#season 5 reference screenshots

[referrix]

Transformation Collection - Bloom Harmonix

[sloasis]

Eddie's small boobies are so underrated .. guys what are we doing like these deserve to be grabbed and licked just as much as Buck's big pecs

[lord-aldhelm]

Aldhelm's Brooch

Handmade by me, from Super Sculpey polymer clay, and painted with acrylic paints to resemble antique bronze. It measures 3 inches (10cm) in diameter. I sculpted onto a watchglass so I could get a curvature. The watchglass was removed after baking. It took me approximately 25 hours from start to finish.

A lot of fans talk about wanting a replica of Uhtred's sword. However, I wanted something more personal and meaningful to me. I had been planning to make this brooch for over a year now, and finally had the time and motivation to do so.

Progress photos and reference screenshots below the Keep Reading.

Progress photos. I rolled out the clay and molded it onto a watchglass. Then I printed out my sketch and used a pin to pinpoint the locations of the main features (the little spheres). Afterwards, it was just a lot of fiddly sculpting work to create the details. This was 100% done by hand; I did not use any molds or pre-created forms for this.

Painted version in indoor lighting.

Screencaps of the brooch. And you can see what I had to work with here, lol. Weird fact: his brooch changed color over the seasons! It was shiny gold colored in season 3, silver in season 4, and antique bronze in season 5. Don't know why it changed so much. Aldhelm's brooch is very unique and particular to him. He had a standard large bronze Mercian boar brooch in season 2, just like Aethelred, but for some reason that was changed to this one in season 3. It seemed to coincide with the change in his apparent personality, so I wonder if it was intentional or not?

[tackykachowch]

Hey guys remember that terrible letter in s2? Well, how about I tell you that it's actually worse than it seems?

Alright. For the purpose of my point being more clear I'll recite it here. *barely held in gag*

"Silco. I've looked everywhere, but it's clear that you don't want to be found. Oh, God, I'm shit at this (THEN WHY ARE YOU EVEN WRITING IT YOU STUPID IDIOT. Sorry). I'm sorry. When she died, I lost my head. I told myself that what I did to you was for the greater good, that you deserved it. But the dirt was on both our hands. Anyway, you know where to find me. Blisters and Bedrock"

So, it is obvious that Vander regrets what he did to Silco and that he doesn't view him as a "villian of the story" anymore, so to speak. His murder attempt was purely emotional rather than motivated by ideological opposition or something else. Great.

Buuuut let's rewind to the very start of the series. Right to episode one. There. Take a look at these screenshots.

So Vander says to Benzo that there's someone on their side (the Undercity) who is worse than enforcers. Not even someONE, but someTHING. This implies quite a big level of resentment if you ask me. While he's saying that, he looks at his right hand and touches his uhh...I don't. Know how this thing's called I'm sorry. Let's call it a leather cover. There's clearly a reason why he wears it now, and this seems to be connected to the "thing" they're talking about. Alright. I guess we'll find out more about this later.

Fast forward to episode three. Heeeeey, what is THAT??

So Silco cut his hand?? Well, that all makes sense now then. Something brought Silco and Vander to a conflict, which resulted in Vander trying to kill Silco, and Silco cutting Vander's hand when he was escaping from him. For now (💀) we don't know what exactly caused such a rift between them, but it apparently was something pretty serious considering that Vander even stopped referring to Silco as a person. While he does later says to Silco that what he did to him was wrong, but nothing indicates that Vander changed his opinion on WHY he did it.

Now, there could be an argument that Silco did something that made Vander hate Silco AFTER the river scene, and this is why Vander thinks so badly of him. But earlier in the same episode we see THIS reaction from Vander when Silco appears.

So here's the question: why would Vander react like that to seeing Silco if he knew of something horrible he did post their fallout? What's more likely, he hasn't heard anything about Silco AT ALL, whether he's dead or alive or what he does. So Vander's opinion of Silco ("something worse than enforcers") formed prior to their falling out and it didn't change over time.

Now that we have all that information let's go back to our dear, favorite letter.

Uhhhh so. Vander is an incredibly awful person???? Either that, or he has an extremely severe case of amnesia. Because why would he go from wanting to reconcile with Silco and not blaming him for what happened straight into thinking that he's worse than enforcers and not even a person?? Or in his mind these things can coexist somehow?? And to add to all of that, apparently he never told Benzo the truth about their falling out, and made him think that Silco is an "animal". What, was Vander so butthurt by Silco never contacting him that he went full 5-year-old-mode "Humph!! I hate you now!!" and proceeded to lie to everyone about Silco?? So much for a reasonable and peaceful leader of the Lanes, huh.

But we all know that's not the case at all. The case is, of course, that writers forgot to rewatch season 1 and made up a reason for Vander and Silco to fight which is not at all aligns with what we knew about them and their relationship before. This is, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, one of the biggest cases of negligence in storytelling that I've ever seen.

[greenfiend]

The Significance of Lover’s Lake and Byler (Theory) Part 2

Sequel to this post

(Warning: mentions of sex and drugs)

Okay so first of all, if you haven’t seen my previous post on my theory involving Lovers Lake and Byler, please read it first. I go over my theory and predictions for Byler and the heart shaped lake. This is a secondary post to it, outlining some VERY interesting details involving the owner of the lakeside house, the lakeside house itself, and all the romantic and sexual elements present. I’m saving the best for last here.

Let’s start with the owner of the lakeside house.

Reefer Rick

So I recently made a silly post arguing that the most queer coded character in Stranger Things is not Mike nor Will (nor Robin, Henry, Eddie etc), and I stand by this statement. The most queer coded character is: Reefer Rick. Now, I know we never see the guy, but literally all the information we have on him is either queer coding or drug references.

Synonyms of his name are literally f*g Dick, with a shared last name with the famous tea company founder who so happens to have been a homosexual: Lipton.

We know he doesn’t have a family, thus he’s a single man who occasionally has his buddy/fellow dealer Eddie stay over. Hm, not very heterosexual of him.

Then we have his movie list.

Now, as many of us know, the movie “Fast Times” is used within Stranger Things as a way to gage if someone is attracted to women or not. We have Steve, Dustin, Lucas, and Vickie all confirmed to have enjoyed this movie… specifically for that shot at 53 minutes and 5 seconds. Sure, Reefer Rick rented the film, but why is it the only movie he rented that was returned on time? For context, he’s the only character who had films listed as “late” returns. So, he obviously enjoyed Cheech & Chong a lot more. Two guys doing drugs is more interesting to him than a sexy lady. Okay, noted.

