#what's important to you snatcher

[creatingblackcharacters]

“The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth” - Violence, Violent Imagery & Black Horror

TRIGGER WARNING: mentions of death, violence, blood, hate crimes, antiblackness, police violence, rape

Note! I am going to be speaking from a Black American point of view, as my identity informs my experience. That said, antiblackness itself is international. The idea of my Blackness as a threat, as a source of fear and violence to repress and to destroy, is something every Black person in the world that has ever dealt with white supremacy has experienced.

There are two things, I think, that are important to note as we start this conversation.

One: there is a long history of violence towards Black bodies that is due to our dehumanization. People do not care for the killing of a mouse in the way they care about a human. But if you think the people you are dealing with are not people, but animals- more particularly, pests, something distasteful- then you will be able to rationalize treating them as such.

Two: even though we live in a time period where that overt belief of Blackness as inhuman is less likely, we must recognize that there are centuries of belief behind this concept; centuries of arguments and actions that cement in our minds that a certain amount of violence towards Blackness is normal. That subconscious belief you may hold is steeped in centuries of effort to convince you of it without even questioning it. And because of this very real re-enforcement of desensitization, naturally another place this will manifest itself is in how we tell and comprehend stories.

There are also three points I'm about to make first- not the only three that can ever be made, but the ones that stand out the most to me when we talk about violence with Black characters:

One: Your Black readers may experience that scene you wrote differently than you meant anyone to, just because our history may change our perspective on what’s happening.

Two: The idea that Black characters and people deserve the pain they are experiencing.

Three: The disbelief or dismissal of the pain of Black characters and people.

You Better Start Believing In Ghost Stories- You’re In One

I don’t need to tell Black viewers scary fairytales of sadists, body snatchers and noncoincidental disappearances, cannibals, monsters appearing in the night, and dystopian, unjust systems that bury people alive- real life suffices! We recognize the symbolism because we’ve seen real demons.

Some real examples of familiar, terrifying stories that feel like drama, but are real experiences:

12 Years a Slave: “This is no fiction, no exaggeration. If I have failed in anything, it has been in presenting to the reader too prominently the bright side of the picture. I doubt not hundreds have been as unfortunate as myself; that hundreds of free citizens have been kidnapped and sold into slavery, and are at this moment wearing out their lives on plantations in Texas and Louisiana.” – Solomon Northup

When They See Us: I can’t get myself to watch When They See Us, because I learned about the actual trial of the Central Park Five- now the Exonerated Five- in my undergrad program. Five teen Black and brown boys, subjected to racist and cruel policing and vilification in the media- from Donald Trump calling for their deaths in the newspaper, to being imprisoned under what the Clintons deemed a generation of “superpredators” during a “tough on crime” administration. And as audacious as it is to say, as Solomon Northup explained, they were fortunate. The average Black person funneled into the prison system doesn’t get the opportunity to make it back out redeemed or exonerated, because the system is designed to capture and keep them there regardless of their innocence or guilt. Their lives are irreparably changed; they are forever trapped.

Jasper, Texas: Learning about the vicious, gruesome murder of James Byrd Jr, was horrific- and that was just the movie. No matter how “community comes together” everyone tells that story, the reality is that there are people who will beat you, drag you chained down a gravel road for three miles as your body shreds away until you are decapitated, and leave your mangled body in front of a Black church to send a message… Because you’re Black and they hate you. To date I am scared when I’m walking and I see trucks passing me, and don’t let them have the American or the Confederate flag on them. Even Ahmaud Arbery, all he was doing was jogging in his hometown, and white men from out of town decided he should be murdered for that.

Do you want to know what all of these men and boys, from 1841 to 2020, had in common? What they did to warrant what happened to them? Being outside while Black. Some might call it “wrong place wrong time”, but the reality is that there is no “right place”. Sonya Massey, Breonna Taylor- murdered inside their home. Where else can you be, if the danger has every right to barge inside? There is no “safe”.

It is already Frightening to live while Black- not because being Black is inherently frightening, but because our society has made it horrific to do so. But that leads into my next point:

“They Shouldn’t Have Resisted”

Think of all the videos of assaulted and murdered Black people from police violence. If you can stomach going into the comments- which I don’t, anymore- you’ll see this classic comment of hate in the thousands, twisting your stomach into knots:

“if they obeyed the officer, if they didn’t resist, this wouldn’t have happened”

Another way our punitive society normalizes itself is via the idea of respectability politics; the idea that “if you are Good, if you do what you are Supposed to do, you will not be hurt- I will not have to hurt you”. Therefore, if my people are always suffering violence, it must be because we are Bad. And in a society that is already less gracious to Black people, that is more likely to think we are less human, that we are innately bad and must earn the right to be exceptional… the use of excessive violence towards me must be the natural outcome. “If your people weren’t more likely to be criminals, there wouldn’t be the need to be suspicious of you”- that is the way our society has taught us to frame these interactions, placing the blame for our own victimization on us.

Sidebar: I would highly suggest reading The New Jim Crow, written in 2010 by Michelle Alexander, to see how this mentality helps tie into large scale criminalization and mass incarceration, and how the cycle is purposely perpetuated.

You have to constantly be aware of how you look, walk and talk- and even then, that won’t be enough to save you if the time comes. The turning point for me, personally, was the murder of Sandra Bland. If she could be educated, beautiful, a beacon of her community, be everything a “Good” Black person is supposed to be… and still be murdered via police violence, they can kill any of us. And that’s a very terrifying thought- that anything at any point can be the reason for your death, and it will be validated because someone thinks you shouldn’t have “been that way”. And that way has far less to do with what you did, than it does who you are. Being “that way” is Black.

My point is, if this belief is so normalized in real life about violence on Black bodies- that somehow, we must have done something to deserve this- what makes you think that this belief does not affect how you comprehend Black people suffering in stories?

Hippocratic Oath

Human experimentation? Vivisection? Organ stealing? Begging for medicine? Dramatically bleeding out? Not trusting just anyone to see that you are hurt, because they might take advantage? All very real fears. The idea that pain is normal for Black people is especially rampant in the healthcare field, where ideas like our melanin making our skin thick enough to feel less pain (no), an overblown fear of ‘drug misuse’, and believing we are overexaggerating our pain makes many Black people being unwilling to trust the healthcare system. And it comes down to this thought:

If you think that I feel less pain, you will allow me to suffer long before you believe that I am in pain.

I was psychologically spiraling I was in so much pain after my wisdom teeth removal, and my surgeon was more concerned about “addiction to the medication”. Only because Hot Chocolate’s mom is a nurse, did I get an effective medicine schedule. My mother ended up with jaw rot because her surgeon outright claimed that she didn’t believe that she was in more than the ‘healing’ pain after her wisdom teeth were removed. She also has a gigantic, macabre (and awesome fr) scar on her stomach from a c-section she received after four days of labor attempting to have me… all because she was too poor and too Black to afford better doctors who wouldn’t have dismissed her struggles to push.

As a major example of dismissed Black pain: let’s discuss the mortality rate of Black women during childbirth, as well as the likelihood of our children to die. When we say “they will let you bleed to death”, we mean it.

“Black women have the highest maternal mortality rate in the United States — 69.9 per 100,000 live births for 2021, almost three times the rate for white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Black babies are more likely to die, and also far more likely to be born prematurely, setting the stage for health issues that could follow them through their lives.”

Even gynecology roots in dismissal (and taking brutal advantage of) Black women's pain:

“The history of this particular medical branch … it begins on a slave farm in Alabama,” Owens said. “The advancement of obstetrics and gynecology had such an intimate relationship with slavery, and was literally built on the wounds of Black women.” Reproductive surgeries that were experimental at the time, like cesarean sections, were commonly performed on enslaved Black women. Physicians like the once-heralded J. Marion Sims, an Alabama doctor many call the “father of gynecology,” performed torturous surgical experiments on enslaved Black women in the 1840s without anesthesia. And well after the abolition of slavery, hospitals performed unnecessary hysterectomies on Black women, and eugenics programs sterilized them.”

If you think Black characters are not in pain, or that they’re overexaggerating, you’re more likely to be okay with them suffering more in comparison to those whose pain you take more seriously- to those you believe.

What’s My Point?

My point is that whatever terrifying scene you think you’re writing, whatever violent whump scenario you think you’re about to put your Black characters through, there’s a chance it has probably happened and was treated as nonimportant (damn shame, right?) And when those terrifying scenes are both written and read, the way their suffering will be felt depends on how much you as a reader care, how much you believe they are suffering.

There’s a joke amongst readers of color that many dystopian tales are tales of “what happened if white people experienced things that the rest of us have already been put through?” Think concepts like alien invasion and mass eradication of the existing population- you may think of that as an action flick, meanwhile peoples globally have suffered colonization for centuries. The Handmaid’s Tale- forced birthing and raising of “someone else’s” children, always subject to sexual harassment by the Master while subject to hate from the Mistress- that’s just being a Mammy.

There’s nothing wrong with having Black characters be violent or deal with violence, especially in a story where every character is going through shit. That is not the problem! What I am trying to tell you, though, is to be aware that certain violent imagery is going to evoke familiarity in Black viewers. And if I as a Black viewer see my very real traumas treated as entertainment fodder- or worse, dismissed- by the narrative and other viewers, I will probably not want to consume that piece of media anymore. I will also question the intentions and the beliefs of the people who treat said traumas so callously. Now, if that’s not something you care about, that’s on you! But for people who do care, it is something we need to make sure we are catching before we do it.

“So I just can’t write anything?!”

Stop that. There are plenty of examples of stories containing horror and violence with Black characters. There’s an entire genre of us telling our own stories, using the same violence as symbolism. I’m not telling you “no” (least not always). I’m telling you to take some consideration when you write the things that you do. There’s nothing wrong about writing your Black characters being violent or experiencing violence. But there is a difference between making it narratively relevant, and thoughtlessly using them as a “spook”, a stereotypical scary Black person, or a punching bag, especially in a way that may invoke certain trauma.

The Black Guy Dies First

The joke is that we never survive these horror movies because we either wouldn’t be there to begin with, or because we would make better decisions and the narrative can’t have that. But the reality is just that a lot of writers find Black characters- Black people- expendable in comparison to their white counterparts, and it shows. More of a “here, damn” sort of character, not worth investment and easy to shrug off. The book itself I haven’t read, just because it’s pretty new, but I’m looking forward to doing so. But from the summaries, it goes into horror media history and how Black characters have fared in these stories, as well as how that connects to the society those characters were written in. I.e., a thorough version of this lesson.

Instead, I wrote an entire list of questions you could possibly ask yourself involving violence or villainy involving a Black character. Feel free to print it and put it on your wall where you write if you have to! I cannot stress enough that asking yourself questions like these are good both for your creation and just… being less antiblack in general when you consume media.

Black Horror/Black Thriller

We, too, have turned our violent experiences into stories. I continue to highly suggest watching our films and reading our stories to see how we convey our fear, our terror, our violence and our pain. There are plenty of stories that work- Get Out, The Angry Black Girl and her Monster, Candyman, Lovecraft Country (the show) and Nanny are some examples. There’s even a blog by the co-writer of The Black Guy Dies First who runs BlackHorrorMovies where he reviews horror movies from throughout the decades.

