#which I guess means he has a lot of faith in me 😂😂

[wombywoo]

hello! do u draw the maps and diagrams in the backgrounds on ur art by urself or do u use pre existing images or smth :0?

(like the map in ur most recent gaz work)

Haha, hell no! I could never have the patience or skill for that 🙆‍♀️ Most of my backgrounds for the latest COD art have been collage work. So for the Gaz one--I found a bunch of images through google and rearranged them how I wanted through mostly trial and error. yeah, if I had to draw a whole map of London by hand..💀

All these ones have backgrounds made through collage:

[wisteria-lodge]

Have you sorted the Hogwarts Legacy companions at all?? I checked your master list and couldn’t find anything but I’m not sure if I’m just being blind 💀😂

So here's the thing.

(And your ask is super nice and in absolute good-faith, it's just also a good way of getting into this stuff.)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is not Joss Whedon. House of Cards is not Kevin Spacey. But Harry Potter kinda is JK Rowling. She has an astounding and honestly pretty unique amount of both creative control and ownership over that property. The only other person I can think of who's even in the same category is George Lucas... before he sold it to Disney, obviously.

And JKR has written about how she interprets the royalty checks she gets as kind of tacit approval from the world, which makes sense because she's been also very public about how she spends those royalty checks to support anti-trans campaigners and legislation.

But. But. I get wanting to engage with the property. I mean, obviously. I'm going to tag this 'sortinghatchats.' The parent system is clearly HP, and the point of changing the terminology was never disguising that, it was more supposed to communicate that I am not engaging with the work or its creator uncritically. I think it's worked pretty well. I've gotten maybe one piece of anon hate calling me a terf? That's not bad.

I'm a teacher, and the place I work attracts a *lot* of LGBT students. Trans and non-binary especially. And they're interested in Harry Potter. They read a lot of Harry Potter fanfiction. They want to talk to me about Harry Potter, and about JK Rowling. I don't see this property fading away any time soon.

And like. I was a fan. I waited until midnight in a bookstore to get books 4, 5, 6 and 7. My Sibyl Trelawney came in second at the book 7 costume contest. Which was fine because the girl who won did the most perfect Hermione you've ever seen, and spent the whole time handing out SPEW badges and knitting house elf clothing.

Recently, I'm finding myself wanting to unpack this property as an adult. Maybe understand some of the biases I didn't pick up as a kid, maybe do right by some of my favorite characters. Because there's good stuff in there. How much was on accident versus on purpose, how much is the fandom interpreting the text in a specific way, how much is the films smoothing over issues... and creating different issues... I would like to work all that out.

And actually, when I started writing some Harry Potter fanfiction over the holidays, it came pouring out, and it felt *good.* Clearly I've got a lot of *stuff* that I want to examine and *put somewhere,* and for me, writing (ships that JKR doesn't like) was a fun and ethical way to do that. Maybe I'll even post it with a nice disclaimer.

So that's me. Fanfiction, fan side-projects, fan merch. I guess the argument against that would be "free advertising," but like - HP has so much just - actual advertising - and I'd like it if people who still wanted to engage with the property had somewhere else to go. So no Hogwarts Legacy for me, no Fantastic Beasts films, or HBO miniseries, or even Cormoran Strike books. (and people don't talk about this enough - but a big aspect of that series is essentially JKR writing a non-magic AU where she ships herself with Mad-Eye Moody. I have no idea what to do with this information, but now you have it too.)

I could see myself writing more about JKR or Harry Potter, once I've turned it over more in my mind and feel like I have something useful and new to say. But as it is, this is a snapshot of where I am.