Now, how is he perceived by the people of Hawkins?

Oooof. Okay. He’s not well liked it seems. He apparently is causing some fear and anger amongst the Hawkins residents. Kind of similar of a reaction these people would have towards an openly gay man during the 1980s.

Also I have to include @/conflictofthemind ‘s excellent point that injectable drug use and unprotected sex (specifically between two men) were both commonly associated with HIV/AIDS… a major epidemic during the 80s and a major subtextual theme within the show.

Now, where’s this guy live while outside of jail?

I don’t blame the guy for “hiding” when the town is not too fond of him. Of course he is a drug dealer so there’s that as well. But interesting they used the word “hide”, which has been associated with queerness within the show already (plus this line was said by Robin (featured in the middle of the shot!!!) who is queer herself).

(Both of these screenshots are from 1x02 interestingly enough.)

Wouldn’t it make sense for these two “hiders” to hide out in “a perfect place to hide” together? Seeking refuge in a fellow gay man’s secluded house?

I will say it’s also worth noting that he does not have any women featured on the walls within his house. Also, he has a phallic shaped bong (we’ll get back to that soon).

Phew okay so that’s Reefer Rick. Are you still with me? Hopefully I didn’t bore any of you with this. I promise you this all leads back to Byler.

So, moving on to his house.

So as @/therainscene kindly pointed out, this poster with the smiley face can be related to rave culture and ecstasy in the 1980s. So a drug reference, in a drug dealer’s house… shocker I know. But I gotta say, ecstasy is also a term often related to sex. I also have to add this little tidbit from one of our favourite directors of Stranger Things, Shawn Levy. Keep in mind, he knows what’ll happen in the next season… and he’s directing episodes after 3 and 4…

Interesting word choice, no?

So, back to the symbolism within (and near) the house.

Let’s talk about the phallic symbolism that appears in pairs in these shots. It’s a choice, isn’t it? With two males in each shot. We know the Duffers love details and foreshadowing… I doubt it’s a coincidence. Also, anyone else notice that phone in the background? Just had to mention it, since our boys are frequently associated with phones and calls.

Then, of course, I gotta bring back this shot.

The bed. Blue meets yellow. You know it! We all heard it a thousand times by now. Let’s look at what else is in the shot. A closed closet. Another reference to our boys. To the right, you’ll see a toilet paper roll. Now, if you have a brother, you might see the same thing in his room. Sure it can be used as a tissue for your nose but let’s just say there’s usually another use for it. I’ll call it “self love”. So, basically, another sexual reference.

To sum up this house: lake/water, drugs, and ecstasy/smiley face. Now, let’s go back to a scene featuring our boys with all these elements in the background.

Makes you wonder doesn’t it?

I must also point out the “Paris” poster in the background. City of love, anyone? Plus the fireworks. They’re really trying to tell us something here.

Also, @/foodiewithdahoodie pointed out how Paris specifically was one of the first places to decriminalize sodomy.

You know, I also wouldn’t rule out every aspect of Murray’s prediction here.

Shout out to the Hylers out there!

Perhaps after a lot of stressful days of fighting interdimentional demons, these boys want to wind down and de-stress in their hiding spot. I can see Reefer Rick as a fellow Nintendo player, leaving his console behind, as well as his weed, for our boys to use. I also wouldn't be surprised if Eddie left a few of his beers behind. I mean… Murray has a pretty good track record for predictions. This would also really double down on the message that Mike and Will “aren’t kids anymore.”

Also, wouldn’t it be fun to look back at Murray’s predictions and realize that they’ve all come to be?

Okay, now let’s finally get to the romance elements!

First thing I want to start with is this shot:

So… they had to show us a mailbox, didn’t they? With that name “Lipton” which as I mentioned in my previous post… is associated with Thomas Lipton who had a lover named William Love.

1 point for #lettergate

And…

“Hope Our Love Lives/Lasts And Never Dies”

WWII solders used the acronym H.O.L.L.A.N.D. to convey a love message in a letter. The whole love letters association with Mike and Will never end, do they?

2 points for #lettergate!

As for the “2121”, I think it’s possible that it’s referencing multiple things… number references are tricky like that in my opinion. But I will say that @/thestrangestthing89 brought up the fact that “2121” could be a reference to “Twin Flames” which is yet another reference to romance.

Continuing on with the romance…

Let’s return back to the scene where Reefer Rick is first mentioned. After Max mentioned him, we are cut to Steve talking about a movie.

A movie filled with action and romance, you say?

So… Doctor Zhivago.

Basically a tale of two people in love during a difficult time (Russian Revolution) being separated, with other people, then finally reunited. Not completely unlike our boys. Notice how the “adult” sign is noticeable in the background. Not kids anymore.

He mentions action, which I’m sure there will be some of as well at the famous lake.

Okay enough with the silly details, let’s stop and look at the bigger picture.

Our beloved lake. Look how gorgeous it truly is. Plus the fact that it’s a literal heart? You can’t get more “on the nose” than that.

Now, who else is known as a heart? (Tough question I know…)

This boy is, without a doubt, narratively tied to the lake. He is “the heart”… he is THE LAKE (symbolically).

Thank you to @/everaster for bringing attention to the fact that after Mike was pushed to deliver that monologue to El by Will, Max “died”, then the gates opened WIDE. One of those gates, as we know, is located within Lover’s Lake… known was “watergate” (term coined by Dustin).

So, as of now in this story… Lover’s Lake is literally broken in two. A broken heart in need of mending.

Who better to accomplish that task than the boy who has known him for a decade and loves him completely and selflessly?

💌📬❤️‍🩹

Hope you enjoyed these posts as much as I enjoyed making them! It’s honestly so much fun looking for evidence and finding such interesting stuff. Some of it may be reaching, and that’s okay because it’s all in good fun! That’s what fandoms are all about.

The level of attention to detail in this show never ceases to amaze me! There’s so much depth and clues to look for and play around with. I hope to have sparked some inspiration and creativity for some people! 💛💙💚

As always, would love to know your thoughts!

[yumeka-sxf]

Japanese Linguistic Observations in Spy x Family - part 5

Part 5 - Translating humor and wordplay

Translating jokes from one language to another can be difficult, especially when the humor revolves around wordplay that's only apparent in the original language. Luckily for a comedy series like SxF, most of the humor relies on concepts that are universal to all languages, but there are the occasional jokes that require creative translation in order to get the same effect in English. What I think is the most well-known example of this kind of joke in SxF is from chapter 26, where Yuri tells Anya that "knowledge is power" during their tutoring session.