Desiree Evans has a great essay, We Need Black Horror More Than Ever, that gets into why this genre is so creative and effective, that I think says what I have to say better than I could.

“Even before Peele, Black horror had a rich literary lineage going back to the folklore of Africa and its Diaspora. Stories of haints, witches, curses, and magic of all kinds can be found in the folktales collected by author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston and in the folktales retold by acclaimed children’s book author Virginia Hamilton. One of my earliest childhood literary memories is being entranced by Hamilton’s The House of Dies Drear and Patricia McKissack’s children’s book classic The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural, both examples of the ways Black authors have tapped into Black history along with our rich ghostlore.” “Black horror can be clever and subversive, allowing Black writers to move against racist tropes, to reconfigure who stands at the center of a story, and to shift the focus from the dominant narrative to that which is hidden, submerged. To ask: what happens when the group that was Othered, gets to tell their side of the story?”

For on the nose simplicity, I’m going to use hood classic Tales From The Hood (1994) as an example of how violence can be integrated into Black horror tales. Tales From The Hood is like… The Twilight Zone by Black people. Messages discussing issues in our community, done through a mystical twist. Free on Tubi! If you want to stop here before some spoilers, it’s an hour and a half. A great time!

In the first story, a Black political activist is murdered by the cops. The scene is reflective of the real-world efforts to discredit and even murder activists speaking out against police violence, as well as the types of things done to criminalize Black citizens for capture. The song Strange Fruit plays in the background, to drive the point home that this is a lynching.

The second story deals with a Black little boy experiencing abuse in the home, drawing a green monster to show his teacher why he’s covered in wounds and is lashing out at school.

The fourth story is about a gangbanger who undergoes “behavioral modification” to be released from prison early. Think of the classic scene from A Clockwork Orange. He must watch as imagery of the Klan and of happy whites lynching Black bodies (real-life pictures and video, mind you!) play into his mind alongside gang violence.

Isn’t Violence Stereotypical or antiblack?

That last story from Tales From The Hood leads into a good point. It can be! But it does not have to be! Violence is a human experience. By suggesting we don’t experience it or commit it, you would be denying everything I’ve just spoken about. We don’t have to be racist to write our Black characters in violent situations. We also don’t have to comprehend those situations through a racist lens.

Even experiences that seem “stereotypical” do not have to be comprehended that way. I get a LOT of questions about if something is stereotypical, and my response is always that it depends on the writing!!! You could give me a harmless prompt and it becomes the most racist story ever once you leave my inbox. But you could give me a “stereotypical” prompt and it be genuine writing.

Let’s take the movie Juice for example. Juice in my honest to God opinion becomes a thriller about halfway in. On its surface, Juice looks like bad Black boys shooting and cursing and doing things they aren’t supposed to be doing! Incredibly stereotypical- violent young thugs. You might think, “you shouldn’t write something like this- you’re telling everyone this is what your community is like”. First- there’s that respectability politics again! Just because something is not a “respectable” story does not mean it doesn’t need to be told!

But if we’re actually paying attention, what we’re looking at is four young boys dealing with their environment in different ways. All four of them originally stick together to feel power amongst their brotherhood as they all act tough and discover their own identities. They are not perfect, but they are still kids. In this environment, to be tough, to be strong, you do the things that they are doing. You run from cops, you steal from stores, you mess with all the girls and talk shit and wave weapons. That’s what makes you “big”. That’s what gives you the “juice”- and the “juice” can make you untouchable.

I want to focus particularly on Bishop, yes, played by Tupac. Bishop, the antagonist of Juice, is particularly powerless, angry, and scared of the world around him. He puts on a big front of bravado, yelling, cursing, and talking big because he’s tired of being afraid, and he doesn’t know how to deal with it otherwise. So when he gets access to a gun- to power- he quickly spirals out of control. His response to his fear is to wave around a tool that makes him feel stronger, that stops the things that scare him from scaring him.

Now, that is not a unique tale! That is a tale that any race could write about, particularly young white men with gun violence! If you ever cared for Fairuza Balk’s character in The Craft, it is a similar fall from grace. But because it is on a young, Black man in the hood, audiences are less likely to empathize with Bishop. And granted, Bishop is unhinged! But many a white character has been, and is not shoved into a stereotype that white people cannot escape from!

Now would I be comfortable if a nonblack person attempted to write a narrative like Juice? Yes, because I’d worry about the tendency to lose the messaging and just fall into stereotype outright. But it can be done! The story can be told!

“But if Black violence bad, why rap?”

The short answer:

“In order for me to write poetry that isn’t political, I must listen to the birds, and in order to hear the birds, the warplanes must be silent.”

Marwhan Makhoul, Palestinian Poet

First, rap is not “only violence and misogyny”. Step your understanding of the genre up; there are plenty of options outside of the mainstream that don’t discuss those things. Second, every genre of music has mainstream popular songs about vice and sin. The idea that Black rappers have to be held to a higher standard is yet another example of how we are seen as inherently bad and must prove ourselves good. We could speak about nothing but drugs and alcohol and 1) there would still be white artists who do the very same and 2) we would still deserve to be treated like humans.

That said, many- not all- rappers rap about violence for the same reason Billy Joel wrote We Didn’t Start the Fire, the same reason Homer first spoke The Iliad- because they have something to say about it! They stand in a long tradition of people using poetry and rhythm to tell stories. Rap is an art of storytelling!

Rap is often used as an expression of frustration and righteous anger against a system built to keep us trapped within it. I’m not allowed to be angry? Why wouldn’t I be angry? Anger is a protective emotion, often when one feels helpless. Young Black people also began to reclaim and glorify the violence they lived in within their music, to take pride in their survival and in their success in a world that otherwise wanted them to fail. If I think the world fights against me no matter what I do, I’d rather live in pride than in shame with a bent head. Is it right? Maybe, maybe not. But if you don’t want them to rap about violence, why not alleviate the things leading to the violence in their environment?

Whether you choose to listen to their words, because the delivery scares you- and trust, angry Black men scared the music industry and society- doesn’t make the story any less valid!

Conclusion

I am going to drop a classic by Slick Rick called Children’s Story. I think listening to it- and I mean genuinely listening- summarizes what I’ve said here about how Black creators can tell stories, even violent ones, and how even the delivery through Blackness can change how you perceive them. Please take the time to listen before continuing.

I’ve been alive for 28 years and have known this song my whole life, and it just hit me tonight: not once is the kid in this story identified as Black! My perception of this story was completely altered by my own experiences, who told the story, and how it was told.

That’s what I’m trying to tell you. You can tell stories of violence that involve Black characters. I love and adore a good hurt/comfort myself! But you need to be cognizant of your audience and how they’ll perceive the story you’re telling, and that includes the types of imagery you include. It’s not effective catharsis via hurt/comfort for the audience if your Black readers are being completely left out of the comfort. “I wrote this for myself” that’s cool, but… if you wrote racism for yourself, and you’re willing to admit that to yourself, that’s on you. I’d like to think that’s not your intention! You can write these stories of woe and pain without mistreating your Black characters- but that requires knowing and acknowledging when and how you’re doing that!

@afropiscesism makes a solid point in this post: our horror stories are not just fairytales full of amorphous boogiemen meant to teach lessons. Racial violence is very real, very alive, and we cannot act like the things we write can be dismissed outright as “oh well it’s not real”. Sure, those characters aren’t real. But the way you feel about Black bodies and violence is, and often it can slip into your writing as a pattern without you even realizing it. Be willing to get uncomfortable and check yourself on this as you write, as well as noticing it in other works!

If you’re constantly thinking “I would never do this”, you’ll never stop yourself when you inevitably do! If you know what violent imagery can be evoked, you can utilize it or avoid it altogether- but only if you’re willing to get honest about it. You might not intend to do any of this, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t change the pattern, because as always, it’s the thought that counts, but the action that delivers!

[rockrosethistle]

If there's one thing TGWDLM fans are gonna do, it's think about the implications. And the implications of the opening number are crazy.

So. We know that the show isn't completely chronological since the opening number takes place before the meteor hits. So that song is a sort of "flash forward" moment. But when you think about it, we don't really know how far in the future it takes place.

What we do know is that by the time it's happening, Emma is infected. She has a little solo in it singing about how Paul is pining over a barista

And we know that this is meant to be an infected Emma specifically. Lauren had other characters in the show, if they wanted to avoid the Emma implication they would've just dressed her as one of those.

So we know this is meant to be Emma.

And Emma isn't infected until the very end of the show. She's dragged off stage during the credits. So since she's infected in the opening number, we know the number takes place after the events of the show.

Another important detail is that Paul is infected before Emma. He's the one that passes it on to her.

So back to the opening number, Emma is infected. Which means by just following a simple timeline, Paul must also be infected. He should be singing and dancing, right?

But that's not what happens. Paul misses his entrance.

If Paul is infected, then there's no reason he should be missing his entrance. Furthermore, if he's a part of a hive mind, there's no reason other members of the same hive mind shouldn't know where he is. They are literally all connected by one brain, and yet both Mr. Davidson and Bill express they have no clue where he went.

What I'm saying is that Paul is not infected. He was infected (again, we know that because Emma is infected and he was infected before her) but now he's not anymore.

I'm saying there's a way out of the hive, and Paul found it. That's the only explanation that makes sense given the facts of the situation. Sometime after the events of tgwdlm, Paul is able not only to break out the hive mind, but to hide from it.

And if he broke out, others could do the same. Maybe even Emma.

Edit because a countertheory has emerged: Yes it's possible that everyone is infected the entire time and the show itself is just Pokey replaying the events for the fun of it. But it seems unlikely to me. First of all, each of the Lords in Black has a distinct personality. They all are evil, but within that they seems to fall somewhere on a spectrum of "silly billy" to "prick." For example, Tinky is more of a silly billy. He toys with humans without much of a motive and more for just shits and giggles. But in every instance, Pokey's more on the extreme side of prick.

He's one of the few with an actual motive behind what he does. In Yellowjacket, it's confirmed that Pokotho hates the sound of anyone's voice except for his own. The events of TGWDLM don't happen because Pokey is bored, they happen because he is executing a plan. So I don't think that he would just have them play out their little scenario just to entertain him, especially just one small island? I just feel like he'd be more focused on world domination.

If the theory is that all this is happening after Pokey's already taken over the whole world, no one was successful in stopping him, then yes it's plausible, but still weird. There are a strange amount of things in that show you just think an eldritch god wouldn't include.

Edit 2: New evidence has emerged???

The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals is loosely based off of Invasion of The Body Snatchers. Paul's last name is even a nod to the main character, Matthew. At the end of the film, Matthew survives, and continues living among the infected, pretending to be one of them. And wouldn't that be just such a fun little parallel...

Obviously it doesn't prove anything but the source material doesn't lie folks.

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

The Season 2 Poster Details

From top to bottom :)

This is a Buddy Holly song Everyday which was originally supposed to be the Good Omens theme :)

Neil talks about it in the Introduction to the Script Book: “In the scripts, Buddy Holly’s song ‘Every Day’ runs through the whole like a thread. It was something that Terry had suggested in 1991, and it was there in the edit. Our composer, David Arnold, created several different versions of ‘Every Day’ to run over the end credits. And then he sent us his Good Omens theme, and it was the Good Omens theme. Then Peter Anderson made the most remarkable animated opening credits to the Good Omens theme, and we realised that ‘Every Day’ didn’t really make any sense any longer, and, reluctantly, let it go. It’s here, though. You can hum it.”

