#it's so evil the way god has treated Sam

[bardicious]

Dean, Sam, and Bobby are talking about how Castiel probably is an angel. And Sam's got the happiest little smile on, he's so happy that god and angels are looking out for Dean. I shit you not I'm near tears.

[sammygender]

i’ve never been as angry on behalf of a character as i am for sam winchester

[victimsofyaoipoll]

Round 3

Propaganda Under Cut

Allura

Lots of people (myself included tbh) ship klance (Keith and Lance). In s8 the creators made Allura/Lance canon (but then they killed her off and left the ending ambiguous it was weird). Anyway the fandom treats her like she's the most terrible bitchy woman ever but all she wants to do is end the war and avenge her destroyed home planet. Yeah she wasn't always the nicest or always the best, but you could argue some other characters in the show aren't either and they aren't treated near as bad as allura. people really just hate her bc Lance liked her. I don't think allura/lance are good together, but I still liked her as a character and thought she was interesting and had a lot of growth during the show. she DEF is not evil like some people portray her as in fic or talk about her in captions on posts. I've seen people say that they HATE her and that she's the worst and I'm like ??? let her live (well sort of ig she is dead now). lots of fic writers use her as the villain which is so interesting to me bc the show literally has villains like use them. anyway allura so perfectly fits the bracket description she deserves better.

I hate to acknowledge my time in this fandom but I hate the way the fandom treated her more. Allura was treated like shit no matter what side of the Great Ship War you were on because she was always a threat to the biggest ships (klance and sheith). At best she got put into Background Lesbian or Consolation Prize Shallura (Space Mom-zoned) (She was not a motherly figure btw. She was just Black). At worst she was violently demonized for being ~racist~ (kinda not cool with the alien race that blew up her planet for a few episodes), complete with misogynistic language hurled at her (she got called a bitch sooo much). Allura was a good and cool character and the show did her dirty but the fandom was somehow worse.

i apologise for speaking the dark magicks, but amidst the voltron fandoms many, many transgressions, there were a particular subset of people who just hated this girl. the infamous klance wars of the 2010s kept this perfectly fine childrens cartoon character in the sights of shippers everywhere, and she (and her voice actress im sure) were subjected to years of petty squabble blown up to global perportions. ive seen hate, ive seen rants, ive seen fanfics that made her homophobic. girls been through the ringer, and even though voltron was never the show its fandom wanted it to be, i believe allura deserved better

Every Supernatural Woman

Supernatural is so mean to women and committed to queerbaiting but it still gives Sam and Dean lovers to kill. The writers kill and villainize them and the fans get the few that remain

wincest and destiel shippers cannot handle the idea of their blorbos having a Woman THREATENING their SHIPS god FORBID

It literally used to be a running joke that if a female character got introduced you knew she was going to die soon because fans would react so negatively to her "stealing" one of the boys away from the big ship, whether it be destiel or wincest

[cloudsbrainpopped]

💚🤍 for captain laserhawk?

Hiii! So. I reread the questions and I think this entire post is about Sarah god bless. I will try to make some points about some other folks but I can’t lie. I do think about her a lot.

💚 - What do people get wrong about your favourite character?

Sarah is not just evil and hot whilst committing crimes against humanity. She is inherently a victim of Eden herself. She was indoctrinated via the propaganda Eden put together through Rayman, who need I remind people, his entire thing was a government ploy aimed at impressionable children (granted, Rayman does actually care for the wellbeing of children but his intent and his actions are not the same thing.) And then there’s the entire military complex and what Eden is capable of, brainwashing for one, memory altering for another. I desperately need a proper breakdown into all of the practices within the government because it cannot just be that. Point is. She looks like she’s been through a bunch of experimentation (ESPECIALLY post Sam’s death. Maybe there’s reason we see much more put into her than anyone else with Eden tech on them. To ensure submission and loyalty. I have my theories but I don’t really have the evidence to back them up as much as possible.) I don’t think she’s just an evil, manipulative and for what it’s worth entirely selfish. I just think what most of who she is or could’ve been has been wholely wiped out of her system. To be fair, she is mostly a system now. And continues a cycle set by systems before her. I feel like she is a weapon slowly losing tap of any and all emotions. And I’m not sure what she’d do if she recognised that. Or if she’d die before that. (This is why I need season 2 soon as. I need it for multiple reasons but if a running theme is character’s recognising their mistakes… uh oh.)

Anyway. My personal speculation aside. She is evil, yes. But not as much as the fandom likes to bring her down to. She does what has to be done to reach her own goals, firmly set in doing that. Who cares about who she takes with her, they’re enemies of state anyway. I feel like Captain Laserhawk as a whole is very clear on who’s unforgivable, whose crimes are reprehensible for the sake of being reprehensible. I don’t get that in Sarah. I see someone desperate for their goals, I see someone stuck in their ways, remorse dead with their family and just… suffering. It’s the methods that bring being evil into it. Although I will not refute the fact that she is fine as fuck. She’s got an undercut, she’s buff, stubborn and has severe father issues. And to be honest I have a thing for most of that when it comes to actual women too so. LMAO… girl I don’t care if you’ve got problems with your father we can share mine.

🤍 - Which character is not as morally bad as people think?

In short. Sarah again but for the reasons listed above. She is not a bitch for the sake of being a bitch. Yeah, she’s a villain and has done absolutely abhorrent shit. But there’s a difference in the fact that she does everything explicitly for her goals. Sometimes I feel like someone would say she kicks stray animals or something because ‘evil’. (She Would Not. She absolutely would not but sometimes it’s just so… flanderised.)

In addition to that. I know this happens in fandom frequently, and fanon will happen but it. Really boils my blood and I’m sure that everyone sitting here has something they’ve seen or the general way a fandom treats a character they like that just. Irritates them but yeah. Also I feel like Dolph deserves an honorary mention for this one. His morals aren’t skewed, they’re for his own goals too but his mental health is naturally in the shitter. I have no idea if that made any sense but I hope what I’ve said has come across alright!

[daresplaining]

opinions on the red fist saga? :0

Resoundingly negative, unfortunately. I actually only just read it, because I was having a rough time with it while the issues were coming out and so decided to put it off until I was in a better headspace for it (or until I saw a preview for an issue that excited me and gave me the motivation to catch up, which is what happened with next week's anthology issue).

As I said, I disliked this story very much, so if you aren't interested in hearing me rant (perfectly fine! I wouldn't blame you!), read no further. I really hope you liked it. I really don't want to get you down if you did. This whole run was just the epitome of Not For Me.

Ahem.

The "Red Fist Saga" is, in my opinion, a flimsy "Shadowland" knock-off, centered around the abrasive, moralizing religious zealot who has been inhabiting Matt Murdock's body for the past few years. Elektra Natchios, an incredibly complex character whom I love dearly, had her backstory savaged to remove its autonomy and complexity (that's a rant for another post...) and exists in this story as an accessory to this Matt look-alike and as a handy target of his moralizing (at one point he comes to the revelation that this recent journey she has been on has been worthwhile because it was all about God saving her from her wicked ways!!, at which point I may have blacked out from rage for a few seconds). Matt and Elektra GET MARRIED, and the implications of this massive shift in their relationship are not explored at all. And phew...the less said about Sam Chung's single scene, the better. As was true throughout Zdarsky's entire run, Matt speaks and thinks in this story like he is reading a prepared speech at all times, making grand-yet-hollow pronouncements about the nature of good and evil. He doesn't sound like a real person, but rather like a robot that has been fed a steady diet of religious texts, along with a few surface-level social/systemic reform concepts. His personality consists of being alternately sad, angry, and making lofty proclamations about "fighting evil in the service of God's plan", and I just have no emotional investment in that. I'm not Catholic (and neither, until recently, was Matt Murdock, making this whole thing profoundly weird).

