's a better feeling than being challenged and fighting with it and winning! I'm really happy with both of those scenes, and I think they do what I wanted them to do. I like to joke that porn is my art, but I think those two scenes are both examples of why it's not actually a joke. I feel like Jonas fandom elevated my porn writing, but this fic is my masterpiece. LOL this is me writing this fic.

Anyway I also love this version of the characters. And I love it when things come into the fic that weren't in the outline and weren't planned, but are the thing that was missing or that make it work better. There are a bunch of things like that but one of them is Steve drawing on Eddie at the lake (which changed what the tattoo was going to be). It was originally going to be a thing where they go back in the water, and secret underwater touches and stuff of that nature. Which would have been okay, but also would have been worse than what it is. There are people who are really good at super detailed planning and outlining down to every scene beat. And I do need basic outlines for structure and direction myself. But the magic part of writing to me is the part where you find those bits that are better than what you planned. It's frustrating because it usually takes a bunch of tries for me to find them, but I do love those moments of IT'S THIS. Oh, maybe this should have been my answer for stuff that surprised me. Oops. WELL, I HAVE COME FULL CIRCLE I GUESS. 

I don't know if any of that's the stuff you wanted to know. But thank you for asking! Thank you for reading the fic! 

[lavila27]

Elvis: The Musical- a review by Lauren Avila

It would seem that the public has a renewed Burnin’ Love for Elvis Presley, without an end in sight. Between the recent Netflix premiere of “Agent Elvis,” Baz Luhrmann’s Oscar-nominated film “Elvis,” and ongoing tourism at Graceland, there is an unquenchable thirst for the King of Rock n’ Roll. Now there is a new way to enjoy the legend and his music. Elvis: The Musical made its West Coast premiere this month and has enjoyed a completely sold out run! The bad news is that the curtain will come down in California very soon. However, this same version will be making its Australian debut later this year! 

I managed to get a ticket to a daytime performance where, even in the middle of the day, people flocked to the East Sonora Theater to see Elvis in the building. This show tells the rise of the “kid that changed the world.” Playing the man, the myth, and the legend was Taylor Rodriguez. This was not the first time walking a mile in the blue suede shoes for this performer though. According to his credits, he “has had the honor of performing in many musical productions including the Million Dollar Quartet where he starred as Elvis Presley. In 2017 he was named One of the Top 5 Elvis Tribute Artist in the world. In June of 2019, he was crowned the 2019 Tupelo Elvis Festival Champion. Recently, Taylor Rodriguez was named The 2019 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Champion by Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE).” As you might expect from an introduction like that, Taylor really captures the voice and the moves of Elvis. 

The story begins with a nervous Elvis, waiting to go onstage for his career-changing, 68’ Comeback Special. He faces his younger self, in the form of an adorable 11-year old actor named Asher Berg. Kid Elvis asks him, “What are you doing?” In the midst of this self-reflection, the audience embarks on a journey throughout the life of both young Elvis and Elvis, the icon. The show was comprised of a very strong supporting cast! Personally, I’ve seen Broadway shows, touring companies, regional productions, and community theater. I have found that many times the supporting cast can make or break a show. In this case, they truly contributed to an entertaining afternoon. Major standouts include Christopher Michael, Elizabeth Harlen, Olivia Marie Jones, Sage Spiker, Taylor Tveten, and Dedrick Weathersby. They had the kind of stage presence that made you pay attention to them. Perhaps it was a million watt smile, the passion of a southern Reverend, the excitement of a radio DJ in the 50’s, the corniness of a tv announcer in the 60’s, or even a lovestruck Priscilla. 

The book comes from Sean Cercone and David Abbinanti who were wise enough to include all the major players in Elvis’ life, the hits you want to hear, and lines that make you think and feel. I really enjoyed the Jersey Boys-like template that many shows tend to follow these days. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? There were poignant moments of heartbreak, light-hearted points of humor that sparked genuine laughter, and even audience interaction that only an Elvis show could truly justify. 

Spoiler warning: My favorite parts included the build up to “That’s Alright,” the interaction of Elvis with the front row during his appearance on The Frank Sinatra Show, the compilation of Elvis making his movies, and all the scenes of Kid Elvis and Adult Elvis. 

Considering that this show was put on by a local theater company, I was impressed by the visuals. The set was a modest bi-level stage, encompassed by a Vegas-like semi-circle opening. Vinyl records were mounted to the walls on either side of the stage too. The stage’s projection screen added an immersive element, from spinning records to playing background for Elvis’s movies.The band was present onstage throughout, very convenient since they also doubled as Elvis’ actual bandmates. Unfortunately, power outage problems did occur several times but once again I must commend these professionals for not missing a beat. Strange things are, in fact, happening every day!

I must conclude by highlighting Taylor’s performance. Both his speaking and singing voice were very similar to the hip-swinging musician we all know and love. He accompanied himself on guitar. He pulled off all the moves that history has tied to Elvis. He convinced the audience enough of his character that the women were swooning over him by the time he was interacting with (and kissing) them. 

All that said, I will say that the show itself may need to be shook up a bit before hitting the stage again. My biggest problem is that there were hardly any solutions for each storyline and character introduced. If you’re looking for trouble, you may find it in the structure of this show. I came out of it feeling like I was missing something. I believe though, with all the potential that Elvis: The Musical has, it can be a hit. Check out this preview below:

[thedragonagelesbian]

Baldur's Gate 3 Tav Ask List also multiples of 10 for Cyrus <3

:DDD (answering for Pallybarb Cyrus since he's the one I've finished the game with)

BG3 Tav ask list

10. What was your Tav like as a child?

Cyrus was the joy of his parents' lives as they struggled to raise him on the run from Malcolm's archfey warlock patron. He never fussed or complained even as they were constantly on the move up and down the Sword Coast. At 16 (still very much a child by elf standards), he even took his father's death in stride, steeling himself against his grief so he could provide for himself and his mother.

20. Finally, what does your Tav feel as the Nautiloid crashes? Are they scared? Are they thinking of a way to survive?

In Fantasy High, there's a wizard with a frog familiar described as having exactly two moods: 'happy to be here gang' and 'mm i'm not sure about this'. Those aren't Cyrus' only two moods, but he's pretty unflappable so long as no one else's life is on the line, so even as he's like. ostensibly hurtling to his death, his attitude is one of 'well this isn't ideal...'

30. Who does your Tav think of when they go to sleep at the goblin/tiefling party? Or are they lucky and do they get to spend the night with the person they want?

He breaks up with Astarion, flirts with Gale, and chats with Karlach about how desperately they want to fuck each others' brains out. Cyrus maybe has enough wine in him to try touching her anyway & gives himself some third degree burns just to hold her hand for a heartbeat.

(He would've flirted with Wyll too, but Karlach's scene wasn't triggering if I didn't keep the Wyll interaction strictly platonic)

40. Did your Tav agree to kill the Guardian or did they go talk to them instead?

This version of Cyrus had absolute unwavering faith in the Guardian up until the negotiation with Raphael in Sharess' Caress and the Emperor forcing the truth of their agreement from his mind afterward.

50. Does your Tav save the tieflings & gnomes?

Yep! I savescummed so hard to get them all out but yes.

60. Did you clear Moonrise Towers of the shadow curse?

Yes!! I've mentioned this briefly before, but rescuing Thaniel and Oliver is the very first thing Cyrus does after breaking his oath. The scene I have in my head is Halsin feeling like Cyrus losing his oath is yet another casualty of the shadow curse, another good thing lost to his mistakes. But Cyrus promises him that they're going to fix it right now together, and in the portal fight, he debuts his new oathbreaker channel divinity where you can make an undead creature your ally. For him, it's a moment of realizing that he hasn't lost as much as he thought and that these new powers can still be used for good, despite knowing he'll carry a shard of this shadow in his soul for the rest of his life. For Halsin, it's a moment of profound hope and potential. The mists parting for the first time.

I wish they could kiss about it right then and there but they get around to it eventually.

70. Does your Tav make a deal with Raphael?

Yes. 8 wisdom strikes again, Karlach was understandably very pissed with him when she found out.

80. Does your Tav free the slaves from Steel Watch Foundry? Do they side with the Gondians or with Wulbren?

Cyrus was really on team 'blow everything up' until meeting Zanner, at which point the plan became 'save the Gondians and THEN blow everything up'. Sorry, Wulbren, the Ironhands are Barcus' now.

90. Do they betray the Emperor/Orpheus/their companions for the Absolute?

Nope, and like I get why that option is there but it does feel a little silly how many times the game presents you with the thought during what is more or less a strictly lawful good run sdfoijapfsd

100. Did Karlach get upgraded? Did she turn Illithid? Did she return to Avernus? If so, did Tav join her, or Wyll, or both?

Yes, Karlach got upgraded, no Cyrus never sold or let go of a single piece of infernal iron after meeting her (DID sell a scrap of it to Volo for some health potions before recruiting her and felt absolutely awful about not realizing how important it was).

After all is said and done with the Netherbrain, on the docks of the harbor of their hometown, Cyrus is 100% ready to let Karlach go. It's hard and it hurts, but if there's anything that breaking his oath taught him, it's that you have to let go sometimes, and he can't bear to ask her to return to Avernus just to spare his feelings, and he's prepared to rage and hold her through the whole thing.

...And then Wyll makes one last plea for her to come to Avernus with him.

Cyrus hesitates. Assures Karlach that he would follow her no matter where she goes, and Karlach chooses to go to Avernus.

In my head, there's a quick & passionate goodbye to Halsin before Cyrus, Karlach, and Wyll all rush off to the House of Hope as Karlach realizes that what scared her most about returning to Avernus might have been the possibility of being alone again-- and that her husband and her best friend aren't going to let that happen.

...That being said.

There's a lot else that's scary about Avernus. And I have a /real/ axe to grind with in-game (and, to a minor and very petty extent, fandom) presentation of this ending.

Like. There's a Zariel statblock in Descent into Avernus. We know exactly how powerful she is-- and it's powerful enough to grind three unprepared level 12 adventurers beneath her flaming fallen angel heel. The way the Avernus ending is presented, especially now with the epilogue, Karlach's fear of being forced back into the Blood War seems unfounded, because the worst thing that happens to her, Wyll, and her LI is they have to spend like a year fighting fiends nonstop. Which still sucks as a way to live, but the game is much more interested in it being BadassTM and CoolTM than lingering even on this milder form of sucking. In my opinion, it completely rips all the stakes out of the choice itself, because Karlach dying is less of a legitimate narrative choice if the alternative is just... Yeah you have to kill a bunch of fiends, but you literally find the magic solution to everything in fucking six months anyway, so??????

Hells, I was kind of hoping for Halsin to have some negative and unresolved feelings about Cyrus ditching him, just so there would be some sense of consequence for the decision.

And I realize that the narrative complexity I'm seeking won't fit into the minuscule square hole labeled 'ending cutscene & epilogue dialogue' but maybe Larian should've kept working on the game long enough to make fixing Karlach's heart part of it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So. I'm making my own consequences. In my version of things, Karlach, Cyrus, and Wyll have the House of Hope as a safe haven, but only to the extent that it can be protected, defended, and kept hidden from Zariel, which is further complicated by Wyll still being in a pact with Mizora. I need to keep marinating on the details, but some broad ideas are (a) Cyrus getting exposed to demon ichor and dealing with the consequence of that (growing a tail); (b) rescue mission after Karlach gets kidnapped to be taken back to Zariel; (c) I want Dammon to give SOMEONE an infernal iron prosthetic limb... probably Cyrus. Infernal heart + infernal hand??? I think it's cute at least; (d) trying to get Wyll out of his pact (again) (given our average of 11 int and 10 wis, this can ONLY go well)

[parasiticjustice]

[RGG Online Translation] Character Story · Yuri (OC)

Summary: Ichiban happens upon a young girl when she’s being accosted by hooligans. After helping her out, he realizes that her proper manner is ill-fitting for Kamurocho. Then, what is she doing in the city...? Featured Characters: Ichiban Kasuga (RGGO version), Yuri (OC) Spoilers?: Nope!