And there is also the Buddy Holly Everyday record! :)

Book The Crow Road by Iain Banks. The novel describes Prentice McHoan's preoccupation with death, sex, his relationship with his father, unrequited love, sibling rivalry, a missing uncle, cars, alcohol and other intoxicants, and God, against the background of the Scottish landscape

Book Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad. An early and primary event in the story is the abandonment of a passenger ship in distress by its crew, including a young British seaman named Jim. He is publicly censured for this action and the novel follows his later attempts at coming to terms with himself and his past and seeking redemption and acceptance.

Important themes in Lord Jim include the consequences of a single, poor decision, the indifference of the universe, and the inability to know oneself or others.

There is book The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson. Its characters were based on criminals in the employ of real-life surgeon Robert Knox (1791–1862) around the time of the notorious Burke and Hare murders (1828). Neil said: Oddly enough, episode 3 will take us to a little stint of body snatching in the era.

There is Catch-22 book by Joseph Heller that coined the term Catch-22: situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules or limitations.

Is there only one hand or are there two? :) EIther 6 ;), or 6:30 :).

Through the window we can see the coffeeshop Give Me Coffe or Give Me Death where Nina works! :)

Azi is wearing his nifty glasses :).

Crowley is wearing his new glasses, they are RIGARDS X UMA WANG - THE STONE ECLIPSE (VINTAGE BLACK/BLACK STONES) - $435

There is the Holy Bible Aziraphale used in Season 1 :)

There seems to be a broken phone :).

The cakes behind Aziraphale are Eccles cakes :).

Azi is reading A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens published in 1859, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the Bastille in Paris, and his release to live in London with his daughter Lucie whom he had never met. The story is set against the conditions that led up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. 

Another book there is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Neil said said that we will learn a lot about Jane Austin we didn’t know before.

And finally the Treasure Island book by - again :) - Robert Louis Stevenson, an adventure novel with pirates.

There are three geckos cuties. Who are they? Pets? Is Ligur haunting the bookshop? Who knows :).

A mysterious pamphlet, 'The Resurrectionists’ leaflet. (unofficial spoiler :)).

Also there is an old camera... mmm 🤔 Did Azi made some photos (of what? Him and Crowley, ducks? :)) Will we see them? :)

Their positions is an homage to the book covers! :)(x)

Will update this as fandom discovers new things! :)❤

[nofomogirl]

We need to talk about body snatching

I'm not a massive fan of the 1827 minisode - if you're curious why it bothers me, I've explained it in my post about two GO canons - but there's no denying it does an amazing job at exploring the complexity of morality and moral choices. It starts with a very black-and-white two-dimensional image and gradually adds shading and perspective, making it harder and harder to judge as we go along.

I think it's worth digging into (pun not intended but I'll take it).

Layer 1: body snatching bad

We learn someone did something

It's those first few seconds where we see a person robbing a grave, and since we know that robbing graves is a crime and generally not a good thing to do, we can quickly form a tentative conclusion that this is wrong.

Okay, in this exact instance, we immediately get enough context clues to see that this kind of judgment would be oversimplistic and superficial. Only Aziraphale, who for some reason acts as if it was his first day on Earth after a thorough memory wipe, is ready to condemn Elspeth based on just that.

Nevertheless, this is the first layer - the deed itself with no context.

Layer 2: body snatching acceptable

We learn about the person who did the thing

That's the whole journey with the first dug-up body where we get to know Elspeth and become privy to her circumstances - she's desperately poor, she has another person depending on her, she robs graves to survive. Aziraphale's suggestions that she might earn her living by selling books, weaving or farming just serve to prove how inaccessible more honest and dignified professions are to her. In turn, her comment about how she's not hurting anybody who isn't already dead hints that from the realistically available options, Elspeth could have chosen something much worse.

Technically this layer is a significant step up from layer 1 but it still isn't really challenging. Things are spelt out really loud for us, and most importantly everything we learn about Elspeth is just attenuating circumstances. To top it off both she and Wee Morag are immediately endearing. The takeaway is that sometimes things that in theory are bad can be excused which is important but the verdict still comes without any second thoughts.

Layer 3: body snatching complicated

We learn the larger context around the thing

This mostly happens when Aziraphale and Crowley discuss body snatching with Mr Dalrymple. We learn that the stolen corpses are used for a medical study that can advance human knowledge and make it possible to save living people and that surgeons have no legal means to obtain enough of them for their research - hence their need to buy them from body snatchers.

At first glance it's just more of what we got in layer 2 - more agruments in favour of body snatching that aren't all that nuanced and don't really give us any pause - just from a larger perspective, beyond Elspeth's individual experience. But if you glance more than once you'll notice this is when things stop being straightforward and easy to judge.

The moment we enter a proper grey area is when Aziraphale asks why Mr Dalrymple doesn't acquire the bodies himself. This is a very valid question - while we might easily agree that studying the human body to further medical knowledge is a good thing, and with just the slightest hesitation admit that it's acceptable to resort to using stolen bodies if that is the only way the research may continue, it's not as easy to excuse taking advantage of the poor and the desperate to do the actual stealing that we know is very dangerous.

The moment we know without a doubt we are in a proper grey area is when Mr Dalrymple laughs at Aziraphale's concern.

Objectively, the surgeon is right that it's more effective if he doesn't risk his own life in the graveyard and uses his time on actual research, teaching students and saving lives. But it's also clear he doesn't exactly see people like Elspeth as actual human beings and feels he has every right to use them. On the one hand, he is paying, on the other, he happily benefits from the cruel class system and is not even one bit remorseful about it. On the one hand, he takes risks too, on the other he has a chance of rewards Elspeth will not benefit from. It's not the poorest whose lives will get bettered by the progress of medicine, even though they're the ones who pay with their lives for that progress. And if Mr Dalrymple gets lucky and is knighted for his work (we know he wasn't in the end but it was a possibility), the poor still won't be pardoned for stealing for him. Nevertheless, he has no issue with that.

As I said, things get nuanced.

Layer 4: it's different when it's someone you know

The thing actually happens in your life

I think you'll all agree that the turning point of the minisode is when Elspeth decides to sell Wee Morag's still warm body. This is what finally leaves us speechless.

That's because up until now we've been approaching the issue intellectually. It's not that we didn't care about the characters, but we were allowed to keep a safe distance. The whole thing was like a problem to be solved - "Is body snatching right or wrong? Discuss in 500-1000 words" - and everything we've learned so far was data for this assignment. I believe that one of the reasons why this detachment came naturally was that there was a very thick line between people involved in body snatching and the bodies that were being snatched. The former were, well, people, obviously. The latter were inanimate objects.

It isn't until Wee Morag is to be sold that we are forced to see a person in a dead body. This is also when real emotions enter the equation.

This shift forces us to question our judgment for the first time. It was easy to justify Elspeth when she was selling a nameless corpse. But the fact that she decided to sell her closest companion - and most likely lover - shocks us. Something inside us strongly objects to how quickly she makes the decision.

And then there's the transaction, and it is also different when it's someone we know. The fact that we knew Wee Morag fully exposes Mr Dalrymple for the heartless jerk that he is. The way he treats Elspeth is the absolute worst and if you haven't realized he was a hypocrite earlier, you should be disillusioned by now.

But at least Elspeth is not a hypocrite, right? It may seem cold that she sold Wee Morag but it just proves she simply believed it's all right to sell a dead body, doesn't it?

Well, about that...

Layer 5: it's different when it's you

You are forced to face the thing happening to you

This layer is reached when Elspeth plans her suicide and asks Aziraphale and Crowley to bury her "somewhere where no ghouls will ever dig her back up again".

It turns out Elspeth McKinnon really was a filthy liar.

Not long ago she was insisting that body snatching doesn't hurt anyone who isn't already dead, and asking why she should let Wee Morag rot in the ground when she starves. But she wants to make sure it doesn't happen to her own body. The idea that someone might dig her up terrifies her and she calls people who do it ghouls. So why was digging up other people okay again? Why should she rot in the ground while other people suffer? There were other people living in the street where she and Wee Morag hid. Why not ask Aziraphale to give the money to them? Or just anybody in need? Why not ask to sell her body as well and use the earnings the same way?

Also, if you look at it from a certain perspective, Elspeth betrayed Wee Morag in the worst possible way. Wee Morag believed that if someone's body gets cut, that person's soul cannot enter Heaven. Yet Elspeth sold her to Mr Dalrymple, claiming that Wee Morag would have wanted her to have the means to survive. Perhaps she was right. Perhaps Wee Morag would have made that sacrifice. But then Elspeth decided to kill herself and use the money she got for Wee Morag's body for her own funeral.

But does it make Elspeth wicked? Certainly not. She's simply torn by grief. I seriously doubt she's been planning to commit suicide when she was taking Wee Morag to Mr Dalrymple. She might have genuinely tried to carry on but the reality of what happened caught up to her. Mr Dalrymple's cruel words certainly didn't help her cope with a personal tragedy. I even suspect one of the reasons she sold her friend was that she had no idea what else to do with a dead body.

Does this excuse her actions? Kind of, but not really.

Elspeth was a tragic character, not an innocent lamb with a heart of gold.

The point is - can any of us really judge her?

Which, coincidentally, is a question that the original Good Omens book toyed with quite a lot.

If you've reached this far, thank you for reading!

[rimouskis]

Mike Lange on Sidney Crosby's contract extension:

“He's been one of the great ambassadors of the game in his ability to handle all situations, particularly off the ice or in the locker room. He welcomes anybody that wants to come in. He'll give them the time, in most cases, he remembers those people – and they're forever grateful, really. You don't understand how important that is to people around the league. He's a master at it, and he's really good. He's genuine, and that's a beautiful thing to have when you've got a player like that. He demands so much respect, and yet, he's not looking for that. He's just trying to be a good human. That, probably, is his greatest asset. He, to me, is the ultimate captain with his team, with his personality… I mean, he just has that innate ability to be able to meet somebody with humility. That's what really stands out to me with Sid. He came that way. He was packaged and ready to go from the start. If you remember the early games, he had to be the front-and-center guy. He stepped in as an 18-year-old and there he is, talking to all these people not only in English, but French, too. I don’t think other people remember that he knows French, coming from Rimouski. So, just a pretty special guy. I think it was the right city for him to come to. The culture was right. He kept the culture going, and I'm looking forward to more years from him. When you're ready to retire Sid, let us know. But we'll take you on one leg. We’ll take you on one leg for as long as you want to play. This city, you know how much it’s grown on him. You know, there's a movie called the Body Snatchers. They snatch people up, and they got me, and I think they got Sid, too. I think they got him too. My god, they got us [chuckles]. But we’re happy they did.”

via @PensInsideScoop on NHL.com

[reverie-starlight]

fluffy hawks drabble-turned-mini-fic because i love him. if you think the feather necklace trope is overused, this is probably not the place for you. also important to note: let’s say for the sake of my sanity that this takes place before seasons 5/6, okay? I know what's up in the manga, I'm just ignoring it to be happy :)

fem!reader, no physical descriptions aside from wearing dresses + enjoying it and reader could be perceived as chubby, but no explicit mentions of body type!! shopping for clothes is just hard and it’s briefly reflected on in this. lots of soft fluff. pet names (baby, sweetheart, pretty girl, etc) I just got a bunch of cute dresses and now I'm gonna make it hawks' problem. this is like. disgustingly soft and so incredibly self indulgent avert your eyes. please. very smiley and giggly. a bit suggestive at the end bc I have no self-control.

soft laughter and the sound of rustling sheets were the only noises heard in your shared bedroom that afternoon. surprisingly enough for both of you, keigo had finished his patrol early and caught you on the way up to your apartment. almost immediately after walking in and getting your shoes and coats off, he had grabbed you and sped off to your room, dropping you on the bed and launching an attack.

you were both so happy to have some extra time together that it boosted your energy immensely, resulting in a impromptu play fight. it wasn't very often that you got to be so playful anymore with things picking up for him at work. you were both still young, so when you got the chance to act like it, you definitely took it.

