#yeah thats enough theory hunting for today

[that-crystal-gem13]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD1Ixkfk_ug)

yep steven is jesus. I repeat. Steven is Jesus.

[dragqueenpentheus]

Okay no one has to read this but i DO have to write it:

PYROC VS FATHER PAUL

Ya bitch needs an art break bc im getting angry about voices existing as i try to keep myself entertained. Today is NOT a god one for sinking into repetitive line work and that’s just about all i have on the table atm

SO! Im gunna do a little thinking about my little meow meows all fucked up by religion. Just a comparison for my sanity and interests. Pyroc is my baby i wrote him for the first time years ago. Five?????????? Whadda hell. Going on six.

ANYWAY john joined religion because of his trauma. His sister died and he felt lost. He was unmoored in this fishing village and looking for reason looking for hope. Hed had his heart broken and trying to make sense of tragedy on his own was totally beyond him. Thats why his interactions with riley in AA are SO good like. He knows that confusion and he knows the rhetoric that’s supposed to combat it. Only it dooesnt work for riley.

The same sort of thing happens for pyrc, only inverted. Loss urns him away from god and religion because its SO strong in his family and not only is he loosing trust in god, but his kin as well. He’s suspicious there’s mre they arent telling him, at the point of his fathers death. And he agrees to, on the surface, absolutely wholly throw himself in to being the second the family and the village need. But he’s keeping his treachery under wraps.

That’s one of the coolest things about father paul imo is like. That slow unraveling of what is. Frankly. An awful half assed plan, driven by fear and loneliness and desperation and dementia and love. Even VERY obvious things like. Taking down the newspaper photo of his young self ‘slip’ by him. I think, on some level, its DEEPLY intentional. He wants people to CHOOSE this. He wants people like bev. He wants people who see him and are in aw of him beating god. Of killing death. He wants to be worshiped and adored and for people to come to him willingly, no tragedy driving them to his arms.

Pyroc also wnats to be worshipped, but he ALSO wants to do the worshipping. He really longs for an element of almost????? But not quite??? Subjection?? He wants to be shown something and for a Great Voice to tell him, unquestioningly and unerringly that it is GOOD. Full stop. And then he wants to spend his life worshipping it. But this booko is an exploration of how….. no such thing exists. And more importantly no great voice exists either. There is nothing wholly good, nothing wholy evil. His lack of faith in himself once he becomes god is him starting to understand that as well. Thats on purpose baked into the lore. The starting point was ‘what if god was a position and in order to get promoted you had to be a murderer. No matter what’. He understands things are not wholly good, at that point. I onder how long it will be for him to realize they are not fully evil as well?

Bc pruitt does hm hm hm an interesting move. Where he takes something the narritve is very sure to communicate is EVIL no wiggle room just fact. Even if its driven by animal instinct its. Evil. And he makes it, not just good, but HOLY. And god i LOVEEEE that for him i ADOREEE that what a MOVE. Driven by desperation and dementia and relief and ‘if god saved me than maybe i can be good despite loving and sinning and maybe if i defeat god then i will be Thee Good’. SO sexy of him. Im really fascinated by his morality. He seems to have an understanding of the shades of grey in some respects??? But if he had a BETTER one with more forgiveness in his heart i feel like hed have left the church anyway after sarah was born??? Even if millie didnt ask him??? That might just be my own sensibilities creeping in but ….. like he culd have seen her on the weekends. He can do other jobs. Hes straight (??? Not totally convinced of this) he could have just dated her that makes me crazy. LIKE OBV HE HAD LINES HE THOUGHT THAT WOULD CROSS AND HE HAD INTERNALIZED THE CHURCH AND THE RULES AND SHE WAS MARRIED AND ECT ECT i know he couldnt have really but. Thye were straight. They coulda.