On this episode, Ichiban makes like a Kiryu and saves a young girl and her adopted pet from a bunch of goons.

RGGO has something around 50 original characters, each with a story attached - bump that up to 60 if you include the hostesses and stories that come from seasonal alts. And sure, they’re not what anyone’s here for, but I’d feel remiss if I left them out entirely, so here we are. Ichiban stars in most of them, which honestly kinda makes them feel like substories.

Yuri was one of the launch characters, and has enjoyed her share of cards and event appearances, so I figured she’s as good a place as any to start.

Disclaimer: I'm coming at this with little more than crude Japanese knowledge, a machine translation cocktail, and an insatiable desire for more RGG content. This will by no means be a decent translation, but it should at least be serviceable.

Notes:

Slight content warning for animal abuse (it’s mostly threatened or off-screen) and the usual Yakuza fare of goons being creepy towards women.

I'm still kinda figuring out how I want to format expressions. I found that noting every single time a character went back to [neutral] disturbed the flow too much, so I think instead I'll just make note of it when the change of expression is important.

------------------ CHAPTER #1 ------------------

Scene #1: Kamurocho · Children’s Park

Ichiban: Let’s see... Lighter, lighter...

Angry Voice: Hey! Don’t push your luck!

Ichiban: [raised eyebrow] What is it now? Can’t I smoke in peace...

Young Girl: You men are persistent... Hurry up and go away.

Thug A: Don’t be such a bore! Why don’t you karaoke with us? Eh?

Young Girl: I told you, I don’t want to. It’s a waste of time.

Thug B: Let me tell you something, you damn kid...!

Cat: Meow.

Thug A: Whoa! What is that, a stray cat?

Young Girl: [surprised] Kitty! Don’t come out!

Cat: Meow.

Thug B: Ugh, it’s filthy. Stupid stray!

Young Girl: [frown] Stop it!

Thug A: Yeah? Hehe, what’s with you, getting all upset over a dumb cat?

Thug B: When you tell me to stop, it just gets me fired up!

Ichiban: Oi, knock it off. It’s too noisy, I can’t smoke in peace.

Young Girl: ...?

Thug A: Ah? The hell you want?

Thug B: Don’t get in our way! Fuck off, asshole!

[Battle]

Thug A: Shit! What’s with this guy... Let’s get outta here!

[they run off]

Ichiban: [smoking] Phew... Finally, some quiet. It's costing too much to enjoy a smoke nowadays...

Young Girl: ...

Ichiban: Hm? What’s up?

Young Girl: Um, thank you for helping me...

Ichiban: [smile] Heh, you’re welcome.

Cat: Meow.

Ichiban: [scratches head] You don’t need to thank me too.

Young Girl: ...No, he said he’s hungry.

Ichiban: That’s a shame.

Young Girl: Food... I only have sweets, but you can eat them.

Cat: Meow Meow!

Young Girl: [smile] Hee hee...

Ichiban: You’re pretty good pals, aren’t you?

Young Girl: [neutral] He’s... my only friend...

[a stomach rumbles]

Young Girl: [surprised] ...

Ichiban: Huh, you hungry?

Young Girl: ...Y-yes.

Ichiban: [smile] You fed the cat when you’re hungry yourself? Odd one, aren’t you? Well, anyway, I’ve had my smoke, so let’s go... Uh, what was your name?

Yuri: [surprised] Eh? I-It’s Yuri...

Ichiban: Gotcha. I’m Kasuga.

Yuri: Um, where are we going...?

Ichiban: We’re going out to eat. Don’t worry, it’s my treat.

Yuri: B-But...

Ichiban: C’mon, let’s go! I’ll get you something good! You wait for us here, cat!

Cat: Meow.

------------------ CHAPTER #2 ------------------

Scene #2: Kamurocho · Akaushimaru

Clerk: Here you go! A medium and an extra large.

Ichiban: [smile] Go on, eat it while it’s hot.

Yuri: ...

Ichiban: [neutral] What, you don’t like beef bowl?

Yuri: ...No, that’s not it.

Ichiban: [smile] Then eat it, quick.

Yuri: ...Okay... [surprised] It’s delicious! I’ve never eaten anything like it.

Ichiban: [raised eyebrow] Eh? You’ve never had a beef bowl?

Yuri: Yes... Actually, this is my first time in a beef bowl restaurant...

Ichiban: You mean, like, you’re the sort of young lady to have a butler at home, who drives you to school every day...? You’re an impressive one, aren’t you?

Yuri: Is that right...? I’ve never known what it was like for other people...

Ichiban: So how does a sheltered girl like you end up hungry in Kamurocho?

Yuri: ......I ran away from home.

Ichiban: Well, that’d explain it. Aren’t your parents gonna worry?

Yuri: Worry?... There’s no way they’d be worried about me.

Ichiban: ...?

Yuri: [frown] All they think about is money... I can barely remember spending time with them. They probably don’t care that I’m gone... That’s why I decided to leave. To be on my own, without relying on my parents...!

Ichiban: [smile] I don’t think you should push yourself too hard when you’ve never even eaten a beef bowl.

Yuri: ...I don’t care what you think. Thank you for the meal. The beef bowl was delicious.

[she leaves]

Ichiban: [raised eyebrow] Hey, wait!

------------------

Scene #3: Kamurocho · Tenkaichi Street

Thug A: Heyyy, girl, we’ve been looking for you.

Yuri: [surprised] Ah! It’s you guys...

Thug B: Didn’t I tell you? If you turn me down, it just fires me up!

Thug A: We were interrupted earlier by that guy with weird hair, but you can’t run away now, can you?

Yuri: [frown] Kuh...!

Ichiban: [raised eyebrow] Who’d you say has weird hair, asshole?

Thug A: Ah... f-from earlier...!

Thug B: H-Hey, you trying to interrupt us again?! D-Don’t think you’ll win just cause you got lucky last time!!

[Battle]

Thug A: Ugh... he’s too strong...

[they collapse]

Ichiban: [scratches head] Haaaah, I just ate and now I’m hungry again.

Yuri: Hey, why did you help me again...? I was so rude to you...

Ichiban: I wasn’t helping you. I’m just really proud of my hair, so I had to set them straight when they made fun of it.

Yuri: ...

Ichiban: [smile] But, well, this sort of thing happens all the time in this city. You’d best be heading on home quickly. See ya.

Yuri: ...

------------------ CHAPTER #3 ------------------

Scene #4: Kamurocho · Hotel District

Ichiban: (The runaway girl... Yuri, was it? I wonder if she’s still in town...)

???: Meow...

Ichiban: [raised eyebrow] Huh? What was that mewling? ...No way.

[he moves into the Hotel District]

Cat: Meow...

Yuri: Ugh... give me... give me back the kitty...!

Thug A: You’re a pain in the ass. I don’t care about you anymore.

Thug B: Thanks to you, that weird guy beat us up twice. I’m pissed off.

Thug A: You really like this stray mutt, right?

Thug B: We thought we’d fuck it up a little. It’s “effective” on fancy girls like you, right?

Yuri: [angry] You...! Cowards!!

[she tries to run towards them]

Thug A: Stay back, you little shit!

Yuri: [frown] Ugh...!

Thug B: Hehehe! Suck on that! Now buzz off, you little brat.

Yuri: ...I’m not leaving.

Thug A: Ah?

Yuri: [angry] I’m not leaving until I get that kitten back! I will not be cowed by you!!

Thug A: Y-You...!?

Ichiban: [smile] Damn, I thought you were a naive pushover, but I guess I was wrong.

Thug B: Ahh?! T-That’s...!!

Yuri: [surprised] Ah! Kasuga...

Ichiban: [yell] Hey, assholes. If you’re hoping for “I’ll let you go if you drop the cat”, you’re out of luck.

Thug A: Ugh...!

Ichiban: [raised fists] I’m gonna bash your brains in... you ready?

Thug A: S-Shut uuuup! The fuck’s wrong with you?! Getting in our way again and agaaaaain!

[Battle]

------------------

Scene #5: Kamurocho · Outside Yoshida Batting Center

Thug A: Ah, ahhhhh...!!

Thug B: P-Please! Let us live...!!

Ichiban: Leave the city, now. If I ever see you again, you’re dead.

Thug A: W-waaaah!

[they run off]

Cat: Mew...

Yuri: [frown] Kitty...! I’m so sorry... this is my fault...

Ichiban: [raised eyebrow] You stubborn thing. That was pretty reckless of you.

Yuri: Sorry... Um, around here...

Ichiban: You want a clinic, yeah? Guy’s kind of a quack, but there’s one nearby. Follow me.

Yuri: That’s good... Kitty, hold on a little longer, okay?

Cat: Meow.

------------------

Scene #6: Kamurocho · Children’s Park

Cat: Meow!

Yuri: [smile] Don’t move too much... Phew, I’m glad it was just a minor injury.

Ichiban: You should be worrying about yourself, not the cat. You're the one who got hurt more. You realize now, right? How dangerous this city is.

Yuri: [frown] Yes... I’m sorry.

Ichiban: But you know what? I’ve realized something too. You’re the real deal.

Yuri: [surprised] Eh...?

Ichiban: Even if it’s just a cat, not many people would be willing to put their lives on the line for those they care about. I don’t know what your situation is. If you want to keep being a runaway until you’re happy, then go ahead.

Yuri: Kasuga...

Ichiban: And if you want to stay in this city for a while, then that’s fine too. [smile] You’re dangerous, after all. It’s better to keep you where I can see you.

Yuri: [smile] ...Thank you, Kasuga.

Ichiban: Heh. You’re welcome.

Cat: Mew!

Ichiban: [scratches head] What, you hungry again?

Yuri: Nope... he said “Thank you”.

Ichiban: Heh. No need to thank me.

------END------ ------------------

Yakuza protagonists when they see a young girl on her own:

[imperatorium]

No one has asked me yet, but besides my good joke, my actual, concrete thoughts are thus:

Nihil is going to be resurrected. I feel like this maybe wasn’t the original plan, all along, but given the poor timing of his death, there was never any real resolution to putting him to any kind of indefinite rest. He is still very much present both in the story and on stage, where we see him regularly get at least half-resurrected every night. The additional pressure of “Mary On A Cross“ being such a sleeper hit and all the other emphasis that’s been put on the 60s/70s era of Ghost feels like it makes sense that...maybe it’s time to bring him back. (Hot take by my partner, whose joke theory contribution is that Sister is growing a bunch of Nihil bodies in a lab, like Garfield The Deals Warlock did with Magnus in The Adventure Zone: Balance.)

OR

Copia, himself, is going to die...but rise again on the third (or sixth?) day. He is, after all, the Antichrist and I have it on good authority that this is what people like their Christ-figures to do. It will be the end of Copia/Copia as Papa IV but the beginning of Copia as THE Antichrist, whether that means he’ll continue on as the lead singer of Ghost or take a backseat from the band to run the show. The Pieta art with Sister hints at this a bit. The fact that it’s this close to the end of the Impera cycle and we haven’t met a new potential frontman yet does, also. But more than anything, the fact that I’m still not ready to let my baby rat go is why I think this is what will (read as: should) happen.

...Also, I want/need a Jesus Christ Superstar cover ASAP. I will accept this in the form of “Gethsemane” (obviously), Copia singing Herod’s song to an actual depiction of Jesus, honestly any version of a crowd doing the Temple/leper scene at Nihil, or Sister menacingly singing “This Jesus Must Die” to aforementioned roadie.

Thank you.

[tokoro-ga-dokkoi]

Tokoroplasmosis: Ichijou Fans' Brainworms

(Disclaimer: This is just a long shitpost. Please don't take it seriously. As there are inappropriate jokes, no one under 18 can read it. Please do not read if you dislike self-deprecative and vulgar humour.)

Microscopic image of Tgd. gondii parasites infesting a human brain.