The Japanese phrase for this is 知は力 ("chi wa chikara"). Anya mishears this as ちわわぢから ("chiwawa jikara"), which means "chihuahua power," which is why we see the image of a muscular chihuahua in her thoughts. This results in Yuri calling her チワワ娘 ("chihuahua girl") from then on. Obviously this joke would be lost if translated directly, so Casey Loe, the official English translator for the SxF manga, got creative with making it work in English. He cleverly utilizes the English expression, "the whole enchilada," which sounds enough like "swole chihuahua" for Anya to believably mistake the two. This translation also makes it so that Yuri calling Anya "chihuahua girl" later on makes sense.

But unfortunately, because a series can have different companies working on the localization of its anime versus its manga, inconsistencies between the two often come up. In this case, the anime team translated this joke completely differently, and less effectively in my opinion. You can see from the below screenshots that they had Yuri use the word "unleash," which then led to Anya associating a (muscular) dog without a leash as powerful (?) Again, this translation was a stretch in my opinion and not as good as the manga version. This also makes it so that translating Yuri's nickname for Anya as "chihuahua girl" won't make sense.

But what's interesting is that, many months and episodes later in season 2, they stayed consistent with that translation and had Yuri call Anya "stupid leash girl" in episode 28.

Despite my dislike for this translation, I have to give them kudos for remembering it all that time later and not just directly translating it as "chihuahua girl." Though it makes me wonder if they'll stay consistent in season 3 where Yuri will be referring to Anya as "chihuahua girl" once again.

A further complication is that, not only do these kinds of inconsistencies exist between the anime and manga translations, but they also exist between the different streaming services that stream SxF with English subtitles throughout the world. I only have access to the subtitled version from Hulu, which is where my screenshots are from, and I think other streaming services in the US like Crunchyroll, Amazon, Netflix, etc, use the exact same subtitles. So when I refer to "the Hulu subtitles" throughout this post, I mean other major US streaming services too. However, I'm not totally sure if they all do share the same subtitle script, so if anyone who has these services could confirm, that would be great! However, @tare-anime informed me that Muse Asia's English subtitles for SxF are completely different! For example, they translated the above joke more closely to the original, by using the phrase "puppy power" and keeping Yuri's nickname for Anya as "chihuahua girl."

There are further differences with Muse Asia's translation as well, for example, they directly translate Anya's names for Loid and Yor, "chichi" and "haha," as "Father" and "Mother" instead of "Papa" and "Mama."

(thanks again to Tare for the Muse Asia screenshots!) This is different, not only compared to the Hulu subtitles, but also the official English manga as well, both of which have Anya consistently use "Papa" and "Mama."

Tare also let me know that Disney Plus in Asia, another service that streams SxF, has yet another version of the English subtitles! And these are only the subtitled versions for the US and Asia - if SxF is streamed with English subtitles in other countries, I wonder if those are different as well. That means there's at least 3-4 different English subtitle scripts for SxF, with different ways of translating certain things, like what I described above. This could make things confusing for someone without any knowledge of Japanese who reads the English version of the manga and watches the subtitled version of the anime on one or more streaming services...if they read the first few volumes of the manga with the "swole chihuahua" translation, then watch season 2 of the anime, they're gonna be confused about why Yuri calls Anya "stupid leash girl." There's other more minor inconsistencies too, like how the Hulu subtitles have Yor call Anya "Miss Anya" all the time, but the manga doesn't.

I'm sure there's some licensing reasons why there isn't one official English subtitle script that all the streaming services can use, and why they don't consult the manga translations, especially for the more difficult-to-translate parts. It seems like wasted effort for so many official English translations to exist for the same thing.

But anyway, back to the translations of jokes in SxF, another one that stood out to me occurred in chapter 23. During the scene where Loid is asking Anya about a name for Bond, he explains how dogs have trouble discerning the sounds of consonants. The phrase he uses for this is 子音の聞き分け("shiin no kiki wake"), which means "distinguishing consonants," with "shiin" meaning "consonant." However, there's another word "shiin" with the kanji 死因 that means "cause of death." This is what Yor thinks he means - 死因の聞き分け ("shiin no kiki wake"), which means "determining the cause of death." So in her thoughts, she imagines asking Bond if he prefers death by blood loss (失血死) or by being crushed (圧死), and when he shakes his head at both, she says "you're not good at these distinctions, are you?"

This is a difficult joke to translate, so Casey got a bit loose by having Loid use the word "plosives" instead of "consonants," and then having Yor mishear it as "explosives." He then changed up Yor's dialogue by having her say that Bond prefers C-4 explosions over other methods of death.

While I don't think the translation of this joke worked as well as the previous one (I feel like Yor wouldn't know about C-4 explosions?) I couldn't come up with anything better myself, lol. It just goes to show how translating things as closely to the original as possible isn't always the best choice…but oddly, that's what the Hulu subtitles did! For some reason they opted not to even attempt to rework this joke for English, and kept both Loid and Yor's dialogue as exact translations. This results in an exchange that makes no sense and will leave people wondering how Yor could mistake Loid's "can't tell consonants apart" as "can't tell causes of death apart."

However, there are some cases where the wordplay works similar enough in both Japanese and English that the joke can be translated without too much modification. An example of this is in chapter 59 where Becky asks Yor how she was able to "get" Loid…"pierce his heart" as she puts it. Yor thinks she means this literally, to which she replies that she wouldn't hurt Loid.

The Japanese version is very similar, with Becky using the verb 射止める("itomeru") which means "to shoot down" (with an arrow). However, it has a figurative meaning too, which is "to win" as in "win someone's heart." Yor thinks Becky means the literal meaning of shooting down, so she says that she wouldn't shoot Loid and that she doesn't even use a bow and arrows.

The Hulu subtitles translate it more or less directly, having Becky say "shoot an arrow through his heart" and keeping Yor's "I don't use a bow and arrows" that the manga omitted. Rare case where I think the anime translation worked better than the manga!

In the case of this joke, the concept of "shooting someone's heart" to mean "winning someone's heart" is universal in both English and Japanese, so little reworking was needed. This also helped keep consistency with Yor's tendency to associate otherwise benign concepts with violence due to the nature of her work.

I'll wrap up this post with what I think is the most commendable translation of a joke so far in the manga: how Casey translated the names of the guest characters at the ski resort in chapter 94.

Their names are puns in Japanese as well, and Annie over on Twitter already did a great breakdown of how each of the wordplay in their names was translated, so definitely check out that thread here. Since this chapter has yet to be animated, I'm really curious how the anime translators will handle this…since it seems like they don't reference the manga, they'll probably either translate the names literally or come up with their own pun names, and either will unfortunately lead to the same kind of inconsistencies between the anime and manga translations that I touched on earlier.

