#I'm having way to many thought about parallels and opposites idk

[dumbbullet]

because ive had such severe brainworms lately here's the playlist I've had on for a week straight with every Hozier and Sleep Token song I could find on spotify, apologies for the person I will become when Unreal, Unearth and Take Me Back To Eden come out this summer

[avelera]

OK, so, I have now seen Good Omens Season 2 and had a moment to muster my thoughts after binging it.

SPOILERS below the cut, if that needed saying.

--

Let's start with the good.

Loved that Beelz/Gabriel became canon. What can I say? I love stories about immortals falling in love over the course of several meetings at a pub ;)

John Hamm in general was fabulous

I cackled at the fact we were getting an actual fem Aziraphale/Crowley, human coffee shop AU running parallel with the absolute fanficciest of justifications that Aziraphale and Crowley HAD to make them fall in love in order to *mumble mumble* something plot whatever, lol

I loved the bits of lore flashbacks we got about Aziraphale and Crowley first meeting when they were both angels and I found the whole Job encounter overall charming.

I was deeply fascinated by the fact that Crowley consistently performed selfless angelic acts while Aziraphale consistently needed to learn and grow around doing the right thing. Even to the end he remained, for the most part, a good little soldier. Aziraphale thinks the system can be fixed. Crowley "knows" that it can't. Presumably, Crowley is right. More on that later.

Muriel was adorable

Loved that we got the kiss. Also, huge shoutout to the fandom that I genuinely went in unspoiled on that front after the whole trailer debacle. I SUSPECTED based on the reactions that the spoiler was a kiss, but I was able to successfully forget all about it so I genuinely gasped when they kissed.

I'm not really all that bummed by the ending. It's so obviously a "temporary breakup so we come back together stronger" moment so I was largely unbothered. I actually want MORE angst, not less, in fic after that, please and thank you.

Unpopular opinion praise for S2, but I'm glad we didn't get more of The Them, or Madame Tracy (though the recasting of the actress in another role puzzled me?) or Anathema/Newt, or any of the non Aziraphale/Crowley, Heaven/Hell stuff. I found all those plotlines hugely boring and I'm glad the story moved on from them.

Did I mention I adored Gabriel/Beelz? Loved that plotline. Might rewatch that bit again just for that. I SORT of suspected it was happening but was still delighted by the confirmation. I couldn't BELIEVE this minor ship got made canon, but along the way I was sort of side-eying Beelz's reactions through the lens of, "Wait, what if Beelz is WORRIED for Gabriel?" and it worked very well so I was tentatively *glad* for the shippers who might view it that way and NEVER guessed they'd make it canon this season with more than a few tidbits for those shippers to cling to. Wow. Whole-ass parallel instead of what Aziraphale and Crowley COULD be if they actually 1) communicated and 2) understood each other's values and valued the same things.

Truly, it was a love letter to the fandom I found that to be very sweet as a choice made by Tumblr Girlie Neil Gaiman.

H'ok, now let's get into the negative. To be clear, I enjoyed the season! A lot of room is left to explore stuff in Season 3! And I'm not a deep Good Omens fandom person, I didn't read much fic after S1 dropped, I was more of a book fandom fic person for it. So my level of investment isn't such that I'm *crushed* by any of this, these are just more things I found a bit "meh"?

I really thought we were heading to a side-swap story about Aziraphale and Crowley and I was little bummed it didn't happen, though there's still room for the possibility in S3. The whole "maybe I did the good thing and you did the bad" taken to the max. I really wanted the angst of them finding each other only to end up on opposite sides again and opposite-OPPOSITE sides of where they'd been and been comfortable up to this point. I really wanted to see IMPACT and SUFFERING and DISCOMFORT and... idk, more drama? Than we got?

Like, there were SO MANY references to Crowley being selfless and doing the RIGHT angelic thing while Aziraphale did a lot of HORRIFYING things, including all the mind-fuckery stuff he did around the ball, totally insensitive to the needs and wants of the humans involved, only seeing them as tools, that REALLY made me wonder if we were getting a swap by the end.

The fact we saw SO MANY ominous references to Aziraphale FALLING because he was tempted by Crowley, over and over, because he questioned God, over and over? I thought something would come of that! I thought Crowley would get through to Aziraphale just in time to have Aziraphale fall and for Crowley to do something truly angelic, to have Aziraphale get through to HIM at the same time so they'd swap sides officially, against their will, the same way Crowley never meant to fall. It seemed like falling was something that COULD HAPPEN TO YOU AGAINST YOUR WILL and I wanted REDEMPTION to work the same way, AGAINST Crowley's will. I wanted them to get absolutely FUCKED by the moment they finally got through to each other and swapped philosophies.

So that was a bummer. Could still happen in S3 but...? I'd be a bit surprised at this point given I think it will instead focus on (*sigh*) averting the Apocalypse again.

I thought the pacing was fucking atrocious. There was so much dead time. So many scenes that were simply *not* needed and didn't add anything. So much meandering script with darlings that desperately needed to be killed for the sake of a snappier story. So much that felt like padding. With a better editor and 2 fewer episodes, I think it would have been a much tighter, better, fast paced show.

S2 recalled with a problem I have with Neil's writing in general - he's a short story writer/comic issue writer at heart. I, personally, am a long-form novel writer. Neil is not great at writing novels, he's a novella/anthology/short story person and it shows when he so often, so consistently, fails to pull a long-form story together in a satisfying way (to me, and this is just my subjective opinion).

It shows up in so many ways with how, in my opinion, S2 seemed to flounder with how to fill 6 episodes. The flashback to the Resurrectionist stuff could have been half as long and I found much of the writing pretty awful and cliche in it.

I liked Aziraphale learning that morality is complex, truly, but that was all I really liked of that bit of flashback and it could have been much shorter. I found everything around Elspeth exasperating and on the nose. It was a short story straight out of a random issue of "The Sandman" and sometimes it really feels like Neil has never managed to break out of the same stories, plots, and themes, with a dash of horror as he did from that era. He's always, always, still just writing either 1) fanfic of another person or mythology's work or 2) an original Sandman short stories/issues with no long-form plot. In his defense, they're always COOL and have an interesting VISUAL or IDEA but these stories aren't very... good? Writing? Or rather, he tends to just do the same things over and over again. Nifty idea that don't actually really *gel* into anything more complex than a single storyline?

I felt the same way about the Nazi Zombie plotline. I found that entire story beat EXCEEDINGLY tedious and pointless except to fill airtime, not to mention a bit gross to watch. I found the Magician Aziraphale plotline in general EXCEEDINGLY pointless and tedious to sit through. I thought it added absolutely nothing and was incredibly dull for 99% of the story.

Everything with Shax was exceedingly tedious and boring to me. The fight in the bookshop felt nonsensical and poorly choreographed. That needed to be a 2x speed to feel any sense of peril or urgency at all, and not knowing where it was going, or if anyone was actually really threatened at all just robbed it of any real sense of tension.

There was just... zero sense in general of important stakes in the Shax storyline or really in the season because there was no Apocalypse to build towards, no event that we knew about to worry about.

The world wasn't ending. Shax didn't seem empowered to actually do anything or hurt anyone. They were just a random action plot for... reasons? To make the climax in the bookshop come together so we could have a Jane Austen ball at the same time as 69 demons (heh) invading? There were so many logical leaps there to make that happen and the pacing/editing being garbage just... robbed it of any feeling of importance except as a time waster of a plotline. The actress is great and all but dear lord was that plotline dull.

