#if im misremembering then re: point 1

[zurdurer]

Re-listening to malevolent from part 1 and I'm less than 5 minutes in and am already getting so worried for the next updates - also my tired brain is making shoddy (probably very obvious) connections

Btw it's been a while since I started this and I did not go further in the 1st episode than 5 minutes cus I stopped to write this lol

So urh spoiler warning for Malevolent probably!!

So it starts by flicking through radio stations followed by Arthur making panic noises. Then he's scared, can't remember who/ where he is, what happened and has a voice inside his head. Soo this got me thinking, obviously there's significance in the music. There's no way that it's JUST setting the scene of the office, it may be that in part don't get me wrong but given later context there may be a lot more in it.

Obviously there are musical associations with Kayne so this could be symbolising the beginning of his interest, the point where Kayne discovers Arthur? Or at least this one to see how he works out situations. There are probably things I've missed or forgotten that meant my brain thought of this but I cannot remember right now for the life of me.

What sticks out to me though is that the only times we hear or have mention of radio (to my knowledge) is when Arthur is in the coma (it's mentioned that John listened to the radio during) and at the end of part 43 after the resurrection. So they're pretty big events. The entity appearing, John's time alone in the care of the nurse, Arthur coming back.

I mean this could all mean nothing but if either idea holds any truth to the meaning of radio in this show then I have some ideas (and concerns) for what may happen in 43.

If radio signifies the attention of Kayne then 44 may include a visit from a very irritated and blood stained god. Which yk- that could be fuuun!!

However! I'm more worried about how similar that last snipet of 43 is to the beginning of 1. I'm concerned that maybe this will be cyclical. People are talkin about Arthur losing memories but oh my gods is that a concerningly possible future. Maybe I'm misremembering 43 but book event followed by Arthur not having fun followed by the KIY being his friend in some capacity with radio somewhere in the mix feels far too similar so it would not at all surprise me if memory fuckery was back too.

bonus thought about the beginning of the first episode. the song that played could have been a little reference to their developed relationship. The switching stations being their rocky start and journey before settling on a song that is preferred and turned up high as they accept their love for the other and they both become each other's main focus. The lyrics do just fit so well I mean come ON

"I cant forget the night i met you, thats all im dreaming of // and you call it madness, ah but i call it love"

ITS LITERALLY THEM!! Gods they make me sick

Anyway. Yeah so I'm concerned for 44 but am way too tired to think about anything much longer

[declanscunt]

saw another complainy post about succ s4 re: tomgr*g and also how the tone has been off in general and i wasnt gonna rant ab it but im watching queencharlottebridgerton and im very bored so yeah. anyway

i DO think the tone of this season has been kind of different ish BUT there are many reasons for that and i dont think its necessarily bc of bad writing or mischaracterization. 1) logan is dead and that leaves a big gaping hole the rest of the characters can never fill. thats actually kinda the whole point etc. 2) it has never been so explicit or obvious that they are highlighting the cycle of abuse caused by capitalism. this season imo has a heavier handed feel because it is the culmination of all events of the previous seasons, and all the events of their past that they dance around and mythologize/misremember, it is these ppl digging themselves deeper and deeper into the tragedy

and OF COURSE u can be critical of this heavy handed portrayal but i think a lot more ppl are simply mad that theyve sidelined greg/tomgreg and that is what annoys me like. the writers have always known exactly who greg is. a social climber nepotism product of his environment who is both outsider and audience insert. the entire time we’ve known greg he has tried to attach himself to someone more powerful and imo everything he has done in s4 aligns with this (and yeah, i think they COULD have done more with his character from the offset, but with an ensemble cast they have to figure out what story is most compelling and he simply didnt make the cut. boohoo. also we all know nicbraun does not have the range)

also (and ive seen ppl talk ab this before so all credit to them) throughout the first three seasons tom projected his shiv issues onto greg — and as we’ve seen repeatedly in s4, his betrayal of shiv opened the floodgates so to speak and allowed him to express his frustrations directly with her instead of using greg as a psychosexual outlet. also tom and greg are no longer in criminal cahoots because the DOJ investigation has boiled over and tom isnt going to prison, so theres less tension there. and yeah, tom IS probably still bullying greg. but like. IDK ABOUT YOU BUT ID RATHER SEE KENDALL DROWN HIMSELF IN LOGANS LEGACY THAN SEE TOM EMAIL HIS ASSISTANT A BAJILLION SLURS. like. how does tomgr*g serve my interests!!!!! lol

[topaztimes]

hello! I have finished re-reading Scrimshaw from the beginning. here are my thoughts! some of it is probably not very coherent. sorry about that. im not gonna edit it or anything this all just came from my brain as i was reading. also all of the questions are rhetorical. DO NOT feel like you have to answer them. this is just a stream of consciousness. im sure all will be revealed in later chapters anyway!!