Tokoroplasmosis (to-ko-ro-plaz-MOE-sis) is a brain disease caused by the parasite Tokorogadokkoi-plasma gondii.

Just as Toxoplasmosis the cat parasite is common throughout the world's population, Tokoroplasmosis is common amongst Kaiji fans, with an estimated number of more than 60%.

If you suspect you have Tokoroplasmosis, please read on to find out your symptoms, and how you can escape this dark bog.

Do you think this sadistic villain is funny and cute?

"Tokoro ga dokkoi.... Yume ja arimasen....! Genjitsu desu....! Kore ga genjitsu..!" If you laugh and cheer during this scene, you are tokoroplamosis-infected. (LINE official colourised version of an infamous scene.)

How to contract it

Visual and audial exposure to the character Ichijou Seiya from Kaiji is the cause of Tokoroplasmosis, but only when combined with certain other factors. As such, some people are effected, whereas other people are naturally immune.

Let us take a look at the psychological profile of the individual predisposed to Tokoroplasmosis infection.

If you:

Enjoy certain moe attributes: yandere, tsundere, femboy, business suit, etc

Have a sadistic or masochistic tendency

Are used to the artstyle

A fan of Namikawa (I do wish he was voiced by Yuu Kobayashi though)

A cat lover (already toxo-infected)

then you are at high risk of tokoro-infection.

Symptoms

If you find yourself saying phrases such as:

"Ichijou did nothing wrong"

"Ichijou should have won"

"Ichijou will come back soon"

"Ichijou will team up with Kaiji to defeat the Chairman"

"Ichijou will get revenge and kill Kaiji"

"Ichijou is so cute"

etc

not as a joke, but sincerely feeling it in your heart, your kokoro is tokoro-infected.

Is it dangerous?

Masochistic and impulsive behaviours such as gambling may increase. Otherwise, not much is known.

Is there treatment?

Tokoroplasmosis has no known cure. You can never escape this bog. The only thing you can do is avoid Ichijou-related stimuli. Do not view NND dokkoi MADs, for example.

Are Toxoplasmosis patients more liable to become Tokoroplasmosis-infected?

Yes, it helps. In my experience, most Ichijou fans are 'cat people'. The groundwork is already paved. Ichijou looks and acts like a cat, his hair intakes resemble cat's ears, his large twinkling eyes are like those of a cat, he has catlike movements and gestures. He calls Kaiji a dog multiple times (like many characters in the series), just like how cat characters in cartoons hate dogs and act snobby towards them. If they're fighting like cats and dogs, it must mean that Ichijou is a cat; inherently attractive to the toxo-infected.

Is Tokoroplasmosis linked to mental instability?

In reality, Toxoplasmosis the cat parasite disease, is linked to development of various mental illnesses such as schizophrenia- this is no laughing matter. You can rest assured that "Tokoroplasmosis" is only linked to mild eccentricity and perversion.

Tokoroplasmosis and sexual perversion

Tokoroplasmosis, much like Toxoplasmosis (there are academic studies), is linked to development of dangerous abnormal fetishism. Mice are usually afraid of cats. Toxo-infected mice become sexually aroused by the scent of cat urine. The toxo-mice run excitedly towards the cat's litter box and waste materials, where the cat lures them in, devours and destroys them.

If you are excited by Ichijou omorashi, or any Ichijou doujins for that matter, you are severely tokoro-infected.

If this diagram makes you excited, and you do not play baseball, you are tokoro-infected.

On the contrary: it is so common that it may be considered normal, or even 'healthy'

Ichijou is one of the most popular Kaiji characters. He always gets in the top 5 or top 3 on Kaiji character popularity polls, in both East and West.

Just as cat lovers, albeit eccentric, can lead healthy lives even with Toxoplasmosis, the same is true for Ichijou's fans.

However, there are subtle changes in the behaviour and culture of these patients.

Who is the ultimate Tokoroplasmosis patient?

A bread-shaped man named Murakami Tamotsu. Murakami's Tokoroplasmosis is truly severe.

Another Tokoroplasmosis patient may be Kurosaki Yoshihiro. However, his case is more mild and subtle, a latent case.

Perhaps even Itou Kaiji himself is tokoro-infected: "ICHIJOU.. ICHIJOU.. ICHIJOU.. ICHIJOU.. ICHIJOU.. ICHIJOU.. ICHIJOU.. ICHIJOU.. ICHIJOU.. ICHIJOU.. ICHIJOU.. ICHIJOU.. " (seriously who could yell his name 12 times in a row w) "YOU BETTER COME BACK…!"

Does Ichijou himself have it?

Yes, in fact he is the definitive host. Just as T. gondii reproduces in cat intestinal tract, Tgd. gondii reproduces in his intestinal tract. This is part of why many people are attracted to him intimately. Tgd. gondii's modus operandi is to enter the 'winning hole' and reproduce in there.

How to tokoro-infect someone

You can show them this official article published in Kodansha Morning. It is a truly dangerous article written by a severely tokoro-infected person. It is expertly designed to transmit Tokoroplasmosis to anyone who reads it. When reading it, you can feel the writer's deep level of affection for Ichijou, and these feelings are transmitted to you.

Do you have Tokoroplasmosis?

Yes, and I will have it for as long as I live. Ichijou is so cute.

[calliethetrekkie]

15. Top 3 favorite alien crewmembers?

16. If you could steal the basic plot of an episode for one show and apply to another which would you choose?

19. You can undo one plot point, which do you choose?

Oh wow, I didn't think I'd ever get an Ask for that meme haha. But alrighty, let me see here...

15. Top 3 favorite alien crewmembers?

Spock

Deanna Troi

Worf

Now that list might change when I eventually get past TNG, but for now that's where I am.

16. If you could steal the basic plot of an episode for one show and apply to another which would you choose?

Huh... good question. I did mention on my main how I would LOVE to see a TOS version of the TNG episode Attached. Specifically I mentioned Spock and McCoy in part for shipping reasons, but even in a general sense they'd be by far the most fun and interesting to see in that dilemma. It would also allow them to develop more of an understanding, so you have character development as well. The episode in TNG didn't do it for me because I don't ship Picard and Crusher whatsoever and while I like their general relationship, the episode didn't really provide anything new for me to care about. But I would be ALL for it if it was int hat scenario or any combo of the Triumvirate really, I just think that Spock and McCoy would be the most entertaining/interesting considering their bickering XD

19. You can undo one plot point, which do you choose?

Good question... well, of the series I've seen thus far:

TOS: The upside to TOS is that for the most part if you don't like something, you can safely ignore it due to the show not being continuity heavy. If I had to get rid of something... I'd undo the stupid 'women can't be Starship captains' bullshit from The Turnabout Intruder. Which I'm fairly sure most everything that takes place in TOS or earlier also ignores it and for good reason because for a future society to have that kind of rule is so stupid. It's only there cause 60's sexism, and it feels like the episode was trying to prove that 'see? women are too emotional and unstable to be captains'. You can certainly put a new view on it in the modern times, I've seen plenty that still work. But for a show that was progressive in so many ways, its treatment of women in general could be horrendous, and the fact that the series ended with it is a shame.

AOS: There's SO many things that I would undo if I could. If I have to pick one... I'd get rid of Vulcan's destruction. I still don't get the point of why they did that except to give Spock angst. It and fridging Amanda like they did just felt overly cruel and didn't really have any impact in the long-run. Spock had enough angst cause of being half-human and the bullying he received, was destroying his whole planet and race and killing hos mother necessary whatsoever when you had plenty to work with? No. It didn't. You could have had Vulcan attacked and massive casualties and damage, the extent it went was just too much imo.

TNG: I wanna list almost everything in Generations... but I haven't seen it in full so I'll stick to things in the show I've seen. In which case, I pick them killing off K'Ehleyr. An interesting, badass female character with her own struggles who really shined in her two episodes... and they fridge her for Worf's character and to dump a kid on him. While the scene in itself is well done, and you feel the agony and rage that Worf feels when he finds the body (thank you Michael Dorn), I was so freakin' angry it's not even funny. It had long-term impact, I'll give it that, but I'm still angry about it. I wish it had at least been done as an ending of K'Ehleyr's story and give her that agency, not just for Worf's character plot.

[sortasirius]

What the Fuck Happened to the SPN Finale?

Okay so here it is, my Charlie Kelly style manifesto.

Before I get into it, I recognize that I will look like this to many of you, and that’s okay, I understand:

Secondly, your personal Takes about the writers don’t interest me, I don’t need to hear them. This, as I’ll explain, is going to remain a writer positive blog, and that’s the end of it.

Third, and most importantly: some of what I’m going to talk about is fact, and some is highly educated speculation. I will notate what is speculation, just so there’s no confusion or hot takes in my inbox that I’m a conspiracy theorist or stirring shit up for no reason.

A list of what I’ll be discussing

The episode in regards to the rest of the season

The episode issues: length, editing

Scene placement and speculation of scenes cut

The scrubbing of Jack, Cas, Eileen

Network involvement and general timeline of when things were cut

Misha: theories on where he was, official company line, why we can’t expect to hear anything directly

The silence of the cast post episode (in Misha’s case, mid episode) and what this might mean

Jensen speaking with Kripke about the ending: why it doesn’t mean what you might think (also why kripke remained positive on the ending)

Walker, and why this episode had a major shift

Why the network would do this or get involved

Why the writers of the show simply aren’t the bad guys here, and what I “want” out of this post, since I know it’ll get asked

This is very long and under a cut, but I hope you’ll give it a read.

The Episode In Regards to the Rest of the Season

So, I’ve discussed this already here, but it’s the most obvious thing to me, and that’s the way this episode simply doesn’t fit with the rest of the season.

These people in this room have, truly, been nothing but consistent when it comes to their arcs, especially this season, and the marked dropoff in quality for the finale episode is just too sus to discount to me.  Dabb’s whole focus has been character-based.  In his seasons, we’ve moved far away from MOTW and bro-codependency, the found family taking it’s place.  Does it really sit right to anyone that that was all thrown away in literally the last episode of the entire show?

This is speculation on my part, but as a writer myself, there is no way I would be happy or willing to stamp my name on something that I didn’t think would, at the very least, wrap up the season+ character arcs that I and my team had been crafting.

And before anyone comes in here saying, “well GOT did that!”  Bruh.  The writing was on the wall for GOT long before the final episode.  You could tell that the showrunners just wanted to be done (not only from the plot, but from the fact that they lobbied for a shorter season).  Miss me with that, it doesn’t apply here.  Andrew has, besides Singer and J2, been with the show longer than anyone.  He cares, he is meticulous and detailed, and this ending feels worse than anything Bucklemming has ever written, let alone Dabb.

Additionally, I’ve seen a lot of people say that Dabb was never behind Destiel, that it was all Bobo and Meredith and no one else.  That is reductive to the point of insult of the work Dabb has done to get this greenlit.  This man did not write the s13 Dean grief arc to be slandered like this.  That being said, YES, Bobo and Meredith were the leads on the DeanCas arc this season, but ANDREW IS THE SHOWRUNNER, TO GET EVEN THE CONFESSION APPROVED BY THE NETWORK HE WOULD HAVE TO HAVE THEIR BACKS.  AND HE DID.

Finale Issues

So, now that we’ve gotten the fact that this episode doesn’t hit on any of the major themes the show was barrelling towards all season, let’s discuss the fact that the episode is just...weird.

Not only is it shorter than any other episode (I think with the intro and the credits/crew thing at the end, it was around 38 mins), but it was also...idk, 90% filler?

One of the lovely humans in the POLOL server did the legwork here, and broke it down:

This is weird, y’all.  Most series finales are LONGER than normal (Lost, SOA, Longmire are the ones I can think of off the top of my head), and for the final episode to be this?  I saw more than one person point out that we only really needed 19 episodes, what was the point of 20?  AND THAT’S EXACTLY IT?  WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THIS FINAL EPISODE IF THIS WAS ALL WE WERE SUPPOSED TO GET?