There were some cool elements to this story. I'm a huge Stick fan and I'm thrilled that he is finally back from the dead after all these years. I love Stilt-Man. I love Speed Demon (for some real Speed Demon goodness, go read Superior Foes of Spider-Man, one of my favorite comics of all time). Foggy had a few good panels. I got to read Milla's name; always a treat. Kirsten didn't actually die. Mike was...mentioned (I've already griped about his death; I won't do it again here). The twist that Foggy and Stick were actually already dead was effective and very cool and I didn't see it coming at all, so I will give full credit for that. And I'm someone who genuinely does enjoy Hand shenanigans. I love that stuff when it's done well. But the degree to which I could not stand this new Matt and did not care what happened to him or what he was doing, plus the fact that I had seen all of these plot points executed already, and better, by previous Daredevil teams, meant that this story was just a protracted slog through painful writing, past scene after scene that could have been so much better in the hands of a different creative team or centered around a version of Matt Murdock who was actually a compelling protagonist.

[oc-tournaments]

ROUND THREE - MATCH 3

DALO vs SALVANAN

DALO: @genericswordsmaiden

SALVANAN: @the-demoness-next-door

VOTE BASED ON THE INFORMATION BELOW CUT!!

Propaganda Content Warnings: Suicide, assault, internalised homophobia, animal death, dismemberment, alcoholism for DALO, abuse, manipulation, suicidal thoughts for SALVANAN.

DALO:

PROPAGANDA: Dalo is a ghost, she died by suicide at the age of 27, and in the world of the dead where she now resides, which is actually a purgatory of sorts, she has to endure loneliness because suicides can get corrupted - change form and become aggressive spirits - and are therefore ostracized by other ghosts. Born in an abusive family, starved during her childhood and bullied at school, Dalo develops trust issues growing up, her only friend being a pen pal, Luka, and her mentor, a man whom she only remembers as Professor. Dalo is not her real name, but a nickname that eventually erased her original name. At age 16, she gets physically assaulted by a group of guys and survives, but gets big ugly scars on her back that she tries to hide in every way she can. When she gets the chance, she travels to the city of Providence, renting an apartment with Luka. They form a band with two other characters, Mary and Sam, but soon tensions arise, mainly because they all love Sam in some way, and this puts Dalo in an uncomfortable situation because she doesn't really know how to deal with feelings. She ultimately decides to put them aside and think about how to help Luka deal with his homosexuality instead. In this period of time, which lasts about three months, another tragedy occurs: Dalo and Luka's cat, whom they treated as a son, is found killed one evening. This brings the two even closer, grief shutting them out of the world for a while. As if that wasn't enough, Sam, thinking that Luka and Dalo became a couple, marries Mary instead, breaking two hearts at once. Just when it seems like everything is slowly flowing normally again, Luka has a breakdown and asks Dalo if God can accept him as he is. The choice of words in her answer to such a cryptic question is crucial and will forever change her life, as well as ultimately end his, since he goes missing from that evening, until his body is found in a bag a week later, chopped up into pieces. The weight of the event is too much for her to bear, the guilt and pain make her turn to alcoholism. Her last choice was cold and calculated, she saw no value in a life like hers, so after months of suffering she took her own life. As a ghost, this choice hunts her, also because it made her directly linked to the main antagonist of the book, but this is a lore-heavy detail and I don't really want to delve into it. Her other big character trait is the fact that, with a life like that, she has tons of repressed anger, which all comes crashing out of her (literally) at some point in the story. Her power as a ghost is summoning chains, which symbolise both her guilt and the desperate need to be "chained to someone", to have some kind of bond with another person.

THEME SONG:

SALVANAN:

PROPAGANDA: this poor man. buckle in, you have a LONG one coming. he's very old, he's the god of plants + the earth and he's great i love him but man i have not been nice to him. so. way early in his life, he had a very sweet boyfriend named azyll along w lots of mutual friends. except oops, sal developed chronic anxiety and depression and decided that he did not think he would be good for azyll and broke it off w him. it was amicable but it still sucks. fast forward a bit, one of the friends in their circle, jekath, is being manipulated and hurt for no reason and sal knows but for magic reasons he's incapable of telling anyone, just has to watch. and then he eventually has to watch jekath finally snap under the pressure and betray them all and go evil. no bueno. so he spends a long time feeling terrible and eventually he plans to just. yknow. off himself. but oh surprise this little boy named safari shows up in his garden! and he's like well shit guess im a dad now. and he loves this little boy very much. it's good times! except when he's a teenager two of the little boy's biological brothers drop him off a cliff and nearly kill him, which is, yknow, terrifying. that's his son! his son was almost murdered! no! bueno! anyway, azyll's mortal so eventually he dies of old age, now sal's even sadder. least he's still got his other friends and safari but Man. anyway fast forward again, whole world is at war. and his two best friends, arona and morana, both die in it. but if that was not bad enough, arona was killed by jekath. you know, the old friend that was abused and eventually betrayed them all. so the friend he felt like he failed has now murdered one of his best friends. and his other best friend is ALSO dead. things are just going Great. flash forward another little while and his goddaughter's husband, sibrum, goes evil against his will too. he's known sibrum since he was a kid so now he's got ANOTHER person he felt responsible for gone evil against their will. then sibrum's daughter dies. are you seeing a pattern yet. anyway, sibrum soon kills jekath so now sal feels like he's double failed both of them and also even MORE of his original friends are dead now. so he is trying So Hard to relax! but then safari is turned into a terrible person against his will too! and because they were so so close for so so long they end up in a toxic dynamic instead of cutting each other off. sal finally figures out how to break the spell on safari and it's all Okay Now (they're both traumatized and it's definitely not okay). he gets to relax for only a brief time before his other child's son, volta, has a villain arc too. and what happens? you guessed it! sal tries to stop him and help him and he's not able to. and feels like he failed someone AGAIN. yeah this just happens over and over through the course of his life. he's so tired and sad man

THEME SONG:

[this-is-a-nice-show]

I adore any and all Supernatural and Good Omen crossovers because On one hand, you have a show comprised of at least 60% male brooding and emotional heart to hearts with jarring, nonsensical, violent plot points almost always with a devastating season finale.

And on the other hand, you have a show featuring an unlikely pairing who constantly bicker but also would die for each other in a heartbeat exclusively in the most stupid, chaotic, and unnecessary way possible.

They both have extremely established lore in their universes that do not line up whatsoever. My favourite part is someone trying to combine the lore or totally disregard the rules of these universes like a prophet who has heard whispers of the word of god/Chuck directly and is communicating their word to us. And they are beautifully creative every time. Every take is completely different on how the lore is combined and I'm still like "You're so damn right. Cheers, I'll drink to that."

But ignoring the biblical themes of both shows they have so many similarities...

A vintage car is kept in pristine condition and is almost exclusively the main method of transportation. "Get in the car, angel! Alpha Centuri!" - Crowley (2019, colourized). Okay, were you planning on driving to Alpha Centuri??? "Hop in the car, Sam. Time to go on our day-long road trip for the second time this week." For fucks sake, you have infinite money. Buy a plane ticket.

We listen to One Song. A Nightingale Sang in Berkley Square. Carry On My Wayward Son.

We will extend our musical selection To A Certain Extent. Queen only. No modern music.

Angst.

Weird Haircuts.

Zombies, Nazis, Witches. Unclear definition of what the capabilities of witches are in both universes. Dean killed Hitler, Crowley killed three nazis.