To summarize, humor can be a very culture/language specific thing, so it's up to the translator to make sure the same feeling is conveyed in their translation even if they have to essentially make up their own jokes. With that said, it's a shame that there isn't collaboration between the translators of the anime and manga to ensure consistent translations across the franchise. So I hope this post helped shed light, not just on how some of the jokes in SxF were conveyed in Japanese, but also on why some things in the English version of SxF seem inconsistent between the anime and manga.

Continue to Part 6 ->

<- Return to Part 4

[numptypylon]

So, that looks like Callum and Stella? Waiting outside the frozen ship? (Which, if the clip is actual show dialogue, could be him yapping to Stella while waiting for Rayla to get back, that does track with Callum’s yappiness)

And it fits with the screenshot from earlier with them maybe inside the ship, Stella is with Callum.

So why did Rayla go in alone? I know, I know, she does be doing that kinda thing.

Could be it’s a small opening to get in, or one hard to get to, or someone needs to keep watch, but my bet is the ship is trapped. Rayla has the rogue skill points, Callum is a clumsy boy you don’t want near traps, plus, Avatar reference with booby-trapped frozen ship (I forgot this, thanks @dinochickrox)

So Rayla goes in alone to search the frozen ship, Callum waits outside, then a booby trap goes off and sets the ship on fire and he goes in after her? Or she takes too long and he goes in after her and he sets off the booby trap? Either way, they’re trapped in a quickly thawing frozen ship, things are heating up?!

I had a theory waaaay back, that their big romantic reunion would be on a boat, because of parallels to romantic moments throughout the seasons: the rowboat/5 questions in S1, the lightning strike on Villads’ ship in S2 and the Ambler in S3 (camels are called ships of the desert).

I’d appreciate it if Callum brought the frozen ship metaphor back up as the ship catches fire:

Callum: Forget what I said! This ship is on FIRE!

[i-only-ever-asked-questions]

Map of Soho Good Omens Season 2 - Part 1 (Location and general map)

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Update: Map now identifies Lucky Snake and the coffee shop listed in Aziraphale's clipboard may indeed be Give Me Coffee I think we all have wondered how the GO Soho looks like and where it would be in real London. So using all the screenshots, BTS pictures and videos I could find I did my best to map out where things are. It is not to scale but everything I could see is there. I originally had all the pictures and explanations in this post but soon it became obvious it was going to be too long and impractical so I had to split it in different posts and I hope I got it right. The map has five reference points (circle with two diverging lines); imagine the circle is you, standing in the set, and the lines are your viewpoint if you were taking a picture from there. The left side of Whickber Street (#1 and #2) is in Part 2, the intersecting street (#3 and #4) is in Part 3 and the right half of Whickber Street (#5) is in Part 4.

As to where the bookshop would be in real London. We know that Whickber Street is supposed to be Berwick Street so let's start there. The intersecting street is not obvious from the show. In this post Neil said he imagines the bookshop to be where Gosh! Comics is (Peter Street) while Michael Ralph and Douglas McKinnon probably put it at The Week (on Broadwick Street). Because it is ambiguous and really you can do whatever you want, I just left it as "intersecting street". We know from the book that Crowley takes Wardour Street after the bookshop fire. Wardour is behind Berwick so in our map it would be where the Chinese Buffet Restaurant is, considering they run more or less parallel. On the other side, we have the Windmill Theatre located on Great Windmill Street. From Berwick St. and Peter St. it takes three minutes to walk to the theatre, it is that close! (yes, I know, Crowley was conducting business two blocks from the bookshop while not talking to Aziraphale for 80 years). I have never been in that part of London so I used Google Maps streetview and based only on that, I like the corner of Berwick St. and Broadwick St. better. It has the crooked intersection but the proximity of the theatre matches Peter St. better, so whatever works better for you!

There is one place missing from the set map though: Brown's World of Carpets! It is nowhere to be found, we simply don't know where it is My very personal headcanon is that it is nothing but a desk inside the furniture store. I find that idea of the guy most worried about storefront looks being the one without a storefront very amusing, but don't mind me, it is just my very silly hc XD Now, we know Aziraphale has a list for the shops he needs to visit. And we know he wrote it in alphabetical order which begs the question: Where is the Dirty Donkey?! Are they not invited? And what about the fabric shop? And Bilton Scaggs? Battye and Palm? The News Agency? Is "Mo Coffee? No Coffee?" supposed to be Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death? Or is there another coffee shop somewhere? @crow-bee23 suggested it could be "Me Coffee" which it is entirely possible, the full name is kind of long. So many questions to ask Mr. Brown.

Anyway, I put pictures and details on the shops in parts 2, 3 and 4. Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

[clutzicone-dts]

Screenshot redraw! Season 5, episode 1-Winds of Change~~

Alternates+reference under cut :)

Can you tell I don’t know how to draw speech bubbles yet haha

Without text

Without the soulless bodies of the team

Without both

Aaaaaaaand the reference!

[skoolnites]

𝘼𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙄 𝙉𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙏𝙤 𝘽𝙚

cb98 x reader

previous chapter | series masterlist | next chapter

->𝙬𝙘: 1.1k (sorry she’s a bit short)

->𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮: the meet cute <3

->𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: like one swear word (hell), not proofread

->𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚: not my favorite chapter but that’s mainly cause for the life of me i couldn’t figure out how i wanted to end this. two main things one i figured out how to make my text smaller (i used to know how but i couldn’t remember for the life of me) i think it makes things look nicer but let me know if you’d prefer the larger text. two do we give y/n’s brother a name? i realize im gonna reference him in chapters so it makes sense to name him but also like idk if that takes away from the x reader experience let me know your thoughts on that too :)

Always Where I Need to Be - The Kooks

“But I always thought I would end up with you eventually”

i’m gonna be so honest the second i walked into 5/3rds and saw you i was scheming like a little freak. then we talked and i learned you weren’t just a pretty face, i was gone. i’m not super certain how i got from point a to point i’m in a long distance relationship when i always said i’d never do that to myself, but what i do know is that we owe vlas, and technically, by some form of logical reasoning, my brother, a big thank you

⇄ ◁◁ I I ▷▷ ↻

⁰⁰ ³¹ ━━●━━━━━━━━ ⁰² ¹¹

late october 2023

y/n tugged at her camera strap in a futile attempt to untangle it from the media pass hanging off her neck. while she was grateful for the opportunity to take exclusive photos of the blackhawks practice, she knew alex was just doing her a favor. the vlasic’s and the l/n’s had known each other for years, her older brother and alex playing on the chicago mission together for three years before her brother quit hockey. she was thrilled for alex’s first full season as a hawk but walking in behind him when she felt awkward, like akward enough that it was making her palms sweaty and throat tight.

hockey wasn’t really her scene, she knew the game and liked watching the stanley cup finals, but being entangled in players’ lives didn’t excite her.