Im not gunna do fantasy homophobia bc i think its …………….. Boring. But i think some element of??? The vindlegaurd line MUST be passed along and for that particular rules must be applied. But thats also boring as hell :/ maybe i can work in my parthenogenesis lore?????????? I bet pyroc would love building that spell in any universe. That’s the sequal when he goes to magic university in helsin. But yeah i do like the concept that. Anyone can have a baby thru magic its just a time and energy commitment. Just a matter of wanting it enough together. Every baby is so deeply wanted and its mere existence is proof. Thats dope i love that. HMMM to be decided at a later date when im deeper into the story i think. I still havent figured out fully how and where and why orion is going to be invovled and if???? Pyroc and orion are even going to be romantic??????? Im torn im TORn…….

Thikns about john bonding w sarah over science and learning and starts wEEPING…. Like theres some surity beloved. Its just a matter of uncovering. I think sarah felt that same thirst for answers and hunted them differently. Her faith is in logic and science. I loveeee her god. Every scene w her and her dad absolutely RUIN me like!!!!!! SHE DOESNT KNOW!!! SHE DOESNT KNOW HOW LOVED SHE IS!!!!!! I hope at hte very end she saw the blood as the gesture of love it SO clearly was and not him trying to poison her. God i love that she spat it out. GOD. Thats about being gay, btw. Spits the religious offering that could save you across the gasoline soaked church floor like BABE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think we as a collective should talk about the possibiites around sarah/erin more. Bc their defiance combined would be. Earth SHATTERING for crockett.

In the future pyroc gets a kid. Ever since that campaign where Enemy ended up playing his daughter im like. How did i NOT know this idiot wanted nothing more in the entire world than to travel it with his daughter. I dont care how or why hes getting a kid. Hed be so doting and awful abut it. He would need orion as a co-parent for the kids self esteem to be normal levels. thINKS ABOUT PAUL GETTING TO RAISE SARAH AND JUST ABSOLUTELY GASSING HER UPPPPPPPP HANGING EVERY DOODLE SHE EVER MADE ON TEH FRIDGE. BOASTING ABOUT HER SCEINECE PROJECT OT ANYONE WITHIN EYESIGHT EVEN THOUGH ‘WE K N O W JOHNWE WERE ALL AT THE SCEINCE FAIR’!!!!!!!!!!! Let these fuck ups be doting fathers im fucking begging. That scene where paul is like. You take ccare of everyone on the island sarah. Its more than being a doctor. You comfort them.

HM HM comfort is such a thing for Miss Bitch like!! He sees it as a Good Thing. He tries to bring it for riley by asking to hold the AA meetings on island ((also manipulation. Obvously also manipulation. I wouldnt have bene shocked if he was slipping the vampire blood into the coffee every meeting either. But thats just a theory. A game theory.)) ANYWAY he sees comfort as hly. The church gave it to him when he needed it. The angel gave it to him in the cave. Feeling safe and warm is HIGH on his list of priorities and what makes him hand over respect.

I think pyroc has lived a very comfortable life in SO many ways, but in none he. Activly recognizes. A key part of his character arc his him…. Opening his eyes to the world around them. Seeing the privilege he has and being like. Wait. This isnt Right. We have to change thi. And when no one agrees ti shifts to I have to change this. With Violence. A little revolutionary <3 it only costs the life of his whole ass family

Thats more fun comparison ground like…… paul is SO much about I know whats right and there is a cost but i AM ignoring it. Like HE KNOOOOWSSSS he knooooows he just doesnt want o See. I’m not sure if im going to surprise yroc with the ……megadeath of. His whole family. Or if it’s a choice he has to activly make. I think a choice makes it more compelling, more layerd. It has to be in the moment though, becaus ei think thats. A key difference between them. Pyroc wouldnt do it.. hed just leave hed peace out and do what he could in small ways. But he wouldnt do his big stand off with god. Hed shrink his goals in order to not hurt his family. Out of love?? Intimidation?? Some instinct wihtin him that balks at the idea of disobedience??? I think even he doesnt know. But i LOVE john becaue he jsut decides to lie. He closes his eyes and says i am being stupid on purpose. I think thats PERHAPS more compelling than good guy coward pyroc BUT!!!!! Thats who he is rip to ths little man. Cant change him now hes a whole ass child in my head. The PLOT i can change. Him….. not without massive character development <3

UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MM set my brain on FIRE!!!! Im so glad nano is coming up. I love sharpening pyroc against the comparison of other AMAZING characters. Father paul hill my beloved millstone <3 anyway sorry to anyone who reads this its literally me unhinging my jaw and emptying my brain out. I had to write stuff that wasn’t novel or fic. A little character time down and dirty. I wil NOT be editing this love and light to future me trying to decode this

[anonforlackofabettername]

Sleepover ask: Re the Dragon Prince. I've seen lots of people who seem to think that Claudia is going to be the Azula of the series - others think she'll be the Zuko. What are your thoughts? Related, do you agree with the large part of the fandom which thinks that dark magic is evil/corrupting, or the smaller part that thinks it's not that black and white?

My only fandom interaction is memes and fanart so I'm pretty removed from any theories that are floating around. I have no clue what the fandom is saying and if what I'm saying matches up with something that's already been said. That goes for both parts of your ask, though I’ll get to the dark magic stuff later. Part of me isn't even sure what you mean by the Azula of the series or the Zuko since I’m missing that meta. The way I'm choosing to interpret it, is that by Azula you mean a character who is frighteningly competent, a direct antagonist to the main heroes, and is the lesser shadow of the main antagonist that nevertheless hangs over the main heroes more often and arguably does more damage. I'm choosing to interpret it that by Zuko you mean a character who is slightly incompetent, spends the majority of the early parts of the story as a direct antagonist and the shadow hanging over the heads of the main heroes, but by the end of the story undergoes a redemption arc and joins the main heroes, eventually turning on the main antagonist and without whom the main heroes would not be able to win in the end. 

(This is fucking long so I’m adding a read more)

That being said, I don't think Claudia fits either of these. Neither does Soren. I think they maybe might fit Zuko's role, but that's a bit of a stretch. And I'm gonna say why. Claudia despite being a lovable goof in personality is frighteningly competent when it comes to magic. However magic in this universe comes with a lot of complications and components. Thus we don't get to see her expertise as often as we saw it with Zuko and Azula's firebending. Also a thing to keep in mind is that Claudia and Soren are friends with Ezran and Callum. Soren has been told to kill the princes, true, same with Claudia being told to bring back the egg, but they both care for the boys in a way that Zuko and Azula couldn't because to them the avatar was a nameless figure. These people grew up together. They share relationships. Callum even has a crush on Claudia. Its not like the foe yay sexual tension of Katara/Zuko. These people up to the start of the series lived with each other and saw each other every day. Soren was training Callum and was captain of Harrow's guard. There is a familiarity that you can't ignore and which I think will be a major conflict for Soren specifically, when we finally get to that confrontation and he has to either kill them or let them go. Right now they are supposed to be on a mission to bring the princes home which is the exact opposite of both Zuko and Azula's missions to kill Aang. However, that being said, they are on a mission to kill Reyna. Soren and Claudia showing up is a threat because they are a) trying to stop the princes from returning the egg, and b) they're likely to try and kill Reyna in the process.

However, the main heroes don't even know that Soren and Claudia are trying to find them. Aside from running from their Aunt and the run in with Crow, they don't know who is following them and what will happen if they get found. So its not like in Avatar where every couple of episodes they had to bolt out of wherever the adventure of the week was because Zuko showed up and was hunting them. They're mostly trying to get the egg, now a baby dragon, back to the border and his mother as soon as possible.

And again you have to take the world itself into account. Within the world, elves are the bad guys to humans. They kicked humans out of Xadia. They've killed hundreds in the war. They literally assassinated Harrow, though it is unclear if Ezran and Callum have realized their dad is dead. In fact Callum was convinced that Reyna drank blood, thats how much elves are the boogeymen of the human kingdoms. Now we know that’s not true and the elves were justified for parts of it, and both sides are equally guilty.  If you want to compare the show to Avatar so much, then think of it this way. The human kingdoms are the fire nation, the elves the Earth Kingdom, and Ezran and Callum have just realized how shitty their people have been to the rest of the world. In this case, that makes Ezran and Callum Zuko in the middle of his redemption arc, when he’s working through his shit while traveling the earth kingdom to get to Ba Sing Se, and Soren and Claudia are Azula towards the end of that arc when she's like ‘help me kill the avatar and I'll make sure our dick of a dad lets you come home.’ Only in this case killing the avatar is returning the egg. Its not a great metaphor, and its been a while since I've watched avatar, but that's the feeling I get overall. Its Zuko realizing that the Fire Nation has done some fucked up shit and feeling helpless to fix it because he’s just an exiled prince.