Female love interest? Ehhh... No, thank you.

Male love interest? Ehhh... No, thank you. I'm rolling with genderless Crowley/Aziraphale. But don't worry because Castiel is happiest when he says he loves Dean. If that doesn't say platonic male friendships, I don't know what does. /s

Dumbass Behaviour. "Yes, I am playing detective searching for Clues for Archangel Gabriel. No, I did not inspect the Clue that he showed up with." "Yes, I have many, many contacts throughout not just Earth but also Heaven and Hell. No, I will not contact anyone for help."

Pornography and Sex Workers.

Risking death and destruction for others. Crowley rescues Aziraphale in France, Aziraphale saves Crowley by getting the photo back from the Nazi zombies. In Supernatural wtf, where to start...

The line between 'good' and 'evil' is virtually nonexistent. However, humans are regarded as 'closer to evil than good' or 'more likely to be evil than good'.

Found Family. "Hey hellspawn, you want two dads? No? Well how about a Nanny and a Brother Francis?" & "Hellspawn #2, tell your dad to fuck off and then bing-bang-boom, adoption complete. Adopted parents are just parents." "Hey hellspawn, you want three dads? No-oh wait, you do? Great."

God/Chuck is treated as a neglectful parent. They still seem hopeful that they'll receive help at some point but understand that they are required to fend for themselves and that can include going up against god/Chuck. It is cannon in Supernatural that all beings project their daddy issues onto Chuck.

They drink an extraordinary amount of alcohol and can sober up quickly. Good Omens is self-explanatory. But I've never met a person who can shotgun four beers back-to-back and shoot dead center. They have to be sobering up in between these activities.

They only own One Outfit. Coat/trench coat, waistcoat (optional), tie/scarf (optional), one or more layered shirts, jeans/slacks, and shoes. And of course, you have the accessories. Dean's necklace and Aziraphale's ring + watch. And it is cannon that in Supernatural, the characters (not the actors playing the characters, but the actual characters) wear a full face of makeup. And you can see Crowley/Aziraphale's makeup. Their lip colour changes pretty frequently. The angels in Heaven wear gold lipstick iirc.

Both of their main 'bases' are filled with books. The bookstore (for obvious reasons) and the Winchester's bunker has their hunter's manuals and the fucking Supernatural books.

The actors that play the characters canonically exist in their universes as well as thier characters. Dr. Who exists in Good Omens -> David Tennent exists in Good Omens along with Crowley. There is an episode of Supernatural where the main 3 exist in the 'real world' -> those 3 actors also exist in Supernatural. (There are multiple episodes where this happens without Castiel, but there is only one where Misha Colins plays himself.)

The most glaring difference between the shows is: one is developed starting with the characters and one is developed starting with the plot. Sam and Dean are inserted into a plot that they had no control in creating. Their father placed them into situations, and they were forced to find a way to survive. Crowley and Aziraphale literally started the story. They should understand the concepts of anything that happens in the plot (to a certain extent). As in, unlike the Winchesters, they don't need to do copious amounts of reading to foil nefarious plans.

Dean, Sam, and Castiel are pessimistic and dismissive of help. Other beings have to prove themselves worthy of their trust and usually not the other way around. Crowley and Aziraphale are optimistic and see the good in humanity. They enjoy the simple everyday joys of being human and they had the trust of Hell/Heaven for 6,000 years, up until Michael found the pictures of the two on Earth.

But would Crowley/Aziraphale drink bargain bin beer? Go to the greasiest diner imaginable? Directly commit murder? Participate in hand-to-hand combat? Would the Winchesters/Castiel drink a fancy, expensive wine? Go to the Ritz? Analyze their thoughts from a different perspective? Read a book for fun?

NO, and that is why I love you fanfiction writers and artists. I appreciate everything you do. <3

Something a little sad under the cut

I think the reason why I haven't been able to see more fun? silly? (idk how to describe it) fan fiction of SPN without crossovers is because Good Omens has never made fun of its audience or belittled how much effort goes into making content. When you know that you're actively being mocked by the show you like, you have to be on your Best Behaviour and Don't Fuck Up.

I remember that they were upset that the show attracted an audience of teenage girls. They made multiple episodes making fun of cosplayers, what I can only describe as an "obsessive fan girl", and destiel.

It feels like the people involved in Good Omens actually care about it and give a shit and that feels like putting lotion on a sunburn. Y'know?

[codecicle]

Swag, tell me about your BG3 character, I’m curious about what you play !! :D

rubbing my hands together evil style. wampus you have no idea what you've unleashed

this is my bastard son: Samuel Alastine :D he goes by Sam but everyone calls him Sammy ^_^

his personality is like if you combined chip jrwi + sokka atla and made a really sappy fucked up love child. he's such a sarcastic little bitchboy at all times who loves being a bastard and charming his way into and out of situations (the consequences of his actions). he really focuses on the actions of the people and how they treat others as a sign of if he should trust them or not, when asked by Withers the question on how much a single human life was valued i had his answer READY lmao he was instantly responding with "it depends on the person's actions." he definitely has a weak-spot for kids though, he went through a rough childhood, but he doesn't consider it "important" and he trys to keep it as close to his chest as possible.

he's a tiefling sorcerer and i decided to make his sub-race a dragonborn tiefling so he could get the specific type of spells i wanted. i think my plan for progressing him is to focus my general skill-tree to be skewed towards how his personality would fight instead of whats most practical, and for him that definitely means wiping out multiple people in one flashy go with ZERO back-up plans. the amount of times he's had to get one of the other party member to revive him is insane, so he tends to leave that part out of the big flashy tales about his adventures. he loves showing off and bragging so much genuinely again think sokka atla just an absolute loser bastard who tries to take credit in a loving way. he would kill and die for his friends he just shit-talked as beneath him and side characters 5 seconds ago, and if someone else tries to also talk bad about them he's throwing hands and swinging on them in an instant with his whole 8 strength

speaking of which i skewed by skills so badly by putting the free +2 modifier to charisma to give him a 17 bro i coulda blanced his skills a little more and made all of his attacks do more than a grand total average of like. 2. maybe 3 if youre lucky but i DIDNT because im not a COWARD!!!!!!!!!!!!! so now he just flops over if he gets breathed at wrong or is out of spell slots like god intended. but at least he knows how to flirt GODBLESS

also also i definitely think his current party is going to remain his favorite and most trusted for the whole game. he's adventuring with Shadowheart, Wyll, and Astarion right now and they fit him so perfectly its actually insane. he loves how forward thinking Shadowheart is and is willing to follow her, and respects her for keeping her secrets while still letting him make fun of how closed off she is. (realizing now that my playful banter i try to give him might be the romancing options. but like. yeah he would try and do that she would never go for it though.) ((maybe)) and he absolutely adores Wyll's heroicism and looks up to him in a way, full of nothing but respect for how selflessly he acts and how he fights with confidence. he's an especially big fan of how he treats kids, knowing he never would have gotten that same kindness and it was nice to see the cycle be broken and someone make a change. and astarion he just wants to fuck LMAOOOO he loves the conversations they have and while astarion saying "oh yeah btw how do you wanna die when that worm in your brain spreads. like do you want poison or a knife" should normally be offputting thats EXACTLY his kinda humor and flirting. he said knife btw ^_^ purely because at the beginning where astarion jumped him he pinned him to the ground and held a knife to his throat and he really wants that to happen again but you didn't hear that from him. nuh uh.

anyway im having so much fun playing this game fully in character i see why the council did it that way now !! this is so silly goofy and fun i love going "oh wow any normal self respecting person would NOT say that to the random person they just met. i dont want to pick this option but youre not gonna believe this chief, its What My Character Would Do" every 5 fucking minutes for a new dialog this game is awesome im gonna go die in a combat now goodbye [vanishes into the woods] [the camera very clearly shows me hiding behind a tree thats too skinny for my body asking someone off screen if he's gone yet]

[fallowtail]

Top 5 Hetty outfits - jk ahem. Top 5 ghosts dynamics?