It simply doesn’t make any sense, the first half of the episode was rushed, a final monster hunt gone wrong, but in the second half?  Nothing really happened?  Sam lived his entire life and Dean just drove around.  It doesn’t make sense to have all the emotional arcs left unaddressed in an episode that definitely needed some kind of spark.

Here’s the speculation I have: the episode seemingly went through a lot of changes between the initial inception of the final season and when we actually got it, but I think it would have been passable (as in, we wouldn’t be sitting here asking each other why each arc feels incomplete) until the editing room got ahold of it.  The only think that makes this episode make sense is network fuckery.  Truly, that is the only thing.  It explains the weird, cuts, the rushed pacing of the first half followed by nothing in the second half, the double montages of “Wayward Son” back to back, and Dean just...driving around for the last half of the episode.

Scene Placement and Speculation of Scenes Cut

Before I get into this section, the info of the shots in the episode I have come from a source that @occamshipper​ got a week or so before the finale.  She’s talked about this here.

So here’s what Min was given:

1-5: 1 INT MEN OF LETTERS – DEAN’S ROOM Dean is greeted by Miracle

6-10: 6 INT MEN OF LETTERS – HALLWAY/SAM’S ROOM Sam has his routine

D1 1 11-15: 15 EXT FARM HOUSE Establishing

N1 1/8 16-20: 19 Dad’s journal, marker, drawing of masked man in journal.

21-25: 23 INT IMPALA – PMP Driver picks the music

N2 1 3/8 1,2 26-30: 28pt2 INT BARN: A face from the past

28pt3 Sam and Dean say goodbye

28pt4 Shot early for technical reasons, presumably the overhead shot

N2 31-45: 41 INT MEN OF LETTERS – SAM’S ROOM Sam’s alarm goes off D4 1/8 1 46-60: 56 INT N7glasses for Sam, laptop.

So...it all fits right?  It all tracks with the actual episode, where it lands, etc.  The issue is between shots 29-40 which were apparently “too big to spoil.”  Uh.  Where are they?  And where’s 28 pt4?

After Dean dies, the next scene is Sam burning him, then shot 31, the shot of his alarm going off.

So.  Where are those 11ish shots?

PLUS we have the boards, which are scenes we KNOW were actually shot:

As well as scenes for 20 that were shot in 19.

It’s just...weird, it’s weird and again hits on the fact that the episode is so short and like 80% montage.

The Scrubbing of Jack, Cas, and Eileen

So now we have to reckon with the fact that Eileen was last mentioned by Sam after she got snapped by Chuck, Jack’s last mention is that he’s off being God somewhere, and Cas’ last mention is a ~knowing look~ between Dean and Bobby.

I’m sorry, make it make sense:

????????  That’s the end if it?  They don’t need to be discussed after this???  It’s just simply not something a writer would do, they would not introduce these characters, these arcs, without thinking there’s going to be some kind of follow through here.

So not only were three major characters (including two leads and both of the original characters’ love interests) completely wiped from the finale episode, it was as though Sam and Dean never even needed them, which just...ain’t it.

So why Eileen and Jack too?  Why not just take Cas out of it if they were afraid of the gay?  Because, ultimately, the episode went back to Kripke’s original story: just the bros, they only need each other and no one else.  They don’t want anyone else, they don’t need anyone else.  Easier to go back to something they knew was successful than trust the writers and their audience and take a big leap.

Alex even said he shot for 20 with “some of the guys” here.  What happened to that footage?

The complete 180 of it all still shocks me, I still cannot believe that we were essentially at the finish line, and the network just stopped short, and decided to go run another race, at the expense of the arc of this fifteen year legacy show.

Network Involvement and When Things Were Cut

Okay, now into the juicy stuff.

So I’ve pretty well established that network fuckery is clear, but how much did they get involved, what was the original intent?

Well again, we may never actually know what Andrew’s original script was, but I think, at the least, it would involve Dean speaking his truth to Cas and Sam living a life with Eileen.

Now, it seems today, that Misha said that Jimmy Novak was supposed to be in the finale in one iteration of the script, and while initially my brain was like “that truly makes no sense and he’s either straight up lying or telling a half truth,” I think what may be happening is Misha talking about as much as he can right now.

So Jimmy right.  Weird as fuck.  Why would he been in the Roadhouse and not Cas?  My current thought (this is about as reachy as I’ll get) is that Jimmy had no lines, could he have been in the Roadhouse as a red herring, like it said “Jimmy” in the script but it was just Cas in human clothes, a way to get around the network saying Cas couldn’t be in the final scene.  Also, you’ll notice that Misha didn’t say that Cas wasn’t supposed to be in the ep at all, just Jimmy in the last scene.

All this to say, there have clearly been multiple versions of the script, getting lighter and lighter with Cas and Eileen as the network pulled further and further back.  Remember, Dabb has to get things approved before they get shot, and if the network kept asking and asking and asking to cut Cas and Eileen, he had to find a way to work around it.  Granted, I still think that if we had been able to get a Dabb script that wasn’t torn to shreds in editing, it wouldn’t be so bad.  It may not be what a lot of us wanted (Dean speaking his truth to Cas and a reciprocation), but doing everything he could to give it to us in subtext or visual clues.

Plus, in all honesty, my man can’t keep his story straight anyway.  He said twice in his panel that the Empty and offscreen Heaven ending weren’t his original ending either.

In addition, remember that Jensen did ADR post episode 18, AND said in a meet and greet last weekend that Dean’s reaction to Cas’ confession was “cut down.” (Source here).  Many of us clowns got excited when we first heard about ADR, because we thought it would be upping the ante on Dean’s reaction, but I remember being a little sus when it was just crying.  My speculation on that is that they cut out Dean actually SAYING something, @winchestersingerautorepair​ spoke about that here.

The biggest sins were, in my opinion, committed during editing, where the network got too gun shy and sliced the episode until it was nothing but a heartless bro-fest of a finale, not mentioning anything about the other major characters that we all love, and letting the boys just suffer in separation until Sam died and finally joined Dean in Heaven.  The editing came by cutting all the major emotional beats between anyone other than Dean and Sam, leaving the skeleton of the story intact, just shorter and less...poignant than it was ever supposed to be.

Misha

We know Misha was in Vancouver, we know he quarantined, but we also know he wasn’t in the final scene, when he spoke about being in the last moment of the show months ago.  We were not crazy, he was there, he quarantined, and, in all likelihood (speculation but fitting with the timeline), he actually may have shot something (not much, but something).

I have sources here, here, here, and here showing where Misha was at that time.

Remember, the man was completely open about coming back until they finished shooting (look at this thread).  The switch happened, just like everything else, halfway through them shooting.

Please also remember Jake Abel posting his “Where’s Misha” video here.  Jake isn’t malicious, he isn’t being nasty here.  Misha was there, and everyone that’s trying to convince people he’s wasn’t just...isn’t telling the truth about it.

This is one of the things that makes me really mad, because they’re literally attempting to gaslight people into thinking, “oh we were totally wrong he was never supposed to be there” WHEN HE WAS THERE, WE KNOW HE WAS THERE.

So we’ve already heard from several people (Meghan Fitzmartin, Jay, a PA on the set of 19 (WHO WAS NOT WORKING FOR 20), Misha himself) that this was all down to Covid restrictions.  Ultimately, as this post says, we’ve heard FIVE versions of where Misha was.  None of it makes sense, but the Covid protocol seems to be the company line that others are repeating.

You may ask: why?  Why lie to all of us when we have questions?  Why, in Jay’s case, say that we’re all spreading false lies to stir up trouble, when we just have questions and things that do not make sense.  Simply?  Warner Brothers is absolutely massive.  These people have their careers to protect and are likely all under NDAs.  They want to work for WB again and don’t want to burn bridges, including Misha.  It sucks, but that’s why it’s unlikely that we’ll hear someone come out and say, “yeah we’re lying to you.”

Silence of the Cast Post Episode

So this is...probably the worst part of all this, at least in my opinion.

The guys had all been pretty excited about the end of the show (especially Jared, but Jensen’s panel last week was Jensen as happy and jokey and positive as I’ve ever seen him.  He was so excited about episode 18, about what it meant for Dean and for Cas, and I just cannot buy that he would have been that excited unless he thought there was something more in the episode.

Misha live-tweeted the episode, and was watching it with his kids.  It’s well known that Misha and the kids don’t watch the show because it’s too scary, and let’s ask ourselves, why would he have them watch an episode that he’s barely even mentioned in?

He also stopped live-tweeting at a very specific point in the episode (Dean’s death) and has not mentioned Supernatural since then. 

None of them, not Jared, Jensen, Misha, or even Alex, said anything about the episode for nearly 36 hours, when Jensen posted a salty photo on instagram.  It’s just...not what you’d expect for the end of a 15 year show, when the cast and crew are so close to the fans, so close to each other. 

My theory?  They didn’t know.  They thought Misha was, at least, going to be in the episode in some way, and when he wasn’t, they decided not to say anything.

You really think that Jensen “Heller” Ackles would have been so excited about the end of the show last week if he thought Cas wasn’t going to be in it at all?  Nah son, doesn’t make any sense.

Even today, in Jared and Misha’s panels, they seemed sad and...more than a little careful, both saying that there were things they couldn’t say, both talking around things that we all have questions on.

Jensen Speaking with Kripke

So this is where a lot of people are getting fodder to take shots at the writers, saying that Jensen hated it from the beginning, but I don’t think so.  I actually think I know what Jensen went to him about, and it wasn’t the lack of Cas or the weird pacing or the montages (which I don’t think were there when Jensen got the script); I think it was the manner of Dean’s death.

I know a lot of people were upset about that, upset with how...normal it was, coming off an episode where they literally beat God.  I actually didn’t mind it, I thought it was an interesting thematic take to be like: you can be a hero all your life, but sometimes shit happens, and you just die.

But imagine how hard that was for Jensen to read.  He would run to Kripke for that, because for him, Dean dying by being impaled by a piece of rebar had to be tough to swallow.

So, why didn’t Kripke say that?  Why didn’t he say, “oh well he had a problem with Dean’s death, none of that other stuff was in the script.”

Guys.  Why would he get involved?  He’s not going to burn bridges any more than anyone else is.  He said the ending was good because it’s the easy thing to do, it’s simple, will cause him no problems in his career, and he can just ignore the people trying to engage with him on it.

Walker

Something else to talk about is the major shift this episode had from the rest of the season: the shift from Dean to Sam.  I am NOT saying that Sam isn’t important, he definitely, absolutely is, but it was DEAN who really needed to wrap up his arc, Sam just needed to move on, get married to Eileen, become the leader he was always meant to.  So what changed?  What was with the shirtless scene, the Austin number and random case there, most of the episode being heavily Sam focused, going through his entire life in a montage?

Anyone else notice the 375 Walker promos, or Jared’s little spiel about Walker and how he hoped SPN fans would “come along for the ride.”

It’s...kinda obvious?  CW wanted to appeal to who they think the key demographic of SPN and Walker is: rural areas in the South.  It would explain a lot, why so much editing, why so Sam focused, the Austin number, the number of Walker promos, all of it.

I’m not saying this is fact, I don’t know that it is, but it is a little suspicious that even in Jared’s panel today, he talked A LOT about Walker and how he hopes SPN fans will watch it.

Why Would the Network Get Involved?

Simply put: $$$

If they think Walker can be the new SPN, and that those crazy SPN fans liked it originally, it’s a lot safer to go with the “original intent” of the show than do something risky (like making one of your two original leads queer).

And?  They don’t care.  They don’t care that the episode didn’t make sense, they don’t care that all the emotional arcs were left hanging, they don’t care by (potentially) smashing together two of Dean’s monologues (one to Sam, one to Cas) that it came of as...gross. ( @curioussubjects​ wrote a beautiful post showing how part of that death speech was likely meant for Dean here).  They don’t care, they never have, they just want to make their money and move on from the too-loud fandom that fought for representation too hard for too long.