I’ve gotten very off topic at this point. Um, I think going back to the Zuko or Azula thing, I think it depends. It depends on what happens when they finally catch up with the boys. If Claudia is Zuko, she’ll see Zym with the boys, recognize it as a sentient creature that deserves life and to be reunited with his mother and help the boys. If she’s Azula she’ll see Zym as a threat to Katolis that could one day rival Thunder and decide he needs killing. And of course there’s always other options, those are just two potential outcomes and they don’t even include Soren and what he decides to do about what his dad told him to do.

Your other question was about dark magic.  I don't know if dark magic is inherently corrupting. If it is, I think we’ll definitely see evidence within the show. In general when it comes to fiction magic is magic, no matter its source. Sometimes sources are inherently evil while others are inherently good but for the most part its meh and magic just is and how people use it makes it good or evil. However, in this case, you can't ignore where dark magic comes from. It doesn't come from negative thoughts and feelings like the dark side of the force. It doesn't come from shadows or darkness like half a dozen different magic systems.

Dark magic in TDP comes from the direct exploitation of creatures with inherent magic. To use dark magic you need a plant or creature with inherent magic that the mage then twists and exploits to do what they want. To find the Moonshadow elves Viren used a moth. For the switching spell Virin used the two-headed snake. Claudia crushed a bug to create fire at Harrow’s funeral. Nothing about dark magic is innate, nothing about it is natural, and in fact it comes from exploiting natural creatures and resources. You are using the life force of a living being and generally its dead afterwards.

This isn’t important for things like plants or bugs or whatever. Yeah Claudia killed a bug and used its life to summon fire. Whatever, who here hasn’t killed bugs before? It starts to matter however when you’ve got people like Ezran who can talk to animals and understand what they’re saying. I’m sure being a glowtoad there’s a spell that Claudia could cast using Bait. That’s not okay since Bait is a pet as well as a living creature but if it happened to another glowtoad I doubt anyone would care. But since Ezran can talk to the animals, he does care because he knows the animals are not consenting. It also starts to matter when you have magical creatures that are sapient and intelligent enough to put their foot down and say I will not let you exploit me like this.

So I don’t know if dark magic is inherently corrupting, but the idea of using creatures is an inherently dehumanizing and corrupting one. To dark mages, these animals, and even the elves and dragons and any other magical creatures that we haven’t met yet, are less than human and exploitable. To Virin and Claudia the egg wasn’t a baby, it wasn’t a person, the egg was a weapon. Because to them dragons, magical creatures, and the like are tools and weapons. This has got some serious race implications because the last time we thought of an entire class of people as tools we had slavery and it was legal.  

To use dark magic, you have to be in this mindset that people are tools to be exploited. I have no idea what dark magic using an elf’s life force or a dragon’s life force would look like. I’m sure its possible, and I’m sure I wouldn’t like the result. There is a reason the elves took one look at dark magic and said ‘not today satan’ and decided it was a severe enough crime to exile the entire human race from Xadia. They were not about to let themselves be used. There is a reason the elves are the boogeymen of Katolis and the rest of the human kingdoms and part of that is they’re the enemy and part of that is if they are monsters, if they aren’t human, then no one will care what abuses happen to them.

So no, I don’t think using dark magic is inherently corrupting. I don’t think the magic itself corrupts. However I do think that to use dark magic, one must look at the world through a corrupted lens. You must be okay with harming living creatures to accomplish what you want, and you must be okay exploiting others. Anyone who believes in the intelligence and personhood of all creatures and then uses dark magic is either ignorant or a hypocrite. When it comes to Claudia, I think she’s partially a hypocrite and partially doesn’t see how what she’s doing is harmful and wrong. She sees only the potential of dark magic, and hasn’t yet realized what she’s harming to get her way.