[caelumsnuff]

Hi hello👋 I’m the anon from a few days ago who brought up why guy gets a lot of uploads. I just wanted to say thanks for the nice response and also I didn’t think you were attacking Erik at all for the uploads or what not. I probably just didn’t word it quite right whoops I do apologize if it came off that way. And also i think it’s so fine to critique or be a little annoyed at certain characters getting more time than others (I say this as some one who loves Guy and I absolutely see yeah he’s gotten soooo much content recently) I guess I was just saying you know when it comes to uploads like Guy or even Ollie it’s usually attached to something else going on for Erik. And I say this not in a parasocial manner because honestly I just occasionally watch the podcast and stick to the audios, but as a Erik’s just a person kinda way. I know you yourself aren’t attacking him but some have because they see him a lot as just a content machine (which I’m sure anyone in fandom has seen happen soooo many times as well as the fall out from it)

This feels kinda rambley so I hope it makes sense somewhat😂 but absolutely you’re right critiques on stuff like characters or the story line are necessary and should occur, lord knows I will scream to high heaven that I deeply want Vega to come back and have some cool development in his story. So yeah TLDR I knew you weren’t being mean or anything I just worded weird lol

oh, okay! im glad i interpretted the ask in good faith in that case!

Yeah i think some people do treat him like that, just a machine to make content. Its the dehumanization at the crossroads of a parasocial relationship and idolization of the man. It's honestly saddening, like he really is just some guy :/

Also sorry for the late response, but you did end up getting your wish about Vega coming back!!! I have yet to listen to it still, but you should tell me your thoughts on it anyways!!! 💕

[skepticalarrie]

What do you think it means that louis is having good press/stunt free articles this year?

It’s pretty hard to guess, it never really happened before we’re not used to it 😂

A lot of things seem to have shifted since the beginning of Louis’ tour, but for me it’s impossible to tell what is necessarily causing that. It could be simply the fact that he is finally touring, it’s a huge step of his solo career that we never experienced before. That alone *should* be interesting enough to don’t have to associate any stunts to make it interesting… but who are we kidding! And this would only make sense if they were not pushing stunts at all on tour, which the opposite of what is happening with babygate. They literally brought the kid for one of the shows and it was radio silence from the press. So it’s quite contradictory, it seems to be on purpose. It could be the result of two different teams working with him, one of them still stuck with stunt obligations and the other not. It could be a backstory being build. I mean, there are endless theories…

I can only hope it means something good. Louis has been very optimistic (and happy!) lately, with all the faith in the future talk and the smiley face yesterday.

[incorrect-koh-posts]

My favourite medievalist professor told me that KoH "has Orlando Bloom!"... who cares about Legolas when Jeremy bloody Irons and Alexander fucking Siddig are in one movie!?!?!?!

Also, why is it not made clear who they actually are?? I have read about Raymond, and I have also read Isfahani's works, and I had to learn both facts through Ao3.

Why are you like this, Mr. Scott.

A medievalist watching KoH for Orlando Bloom?? Owww. My heart. That would make me lose faith in humanity, too. 😂 Though, to be fair, my thesis supervisor (I'm writing about medieval literature, bc duh) recently told me that she liked Clive Owen in that abominable King Arthur movie, so ... I feel you 😂

As for Raymond and Imad: Well, obviously I wholeheartedly agree with you 😁 They're my faves in KoH (which means you will be subjected to a longer rant now, haha), I like the actors a lot, and while both historical figures were a bit shady in some ways, I find them absolutely fascinating. It is a fucking shame they didn't really get to shine in the movie.

The Imad-Rant

I think with Imad, it is quite clear why Scott chose to present a heavily fictionalised version of the character. Kingdom of Heaven was made in the aftermath of 9/11, after all, and the influences of that zeitgeist are written all over the film: how all organised religion is presented as fanaticism, how all crusaders who actually believe in the cause are shown to be uncivilised bigots, how Scott takes special care to show the Muslim characters as honourable, wise, and cultured - much more so than the 'bad guys' from the Christian side - to avoid tapping into the then-prevalent, 9/11-fueled racist stereotypes of Muslims being seen as backward religious fanatics with a penchant for violence.