It can’t help but feel insidious, which, honestly, it might be, but it really all comes down to the next cash cow, which, they think, is Walker, even at the cost of the fifteen year legacy show.

The Writers and What I Want

So here it is, all this weird, sus shit laid out on the line.  And you know what?  To me, there is no way to blame the writers, because they didn’t want this.

I don’t think Dabb and Bobo would have gone ahead with the confession in 18 without thinking that there would be some closure to that arc, they wouldn’t have done that not only to the fans, but for the sake of their own story as well: no writer wants to start something that they can’t finish. (And this applies to both Cas and Eileen).

Here’s a basic rundown of what I think happened: they had a clear arc from 18-20, ending in reciprocation at some level from Dean, Sam marrying Eileen, Hunter Sam as the new Bobby, Dean in heaven with Cas and big roadhouse reunion at the end. Covid prevented a good amount of that. Network had to stare at big gay 18 for six months, got cold feet. Thought about Walker, target audience and alienation of the rural areas if it went full gay. Misha quarantined and likely shot something (not much), he was then cut by execs and went home. They likely added in lines referencing Eileen and Cas to make it clear but more subtextual. They wrap, editing gets it and hacks it to pieces, so we get a shorter episode that’s mostly montages and jarringly bro-centric with nothing else. Arcs are left hanging. Dabb gets episode but it’s too late, there’s nothing he can do. Actors aren’t told so they can continue to do positive PR for the ending, they all found out at the same time we did: hence almost complete silence about the finale.

And you know what?  They warned us.  I talked about it here, but they’ve been telling us all season that Chuck wasn’t the writer, he’s the network.  I don’t think, still, that they thought it would be cut up like this, into something so unsalvageable that it’s been panned by almost everyone, even people who didn’t care much about Dean and Cas.

Finally, a masterpiece can be ruined by editing, and while I’m not sure even the script they ended up shooting on was a masterpiece (due to the network meddling already), but to me it’s blatantly obvious that it’s no one but the network that caused this, that took away closure for Dean, Cas, and even Sam.

So what do I want?  Nothing really, there’s nothing we can do, but I wrote this mostly to show people that the writers are not your enemy.   In fact, to the people trashing them?  You’re doing exactly what the CW wants you to: blame the obvious targets, blame Misha, blame Jensen and Jared, blame Dabb.  Scream and yell at them on Twitter and about how the show is ruined because of them.  The network keeps their engagement levels high, they don’t get as targeted for their behavior, and just keep moving along.

Just, please, think about who did this,  Mourn the show, be angry, but not at the people who fought tooth and nail for this for literal years, not the people who wanted it more than we did, not the people who cannot say anything because of their careers and the NDAs they’re bound by.

Someone is going to spill eventually, but until then, we just have to wait, and continue to be loud.

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

Ineffable Con 2020 Fun Facts

Fun facts from the Ineffable Con 2 (2020) guest panels :): 

Neil Gaiman, Douglas Mackinnon and Rob Wilkins

David G. Arnold (the music composer)

Claire Anderson (the costume designer)

Peter Anderson (Peter Anderson Studio created the opening title animation and in-show graphics)

Paul Adeyefa (Disposable Demon)

Jeremy Marshall-Roberts (the owner of Mary the Bentley)

1. Neil Gaiman, Douglas Mackinnon and Rob Wilkins

What do they have from Good Omens:

Rob has the statue from St. Beryls, all four motorbikes from the four horsemen, Crowley’s Devon watch, box signed by David Tennant with Crowley’s sunglasses and Aziraphale’s cocoa mug with Michael Sheen’s DNA :).

Douglas has the playing cards from Episode 1 and heavily annotated Good Omens book they used for filming with inscription by Neil: ‘For Douglas, make us love, make us cry, 3rd August 2017’.

Neil has Aziraphale’s chair from the bookshop that he bought from the BBC and he uses it for Zoom meetings.

What is their favourite thing that was not in the book and was added to the TV show:

Neil: all of the first half of Episode 3 - an absolute joy.

Rob: also the beginning of Episode 3.

Douglas: David Arnold’s music and Peter Anderson’s front titles.

Could Aziraphale get out of the Bastille easily if he wanted to?

Neil: if he could: absolutely. Did he have any conception of the mess he was in: probably not. It’s one of Neil’s favourite pieces of acting - the absolute delight on Aziraphale’s face when he realizes that Crowley’s there and then he turns around and rather petulantly, grumpily goes oh it’s you - that moment of joy on Aziraphale’s face when he realizes that he’s been rescued is one of Neil’s favourite things. 

Neil and yoghurt starter: I had this slightly mad thing where I would explain to everybody that fans were yoghurt starter. And I said, ‘Basically you start out with yoghurt starter and you put it into your warm milk and you leave it, and the yoghurt starter goes off and turns the entire thing into yoghurt. 

Neil realized that there was a cat in his house (Neil doesn’t have a cat :)). After the panel Neil said that he was going to look for the cat with a can of sardines and Douglas joked that he would find Michael Sheen in a cat costume.

What was the best and worst about making the series:

Douglas: the best - the camaraderie, getting to know the people, the cast and crew. 

Rob: the best - realizing that the book could be translated to the screen and watching it happen. The worst - coming to the end of the shoot and saying goodbye to everybody.

Neil: the best - the amount of love from everybody, the worst - fighting budget battles (producers wanted gone all of the cold opening and the death of Agnes Nutter).

Did they expect that Good Omens would attract so many LBGTQ+ people and how they feel about that:

Neil: Yes, absolutely. There are definitely people out there who seem to think that I accidentally wrote a love story with all of the beats of a love story including a break-up halfway through, without somehow noticing that I’d written a love story. And I may not be the brightest candle on the candelabra, but as an author who’s been doing it for a long time, I’m very well aware of when I’m writing a love story, thank you very much. And so from my perspective I knew that the love story would be one of the driving things that would get us from the beginning to the end. And I also made a bunch of decisions about our angels and our demons in terms of casting, in terms of gender that everybody backed me up on, which I loved. You know, the idea that the archangel Michael is played by Doon [Mackichan] is something that is... or Beelzebub is Anna Maxwell Martin, whatever, there’s... it’s not like we are going: these are women, there are men, we are going: these are demons, these are angels. They... this is not a thing. And also doing something like Pollution, where you go in and go: okay  well if we were doing this in... if 1989 was now, if there were they pronouns, we probably would have done that. We didn’t think of it at the time but that’s no reason why we can’t do it now. And we did and I remember having a... not exactly a battle, but a... my very tiny skirmish with one of our execs who was very nice and very bright and was like: ‘Why are you saying they?’, and I’m like... and I... explaining, and he’s like: ‘Well I’ve never heard of that before.’, and I’m like: ‘Oh, okay, but trust me, just trust me, it’s all fine, just trust me.’

Douglas: And you know I have to say, just following on what Neil’s saying, I’ve been directing for quite a while, and I tend to notice if characters are falling in love, I tend to notice a love story happening in front of me, and I think it’s there, and everything is meant, guys, everything is meant.

Neil added: I would just say, there are some things that you do while you’re writing a script intentionally. The fact that... I wanted to do this, well, it was a thing I did that I really enjoyed doing... where whenever people accuse them of being a couple: they don’t deny it, they don’t argue, there’s no flustering on their part. They absolutely… you know, everybody… what I’m trying to say is:  yes, other people in the story are perceiving them as a couple too. And here is Uriel perceiving them as a couple, here is wonderful Dan [Starkey, playing the passerby] …and you know, you do scenes like that because that’s... you are trying to make a point here and you’re trying to make a point on how people are perceived.

Season 2, yes or no [fiends, all three of them!]:

Douglas: What’s that?

Neil: Of what?

Rob: Is it muted for me as is for everyone else?

Neil confirmed that they are going to be Funko Pops. [yay!]

2. David G. Arnold (the music composer)

He didn’t read the book before he was approached to do the music. He was asked to do it by Douglas Mackinnon he knew from the Victorian episode of Sherlock and he said yes before even knowing what it was about because he wanted to work with Douglas again.  

The first piece of music he wrote for the show was the brass band doing the Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon [Episode 6, in the park before the kidnapping].

The second piece of music he wrote was the lullaby that Crowley sings to Warlock. He always liked the lullabies like in Mary Poppins so he said to Neil: Why don’t we do it like Walt Disney, but if Walt Disney was possessed by Satan? That was about 7 months before he needed to write anything again while they were shooting and it kept going round his head the whole time - the melody stuck with him and when it came to the Opening Title of the show, this became the middle bit.

The original opening title was Everyday by Buddy Holly and each episode was supposed to be closed with a different version of it: a death metal version, an angelic choir version, a carmina burana version... and he actually made all those. But he likes to find the musical identity of the show and put it in the opening titles because it’s important and it tells you: ‘This is the word you’re going to experience’, so he wrote his own opening title with the lullaby in the middle and played it to them [probably Neil and Douglas] with Buddy Holly as the backup and: Neil just turned around in his chair and said, ‘That’s Good Omens.’. From that point the instructions were with no rules, just to create whatever he wanted: the further you can go the better, the weirder and the stranger you can think the better. It’s a rare thing to be shown a world like Good Omens and be let free to run around in it. 

His favourite ending title is the Queen one in Episode 1.

One of the reasons he didn’t do a theme for Crowley and a theme for Aziraphale is that the theme of the show is theirs - it’s theirs and they share it and it’s both of theirs and there is no separating in that regard. 

About Aziraphale and Crowley’s relationship reflected in the music score: It’s interesting isn’t it, because the relationship changed in a way slightly frequently and majorly infrequently. It seemed right from the start that their relationship was somehow seeded and planted and had begun by the time we saw them even though they may not have realised it themselves, you know, with the pair of them on the wall, considering one is a demon in the Garden of Eden and one is an angel. They act very charitably towards each other and they act with a lot of things you might not expect. And underneath that there is a sort of sense of togetherness and support even though they both know that their paths are going to diverge and they have different responsibilities. So I always felt like, right from that moment, when the wing came up on the wall, that there was something special about their relationship. Three moments that stuck with him: in Episode 3 saving the books in the church when they completely rely on the other for survival in the way that they were very open about, one in the car outside the nightclub in 60s Soho - the Holy Water, you go too fast for me, that genuinely tearing, that there was reluctance in those words that he spoke and that sort of things as a composer is gold, it’s about making those moments more, and in the last episode in a scene they’re not event in when we see Adam and Dog in the fields and Anathema that music there which celebrates Crowley and Aziraphale’s music which is the theme of the show - their shadow has passed over everyone’s emotional journey, and everyone’s emotional journey is theirs as well. The argument in the bandstand was important as well.

His favourite leitmotif from the series is the lullaby.

About the scene in the car in episode 2 when Thomas Tallis changes into Queen: Terry’s favourite piece of classical music was the Thomas Tallis piece [Spem in Alium] so Neil asked if they can go from Thomas Tallis - a choral piece from 16th century - to We Will Rock You, and: ‘You never say no. You don’t say that you can’t do it. What you have to do is to be the first person who solves the problem.’ In the end it was a two-days work just for this little bit and he mentioned that he never had these sorts of challenges anywhere else before.

His favourite non-musical detail in the show - the crucifixion, how the scene was shot, how it was upsetting, and how it was made more effective by Aziraphale and Crowley’s inability to stop it, that they had to observe and watch it, that it had to happen. I remember seeing that at the time and thinking, I wasn’t expecting that level of brutal honesty, in terms of the pictures that I was looking at and what they chose to show. And I think all the more effective for it. 

3. Claire Anderson (the costume designer)

When creating the costumes for the characters she started with mood boards. 

