#i'm just rambling now sorry

[deathsbestgirl]

i've always wanted diana fowley's backstory because literally. the syndicate seems to be full of rich men and how did they come to choose this woman? part of me feels like she would have been chosen for something specific, like scully was, and then she surpassed expectations and she bought into their agenda. (whereas scully did the opposite of what they ~supposedly~ wanted)

and even marita?? she seemed to hate them from the first time we meet her. how much did she know? how did she climb high enough? and then when they learn of her betrayal, she's turned into a test subject (like scully but more extensively, and like spender too)

[mathmusic8]

The Chosen show does such a good job with portraying real struggles from everyday life. We talk a lot about Matthew (for good reason), and I just also want to say that I love Andrew.

As a snarky younger sibling and as someone who struggles with anxiety myself, I really appreciate how Andrew was cast and all the mannerisms he uses—the stuttering, the gasping, the way his desperation feels real—it’s very well done.

I do have one criticism about the show, though, and this might just be a me thing, but I didn't like how they changed that one line in the Sermon on the Mount to something like “Who can add a single hour to his life by being anxious?”

That was pretty jarring to me, mostly because that’s not what Jesus said (unless there’s a cultural euphemism that I’m missing here). He said, in essense, “Who can make themselves a foot taller by being anxious?” (Matthew 6:27) which feels like a pretty different message than talking about lifespan.

I mean, there are lots of things that we do that affect our lifespan, but there aren’t many ways we can just grow a foot taller, especially for adults.

To me, the Savior is emphasizing that we don’t need to worry about things we can’t control. And even with things you can control, remember to seek God first, and then the rest will fall into place better.

Maybe that’s ultimately what the show was trying to say as well, but I disagree with the notion that making choices out of anxiety won't affect our lifespans, because they very much can. If I wasn't an anxious driver, I wouldn't pay near so much attention to the road, and that could lead to serious consequences. And yeah, there's a fine line between being anxious and just being mindful, but we're getting into the weeds here and that's not the intent of this post.

My point is that the original imagery that the Savior used was much simpler, and it resonated with me (an anxious person) a lot better, and I was sad that the writers of The Chosen felt the need to make that change to the sermon.

Still love the show though. Even this one criticism has led me to think a lot about the Sermon on the Mount this week and how it relates to me specifically, which has been super cool

[chiricat]

ryomina demons are winning

[excali8ur]

Weird dream.

[plutonicbees]

cassie sandsmark star jorts from issue #23 of yj98 you have always been famous to me

(before pic + additional photos and unnecessary ramblings under the cut)

I made these jorts in 22 hours over the course of 3 days! pure willpower via my love for cassie sandsmark because I am a total novice in sewing and i am still not very good at it. (i really just combined various tutorials and improvised on measurements and then regretted improvising measurements later on).

I thrifted these jeans last year for cassie vibes (even though I had already made her star-spangled red bellbottoms at that point) and wasn't a fan of how they fit + I couldn't figure out how to style them. I enjoyed sewing in the panels to flare them out and then everything else (cargo pockets and sewing in stars) was hell <3

the pockets are not placed well (nor are they particularly well-made), the hem is uneven, the stars are quite janky (and I think I stitched on too many), I probably stabbed my fingers a million times, and I am so in love with them

[demaparbat-hp]

Almost

[mattodore]

birthday boy 🎂

[welcometogrouchland]

I understand that literature nerd Jason Todd is kind of overblown in fanon compared to it's actual presence in canon (a few issues during his pre (and post?)crisis Robin tenure that highlight it) BUT consider that I think it's hilarious if the unhinged gun toting criminal has strong opinions on poetry

[silverware-is-interesting]

i've never really made a comic before, well, i have, but nothing i had intention to show anyone else

[crystallizsch]

this was kalim's idea

[babacontainsmultitudes]

Actual footage of Tony trying to talk to Kelsey this episode:

Now what I personally need is for her to despise him for a while then for them to have some big heart to heart and them to become best friends OKAY I'm very invested in what's become of their dynamic and I'm all here for "Punished" Tony the wet cat that he is I yield the rest of my time thank you.

[lazylittledragon]

i keep trying to think of funny/poetic ways to talk about all the things i'm feeling right now but i honestly can't so. i'm really sad about what happened with my partner. i know he was an inconsiderate prick about it and that i didn't do anything wrong and i couldn't have prevented it but i'm just really fucking sad.

[icantdothistodaybruh]

Them!!