A lot of the flashbacks in general just felt like... padding. Yes, we got a bit more Aziraphale and Crowley but they never quite... worked for me in those. It was always pointless STUFF they were doing rather than anything that contributed to the plot or even to my sense of them being in love or working towards becoming a couple! They were just... there, a lot of the time, sitting next to each other.

Some of the script pauses were SO BIZARRE. Like as if they'd just written the script and not realized how bloody often Crowley is given NOTHING TO DO in the background so he just... stands there, waiting for his next line, or taking a nap, or observing random stuff. David Tenant in the Resurrectionist bit with all his theatrics felt, again, pointless and tedious but also the best the poor guy could fucking do to fill out this incredibly boring story with any sort of entertainment. Bless them, the actors worked their ASSES off to get some fun and excitement into huge swathes of this script.

Maggie and Nina's relationship was cute but ENTIRELY pulled off by the actresses, the story was again, incredibly tedious and pointless otherwise, as many coffee shop AUs are in my opinion. Their personal charm elevated the material but it all felt like more stalling tactics with a wink-and-a-nod at fic writers, with this entire season was stretched out to justify, presumably, Aziraphale being in Heaven after being promoted to Archangel while Crowley is on Earth and they're fighting.

Quite frankly, if the "real" sequel, which Pratchett co-wrote, just opens with Aziraphale thinking Heaven's shown up to destroy him, only to promote him on the spot, basically the last scene of S2, you actually don't need 99% of this season at all to get there. In fact, it's a pretty fun comedy beat to do quickly. Basically, "Oh shit, the cops!" then "Actually, we're here to promote you!" and boom, we've reached the same spot as we got to after 6 episodes of S2.

Not that I didn't enjoy many of the character moments! But overall, it felt like stalling for time to make it a trilogy series, since only a few plot threads had any longer term importance to anyone who isn't a fanfic-writing super fan who knows what a coffee shop AU is and can giggle over there being one in the actual show.

Basically, it was very lacking in the strengths of the story that I attribute to Terry Pratchett - like the ability to pull a long-form story together, and certain clever turns of phrase.

There were so many lines where there was a pause where it was as IF they were going to say something clever, and then they just... didn't? And the line was just another cliche or a trail-off of someone mumbling "comedically"? That's where I very much felt Pratchett's absence. It indeed felt like half the writing duo was missing in many ways. And I'm not personally... all that convinced of Neil's chops when it comes to long-form stories or romance, two things that this season kinda relied on pulling off right that I was left feeling pretty tepid about after.

Look, overall, I did like it! I'm really excited for how the fandom will run with what happened and make their own stuff with it. I'm very excited for Season 3, whenever we get it, and the return of Terry Pratchett's fingerprints on the story. I think it's going to be great!

It's not that I think my time was wasted so much as I thought places where *I* would have done things differently, which is not a fair criticism of any work. From a technical perspective, really I just think it needed a tighter script or tighter editing, and they just might not have been able to do that if they were contracted for 6 episodes when they only really needed 3. Oh well. Onward and upward!

[lover-of-mine]

hello anna! i’m thinking about eddie right now like i always am lol but tonight i’m extra confused/mad about his season 7 characterisation. it seems like in switching buck and eddie’s potential queer storylines they also switched their personalities. “i jump into things too quickly and make impulsive choices etc etc” is the complete opposite of eddie. it’s literally buck who does that and that has been acknowledged many times in canon. idk it’s just so strange lmao i’m hoping it comes back around to something and isn’t just bad writing

Hi, darling, I agree with you to some degree, but I'm gonna give you my reasoning to try to stay chill while the story moves and not panic so far (I am enjoying him being a lighter version of himself, more willing to make mistakes and turn back around when he realizes not just sticking it out). Eddie does move fast. I mean he had Buck in his will within a year, and, like, Ana too, he went from unsure to having her in the house in one episode, I think that with the way he married Shannon right out of highschool, he kinda makes himself jump in trying to capture whatever he had with her, the way he was too careful about her coming back that eventually led him to "losing" time he could've had might also play a part. I think it comes with his tendency to overcorrect. He wasn't in with Ana so now he went all in now to see if that would work. Because something about Eddie is that he is reckless. He knows consequences might be catastrophic but if his gut is telling him to do something he just cuts his line and hopes for the best. And I mean, the guy was having panic attacks about a relationship that he was determined to make work for god knows what reason. I do think the moving in thing came out of nowhere. That was legit the most far off the left field thing they could've done. Because really, that affects Chris too much for him to just do it. And they so know that, that Chris was nowhere to be found. So I kinda wanna believe they have something planned to come out of this? Because if he keeps saying he wants Shannon again, he might believe that maybe the shock of responsibility might get him there? And maybe he's about to find out he needs to stop trying to recreate her? Because that is a weird situation to put him in just for the comedic effect of his plotline this episode. I made a post before the episode about how Marisol is supposed to be Taylor for Eddie, because they have this annoying habit of paralleling the love interests, but I never thought they would get this on the nose about it, yk? They're literally repeating dialogue and I'm really curious to see why Marisol being Taylor is so important or if there's a point in it at all, yk? But, yeah also wish they were handling him a bit more carefully this season, for sure, I feel like I never know where he's going next and that's a weird feeling.

[sunnysduet]

@not-siri i really hope you don't mind me responding to your comment here instead of in the replies since there's a character limit and i have a lot to say---

so in general, here are my thoughts on why exactly omori is symbolized so much with "red hands" and why they're a huge theme of red space, one of his if not his BEST attack in the omori route, and in general why they are the way they are :] it might not make total sense but it's just what i've come to the conclusion of!

heavy spoilers for the ending of omori (both routes, sorta) ahead!

so my take on it is that omori is the sort of ugly manifestation of what the trauma has done to sunny, encompassing guilt and lifelessness and emotionlessness; he's what sunny doesn't want to be, but what he also fears that he is, if that makes sense? that's why omori is so content to sit back and let his friends live under the over saturated, too happy delusion of what headspace is. headspace is sort of them, frozen in time; their best moments. omori is content to keep it that way because he believes that covering it up is better. letting it be the way that it is, having things stay the same, it's better if no one knows the truth. sunny, at the beginning of the game, also believes that.

but as the game progresses, the true route makes sunny begins to diverge from what omori thinks and believes. it's really difficult for me to put into words exactly what i believe omori is and what he represents. in general, in sort of basic terms, i believe omori is sort of a coping skill, too? a bad one, though, obviously. he's overly violent on purpose (probably to try to block out the guilt of hurting someone sunny loved more than anyone by accident), he's constantly emotionless and never gets afraid (unlike sunny who's terrified of so many things), and in general, omori seems to always be in control, for the most part. he leads the party (unless you manually change it, but he's the default), the's the one who has to be there before the adventures begin, whereas sunny let the world pass him by for four years. he lost total control over his life in one split second mistake.

obviously omori is meant to be a parallel, a perfect opposite; but he is also what sunny needs, or what he thinks he needs. all that being said, it brings us to the topic of red hands.

much like how omori's purposeful violence is a way to take back sunny's mistake and take control of the situation and be the one to choose when somebody dies instead of by accident, the red hands are also sort of like that. they're a sort of reminder, but also i think that the symbolism of omori sitting atop the throne of red hands is another sort of self-destructive coping mechanism. omori controls the red hands. he controls when people get hurt. omori owns the red hands as a way to absolve the guilt of the first time red hands occurred, which was sunny to mari.

red hands is, in my opinion, sort of just omori's "something". it's a metaphorical reminder of what happened. but only omori learned how to deal with it, admittedly through an awful way, and get it under control. overall i think omori just has a lot to do with the concept of taking back control of your trauma the only way you know how, sort of just like aubrey did and how she became angry and violent. omori just takes it to other levels.

idk if this makes much sense at all but that's my take on the whole thing! i'm trying to do this kind of quickly so this reply doesn't come through out of nowhere like an hour later haha and i'm sorry if this is weird, i just feel really strongly about omori's (as a character and as a game in general) symbolism :] but either way i hope this is sort of somewhere coherent and makes sense!!!

thanks for reading, anyone who did! :D

[rocketyship]

Hey, it's the anon who sent the really long ask and I'm sorry to say but i forgot what i was going to write about AM so I've put off sending another ask hoping I'd somehow remember 3am me's thoughts. That's obv not going to happen, though, so here's what i can scrounge up!