It is this general cultural climate, I suppose, that affected the character of Imad - because Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani, also called al-Kātib ("the scribe"), didn't quite fit the role of 'good, wise Muslim' in his historical form. For that, I'm afraid, he comes across as a bit too enthusiastic when writing about thousands of Christian women being "deflowered", "stripped of their modesty", "tamed", "dishonoured", "forced to yield themselves" etc. at Salah ad-Din's re-taking of Jerusalem. You get the gist. (And don't get me wrong: the crusaders did all of those things too, and probably with just as much glee.)

But such a depiction of a Muslim character would have been deadly in the early 2000s - and still would be nowadays, tbh. So the writers likely stripped the historical figure of all its potentially questionable attributes to make it more digestible to a mass audience. Why they didn't make Imad a completely fictional character instead we'll never know - my guess would be they didn't want to lose their ... um, arguable claim to 'historical accuracy'. Whatever that's supposed to be.

I'd say, therefore, that I'm not too bothered with what Scott and his team did to Imad - at least in terms of entertainment value. The historical Imad ad-Din would probably not have made for a very sympathetic movie character. Sure, it would have made things more nuanced and interesting on the Saracen side, but overall, I don't think that would have done anyone a favour at the time of the film's release. So I try to be happy with what we have, which is, admittedly, a bit difficult because the script does the character so dirty. Alexander Siddig's performance was fabulous and definitely deserves more love; sometimes I cannot help but wonder what we could have had if KoH had focused a bit more on the Muslim characters and explored their motivations and backstories instead of Balian's. I think - if handled competently - that would have been nothing short of awesome.

So yeah, thank God for Ao3 and FFnet. 😉

The Raymond-Rant

As for why Scott made all those changes to Raymond III of Tripoli though, I have no idea. I'd speculate that he probably tried to simplify the whole thing a bit, since it would've taken an awful lot of screentime to accurately explain Raymond's role in the kingdom: e.g. that Tripoli was its own sovereign state, but that Raymond was nonetheless subject to the Kingdom of Jerusalem through his marriage to the Countess of Tiberias, yadda, yadda. So I think it was easier, in the end, to make him Lord Marshal and advisor to the king and be done with it. I must say I'm not too salty about the name change (though what idiot would confuse 'Raymond' and 'Reynald'??) because it at least hints at the fact that he was Count of Tiberias. What makes me far angrier is that they left out his wife, who would actually have been vital to make the whole Hattin episode make sense and would've given it some emotional heft. Ridley, my dude, I hate to break it to you - but women existed in that era, too.

Anyway. I know some people probably question my sanity on a regular basis whenever I start making heart eyes at Tiberias. Which, I admit, does happen a fair amount, lol. I partly blame my age-inappropriate yet persistent crush on Jeremy Irons for that. The man tends to be like catnip to me, even when he isn't battle-scarred, world-weary, and wearing chainmail. But I digress.

Because the point is: Even though they changed so much, his performance still fits so well with Raymond's actual backstory. From the way Irons plays it, you'd believe that this no-nonsense lord spent ten years in captivity in Aleppo and that - instead of turning angry and bitter at his captors like Reynald of Châtillon - he used the time to learn Arabic and acquaint himself with the ways of his Muslim neighbours. You'd believe that he was regent for both Baldwin IV and Baldwin V, and that he has four stepsons at home that he likes to shepherd around a bit but is actually very fond of. But you also wouldn't think it impossible that he'd make a private truce with Salah ad-Din to protect his own people and lands, even if that agreement was effectively treason to the crown, leading to the absolute carnage at the Springs of Cresson and doing great damage to both the kingdom and Raymond's own reputation.

He wasn't some coward who hauled his scrawny ass to Cyprus (that was Guy, btw, in 1190 or so) when he didn't like the vibe in Jerusalem anymore and left his friend to pick up the pieces. He had his reasons; and saintly bloody Balian actually fled the Battle of Hattin with him. Together, they went to Tyre to wait whether some help for the kingdom would arrive. (It did, eventually, in the form of Conrad of Montferrat.) However, at that point, Raymond had already lost all hope and returned to Tripoli to die of pleurisy, guilt, and - as some chroniclers wrote - "a broken heart". Yes. I'll never forgive Scott for depriving me of all that drama. *shakes fist*

Just look how sad the poor boy is. 😥

I mean, if anybody could pull off dying in such a painful and tragic manner, thinking it was all his fault that the kingdom was lost, it would be this beautiful man. Because no other actor dies on-screen with quite the same intensely wistful, guilt-ridden, and tortured energy as Jeremy Irons, and you can pry that opinion from my cold dead hands. He was perfect for Raymond of Tripoli. I just wish Scott had given him more to do.