“can you at least fake a smile?” alex laughed, giving the younger girl a little shove.

“i would if it didn’t smell like hockey boy in here,” she said, raising her camera to snap a picture of alex in his blackhawks hat and teasing grin. “awe, perfect,” she chuckled, “your mom will love this one,”

alex rolled his eyes at the comment before heading to the locker room. alone, y/n finally took a moment to survey her surroundings, taking in all the blackhawks history on the walls. she brought the camera up to her face to snap a few pictures, not minding her surroundings as much as she should have, when she stumbled into someone.

“fuck, sorry,” she muttered, looking at the stranger’s shoes, black slides, which felt strange for the middle of a chicago autumn, but to each their own. the stranger mumbled something that y/n decided was “it’s fine.” but then she looked up, only to be met with a face she definitely recognized from the media. she knew his first name was connor, and her brother said he was supposed to save chicago, but other than that, he was just some guy to her. just a kid around her age whose last name was escaping her.

hockey was just the sport her brother played, the games she was dragged to growing up, she’d watch NHL game’s here and there and occasionally stalk vlas’ highlight reels late at night just to send him screenshots where he looked stupid. she watched rockford games when she had the time, especially to see alex play, and had been to a couple blackhawks game but not recently.

the only reason she even cared now was because of alex, she always supported him even if she really couldn’t care less about the team. to her alex was like another brother and hockey was just his job, other than that he was the same person she watched choke on gluten-free spaghetti noodles when he ate too quickly after practice and always gave her hugs when she got overwhelmed. in other words he was just some guy,

“sorry, that was rude,” connor said,

“it’s also my fault, i wasn’t really paying attention either.”

y/n picked up on the tension in his voice but couldn’t quite place it. he kept stealing quick glances at her face, but his eyes never stayed in the same place for too long, as if he was watching himself . she noticed his hands next: brushing at his hair, then tangling with it at the base of his neck, one going in and out of his pocket, the other picking at his shirt. it didn’t matter what it was but there was always some sort of movement. a soft smile crept up on y/n when she saw the subtle flush on his ears, a telltale sign that a person was anxious, a subtle sign that meant she made him anxious.

“i should’ve been more careful,” she admitted. “here i am in a place i really have no right to be, only a guest, really, because i’m pretty sure alex only had this idea because he felt bad for not being around over the summer. even though my brother and i both understood he had a lot going on with this whol-,” she cut herself off. “sorry, i was rambling. to be honest with you i’m nervous as hell right now and i talk a lot when i’m nervous. let me start over.” she stuck out her hand, “i’m y/n y/l/n. alex vlasic and my brother are best friends. vlas just let me tag along today to take pictures for a school project.”

she held out her hand to connor, who raised an eyebrow slightly when he realized she was waiting for him to introduce himself.

“um, i’m connor bedard,” he sounded a bit like he was questioning himself or maybe the situation, yet he shook her hand nonetheless.

“oh, you’re supposed to be a hockey prodigy, or something, i was lowkey tuning out my brother when he was telling me about the rookies, so i could be thinking of someone else.”

“no, that’s probably me,”

y/n chuckled at his sheepishness. if she weren’t incredibly intimidated by him, she would’ve found him adorable. no, instead, she found him extremely attractive and extremely unobtainable.

“well, if all the guys on the ice look like you, then i just might have to start watching all these games,” she said. the flirting was easy, but where she found the confidence, she had no clue. still, something settled deep in her chest. it was like she knew that she would have him, not that she wanted him, but that somehow, they would end up together. technically, he wasn’t her type, or whatever she thought her type was up until this moment, but something about him felt right.

his cheeks flushed little and it was infuriatingly adorable. so she lifted the camera back to her face and snapped a picture, capturing the moment forever.

“see you around, hockey prodigy connor whatever your last name was.”

[referrix]

Transformation Collection - Tecna Harmonix

[light-blue-glazed-terracotta]

mutual 1: anyone got any tips for a starter base?

mutual 2: warden cummy wummy in my tummy

mutual 3: three paragraph long rant about a several year old mob vote

mutual 4: uhhhh mimecraft

mutual 5: literally the most fucked up modpack screenshot you've ever seen

mutual 6: reblog of horny enderman art

mutual 6: reblog of horny enderman art

mutual 6: reblog of horny creeper art

mutual 6: reblog of horny enderman art

mutual 7: quitting mineblr for the sixth time speech

mutual 8: hermitcraft lore that's impossible to follow if you're anything less than an actual detective who's watched every pov every video and references season 2

[waytray]

part 6/? of screenshots i took to reference for my arcane season 2 nails

part 1 , part 5 , part 7

[somehow-a-human]

The Ineffable Detective Agency Presents: Street Seating - A Disappearing Act!

As @noneorother mentioned the other day, we’re going through the archives over @ineffable-detective-agency and trying to post discontinuities and clues that haven’t been shared yet! 

Have you ever noticed the outdoor seating on Whickber street? Just in front of the Deli?

Don't see it? Look closer, this one, here!

You can also see it up close when Maggie and Nina have their “Awning of a New Age” moment nearby. 

These tables and their surrounding hedges are present consistently throughout episodes 1-3 but when we get to episode 4, take a look at Whickber street when Aziraphale returns from his Edinburgh trip…

Um, where did it go? The outdoor seating has mysteriously disappeared, and we know it is a physical prop, so the crew had to go about removing it all together, they couldn’t just use VFX. Why remove it for this scene? Did they really just need the Bentley to drive that close to the curb or is there something off about this version of Whickber street? 

By the time Crowley returns again the next morning in Episode 5, the seating area is back, you can see it just behind Aziraphale.

It’s present throughout the rest of the season, and visible even in the final scene. 

So, what is special about the morning Aziraphale returns from Edinburgh? Douglas MacKinnon mentioned that there was an important clue in that scene, could this have been what he was referring to? Let's hear your theories and thoughts! And as always, be kind to each other <3

Special thanks to @kimberleyjean for her lovely screenshotting skills, and the rest of the detectives @theastrophysicistnextdoor, @noneorother, @komorezuki, @maufungi, @lookingatacupoftea, @havemyheartaziraphale, @251-dmr, @dunkthebiscuit, @ghstptats <3

[the-alien-stage]

BLINK, GONE ANALYSIS

*warning this is pretty long because I'm mentally ill about alien stage*

I'm sure we were all shocked by what happened with Round 7 and I am as well. With that said I believe I should get through the lyrics first.

