#blatantly obvious which has only been a couple cases

[blackbackedjackal]

Saw this on Reddit, could this be a coydog? https://www.reddit.com/r/animalid/comments/105o3g4/local_residents_page_in_mi_cant_decide_if_this_is/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

I don’t know much about them as I don’t have coyotes in my country but I love learning form your account and seeing the massage variation in them, thank you for posting

So here's the picture of the coyote in question:

And images of the subspecies in that area, Canis latrans thamnos:

The Great Lakes/Northeastern coyotes are one of my favorite subspecies. They have a very unique skull shape and build since they're in this transitional space between the western subspecies and the Eastern Coyote (Canis latrans "var.").

Red coyotes are a very common morph among Eastern coyote subspecies. You see them in almost every Eastern state, and especially within the Northeastern subspecies. Though the theory is that this coloration was introduced into coyote population from dogs, many Northeasterns seem to be this color because it's just beneficial to the environment they live in. I'd need to find the image but there's a trial cam photo of a Northeastern coyote in the woods up there and it blends almost perfectly into the landscape. Coyotes are known for being incredibly adaptable and, as we've seen in Eastern Coyotes, if it's an adaptation they benefit from in a particular area, it spreads realtivly quickly through the populations. I've also wondered if because they look very dog-like from a distance is why you see a lot of them in urban environments (little bit of urban camouflage because the average person would see that color and think they're dogs, so they're left alone and can spread those genes). Here's a group of red Northeastern ones living in downtown Chicago:

There's nothing about the image of that coyote to make me think it's a high content coydog. Read through a lot of the comments on reddit and all these "dog traits" people are looking at are just traits common within that subspecies. I haven't seen a ton of studies done on the Northeastern subspecies but the Eastern Coyotes which are more know for hybridization are still predominantly coyote with admixtures of dog, gray wolf, and eastern wolf within thier lineage. Basically, unless the animal is captured and tested, it's a safer bet to consider it a coyote until proven otherwise.

There was a black coyote that caused a big scene several years ago who was seen actively playing with and befriending dogs. The public was convinced he was a coydog because of his coloration and behavior. He was eventually captured and taken to a conservation center and samples from him were sent to UC Davis. No recent dog lineage was found. He was just a black coyote. His name's Carmine and he's adorable btw

There's also this little lad who was tested and is confirmed to be an F1 coydog. From a distance he would look like a typical coyote, but he's half border collie.

Morphology alone is not the best indicatator for whether or not coyotes have high content of dog or wolf in them, especially if you aren't aware of the differences between the subspecies. Genetic testing is the only way to 100% confirm whether they do or not. Just from that one pic and knowing what area the coyote is from, I definitely think it's a just Northeastern coyote.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Three AI insights for hard-charging, future-oriented smartypantses

MERE HOURS REMAIN for the Kickstarter for the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There’s also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

Living in the age of AI hype makes demands on all of us to come up with smartypants prognostications about how AI is about to change everything forever, and wow, it's pretty amazing, huh?

AI pitchmen don't make it easy. They like to pile on the cognitive dissonance and demand that we all somehow resolve it. This is a thing cult leaders do, too – tell blatant and obvious lies to their followers. When a cult follower repeats the lie to others, they are demonstrating their loyalty, both to the leader and to themselves.

Over and over, the claims of AI pitchmen turn out to be blatant lies. This has been the case since at least the age of the Mechanical Turk, the 18th chess-playing automaton that was actually just a chess player crammed into the base of an elaborate puppet that was exhibited as an autonomous, intelligent robot.

The most prominent Mechanical Turk huckster is Elon Musk, who habitually, blatantly and repeatedly lies about AI. He's been promising "full self driving" Telsas in "one to two years" for more than a decade. Periodically, he'll "demonstrate" a car that's in full-self driving mode – which then turns out to be canned, recorded demo:

https://www.reuters.com/technology/tesla-video-promoting-self-driving-was-staged-engineer-testifies-2023-01-17/

Musk even trotted an autonomous, humanoid robot on-stage at an investor presentation, failing to mention that this mechanical marvel was just a person in a robot suit:

https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/elon-musk-tesla-robot-optimus-ai

Now, Musk has announced that his junk-science neural interface company, Neuralink, has made the leap to implanting neural interface chips in a human brain. As Joan Westenberg writes, the press have repeated this claim as presumptively true, despite its wild implausibility:

https://joanwestenberg.com/blog/elon-musk-lies

Neuralink, after all, is a company notorious for mutilating primates in pursuit of showy, meaningless demos:

https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-pcrm-neuralink-monkey-deaths/

I'm perfectly willing to believe that Musk would risk someone else's life to help him with this nonsense, because he doesn't see other people as real and deserving of compassion or empathy. But he's also profoundly lazy and is accustomed to a world that unquestioningly swallows his most outlandish pronouncements, so Occam's Razor dictates that the most likely explanation here is that he just made it up.

The odds that there's a human being beta-testing Musk's neural interface with the only brain they will ever have aren't zero. But I give it the same odds as the Raelians' claim to have cloned a human being:

https://edition.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/01/03/cf.opinion.rael/

The human-in-a-robot-suit gambit is everywhere in AI hype. Cruise, GM's disgraced "robot taxi" company, had 1.5 remote operators for every one of the cars on the road. They used AI to replace a single, low-waged driver with 1.5 high-waged, specialized technicians. Truly, it was a marvel.