"keigo!" you shrieked as he pressed a slew of quick, light kisses over your face and down your neck. a ticklish sensation was left in their wake, even more so because of his facial hair. he just chuckled and rubbed his face against your skin to draw out more laughter. feathers flew around and brushed against your cheeks and other places he couldn't focus his attention on.

his arms were wrapped tightly around your waist to limit your movements, but you still squirmed around to try and get the upper hand. eventually, after a few more kisses to your chest and stomach, he loosened his grip to give you a fighting chance and you flipped on top of him, making sure not to hurt his wings, which ruffled in excitement.

"so what are you gonna do with me now, sweetheart?" he grinned up at you, eyes positively glowing with mirth.

you felt your own gaze go soft and cupped his face with your hands, rubbing your thumbs over the apples of his cheeks. "I dunno," you murmured, keeping your voice low in volume and sweet in its delivery.

your eyes wandered over his features, admiring him in the golden rays of sun coming from your window. "you're so pretty, keigo..."

he went a little red but smiled softly. "that's my line, angel," and then he leaned up to steal another kiss from you.

eventually you both settled down, laying in bed together and talking about your days. keigo told you about having to chase down a bank robber and some purse snatchers, and how a little old lady asked for help getting her cat down from a tree. you snickered at the thought.

the atmosphere turned serene as you both laid there. you were close enough that your breaths mixed and your foreheads touched, his hands absentmindedly running over your soft skin and the curves of your body. "so how was your day?" he whispered.

"it was okay. I had a shorter day at work, so I went shopping and I got some new clothes..." you sat up and walked over to where the bags were discarded before he tossed you on the bed. "want to see them?"

he whined a little when you walked away but quickly sat up as well, nodding his head at the second part. "I'd never pass up the chance to see you trying on clothes, baby, who exactly do you take me for?"

you smiled and shook your head fondly. "alright, alright. sit tight, I'll be back," you said and headed to the connecting bathroom, ignoring his grumbling about how you were depriving him of getting to see the best part.

and when you came back out, in a pretty little sundress, twirling so he could get the full effect, he stared at you in awe.

he knew from past shopping trips and many teary conversations with you that finding clothes you actually felt confident in could be… difficult. of course he thought you looked amazing in everything, and if he had it his way, he’d buy every single outfit you even glanced at, but there was just something so alluring about seeing you happy and proud in clothes you felt good in.

“such a pretty girl…” he murmured to no one in particular. it looked a bit like he was in a trance as he took in your figure. attempting to hold back a shy smile from forming at his words, you looked down at the ground to keep yourself from getting too flustered.

he grinned and held his hand out for you once your eyes met his again. taking it, he gently pulled you towards him to stand in between his legs and rested his chin on your sternum, not once breaking eye contact. his hands moved to toy with the hem of your dress.

“I mean it, you’re absolutely stunning. the prettiest girl I’ve ever laid eyes on... my pretty girl.”

you couldn’t hold back your smile this time and he adored the way your lips curled upwards, how your eyes flitted around the room, staring at anything but him, clearly affected by his words.

he sent a feather out to tilt your chin back towards him and he was suddenly reminded of something.

“ah right- I have something for you,” he dug something out of his pocket and proudly presented you with what looked like a thin brown faux leather string…

with a bright red feather attached to it.

you gasped and took the item into your hands, closely inspecting it. you treated it with the utmost care, as if it were your most prized possession. it very well might’ve been.

the string had a clasp at the back to make it easier to put on and remove, and it looped around the... stem? bone? (you made a mental note to clarify with keigo later) of the feather multiple times. it was secured with a thin silver wire to ensure it wouldn’t slip out before the rope continued on to the other end of the hook.

he actually had one of his feathers turned into a necklace for you.

“keigo, I… this is incredible, oh my goodness!” you beamed at him and leaned down to properly hug him.

he was incredibly perceptive. of course he knew that all those times you had jokingly asked him about keeping one of his feathers with you were actually silent requests. even if you’d never outright ask him, he could tell you longed to have a piece of him with you. especially when he had to wipe your tears before a long mission and you stared longingly at his wings. he took pride in the fact that you found comfort in them.

who was he to deny the love of his life? what’s one feather from his arsenal gone, anyway? it was going towards the cause of making you happy, and most importantly, there was the added bonus of keeping you safe.

“here, let me put it on for you,” he said, gesturing for you to sit on his lap and hand him the necklace.

you got settled and he happily clasped the ends of the string together at the back of your neck. the bottom of the feather rested just above the neckline of your dress and you touched it gingerly.

as soon as it rested against your skin, he took control of it and ran it across your cheek, making you giggle and pull away a bit.

“thank you, keigo, I love it.” you turned around on his lap to face him and pressed your lips against his.

he hummed into the kiss and pulled away with a sly smile. “of course, baby. besides,” he toyed with one of the straps on your shoulder. “it goes with your new dress, don’t you think?”

you put your arms around his shoulders, gently stroking the arches of his wings and nodded in agreement. he placed his hands on the tops of your thighs and gently squeezed. “wanna see if it goes with my other dresses, too?”

“oh, absolutely. but..." he shifted a bit and pulled you closer, so that you were fully pressed against him. "I don't think I've appreciated this one enough... what do you think?" he slowly trailed his eyes up from your legs to meet yours.

you tilted your neck forward to rest your forehead against his. "I think that you'll find some of the other things I bought more interesting than a sundress, keigo."

his sly smile turned into something more eager and you laughed when he dramatically flopped backwards on the bed with a groan. "you're too good for me, angel, seriously. what did I ever do to deserve you?"

you offered him a shrug and a tiny smile of your own. "exist."

his eyes widened a fraction and you could tell that your words deeply affected him from the way they welled up. he cleared his throat to cover up any emotion in his voice and sat up again to cup your cheek, murmuring "sweet girl, you'd better hurry up and try on those other dresses, because if you're not off my lap in three seconds, I'm gonna pounce, and we're not leaving this room 'til we're both spent."

butterflies erupted within you and he watched fondly as you gasped and ran off to keep your little fashion show up and running.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BONUS:

the following days after receiving his gift were... not surprising in the slightest.

you always knew when keigo was taking a break or in his office doing paperwork because he took every opportunity to bug you with his (your) feather.

every. single. one.

and you also knew before he even had the necklace made that if he were to ever give you one, this would likely happen. he was a menace, after all. part of his charm, he always said.

at first it was a bit embarrassing having to fight with a feather in front of your coworkers (who weren't aware you were dating a pro hero, so they probably thought you were some fangirl who bought faulty, cheap merch of his), but it very quickly became endearing.

cause yeah, if he knew you were going to be around people he'd make life difficult for you and then take all of your whines and complaints with a mischievous grin when he walked through the door, clearly lying when he said he'd take it down a notch.

but when he knew you were alone? or having a particularly stressful day? all you had to do was lightly tug on the necklace. upon your signal, he'd immediately take control of the feather and bring it up to caress your cheek, run along your neck or tap your nose.

honestly, you wouldn't have it any other way. you adored his playful side, and he knew he could get away with most things via feather necklace. even if it was only because you were too flustered to scold him for anything anymore by time he got back. complaints soon turned into requests for cuddles and wanting to return all the affection you received.

the feather necklace was a gift for you, sure, but it definitely benefitted him as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I edited this super quickly, so apologies if there's any mistakes! I'll find them eventually when I look back at this fic and end up contemplating my choices to post without properly editing :')

hope you enjoyed!! <3

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Just how scary are Voldemort and the Death Eaters exactly? Because when you look outside of it [the story] and sort of disconnect with it, they [V & the DE’s] seem sort of cartoony and unserious.

But if you really dig deep into it, and connect yourself with it, just how chilling and sinister are they?

Well, I tried to get a grasp on how much damage the Death Eaters actually caused in the books for my analysis of Voldemort. After all, he was giving them the orders (at least in the first war). So, I detailed the evidence for how many and who was killed in the two wars and the difference between them here.

As for how scary that makes them, honestly, the Death Eaters are probably scarier to me when they don't have Voldemort at the helm. As I explained in the post I linked, when Voldemort’s around and controls their movements, less people die. When Voldemort actually cares to be involved we don't get muggleborns randomly being rounded up. Voldemort is more strategic about waging war. He aims to harm only whoever he needs to harm. He isn't sadistic or cruel for no reason. If Voldemort orders something done (especially in the first war before he kinda gave up), there is a reason for it that runs deeper than: "I felt like it".

I mean, the majority of Death Eaters aren't incredibly competent, intelligent, or magically powerful. That's not the risk with them. The risk with them is their number combined with cruelty and lack of any form of control.

In book 7, we have Snatchers who get paid for bringing in witches and wizards who say Voldemort’s name, we got muggleborns being rounded up, Amycus and Alecto Carrow are at Hogwarts torturing children. In book 6, it's mentioned they destroyed a muggle bridge — all things that just didn't happen in the first war. They clearly act as terrorists and don't put too much effort into making the government now in their control actually competent for its people (even pure-bloods) but only good for those they like.

Basically, in terms of government, they just exasperated the shitty nepotism already there. In terms of actual acts of terrorism and battles, we don't see much, but we are led to believe more are happening than what we actually see on page. With characters mentioning repeatedly throughout the final two books how people are disappearing.

So, I don't know how I'd rate Death Eaters terror from 1 to 10, mostly because they really aren't that competent on an individual basis. But with Voldemort being off after the Elder Wand in books 6 and 7, you see how they lack control. They aren't competent because they don't care to be, they are just collectively lashing out and that makes them dangerous. It makes them as a group hard to predict and practically impossible to negotiate with.

With Voldemort, you can convince him not to kill you in certain circumstances, he can be convinced to show mercy (unless your name is Harry Potter), then he'd give the order and you'll be fine. Even if he kills you, you know it'll most likely be quick and painless (killing curse). The way we see it in book 7, you need to convince each new individual Death Eater to leave you alone, and even then there are no guarantees. The majority of them could promise you one thing and turn back on the promise in a heartbeat if they can gain even scraps from it. And they are more likely to torture and make it a humiliating experience.