"Oh in a blink, gone. Blink, gone. I can't let it go. Blink and gone."

This first line is said by Till and already we can start making some ideas. This line could refer to Ivan's death or even Mizi's disappearance because he can't let it go. Ivan was there one moment and gone the next and so was Mizi. Despite this he can't let it go.

"The clock goes tick tock tick tock. Just enjoy it. Blink, gone. Oh, in a blink, gone! Let's go."

This second line is said by Luka and I think in general sets the mood for what is about to happen. It kind of builds on what the last line was saying and it's very much a song about enjoying the moment/present and not dwelling on the past or future. Luka specifically is perfect for this certain line. Luka is clearly enjoying his time in Alien Stage season 50 and the only time he's looked even remotely broken or sad is when he's seen Hyuna. He's focusing on the present, ignoring Hyuna and simply focusing on what is happening now.

"This moment won't ever come back. This party's getting started and let's go crazy high!"

Again, this is Till's line and I think this is pretty interesting. This is the final round and it won't come back. Whatever happens it'll be gone in a "blink". However I think this could also express his emotions in the moment. Despite what happened in round 6 he has high spirits (much higher than round 6) and is clearly fighting to live.

A few other lyrics that caught my attention specifically and how it relates to the character of Till and Luka were:

"Clear your head, no need for baggage

머리는 비워, 짐은 필요 없어

Take charge of the party no, don’t look back now

파티를 책임져 no, don't look back now

Neither yesterday nor tomorrow exist for me.

어제도 내일도 나에겐 없는 거야"

Context clues alone point to Round 7 taking place only a few hours after Round 6 and so with that context it gives the feeling of the song taunting Till over his mind focusing on Ivan. I also interpreted this as the lyrics reflecting Luka's state of mind. He is clearly enjoying himself onstage as he sings and is living in the moment. For him, at least, the past and future don't exist right now.

Overall, the lyrics definitely add a layer of depth to both Luka and Till. It shows Luka's mindset regarding ALNST as well as Till's feelings. While it has already been confirmed by the patreon that his feelings for Ivan were complex, the lyrics show this even more.

Moving on, some key points I thought were good to screenshot also add to this.

Pretty early on does Urak show himself during the video which I found to be interesting. The only other time we have seen him is during Round 2 when there was a glimpse of him and Round 6 when we had a full on scene with him and some other aliens. Here he looks contemplative and curious, different from his other appearances where he looks enraged or violent. Clearly this moment is important for Urak and considering Till's status as the underdog and how he was created specifically to dethrone Luka, this shot was pretty cool to me.

There isn't as much to study with this frame but it does show that this isn't long after Round 6 since that is when Hyuna got injured. This means that the time skip between Round 5 and 6 was because the rebels took Mizi and caused an uproar.

NOW THIS WAS INTERESTING! as Till gets more passionate and strong with his performance this interesting visual happens that I immediately took as Ivan. Till is still thinking back to Ivan and is using his sacrifice to fuel his strength. Everybody around him is gone now and he needs to survive. This is Ivan quite literally haunting him as Till is engulfed by the red light and the camera focuses on the eye. In general I really like how the rave-like atmosphere of round reflects both Luka and Till.

Both of these shots are pretty interesting as it gives us more insight into Luka. I still remember when we all thought he was a girl named Luisa LMAO he is clearly taunting Till in this first shot and is mimicking Ivan's hold on his neck similar to what Ivan did in Round 6. He is very purposefully trying to get a reaction here and when he does and Till's mental light goes red he genuinely has to hold back a giggle. He is never beating the freak allegations. I do think it's pretty interesting how he smiles and gets giddy at provoking others (Similar to how he smiled after Mizi was pulled off him or how he grinned when he saw Hyunwoo). However, I think it's also important to note that in all three of these scenes we do not see Luka's mental light and the one that does have it is red! This could possibly indicate that he doesn't have normal emotional processes (since he does have other health issues because of Heperu's tinkering) and so I'm very interested for how he's going to move forward as a character.

I was so surprised by this because he was so clearly trying to get back up and fight but he was so exhausted. He just got out of Round 6 and is now fighting for his life in Round 7 and can barely stay awake. His eyes are almost rolled back into his head and his nose is bleeding. He is very clearly stressed even without the red light but it also shows how much of a fighter he is and how hard he is trying to live (which is entirely because of Ivan) even in the face of hardship.

HE'S HAUNTING TILL!!! Even in death he can't look away from him. I also find it interesting that it's these frames they use for Ivan. For Till it shows him looking down at him, almost taunting him to get back up and fight. He isn't allowed to die yet, Ivan won't allow it. Meanwhile, Luka has Ivan holding himself (something he has consistently done when stressed because he needs that comfort) while he looks to be in distress. He is also wearing his Round 6 outfit here and so I found that interesting. The way he hallucinates Ivan is also very interesting here and how Till doesn't get Ivan perfectly. While Till hallucinates Luka as Ivan, he doesn't look like Ivan. Even Sua was more convincing and she still had that dead look in her eye that she never had when looking at Sua. Ivan's eyes are completely black when Till hallucinates him and I like how it's that little detail that gives away that Till can't entirely remember Ivan even though he had such an impact on him. Even though Till felt conflicted about him and felt affection for him (70%!!!), he can't even remember his eyes.

NOW THIS IS FUN! Till sees Mizi again and immediately gets back up. With the added context that Till idolizes Mizi, this makes so much more sense. This isn't affection or happiness here, it's relief and a new reason to fight. Mizi is his only connection to his past and he's going to hold onto that until he bleeds. That desperation and relief in his expression is obvious and it's all of that combined that makes him strong again. Meanwhile, Luka looks almost frustrated here. I'm not exactly sure what it is specifically, as he definitely glances at Mizi and Till. Perhaps he wasn't expecting Till to get back up, or maybe he was surprised that Mizi was there. However, regardless he looks frustrated and begins singing with a renewed vigor.

I have maxed out on the photos but really quickly I want to talk about Till's death and Hyuluka meeting.