Oh this is rough their dynamics are all SO good....aahhhh ok. Ok. Going to try my best to fight my brain fog and lack of articulation skills to briefly explain why I chose them! These aren't in order either because that'd be just too evil, lol. Ok.

...I'M DOING SIX YOU CAN'T STOP ME because I accidentally wrote six of these because I miscounted and I don't want to delete one that I already wrote up, lol

Hetty and Trevor ...ok, this one is obvious, but they're just. So. Weird. In a way that you don't expect but that works absolutely perfectly. They're so similar when you get down to it and they bounce off of each other hilariously, I feel like that scene from Isaac's book where Hetty has created a scheme, and is so proud of herself for how devious she is, while Trevor rolls his eyes because he knows how stupid it is but he is still going along with it anyway because he knows if he does she'll give him a treat later (which she does!) sums up their dynamic really well. I love that they butt heads so much and think they have nothing in common when they so clearly do, lol. The way he's slowly shifted into being fondly amused by her vs aggravated is really cute- the way they're both so enthusiastic about what they get up to in the basement is so sweet, Trevor actively wanting Hetty to open up to him, to talk to him and be silly and let loose...that fond little smile she makes at him when he's being a goober during the pillow talk scene. Ugh. They do genuinely like each other but are just so stuck in their ideas about what they should want that they dig their heels in. This is the one I am the most mad about not being able to properly explain how I feel because there is just. SO. MUCH. Going on there with them. Why am I not good at writing, AHHH

Isaac and Hetty THE BESTIES! Oh Isaac and Hetty are just sooo funny like he watched her live her entire life, they are best friends, the two of them both think they run the house but they constantly default back to each other and are usually the only ones the other will listen to, he tried to romance her and then told her he was gay, he enables her bad behavior, he both refuses to take romantic advice from her but also desperately wants her advice, he deeply loves her but very clearly thinks there is something wrong with her, they have dates where they just stare out the window for hours, she clings to him constantly like he's a security blanket, she envies his ability to find love but also kind of hates his boyfriend who she encouraged him to get together with LOL, they're gossip besties, they both deeply crave the others approval, Isaac being happy Hetty found her stableboy but also not being sure why she's chosen Trevor, like. Oh my god. I love Isaac and Hetty so much that I can't find the words even more than the others. They're just so, so, so perfect together and you can always see Brandon and Rebeccas best friendship come through with these two, their scenes are always my favorite.

Sam and Hetty Wow, I wonder if there's gonna be a trend here with which dynamics I enjoy the most because it involves my blorbo, hmmm Something about Sam and Hetty finding family within each other and wanting to learn from their past mistakes and heal from their family damage with each other and then still falling into those same patterns they did in life but with the desire to fix it this time when they realize is so interesting. I love how even in the pilot Hetty warms up to the idea of her moving into the mansion so quickly despite claiming otherwise, and that even in as latest as the Halloween episode you can see them butting heads over Hetty's need to manage people to express care because she thinks she knows best and if she knows best, why wouldn't she tell people how to get what they want? And Sam lashing out when people do that to her because she wants her accomplishments to be her own and for someone to be proud of her for what she does.

Hetty and Flower and Alberta Look I said there was gonna be a trend but I'm squeezing the Lady Ghost Society into one group so that my last 3 answers aren't all for them, lol. The way the lady ghosts interact is so fun and I love that they're all different- Hetty and Alberta being all over each other this season despite their huge conflict at the end of s2, the way Flower and Alberta were the ones who volunteered to be roommates originally, Flower not realizing Hetty didn't understand what good sexual stimulation felt like and then being distraught when she realized Hetty didn't know what happened to her on the washing machine and Hetty feeling comfortable enough to come to Flower to confess her sins and Flower helping her work through it, Alberta having forgotten Flower's name in season 1 but then in season 2 she's the one who makes sure Flower remembers what her name is, it's just so...!! The fact they have a Lady Ghost Society Council is so cute too, oh my god.

Isaac and Trevor Oh my god one that doesn't involve Hetty, what the hell Isaac and Trevor are so interesting...they're kind of similar to H-Money in that on paper you don't think they'd get along, but their interactions are so?? I think Isaac envies Trevor in a way because he's so easily "one of the guys" which is all Isaac ever wanted, buuuut he also thinks Trevor is kind of an idiot, lmfao, because Isaac just thinks everyone in the house except for him and Hetty aren't particularly intelligent I think. (Also he can't get past the pants thing.) Trevor and Isaac both so very, very desperately, just want people to like them, both of them make up these stories about cool things they did to fit the persona they so badly want the others to believe...The Liquor License is such a good episode for them, the way Trevor is content to tease Isaac when he thinks Isaac is having fun doing his snooty thing but then as soon as he realizes Isaac got left alone he goes to find him...they're just really, really fun to pair up together and I'm looking forward to this next episode with them being a duo! You can really see Brandon and Asher's friendship shine through in their scenes together.

Isaac and Sam Isaac and Sam's relationship is so weird and I absolutely love it. Isaac shadowing Sam all day in the new episode and kind of making fun of her "Yogaaaa!", them doing yoga together and her ditching him when he fell asleep...there was an interview back in December where Rose talks about the Sam and Isaac dynamic and how weird it is saying Sam just really seems to want to serve him and his best interests and that there's something going on with Sam for her to want that out of Isaac LOL, she really does seem to cave into him the most out of any of the ghosts because something in her just seems to want to impress him? But at the same time he annoys her. It's fascinating. That little heart to heart they had about not needing outside approval but then immediately dropping it as soon as they got approval for her book was SO funny and they really just want everyone to like them and be proud of them and it makes for such a fun relationship to explore.

Phew! Ok, that was long, and I'm frustrated I can't properly say what I actually want to say or feel for any of these but hopefully that all comes across decent enough! <3

Ask me my top 5 anything game!

[godsprettiestprincess]

[ID: the expanding brain meme, seven photos of increasingly large/more enlightened brains with the captions 

“Lol Lucifer is so evil and funny,”

“Actually the way he treats Sam is really fucked up and abusive >:( he’s a bad guy,”

“That doesn’t really make sense with how he’s meant to be written in s5 though? Especially as a parallel to Michael and heaven,”

“Lucifer was retconned for shock value is s7 and it actually makes much more sense for him to be protective and potentially affectionate towards Sam — his position as a character who by nature unrepentantly threatens the status quo (albeit sometimes pushing to unnecessary extremes) was vital to the story of s5 as a parallel to Sam/what Sam could have been,”

“Lucifer is an incredibly lonely and trapped character who’s unwilling given role in the narrative is to die so others can live in celebration of what he was destroyed trying to fix. He does treat Sam occasionally poorly but this isn’t out of malice but miscommunication and a poorly excecuted desire to make things as painless as possible. He’s one of the most tragic characters just trying to make the most of things who (from a watsonian perspective) unravels without the plan he’s lived with his whole life to follow and/or (from a doylist perspective) was completely rewritten as the story moved past the need for characters who question the Winchesters,”

“Lucifer is an accidentally perfect canary in the coal mine for the quality and intention of the writing in supernatural, with her nonsensical cruelty and stupidity character decay coinciding perfectly with the increasingly cyclical nature of supernatural’s storytelling wherein the Winchesters’ methods and intentions cannot ever be productively challenged. She’s an intricately spun balance of monster and victim, the home invader and the woman in white slaughtered, unable to go home. Her relationships with Sam, God, and her fellow archangels (including Michael, who with she writes a terrifyingly plausible alternate reality for Sam and Dean while managing to make neither pair perfectly in the wrong or right) speak to a deeply complex and sometimes hypocritical way of viewing and interacting with the world that in turn make her a gorgeously complex character and quite possibly one of the best modern portrayals of the devil. She’s the prom queen and the protagonist she has never done anything wrong her in entire life LITERALLY no one does it like her, and she more than deserved to kiss Sam on the mouth,”

“Lol Lucifer is so evil and funny,”

/END ID]

[dvilsdesire]

MUN MONDAY: GETTING TO KNOW YOU

Respond to the following prompts out of character, then tag others you'd like to get to know a little bit better!