Your AM is in the very unique position of not only being non-human but also the only person BE openly has, let's say a... "dislike" for. There are ways he could relate to the humans of course (treated like a pet, not given any real self-determination etc) but it's experience is so different in so many other ways.(Naomi and AM were both "taken in" by BE while they were still.. idk young might not be the right word, but Naomi had time to grow up a bit before the whole thing while AM barely had time to realise that he's a person. Evan and AM are both seen as different from the others by BE, Evan for being a man and AM for not being one but Evan isn't dealt divine punishment for the whole trying to destroy humanity thing etc.)

Point is that AM as the narrator would be so fundementally different from the others, i think that's why i wanted to write about it. Narration from AM has the potential to be even clearer than Naomi's would be since there are things about BE she wouldn't show in front of the humans and things the humans just wouldn't be able to see in the same way(code AM might be privy to they couldn't interpret and such).

BE is also the reason AM can see, hear and feel so while he didn't have over a century to lament over not being able to (like the original AM did) that has to change so much, like you've already shown some of.

Oh and like you brought up in the post after my ask: there's no way traces of BE's code hasn't corrupted AM somehow! How would that change things? Does the corruption increase over time or would he just use that as an excuse for why he cares about these humans now? Would he even acknowledge that he has been "corrupted" or is he still too proud for that somewhere deep down? There's so much potential for character exploration!

The parallels between BE and the original AM is fun too! AM torturing it's humans to reinforce and remind itself of it's hatred for them and superiority over them vs BE torturing your AM as "divine retribution" for his sins and a way to remind herself of her job as her sheep's protector, her love for them as well as a reminder to both herself and your AM of her superiority over him.

Once again, hope you have a nice day!! It made me happy you've enjoyed my asks, and the explanation of the sanctuary was a nice bonus for the one before the last :)

This ended up really rambly, but i hope most of it is understandable and that my interpretations aren't like... completely different from what you were trying to portray. (Also, I'm used to referring to the original AM with it pronouns so i might mess up your AM's he from time to time, so here's a disclaimer that i dont do it on purpose)

You have a very good interpretation of my AM and it pleases me that my work my nonsensical posts came across the way I intended. One thing I have decided moving forward is that the story will be told in chapters or parts told from each characters perspective, with the exception of BE, as idk how to write the utterly bizarre way she thinks with it also being understandable to a reader.

But besides that I really like how you worded everything here, especially in pointing how BE is the counter part of the original AM. Truthfully the AM of this world is so different from the original, that I wouldn’t even describe him as the opposite of the og anymore. And you asked about how her code has corrupted him, and it definitely has become something that has gotten more prominent over time. In the beginning AM for sure had some of his pride and his og “hate-everything”ness, but overtime it has started to fizzle out, mostly as a survival tool priority, in the present time (109 years later) he struggles to recall exactly why he killed humanity in the first place, but still knows he did it as BE reminds him. He is also aware of his love for the humans coming from BE and often has crises if it’s own feelings or hers.

One thing about BE’s treatment of this AM (Who I might start calling Amy Idk), is that the body she gave him is very-very human like, as in it may or may not contain real human organs and bits of flesh, to really give him a warped “human” experience. So like the original AM, she has starved and dehydrated him for extensive periods of time, as well as the severe phycological and physical torture, yet she also doesn’t allow him to really “wonder” around. Although as stated before a bit ago his senses and nerves are hypersensitive, so he is generally very cautious about the stuff he gets up to. But one of the biggest differences between her and the OG AM, is how she has discovered to keep him in place. As in like what many real life abusers do, she kind of love-bombs him. As in she treats him nice sometimes, as it kind of “assures” him that he deserves this and if he behaves well then he can go upstairs and play with the humans. Not really helped that he has figured out that if he’s with the humans, BE doesn’t do anything (well she does it’s just more subtle), so that in of itself has definitely contributed to his love of the humans, finding safety with them, especially Evan who he has a particular interest in.

His body has contributed to him gaining things the og AM probably didn’t have cause of his circumstances, or at least a more tamer version. As you stated he is “young”, although I wouldn’t describe him as a child really, just kind of immature. Like he’s kind of goofy when his guard is down, if not clingy. His body is very sensitive, so while that does mean he experiences horrendous agony, it also goes the opposite way. So his odd cuddliness and enjoyment of warm things isn’t just me liking the idea of him in a pile of plushies I swear.

Anyhow I love your asks and everything, you se so cool. Thank you so so much. Hopefully you understood this ramble of mine like you did the others :D

[intrulogical]

No, no, please go into detail! I would love to hear more about your thoughts!

I wouldn't necessarily call Remus an alarm clock, but mostly cause I'm pedantic lol and Remus doesn't have that aspect of timing/immediate response like Virgil does. He certainly has that aspect of forcing confrontation with emotional truths Thomas doesn't want to acknowledge but needs to because even if they're repressed they're still affecting him.

Oooh, I love that parallel between Remus and Logan and them representing truths Thomas has a hard time acknowledging, especially because they represent such different truths too. Logan is generally objective, dispassionate truths - the most conscious part of the thinking process seemingly separate from the emotions - which tend to go unacknowledged because emotions tend to have a much stronger sway on humans. While Remus is unflattering emotional truths - those parts of the self that had been repressed into the subconscious - which tend to go unacknowledged because they disrupt the self-image of the ego. They're on totally different sides of the conscious vs subconscious spectrum but still share a similar fate.

Hmmm... I'm not sure calling Remus forbidden thoughts (presumably in contrast to Orange's forbidden emotions?) is entirely accurate, because he doesn't seem to represent only thoughts (like how in wtit he brings to the surface Thomas anxiety over his loneliness). It seems to me like a better distinction would be that Remus is about acknowledging the repressed and Orange (presumably) is about externalizing the repressed. Obviously with some more nuances that we can't really discuss without seeing the specific presentation of Orange first, but I don't think that nuance will come down to thought vs emotions.