Aziraphale - she knew that he needed to have something winglike in his collar so that’s why there are sweeping lapels very often. Using velvet [for the waistcoat] because that was nice and soft and had all the appropriate qualities. His watch and fob that has little gold wings hanging from it and other tiny bits of symbolism. Tartan bow tie. Beautiful cashmere checkered trousers - not quite tartan but a nod to it. A mid to late Victorian coat, Michael only made his decision on the coat a couple of days before the filming. Aziraphale in the present settled on a ring with angelic symbol and harp cufflinks, earlier his ring in ancient times has got a much more roughly hewn set of wings on it, so before jewellery making became sophisticated he modernised slightly - he magicked it up to be a bit more modern, more gentleman signet type of ring, but he never modernises entirely. His heart is much more in the past.

After they began to define Aziraphale they started to look at how the Heaven army of angels might look - the element of tartan came sort of from Aziraphale and the angels have a not-tartan kilt with a semi military type jacket and a military band across that might hold arms or not, because they are not really violent. She used spats to make them look quite neutral and genderless so hiding fastenings and concealing little details like that seemed a way to do that.

Gabriel doesn’t wear spats because he’s on Earth such a lot. His shoe has a cover with two buckles on the side giving the same neutral element. He wears a cashmere light-as-air suit.

The other angels are all in bastardized versions of what era they may have died in, so they could have died in the 1930s or the 1800s and the costume would have an element of that era about it - though of course as an angel you can change things.

The Quartermaster Angel - the costume is a combination of slightly Indian type military, maharaja pants, longer spats from another era, all combined pieces of military tailored to be magical and slightly nonsensical, as Heaven might be.

Crowley - she felt that he wrapped around like a snake sheds its skin so she wanted something double breasted because that seemed to envelope his snakey charm. David wanted to be more casual than wearing a suit. Under his collar he always has a flash of red like the snake that he comes from - the red belly. They put a red seam into the sole of his boots so always there is a hint of where he came from. The red tie in the blitz. He was more rock and roll than Aziraphale and modernised more to a snakehipped rock and roll star really. His present jacket - the fabric there is quilted, they found an 80s jacket that had elements of things they enjoyed - part of that was that it had a slightly quilted quality to the fabric which was like a textured snakeskin. It took quite a long time to create the fabric and then to make the jacket from that - they quilted some fabric and washed and whooshed it repeatedly to create a bit of puckering in it. He has a snakey scarf around his neck like a chain mail linked scales of skin scarf that he wore that complemented his neck chain. The trousers he wore in Victorian times are the same he wore in the 60s when he meets young Shadwell. His present trousers - slightly waxy denim - we just were looking for a slithery finish. Crowley’s neck chain - there is only one in the world - her tailor has a Gothic church full of interesting stuff like busts and drapes with old things, this chain mail scarf was there and David was looking for something to complete his costume and liked it. 

Hastur and Ligur are her favourite characters - they were so enjoyable to create. She had an amazing book of 1920s and 30s criminals and they used that as a starting point, because they were all quite worn out and bedraggled and poverty stricken and like hell might be ideally. They burnt and decayed the bottom of them as if they were rotting from the Earth and rotting back into the ground - all demons have sort of gators as if they were rotting from the ground up.

One of the most difficult things was the demons - when they realized they had a few days to create hundreds of demons in South Africa (4-5 days for almost 200 demons). It was as if I had been dissolved in holy water when they asked me for another 150 costumes.

The sleeves of Anathema’s coat have been inspired by a Victorian cycling coat. 

The historical costume that Newt’s ancestor wore influenced his and Shadwell’s costumes - they used elements of the historical costume to put a little cape on Newt and Shadwell and their wax coats to give them the quality of that look. Newt's costume has a lot of mustard to make him feel a bit awkward and uncomfortable - it's not the most flattering colour on a northern European complexion.

The nuns’ headdress needed to look a little bit demonic - she bought a whole book on nuns’ headdresses for research. They also used the V in the nurse's apron because that was nicely demonic. The nurses' watch has got this Satanic symbol at the top - a little take on the medical since old nurses’ uniforms used to have watches.

For Madame Tracy she went back into the 70s, slightly Biba-esque makeup and a cape. They had only one pair of her goggles so it was always a nightmare to find them.

Which part of the cold opening is her favourite: I love ancient Rome because there is at least 6 to 12 metre of fabric in a toga and that was quite fun wrapping that around the boys and creating those., and her favourite was the Globe.

The lapels represent wings in every way and every shape and every form. Wings are very important.

4. Peter Anderson (Peter Anderson Studio created the opening title animation and in-show graphics)

The first thing that the director Douglas Mackinnon (with whom he worked on Doctor Who and Sherlock) said to him was: for all the graphics, for all the title sequence, for everything, I want you to promise me one thing, and that is very, very simple, promise that you send me emails that say: ‘this might be absolutely nuts, but my idea is...’.

The opening title it’s full of easter eggs - it’s a type of sequence that’s been designed to watch a thousand times, for example: on the escalator down to Hell there is one character running up deciding that he doesn’t want to go to Hell or the sea is full of plastic bags because we don’t look after the planet.

Every single face in the title sequence is either Crowley’s or Azriphale’s, they are repeated all the way through - inspired by Neil saying that there’s good and evil in all of us, so there is a grand procession of people of all the characters from the story - marching towards Armageddon - but all the characters have been taken over by good or evil. And along the way our two heroes are kind of playing tricks on each other, doing good, doing evil

The opening title combines multiple elements - two dimensional animation elements, three dimensional animation elements, CGI and live action (the people in the procession were created by live action on a travelator). So the result is a kind of strangeness - such as 3D figures with 2D animated tracked heads - which makes it unique.

Their first idea and version of the opening title was based on tapestries of old, subverting them, but then they wanted something more new and fresh.

Both Douglas and Neil were an important part of the opening title creation process.

The opening title sequence took about a year to make from the creative start with four intensive months towards the end.

One of things that inspired him was a Bauhaus theatre image from 1930s.

Question if the hand-drawn font for the graphics will be a purchasable font: no, because it was original and it’s unique and it was created just for this - it was for the love of the show and the story and it will be kept there.

In the scene where there are three photos of witchfinders - Neil and Douglas revealed in the DVD commentaries that two of them are their grandfathers - the third one is Peter’s great uncle.

Originally the signs telling us things like ‘Thursday’ or ‘Mesopotamia’ - were done as if somebody (who was living inside the television screen) ran up close to the screen and showed us the sign. In the end they simplified it, only showing the signs. The one time that it was sort of left in the show was when in Episode 5 a little demon in the video game shows a sign ‘GAME OVER’.

Outside of his work on it, what was his favourite thing on Good Omens: spending time with Douglas and Neil, and also working with Milk VFX - I think I can honestly say it's the best job I've ever worked on with the nicest people. 

5. Paul Adeyefa (Disposable Demon)

He first read the book when preparing for the audition - the character wasn’t in the book but he got into it, loved it and couldn’t put it down.

He didn’t know about the name Eric until the script was published and people started calling the demon that, he really likes the name and thinks it fits.

There was a version of the script where the demon was going to be dressed in different costumes each time he was discorporated (for example one in long hair wearing a dress) - they would be all the same but different incarnations, in one version they had different accents. 

The first scene he shot was the one where the demon goes to Heaven to deliver the Hellfire (and also wants to hit ‘Aziraphale’ which was cut). That first day was also his favourite moment of shooting because there was an immediate welcoming atmosphere and everyone was lovely and in love with the production.

Disposable Demon is like a permanent intern, running errands for the higher ups in Hell.

His favourite part of the costume were the eyelashes (though he loved the whole costume).

If he could change anything about the costume he would also want cool contact lenses - some brightly coloured ones.

Question what animal (like other demons have on their heads) comes to mind when we see the Disposable Demon: he didn’t think about it at the time, but later he saw people talking about his horns as bunny ears and found it interesting, and also the facts that there are so many of him and that he is quite happy and friendly for a demon so the bunny makes sense, so he might be a sort of a rabbit. Or perhaps something goat type because of the horns.

Question if there is another role in Good Omens he would have liked to have played: he always thought that the four horsemen were very cool and Pollution was his favourite so probably Pollution (also was the most jealous of Pollution’s contact lenses). 

If there were a season 2, he would be there in a heartbeat.

Question about Eric’s feelings on Crowley, if he’s a bit of a Crowley fan: I think he might be. There is something about Crowley and how he is somehow a little bit different from the rest of the demons. - and the Disposable Demon has, much like Crowley, interest in the human world. He could well be 6,000 how many years old, the same as everyone else, but he seems to have this younger vibe and I think he thinks that Crowley is quite cool.

Good Omens fandom is his first experience with a fandom of this scale. It speaks a lot, the fact that this kind of very, this minor character, a character who is only on screen for a very short amount of time gets any kind of attention at all, it's quite amazing really, it goes to show how big and enthusiastic the fans are. I never experienced anything like that.

6. Jeremy Marshall-Roberts (the owner of Mary the Bentley)

When Crowley used a miracle to switch off the Bentley lights in Episode 1 at nuns manor it was done by: there was actually a very small guy called Louis turning on and off the switches quickly.

David Tennant was allowed to wear the snake eye contacts for only 3 hours a day otherwise they could damage his eyesight.

For Mary, the Bentley, it was the second time she was ‘blown up’ on film - first being in the Endeavour with Inspector Morse about three years earlier.

He was a bit nervous during filming the bookshop fire scene because the Bentley was so close to a real fire - not wanting the paint to blister. The car was moved off after a few minutes of filming but still.

About the damage to Mary: Unfortunately, we overran, and Rob my stunt driver had already booked a holiday and off he went and so when he returned in January, on the 10th of January, I had this new driver who really had no clue how to drive old cars, so I showed him around, I showed him to go around corners. He came around the corner, the door was not closed properly for some reason and the door flew open as he went around. And instead of slamming on the brakes which is extremely efficient and would stop him straight away he kept on going, hit another car and really smashed the door quite badly. It did take the car off the roads for 10 months. The door was completely remade because of this accident and it cost the total of  £24 000 to rebuild the car to get it back to running as it is today.

The Bentley’s part most difficult to maintain and service is the engine. 

Would Mary be available for a potential season 2: definitely!

[woodelf68]

The article at the link is Tom's six favourite moments from Thor and the Avengers, there's some interesting bits in it! (Did you know about the Pennsylvania mushroom tunnels? Yeah, me neither.) Full text under the cut so you don't have to leave tumblr to read it.

One. The scene between Loki and Odin in Thor where Loki finds out he is a Frost Giant. Playing that scene with Sir Anthony Hopkins was an amazing day. I’m really proud of it.

That scene is basically the anchor of the entire characterisation. It’s very, very important to me. I knew it was an important scene in the script and I knew how I wanted to play it. Yeah, that’s a big moment for me.

[When he says] “Tell me”. So it’s when Loki demands to be told who he is. “Because I’m the monster that parents tell their children about at night.”

Cane Scene

Two. Walking down the steps of the Halls of Justice in Cleveland, which were doubling as a museum in Stuttgart in The Avengers , dressed in a black suit and carrying sort of the Fred Astaire cane version of Loki’s staff, and flipping it, literally like a cane, and smacking a security guard in the face.

It was so fun because there was something of a showman’s elegance about it. It was Loki’s emergence from the underground in The Avengers . It was all going to be set to this amazing piece of Schubert, as it was. Joss’s script described: Loki flips his staff.

And in the same beat, forehands a security guard across the face. And we did it in one take. I felt like I was seven years old when I was doing it.

Mewling Quim

The scene with Scarlett, number three. The scene between Black Widow and Loki in the cell on the Helicarrier halfway through The Avengers . That whole day was amazing. “Mewling quim.” Scarlett and I had an amazing time playing that scene.

I remember, we shot it on a Monday, and we spent all weekend running it at her house. It was really funny. Whenever I got to “mewling quim” – I’ve never told anyone this – I couldn’t say it because we would collapse into a fit of giggles.

And I wondered if I was going to be able to say it and look her in the face without laughing. It just so happens I did. It was alright on the night, but I love that moment.