ROLEPLAYER NAME: You can call me Owl, or Sam. :) Whatever you prefer.

ROLEPLAYER PRONOUNS: He/Him

MUSE NAME: Haarlep.

PREFERRED COMMUNICATION: I'm fine with either IM's or Discord. Time zones are a bit shit for me since I live in Australia, but I'll catch you when I can.

EXPERIENCE: I've been Rping way over a decade now. On tumblr? Since... 2012, I think? But waaay before then, back in probably 2007 or something. I've Rped on multiple platforms.

PREFERRED ROLEPLAY TYPE: I greatly prefer para/novella. I like delving into a character's mind and thought process. I know I write a LOT of inner monologue for my muses as well, I actually STRUGGLE with short replies, so when someone gives me a single para or line... it's really difficult for me to match that short length, but it's also something that I don't really vibe with. I greatly prefer longer replies. I want to delve into characters and see how they react, I want to learn all of those little things about your muses as well. I'm a sucker for character development. I'm also a fan of the nitty gritty.

PET PEEVES & DEALBREAKERS: One line responses. Please, for the love of god... give me something to work with. It's a quick way for me to show disinterest and likely not really reach out to write with unless it's something that I am REALLY enjoying for small snippets. But please, I greatly prefer longer replies. Short ones also make me feel like you're just not interested in what my characters have to say :/ Please read my rules, whilst I know we can't remember EVERYONE'S rules (seriously, I forget as well!), it is obvious when people don't. If my muse is a muse of power or something, then please treat them as such. If your muse ends up wanting to attack or something, and they are of a lower class... then they won't win. It's just that simple. Respect the power of certain muses.

PLOTS OR MEMES: I like both and am fine with both. Whilst I LOVE plotting and getting to know muses and getting an idea of where we can go, I also understand that sometimes our brains are just too tired from real life and memes can be something simpler and quicker. I think both of them are very good for very different reasons, which I'm fine with both. By all means, memes are EXCELLENT ice breakers imo, and then we can always plot something once we've established a little starter. :)

LONG REPLIES OR SHORT REPLIES: Long, lol. As covered in my previous responses.

BEST TIME TO WRITE: I get a lot more done when I'm writing in the mornings. Obviously due to work, I am tired in the evenings, so I get very little done (Haarlep has certainly reawakened my muse tho I'm shocked at how much I've been writing on my work nights lol). I mostly write on Fridays as it's the only day I have to myself, so I try and churn out as many replies as I can, but once it hits the afternoon, I'm pooped lol. So yeah, mornings are definitely best!

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSES: Haarlep? Absolutely not. Haarlep caught me by utter surprise when it came to being a muse of mine. I saw him once, had a little laugh, and suddenly he wouldn't leave my mind, and then I just... had the persistent urge to write them. I'm very happy that he did come to me, though, as he's really been helpful in making me come back to RP on a more regular basis and I've had such a good time exploring him. But no, we're absolutely nothing alike. Haarlep is an incubus, and I'm asexual as fuck lol. If anything, and don't take this the wrong way because it's probably going to sound BAD lol, but I have more in common with Raphael than I do with Haarlep X'D and that's... saying something, since I am not an evil devil hahaha. The only thing I think I could say about me and Haarlep being similar is the fact that I can mask like a beast in public. (: Even then, that's entirely different to what Haarlep is doing, I'm just masking because I'm austistic and people have expectations of me in society lol, Haarlep is masking because he's trying to seduce and eat someone hahaha.

Tagged by: @shimmerbeasts Tagging: @astralrogue @chaoticbard @dcwncametheclaw @galefcrce @azzagrazt and anyone else! Tag me so I can read :)

[mac-darf]

Evil Dead Rise Spoilers.

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The movie is very good. It's genuinely a fun watch. The gore is a bit torture-porn-esque but significantly less so than the 2013 movie. Humor is IMMENSELY downplayed in the film compared to the original trilogy and especially Ash Vs, but it has more jokes than the 2013 movie? At least as far as I remember. It's good. Please god let this fucking movie get a sequel. The worst thing about the 2013 movie was how it never got a continuation. That movie needed a sequel to properly plant itself into people's memory of Evil Dead as a series. I am sad that we've gotten two reboots of the Evil Dead series starting from scratch and neither try to be anything other than a horror film.

Evil Dead 2 is regarded as one of the greatest films of all time because of how it's a horror-comedy. Yet for some reason whenever a new filmmaker joins this series they just make a horror movie. There's more to this series than that.

However that being said, I do understand how much content I have with silly Evil Dead. Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness and 3 seasons of Ash Vs, along with silly continuations like My Name is Bruce. So people want scary Evil Dead more than silly due to oversaturation I suppose.

ANYWAY. Now for my nerd rant.

Lore.

This movie clearly wants to be a loose continuation of the original trilogy and the 2013 movie. But uh. It kinda. Can't be? Evil Dead Rise says that there're three volumes of the Book of the Dead. This implies that the Book from this film is a separate book from the 2013 Book and the Necromancion from Ash vs and the original trilogy. But uh. This movie takes place in 2023. And uh. In Ash Vs there's a nuclear apocalypse that takes place in 2018. So I guess the movies are canon but Ash Vs isn't? And like holy shit. The demons in this movie are crazy.

The demons in the original could be defeated by bodily dismemberment or flame. In 2013 the rules are basically the same. Even for the big demon itself, the Abomination. A chainsaw could kill the top dog in that movie. In Ash Vs/the OT the demons would die from simple wounds and would dissolve from the Kandarian Dagger. The demons in EDR? They cannot be killed. It's explicitly stated they cannot be killed and the film treats that as true.

So if this is canon to the OT and/or the 2013 movie and if this gets a sequel, I expect the Dagger to appear. Something about how it's the only way to defeat the demons or whatever.

Although if Ash Vs really isn't canon then that makes me wonder how tf Bruce Campbell could return. If Sam Raimi directs another Evil Dead and Ash Vs isn't canon... What's Ash gonna be doing?

Oh right back to reviewing EDR. Every performance was great and the fact that the first gore thing to happen is a teen getting scalped rocked and that little kid who got mutilated was cool. Plus the ratking looking demon thing was baller.

Mia was a better main character tho. This one wasn't bad but uh. Jane Levi in another Evil Dead please.

Here's the best lines in the movie

"We're watching all the Freddy movies."

"Even the bad ones"

"THERE ARE NO BAD ONES"

[teyvats-worst-hero]

My final thoughts on Penacony Part 1:

I think they did really well conveying the resort aspect of it at the very beginning, it literally reminded me of the terrible tourist culture where I live. I think I would’ve appreciated more love given to the lobby instead of… a really long hallway…

In the Golden Hour, I like how gilded age it looks! Morally dubious stuff everywhere: Dreamphones, billboards that chase you, SoulGlad at every corner, everything. Really sells how consumerist Penacony is, how corrupt.