Till, when he is dying, has a xylophone play. It's a simple one but he was once gifted a xylophone for his birthday. There is a theory that Ivan gave it to him since Ivan had that money from his guardian but it isn't confirmed. Till is also a musical genius and so this little tune playing could also be taken as him remembering his roots and what makes him happiest. He enjoys the arts and creative endeavors and in his final moments that is what plays. Also where he got shot is interesting as his neck has always been emphasized by Vivinos and QMENG. Whether this is Ivan grabbing it or him wearing collars or even other art emphasizing it, his neck is always a key part of his design. I think it's interesting that in his final moments he also attempted to reach up and out to Mizi. His idol was finally here and finally noticing him. There is very obvious relief in his expression before he closes his eyes and the xylophone goes out and I find that very bittersweet. He worked so hard to live only to be snuffed out. The only relief he could find himself was in death and even then it was a painful one.

FINALLY, Hyuna and Luka :3c I can't post the screenshots on his specific post but Luka looks surprised if not a little worried. It's the most genuine emotion we've seen from him and the first time his prince persona has lost itself on stage. It's also the first time we see him unable to act. Usually he acts immediately when things happen (Mizi tries to punch him and he turns her, Till moves away from him unexpectedly and he continues singing), but here he cannot bring himself to move or act. Hyuna is in a similar situation and can't seem to take her eyes off of Luka. There is surprise in her eyes (even though he knew Luka was on stage) and I would go so far as to say fear. I'm really interested in how this will play out AAAAAAAAAAA

[humbledragon669]

S2E1 - The Arrival Write Up P5 - the Present Day from Crowley’s arrival at the coffee shop up to his entry to the book shop

Alright, buckle up, because despite the fact I said I wasn’t going to be so detailed, there is A LOT to cover in these next couple of scenes, and it is ALL about the subtext.

The first thing I picked up on is mere seconds after Crowley gets out of the Bentley, because despite the fact that Aziraphale told him to meet him in the coffee shop (literally 2 minutes previously, if we’re to believe the demon’s time estimates), his reflex is to go straight to the book shop as soon as he’s out of the car:

That is one hard-wired reflex, isn’t it? He’s several steps into his approach before he realises that’s not where he’s supposed to be going. Cute. Not so cute is the foreshadowing that we can see on the board outside the coffee shop:

It’s not easy to make out in this little screenshot, but it reads “Life begins after coffee”. Knowing how intricately designed this series is with the Easter eggs and references, I can’t help but believe this is alludes to what is planned to come in season 3 (after Aziraphale’s coffee). That’s the simple solution. The letters in this simple phrase can actually be rearranged into something else however:

L I F E  B E G I N S  A F T E R  C O F F E E

===============================

I F  C E E  F O R G E T S  I N E F F A B L E

Obviously I would interpret “CEE” as Crowley in this potential Clue, and the reference to “ineffable” being the Ineffable Plan. So expanding the phrase becomes “If Crowley forgets the Ineffable Plan”. But that would mean that the demon either currently knows or has previously known the details of the Ineffable Plan, which is in theory impossible (unless he was also God). And what’s the rest of the sentence? What happens if Crowley’s memory does empty of those details? I don’t have any answers to these questions, all I know is that the ability to rearrange those letters into something that makes incredible contextual sense cannot be coincidental.

This next scene in the coffee shop is one of my absolute favourites across this show - there’s just so much to it! Before we get into the weeds with the conversation that’s about to ensue, I just want to pick up on the background music being used here: it’s an instrumental version of Bohemian Rhapsody, possibly for a string quartet. In the write up for episode 5 of season 1, I hinted that there might be something to look at about music when it’s used as an “in-universe” element (rather than when it’s used as soundtrack for the audience), and this is a great example of that. We know that pretty much all music that plays in the Bentley (at least when Crowley is driving it) is by Queen, whether that was the original choice of the passengers in the car or not. That combined with Queen’s music being frequently used in the soundtrack to represent Crowley means that we, the audience, have come to associate anything that sounds remotely like Queen with the demon. Likewise, we have been given a lot of information to suggest that the same applies to classical music being associated with Aziraphale. What we have in the background of the coffee shop in this scene is an example of the merging of the two very different styles to produce a rather beautiful result, where both styles can be recognised and heard, whilst also projecting an air of individuality of its own. Here’s why I think this is interesting – this is exactly how we’ve come to think of the relationship between Crowley and Aziraphale. Furthermore, the fact that the music is playing in-universe here would suggest, if my badly formed (and yet to be written up) ideas about Crowley are correct, that its presence is the demon’s (possibly subconscious) doing in the first place.

One last thing before I start looking at the conversation: How gorgeous is that camera one-shot as it passes “through” the coffee shop window? We see quite a few of those types of shots in this show, and they’re always seamless. The benefit they add to the flow of the storyline is undeniable.

OK, I lied. This really is the last thing before I get to the conversation. I am not ignoring the fact that the walls in the coffee shop could be littered with Easter eggs in amongst all the “graffiti” there. I have been collecting screenshots of the walls in the scenes when I can, and will put together a collage of them at some point. I’ve yet to find anything of particular interest, but I also feel like somebody has already done quite a bit of research into this, so I’ll see if I can find that post before I talk about it any further.

Alright, finally – our hero couple are united in the present day for the first time in this season! Here’s our first reminder of the familiarity that exists between them:

Aziraphale looks over his left shoulder to see if Crowley has appeared yet because that’s “Crowley’s side”. He actually seems to get quite the fright when he suddenly detects a presence on the opposite side of him.

I love the insight we get from Crowley reeling off the reasons that Aziraphale calls him: finding out that the angel instinctively calls the demon to satisfy his need for intellectual engagement (when he’s bored), for approval, or for help when he needs it highlights just how intricately woven into one another’s lives they are. I think it’s the middle of those points that strikes the biggest chord with me though; that the only person Aziraphale wants to share his successes with is Crowley speaks volumes, and it’s the only one of the three points he feels any need to defend (which in turn tells us how highly he thinks of Crowley). The familiarity that comes out of this speech just oozes, and I absolutely love how casually the demon delivers it.

Here we have the start of the next part of the case for my “Aziraphale and Crowley are already together” theory. Notice how the angel asks Crowley if this mega-espresso has calming properties:

AZIRAPHALE: Does it calm you down?

Not does it calm people down. Specifically “you”, which in this case is Crowley. Aziraphale knows that what he’s about to tell Crowley is not going to go down well, and wants to make sure the demon is as calm as possible, which he recruits Nina in to help with:

AZIRAPHALE: What do you sell that calms people down?

Again, the words here give the game away; he doesn’t ask what would calm “him” down, but what item would be particularly useful for calming other people down. Those Eccles cakes aren’t for him, they’re for Crowley. And why on earth Nina says that these calm people down, I have no idea – I’ve certainly never heard of them as having particularly restful qualities. You would have thought that maybe a chamomile tea would be a better solution.