[palindromeblog-blog]

Recommendations for the soul

omg, it’s been ages since I posted something. When I started this I said to myself, ‘right, now that school has finished, I have all the time in the world to write posts and keep up to date with posting regularly, maybe post 2-3 times a week!.’ yeah, no. that did not happen. Instead, I spent my time watching Netflix, TV shows mostly but the occasional film. So today, I am going to share TV shows that I watch currently or have watched in the past that I highly recommend.

ALL OF THESE SHOWS ARE ON UK NETFLIX APART FROM MODERN FAMILY.

TV shows

Pretty Little Liars - this show is known by basically everyone. For those who may not know about it, it has a good variety of genres, mystery, romance, thriller, crime, comedy. I think this show is one that would be described as ‘a girl’s show’, the beginning is a but teen and awkward acting, but when I started watching it, I did not care. People get hooked on it so fast and it is so enticing, however, like the summer of 2014, I binge watched it the whole of summer and I did get pretty sick of it as it got quite predictable at times, but give it time and damn. Pll has officially finished now but it is still a great watch for anyone who likes any genre.

Orphan Black - this show is v hard to explain. Click for the trailer. It’s about clones, so Tatiana Maslany (the actress of all the clones) is a goddess, and how they are trying to find out who made them and why they are being hunted. I fell in love with all thr characters so easily and it is very hard to stop watching. It can be quite grusome and explicit at times but it just adds to the story. It genuinely is really hard to explain without giving too much away, so watch the trailer and if you’re interested, watch the first episode and I guarentee that you will want episode 2. If you watch this, attention is needed like a lot, because they refer back to things in season 4 that happened in season 2. But super duper worth the work.

Friends - now this is the most classic comedy, romance, drama show ever. If you don’t know what it is then you have not lived, and when you do watch it, you’ll finally understand all those jokes your friends made and all the quotes on memes you’ve seen.WATCH IT. Even if you’ve already watched it a thousand times before, watch it again, and again, and again.

The Big Bang Theory - I would say that the set up of this show is similar to Friends, a solid group of friends, a well known apartment, a regular meet up place etc. So if you’re into chilled shows with comedy and science, this will tick your boxes.

Bates Motel - drama, mystery, thriller, crime, romance, this is what will be found at the Bates Motel. This show is based off the classic thriller film, Psycho. It has been majorly spread out over like 3 seasons, but it shows Norman Bates before the ending of the film. It shows how his mental health showly gets worse and when it started and why etc. With the addition of his brother, Dylan, and friend, Emma, the audience can really connect with Norman and Norma as their lives are shown. It’s quite haunting as Norman is cray cray for taxidermy, but I got used to it quite quickly. A good watch, but needs attention as I forgot things that they mention like season 1.

Teen Wolf - i find this show really enjoyable, the first couple of seasons are... they aren’t slow, but it’s just all quite basic, like ‘oh look, another fight. yep, he’s a wolf too, cool.’ but it is still amazing. It starts to pick up at season 3, season 4 is kinda like ‘how they gonna fix this mess?’, season 5 is like ‘woah, there’s a shit load of new creatures, like damn.’ and season 6 (final season) is like ‘well shit. there is now way they are fixing this mess.’ It is all incredible and all the actors and actresses are pretty sweet (on the eyes). Comedy is included, and it will make you cry at some point.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine - similar set up to The Big Bang theory and Friends as being a sit-com, it is really enjoyable, i am currently watching it for the third time. Each episode is like a different scenario, i know thats the same with every show but this show is about cops and each episode is a different case. The characters are awesome and the actors play their parts so well. Comedy is the #1 genre, but there is drama and mystery (some). It for real is hilarious though! watch watch watch.

Modern Family - this show is seriously the best, just having all the different connections with each character and the diversity. I love it so much. It’s like a scripted reality show, there isn’t much I can say about it as it doesn’t really have a plot line, it’s just one huge family each with their own story. 100 percent, watch.