Cyprus, my ass. 🙄

[internetaddict104]

I feel like Ethan hasn’t been the same since Faith. He’s even more irritable and angry now.

I can see that, but I don’t think it’s Faith’s fault. Ethan has been different ever since he started getting fit and losing weight (which was around 2016/2017). I saw his demeanor shift around then, but it’s never really bothered me.

I’m not saying he didn’t change, because people change all the time, but he was, as you put it, “even more irritable and angry” before he started dating Faith. They only got together in 2021.

But he did definitely change. 2015 Behzinga has a completely different personality to 2022 Behzinga. I don’t think Faith was the cause, but I’m sure having an accident baby isn’t helping keep him calm 😂. Also the Sidemen have been adding a lot to their plates recently (more channels, more videos, longer videos, Sides, Side+), so the stress of taking care of all those things probably has made Ethan a bit more on edge.

I don’t mean this directly at you, but it really just makes me sad that Faith is so hated by Sidemen fans. The poor girl’s done nothing wrong and so many people think she’s horrible for it. I don’t get why. I guess some share your opinion that she’s made Ethan a meaner person (not your exact words but you get my point), but I personally don’t really see it. No one came after Emily like this, and no one comes after the other girlfriends either. Hell, I don’t even remember seeing Seana get much shit after her and JJ broke up (though it’s possible it happened and I just missed it). I just don’t get why Faith is so hated and targeted (is it an age thing?). People have accused Faith of baby trapping Ethan, and I feel so awful even being in the same fandom as them. The girl is 22, she’s too young thinking like that.

I just genuinely don’t understand why the fandom dislikes her so much.

[cadopan]

Nah... but the way I love Jordan at Arsenal but you're right about her not getting opportunities now. Her 250th appearance and she isn't starting? 😭

She has been a CRACKING player and no doubt until this year, she was really pulling out some magic for us. This year her injury (looking at you little Erin😡) plus the changes in midfield (and Viv being involved there if she extends) and Jonasball has seen her sidelined, and not without reason either. While I wouldn't put her decline in play anywhere near Jen, she hasn't seemed to be able to return to form as speedily as she has previously when returning from injury. I can see that she might be a loyal and faithful servant of the club, but the club won't see her as a reliable starter which is shame.

If you had to hazard a guess on which other club might suit her if she leaves, where would you reckon? Personally I'm curious if she could fit at United (though the thought of it makes me a bit queasy) because it is still one of the better clubs which she deserves, but she might get more starts especially if Jackie leaves at the end of the season, pushing them to re-evaluate their midfield.

@ Anon, you sent me this before the Birmingham game and said incident of Jonas the Disrespectful Man occurred so I don't want to imagine what you're feeling rn... 😬🥺

Yeap, I agree with your entire para! Including the "little Erin 😡" part haha. Idk if he didn't know about her 250th or doesn't place any importance in significant milestones or whatever, but I wonder if it's a subtle message that she's not part of his plans and should probably look for a way out when the season ends. I mean, this is the 4th(?) consecutive game she hasn't started and even Frida/Mana are getting ahead of her in terms of game time as MF subs so that's a pretty clear indicator of where she is in the pecking order...

Ooh hmm, that's a good question. Well I guess we can only consider WSL clubs given the chances of her leaving England are minute (and she shouldn’t either, since her NT spot rides a lot on her playing domestically). Oh, is Groenen leaving this summer? But still, Man United have a pretty solid midfield and idk if she would fit in there with the likes of Zelem/Toone etc. Boe Risa has been impressive too, so Jordan being a guaranteed starter might also not be a sure thing... 