If we combine all of this information with THAT look from Crowley and THOSE looks from Aziraphale (you know the ones, but I’m going to GIF them below anyway – I do love it so), I think the case for believing this pair to be secretly romantically involved already looks pretty strong.

There is a LOT going on in that tiny snippet of film so let’s break it down a bit. First we have this look of dread from Aziraphale when Nina drops him in the shit:

That is guilt, embarrassment, fear, desperation, and chagrin all wrapped up in one right there, and there’s really only one thing that tends to bring that complex mix of emotions to the fore in people – getting caught doing something you know very well you shouldn’t have been doing in the first place. And Crowley’s reaction tells us everything we need to know about how he feels about this new and shocking piece of information:

There is one phrase that comes to mind when I see Crowley’s expression here: “EXPLAIN YOURSELF”. That little head tilt at the end says that loud and clear. Most importantly for my case, there is no amusement on his face at all. He’s not entertained by this rather amusing turn of events, he’s fuming, as his expression makes very obvious.

And Aziraphale knows very well how much trouble he’s now in:

The wide eyes, increased breathing, inability to get his words out, and pathetic protestations – he is floundering here, badly. As well he should.

There are two more indicators here that there is something more going on between the two of them that is being overtly stated at this point in the storyline. Firstly, there’s that look he flicks over to Crowley to check in with him and see where the demon is in the emotional journey. Secondly there’s the appropriate look of somebody absolutely cowed by a sequence of events:

Bless his little cotton socks, he’s so ashamed. It’s such a childlike expression, exactly what you’d see if somebody had been reprimanded for something they knew they shouldn’t have done, didn’t have any good explanation for why they’d done it, and can only say how sorry they are in their own defence. Lastly (for this exchange anyway), we can see that Crowley is still awaiting his explanation at this point, even if we (very sadly) don’t get to see his expression:

Out of focus as Crowley’s face is, it’s still clear to see that his gaze is firmly fixed on Aziraphale. His attention is only diverted when Nina asks him a direct question. So, to sum all of this up: Aziraphale’s shame and desperation and Crowley’s indignant expression – that’s really all it took for me. This pair are a couple at the very least, more likely married. End of. Case closed. However, if you’re still on the fence, there’s one other thing that might push you over the edge. Listen, VERY CLOSELY, to the music in the background here:

Just after Nina says the phrase “naked man friend”, you can hear a very high-pitched note in the string arrangement, followed by a small pause. Almost like the music has crashed to a halt with the shock of the information that’s just been given (I’m sure you know what I mean – it’s a pretty common device to use in media). If that’s not a coincidence, that would further strengthen my ideas about Crowley influencing the music around him, and provide some more evidence for how he’s feeling at that particular time.

Right, let’s move on to the next piece of evidence for my case:

This is so lovely to me. How could he possibly sum up what he and Crowley are in one tiny sentence? Not only that, it’s clear he doesn’t know how to describe the situation between them without lying. He could have said they were friends (not entirely a lie, not entirely the truth), or even work colleagues (ditto). Instead, he says the only thing he can think of that is definitely true. And as a quick side note, both he and Crowley are so focussed on the mess that the angel has found himself in here, they miss the quick once over Nina gives the demon as she leaves the table.

There’s something really primal in me that makes me want to pull her hair and scream at her to stay away from him, like a crazed jealous teenager. I have no idea why; we all know Crowley has absolutely no interest in anybody or anything other than Aziraphale. Besides, he’s fair too concerned with reminding Aziraphale that he’s still in trouble.

Whoop, more evidence to add to my case! This is so beautifully done – Crowley changes the subject, thinking to lull the angel into a false sense of security, only to bring it immediately back to the issue that he clearly feels still needs to be resolved (and rightly so), and his expression clearly tells Aziraphale that this conversation is far from over, that he’s still not amused, and that he’s still waiting for an explanation:

Now that Aziraphale hasn’t got someone watching on, he’s become a little bit braver, actually managing to speak some of his defence, but I think it’s pretty obvious he knows there isn’t going to be anything he can say or do in the coffee shop that will resolve this situation. And if there was any doubt about that, Crowley’s gesture after downing his mega-espresso (which I find almost threatening) is clearly meant to be a reminder that he is still pissed about things.

Message received loud and clear:

In another casual display of intimate familiarity, and despite Crowley’s clear displeasure with the situation, he still holds the door open for his angel (ever the romantic). There is something going on in this shot here that I find interesting though:

What is that look going on between Nina and Crowley? This is an odd one, not least because of that once over we saw her giving him earlier on. And unfortunately we can’t see his face in this shot to be any degree of sure. To me it feels almost territorial, in a reverse sort of way – as if Crowley is making sure Nina bears witness to his romantic gesture, delivering a subtle but clear message about his interests. I’d buy into that totally if it didn’t run completely contrary to the need for them to hide their relationship. What I do like about this little interaction, and Aziraphale’s behaviour during it, is that we’re already being shown that this pair are still really bad at picking up on the other’s cues – whilst Crowley is busy pissing on a lamp post, Aziraphale’s face is giving away just how worried he is about what’s about to come:

Alright, final thing of note for this part, because this seems like quite a neat place to stop. Remember way back when I said that those Eccles cakes weren’t really for Aziraphale, but for Crowley? (Side note - way to go, stealing crockery from a local coffee shop Aziraphale, I hope you took it back at some point. Not that Nina seems to give much of a shit. Such odd behaviour.) Well we’re about to see the realisation of that.

Alright, I know, it could just be that Aziraphale hands the plate to him so that he has both hands to find the right key with (another side note – what are all the rest of those keys for?) but there’s a fleeting expression on Crowley’s face that suggests otherwise, as if he’s just now realising that the food is really for him:

He’s really not impressed with the quality of this peace offering, is he? Which is unsurprising, given that he’s not the one of them that has a burning desire to inhale anything that tastes good. At best, he might get to see Aziraphale eat it later I suppose. He’s gracious about his gift at least, because we don’t see him hand the plate back to the angel after the door is opened (in fact we’ll see it placed on the pedestal that the statue he uses to rest his glasses on later).

Right then, I have yet again wittered on quite long enough about this very small piece of film, so let’s wrap this up here. I’m hoping that now we’ve had the reunion of our hero couple in the present day, and the main establishment of the premise of the season, my write ups might get to be a little less picky (with some exceptions for notable scenes), but I guess we’ll find out. For now though, and as always, questions, comments, discussion – always welcome. See you next time 😊