They also don't share information with each other, like, barely at all. Each one of them is trying to climb up over the other Death Eaters, so without Voldemort coordinating between them, they're not working effectively as an organization. Voldemort practically made sure they wouldn't be effective as an organization. He encouraged exactly this kind of environment among them; not trusting each other, not knowing who everyone is, only sharing important information with him. And this works well for him for micromanaging them, not so much when he just leaves them for their own devices for months on end.

What we see them do in book 7 is a mess and if the Wizarding World's government wasn't a joke the Death Eaters would've failed to take over on their own and Voldemort wouldn't actually want to take over as he shows again and again he doesn't actually care for ruling.

Basically, the Death Eaters are dangerous because you have a group of bloodthirsty violent people with a superiority complex and nuclear weapons (wands). That's terrifying. Not because they are competent or effective in battle or government or anything, but because someone who isn't the brightest and has no self-control is not a person you want threatening your life.

(Obviously, some Death Eaters as individuals aren't like that. Snape is incredibly competent, the Malfoys aren't particularly bloodthirsty, etc, I'm talking about the average nameless/name-dropped Death Eater)

[fictionalsillies]

☠️ Introducing : me ☠️

( ⚠️ very important disclaimer : I’m not in a position where I can donate money , so please do keep this in mind when sending me asks !

Also my inbox might momentarily close from time to time , it will reopen as soon as I get the chance to reply to the asks I received to make sure I don’t leave any behind 👈 )

………………………………………🌼………….……………………………

Just realized that I didn’t even make a blog to introduce myself yet , so I finally decided to get it done at long last :,)👍

Please be sure to read this if you’d like to know more about me and this profile’s rules !

stimboard made by @charlies-crushes

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                            ⋆ ★ GENERAL INFO

You can call me Lotty , both she/her and they/them pronouns are fine with me and my hobbies include mostly drawing silly stuff related to my favorite fictional characters and my original characters/self inserts ( they kinda fall in the middle of these two categories , some are more similar to me than others but they’re all a way to insert myself in my favorite stories :]👍) ;

I’m a huge fan of anything animated , especially independent projects on YouTube like Monkey Wrench , Lackadaisy , Murder Drones , Atlas and the Stars , TADC eccetera :)

There’s also a variety of games I like , such as Hollow Knight , Night in the Woods , Ori and the Blind Forest and many more !

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                            ⋆ ★ F/Os and S/Is List

( this list can be subjected to changes and updates )

Jaw Bone ( Monkey Wrench ) —> Jade

-Status : current primary crush , will likely avoid to check out content related to other romantic ships with him ( to clarify , I’m never mad at anyone for liking the same character as me or for enjoying pairing him with someone else ! It’s merely a decision I made for my own emotional benefit :)👍)

Bea ( NITW ) —> Sarah

-Status : neutral sharing , I actually enjoy some ships with her and other canon characters like MeaBea

Godseeker ( Hollow Knight ) —> Lihm

-Status : neutral sharing

Baroness Von Bon Bon ( Cuphead ) —> Crème

-Status : neutral sharing

╰┈➤ Comfort Characters

Lucifer and Rosie ( Hazbin Hotel , also while I really like these two characters I don’t consider myself a supporter of Vivziepop )

Ori ( OATBF and OATWOTW )

Mordecai ( Lackadaisy )

Krobus ( Stardew Valley )

Perrito ( Puss In Boots TLW )

Monika ( DDLC )

Entrapta ( SPOP )

Double Trouble ( SPOP )

Raine ( The Owl House )

Marcy ( Amphibia )

Narrator ( The Stanely Parable )

Quirrel ( Hollow Knight )

Snatcher ( AHIT )

Commander Peepers ( WOY )

Bruno ( Encanto )

Elsa ( Frozen )

The Spot ( Spiderman ATSV )

Spiderman Noir ( Spiderman ITSV )

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  ⋆ ★ ART REQUESTS

- Current status : CLOSED , with an exception for my closer moots { I tend to get anxious about receiving too many requests and becoming too overwhelmed to draw them all : this has happened before in other occasions and it was a pretty stressful time for me , so that’s the only reason why I’m putting this limit 👍}

{ also I’m more likely to draw self shipping/oc x canon related ships related requests , it’s kinda my thing at this point ^^” }

{ oh - and I would prefer not receiving anything heavily nsfw ( though mildly suggestive elements are okay-ish , depends on what the request is about ) : I’m not able to draw that kind of thing anyway because of my less-than-great anatomy , so that’s a no-no :T }

╰┈➤ ART TRADES

-Current status : OPEN-ish { not always able to accept due to irl matters keeping me busy , it really depends on the time }

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                            ⋆ ★ RULES ( very important )

I’m not a fan of pro-shipping and all things related to it since it makes me pretty uncomfortable , so if you’re into that I’d rather have you block me and not interact with my profile , or the other way around . Also needless to say , but if you’re homophobic or racist in any way you definitely aren’t welcome here .

I get incredibly anxious when receiving private messages without warning , so please just ask me beforehand weather or not I’m down to chat either in my inbox or my blogs , or just say something other than just “hi” in the message ! Overall , private messages as a whole just make me nervous , I prefer not using them unless it’s absolutely necessary ( plus I almost never check them , so I’m not the best at keeping the conversation interesting … I’m the most awkward human on the planet when it comes to that stuff .-. )

I can find myself too busy to hang here at times , so if it takes me a while to respond it’s definitely not because I have something against you in any way : this isn’t an excuse , but I do also suffer from adhd , so it’s possible for me to forget about some stuff while struggling to focus on everything else … yeah ;C;

Some of my posts may include occasional swearing sometimes : I keep it to a minimum , but I thought it would be good to bring this up in case anyone is uncomfortable with it .

If by chance I ever happen to draw something mildly suggestive ( I’m never going to do anything fully NSFW tho !! ) , I’ll always be sure to put a warning at the start of the blog 👍

( also this profile’s theme might change from time to time based on which character I’m currently obsessing over ://] ❤️ )

[drconstellation]

Stocktaking in the Basement

Aziraphale's Edinburgh Journey: Part 3

Usually one would think of going through their memories as a learning experience as more of a "rummaging around in the attic" metaphor, since the brain, the keeper of memories, is in the highest part of our bodies. But one of S2's underlying themes is the looming Second Coming and the resurrection of the dead, so its underground that we need to head - to the basement.

Aziraphale does a great deal of "stocktaking in the basement" during his trip to Edinburgh. He recalls the encounter with the body-snatcher Elspeth and her companion wee Morag in 1827 on the way up, has his memory jolted by the statue of Gabriel to something more recent, then thinks about what happened in 1941 on the way back. We are largely going to deal with aspects of the 1827 minisode in this meta, and some possible implications for S3.

Lets have a look at why this year, 1827, was chosen for this minisode. The Anatomy Act of 1832 gave doctors and medical students legal permission to use donated bodies for research and educational purposes, and was made so to stop the distressing trade of body snatching that was occurring at the time. But this minisode isn't necessarily about stopping that activity, rather the reasons for doing it in the first place. Looking at Strong's Concordance, as we must, in the Greek, 1827 gives us "convince" or "prove to be in the wrong." This sounds about right for this minisode, which includes the conversation about poverty inducing more opportunities to be wicked, which somehow leads to holiness, from the book. The minisode shows how Aziraphale has this idea turned around for him - he's convinced otherwise, and shown how his initial beliefs about the practice turn out to be wrong.

Also, around 1827 is the time when the building of private mausoleums was at its peak. A mausoleum was (and still is) a display of wealth, so featuring one here plays into the story in the minisode of the virtues of poverty versus the rich. (It's also a call back to the origin of the Bentley's number plate, which was written on a mausoleum in a Monty Python sketch.)

Digging Up the Past

Shax does her own stocktaking when she receives the above push-back from Crowley, and realizes that Aziraphale is not in the bookshop at all at that moment, and goes looking for him. Later, she digs up his own dirty past to taunt him with, in an effort to make him crack and give up Gabriel.

But why is Aziraphale digging up this particular memory at this time? We know he is fond of Edinburgh and has visited many times, so this particular memory must contain something of importance for us to see.

There is the title of the minisode, some Masonic symbology and the metaphorical act of the snatched bodies as the dead rising from their graves which all point us in the direction of the Second Coming and Judgement Day, which we will cover in Part 4, so we'll put that to the side for the moment.

Changing Sides

Let's have a look at some of the blocking of the scenes in the Resurrectionists minisode. This wont cover everything, so if you do go back to have another look at it yourself, do pay close attention to who stands where.

When we first meet Crowley and Aziraphale in 1827, they are standing on what we think of as their "normal" sides, angel on the right and demon on the left. Elspeth, caught in the act of body snatching, is even further to the left, the real demon on the scene, which actually pushes Crowley back to the middle ground.

Straight afterwards, we see all three of them walking together through the streets of Edinburgh. Crowley is still in the middle, but now Elspeth is in the angel's position and Aziraphale on the far left as a demon, as they all discuss the virtues of poverty. Oh dear, Aziraphale, you're losing the argument here, and losing badly!

Inside Mr Dalrymple's rooms, Aziraphale decides to take matters into his own hands, where he thinks he is doing the right thing, and miracles the first body into soup. Elspeth is caught innocently in the middle of this, and Dalrymple is on the demonic left.

A conversation is had with Dalrymple following this. Crowley is hidden in the right-hand chair, Aziraphale, who needs to be swayed, is in the middle, and Dalrymple is still on the demonic left.

After heading back to the cemetery for another body, Crowley and Aziraphale inspect some of the protective measures set up to guard the graves. Crowley is still on the moral right, questioning if the rich are more worthy of being protected from body snatchers than the poor.

Despite changing his mind about body snatching, Aziraphale still ends up on the wrong side of the argument in the end. As a giant Crowley looks down on the two of them, its Aziraphale standing on the demonic left side as the virtues of poverty lose out once more.

Timely Lessons

Back to the fireside chat with Dalrymple. We have this heartfelt reaction from Aziraphale when he learns the preserved specimen he is holding came from a seven-year-old boy.

AZIRAPHALE: [takes the jar] Well, that's a foot. So it's definitely not a foot. [laughs] DALRYMPLE: That's my point. If you two smart gentlemen can't identify it, then what are my students to make of it? I removed this tumor from a seven-year-old boy. AZIRAPHALE: Oh. Oh dear. And… Is he…? DALRYMPLE: [shakes head] And that is why we need a steady supply of cadavers. We need to cut. If we can't cut, we can't learn. If we can't learn more, a lot more, then how on earth are we going to win the battle against monstrosities like this one? I'm just trying to save lives and teach students. I either end up with a knighthood or condemned as a resurrectionist and hanging from a rope.

This, I feel, is an important lesson for them, and it seems for Aziraphale in particular. Why? This part focuses more on his reaction to the tumor, rather than Crowley's, and when we focus on Aziraphale it has ramifications for the future.*

A physical problem is usually easily identified (such as the foot). But what if the problem is invisible, because its on the inside? How do you see into a body, find a problem and make it visible, if you have not been presented with this problem before? Or perhaps you know something is wrong, but don't know what to call it?

It doesn't even have to be physical, it can be a mental, or a psychological problem. One still has to learn how to "see" the problem, to identify what it is (such as a particular pattern of behaviour) and to know the best course of action to overcome it.