Chapter 1

"You don’t work like that anymore." - voice of the dragon? Will absorbed his dragon due to trauma, if I'm understanding correctly. So the dragon still has a separate consciousness and set of memories? Or Will's soul has been replaced with the dragon's? Dragons' eyes can adjust to darkness! That's cool.

"your creations" - the moon created dragons. All of them? Or just some?

Winston had a collar at some point. Who put the collar on him? If the scales are chipped and scratched then the collar was most likely made of metal. Chains maybe? How did he come into Will's possession?

The dragonets are dragons who absorbed their humans. Can they remember their human selves? Do they still have their human intelligence? It would seem not.

The dragon is Hannibal, right? The stag antlers would seem to suggest as much. But he can't talk in dragon form and seemingly can't remember being a dragon when he is back in human form.

"He felt a flicking sensation by his ear, yelped, and clapped his hand to it." - this feels important. Can't put my finger on what it is yet. I'm guessing that wasn't Winston or Hannidragon? Abigail's dragon maybe? Since it is small. Idk man. More data needed.

Will talking to himself - seemingly two consciousnesses? Is this his human soul and dragon soul talking or just talking to himself? Could be either I suppose.

Chapter 4

How small actually IS Ellie? Are we talking chihuahua size or actual anemone size or what?

OMG I JUST REALISED WILL WANTED TO SEE AN INSECT DRAGON AND ABIGAILS IS A BUTTERFLY THATS SO CUTE

"He quietly mourned the pages of his notebook that he’d have to make edits to." - Will has never encountered anyone without a dragon before, huh. But. He doesnt have a dragon. Right? So why would he assume that No One Else has the same thing. Unless. ???? Will didnt HAVE a dragon and absorbed it, he IS a dragon. Wait wait wait he is a dragon for a Thing??? Like the moon??? And is in human form???? What's Will's Thing??? Is it fish. Its fish isnt it. /hj

Ok but if Will IS a dragon, like Luna, then why does he not know that people not having dragons is a thing. Because Luna knew, right? And she said it like it was a thing that happens reasonably frequently. Unless im misremembering.

Chapter 6

"He saw a man smile in his rearview mirror a couple of times, and impressed himself with how ready he was to accept that the image was himself." - more evidence that Will is a Thing Dragon. I'm on this train now choo choo motherfucker im onto you

“He’s a dragon too,” - hmmmmmmmm. And Will immediately says "What happened to him?" SO HE DOES KNOW. THAT PEOPLE CAN ABSORB DRAGONS. SO WHAT WAS HE GONNA CHANGE IN THE NOTEBOOK. IM SO CONFUSED. AM I MISSING SOMETHING im being stupid arent i. Probably

Chapter 10

Dragon in the woods. Does this dragon belong to someone or is this a Thing dragon? Mischa's dragon?

She's yelling at the ground. Is the ground sentient? Is there an Earth Dragon? Probably.

Shimmerscales says trans rights

So. Mischa had a male dragon. That Hannibal absorbed? And he was a girl at the time so now he's trans. Ok. So the dragon soul replaces the human soul when you absorb it? Or they combine? God what are the fucking mechanics of this im so. I can get it i think i just need to process lmao

So humans also count as Things. A dragon forms for every human born. So, is there a dragon for every single tree, or for the concept of trees as a whole? That's uh. That's a lot of dragons. Do you know how many beetles there are? If there's a dragon for every single beetle. Im overthinking again arent i

The knowledge that you have Read and Comprehended Scrimshaw is actually insane to me. You are absolutely wonderful. I hope to return the favour someday but I need to survive GCSEs first *sobbing emojis

Uh uh!!!! I'll answer the questions that I don't think I'll get around to answering naturally any time soon!! I'm giggling and kicking my feet so much rn you actually have no idea omg