\o/ YIPPEE

when i describe remus as an alarm clock, i don't really mean it in a sense of, he has a sense of timing— more of the fact that he serves as a wake up call to both thomas and the other sides. he surfaces repressed ideas, literally serving as thomas' AND logan's wakeup call in wtit.

i also think it's perfect remus and logan are two sides of thought, especially since logan's entire arc is rooted in the fact that he's actively Turning Away from suggesting anything that thomas may dislike because he was proven so incredibly wrong in lntao. not that he still does things he wants, but he doesn't enforce them in the same way he does before, and it's such a perfect opposite to remus who does nothing but Enforce his ideas. idk smth abt these two drive me NUTS

on the last part, when i say remus represents forbidden thoughts, i dont mean he Just represents forbidden thoughts. that's definitely just one part of his many roles, like when we say dark creativity and intrusive thoughts. i do think there's some merit in remus representing the repressed (internalized) v orange as the repressed (externalized)! goes well w the idea i have for orange thus far. it's part of the most recent analysis i made on the guy :3

[densitywell]

ludinus and ranni are similar in that they both want to use the moon to kill god out of grief and a need for vengeance. But they’re also cunning and cruel and I’ve seen people reduce them to one dimensional villains who want power for the sake of power.

THIS RESLLYNIS SO... anon your mind is wide open. use the moon to kill god (or is the moon using them 🤔?????)

i ended up having A LOT of thoughts about the parallels between the two and their ideology and their methods and the like, crazy amount of comparisons that can be drawn between Exandria and The Lands Between as post-post-apocalyptic worlds, so. I'm putting those under a read more.

responding to your broader point re: fandom interpretations of them, yeah. a lot of people seem far more comfortable with a villain being motivated by power for power's sake than having legitimate grievances about the way things are or even just like, anything sympathetic at all. bc moral complexity and detatching action from ideology is still very difficult and hard, and even people who claim to be above that kind of shallow reading fall into that pitfall from time to time (which is part of the reason i find a lot of Media Understander posting very unserious and more like a psychic's cold reading than an actual indication of someone's skill in that regard).

okay here's the long part.

the thing is, Ludinus and Ranni both- okay. i'll say it, the thing that discoursers love to treat as equivalent to thinking the vanguard have done nothing wrong and should win - Ludinus Does Have A Point. here, so people can screenshot me out of context-

"Ludinus does have a point." - Hecate Densitywell, 2024

both Exandria and the world of Elden Ring have recorded histories of colonialism and slaughter enacted by and in the name of their gods, against the Primordials and the Giants, the Aeorians and the Great Caravan of the nomadic merchants. The Shattering and the Calamity. Caelid and the Shattered Teeth.

Ludinus is much more interested and motivated by these histories than Ranni, who cares about the larger suffering of the world due to the Greater Will purely as an extension of her ideology. But in both cases it supports their overall argument against their gods, one in favor of free will, of separation from fate and the gods putting a finger - or slamming a hand down - on the scales.

it's a point completely betrayed by the methods Ludinus employs - the same kind of conquest and cruelty and control he rails against when it comes to the gods- but that is a condemnation of the actions and their perpetrator, not the ideas themselves. and while Ranni is shameless regarding the harm, both direct and indirect, that has occurred to achieve her goal, that harm more often has occurred in tandem with the actions of the gods and demigods vs in opposition to them.

they both also have personal, emotional motivations (and while i don't disagree with you, "Ranni killed god and recreated the world entirely bc her parents got divorced" is. so fucking funny when you put it like that.), but this is really true of anything anyone does, and it especially cannot be removed completely from issues concerning oppression, justice, the structure of our very society, etc.

and it's so fascinating in both cases, and in Elden Ring I honestly think Ranni's ending is the closest/most promising as a "good" ending, partially bc of all mentioned above, and bc the scope of the game means that the worst consequences (The Shattering) have already happened and cannot be changed, and there are only so many available endings overall. i do not think the same is true for Ludinus. the Exandrian gods are much more similar to mortals as opposed to say, the Elden Beast, and there's a chance they can be negotiated with or compelled to compromise into a more fair, equal way of using their power for good. and regardless, obviously Ludinus and friends should not be put in charge of fucking anything. not even a local craft store.

idk how to end this post. but damn this is all pretty crazy right

[lollytea]

So we all agree that in any Six of Crows AU Huntlow would be Matthias & Nina? Insanely loyal, opposing sides, deprogramming arc for the blonde boy. Would also be really interesting to see Willow post Parem.

I cannot fucking believe this, you have gotten me started.

(Even if you haven't read Six of Crows, I recommend reading the snippets I have here and imagine Huntlow. Because if you are a Huntlow enjoyer, they might make you insane. Or maybe its just me whose brain chemistry is changed by these scenes idk.)

Matthias and Nina were my favourites the first time reading SOC and I somehow never thought of this. But my God. Not only is his arc similar but Hunter acts so much like Matthias sometimes. Stern and gruff but has a sense of humor, plus a sheltered upbringing that has made him socially awkward and a little timid around romance and intimacy. But full of love. So completely overflowing with love. (Though the prejudice he learned from the Emperor's Coven is far different from what Matthias learned from the Druskelle.)

When it comes to Willow and Nina parallels, there's less. But they certainly exist. Willow is just as brave, confidant, smart, sweet, funny and dangerous as Nina. And physically there's the plus size thing and the green eyes and being beautiful. (Willow is called cute a lot in the show. I'm choosing to take this as fact.) But a big aspect of Nina's personality is how flirty she is. Like she's an older, sexually experienced girl who is hot and uses it to her advantage. That obviously isn't Willow, who's just a kid. Like I feel like she knows she's somewhat pretty (she says somewhat cuz she's modest.) And she's probably confidant enough to flirt with Hunter. But she would not be able to go to the extremes Nina goes to while flirting without getting horribly flustered.

So like. Huntlow as Nina and Matthias but a lot more innocent. Not entirely innocent cuz you know how teenagers are, but definitely not to the extent of Nina and Matthias.

Anyway since this ask has gotten me fucking started, I went and combed through the books for Matthias and Nina snippets that remind me of Huntlow. I have way too many. Gonna need to reblog this post once or twice with add ons just so I can get all my gushing out. Please be patient with me. ANYWAY

Very fun to think about Huntlow first meeting knowing that they're on opposite sides so they start off with a far more hostile relationship. However they end up in a situation where they're stranded and forced to work together. And then they manage to find a shelter but they're gonna freeze to death and they gotta do the whole ✨️Huddling For Warmth✨️ trope, which I cannot imagine Hunter being anything but insanely awkward about, though he desperately tries to be objective and professional about it.

Let's just imagine that besides plants, Willow knows one spell for keeping blood circulation going when it's freezing cold. Or maybe she can channel the the essence of the sun? Plants need sunlight to grow so maybe its a feature of her plant spells? Either way, she heats him up.

"He did like the way she talked." <3

Willow eventually learns that jokingly flirting with her enemy (who she has a temporary truce with in order for mutual survival) riles him up something awful. So if she can't kill him, she'll just playfully antagonise him. But at some point or another, this flirting motivated by boredom might have shifted into affection. They've been stuck together for a while now. They're starting to become attached to each other, whether they like it or not.

They are simply very cute. Huge Huntlow vibes here. Willow is being silly and Hunter is trying not to be silly but failing miserably because Willow's silliness is contagious. Also no matter how much Hunter disliked a person, you know he'd save them without a second thought. Willow is beginning to understand the kind of person he is.

Hunter being painfully obvious but also painfully confused.

This is just my Huntlow yellow tulip agenda.

There are simply no words for this one. But if I think about this scene but with Huntlow, I think I'll just fucking explode.

(Also one of Hunter's worst memories being Willow in the cell he put her in. "I never want to see you like this again." OKAY.)