But I also wish the billboards didn’t chase you every time you walked by. It raises my anxiety by 21%.

The notes I’m finding around the map are super disturbing, and this kind of worldbuilding really suits Penacony. Everything is so bright and perfect that you pay no mind to the danger in plain sight.

The enemies are really well done, it’s all so toy-like, so theoretically non threatening. And the battle theme fucking SLAPS, I love it. The TV enemy scares me shitless though. Too human-like in an uncanny valley way, but really too monkey-like. Don’t ask me. I don’t know. My primitive brain keeps screaming “MONKEY! RUN! DANGER!”

They did a really good job with not making any one person seem entirely on our side, everyone seems to have their own motivations without them being overwritten by someone they just met. They have some secrets and I like that. I also like that they interact with each other. Makes it feel so much more real and like things are happening outside of the protagonist, and we’re a faction of our own. Not some impossibly perfect neutral entity that NEVER has allegiances no siree (Cough cough Genshin Impact)

I like how things are mostly left to the player to think about. There’s no “I knew you weren’t Robin because your singing voice was weird!” to spell out earlier foreshadowing. God I hate when stories spell out foreshadowing. No one is telling me to be weirded out by things aside from the game’s INSISTENCE that Sampo is EVIL and NOT TO BE TRUSTED.

Some things I don’t like?

Black Swan.

I really dislike how she’s written overall. She just shows up and starts dommy-mommying the story and has a little “betrayal” moment that happens too fast for any importance to be attached. She’s like. Budget Kafka. I’m annoyed by how often she talks down to the player without ever actually feeling like a person who’d do that, like Sparkle or Aventurine, so it just sounds… Forced. Out of place. Obligatory. Her entire character is being a sexy plot device. Maybe she’ll get a personality, but as it stands, she doesn’t have one. Fight me.

This mission also has a problem with assuming you care deeply about characters you’ve strolled around with for 30 minutes. Now I’m not saying it’s bad to treat the characters like they have emotional weight regardless, that’s a good thing, but when your big plot beats rely on that weight to throw punches, it falls flat.

You run around with Firefly for a little bit. Cute. But very surface level.

You have a beautiful moment with her talking about her chronic illness. That’s great, if you saw my previous posts you know I got very introspective over it.

You go into the dream world and ALMOST die.

You go into the dream world again two minutes later and she ACTUALLY dies, and you immediately move onto the plot and another death that fully overshadows any plot or emotional significance of Firefly.

But NO my friends, she isn’t ACTUALLY dead, she’s something something Sam?

It just feels cheap. If they’re using Black Swan as the catch-all mysterious plot device, they’re using Firefly like tears in a can. Legitimately what would change if Firefly just… didn’t die there? If we just saw Sam and the shadows of Firefly, but couldn’t find her after? Is the point to make it seem like she isn’t Sam? Cause that’s a super cheap and unnecessary trick.

Back to the ending though. I really like the reveal of Robin’s death, it feels super weighty for the plot and the setup and payoff of Sparkle is excellent. I have no idea what’s going on with Misha. Probably some kind of descendant of the Watchmaker, maybe he’s split in two. One in the real world one in the dream. Misha and Mikhail perhaps?

Overall, really interested in this story. Good job Hoyoverse.

[shallowseeker]

I'm sorry to be dumb, but did I miss something? Who is Hokmah?

That was just a little detour Jack-rambling with a friend. :-)

For the little girl that appears in the Occultum garden in 15x13 Destiny's Child, I was trying to think of a cosmic force she could represent that isn't Eve, and I landed on a personification of Hokhmah/Hokmah/Chokmah, "Lady Wisdom."

You didn't miss anything. She's not called that in the show! @13x02 and I were just playing with the idea over here. :D

You'll get a decent condensed Western overview here on Cengage that I like pretty well, but "she's" a complicated theological point of interest if you wanna crawl through more academic scholarly sources.

I think you can shape her in a very positive way. Jack saw Wisdom! He regained his Soul!

////

But on a darker note, I think a negative view of Lady Wisdom has enormously evil implications for the destruction of the Cas-Dean-Jack family unit in the finale, leaving only Sam's "pure, idealized, almost Noah-esque" family in its wake.

In terms of poetry, Lady Wisdom can signify the idea of a perfect woman and ideal mate. As a point of contrast, the non-ideal mate is depicted as "the path of the Strange Woman," who carries you into Folly."

Both the wife and Wisdom protect their mates from the dangerous "strange woman," who lures the unsuspecting man into sexual misadventure (Prv. 5:20–23, 7:5–23, cf. 2:26–19). Social commentary regarding proper family bonds finds expression here...

I think that's echoed in 15x17 Unity's horrific depiction of Seraphina and Adam, who make out incessantly, are stoned out of their minds, and obsessed with Revenge and Fate. Adam even gives birth to an unnatural "revenge-baby" whose intent is Destruction. It's God who's supposed to yank out ribs and do Divine Fatherhood, not angels.

Now, in actuality, there's noting wrong with a little PDA or getting high, but Adam and Seraphina's sudden intrusion into the story combined with Chuck's apparent knowledge of the rib-bomb ("Have fun watching him [Jack] die.") seems ominous.

I think the grotesque caricatures of Seraphina-Adam reveal what Chuck truly thinks about the Dean-Cas partnership. (Of course, Chuck takes no responsibility for driving Seraphina and Adam to their desperation either...)

Anyway, Seraphina is Folly. So is Cas. It's true that Cas and Dean are in a pretty negative feedback loop at this point in the story, but Chuck, as usual, is painting it in rip-roarin' 2D. With a dash of disrespectful disdain.

Other poems use the female imagery to constitute competing superhuman forces. The path of the strange woman, who appears as personified Folly in the concluding poem of Proverbs 1–9, leads to death: "her guests are in the depths of Sheol" (Prv. 9:18, cf. 2:18–19, 5:5–6, 5:23, 7:27). Wisdom, in contrast, offers life, an offer whose credibility is enhanced by the remarkable poem in Proverbs 8. 

So, here is Chuck's judgment, perhaps. Cas is a rival superhuman force that is unnaturally taking Dean away from Him. (Early in season 15, Lilith tells us that Chuck has "a pervy obsession" with Dean, so it's a very unsettling tug-of-war here.) Cas might even be aware of it, as he uses the alias Clarence Worley in 15x06, post-Chuck confrontation (and Cas has become pretty pop-culture savvy).

It's a power struggle. Chuck paints his rival-God sons as the "Strange Women" to His Own Divine Ultimate Fatherhood, the same way he brands Michael as "cuck." Chuck does not tolerate individualism from his sons, and so uses emasculating language. Furthermore, he does not value feminine three-dimensionality, as shown by how he treats Amara’s wisdom. She too is painted “Strange,” because his perspective of individuals rings hollow. Amara does not fit Chuck’s restrictive, mental stereotype of Hokmah.

In the finale, Dean is "Chuck-downgraded" from the masculine Adam to the Woman in the Gray Robe, and then, her tongue gets cut out. (Chuck’s “mirrors” usually favor Dean as the masculine Marlboro man.) It's...hmmm. Quite sadistic, really, what happens to Dean. It shows how 2D and hierarchical Chuck treats gender. Also, Dean loved Cas. If Dean didn't love Cas back, this death would have been more heroic and less...maudlin and back-stabby, I think. (There’d have been no need for bury your gays.)