Parks and Recreation - similar to Modern Family in the sense of the filming technique, the characters look at the camera and they have interviews. Again is so funny and amazing and there’s just all humour types for everybody. Also, everyone will love Ron Swanson. (Sidenote: Chris Pratt stars in it which might intice a few).

Those are the main shows that I’ve watched before that I loved the most, but I am going to label some editional ones quickly that can’t go unmentioned.

13 Reasons Why - this heartbreaking show about a girl who commits suicide tells her story of what led to her decision. like srsly, your heart will melt.

Merlin - based in Camelot with Prince/King Arthur and the Knights of the round table, this show is legit, all about the magic. Main character is Merlin who has to keep his magic a secret from the royal family as it is against the law, and punishable by death, Slight hiccup, he is a servant for Arthur. Humour, romance, drama, fantasy, mystery.

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air - this show is so hilarious, the personality of Will is amazing and something that I think a small part of everyone can relate to. A great chilled out watch for people who love old shows. 

H20: Just Add Water - now i know this is a ‘childs’ show, and i did watch it in my childhood, but because it wasn’t when I was like 2, I remembered it and have re-watched it since. It’s basically about three girls that get turned into mermaids and have to keep it a secret from everyone they know, one problem, they can’t touch water. #dilemma

Sherlock - this show is amazing! i cannot stress enough how good this is. I haven’t watched it in ages because it finished, but it’s just Sherlock Holmes being savage af and solving crimes in the process. Mystery, drame, thriller, comedy, romance, oh hell no moments, Benedict Cumberbatch. It is the whole package.

iZombie - I have been a dedicated watcher of this show for ages, and i love season 1 and 2, but season 3 just didn’t do it for me. It got a bit too confusing and lost what they had is the first seasons. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the last episode of season 2 i was like ‘omg damn, what’s gonna happen now, this is such a cliffhanger omg i must know’ and then i googled when the next season was out, but now that the third and final season has finished i’m kinda like ‘hmm, i think i would’ve been okay leaving at season 2′. So i highly recommend season 1 and 2 for sure.

Now I’m just gonna write titles of shows that should definately be watched by everyone ever

Bad Education - comedy based in a british secondary school with Jack Whitehall as the main character (so you know it’s gonna be good).

Santa Clarita Diet - a woman becomes a zombie and tried to figure out how to deal with it, comedy, drama, mystery.

Outnumbered - sit-com about a british family of three children with the two parents that are now, outnumbered.

Scream - 100 percent mystery, thriller, crime, horror. best thing to ever happen ever and total shocker. Based off the classic film, Scream.

American Horror Story - I’ve only watched season 1, 2 and 3 (Murder House, Asylum and Coven), i really enjoyed them and have re-watched them. Can be really creepy and weird, would not recommend watching in the dark.

Big School - sit-com in a british school, David Walliams stars as the weird teacher trying to date the new French teacher.

Once Upon a Time - literally combines every fairytale, classic novel etc. i really enjoyed it but i couldn’t bulk binge watch it as it would annoy me as it got somewhat predictable. #lol

Miranda - best little show ever, a woman living in Surrey trying to figure her life out. Comedian plays the role of Miranda and shows how i think everyone whats to live.

How I Met Your Mother - a show similar to Friends and The Big Bang Theory, Ted narrates each season to his children telling the story of how he met thier mother and the years before. I would definately recommend as there is a major plot twist on the very last episode that will make you super happy but also super sad.

Riverdale - this awesome show is about a murder that everyone gradually forgets about and then at the end is like ‘oh yea’, there is only one season so far with a gripping finishing episode. but another is coming soon. it looks like it’s set in the 80′s-90′s if they had iPhone 7′s. totally worth the watch.

The Wrong Man’s - a british comedy show written and produced by James Corden. two men are in the wrong place at the wrong time and their lives slowly but surely, fall apart. might watch again soon actually.

Now i’m finally done. I’ve genuinely just listed every tv show i’ve every watched. I of course love The Simpsons and Futurama, but I thought people would want to hear more about tv shows that aren’t cartoons... ya know. 

I hope this helped anyone with their tough decision of what to watch next, and it’s summer now so there’s plenty of time. 

Hannah x