OKAY OKAY OKAY OKAY Willow taking the parem. It fucking hurts me because she WOULD. Willow is a protector. She is in a dangerous situation where she and her friends are cornered and she needs to protect them. The only option she can think of is taking the lethal addicting substance that will enhance her magic to an impossibly powerful extent but ruin her physically and mentally from withdrawal. If she takes even one dose, she could die or go insane if she's not given another. But it's all she can do right now. She has to keep her friends safe.

And Hunter, who is just as self sacrificing as Willow, BEGGING her not to do this.

And Willow fucking telling him to KILL HER "if it gets bad." I can't take this shit anymore man.

And then after Willow unleashes her power, saves everyone and then begins to suffer from withdrawals. And everything hurts and she's suffering and she can't even hold Hunter's hand.

But she's determined to overcome this. She refuses to succumb to it. And she orders Hunter to keep her from taking anymore. And Hunter is reluctant because he knows what could happen. But though she could die from withdrawals, taking a second dose would be the point of no return. There was no hope of her ever recovering.

Also also also "Touching him hurt but she still did it." I will screech.

I'm not okay about this. I'm not okay at all. I haven't even gotten to Crooked Kingdom yet. Gonna reblog with my CK scenes later.

[nattyontherun]

I just read all ur naruto fics and I feel insane.

Me about fictional characters: they get me.

I absolutely refuse to be emo in someone ask box but screams at you so much.

“How much do you lose to mourning, when what you lose is everything you’ve ever had? How can you acknowledge yourself, when all you have left to acknowledge is the you who never grew past your hurt? // Existence was ruination, to Sasuke. Existence was the slow descent into insanity.” I’m literally rolling around on the floor thrashing around. Hearth fire (and the rest of the series) WRECKED ME by the way if you even CARE. Me when the parallels in a fic to my life literally grab my by the throat and stab me but also wrap me in a warm fuzzy blanket and pat my head. Literally sent me deep into a very contemplative mood after reading it.

“… would have to live on because if not him, who?” “…because mourning, in its own way, is a form of safekeeping.” Hello I have died.

Also I don’t mean this in a derogatory sense but when I went to ur ao3 profile and read u have a psych degree I was like. That makes so much sense lmFAO.

Also also on a slightly more serious note, well it’s not that serious tbh, but I also do be dissociating and the way you described it was idk it felt weirdly good to read. I used to lose days at a time. I’m not as bad now but I’ll still lose hours here and there. I am not one to externalise things so I don’t have the capacity to describe things to people when asked but we’re I to try very hard it would probably be similar to how you wrote sasukes experience.

Oh my god tho. Oblivion. YOUR MIND IS SO POWERFUL. Your mind is literally so so so powerful. I’m shaking.

Anyway maligayang pasko at mag ingat ka 🫶🏻

This just made my holidays! First of all thanks??? I'm as surprised as you are that HF has been so monumental for me????

I've been told on a multitude of occasions that I have the unfortunate(?) habit of putting a lot of myself in fics. What I explore--thematically at the very least--is often just me chasing after the worms that haunt me in my dreams, yk? It's not like I'm a perpetually sad or moody person--quite the opposite really--but if I don't contemplate stuff I go through at least a little bit, where would that leave me? As uncomfy as it is, it's better to know yourself too much than not at all.

But YEAH! HF! Mindboggly amounts of woah topped by a surprising amount of hope? Sometimes I think I made it too melodramatic and "floaty" for lack of a better word and then I get comments like yours and I start rethinking my spirally thoughts. I just have so many OPINIONS about how canon treated everyone, but mainly Sasuke. If they weren't gonna let him die, by god give him the justice he so deserves?? He has like zero closure and an overwhelming brother complex and all canon does to fix that is say "revenge bad, here walk around some" FAWK no????

Anyways I have a psych degree! I don't use it for much rn but it's glossy and makes me feel good about myself sometimes! I like to think I'm not so obvious about it but I also feel like I always talk about it to anyone everytime so bvcedjsnj where was I going with my reply?

Right. Right! I meant to say that, as per the dissociation thing--far be it for me to claim I know anything about it beyond what I've read in a couple journals but I do tend to 'lose time" so to speak, myself? When I'm stressed or depressed or anxious or some horrid conglomeration of those three horrid things lmao. It's NOT fun, and I don't wish it on anyone, and I hope, if you can, you can speak to someone about it because suffering, in whatever way, however much, doesn't have to be a thing we just settle with yk? Idk. I wrote HF with this thought in mind that just because things can seem absolutely ass over tits at any moment doesn't mean it's always gonna be like that. I love the struggle story, I love ANGST--writing it, reading it--but there's something so devastating and inspirational about wanting to stand back up after stumbling. Human tenacity and resilience will always be infinitely more heartrending than sorrow itself or whatever philosophical way you can spin it...

I feel like I just lost the thread of my response all over again. I'm sorry! It's nearing 3am, I just got off shift, and I'm in one of those moods again... just... I care very deeply about people as a concept, and the way we mold ourselves around each other's lives until every one of our struggles is an extension of our community, which is an extension of our history and so on. I'm not super good about being in the /now/, the details of general existence aren't my best friends. But if characters get to act however the fuck they want to act, if they can build themselves back up from nothing, explore themselves in ways you or I never could, maybe never is just a qualifier we give ourselves to excuse our inflexibility and stagnation?

Something, something, the ultimate goal of the human experience will always be Self Actualization.

Anyways Anon, sorry about all the rambly philosophizing, I've probably scared you off now fbvehcskffbcrehd but you made my whole month!! Maligayang Pasko sa inyo po!!! Ingat ka lagi!!!!!!! And to whoever even bothers to read all this rambling,,,, in English: Merry Christmas and take care always, Mabuhay!

[nablah]

would you please tell us more about your productions of rigoletto and/or la traviata?? 🥺

!!!

So from my ideas on Le Nozze/ Ang Kasal, ethnic and national identity would need to play heavily into Filipino adaptations/productions to actually make an impact. disclaimer: I really prefer race informed over race blind stuff because theres such a rich history you can get from a random actor/singer. and its personal. its resonant. opera where these characters are just characters are already interesting, but my point with these productions is that instead of being an offshoot of colonial influence and viewed as such, operas can be a way Filipino audiences can see themselves or their history in.

I think Rigoletto set in either the American colonial era would add another layer to the oppression Rigoletto, and to an extent, Glinda, experience due to the unequal standing of the Philippines as a colonial state. We focus a lot on Spanish oppression of Filipinos but I think the benevolent assimilation approach the US took is more in line with someone in power like the Duke who abuses those under him and is yet desired. Theres's hierarchy in Rigoletto and in the American colonial era, but these hierarchies depend more on allegiance, not race or ethnicity, though those already make a subservient Filipino as merely a little brown brother and not a true American. And the Duke, btw, doesnt even have to be American; there's a possible other layer to the idea of betrayal and abuse the Filipino elite were able to enact as allies of the new colonial power (the hot take here is the duke parallels rigoletto but in the opposite direction)

I think it would be very similar if it were set during the Marcos era; there's a reason protesters called/still call it a US-Marcos dictatorship. In this setting though, the power afforded to the Duke is no longer a colonial power but one of their own (from the concept of "tayo" vs "sila", it is a division within "tayo"). Evil wields political power and with the suppression of those who go against the administration, the threat of death and torture is much greater. Also factor in the possible allegory of Glinda as an innocent bystander who becomes a desaparecidos/disappeared like many innocents and even loyal allies of the Marcoses who were eventually betrayed. The presence of Sparafucile and Maddalena also lurk to contradict the whitewashed history the Marcoses try to portray: Ang Bagong Lipunan/A New Society, where crime and poverty are supposedly eradicated. Extrajudicial killings beyond political reasons still occur, and even act on behalf of the government. And who is Rigoletto in these two settings? A turncoat who betrays not just fellow humans but even his own ethnicity (insert rant on regionalism in the Philippines) and ideology? Or a man trying to save himself and his daughter in a system that is formed to consume them? Idk i guess these are really shallow parallels but solidarity is a thing across the world, recogizing the self through the other and whatnot.