In terms of modern society, Cas is actually more strange than Seraphina. He's a superhuman force in the shape of a man. He's diametrically opposed to Chuck's idea of Hokhmah, which is in fact the Idea of Blurry Wife. Chuck wants traditional, picture-perfect wives: he wants Lisa and Amelia and fake!Mary and Blurry Wife. Not strange women like Rowena or Eileen or worse—ursurper figures like Lucifer, Michael, Castiel, or Jack.

I clumsily talk about this idea of the Nephilim family unit in the tablet meta as well as the idea of joining/sundering Heaven and Earth in this forbidden love meta, but I think what I want to say is that Cas represents both the poetic specter of Strange Path/Folly and the Corrupt Idea of the Unnatural, Enochian Sire of a Nephilim.

Some believe the fallen angels who sired the Nephilim were cast into Tartarus (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 1:6) (Greek Enoch 20:2), a place of "total darkness."

Sounds a lot like the Empty, huh?

///

Is Blurry Wife Chuck's approved idea of Hokmah? Perhaps. Seems like The Perfect Sam-Fam is network-approved!

It's a twisted idea, isn't it? That the "impure" Nephilim family was Washed Away leaving only this bizarrely cookie-cutter, picturesque one in its wake. Jack was born on Washaway beach, and Dean and Cas became increasingly paired with flood and water motifs as the relationship escalated.

So anyway, this negative view of Lady Wisdom can in fact carry us all the way through the finale and the destruction of the human-angel Nephilim family unit. Because of this, the finale echoes on a homophobic note that reverberates through most who see it, even when they can't put their finger on why it feels that way.

Cas, Jack, and Dean are buried.

Cas is thrown into the Empty/Darkness, like the legendary Fallen Sires of the Nephilim. (He even exits through a punishment symbol, a pair of handcuffs.) Jack becomes like the Nephilim before him, a cursed untethered spirit, barred from existing in an earthly body. Then, there's Dean, the human partner, who is stabbed in the back in a brutal Execution and cursed to wander in search of the connection he is disallowed from having (that's what The Winchesters feels like, no?).

It's wicked.

///

Further reading:

This has a nice chapter on Hokhman, which goes into some of the root words used in the poems themselves. (It's chapter 6.)

Above excerpt from "Ḥokhmah ." Encyclopedia of Religion.  Encyclopedia.com. 22 Aug. 2023 &lt;https://www.encyclopedia.com>

[mandiffe]

probably ted lasso spoilers

I went through the TL season 3 playlist so you don't have to and made some notes! (I considered this playlist done but we'll see how this goes) hope you enjoy!

The song Superstar is from the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. It’s sung by Judas’ spirit who had committed suicide earlier. I don’t want to put a parallel between Ted and Jesus and Nate and Judas but it kinda lies on the surface? And lines Every time I look at you I don't understand    Why you let the things you did get so out of hand.    You'd have managed better if you'd had it planned.    Why'd you choose such a backward time in such a strange land? OH MY GOD

Three songs by Nigerian artists go in a row, so ep3 or 4 is probably about Sam and his restaurant or include this plotline in any way. Or we're getting another Nigerian player!

Everybody knows is an interesting choice because this song raises a lot of social and relationship problems. I think the most important is hypocrisy or, rather, knowing about issues and not doing anything to fix them, letting them be. Maybe it refers to everyone who is close to Ted and notices what’s happening with him but not paying proper attention.

Joker and The Thief is used in “The Hangover” which is referred in s2e11 when Beard calls Ted out for being too closed off.

I bet Fist Fight! is either about Jamie’s dad or Rupert being beaten up. Please.

Sinister Kid may be about Nate and him thinking that he was naturally-born evil and he can’t change it? But he’ll soon find out that it’s untrue. (And that's me, that's me    The boy with the broken halo    That's me, that's me    The devil won't let me be)

Something tells me that Don’t think twice, it’s all right is about Tedbecca. Also second Bob Dylan song per season, first one plays when Ted cleans up his flat. So it’s also can be about Michelle. (I ain't saying you treated me unkind    You could have done better, but I don't mind    And you just sorta wasted my precious time    But don't think twice it's all right) Upd: it occurred to me that it might be about Jamie or Keeley referring to each other.

Oh What A Performance! (I won an Oscar for playing a fool) and Quiet (Goodbye   Don't cry   You know why   And it'll be just as quiet when I leave   As it was when I first got here) give me an ache for some reason. Ep 6’s (apparently) gonna hurt.

But Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go straight after Nirvana’s song is suspicious. Hopefully it’s about Roykeeley who are back together.

CONGRATS GUYS HET WERD ZOMER, VENUS AND ZIJ GELOOFT IN MIJ ARE DUTCH SONGS AND IN THE PLAYLIST THEY’RE SOMEWHERE NEAR EP8 THEREFORE “WE’LL NEVER HAVE PARIS” IS MOST LIKELY THE NETHERLANDS EP!

Let’s talk about Boy by Book of Love!!! The song is said to be about woman who has feelings for a gay man. To me this song is also kind of trans-coded. AND Book of Love’s songwriter stated that this song “written about Boy Bar, which was a very exclusive gay club in the East Village.”.  (I want to be where the boys are    But I'm not allowed    I wait outside of the boy's bar    I wait for them to all come out)

I’m 99% sure that ep8 is THE episode.

It’s interesting that after Three Little Birds (Ajax anthem) comes The Angel (North London Forever) (song dedicated to Arsenal). Maybe we’ll see UEFA Champions League in some way or it’s just a coincidence and it’s just Richmond playing with Arsenal.

Dreams was used in the trailer of “Boys on The Side” where one of the main plotlines is unrequited love of a woman to a woman who has something with a man. But then both girls admit their love for each other (not necessarily romantic but still). Interesting, right? Might be another coincidence though.

Centerfield confuses me, song about baseball in a show about football? Is it irony or what.

Doomed speaks about the experience of aromantic people, the song is in the album “Aromanticism” and its writer explores corners of life without possibility of feeling romantic attraction. Are we getting an aromantic character??

Criminal feels like a Nate song, him feeling bad for mistakes and wanting to pay for his wrongdoings. (Heaven help me for the way I am    Save me from these evil deeds before I get them done    I know tomorrow brings the consequence at hand    But I keep living this day like the next will never come)

And finally songs from “La Cage aux Folles”, a 1983 musical about gay couple, Georges, who’s an owner of a drag nightclub named “La Cage aux Folles”, and Albin, who’s a drag queen. Let’s add a little bit of a context. Georges and Albin’s son Jean-Michel is engaged to Anne whose parents are conservative and they don’t know yet that their daughter’s future-in-laws are a gay couple. Jean-Michel asks Georges to tell Albin to absent himself from his extravagant behavior and even invite Jean-Michel’s biological mother for a dinner instead of Albin so they can seem ‘normal’. Georges hadn’t had a chance to explain the situation to his spouse as Albin went performing to the club.

It’s the moment when La Cage aux Folles plays, the song describes the nightclub, its vulgarity and eccentricity, how it’s tolerant and welcoming to everyone (https://www.songlyrics.com/la-cage-aux-folles/la-cage-aux-folles-lyrics/ - here’s the lyrics if someone needs). I have no idea when this song might play in s3, especially when it comes to the end of it, honestly.  

So, Georges and Jean-Michel started redecorating their house to make it look less gay without Albin knowing. Albin accidentally notices the two, Georges has to explain and Albin performs I Am What I Am practically letting them know that he’s proud of being himself and won’t change for anyone.

As someone had mentioned before this song basically became a “gay anthem” and was widely recorded. It’s the finale number of the first act as it apparently will be the last song of the third season. Considering all of the above I doubt that they chose both of these songs by accident and put them in an exact same order as they are in the musical. Something’s coming.