Crowley wishing for more murderers to facilitate Dalrymple's research is one thing, but not being able to save a 7 year-old boy...this is the theme of the death of innocent children we've seen repeated throughout the series (the Flood, Job's children, the aborted attempt on Adam, the Crucifixion, and the implications around Crowley's Fall, to name a few.)

This also plays into the "representation matters" theme from the end - you can't be what you can't see.

This is not a lesson about the fact that they care, because they do, but how they learn to see the real problem in the first place.** I'll be interested to see the matching scenes/parallels to this in S3.

The Two Dalrymples

It has not gone unremarked that there is a Dalrymple mentioned in S1 as well - Witchfinder Colonel Dalrymple, who made the fancy Thundergun that was taken to Tadfield to shoot the antichrist with.

Now we can talk about the connection between the two Dalrymples - they are both about removing "monstrosities" from humanity.

Take the line in the passage above: "If we can't learn more, a lot more, then how on earth are we going to win the battle against monstrosities like this one?"

As I've mentioned before, the root of the word monster is from the Latin for monstrum, "a divine omen (of misfortune)," but also monstrare, which means "to point out," which bring us back to this scene in S1, on the tarmac of the Tadfield Airbase:

Aziraphale took Witchfinder Colonel Dalrymple's Thundergun to remove the monstrosity that was Adam the antichrist to save humanity, and Mr Dalrymple the surgeon is trying to learn how to remove and save humanity from the monstrosity we know as cancer. I'm just making a spot now on my S3 bingo card for a third Dalrymple mention, that will no doubt have some connection to the removal of monsters and/or monstrosities from the world.

Balancing the Books

The final bit of stocktaking might just be the coldest part of the whole recall process.

When Aziraphale calls from the cemetery in Edinburgh, he mentions Dalrymple's fate to Crowley:

AZIRAPHALE: Oh, do you really think so? Um, Crowley… Do you remember Dr. Dalrymple, The one who bought, err… CROWLEY: Wee Morag's body. Not a doctor… A mister, yes! Yes, whatever happened to him? AZIRAPHALE: [reading pamphlet] He left Edinburgh in disgrace. And then he killed himself. CROWLEY: Mmm.

Mmm, indeed. They might have saved Elspeth from Hell to meet up with wee Morag again, but the count of souls was still balanced out in the end, with Dalrymple heading the other way. The last time we see him he is still on the demonic LHS of the screen in blocking as he pays for wee Morag's body. Hell had him marked well in advance of his demise.

Time to move on to Part 4: Judgment Day, where we look at all the signs that the End Times are approaching. Again.

Thanks to @vidavalor for the thematic inspiration for this post.

For further reading:

You Say Potato, I Say Excellent! Or blocking, accents and legacy of morality tales in ‘The Resurrectionists’ minisode PART II by @pommedepersephone

The linked post at the beginning Historical Analysis: class and injustice in 'The Ressurrectionists' minisode by @bowtiepastabitch is here.

An intro to Elspeth and wee Morag being parallel characters to Aziraphale and Crowley by @good-soupmens I'm going to follow up on this in Part 5.

*I explained in Part 2 that I believe we are being shown the future through Aziraphale and his parallel characters, Beelzebub and Maggie. Another reason for this is that in S1 is that Anathema is one of his parallels, and she is also caught up with living in the future through the prophecies of Agnes Nutter. In contrast, Crowley's story, and that of his parallels, such as Gabriel and Newt, are about the past and trying to live the life you want that isn't bound by expectations. Urrgghh, I can see I might have to expand on this somewhere later.

**Crowley, with most of his story in the past, shows us an example of this with his "looking where the furniture isn't" comment.

The other posts in this series can be found here:

Part 1: Detective Aziraphale Part 2: Aziraphale-Beelzebub Parallels Part 4: Judgement Day Part 5: I Know Where I'm Going

[luxury-nightmare]

mom says it’s my turn in the writing

The first time it had happened, they had gotten lucky.

Alex was exhausted from a long day of work at the asylum, voice sore, legs even more so, and they were ready to just throw on a shitty horror movie and turn off their brain for a while. 

It had been a minute since they had went shopping, so they didn’t have much in the pantry. They pulled out their bread, they only had one of the good pieces of bread, so they had to make do with the weird end pieces. They threw some jam and peanut butter (not even the good kind of peanut butter, the cheap kind), and cut the sandwich diagonally. 

They were about to take a bite when they heard a rustling outside. They rolled their eyes, some wildlife was probably digging through their trash. They grabbed a broom and marched outside. 

The autumn air hit their face, leaves coating their yard in oranges and reds. They moved towards the sound, broom in hand and extremely annoyed, but something felt, off. They couldn’t quite put their finger on it. The colors were too vibrate, every sound was muffled in some way, and every hair on their body stood straight up. 

The symptoms snapped into place, and they finally put their finger on what felt off. 

Illusions.

Veldigun illusions.

They snapped around, and were met with a flash of orange stripes and yellow eyes

Do not trust anyone you see wearing this costume 

In a flash, everything went back to normal, and the wind came rushing back in, but Alex was already running. They sprinted away, into the house, through the kitchen, up the stairs and into the bedroom, locking their door behind them. 

They were dead, they were so dead. They’d be absorbed by that thing and left a babbling husk. Their breath quickened as they waited for a black claw to burst through the door and devour them whole.

But nothing happened.

Breathless seconds passed into moments, then minutes, and as the minutes ticked on, Alex grew more confused. 

Then, they decided to to bite the bullet, and made a decision that would probably get them killed. 

They grabbed the broom and opened the door. 

Nobody was there. 

The cautiously crept down the stairs, broom in hand, waiting for an ambush, but nothing happened. They turned the corner into the kitchen, but again, no velidgun. The Eastridge Demon had vanished without its prey. 

Alex scanned the kitchen, certain they missed something important, but nothing. 

The only thing missing was their sandwich. Why in hell the Smiling Snatcher would decide a sandwich was an acceptable trade when they were certain they were It’s dinner, they would never know. 

As they turned in caution, not entirely certain the danger was gone, a shock of ink-black goop stained their walls. Alex’s heart leaped into their throat, only to see they crudely spelled out words. 

“Thanks for the sandwich” it said.

————————————

The first time it had happened, it had gotten lazy.

It had been stalking asylum employees since its little snack on Halloween. It had figured out pretty quickly Winfrey had been taken after it woke up from hibernation, and needless to say it was pissed. The asylum was the closest thing it had to a lead. They seemed to know a lot about velidgun, and they had taken that police officer it had attacked.

The human it was hunting worked at the asylum, unimportant enough to be unnoticed by the higher ups when they went missing, curious enough to maybe have some info on where Winfrey is. Clyde had done it homework. The perfect mark.

Despite how one little voice protested against it.

Lewis was apparently the human’s brother, and their connection to him was the reason why the Human had their job at the asylum in the first place. They needed to be kept quiet in Lankmann’s eyes, but had enough information to be an asset.

Lewis would not be quiet once Clyde had settled on its target, screaming and screaming no matter how deep Clyde tried to bury him.

(Never for long. It would never bury a friend for long)

It reassured Lewis that he would be seeing his sibling very soon.

It had stalked its prey for days, then finally made its move. It confused them with illusions first, they always tasted better when they’re scared, but somehow the human saw through its little trick and started running. Clyde was fine with that, it loved a good game of hide and seek.

It ran into the house, chasing after its prey. But as soon as it stepped into the house, Lewis’s memories hit it like a fright train

Helping with homework

Braiding Alex’s hair

Finally learning what happened to their parents

Memory after memory hit the veldigun and it was to much to much make it Stop!

Clyde stumbled back. Fine. Fine. Fine. If Lewis would shut up, it wouldn’t absorb the human, they would go hungry for the night. Six itself it couldn’t understand humans sometimes.

Why Lewis would want to stay separate from his sibling, it could not understand.

Its stomach growled as it moved for the exit in defeat, before something caught its eye. A sandwich, just left unattended on the table. Huh. It could just take that, kill two birds with one stone as humans say.

It snatched the sandwich off the table and took a bite. The peanut butter stuck to the roof of its mouth. It took another bite. Honestly it wasn’t half bad.

Before it left it thanked Alex for the sandwich, as they always taught Lewis to.

It could always come back for the human later.

They got to live for now.

————————————

The second time it had happened, it had been an act of kindness.

It had been almost a week since their first run in with the Eastridge demon, and they were still stunned and confused about what happened. They were not certain whether what happened that day was an act of kindness or part of a twisted game, but Alex was grateful for their life.

So when they saw that familiar orange striped costume stalking outside their window, they were sure whatever time they borrowed was up.

They took another peak out the window, their heart pounding in their ears, but the velidgun just seemed to be curled up, not hunting. Why was it out in the open? It looked so….

Sad.

Alex made another stupid decision. They didn’t know why they felt so sorry for the thing that had killed their brother or absorb his mind or soul or whatever, but something possessed them that couldn’t be ignored as they left that second sandwich outside their door.

And the black claw marks spelling out “thank you” the next day next to an empty plate told them they were right.

————————————

The second time it had happened, it had been an act of mercy

They had been practically starving for nearly a week now, any human that could be prey wasn’t out long enough for Clyde to succeed. Was this the asylum’s game plan, starve it out until it was weak enough to be dragged into whatever box they locked up its partner in?

It loathed to admit it was working.

It had somehow ended up outside of that human’s house again. This was it’s karma for letting them live, it should’ve absorbed them when it got the chance. It somehow made its way to their front door, only to find a second sandwich out on the step.

It was a different sandwich from last time, but Clyde couldn’t remember what it tasted like as it scarfed it down. It’s hunger somewhat satiated, it was left to ponder why in Six’s name the human would be stupid enough to take that chance.

But as it scratched out a message to said human, it couldn’t help but think it was glad they did.

————————————

The third time, it had been a surprise 

Alex wasn’t certain when leaving sandwiches out for the Eastridge demon had become a regular thing, but it kept them off the menu, so they kept at it, even if it was a bit of a hit to their wallet. It didn’t matter, the asylum payed well enough anyway.

For a veldigun, the Smiling Snatcher was very polite, leaving little thank you messages after every snack. Alex wasn’t sure where it had learned this from, but they were grateful nonetheless.

This little song and dance continued for a couple weeks

That was until said demon showed up at their house

Alex stumbled back in fright as it saw the silhouette perched on their window, the broken glass around the floor told them it had been shattered while they were at work. Yellow eyes glared down at them hungrily, and Alex knew their time was up.

“Sandwich”

Alex blinked a couple times in confusion

“Sandwich human,” it paused “please”. It’s voice was overlapping and slightly distorted, like six different people were trying to talk through some kind of broken speaker.

Alex was utterly confused. But for some reason, they turned around and went to do it.

“What kind?”

“Peanut butter and jelly”

Alex had finished making the sandwich. They turned around and handed it to the velidgun, careful not to make any skin contact least their bones fuse with their flesh. The Veldigun took the sandwich and took a bite, chewing contently.

“Why are you here?” Alex asked in a shaking voice

“I wanted a sandwich” the Eastridge demon responded bluntly. “Yes but, why?” Alex asked again “and why are you not, y’know” they gestured in between themself and the creature across from them.