In modern PH society, I think the nature of imperialism and capitalism really just makes a periphery nation a whore/ibong mababa ang lipad, but considering the still dilapidated health system and the "way out" for many Filipino women by marrying a rich white guy really makes Violetta a resonant character? She's not sempere libera-ing, she's still stuck in a patriarchal and a neocolonial system where she has no control, even over her own health because of the stigma she faces as a courtesan, even though its ingrained in our society to do exactly that! I mean, she is trying to escape but she will never escape!!! (whats also sad is that i'm actually equating 19th century healthcare with moden ph healthcare lol)

i'd love any thoughts though, these are just funky ideas i play with sometimes :>

[fellasleepinbaltimore]

cw: mentions of suicide and child abuse

watching this gay shit and it's set in like the 1920s and at first I was like... it's so wierd a gay guy would have this much pride and dignity to be like "I won't live dishonestly" but I think that's a very surface level shallow interpretation bc it's like

theres the main character tian and this other guy zhang who ummmm killed himself in front of everyone when he got found out and was demoted for it and like... that's not the reaction of someone who is prideful or... unyielding it's that of someone who has had to do so far too much, like it's the straw that broke the camel's back, one too many indignities

and tian is sort of young when that happens but his story is parallel to zhang's bc they work in the same family and are under the same pressure to have a 'good' reputation or rather a 'respectable' one

and bc of the dynamics in the family when tians mom sees him being a lil faggy she like... beats him and swears him to secrecy

and like in the present day she's like speedrunning his marriage and he's like bro I don't want to live a lie, I want to tell people at least our family, you're not doing this to protect me you're doing it to protect your position

I don't thinh she's doing it for selfish reasons she saw zhang kill himself and is deathly afraid of something happening to her son bc of his sexuality

but like tian has had to endure the constant like performance that is behaving in a certain way and interpreting his resistance to his current situation as pride I think is an unfortunate short-sighted interpretation bc it's actually the opposite it's quiet desperation it's having to harbor this shadow his whole life along with the pressure of what would happen not just to him but his entire family's reputation if it got out and being FUCKING TIRED!! not even angry tired just exhausted!!! of CONSTANT just meticulous calculated existence, never getting to exhale or be truly honest

and it's that... that's important to put everything into context that like while his mother and no one wants this for him... they put him in the same position anyway! like mae li (his mom) does literally... LIKE SHE KILLS SEVERAL PEOPLE!! to keep the secret she doesn't want her son to lose everything over this... but like... it happens anyway! like they still ... this secret still affects them, they deal with it anyway and quite literally as a direct result of her attempts to hide it so idk I think it's very interesting

cos Im watching for the second time but I was so quick this time to be like huh that's kinda odd... but idk I think I'm glad I thought about it for more than five seconds ❤️

[hi-my-name-is-dotdotdot]

ds9 season 4 episode 13 “crossfire”

O'BRIEN: I don't see why Captain Sisko insists on having me here. I'm not a senior officer.

BASHIR: Maybe he just wanted to see you in your dress uniform. It does show off your figure.

O'BRIEN: Why, thank you.

I-

what am I supposed to say to this

seriously though this episode was so, so angsty and Odo is pining for Kira and he’s so upset

also? somehow it simultaneously feels like a “first love/crush” kinda story and a queer allegory

I don’t think I have to explain the first, it’s pretty obvious (the pining, the devastation when Kira and Shakaar get together, the trying to get over it by avoiding her)

now, the second: what screamed “this is a queer experience” to me was how Odo doesn’t want to admit to his feelings for Kira because he thinks he shouldn’t have these feelings, that they’re wrong, that’s he’s wrong for having them. at first he tries not acknowledging them because maybe it’ll go away but then Quark confronts him and idk if this was intentional, (or if I’m finding things where there isn’t anything) but it seemed to me that his anger at Quark is also because of anger at himself and fear that someone knows and fear of what this means for him

now, obviously this isn’t universal, but many of those feelings - “wrongness,” denial, fear, confusion, anger - are things that I, and I’m guessing many others, went through on our “wait wait wait I’m not actually [fill in the blank]” journey

besides that, there’s Kira starting a relationship with Shakaar. Shakaar, who in one very important way, is the opposite of Odo: he’s a humanoid. Odo, while appearing like one, is most definitely not. this, I think, parallels having feelings for someone you know (or, think you do) cannot feel the same way about you (easiest example being liking a straight person of your own gender)

(also side ramble- Odo’s a shapeshifter, a changeling, a gelatinous liquid, why does he have a gender???)

also, just earlier in this episode, Odo and Worf were bonding over how they both like order and Odo mentioned how everything in his quarters has its own specific spot and nothing is allowed to be out of place (and last episode or maybe a couple episodes ago Odo was mad at Jadzia for breaking in and moving everything around by just a few centimeters) and then. he goes. and he smashes up his quarters, completely destroying any order, and then just sits quietly in the rubble and it’s so sad

and of course, Quark comes in, and Odo doesn’t even turn around to look at him, doesn’t tell him to get out, barely says anything until “funny, for a moment there I thought you were speaking to me as a friend”

and then we just. see a closeup of Odo’s face, looking almost vulnerable, for a good few seconds, and Quark tries to play it down by saying “nah” and leaving but I for one don’t think it worked that well

also another side note - in this scene Odo has some stray hairs. however, he doesn’t actually have hair, he just shapeshifts to create the appearance of hair, which means that he purposely crated stray hairs because he was that distraught

which brings me back to my original point about smashing up his quarters: he goes against his instinct for order and brings chaos, both to his quarters and to his hair, because he’s feeling chaotic, and conflicted, and disorderly

and to see that, from Odo, it’s… heartbreaking, in a way (but to me it feels more like heartbreaking in the way that watching a kid become disillusioned about the world would be)

anyways. it’s very sad but Quark’s pep talk seems to help, he picks himself up and orders his quarters soundproofed so Quark can stop complaining. And, this decision is iffy but also understandable, he also tries to cut his friendship with Kira by cancelling their weekly meetings, which. um. as I said, is iffy. I think in the future he’d just regret losing such a close friendship and it might not even help? but on the other hand if it hurts him that much to be around her, maybe the avoidance will give him time and space to sort himself out and move on? (for some reason, I wanna know what Quark would say about it, he’s been the only one giving Odo any sort of advice this episode anyways)

anyways. I think that’s it, just wow this episode inspired a lot of feelings in me that I didn’t even notice until I started typing

[justignoremedontlookatme]

The Tortured Poets Department Track Predictions

Side D

I Can Do It With a Broken Heart 3:38 (Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff)

The title is giving Louis Tomlinson, especially 'my heart might be broken but I won't be broken down.' reminds me of her time interview where she said she would keep performing on tour so matter what happenned. Sad but hopeful, maybe giving a saturdays by louis tomlinson kinda vibe, but i really have no clue.