-Winston's collar was there for the same reason dog Winston's was -- he was forgotten about and broke away. Technically this WILL be explained soon but I also think you deserve to know now seeing as you DID draw him (I treasure that drawing so much...) -The flicking is the moon! I didn't explain that very well lmfao -- it happens after he badmouths her but I did NOT elaborate enough. However, the fact that she CAN flick him without being physically present is important... greeheehee -Ellie's like... slightly smaller than a chihuahua. I did a little diagram a while back that I'll put in a reblog when I have my phone lmfao -Abigail being an insect was completely unintentional 💀I wish I was smart enough to think of that intentionally LMFAOO (I KNEW there was a reason why I picked it. I didn't even realise) -Part of Will's notebook is actually the next chapter (is that a spoiler?) so all you have to know for him will be revealed kuahahahah. You are NOT stupid for not knowing because I didn't really elaborate, like. At all. So there's genuinely no way you could have knew LMAO (thank goodness for second, third, fifteenth drafts) -Luna was being silly when she explained how Hannibal's absorption worked so he's going to be figuring out the actual story himself. Basically, take everything she said with a pinch of salt -- like Hannibal is actually -(Also yes. Defo an Earth-dragon. I mean... there's a moon-dragon! But idk if she was thinking of that or if she just wanted to yell at something lolll) -THERE IS A DRAGON FOR EVERY SINGLE BEETLE!!! The finer point is: -Every species is a Thing -Every individual in that species is a Thing So, there's a tree-dragon... and there's also a dragon for every tree. Thing is, dragons change in size based on the Thing's thoughts, so since rocks and things like that don't think at all, their dragons are really small. They do hold little dragon teaparties together though. Also, OTHER people's thoughts can increase the size of a dragon, too! Hence why the moon was a stupid rock, but eons of worship turned her into a big, powerful, shapeshifting dragon.

Everybody in the fic gives you kisses as thanks

[thisweekinfandomhistory]

hello! i have been really loving your podcast lately, but i gotta say the percy jackson episode was pissing me off a little cuz you guys were getting a lot of it wrong and were kinda being rude about it? i had to stop listening and im just wondering if you ever bring in actual fans/experts to fact check or guest host for episodes that you know less about. no personal offense intended! i really enjoy the podcast generally but as an old fan of pjo it was disappointing to listen to.

Hi -- V here! -- I am also a fan of PJO, so anything that I got wrong was just genuinely misremembered (likely getting confused from reading/writing fanfiction!).

The only things I'd be rude about on purpose re: PJO or any of RR's writing is that

1) he is terrible about the ages of his canon pairings a lot of the time, and

2) I think that sometimes he includes unnecessary scatological humor in an attempt to condescend to "kid humor."

But I literally just read an RR book today, so no rudeness was intended, as I am genuinely a fan! :)

The Luke/Annabeth stuff just really grosses me out, as do Hazel/Frank and Sadie/Walt -- only from an age perspective! (And if the characters weren't LITERALLY TWELVE, I would have no issue with their age gaps and not think they were a big deal at all. But dude. These girls are LITERALLY TWELVE, and 16/17-year-old boys should NOT be looking at them.)

To this point we have not had "expert guests" come on for any episodes/fandoms, because that just isn't the format of the show, but it's something we're considering for next year (2024, I mean). If nothing else, I think we're considering having people give us primer sessions on fandoms that we don't know well before we record... but PJO is one of my biggest fandoms, so I would not have considered it as one we needed a primer for tbh.

I kind of personally feel like guests would be a fundamental change to the format of the show, so I'll admit that it's me (hi, I'm the problem, it's me) who is not necessarily super jazzed about it. Frankly, I am so painfully shy that the idea of having to cold-reach out to people I don't know to find guests makes me feel physically sick. It would also essentially become a completely different podcast if we turned it into an interview show.

[mclwcc]

f1twt has been popping off since the race ended too. someone posted a clip of lando asking his engineer to "SPEAK up" bc you know, his engineer was giving him important information about the tyres and gaps to other drivers at that point. heaven forbid lando want to actually hear that information. anyway they posted that clip with this big rant about how "if yuki told his race engineer to shut up, we/f1 would be attacking him instead of laughing about it" and i was genuinely sitting there reading all of the replies like. people just say things without even listening to the 5 second clips they're discussing anymore because you can very clearly hear him ask his engineer to SPEAK up. it doesn't even remotely sound like shut up. (not to mention lando had been asking will off and on the entire race to please speak louder because he was having trouble hearing him). but point is these people really just say anything without 1 second to check if it's really true. i also. idk. as a poc, find it rlly weird to be using the actual racism faced by drivers on the grid to push an agenda against a driver you don't like, instead of viewing it as it's own separate and real issue? like do u actually even care about the racism or is it just looking for reasons to hate and push an agenda against another driver u care about. anyway sorry this is long, that pissed me off since i saw it but there are 0 braincells among f1twt as a collective so i rlly did not want to say anything and have them coming at me fjskcks