The velidgun paused, and Alex heart stopped. Oh god they had fucked up, they had gone too far.

“You were nice to me, you gave me sandwiches” the Velidgun responded, before continuing with said sandwich.

Alex was still left utterly confused, but fine. It could be worse. They would figure this out from here.

“Hey uh, do you have a name?” Alex asked the demon

”Clyde” it responded.

“Mines Alex” they replied

Maybe this could be alright

. . .

Dear god the asylum would hunt them down for this

————————————

The third time, it had become a habit.

It had become far too comfortable with the human’s little handout, snacking on them whenever it couldn’t find a proper meal. The human had helped them out for a while, so it felt it was time to introduce itself.

Honestly, humans stuff was so easy to break, just a bit of elbow grease and it was in. The human looked so scared, it was almost amusing.

A bit of a conversation later, and the demon was at the human’s dinner table, sandwich in hand. “Why are you here?” The human asked. Clyde could feel the fear in their voice.

“I wanted a sandwich” it replied. “Yes but, why?” the human asked again “and why are you not, y’know” they gestured in between themself and it.

Clyde paused. Why was it letting this human live? Sure, Lewis would protest, but he’d get over it eventually. Maybe it was because Alex had to know something about Winfrey, they reeked of the asylum, and that place had “Winfrey is locked up here!” written all over it, but whatever they knew Clyde could just take by force.

Maybe it was because it saw a bit of itself in Alex, they both had lost someone important to them, and the other had something to do with it. Maybe Clyde was just desperate for a bit of kindness after-

“You were nice to me, you gave me sandwiches” that could work for now.

The human fiddled around a bit, looking slightly uncomfortable, but their expression eventually settled to a more relaxed one.

“Hey uh, do you have a name?” the human asked Clyde

”Clyde” it responded.

“Mines Alex” they replied

Maybe the sandwich human could stick around for a bit. . . .

Six it sounded like Simon

[hijinxinprogress]

YouTuber!Stephanie

Stephanie has a youtube channel (she 100% gives it a name like gotham_after_dark or bat_interpreter) where she follows Batman and mocks him, she definitely also makes content on tiktok and instagram

She’s recording fights with rogues and him interrogating questioning people and doing voice overs in a goofiest growl she can for batman but she also does voices for everyone else (it gets to the point where penguin puts a hit out and is actively trying to expose the youtubers identity bc steph does this terrible whiny british accent when she’s imitating penguin)

She starts her channel right after Bruce fires her from Robin and still does it to this day

Bc if she’s gonna get shit for not being Tim might as well go all the way right?? She’s just doing the opposite of what Tim’s doing or outright copying him depending on which would annoy them the most

Stephanie records batman dangling some guy off a roof for the 37th time this week while going “You said the cheese on the nachos at your restaurant was imported directly from Italy but I saw you…THIS CHEESE IS FROM A GROCERY STORE…in GOTHAM… do you know what batman does to liars??”

Batman’s chasing the joker? Again? Here comes Stephanie with her fucking camera “Joker baby, you know that fight with Cobblepot meant nothing to me” “You know what, Bats? Fight whoever you want!” “Why are you going to Cobblepot’s lair with a grenade launcher? Baby…?” “Well, if the wellbeing of fucking Oswald is sooo important to you, you fucking cheater ☹️ I’m gonna kill him” “HUH” Stephanie’s joker voice is pretty good but she stops when Jason follows her channel after admitting he watches it (however Damian gives zero fucks and edits in his scarily accurate joker impression and will break into Jason’s apartment at random to do his joker impression)

Stephanie’s Duke impression is just her making puns in a bad robot voice and Duke hates it sm bc she’s saying shit like “Don’t signal for backup bc I’m already Signal-ing this ass whooping” “The yellow is the Signal for you to run” “Hey hey hey, night time is when you do this stupid shit rn is Signal Time” “The sun is my Signal to be vigilant-y” “Setting off that alarm should’ve been enough of a Signal for you stop” (Dick made tshirts and Duke refuses to talk to him when he wears them)

You legally have to be a level 79 hater to be a vigilante in gotham so most of Steph’s videos esp after Bruce has pissed her off are just her shitting on batman in a terrible growl “Damn, I’m getting too old for this…my knees hurt so much” “Nightwing thinks he’s funny, asking me if I remember the dust bowl…mf I remember the fucking big bang” “I’m so good at this, I don’t think anyone knows I’m a vampire” “Bruce Wayne owns gotham general and can’t cure Alzheimer’s?? I hate that asshole, I don’t even remember where tf I’m going” “I wanted to be Spider-Man and now I’m this” “Ooh, I’m Batman and I hate fun, happiness, and joy” “Don’t do crime, be like me…perpetually bitchless and breaking kneecaps” “Some people need coffee for a pick me up but I just need to see a purse snatcher piss their pants” “I don’t actually meld into the shadows, I just have Apple Maps and it takes me the long way”

Batman’s fighting or arguing with black mask?  Stephanie has been waiting for this moment so every video with black mask is just her making fun of black mask to the point where there’s barely any batman slander “My real names fucking Roman so I had to go all out with this stupid ass costume…I’m not even a real gothamite, I’m from metropolis” “Sionis…I don’t care… you blew up thirteen hostages” “ITS NOT MY FAULT, OKAY?! Did you know you’re supposed to wash masks? Especially if you wear the same one everyday? Bc I fucking didn’t” “…Sionis…” “THERES MOLD ON MY FACE and this mask smells like ASS” “Everyone knows that, you moron…How do you think I found you? I can smell your stench from damn near two miles away…” “I’m like scary though right??” “No, Sionis, you just have poor hygiene…and issues” “Dammit, I’m like a dollar tree version of two face” “Not quite, what’s lower than that? Dollar tree is too good for you…don’t tell joker but Harvey’s way-”

Stephanie has a two hour video of batman grappling across Gotham just shitting on metropolis and sixty seven minutes of it is just Superman slander in a terrible growl

There’s short clips of cass suddenly disappearing or appearing out of nowhere before and after dismantling someone with the michael myers theme playing in the background (Cass does dramatic flips and landings every time steph records her)

When Bruce complains about the threat to their identities and compromising ongoing missions/investigations, Stephanie (who is purposely trying to piss him off) just looks him dead in eye and goes “Well, you’re not the boss of me sooo” so Tim gives a presentation and shuts down every single argument Bruce makes just to be contrary bc he’s a fucking asshole

Tim only has a problem with it when Stephanie and Damian start working together bc Damian  does concerningly accurate impressions and Damian keeps making Tim sound like a fucking idiot and it’s worse bc he can mimic his speech patterns (“I can’t do this anymore… I’m sad and pasty… Call the fifth robin, you know…the only competent robin…”) 

Like Damian’s repeating one of Tim’s caffeine concoction induced rants about bagels in Tim’s voice while Steph is growling at him to focus in her batman impression

When Tim brings his complaints to Bruce about Stephanie’s youtube account, Bruce cites Tim’s own argument back to him so Tim takes over editing and recording to be an asshole

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hello again! First I just want to say a big thank you to you and @virginiaisforvampires and @cbrownjc for answering my really long DM ask awhile ago! <3

I’m again going to presume that during the first four episodes Daniel will keep having flashbacks causing him to realise that there is more to the fallout of the 70’s interview than he might at first suspect. He will probably remember Armand’s ‘Gentleman Death’ speech, which might cause him to fear Armand. Resulting in the new character telling him he should fear ‘the other one’ (presumably Louis) instead.

I’m really curious about the, “You fear Armand. You should fear the other one”, does this character know of Armand’s concern and/or history with Daniel? Might one assume that the character knows about Louis attacking Daniel, and possibly is more acutely aware (than Daniel) of the destructive nature Louis actually carries fairly close to the surface (Paris fallout comes to mind). So the words could simply be a warning to Daniel, who possibly at this point is quite relaxed with Louis but nervous of Armand. If this new character is basically a ‘body-snatcher’ looking to gain access to an immortal vampiric body - are they playing the long-con by befriending Daniel to gain access? Could I be on to something here? I agree and remember that Louis and Daniel will team up during this season, so I’m assuming Louis won’t attack him again - but is there anything that Daniel should fear during this season? Is there a threat?

I saw the interview, talking about next season but I’m not as optimistic as some that the relationship/romance referred to was meant to be DM/Daniel’s and Armand’s. In context of the whole interview it sounds more like it’s talking about Louis’ and Armand’s relationship. If DM stuff is revealed or takes place in Dubai I’m pretty sure it’s a secret that they wouldn’t talk about in interviews. I mean - it’s a pretty great twist, and it makes so much sense to me that a lot of the writers apparently are stage writers. Love it! I really want to see DM take place and the memory-erased dynamic play out that the TV series has set up, but I am worried that I’m getting carried away and what we get might be much more minimal - and that fans will hype and then get disappointed.

The idea of Armand and Daniel bickering/fighting during the interviews for the season to then end up revealing to Daniel that *surprise* this guy who has been annoying you, has revealed himself to sure be romantic but also scary controlling and is someone you’ve rightly started to fear is the love of your life - is pretty darkly comic in the best of ways! I would freaking love it. What do you think? I’m pretty much all in for f*cked up relationship dynamics, since the characters are all fun and interesting. I’m very invested in Louis’ and Armand’s romance too, looking forward to it playing out and I like hearing that the show decided to be more romantic with it! Freaking love all the actors - and I’m so happy to watch a TV series which is actually creative and compelling!

Is there anything related to DM you would wish to see play out this season? Sorry for long ask again! Less questions this time at least haha (sorry!). Again, love visiting your blog and reading all the speculation! Thank you!

:) Hey!

Yes, the "you should fear the other one" IS incredible interesting.

I mean, there is this canon passivity to Louis, a passivity that is almost a chosen trait, because when he snaps... he snaps. (I still hope we will get the "passivity speech" in s2, I think it is such an important one, and Jacob would just rule).

But... trailers are meant to entice, to hint, but also to misdirect. Sam said in the q&a video that there would be other vampires in s2 as well. I... I am not 100% convinced that comment in the restaurant was wrt Louis.

That does not mean that Louis is not to be feared!! I just... this could be a red herring. Who knows, maybe it has to do with the twist.

(What if (speculating!!) Daniel then turns to whoever Justin Kirk is there and goes: "what other?" Why is that "other" vampire not named? Why does the Justin Kirk character know Armand at all? Why does he know about the vampires in that apartment??? (And yes, he could be already be so interested in it all because the idea for the body theft is forming!) Why does he know Daniel might be in danger from that other vampire? You know?^^)

So. It could be Louis' carefully hidden destructive tendencies. Maybe. (Which, btw, Armand used skillfully in Paris, I mean, he literally orchestrated it all for Louis to destroy the coven, a win-win situation for him, lol.)

But I'm not convinced that is what Daniel should fear. Would fear. If modern day Daniel fears anything, then I think that has to do with something he remembers. The cage comes to mind, for example. The hunt.

Rolin's latest comment re Dubai does come to mind... as much as I think that Louis and Armand do actively love each other (including physically and I really hope they enjoy(ed) themselves!), but... I cannot see Louis go and have "fun" in interview-time-Dubai. I mean, the interview is happening over a few days real-time. Can you see Louis, the Louis growing more and more upset, depressed and crying and wanting to remember feel like having sex? For example? I think we might see Loumand sex scenes in the past, but in Dubai??? I'm... not sure.