Especially with the track length and co-writers knowledge, it's really giving yoyok energy. Both production-wise and thematically. she's telling herself to keep going because it will get better. She's on her own, always has been.

***The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived 4:05 (Taylor Swift and Aaron Dessner)

My third and final claim. I just think its funny to think about taylor writing a song about joe having a small dick. I think it will be about how she is a shining diamond, enthusiastic, positive, larger than life kinda person, and he is the opposite and they are incompatible for that reason. This also means that she is ultimately so much happier as a person as she doesn't try to act 'cool' and doesn't pretend to be anyone else, and more successful too. I think it will be a bit belitteling, in the best way.

A taylor/aaron co-write? this will be cutting. Kind of getting would've could've should've energy from this song, sonically at least. Idk, I'm very excited for this song.

The Alchemy 3:16 (Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff)

Alchemy involves turning base metals into gold and was used as a cure for basically anything. This might have something to do with the victim/saviour thing that happened in their relationship where he saved her. She thought that he would make everything perfect (she/he is an alchemist, going from the worst point in her life to hopefully the best), but as it turns out alchemy is bullshit. He can't do that. The relationship worked for a bit, but this is not the way to build a healthy relationship. This may be her realising that it really was doomed from the start. Also maybe her being angry about the time she wasted when in hindsight it's so clear that it could never work out forever, no matter how much she wanted it to.

This could also be her turning over a new leaf, like a begin again kinda moment. Although I think that a tayvis song on this album is unlikely, if there were one it would be the alchemy. Ignore all the bullshit I wrote above, this song is giving very strong begin again energy to me. This song seems midtempo. watch me be so wrong. (Side note: these predicitons are so stupid, like I'm literally just lying a bunch: "this song will be about her moving on" I just told a lie. It's so humiliating writing these things. i know I will cringe reading them back, I'm already cringing writing them)

Clara Bow 3:36 (Taylor Swift and Aaron Dessner)

The Last Great American Dynasty. There are so many parallels between clara bow and taylor, so this may be song where she compares their lives and the parallels between them. Taylor may talk about her struggles with fame, how she has to keep constantly reinventing herself and changing the way she releases music etc to stay relavent, struggling with being someone people look up to for everything (never take advice from someone whose falling apart), the media's portrayal of her (blank space). Clara had a husband who didnt like the idea of 'showing herself off' (bejewelled -- a diamond's gotta shine). People talked more about the gossip surrounding her -- her looks, false rumours, etc -- than talking about her talent and achievements (sound familiar?). There was apparently a rumor that she slept with the entire USC football team -- no i do not think there will be a song about or referencing travis though. It's clear to see why Taylor would be intrigued by Clara Bow, and there are so many similarities and direct parallels between their lives that. The song could be about their relationships, going the bejewelled route, or it could go the mysoginistic route, giving a blank space/the man kinda song. The sound i think will be soft and wistful though, which would fit with the old-timey vibe.

I basically said it all. The content seems to be pretty self-explanatory. A closing track comparing herself to clara bow, saying that her fame makes it difficult for her to maintain relationships, maybe? Calling her life a tragedy... maybe not that far, but it seems to be a somewhat melancholy ending. i concur that it will be soft and wistful. i mean, its an aaron co-write. ... guys c'mon... It seems to be a fitting conclusion to the album -- to all the stuff I just made up about the album, at least. we'll never know. Well... in 23 hours I will.

Side A / Side B / Side C / Side D / Bonus Tracks / Ranking / Lyrics

[kitkatpancakestack]

Friend. That episode scrambled my brain. How are you holding up? I need to talk about Buck in this episode. Dear, wonderful, pulls-no-punches Buck. Buck in THAT scene — The Talk.

Or, can you talk to me about Buck? (What with my scrambled brain and all.) The way the shooting — their shared trauma and the will — Eddie's act of profound love for Chris AND Buck, for their family — have this physical presence around them, inside of this cherished bubble they built. The inherent tension between these two things — the fear of loss and the love. How Buck is the one who alludes to them, is the one to begin to push. But neither of them are willing or able to sit fully with them just yet. About how Eddie folded like a cheap suit at the gentlest of prods, and the choices Buck made about where to push. And where not to.

Can we talk about the layers of subtext in every single word of The Talk? "Is that enough?" "I've been Ana..." "...like a ready-made family...I'm not sure I'm ready for that..." *Buck's face...* The way Buck evoked his own experiences, as if they have value, because he knows he matters now, because Eddie told him he's not expendable...

The way Eddie remains a stubborn fixed point in his denial (this is not going to last), but Buck is watching, thinking thoughts and connecting dots.

Anyway, this is me rambling in your ask box to get you to talk to me about Buck.

*pours two cups of coffee* @yramesoruniverse always good to see you thanks for stopping by, and you don't even need to ask I'm ready at the drop of a hat to get weird and meta about these firefighters.

I think these two episodes fundamentally shifted something in my brain, for sure. There's a lot of calling-back happening, subtle mentions and locations and props that niggle at your memory a bit to think where have I heard this before and given how similar S4 Eddie was to S2 Buck, I am interested to see additional implied parallels from this season to S3.

You want to talk about Buck, let's talk about Buck. Let's talk about the deliberate placement of him, once again, in opposition to Ana. Let's talk about how him and Ana, in that one scene, do not interact at all. I mean, there's no quick niceties, they don't even make eye contact to acknowledge the other's existence, which I think is an enormously effective and sneaky way to show how these two people have become proxies trading places in Eddie's life, for all intents and purposes serving the same function, which is why they have thus far been contrasted separately, and why it feels so tense when they are in this moment together. And it felt like a test. Ana failed. Buck didn't.

Let's talk about the shooting and the guardianship, especially the guardianship, how they have not been explicitly and thoroughly addressed. Idk if it's just me but it feels like there's a heaviness to all of Buck and Eddie's scenes, this unmentioned thing taking up space that they are painstakingly dancing around.

There's so much in that Talk scene at the station. So many layers. It's funny; they don't talk about their love lives until it starts to disrupt the real family unit they got going on between them and Chris. This is married behavior. This is what partners do, as a team with a kid to think about. You need to tell me if something is wrong. This is one significant other telling the other one that their problems are starting to cause waves and they need to touch base with each other, get back on the same page. And the way Eddie folds, because he knows, because he and Buck are partners, because they built this thing between them and it requires ongoing love and dedication to maintain.

Buck inserting himself as Ana? Buck and Eddie having this conversation about what real love should look like? That fucking pause before Eddie looks up at Buck, like something is going on there but I cannot pinpoint exactly what. There's so much I haven't even begun to unpack.

It is literally driving me insane. The subtext has become text. I don't even....what is the protocol for this?

[rainydayhues]

Thoughts on The Rookie 4x09...

My feelings on this season and Chenford's development have been pretty clear from the start. But as always, let me preface with, I get that others haven't enjoyed the first half for varying reasons and that's okay!

That said, I really truly have and 4x09 was no exception. I loved the home reno scene - but also, who invited Lucy? Was it Tim or Genny? She just arranged to have the same day off as Tim so she could help, right?! Or did he arrange it for her? Did Genny absolutely insist on it?😏

(Also the head cannon is now that Lucy has a full on dream proposal thought up right? But I also think it's just something she thinks she wants and when Tim does the complete opposite, she realizes that's actually what she wanted all along.) 😅🤗

Now, I've said this before but the way Lucy continuously offers Tim perspective was apparent again - when he wants to take the case over immediately, tries to interrogate Monica himself and finally when Lucy brings her back in for questioning because she just had a feeling. Lucy being a smart, capable and thoughtful cop, we love to see it.