ok this is kind of bizarre bc i DID see the post talking about lando telling will to shut up and how yuki would've been crucified for it, but it DIDNT include the clip in it. tbh u couldve seen a similar take but i actually think ur misremembering the post, mostly bc no one was picking on lando for the 'speak up' radio (even outside of that post), they were talking about when he cut will off somewhere in those last 20 laps saying "i see i see i see, i'm pushing mate". and then the yuki fan CONTINUED TO SAY that lando's radio was 'nothing serious', they were just pointing out the double standard of how the journos / comms / fandom / marko rinsed yuki and claimed he was not fit for f1 because of his 'angry' radios. i do think that fan was wrong bc lando very much got similar critiques after sochi21, but to be fair to them most fans on twt weren't watching f1 3 years ago so like i wouldn't hold it against them. idk like twitter IS full of idiotic takes & the algorithm will push the most annoying ppl ever onto ur timeline in order for u to take the ragebait and engage, but like. i rly dont think this fan was hating on lando in general or was even in the wrong for venting their frustrations w how yuki is constantly carricaturised and underestimated. which again - maybe im talking abt another fan but its unlikely bc its this one who caught ALL the flack from all my lando stan mutuals so i think its the tweet ur also referencing.

anyways i dont think its necessarily making it a race thing to point out if theres double standards between drivers (especially re: british bias) even though again i dont think in this case they were correct specifically abt lando. but i also wouldnt find it outlandish to consider the outrage re: yuki's swearing is part of a bigger pattern of how east asian men r treated. i think yuki has been infantilised and woobified bc of his race and height throughout his career, and the cognitive dissonance created when he swears a lot (perfectly normal for ppl who dont speak much english / are ESL to swear liberally) is bc ppl cant concieve of the innocent little baby yuki in their heads being an adult man who can use swear words. and i think in that respect his career & public perception has had a similar trajectory to lando (who is infantilised for different non-race-related reasons lol), which is why i have a lot of compassion for yuki fans who r frustrated with it. especially in a casual liveblog situation that wasn't meant to be a Big Statement. but idk maybe thats my yuki bias showing

[transbimbozone]

Genuinely so surprising that Horikoshi decided to reveal Midoriya is transgender through a fan fair promo! Did not expect it tbh..

Design was inspired by @ncko-art's wonderful Izumi edits ^^

sussy

[061890]

I rlly liked your post explaining the koseki system but im a bit confused about why kazumas extended family would disown him? i might be misremembering but wasnt it the case that yujin didnt tell anyone about the whole professor business upon returning to japan? so how would kazumas family know about genshins supposed wrongdoings?

The koseki system post

It’s never explicitly said in the text, mainly because Ryuunosuke is a non-omniscient first-person narrator, but there’s a lot of background hints that point towards it.

TLDR: Yuujin in 2-4 lied about Kazuma not having any living relatives to care for him; they're alive, but don't provide for his financial needs, and Kazuma and the Mikotobas already conceal information due to social stigma re: adoption. Kazuma's mother not being taken care of would unfortunately be nothing new, but to do that to Kazuma is alarming. So: something happened, and the implication/most likely explanation is disownment.

To begin with, we need to examine Kazuma’s position in the wider Asougi family.

In the DGS2 DLC episode, Asougi states this in his narration:

いよいよ大英帝国へ旅立つ前た。。。亜双義の本家へ挨拶するためだ。

DGS2 translation: (Regarding his trip) It was to say goodbye to the Asougi family home before leaving for England.

Note his use of 本家 (honke). From Jisho:

(Noun) head house (family); birthplace; originator

A honke is the main house hold of a Japanese family where the head resides, while collateral branches live in bunke (分家). And while Asougi says “say goodbye to the Asougi family home,” in the Japanese language, referring to things such as houses as people also addresses the people living there. 

This establishes that while Genshin and Kazuma have ownership over Karuma, neither of them are the head nor heir to the patriarch position within the Asougi family and are a branch family instead. Additionally, this also shows that Kazuma does indeed have an extended family, albeit one that he does not live with.