And so... that leaves us with Devil's Minion. I'm not sure how much of the past of it will be revealed, but... I think there's a higher chance for sexy times in Dubai for them than for Loumand. For setup reasons 🤷🏽‍♀️

I also think that the relationship dynamics will be as messed up as they can possibly make them. While I expect Loumand to be extremely tender (I believe Assad called it that), I do think that Jacob's comment that Louis's time at the "murder mansion" was "one of the happy times" for Louis and that statement of "same shit, different vampire" needs to be factored in as well. We're talking about Armand after all :) Given the show likes to put its fingers into wounds I believe that will be a creeping realization... a slow, uncomfortable feeling (in contrast to the more open problematic things Loustat displayed). There is a "controlled" aspect to Loumand, because it was orchestrated (in Paris).

Devil's Minion... DM is about obsession, and almost helpless love. There will be tenderness as well, but also very high, messy emotions. It's not planned, it's not exactly healthy either, it's not (yet) with a happy ending.

As per what I would like to see in it...

I'm not sure. I want them to go full-in, in whatever aspects they choose to give us this season. The cage I would love to see, also as an echo to Lestat being tortured, maybe.

This season is about painful, uncomfortable realizations and repercussions of previous actions.

That goes for them all - and so what I hope for is what we'll get I bet :)) (At least nothing of the trailers, interviews or BTS pix has given me reason to believe otherwise^^)

Hannah Moscovitch said this season would destroy us, and I believe her... and I want that, badly :)))

[nocuref0rme]

rip snatcher you would've loved oogie boogie from the nightmare before christmas anyways write a fanfic of him carving pumpkins with the reader plsplspls no specifications i wanna see him carve pumpkins

it’s still September how could you!!!!

Snatcher x Reader

At first, Snatcher thought the whole idea was stupid. When you showed him what a carved pumpkin is supposed to look like, he thought it was supposed to be mocking him. You had to reassure him that carving pumpkins wasn’t to make fun of his silly Jack-o’-lantern face.

“What do you mean, of course it’s- …really? THAT’S the whole point? Fine! If it’ll get you to quit asking!

He liked the idea of getting to stab things and make things look spooky, considering the fact that being scary is one of the main aspects of his forest. He didn’t want to admit that he was enjoying it, but you’d notice that his grin was a little wider when he was cutting out one of the eyes.

“What, no! Of course I’m not enjoying this, I’ve got more important things to do. I’m just getting this out of the way.”

When you were done, you put your pumpkins in front of his armchair, and he wasn’t bothered by it. Until they started to rot, then he probably told you to deal with it, because the only thing he could think of was throwing them at Vanessa’s house.

“Here, come get these before they get chucked at that old hag’s window. HAHAHA!”

[rraaarr]

Aziraphale, Crowley, The Cold War and Other Possible Lenses

First, I just want to say that there Is NO Wrong way to interpret literature and this post is not meant to invalidate anyone's interpretations. But I want to talk about the final 15 from a different perspective. Again, not saying other interpretations aren't there or valid or baked into the show, just that I want to see what we discover when we look through another lens. And the lens I wanna look through is what I personally think is the lens the Book was actually written through. Now, I know there are a lot of differences from book to tv (for example, how much Crowley is invested in duck health)

But in the book,it's relatively clear that one major interpretation is that it's an Allegory for The Cold War (Two sides that go to war and don't care about the casualties of who gets caught in the middle,as long as their side wins) The First thing when Armageddon goes down that both Azi and Crowley try to get out of trouble is they Both ask each other if they can defect to their side. It is important to note this is Not in the TV show, but I do believe (correct me if I'm wrong) it's in the script book. (The scene in the book takes place in The Bentley I believe)

This is important for Azi's ask at the end of S2. We Know that whatever the convo with Metatron was, Azi could tell Something was up. He doesn't know it's specifically the second coming, but he knows it's Something. Remember, at the end of S1, Crowley says they bought themselves breathing room for "the big one". And Azi is probably pretty sure that this project Metatron is talking about is exactly that. Keeping in mind the first move both Book Azi and Crowley make in the ApocaNot is to try and defect, it makes sense, from that lens, that Azi would Jump at the chance to offer Crowley the safety of defection. Keep in mind, In -The S1 scene at the Globe -The WWII magic show scene And -The Victorian Body snatcher scene Azi isn't worried for what Heaven will do to Crowley, but what Hell will. Afterall, it's Hell that collects or threatens to collect Crowley in the flashbacks, and it's Hell Azi is concerned will destroy Crowley "If hell finds out, they won't just be angry, they'll destroy you", Aziraphale says. He's worried about what Hell will do to Crowley, not Heaven. (well that and holy water)

So, given that background, it stands to reason that Azi feels he and Crowley are Safer with Heaven than Hell. Yes, Heaven tried to kill Azi, but that was once. Afterall, Hell doesn't write "rude notes".

And look, we don't know what exactly Azi goes through with Heaven,but a lot of Heaven's ab*se seems to happen from Azi's superiors, but if he's Surpreme Archangel, Azi will be the superior and in a high enough position to Protect Crowley, or at least I imagine that's Azi's rationale. So, again, it stands to reason that 1) Azi would assume they'd both be physically safer in Heaven and 2) That Crowley wouldn't take it personally,as, per the book, they've Asked to defect to Heaven before. Now, to be fair, this is Book Canon, not TV Show canon. So, let's discuss (briefly, because this could be another post) Aziraphale and Crowley's view of Angel/Demon as identity, or at least what AZI would know of it. Azi doesn't hear Crowley discuss being a demon very often other than to

1) tell Azi that they didn't mean to fall or some variation

or

2) Tell Azi that they're a demon, and, thus, they're not nice (an assertation that is usually, immediately, proven Wrong, ala the Job episode, but we see it elsewhere as well)

And, based on that, I also think another lens we can look at Azi's offer is one of a Restoration, The Righting of an Injustice. Hell and being a demon is an allegory for a kind of criminal punishment. Crowley was kicked out because he was "bad", this was unfair, and now, the error or the judgement is being recognized and fixed. This is obviously a VERY LOADED concept, but it is very possible Aziraphale views this offer as Righting a Wrong, Correcting an Injustice that was Done TO Crowley. I'm not saying these are definitive lenses to look through, just alternate ones that can help us understand what Azi is thinking when he offers Crowley to be an Angel.

[aletterinthenameofsanity]

"Ask me anything" huh? Can I ask you to rant about stuff you love about Doctor Who for a handful of paragraphs, with the additional requirement that you cannot use correct grammar NOR can your statements be fully coherent?

Doctor Who is like 50% fun nonsense and I think commentaries on it should reflect that. No elaborate and precise statements, just pure joy unhindered by foolish concepts such as "making perfect sense".

I was waiting until I was close to going to bed to answer this because this really needs my half-asleep brain to answer properly. (Or improperly, in this case.) Now, onto as grammatically improperly as I can make this (hopefully I pulled this off. like to think I did!):

you know what i love about doctor who? i love that this show covers every single genre in the universe. that it is horror and comedy and historical fiction and sci fi and alternate history and dystopian and myths and steampunk and biopunk and murder mystery and western and fairytale because genre doesn't apply, because the doctor is a mad man in a box telling the story, except that they're not, the doctor's not the one telling the story, because this is really a story about the companions of the doctor, the people who are reflections of them, the people who become the doctor, the people who were doctors all along, the people who were kind and brave and traumatized and curious and above all, wanted to see the stars, because this is a story about the stars, about the grand expanse of space and time, about everything that ever was and ever will be, but the thing is, the mechanics of the show and how seasons are shot and that no actor can ever stay young forever, because the show is made with real people, everyone has to move on, and that's the beauty of it, isn't it? that people have to move on.

writers and actors always have to move on but with doctor who, because some genius (affectionate) in the 60s decided that regeneration would get to be a mechanic in the show we get to have an eternal canon, we get to have renewal, we get to have companions reflect back on the doctor in an infinite number of batshit insane and unhinged ways, we get to see hope and grief and a bottomless fall and an infinite rise because the doctor cannot die even though everyone around them can BUT ALSO because this show is about travelling, about running, about having the entirety of everything that has ever existed or will exist or can't exist or might exist at our fingertips.

as a result you can have episodes like midnight and partners in crime in the same season and no one will bat an eye, you can have the farting calcium invasion-of-the-body-snatchers be the monsters that propel two of the best character pieces i've ever seen in my entire life, you can have capitalism critiques involving fish poop under the thames, you can have them visit the greatest people that will ever live and the worst, you can have them inspire artists and scientists before they die and that's just as important as the aliens or saving the world, you see, because at the end of the day doctor who is about love, it's about the small moments as well as the big saves, it's about wilfred staring at the stars and amy demanding her imaginary friend show up to her wedding and harriet jones worrying about her mother and about danny admiring the fact that a student said please and about ryan and graham learning to ride a bike together and about jackie being the last person that mickey said goodbye to in journey's end, it's about love and character development and charles dickens and vincent van gogh getting to smile and laugh before they die, it's about the love, you see?

doctor who is about running as far and as fast as you can because even though you're more afraid than anyone who has ever existed you have to see them all, you have to love them all, because you have so much love you can't contain it in one heart, that's why you have two hearts, because you love so much, too much, and you will never find peace, you will never find an ending, but right here, right now, you can have this. and that will never be enough, it can't be enough, but it still matters.

because the love was there.

[munchboxart]

HS with rando's this night and probably PB for Tornado LOL

Munch tips vvv

It's important to keep killing Mudmouth's as it stops the lesser's from spawning in and the earlier the Snatchers will come. The direction the snatchers will come is to the back left of the basket (the direction you spawn in is what I have in mind when I say "left" or "right"), so you can leave the first 4 Mudmouth's to Snatchers (including the Mudmouth to the bottom right of basket).

The only tips I have for W3 is that Kraken can kill the Flyfish and Stinger that spawns infront of the basket, and the 2nd Flyfish that immediately spawns in to the left of it. And near the end, 2 more Fishstick's will spawn in and Tri-Strike can take those out.

Tornado is a wave that most people underestimate. It's heavily important to keep tossing eggs and to have all 4 PEOPLE on the ground level to toss eggs. Dynamo can roll over all of the lesser's while the other 3 toss eggs. After tossing the eggs 1 time on the left, there is a ramp where the eggs land. At that ramp area is where you can throw the eggs onto the ship. SNATCHER'S DO NOT SPAWN ON TORNADO, do not worry about leaving those eggs there. Once all lesser's are dead, all 4 people should keep tossing egg's onto the ship. Once the 2nd basket spawns in, one person (ideally Squiffer) should open that basket and toss eggs to the direction of the basket. Once lesser's spawn, Squiffer should go up to the ship and put eggs in the basket while the other 3 keep tossing and killing the lessers. The reason why Squiffer is the one tossing eggs in is because of it's slower kill rate.

Wave 5. As you can see I failed that one LMFAO so I don't really have much tips other than all 4 should kill all the bosses the first wave spawns in (top left). If I recall, Snatchers fly over basket from that location so it should be fine. Other than that, good luck LOL