Vs Hulk

Number four. There is the moment just before Loki is smashed by the Hulk, which is when he gets up off the floor and says, “I am a God, you dull creature, and I will not be bullied by an animal.” But before he gets the word “animal” out, he is whipped out of frame, about to be smashed like a wet fish all over the floor of Stark Tower.

Before we shot it, there was a wire attached to my right foot with three stuntmen on the other end. I remember working with them to time it. I said, “If you pull on the B-U-L of ‘bullied’, then I’ll be out of frame before I can finish my line.” it was just a very funny shot. It was like slipping on a banana skin. It was old school farce. I love that moment.

The Car Chase

Number five. Better be good. Number five is the car chase at the beginning of The Avengers , which was cut down for good reason, but we shot it in these ancient mushroom tunnels in Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, about two hours outside Pittsburgh.

For most of the course of the 21st century, these tunnels provided the world with about 60% of the mushrooms. Who knew that. There’s something like 150 miles of subterranean mushroom tunnels underneath the forest in Pennsylvania, and we shot the entire car chase over two or three days down there.

It feels like you’re driving into the Bat Cave, that’s what it feels like. They are very, very far underground and they are very, very dark and very, very long.

So it was myself and Cobie Smulders and Jeremy Renner and Stellan Skarsgård. Jeremy and Stellan and I are in this 4X4.

This just after the stealing of the Tesseract. In the film, it’s actually quite a short trip, but it was two days’ worth of shooting to get all that footage. It was amazing being on the back of this 4X4, driving 200/300 yards’ worth of mushroom tunnel, being chased by another 4X4 with all the cameras on it. It’s incredibly thrilling – I think because there’d been so much green screen, and that was all real. We were actually in a 4X4.

Chris Hemsworth

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention something with Chris. It’s the moment where Thor and Loki are standing shoulder to shoulder, staring up at Laufey in Jotunheim in the first Thor film. It was the very first day of principal photography and the very first shot by either myself or Chris as these characters, looking up at Laufey, who’s the king of the Frost Giants. It was just the first moment these characters existed.

It’s weirdly unforgettable. He was wearing the red cape and holding the hammer. He said something like, “Know your place, brother.” It just felt like we’d started something.

So that particular shot has a very close place in my heart.

It was so fun because there was something of a showman’s elegance about it. It was Loki’s emergence from the underground in The Avengers . It was all going to be set to this amazing piece of Schubert, as it was.

Joss’s script described: Loki flips his staff. And in the same beat, forehands a security guard across the face. And we did it in one take. I felt like I was seven years old when I was doing it. [x]

[avinaccia]

A Completely Objective and Logical Ranking of Every Hetalia Character Song

New character songs are dropping,  I have too much time on my hands, let’s go. 

Also here’s a Youtube playlist for the ~✨nostalgia✨~

Bring it on in the tags 

71. Ah Legendary Class⭐The Awesome Me Highway [Prussia]: Absolutely tearing it up on the drums and on the vocal cords alike (I pray for Atsushi Kousaka). Great for the memes. 

70.  Happy Thoughts Museum [???]: This is listed as an official song but I had literally never heard of the title. Then I listened to it and BAM! Smack back to 2013 watching the teasers for the show on Funimation. Not sure I’d count it as a character song though...

69. (Nice)  My Song that is written by me for me [Prussia]: Deafened me but I can appreciate the industrial grind.

68.  My House is...Quiet. ~With the Trolls~ [Norway]: I have never heard this song, nor can I find any version of it online. By default it goes here and I am so sorry Norge.

67.  Make a Wish to Santa♪ [Sealand]: The discordant notes and childish exuberance only serve to make this sound like a demonic plea to Santa to eliminate the singer’s enemies.

66.  Heaven and Hell on Earth [Rome]: Rome sounds like he’s been in the corner of a restroom. Extra points for the metal version, minus points for the fact that the beach scene was replayed like 1764 times.

65. Canada Complete Introduction [Canada]: Quiet af until Kumacheerio shows up and blows out your speakers. they did you dirty my darling 😔

64.  It’s Easy!!! [America]: I don't think any video of this has ever stayed up for more than 20 seconds. Sounds cool, but like I was listening to 20 different genres at once, someone make him calm down.

63.  Bù Zàiyì the Small Stuff ☆ [China]: I cannot for the life of me find the complete song anywhere, clips have a cool beat though

62.  Let's Boil Hot Water♪ [Italy]: Exactly what it says on the tin..though a bit too close to elevator music for my tastes.

61.  The Fragrance of Early Summer [Japan]: Very ‘from the books’ Japan-esque song

60.  Peace Sounds Nice…[Baltic Trio]: All well and good until the radio demon shows up

59.  W●D●C ~World Dancing~ [America]: How a song can sound like it’s from 4 different decades at once is beyond me

58.  Overflowing Passion [BFT]: This is just drunken karaoke and I have 0 clue what’s going on #iconicforallthewrongreasons

57. Ren●Ren●Renaissance♪ [Rome+Chibitalia]: Wholesome Grandpa with Grandson content - barring the fact that Italy sounds on the verge of a nervous breakdown and Rome has had too much wine.

56.  Roma Antiqua [Rome]: Similar energy to any one of China’s songs - there’s a part of the song where it sounds like he’s singing in the shower, and I will never not laugh at [CENSORED]

55.  Country From Where the Sun Rises, Zipangu [Japan]: Very chill, very Japan, but just meh for me.

54.  Moon Over Emei Shan [China]: Good message, okay song.

53.  My Friend [England]: What a mind palace you must have Mr. Kirkland

52.  With Love, from Iceland [Iceland]: Three words: Heavy. Metal. Puffin.

51.  Having Friends is Nice...♫ [Russia]: Russia is the cutest thing ever

50.  Mm. [Sweden]: Smooth transition from WWE Smackdown to shopping at IKEA.

49.  Why don’t you come over? ~Beyond the Northern Lights~ [Iceland]: I don’t want to be mean but...this does sound like the second closing theme to an anime whose first closing was much more popular (à la Soul Eater)

48. Gakuen☆Festa [Germany, Italy, Japan]: Sounds like a 60s song of the summer but oh dear their voices do not go together. Hella cute though.

47.  Wa! Wa!! World Ondo [Main Cast]: One time I travelled 10 hours in a coach bus with a bunch of teenagers to a city of note in my country, and the only souvenir I bought was the fucking PAINT IT WHITE DVD. Perfectly chaotic, UN ĐĕùX~~

46.  In the Bluebell Woods [England]: In the album cover for this song he’s holding a guitar but this is not a rock song. Still has ‘running through the hills’ levels of dramatism though.

45.  Poi Poi Poi♪ [Taiwan]: You’re telling me that Taiwan, someone whose has *ONE LINE* in Beautiful World (which is criminal tbh what kind of representation-) managed to get an eNTIRE CHARACTER SONG???????

44.  White Flame [Russia]: There’s something to be said for a song that is 3x the length of any Hetalia episode

43.  Ich liebe… [Germany]: Baking cakes for your friends has never been so wholesome.

42.  We Wish you a Merry Christmas [America, China, England, France, Russia]: Nice to see they’ve gotten their shit together since United Nations Sta-hmm.

41.  Ah, Worldwide à la mode [France]: Sounds like a Disney Princess song, hard not to picture France frolicking in a field of flowers.

40.  Che Bello! ~My House is the Greatest!⭐~ [Italy]: Would not be out of place in an advertisement for Sea World.

39.  May You Smile Today [Japan]: THE feel good song of the summer

38.  Let’s Look Behind the Rainbow [Italy]: I will protect you.

37.  I'm your HERO☆ [America]: “Anyone who’s sad or sullen will be arrested” did NOT age well.

36.  Mein Gott! [Prussia]: Alternating headphone effect at the beginning is cool, so is the confidence...the actual singing on the other hand...

35. Nihao⭐China [China]: Listen, all of China’s character songs are great, I just can’t vibe with this one like some of the others.

34.  Pechka ~Light My Heart~ [Russia]: I’m still having difficulty wrapping my head around the fact that this and Winter were released at the same time.

33.  Pukapuka⭐Vacation [Germany, Italy, Japan]: Seems just a bit too much like they’re running on a treadmill that’s picking up speed and trying to sing at the same time. Peppy.

32.  Santa Claus is Coming to Town [Germany, Italy, Japan]: This is unironically the best song sung by this trio; can only vibe with for two months out of the year though.

31.  Excuse Me, I Am Sorry [Japan]: Japan’s character traits speedrun. Gives me barbershop quartet vibes for some reason but is catchy as hell.

30.  The Story of Snow and Dreams [Russia]: A superhero anime opening in the making

29. England’s Evil Demon Summoning Song [England]: Sir that is not how you roast a marshmallow, don’t cut yourself on that edge.

28.  Moi Moi Sauna♪ [Finland]: Exactly the type of song you’d expect and it’s wonderful

27.  United Nations Star⭐ [America, China, England, France, Russia]: This isn’t as much of a song as it is a four minute struggle for everyone to sing without America yelling every 5 seconds...Like a particularly musical episode of Hetalia.

26.  Paris is Indeed Splendid [France]: Paris-pa-pa-pa-paris

25.  Absolutely Invincible British Gentleman [England]: Poppy, rocky, polka-dotty

24.  Vorwärts Marsch! [Germany]: To quote the comment section: “This sounds like a German version of I’ll Make a Man out of you.” There’s some truth to that.

23.  Hamburger Street [America]: The product of America’s rapper phase. 8/10 because he’s trying so hard and because I can unironically sing along to all of this.

22.  Hoi Sam☆Nice Guy [Hong Kong]: A song that would absolutely destroy the ankles of anyone in DDR.

21.  I Am German-Made [Germany]: There was once a version that had Germany and Prussia singing at the same time and it sounded positively demonic and Broadway could never

20.  La pasión no se detiene ~Unstoppable Passion~ [Spain]: Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping...

19.  Fall in Love, Mademoiselle [France]: Sounds like it should be in Mozart Opera Rock, I have kiss kiss falled in love.

18. Embrace the Très Bien Moi [France]: This is the definition of SELF LOVE PEOPLE. 

17. Carrot and Stick [Belarus&Ukraine]: Absolutely DRIPPING in 2000s power ballad energy. The type of song that plays on repeat in the mind of the widow whose millionaire husband ‘mysteriously disappeared’ (and the only legit character song ever acknowledged by the anime)

16. C.B.C (Cowboyz Boot Camp) Vol. 1 [America]: AH MAH GAWWDDD

15. Winter [Russia]: Heavy metal fever dream and the perfect song for an angst-ridden teenager

14.  Seychelles Here ⭐ Vacation Island [Seychelles]: UN👏DER👏RA👏TED SONG👏OF 👏THE 👏SUM👏MER👏

13.  Nah, it will settle itself somehow [Romano]: One day I aspire to reach this level of chill

12.  Let’s Enjoy Today [England]: I will never not feel happy when listening to this.

11.  Einsamkeit [Germany]: Ludwig manages to air every single one of his worries about not being good enough compared to his friends and always being perceived as mean or uptight when he’s actually just a softie and now my heart hurts. 💔

10.  Aiyaa Four Thousand Years [China]: A very poignant and beautiful song about the passage of time and the inevitability of its passing; comparable to an ancient ballad complete with explosive crescendos and meaningful lyrics.

9.  Bon Bon Bon❤️C’est Bon C’est Bon! [France]: Peppy, cheerful, adorable, groundbreaking; has been my alarm tone for six years and I’ve yet to tire of it. 9/10 The moaning interspersed throughout has been an interesting wake-up call.

8.  Let’s Enjoy! Let’s Get Excited! Cheers! [Denmark]: This is on par with Everytime we Touch by Cascada in terms of rage potential unlocked (the good kind)

7.  Dream Journey [Japan]: Whoever’s playing the shakuhachi is absolutely KILLING IT. Dramatic, wonderful, great metaphors.