However, this statement contradicts information presented in DGS2. Namely, Yuujin’s exposition on why he’s been caring for Kazuma.

DGS2 translation: Kazuma-kun had no relatives. I began to care for him as if he were my own child.

TGAA localization: As you know, I tried to guide Kazuma growing up, as if he were my own son.

Note: If I recall correctly, the TGAA localization makes no mention of Kazuma supposedly having no living relatives; here nor anywhere else. I don’t know why this is.

I would argue that this isn’t a case of inconsistent writing, but instead lying for the reason that this information is given in public, whereas Kazuma mentioning his family in the DGS2 DLC episode is mentioned in private. This is supported by Kazuma and Susato deliberately never mentioning that they lived together as adoptive siblings until Susato chose to, along with a matter of circumstantial appellation.

For example, in DGS1-1, Yuujin refers to Kazuma in public as Asougi-kun, a title that he also uses for Ryuunosuke. However, while in public but in trusted company (Jigoku, Susato, and Ryuunosuke), Yuujin refers to Kazuma as Kazuma-kun, thus showing a great difference in social distance depending on whether Yuujin is in public or private/trusted company.

Note: Despite TGAA having Ryuunosuke and Kazuma be on a first name basis, Yuujin refers to Kazuma roughly the same way in localization.

So, why does Yuujin trust Ryuunosuke enough to call Kazuma by his first name, but still lies about him having no living relatives? Well, it’s never said explicitly, since Ryuunosuke as our player insert doesn’t pursue it; however, there is a likely explanation for it, and that’s disownment.

Concealed information aside, we know that while Kazuma’s extended family is well and alive, Yuujin not only raised Kazuma, but also paid for his university fees.

DGS2 translation: Since then, Professor Mikotoba did whatever he could to help me. He even helped pay my university fees. I, well and truly, owe my life to him.

TGAA localization: Ever since then, the professor was very good to me. He even helped to fund my university education at Yuumei. I’ll be forever in his debt.

It can be assumed that college education in late 1890s Japan was costly, as while primary education is compulsory, college education was limited to the few imperial universities established, e.g. Yuumei. 

What’s alarming, though, is that Yuujin not only houses and cares for Kazuma as a ward, but also pays for something as costly as college tuition, and not, say, his extended family.

Widows such as Kazuma’s mother having little to no financial support is, unfortunately, nothing new in Japan. It wasn’t until 2018 did the Japanese Legislature Council introduce an outline for widows/widowers in a legal marriage to continue living in an inherited residence after their spouse’s death.

In a review for Deborah McDowell Aoki’s study on Japanese widows, Ruth Campbell described Meiji era Japan as the low point in women’s legal status and family role, which saw the institutionalization of the patriarchal family system. 

She also provided an anecdote on a friend of hers:

A friend told me about her grandmother who was widowed in her late twenties in rural Shimane prefecture. The oldest child of a “good” family, her parents made her return to her natal home and remarry. It was understood that she would leave her two young children behind in her husband’s family. She never saw them again.

Of course, this anecdote is hardly universal. As Campbell herself writes, Aoki emphasizes that there is no archetypal widow in Japan. However, this should still be kept in mind when considering the Asougis’ family situation, as while Kazuma’s mother not being cared for by his extended family isn’t that surprising, Kazuma not being taken care of is, especially since he lived with the extended Asougi family for a time after Genshin’s death. 

Not to mention, him living with Yuujin wasn’t immediate. It’s something that happened at least a while after Yuujin came back.

DGS2 translation: One day, when I finally became accustomed to living with my father… […] He said that, in London, he lost one of his best friends to illness. And he told me that this friend, had a child. That child was a boy, who was older than me by seven years. […] That was how I first met Kazuma-sama…

TGAA localization: It took time to adjust to having Father around. But just when I was starting to get used to it… he called me into his study one day. He told me that a great friend of his had passed away in London. And that friend had left behind a son. A boy, seven years my senior. […] So you see… that’s how he and I met.

Meanwhile, Kazuma in 2-4 specifies that the letter was delivered to his family home as he uses 我だ家 (“my home”, 家 carrying connotations of lineage/blood family). He doesn’t specify on whether it was the honke or bunke, but because he and his mother were bereaved, it could be assumed they lived at the honke prior to the letter. 