[fuckthemforthis]

Who gave him the right? 😮‍💨

[thekittyokat]

you ever just have a lot, a LOT of feelings all at once about a character and not even remotely enough words or brainpower to FORM the words to describe everything you're feeling. so it feels like you may explode. yeah

[starcurtain]

Hello! Wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed your analysis on Aventurine’s theming - and yea big agree that part of the charm of the guy is that he’s a weird paradox (he got everything one should technically want, and he also lost absolutely everything he cares about) - and also I like your comment that he is, as a character, actually pretty obnoxious (it’s an odd character charm point to me)

Also your post on the way he interacts with the ladies in the cast kinda reminded me - I know folks tend to focus in Ratio’s note but I ended up zoning in on his convo with Acheron more than anything else - because a lot of Penacony is Aven butting heads with other aeon-touched people (Acheron, Sunday) - but Acheron seems like a fun foil because she also has a pretty double-edged metaphysical blessing that is associated with losing everything she loved, but she ironically hasn’t given in to full meaninglessness.

I think one of Aventurine's defining character traits is that he "tests" everyone he encounters to judge whether they are trustworthy or whether they are a danger to him (I guarantee you, he has some kind of mental ranking scale for how likely people are to dislike or mistreat him), and I think his being obnoxious is actually a direct offshoot of this.

Kakavasha clearly was raised with manners; he knows how to be polite and to tone down his responses to social situations as appropriate, which means that, in every other scenario, he is actively choosing to be obnoxious, even in situations where it seemingly won't benefit him (like talking back to the slave master or being too forward when first meeting Sunday, for example) because it allows him to gauge exactly how others feel about him and exactly how much they will let him get away with.

People who play along are potential allies (Robin, the Trailblazer) and people who act grumpy but actually tolerate the obnoxiousness are safe (Ratio, Sparkle, most of the rest of the Express Crew), while people who respond poorly (Sunday, basically everyone else Aventurine dealt with in the past, etc.) are forced into showing their true colors. If minor obnoxious behaviors can provoke them, then it means their core response to Aventurine is likely to be one of dislike and disrespect. He's just forcing that response from them out into the light sooner, rather than later, by being obnoxious from the get-go.

(And, to a certain extent, I think he also just finds it fun to be a bit obnoxious. Like, he's free to say and do whatever he wants now--who is going to stop him from being a brat if that's what he feels like doing?)

But on to Acheron... Yes, I do think there are a lot of parallels between Acheron and Aventurine (came from a doomed people, lost everyone, both determined to hold out against nihility and live just for the sake of living, "blessed" by aeons), but I think narratively speaking, the story puts Acheron in a different position when her tale entangles with Aventurine's: the surrogate big sister role.

Acheron's a very good parallel to Aventurine's sister in numerous ways: First, she essentially sacrificed herself to defeat the evil threatening her people, but is ultimately unsuccessful, resulting in the permanent loss of all she knew.

This loss also resulted in Aventurine's sister actually dying, while Raiden Mei experienced a symbolic death, taking on the name "Acheron" to evoke the Underworld, getting a ghostly, bleached white form, and prowling the river of nihility like a wandering spirit of the dead.

Second, the philosophy Acheron espouses is nearly identical to Aventurine's sister. When even as a child Kakavasha was doubting the value and meaning of life, his sister was the one constantly reaffirming that life has meaning, despite its hardships, and that continuing to exist is the way to honor those who have sacrificed for you. Just as Aventurine's sister expresses that people must hold on to faith, Acheron reminds everyone she encounters to cling to the last bit of color and light in their lives.

This ends up being echoed by the role of guidance that she plays for Aventurine, with him both directly relying on her for his continued survival:

And turning to her in his moment of greatest emotional need:

(Sound familiar? It should. This is the exact same question Kakavasha once asked his sister.)

But there's also a very, very nice visual parallel that goes on with Acheron and Aventurine's sister: the dusk rain that accompanies her.

For Aventurine, the rain has complicated emotional connotations. For the Avgin, it was desperately needed, life-giving water, and thus was considered a direct blessing from Gaiathra. Rain on Aventurine's birthday was the sign of his being favored by the aeon, and yet it also rained on the day he lost everything and had to flee from the only home he had ever known (conveniently also his birthday, dude this guy's life sucks).

Meanwhile, the rain for Acheron is equally complex--rain can bring life, the renewal of barren, lifeless lands... But we also see the rain accompany Acheron through her worst loss, the final collapse of her planet:

It also is said to rain constantly within the shadow of nihility, a lightless gray that washes away all that people wish to cling to.

For both Acheron and Aventurine's sister, the rain accompanies the end of their "lives," the backdrop to their ultimate sacrifices.

Yet it is also in the rain that they both send Aventurine onward, escaping from the cage of his destiny into a "better" life. From beneath the shadow of the storm, they both bid him to go and not turn back, freeing him and permanently changing the course of his life.

The rain that took everything from both Aventurine's sister and Acheron is ultimately what saves him.

It's all a very tidy and well-written parallel.