Among the “better” clubs I’d actually say Spurs is the one where she has a most feasible chance of getting into their midfield, lol but there’s no way she’ll go there 😂 Perhaps West Ham? I feel like they have a good project going on and she would bring a lot of quality to their team. Plus, Lisa’s there and it’s in London. Or maybe Brighton where her bestie Dan Carter is? and I think Hope Powell would appreciate her there too. 

Alas, 12 teams is very little in the top flight, and places in good teams are hard to come by for now ://  

[thetaoofbetty]

Well, Jughead’s girlfriend is most likely will be just the physical kind of thing. And Betty and Archie have history etc. that’s why I’m sad.

On deeper level I think my sadness over all this plot is based on my personal feelings: you know how you always pick favorite character based on yours similarities — and this is Betty for me. And it’s the worst nightmare for me – to hurt someone how she hurts Jughead :(

And I loved their couple because of their honesty, supporting of each other and capabilitie to carried their feelings and relationship for 4 seasons — and now it’s gone.

Anyway, thank you and I’ll go and search some good fanfic which can make me forget all this angst from last two days 😂❤️

this sounds ridiculously trolly. but in the spirit of good faith, i’ll answer it. 

(eta: the asker messaged me and they’re not a troll💜)

isn’t jughead’s gf a live in gf? ...that—that’s pretty committed. 

archie and betty have history the way anyone has history with their childhood friends. 

(also, yes. i’ve kissed childhood friends and it didn’t really go anywhere and i promise you, i’m not pining for them secretly out of fond memories from when i was 16) 

i have to say, i think, comparatively, her history with jughead is far more important. that’s a lot of firsts where archie is what? childhood memories? gotta be honest, those don’t compare to your first love.  

and you can pick your fave, of course you can. i’m more like jughead than i am betty.

(jughead has better parents than me if that gives you a clue) 

but, betty made a mistake. it wasn’t malicious. she didn’t set out to do it. it happened in the moment and she didn’t do it again. she didn’t mean to hurt him and she apologized. he still loves her, he’ll always love her. 

you guys, i don’t know why you think something that happened 7 years ago is going to define their whole lives. in high school my best friend wrote me a break up letter (a letter? break up with me to my face, ha) because her boyfriend, who was a good friend of mine, said my name at the wrong time. and it broke my heart at the time to pay the price for that. 

but it’s not something i held against her years later. or even a year later. can you really love someone if you expect perfection? if that’s your line in the sand, then i feel like you’re in for a very lonely life. 

if you don’t think bughead can overcome time and distance, then i don’t know what to tell you. i think they can. i guess i just don’t think always has a time limit. 

[flowersofjannah]

salaam sis, jazakallah khayr for your response <333 So, there is someone who may know but this mutual colleague is on leave and i'm leaving this place in 2 weeks (but i'll be back again in january iA for 1-2 months, then again for 1-2 months in the summer months - after which idk where i'll end up) but the colleague will also be back in january. i did want to just confirm things before then though as i dont want to be in a limbo and want to get over this all if he ends up being married/ figure out what to do if he's still single etc. I'm also incredibly shy like yourself and can't even imagine the thought of even saying hi to him as many people have suggested. most of my life if i have thought of someone for marriage/ liked them, i've kept it to myself. alhamdullilah it has meant i've saved myself from lots of pointless drama but at this age, im now wondering if i should take some initiative - but this is so tough as i become very shy around men generally and can't even look them in the eye. i also only continue conversations with men/ respond only if they initiate it so feel strange in this case if i have to start something myself. i dont want to get anyone involved at this stage - all i'm trying to do is figure out somehow if he's married but even asking this mutual colleague will mean that someone will know im interested and i'd rather not have anyone know but what can i do i guess?? idk sis, but it's been hard to focus. i have a tendency to get ahead of myself and imagine the future/ idea of a person before even making my interest/ myself known to them as im scared of what will happen if i become known to them. im more of a 'like them from a distance and hope they notice miraculously that i liked them, and maybe they like me back and will approach me first' kind of person. I will do istikhara as u said iA and see if i somehow bump into him again before i leave within the next 2 week. i may just drop a 'does your wife also work here as a XYZ as yourself?' (to which he could respond Y/N i do/not even have a wife) although this seems too daring for me to do and idk if this will make it obvious to him but in a shameless way ahhhh. even thinking about him makes me nervous as he's so serious and manly and private and ahh. i did try and look for his linkedin but he has no connections/ hasnt added anyone from work and it hasnt got his workplace on there, just his uni and profession (so im sure its him) - so he's not active on it or anything and it'd be weird to add him like that. he also doesnt seem to have any socials, then again im not on socials either besides this place and facebook which i dont use tbh. idk sis but i cant stop thinking about all of this really. i guess my issue is that whenever someone stands out somehow, i always wonder to myself 'is it him? will he end up being my husband?' but then end up finding out usually that they recently got married/ end up being a different person to what i thought etc :// jazakallah khayr again tho sis for ur words, i guess it's nice having some reassurance xx