The HUG! I said this last night but I loved the parallel and how it really served as a bookend to 4x01. Tim comforting Lucy at her most vulnerable and Lucy comforting Tim at his. These two have found a comfort and intimacy with each other and I love to see it. Also both of them with their "come here" - it's so insane. Like "come here, come to me, I've got you"

I also know there's been a lot of discourse over the Tim test line and won't rehash that. But I appreciate the callback to it and how it wasn't a throwaway line. My takeaway was this - when Tim first says the Tim tests make him nothing like his father, it's almost like a plea to her - he needs her to know that. She then says "I know" and "you're nothing like him", almost taken aback because she knows this. Lucy knows this as deeply as she knows herself, I really believe that. When she hugs him and says back to him (the 2nd time) "you're nothing like him" - it's almost like a plea from her, one where she really needs him to understand that a) of course, he's nothing like his father and b) more than anyone she knows it. It spoke volumes to me about their connection and how deeply they think of and about each other. Plus Eric's face in that moment, man. The way he absolutely physically falls into that hug and takes the comfort so easily. All the kudos to Eric for 4x08 and 4x09. (Also height difference angle there, A+).

A few other thoughts on the episode in case anyone cares 😂

- I was inititally nervous to see how many cast members/guests they had in this episode but weirdly it all worked out okay?

- Smitty and Tamara were funny, I don't need Nolan to win union rep but we do need to keep Smitty around

- They continue to push Bailey on us and now with this husband storyline, I couldn't help but laugh because it's so absurd at this point. Cute that it was Jenna's IRL husband, I guess?

- I hope that this brings us to the end of Wesley's Elijah storyline and instead opens up a new thread into Angela taking over that story arc with the new cartel head, (I forget her name.)

- Definitely looks like we're getting more Enver/Donovan this season because that custody battle is about to heat up.

I know we're clearly headed for the "Ashley episodes" in the new year and I've said before, while I'm curious to see how they handle it, I'm still not worried. And if anyone has had a chance to read Alexi's interview with TVLine he mentions no UC for now and instead a personal storyline for Lucy he didn't want to spoil yet and a new love interest so I'm even more curious now, what are everyone's thoughts on that?! I hope it's something with her parents but idk!

I for one am excited for 4B! Asks are open, lmk what you think because I'm always happy to discuss Chenford/The Rookie!

[clericbyers]

I see these people (particularly talking about byler shippers/ST fans) who are so good at picking up on details. Like understanding colour meanings, reading body language, finding parelels, etc in shows and stuff and like HOWW. I want to analyze(?) shows but idk how. Sorry if this isn't stuff u want ppl to ask but I thought you might be able to give tips. But yeah that's all.

Hey there! I do want people to ask such questions actually!! Please don't be ashamed for asking. I don't know if there is an overarching way of doing this, but my own experience comes from AP literature classes back in high school, reading How Not To Write A Novel and This Is The Year You Write Your Novel, but you don't need such things to analyze basic media. As much as we make memes and jokes about the literature teacher asking students why the author made the curtains blue, that type of analysis does matter. Be critical about what a writer/musician/director/artist puts before you, because there is often a hidden statement there--that is a large purpose of the creative arts: to convey thoughts/ideas/meaning in uniquely intricate ways that pull you in with the desire to understand. And being critical does not mean being negative! Criticism is simply another term for analysis in this context, specifically literature/art focused.

(And I'm not talking about bubblegum pop here--a lot of that stuff is mindless made only for the money with no inherent value but said money.)

I've stated this before, but in writing, when something is emphasized, it matters--classic example: mention of the gun on the mantle meaning the gun comes into play later in the story. In shows, the combination of directing and set pieces makes or breaks things. Color theory/symbolism in literature and media is as old as time itself I feel. Think about flower language! We see in color and associate various emotions with color--blue is calm, yellow is happy, red is anger or lust, orange is warmth, etc etc--and bringing emphasis to these shades helps color a scene and develop a tone for the event occurring. If you have watched Marvel's Loki TV show, in the episode where Sylvie and Loki have conversation on the train, there are many hues of purple, pink, and blue surrounding them. The director herself stated she wanted this tone to emphasize Loki's bisexuality--further made clear by Loki himself admitting he has likes for princes and princesses. When looking at queer media / relationships between same-gendered characters, such detailed analysis is necessary because so rarely is any queer affection broadcast on screen in the blatant ways of straight couples. The way to see a romantic relationship is in the details: the gazes, the parallels to straight couples (whether in clothing, location, dialogue, you name it--a straight couple often wears shades of red and blue and the same-sex couple does the same, a phrase said between a romantic straight couple is said either exactly the same or close enough by a same-sex one), the hints of rainbows correlating with characters or open closet doors cough Mike Wheeler cough. If you can take a canon same-sex duo, theoretically genderbend one character, and their canon relationship reads as the most romantic, caring relationship you've seen/read, then there's your answer.

In the case of Stranger Things for example, eyeing the open closet doors Mike hangs around brings about a few thoughts: 1) the phrase "coming out of the closet", 2) the fact that the opposite could have been true (the closet door being closed) but it ISN'T so this was a deliberate choice that deserves attention, 3) what happens in the scenes that requires that focus on the closet door. And yes, the door is in the background and it is not the MAIN focus, but it is present. Mike is in front of it, has a one way sign going toward it, that means something.

I like to think about things in opposites: as in, for the example of the gun, there is an alternate version of the story where the gun isn't mentioned or simply does not exist on the mantle, but the story we have here includes the gun on the mantle. Therefore, that gun means something--whether the main character grabs it in a rush for her life, finger trembling on the trigger as she points the barrel at her assaulter, or an old man tells the story of how he earned the gun to his granddaughter as he lies on his deathbed, wishing for the days long gone of his youth. That gun matters because it was crafted a scene in the story. That closet door matters. That pink, purple, blue bisexual lighting matters.

It takes time and practice as does anything, to start seeing hints and stuff. You ever notice how in kids movies, there's dirty jokes for the adults--you wouldn't get it if you didn't know, if you weren't already open to the concept of hotboxing a car the way it looks Shaggy and Scooby are doing in the live action 2001 Scooby Doo movie. Straight people aren't going to put much emphasis on an open closet door as say queer people because we know what an open closet door means in our lives, what it stands for. Same thing goes for other hints and such in media. When black people--myself included--were upset about that white Animal Crossing player on Twitter who used the afro puff hairstyle and called it space buns and doubled down on her commentary, unwilling to admit that the particular hairstyle was puffs, not buns, because of the hair texture used in the styling. That is something non-black people may not have noticed, hence calling it space buns. But it matters; that detail Nintendo added matters and brings new life to the game and helps black players feel more like their characters in game.

While that bit about Scooby Doo and Animal Crossing may feel out of left field, imagine both media pieces without that hotboxing joke and without the addition of black hairstyles. Completely different movie as an adult not having that joke to laugh at, completely different game to play without having hairstyles to relate to. Completely different story not having that gun on the mantle, or having Mike standing near open bedroom doors (which really does not have meaning in my mind unless you're in California suffering through an earthquake), or having purple curtains instead of blue. It takes time to see those things, and of course not every little thing matters (the shape of a cloud doesn't matter until someone says they think it looks like a dog) but together, these details build a story/universe/relationship/etc that invites people to critique and pull whatever meaning they desire from it.