We know that we’re getting Ted at the airport as the last scene of the season. He might be waiting for his mother or Michelle with Henry to arrive (or leave) but either way he’s not going to change for them and they’ll have to accept him the way he is. And yes, I believe it’ll be a message about queerness. There are too much signs (and songs) pointing at that.

Perhaps when Jason said “Maybe by May 31, once all 12 episodes of the season [have been released], they’re like, ‘Man, you know what, we get it, we’re fine. We don’t need anymore, we got it.’” he addressed conservative fans of the show (they form a great percentage of the audience, don’t forget) who wouldn’t want more of TL since it became ‘woke’.

That’s it, let me know your thoughts :)

[mysticstarlightduck]

Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday!

How are arts and crafts treated in your setting? Is it a common hobby? A communal activity? Do people do it for fun? Or is it reserved for only a certain group which does it for a significant reason?

Happy WBW, Sam! Thank you so much for the Ask, @sam-glade!

I'll answer this ask for my WIPs Realms of Loss and Tales of Wilted Flowers, because these two books have been haunting my brain for the past few days!

How are arts and crafts treated in your setting? Is it a common hobby? A communal activity? Do people do it for fun? Or is it reserved for only a certain group which does it for a significant reason?

Realms of Loss

Well, the answer for that depends on where you are in the setting because Avillore and Sarythea - the main kingdoms in this world - differ majorly from one another. And since life in that continent is very much dedicated to survival, arts take a whole different meaning.

In Sarythea, arts and crafts are both a hobby for people of higher standing who have time to dedicate themselves to it, as it is an act of faith. Sarythea still holds on to their rites from the time the Old Gods were alive, and those beliefs - and the symbolism that comes with them - bleed into their craft. Art is a part of their daily lives as a way to connect to the hope that one day the gods will return and also a way to keep their culture alive despite the war outside their walls.

Craftwork is also economically important for both of the kingdoms, as it is a big part of the trade between allied provinces and helps the economy of the realms keep flowing within their territories. Trained artisans are very valued in both kingdoms for this reason, and often become powerful merchants.

Art is also one of the many things that distinguish the kingdoms from one another, as each kingdom has specific colors and symbols/designs that identify them.

Avillore, however, is slightly different. Known as the Fortress Kingdom, Avillore is deeply invested in its military developments, and as such, warfare is a huge part of its culture*. As such, much of their art is centered on themes of war, might, and power, as a way to exalt their values. People in Avillore don't view art or crafts as a simple hobby, as another way to perfect themselves and showcase their might.

(*The difference is that, though both kingdoms have been trapped in bloody combat for centuries now, and are equally matched when it comes to military prowess, the "art of war" is revered in Avillore, while to Sarythea war is a necessary evil to survive. This is one of the many differences in points of view).

Notes - The Outer Cities and the Izuhyn People

OUTER CITIES -

Context -The outer cities are the remains of kingdoms and provinces that were ravaged in the ongoing wars, which surround both of the kingdoms in outposts and villages. It's also the home to most of the population of both of the kingdoms and is situated beyond the protective walls that keep the actual capitals safe. Neglected, those outposts are a ruthless place and those who are unlucky enough to be stuck there must do what it takes to survive both the constant war and the encroaching curse that destroyed the lands beyond it*.

*The area beyond the outer cities and around the Far Reach (the wall that divides the territories of the continent in two) is a desolate freezing wasteland known as the Lost Lands, where the First Battle took place and the ancient capital of the realm (which was once unified, not divided into two) once stood - in the Lost Lands, the betrayal curse runs rampant and is the home to the first figments of what is known as forgotten magic.

Answer - As such, arts and crafts are not seen as something very valuable in these places, as survival comes first. But it does serve a few purposes, whether it is by identifying different gangs of the Guild - a network of spies and thieves that runs the outer cities from the underworld - or allowing for trade whenever a merchant dares pass through these outposts.

IZUHYN PEOPLE -

Context - The Izuhyn People are the inhabitants of an empire beyond the curse that has isolated Sarythea and Avillore. They're descendants of the Archguardians - young gods born of the ashes left behind by the Old Gods - and have very unique culture, magic, and beliefs (for reference, they're the closest thing this setting has to elves or demigods, but not quite) They've never taken part in the wars that ravaged their neighboring kingdoms (until, of course, the beginning of the book when the war literally came to them) as they consider war as a vile and unnecessary spilling of blood.

Answer - They're very connected to nature - and the magic within it - and art is one of the main ways they express that connection as well as being a great part of their culture. Art is also specifically tied to their magic and the way they cast spells, as magic is viewed as a form of art, like a tapestry or a mosaic, and as such, they're known for their intricate amulets.

Tales of Wilted Flowers -

Ravaryn - the continent where the story takes place - has many different kingdoms and species that inhabit it. The main kingdoms relevant to the story are Wenhorn (the most powerful and famous kingdom as their royal family is a descendant of one of the Called, a hero that helped save the realm a few centuries ago), Thysfire (a smaller kingdom - that's actually a duchy - on the western mountains that are known specifically for its trade of magical goods and its artistic tendencies), and Allanar (the kingdom of the Seelie Courts, which has, obviously, a population that's majorly elven or faery).

Okay, onto the answers!

Wenhorn -

As the main hub of quite frankly most of the activity in Ravaryn (be it economical, military, religious, or artistic), Wenhorn serves as a melting pot for different cultures, species, and beliefs, which come together in the city. This means that many different types of arts and crafts can also be found here - be intricate elven jewelry, to beautiful human paintings and handcrafted dwarven metal goods, just to name a few.

For the people of Wenhorn art can be equally a form of expression of their personal culture as it can be a religious activity done within a community and a form of economy. Some people do arts for fun as a part-time hobby, while others become masters in their chosen craft - Wenhorn is known for some of the best painters, architects, and jewel smiths. Being the heart of trade in the realms, artisanal goods are always in high demand in Wenhorn's bustling marketplaces, and many people come to the city just to buy - or learn - those arts.

In Wenhorn, also, inventions are considered a form of art that can be mastered. Many people travel to the kingdom to become apprentices in the royal academies and hone their skills as Inventors, joining magic with science in the mechanical gears of their creations.

Thysfire -

A duchy nestled in the edge of the western mountains of Ravaryn, with a vastly human and dwarven (magically talented or not) population, Thysfire is known for its magical exports - artisanal goods that are often crafted with or imbued with magic they source from the heart of the mountain. Art and crafts, therefore for them is viewed as their main trade and the heart of their economy.

During the famous Summertide Festival, arts are also a communal activity, when the people from the city create new decorations and art just for the event, which is deeply important for them and their culture. Many people - including royalty and nobility from other kingdoms - come to Thysfire for the festival every year, so it is a great opportunity for Thysfirans to sell their crafts and showcase their traditional art.

Allanar -

To the elves and faeries of Allanar, art serves a purpose - more than its beauty, art is a form of remembrance, a way to connect with their ancestors and keep the past alive. Some specific forms of art can be deeply important for some families and the community as a whole - intricate necklaces and jewelry often hold important symbolic meaning to individuals. There are plenty of religious rites in Allanar that strongly revolve around arts as a way to connect with their gods, such as Ildaras Day, a holiday for the elves that honors one of their gods - where one of the many celebrations, other than symbolic sports, also involves intricate and artistic dancing, and singing. The inhabitants of Allanar highly value the beauty and balance that art can create, and their city - one of, if not the most beautiful in all Ravaryn - is a reflection of that. Allanar is also known for having some of the best musicians and sculptors in the entirety of Ravaryn. Arts are also a way for their people to praise and honor the almost immortal Seelie royal family that rules their kingdom - something that often brings their people together.