To reiterate my point from before, Kazuma (and by extension, his mother) being disowned isn’t explicitly stated; but what we do know is this:

Genshin’s branch of the family is not the head of the Asougi family

The letter regarding the Professor case was sent to Asougi’s family home

Kazuma no longer lives with them, and has instead lived with the Mikotobas after Yuujin returned, but not immediately

Yuujin lies to Ryuunosuke about Kazuma having no relatives to care for him (the implication being no living ones, anyway) despite Kazuma visiting them

Yuujin paid for Kazuma’s college education when his extended family did not

Information from the koseki system post in mind—namely, the concept of shi ni haji—an implication is certainly there.

[featherfur]

Okay re watching the untamed starting from episode one, i basically have a sticky note up for me to note as I watch, but im also doing this at work so a few things may be missed. I'll have less opinions as we go on but the first few eps has so many things for me to look at so ill put it under read more

Untamed Episode 1

The beginning scenes are already making me sad! Also the bit (using Viki Translations) about "If I was Jiang Cheng I would have killed him years ago" how many times do you think he heard that? How many times did someone whisper around him asking why he didn't?

Also I just realized in all the grabbing for the amulet with Yao and Ouyang, we don't see any Jiang?? but fuck thats a lot of Lan (I could just be misremembering the colors of their clothes and I will check when we actually get to that sequence in the series)

Also straight up just the power of the first time we see Wei Wuxian's face, he's already got tears building and then when we see it again he's actively crying, just sets in motion the truth of how much he's hurting and how much this is NOT what he wanted to happen.

I always see Lan Wangji BOLTS to save Wei Wuxian and catches him and yet no one is like "Hey what was he planning on doing with him??"

Oh Fuck what if Wei Wuxian slipped or pulled away and everyone spent the next 16 years loudly proclaiming that Lan Wangji killed Wei Wuxian. What if Jiang Cheng Believed that???

ITS NOT EVEN THE FIRST FIVE MIN AND I COULD CRY

the look on Wei Wuxian's face when he sees he's being held, the look on his face when he sees it's his Lan Zhan, Wei Wuxian is just so tired at this point but Lan Zhan just seems to make it just a little easier to bear just for a moment

HRNG

THE SOFT "Jiang Cheng" THE WAY JIANG CHENGS FACE CONTORTS

WWX UNDERSTANDS HIS ANGER AND PAIN AND HE ACCCEPTS IT AND JC IS JUST WRACKED WITH PAIN

Jiang Cheng just fucking power walking away while Lan Wangji is debating on just falling after Wei Wuxian, poor Wangji.

I fucking love Nie Huaisang siting in the background like some villian in a superhero story, patting his fan on his hand. Was the story even necessary Nie Huaisang? No, no it wasn't but I appreciate the drama it adds, thank you for your gift to the arts

Also the dude mentioning that Jiang Cheng went back multiple times to look for Wei Wuxian makes me remember both that post about Jiang Cheng finding Wei Wuxian's dead body and secretly burying it while keeping Chenqing and the one about how Jiang Cheng lost Wei Wuxian over the years so many times and thought he was dead repeatedly and that this time he probably thought Wei Wuxian was still alive because he had been all those other times, thats one habit he wouldn't break, right?

I love that Jingyi is so freaked out by the creepy moment, my child you're supposed to spend your life hunting ghosts things will be a little spooky. Like Sizhui is nervous but Jingyi is two seconds from bolting if anyone screams near him.

why does viki call them immortal masters and immortal sects? Very strange, but better than youtube?

I suppose worse comes to worse I can turn on Netflix ones, but some of those subs suck

I am absolutely in love with the fact that Wei Wuxian saw his chance to go wild with no normal repercussions because they already think he's nuts and he just ramped it up to llike 16 and leaned into it. Like I love that for him, so much, he deserves to go batshit insane sometimes.

Sizhui is just,,, so gentle he wants to help people he's a good kid, but he's also a little brat with his little trick to keep Mo Xuanyu from being kicked 10/10 would love this child. Also I know that like, it's basically Sizhui's moment to shine to show his personality but i love that Jingyi and the others are just like watching this and chilling. It's live tv and they didn't even have to pay for it also they're like 16 so understandable but still its amusing

[nat-20s]

All right I am back from work and it is like 12:30 in the morning and I am Elaborating for all of you that asked. To all of you that were like “no elaboration needed” im glad we’re on the same wavelength. To those of you that may in fact just be asking me to elaborate out of curiosity as to what I’ll say you’re all extremely valid.