Wa ‘alaykum assalam, wa iyyakki <3

There is no harm in talking to the mutual if you know that they are trustworthy and won’t spread your confiding. There’s nothing wrong in being interested in someone sis! It’s okay sis, you reminded me of a hadith:

Narrated `Abdullah bin `Umar:

The Prophet (ﷺ) passed by a man who was admonishing his brother regarding Haya' (pious shyness from committing religeous indiscretions) and was saying, "You are very shy, and I am afraid that might harm you." On that, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Leave him, for Haya' is (a part) of Faith."

[Sahih Bukhari]

Lol, you sound just like me 😂 plan out the wedding and baby names too early haha

Trust your intuition sis, if you feel he may be the one, perhaps you should bring 6 seconds of courage and ask of his relationship status. He obviously won’t mind, he’ll be nothing but flattered!

Just make sure to always keep things halal ^-^

Oh yeah, did you check if he's wearing a ring???

[trashexplorer]

Kin’iro no Corda: Another Sky ft. Jinnan - Housei Route

Name: Toki Housei

CV: Ishikawa Hideo

Toki Housei. His name…Toki Housei…Housei…Ho-sé…

I’M SO SORRY. BITCH THAT PUN STAYED WITH ME UNTIL I SWITCHED TRAINS. Anyway, Toki Housei. He’s Chiaki’s right hand man/low key ship. I wonder why there’s always something going on with the captains and their vice captains except in Shiseikan ‘cause Hozumi ain’t the vice captain 😂. From what we’ve learned from Housei in the prequel, he’s the more flirty of the two and idk, to me his come ons to the girls are backed up with bad faith unlike Chiaki who’s just in it for the satisfaction of his audience lololol what am I making Housei up to be?  

Going along his common route, we find out that Housei’s mom owns some sort of bakery (probs highclass since no Jinnan kid is middle class) and that her mom ran away with his dad despite her family’s opposition. I guess she had Housei young so that’s why his body is weak? Although his maternal family resented the man who ran off with their daughter, Housei has been in contact with them esp his maternal grandfather who ends up teaching him that Japanese musical instrument he later teaches Kanade.

Gem Route

Housei’s gem route is just him basically taking Kanade to all sorts of places in his car hurr hurr. And again, Housei has a license since he’s already 19 and he’s stayed a grade ‘cause of his weak body. 

I mean, yeah, who am I to judge people with physical disabilities but, yo boi has some significant muscle on him despite the fact that he’s practically dying in his true route 😂. And that’s about it for his gem route. They do talk about how odd Housei finds Kanade’s drive to pursue her career with the violin but it is never really expanded until the true route.

True Route

HE’S DYING OH MY GOD.