6.  Gourmet’s Heart Beginner Level [China]: Absolute banger, I’m a vegetarian but this would inspire me to eat shumai.

5.  Always with you...Nordic Five! [Nordic FIVVVVVEEEE]: Everyone harmonizes beautifully except for Denmark. Extremely catchy, number placement seemed appropriate. 

4.  Pub and GO! [England]: I love this trash man

3. Maji Kandou⭐Hong Kong Night [Hong Kong]: If you thought Denmark’s song was a banger JUST YOU WAIT. I WILL BLOW OUT MY SPEAKERS LISTENING TO LO-HA-SU.

2. Steady Rhythmus [Germany]: THIS SONG IS METAL AF. Seriously, if it can be classified as ‘hardcore’ by my father and his group of 50-somethings who have decided to single-handedly gatekeep the metal and hardrock genres, it can do anything.

1.  The Delicious Tomato Song 🍅 [Romano]: Beautiful, absolutely awe-inspiring, poignant, catchy lyrics with an extremely deep meaning that only years of meticulous research and analysis can unlock, Romano I love you.

BONUS: Closing Songs

5. Hatafutte Parade (World Series) 

4. Hetalian⭐Jet (The World Twinkle): The song is good, the dancing is cursed 

3. Chikyuu Marugoto Hug Shitainda (World⭐Stars)

2. Marukaite Chikyuu (Hetalia: Axis Powers): nE NE PaPA

1. Mawaru Chikyuu Rondo (The Beautiful World)

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 18, second part

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff) (Previous Post)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Hey OP where’s the funny header gif for this post? Sorry, it was murdered by an angst demon and the framing of these shots.

My Found Family Came to Find Me

Continuing our flashback from last time, we see Baby Wei Ying up a tree, refusing to come down because he's afraid there are dogs. Eventually he falls out of the tree, like a dumbass a child, and Yanli tries but fails to catch him. 

Unlike his grownup counterpart, Baby Wei Ying doesn't pretend he's unhurt when he is hurt. I'd like to put the change at Yu Ziyuan's door, but actually he admits to being hurt during his Gusu summer - he mimics Lan Zhan's stoicism when they're getting beaten, but it doesn't come naturally to him, and he whines a lot afterwards. 

By the time of the Animatronic Dog incident, however, he's laughing off obvious injuries that have secret trauma behind them. By the time he comes back, coreless, from the burial mounds, he won't confide in anyone about his hurts any more, except possibly Wen Qing.

Yanli carries Wei Ying, in a sequence that will be echoed much later in his life when Lan Zhan carries him (gifset here). While they head back, she tells him that Jiang Cheng has a bad temper and to ignore whatever mean things he says. This will also be echoed in the future, when Wei Wuxian says it to Lan Zhan after their argument with Jiang Cheng in the shrine.

Yanli also explains that Jiang Cheng loved his dogs and that he's been very sad since Jiang Fengmian sent them away, demonstrating once again that Jiang Fengmian is a terrible father. Yanli says that Jiang Cheng will be happy to have a friend with him, though. This kind of makes Wei Wuxian's role in Jiang Cheng's life "replacement dog."

Jiang Cheng, after getting over this particular snit, got worried about Wei Wuxian and woke up Yanli to find him, and then went wandering around in the dark like a dumbass a child, and is banged up and crying when the other two find him. Yanli encourages him to apologize to Wei Wuxian and he does, which will not happen again until the very end of the show.  

They all smile and laugh together, as Wei Ying looks to Yanli to guide him through the insanity that his life has suddenly become. 

(more behind the cut!)

They head back to Lotus Pier in a sweet montage of walking and smiling together, with Jiang Cheng carrying the world's most beautiful candle holder with the world's most wind-resistant candle in it, to light their way back. Back in the present day for a brief moment, Jiang Cheng pretends to sleep and listens to his sister insisting that the three of them should always stay together, while a single tear rolls down the side of his face.

Soup is Love, Chapter 1 of 1000

Then we head to the past again. In Jiang Cheng & Wei Ying's now-shared room, Wei Ying sits on the bed trying to figure out how to deal with his grumpy new roommate.

Wei Ying is unsure what to do when confronted with pajama game this strong. Tiny Jiang Cheng is already a fashion king. 

Then he tells Jiang Cheng he's not going to narc him out to the clan leader, since it was his own fault that he hurt his leg. This is all Jiang Cheng needs to hear to decide Wei Ying is all right, and he says that he will help Wei Ying chase away dogs in the future.  In fact, Wei Wuxian will protect Jiang Cheng from punishment basically forever, while Jiang Cheng will continue to threaten Wei Wuxian with dogs...forever.

They shake hands on their new understanding and then jump up and down laughing, Wei Ying's leg being all better now, apparently.  When Yanli arrives (carrying a tray of...can you guess? I'll let you guess), they stop jumping. Wei Ying dives in to give Jiang Cheng a little tickle/embrace in an adorable moment that would have me saying "oh, my ovaries!" if I hadn't surgically sent my ovaries to hell a few years ago.

Yanli introduces Wei Ying to the emotional and gustatorial miracle that is her lotus and ribs soup. He hesitates a long time before tucking in because he's so unused to being fed.

Consent? I Don’t Even Know Her

The flashback wraps up with Yanli conked out on the table from the drugs in the incense burner, while Wei Wuxian, who is somehow unaffected despite sitting almost as close to the smoke as she was, checks on her. Jiang Cheng and his Uggs period-appropriate sock thingies get out of bed to come stand with Wei Wuxian, and have feelings about sending Yanli away after she JUST said she doesn't want to be parted from them.

Wei Wuxian: If she didn't want us to do this, she shouldn't have signed that blanket consent-to-medical-treatment form.   Jiang Cheng: Wen Qing made me sign one of those plus a durable power of attorney, is that bad?

This episode is all about people overriding each others' agency and making massively important decisions without the consent of the people who will be affected. But in a feudal context, it's not a violation, no matter how it feels to the person being controlled. In feudal life, your body belongs to your lord -- your sect leader, in the world of CQL. Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng's choices are overridden by their clan leader's final command to Wei Wuxian.  Wei Wuxian's core is arguably Jiang Fengmian's property--Wei Wuxian certainly sees it that way, just as his hand was Yu Ziyuan's to take if she wished.  

The brothers tenderly tuck Yanli into bed in the rolly cart and hand her off to Song Lan. They talk about how important it is to get her to Lanling and that she's probably going to be mad, as they thank Song Lan for helping them. 

Yanli listens while she sleeps and, in what is becoming a trademark Jiang move, lets a single tear roll down the side of her face. Jiang Cheng points out that Yanli never gets mad at Wei Wuxian and Wei Wuxian is like, true dat.

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?

Song Lan is always so emotional about every damn thing, I love him. Here he's like OH GOD NO DON'T FORMALLY THANK ME! STOP!!!

Then he starts to ask Wei Wuxian to pass a message to Song Xingchen for him, but then decides not to say anything, making it super obvious that they fought and aren't together. 

Wei Wuxian reacts to this with confusion and distress, probably because he doesn't want to imagine ever having a breakup with his own soulmate. Which he soon will be having.  But possibly he's just upset that his OTP broke up.

After Song Lan takes off, Jiang Cheng gives Wen Qing a rude & perfunctory thank-you bow, turning away before she can return it. Wei Wuxian tells her not to take it to heart - basically everyone who deals with Jiang Cheng gets a version of the "ignore what he says" speech. She says she understands and that in his place she would have behaved worse, which is so totally not true.  

Then she asks Wei Wuxian if he's sure about the core transfer (not in so many words, because the script is being kind of being vague about it, without actually hiding what's happening). His reply pretty much encapsulates the whole Wei Wuxian experience.

Then he and Jiang Cheng walk off, with Jiang Cheng giving us a rear view that had me googling Wang Zhuocheng's fashion shoots to determine if that wagon he's draggin’ is really as delightful as this belt makes it look. Alas, there is not a wealth of photographic evidence for this research, as compared to, for example, photos of Xiao Zhan's outstanding ass.

Wen Qing and Wen Ning see them off, with Wen Qing wishing they valued their lives more. Although, what she and Wen Ning are doing is massive treason, so their lives will be pretty much forfeit if they're caught, so...

The Sunshot Campaign of Like 60 Dudes

Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng walk up the mountain for the whole beginning of the Sunshot campaign, which...okay. Maybe it's like Dunkirk or The Witcher where they intercut stuff that is happening in different timeframes, which is one of my least favorite new film style thingies.

You know, for a guy Wei Wuxian constantly calls "peacock," Jin Ziyuan really doesn't wear a lot of adornment; just some subtle metalwork on his belt with no dangly bits at all, and a single reasonably-sized hair crown. Compared to the extremely fancy Lan Wangji he's almost plain. We already know that Wei Wuxian is a massive hypocrite when it comes to his idea of a perfect boy, however.

So, this is the Lanling Jin army, which consists of literally 60 guys, including the ones on the stairs and Jin Zixuan and Douchebag Dad. How are they going to fight a war with this tiny group? Why do they have such a big plaza? Hasn't anybody on this production learned CGI cloning?

That’s better.

Nie Mingjue and his best bitch Baxia make quick work of the 4 Wen guys who were assigned to hold the Unclean Realm. 

Hello, Daddy Da-Ge!

Squeeee, it's Lan Wangji! He's taking back Cloud Recesses! Ooooohhh we've missed you Lan Wangji.

Look guys he's here! Look how beautiful he is. He's looking at the gate of cloud recesses and thinking thoughts that Lan Xichen or Wei Wuxian could probably see in his bewitching eyes if they were here to see him, which they aren't. But at least he is here!

....and now he's gone again. *cries*

Hares On The Mountains

Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian continue roaming prettily around this pretty mountainside. The locations in this show are such eye candy. 

Young laddies they run like hares on the mountains Young laddies they run like hares on the mountains  Young laddies they run like hares on the mountains  If I was a young lass I’d soon go a hunting

Jiang Cheng starts to have doubts about the whole Baoshan Sanren thing. Wei Wuxian's reply pretty much encapsulates the whole Wei Wuxian experience.  

Then we have just the tenderest blindfolding scene, (more gifs here), which is fodder for your ChengXian dreams, if you have those.

Here's a good place for a sidebar about what is and isn't incest. Whee! In the CDrama context, relationships tend to be more clearly defined than in western media. The mechanism of confession & acceptance means that people either are or are not in a romantic relationship, with few grey areas. So a character can literally say "we grew up as brother and sister, but now we are dating" and when someone looks startled they just say "there's no blood relation" and everyone is like "cool cool" and that's the new definition of the relationship.

For a strong example of this, the extremely wonderful Go Ahead is about a contemporary family in which a girl and two boys, who are not blood relatives, are all raised together, and call each other brother and sister. When they become adults, they and everyone around them expect the girl (now a woman) to marry one of the two men who have been her brothers, while whichever one she doesn't choose will carry on as her sibling. It's treated as the most natural, logical thing in the world; the only question is whether she wants to make that transition, and with whom.

Looked at through this lens, Wei Wuxian's relationships with his adoptive siblings have just as much potential to turn into romances as his relationships with his friends do, and there's nothing creepy about it. As such you can expect my meta to always get into ChengXian moments without treating it as a wrong or forbidden love. Hopeless, of course, because Jiang Cheng is such a prick the power of WangXian is stronger, but that's a different matter.

What is wrong is wearing this fantastic hat & veil combination when the most fashionable person on the mountain is blindfolded and can't see it.

In the course of this blindfolded encounter with Wen Qing, Jiang Cheng gets to kneel before a powerful woman, be led along by a length of silk that's placed in his hand, and then knocked the fuck out and operated on. He'll wake up in a hotel room in a tub full of ice with "we took your kidney" written on the mirror in lipstick, and he'll love every minute of it.  

Soundtrack: 1. Still Fighting it, by Ben Folds 2. Hares on the Mountain, by Steeleye Span

Writing Prompt: The NEXT time somebody blindfolds Jiang Cheng