First of all, take all of this with a grain of salt because a: I have a tendency to say Whatever horseshit happens to pop into my mind so this will almost certainly be long and rambling and perhaps make sense to approximately three people but y’all didn’t disengage when I cried about doctor who this weekend so I assume ur stickin around anyway and b: it’s been a Hot Minute1 since I last read the book, so I may misremember things. Side note: I should re-read good omens. I got a plane trip coming up so might as well babey!!!

Okay, to get Into It we must discuss Bitch vs Bastard: the difference to this dumbass (*points to self with both thumbs*). This is NOT based on any like dictionary definitions or societal contexts of the words this is about the different Feelings, the different Essences of bitchery vs bastardry, to me personally. I DO not that in this case they are not even slightly gendered even though they are technically but whatever.

So a bastard is like...a gremlin of a person, right? They are just a litle creacher and they cannot change this. A bastard isn’t, like, straight up evil, but they can be kind of a dick sometimes and when they are being kind of a dick, it’s not usually with remorse, it’s with revelry. There’s a lot of social niceties that they never learned and honestly probably don’t ever WANT to learn. Like if someone cuts you off in traffic and then winks at you? That’d be a bastard move they’d be a bastard.

Bitch, on the other hand, is more about having a fun and sexy2 time. There isn’t necessarily a delight in causing misery, or at least decent inconvenience and annoyance, that there is in bastardry, but there is a delight in eschewing the expectations placed on you. Also the kind of petty sarcasm that’s involved in bitchery is different than in bastardy. Bastards are sarcastic for sarcasm’s sake, bitches are sarcastic to point out Some Bullshit going on. When Lizzo says “took a DNA test turns out I’m 100% That Bitch” you FEEL that but if she was like “I’m 100% bastard” it wouldn’t work!! Lizzo doesn’t seem at all like a bastard!! They’re different vibes!!!!

So, with that difference hopefully established, let’s talk Aziraphale. Book vs TV. A good microcosm of the differences is their differences towards Maybe killing the antichrist. TV show Aziraphale DOES NOT want to kill Adam. He will, if he has to, out of desperation, but he clearly doesn’t want to. He asks why Crowley can’t do it for him and he wonders if there’s any alternative. Like, the only time that he goes for it is when it is swan song time and he has no back-up plan.

Book aziraphale, the absolute bastard whomst I love, is the one to suggest killing Adam and honestly iirc his whole attitude towards the thing is very: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5VTLbPtn5U. It’s like whatever ya know? Sometimes you gotta kill a kid bc heaven has shitty music and you’re not dealing with that for eternity. He is Bastard.

Tv Aziraphale’s main acts of being, like, not genuinely sweet and good are much more Bitchy to me. When he @s crowley being all like “have you got a better idea? One. Single. Better. Idea.” THATS SOME HIGH CLASS THAT BITCH RIGHT THERE. Everything he does pretending to be crowley is Iconic Bitchery. Nothing he actually does as crowley genuinely hurts anybody but he IS obnoxious and loud and having a fan-fuckin-tastic time and is doing the kind of shit he’s probably dreamed of doing for CENTURIES. Love him love That Bitch.

Book!Aziraphale is like. I have some free time during the apocalypse let’s terrorize some Christians. When he accidentally kills a dove Crowley is the one to revive it because he’s just kind of like lmao whoops. When Crowley replaces the paint ball guns with real ones his response is less the “No!!!!!” reaction of TV Zira and more like “Dude. Come on.” Honestly I think Book Aziraphale is like THE definition of true neutral bc he’s for sure isn’t like EVIL but he is straight (gay) chillin’. Like sometimes you gotta just tell some mobsters to fuck off and annoy the shit out of customers so they don’t buy books from your book “Store”. Hell the fact that he has a bookstore instead of just a personal library when you have literally zero intentions of selling anything seems like he just enjoys making people leave. I also Love Him.

Anyway tldr TV aziraphale is actually pretty nice but he is also p sassy and Book aziraphale would sell you to satan for one corn chip and they are both my dads.   

1. If you’re wondering, it’s been at least 4 years. I was on a road trip to yellowstone and reread it STUPID fast and longed for a movie adaptation and lmao look where we are now!

2. Sexy, in this case, meaning a general positive descriptor. I will use sexy interchangeable with like “cool” or “funky fresh”. I would also say funky fresh in causal conversation bc that’s the kind of person I am.