I mean, we’ve already had a glimpse of Housei’s poor health in the prequel but it was only in his true route that we finally grasp the extent of his sickness. Housei disappears twice? I think during the last round of the competitions ‘cause his health worsens. Kanade being the nosy girl she is, of course, comes to his aid and even stays over to watch over him sleep that one time when his sickness drove him to be bedridden. Yo, I’m glad the worry is mutual between Housei in Chiaki ‘cause Chiaki has a prominent presence in his route and vice versa unlike one-sided Daichi 😂. Now that is the real buchou-fukubuchou/bff relationship. 

It was never really revealed what Housei’s sickness was tho, just that he has a weak body. And that is basically the reason why he tries not to get into the violin so much ‘cause he knows he’s gonna die anyway. Bruh. Stop. This isn’t how otoge is supposed to be. Damn, this game is so #woke. So on his death bed, after becoming so close to Kanade, he says that it was the first time he felt so afraid of dying ‘cause he didn’t want to leave her. ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡

In the true finals, Housei does the encore which shocks everyone and Chiaki ends it by saying how it wasn’t like him. Yo boy has made up his mind to live his life to the fullest. why the fuck is this getting to me like

Afterthoughts

Yeah, I liked Housei’s route not just because I’m Jinnan trash. He also has some of my fave cgs so there’s that - a lot of his are pretty. I really liked Housei’s character in the prequel and I’m glad that he didn’t let me down in his routes. He’s actually the only character in the series that is quite similar to his voice actor’s character in the first games which is Kanayan. Long hair, flirtatious, has inner pain - yup, definitely Kanayan’s relative 😂.  

[scarecrow36]

Ok first of all, that first scene. It went from a happy little pre-courtship scene to NOW STRIP OFF and LET ME PUT YOUR SERGE BACK ON. Haha kidding but you can’t deny that a lot happened in that scene. I am not complaining. :D I practically fell off my chair with excitement. She’s just so herself around Nathan, and I have never seen him this loose, funny and happy. It’s just fantastic. I totally felt sorry for Lucas. Nathan could practically get around Elizabeth’s living room blindfolded by now, and meanwhile Lucas has never been in, and she’s literally invited him in several times now! I guess he has been in the backyard.

Carson and Faith breaking up has me actually invested in Faith’s character for the first time since she came to Hope Valley. I didn’t love her back then because I thought she was going to continue to be compared to Elizabeth when it came to Jack, but now she’s wearing trousers, driving fast wagons, and working as a doctor and she just seems to have come into her own! I don’t mind Carson, but like so many people have said, he wasn’t given a storyline except for romance for 3 seasons now. Not fair to him. Im glad they are (most likely) separating!

Fiona is an absolute gem. I am so glad she’s there in Hope Valley. I loved seeing her a little more vulnerable about her past this episode. She’s smart, level-headed and hilarious, and if she’s ready for love... Lucas??? Her wittiness and playful nature would be an excellent counterpoint to his formality and flair.

SO excited for Elizabeth and Rosemary to finally make up. I’m assuming they have to before Rosemary says the line to Elizabeth, “You lost your husband, but you will find your way.” I think Rosemary is maybe my favorite character on the show, so dynamic and spontaneous. And their friendship is very special and will probably not be taken for granted after they make up. Plus she can finally point Elizabeth in the right direction looooove-wise! Someone needs to :D

Landis doesnt seem so bad, you’re right. I like that they filled out his character a little. Still quite an adversary to Elizabeth, but his intentions are realistic and well-meaning enough to feel dangerous to her plan of teaching Angela. I definitely feel a little nervous for Hope Valley in general, with the possible influx of people coming, a threat to Elizabeth and the school, and a factory arriving? Not to mention those Pinkertons wandering around. And yeah his name is Spurlock... hm, any relation..? At the same time part of me is like... YES, this is the perfect storyline to set us up for season 9!

Season 8 seems in general to be so much better about plugging previously-loose plot holes, for the shrewd fans amongst us who have been watching since season 1. For instance, Henry acknowledging Abigail’s existence and her role in his life, or introducing for the first time Florence’s son Paul (😂) or Rosemary starting up the newspaper *again* and not for the first time. The writing is much smarter this season, more attentive to the fanbase, which I absolutely love. Now if they just find out what happened to Cat Montgomery and Molly’s daughter Rosaleen I would be content! #wheredidallthekidsgo

@whencallstheheart

8x11: Changing Times -

That opening scene.  My oh my!  Very intimate.  She invites the guy in and tells him to strip.  I mean, okay.  Not mad at that haha.  Definitely not how I was expecting that interaction to go.  Also poor Lucas driving by and seeing that Nathan is in her house… a place he never goes into but that’s his own fault.

Carson “pudding hands” Shepherd. Please don’t ask Faith to marry you.

It’s so great to learn a little more about Fiona and her backstory.  She’s fantastic.

I love that Rosemary is so invested in figuring all this out.  It’s nice to see some of the Rosemary we’re used to with all the stuff in Lee’s office.  I’ve missed that lately. She wants to start a newspaper!  I’m glad they clarified that there was a paper before that no longer exists for some reason because I was so confused.

All the stuff with Elizabeth and the school also confused me.  That Landis guy isn’t so bad, though.  He does have a point about Angela needing a lot of attention which would take away from the other students.  It’s a situation Elizabeth hasn’t really been in before but Angela deserves to go to school with other kids.

A factory, huh?  Interesting.  That Wyman guy is so sketchy.  And what’s going on with the Pinkertons? And why does the bald dude have the same last name as the Pinkerton from season 1?

Rosemary and Elizabeth still aren’t on great terms.  That’s too bad.  You’d think Elizabeth would make more of an effort but apparently not.

That ending scene with Lucas and Elizabeth was a long time coming.  Good for Lucas for finally stepping back.  It’s not necessarily the end of them, but he said what needed to be said.  She still has something there with Nathan and that can’t be ignored.  She needs to figure it out.

What’d you think of this episode?

[aphroditestummyrolls]

Hi— I’ve never done any meta for Good Omens before, so please be gentle haha I’m sure someone’s already thought of this, but I had to say this, ya know?

Crowley dubs himself Anthony J Crowley— it’s never addressed why or what it means, but it’s a clear indication of his growing comfort level with being surrounded by humans on earth. Becoming more human himself.

I saw a HILARIOUS post and read a fic (though, I can’t find it anymore, so someone please link me!) that said his name was Anthony Janthony, which is maybe the funniest thing I’ve ever heard.

But, who are God’s agents on earth? Humans who do such good and are such martyrs to their faith that they reach divine status?

Saints! What if both of them are saints? And the names are chosen to reflect Crowley’s relationships with both God and Hell?

St. Anthony of Padua is an easy one, the saint of lost objects and stolen possessions. He’s one of the most popular saints. I think this symbolizes his relationship with God and Heaven— he had his divinity stolen from him. His grace, his status, his everything, and cast into the pit. Just for asking questions, for being curious, for searching for things— answers.

The J is more open-ended. I think, though, that it stands for Jude. He’s the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes. This is Crowley, the demon: a lost cause. He’s damn TERRIBLE at being a demon. And some demons in Hell— Hastur and Ligur, at least— know that he’s a lost cause. In a modern association, St. Jude has other connotations, most notably as a saint of children and for his association with medicine.

We all know how Crowley feels about kids: “Not the kids— you can’t kill kids! That’s the sort of thing you’d expect my lot to do...”

Annnnnnd, if you jive with the whole “Crowley was the Archangel Raphael before his fall” headcanon (which I, usually, 100% do), then the medical association (Raphael was the #HealerofGod) plus the soft spot for kids, the general curiosity and searching for answers, how horrible he is at doing anything particularly demonic....

I don’t know, I guess. Anthony Jude Crowley sounds about right to me. But, why wouldn’t he want to share that with Aziraphale?

I think Crowley thinks loving Aziraphale is a lost cause. Hell do anything to save him again and again, to be around him a bit longer, etc.. but maybe Crowley thinks he never stands a chance with the angel.

Sorry to hijack a post, you can all ignore this if you want 😂