Globalization is key to maintaining the guy-in-a-robot-suit phenomenon. Globalization gives AI pitchmen access to millions of low-waged workers who can pretend to be software programs, allowing us to pretend to have transcended the capitalism's exploitation trap. This is also a very old pattern – just a couple decades after the Mechanical Turk toured Europe, Thomas Jefferson returned from the continent with the dumbwaiter. Jefferson refined and installed these marvels, announcing to his dinner guests that they allowed him to replace his "servants" (that is, his slaves). Dumbwaiters don't replace slaves, of course – they just keep them out of sight:

https://www.stuartmcmillen.com/blog/behind-the-dumbwaiter/

So much AI turns out to be low-waged people in a call center in the Global South pretending to be robots that Indian techies have a joke about it: "AI stands for 'absent Indian'":

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/29/pay-no-attention/#to-the-little-man-behind-the-curtain

A reader wrote to me this week. They're a multi-decade veteran of Amazon who had a fascinating tale about the launch of Amazon Go, the "fully automated" Amazon retail outlets that let you wander around, pick up goods and walk out again, while AI-enabled cameras totted up the goods in your basket and charged your card for them.

According to this reader, the AI cameras didn't work any better than Tesla's full-self driving mode, and had to be backstopped by a minimum of three camera operators in an Indian call center, "so that there could be a quorum system for deciding on a customer's activity – three autopilots good, two autopilots bad."

Amazon got a ton of press from the launch of the Amazon Go stores. A lot of it was very favorable, of course: Mister Market is insatiably horny for firing human beings and replacing them with robots, so any announcement that you've got a human-replacing robot is a surefire way to make Line Go Up. But there was also plenty of critical press about this – pieces that took Amazon to task for replacing human beings with robots.

What was missing from the criticism? Articles that said that Amazon was probably lying about its robots, that it had replaced low-waged clerks in the USA with even-lower-waged camera-jockeys in India.

Which is a shame, because that criticism would have hit Amazon where it hurts, right there in the ole Line Go Up. Amazon's stock price boost off the back of the Amazon Go announcements represented the market's bet that Amazon would evert out of cyberspace and fill all of our physical retail corridors with monopolistic robot stores, moated with IP that prevented other retailers from similarly slashing their wage bills. That unbridgeable moat would guarantee Amazon generations of monopoly rents, which it would share with any shareholders who piled into the stock at that moment.

See the difference? Criticize Amazon for its devastatingly effective automation and you help Amazon sell stock to suckers, which makes Amazon executives richer. Criticize Amazon for lying about its automation, and you clobber the personal net worth of the executives who spun up this lie, because their portfolios are full of Amazon stock:

https://sts-news.medium.com/youre-doing-it-wrong-notes-on-criticism-and-technology-hype-18b08b4307e5

Amazon Go didn't go. The hundreds of Amazon Go stores we were promised never materialized. There's an embarrassing rump of 25 of these things still around, which will doubtless be quietly shuttered in the years to come. But Amazon Go wasn't a failure. It allowed its architects to pocket massive capital gains on the way to building generational wealth and establishing a new permanent aristocracy of habitual bullshitters dressed up as high-tech wizards.

"Wizard" is the right word for it. The high-tech sector pretends to be science fiction, but it's usually fantasy. For a generation, America's largest tech firms peddled the dream of imminently establishing colonies on distant worlds or even traveling to other solar systems, something that is still so far in our future that it might well never come to pass:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/09/astrobezzle/#send-robots-instead

During the Space Age, we got the same kind of performative bullshit. On The Well David Gans mentioned hearing a promo on SiriusXM for a radio show with "the first AI co-host." To this, Craig L Maudlin replied, "Reminds me of fins on automobiles."

Yup, that's exactly it. An AI radio co-host is to artificial intelligence as a Cadillac Eldorado Biaritz tail-fin is to interstellar rocketry.

Back the Kickstarter for the audiobook of The Bezzle here!

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/31/neural-interface-beta-tester/#tailfins

[chirpsythismorning]

Can we talk about how Jonathan might've been able to clock Mike simply because of what happened with him and Nancy in season two?

This will be a long post, so you might want to strap in or save it for later.

In Will and Mike's case, it would obviously be much different from Jonathan and Nancy's situation, given that you know, they're gay. But we still have Jonathan arguably going through a similar experience as Will, while Mike is going through a similar experience as Nancy.

In s2, we see Nancy confront Jonathan about how she waited for him before getting back with Steve, which is a revelation to him. Then they're at Murray's and she's struggling to say she loves Steve, after a handful of moments between them that felt like she might return Jonathan’s feelings. And you can clearly see it in his eyes, listening to Murray imply that they have feelings for each other, with him looking back and forth sort of in awe of what's happening, like he's starting to question if she might actually like him back.

Will doesn't have that same affordance as Jonathan to really hope, at least not anymore. Which is why these relationships in s2 and s4 end differently for these two brothers.

Based on all the signs he was seeing that Nancy felt the same, Jonathan decided to take the plunge to admit to Nancy how he felt, and at that same moment Nancy had the courage to show how she felt. In Will and Mike's case, Will wasn't ready to take the plunge to admit to Mike how he felt, at the same moment Mike didn't have the courage to show how he felt.

What's so painfully hilarious to me about all of this though, is that Jonathan arguably starts the season in the same shoes as most of the audience, where from his perspective, it's becoming obvious to him now that Will like's Mike, but that Mike does not feel the same way.

First at Rink-O-Mania, Mike appears a little uncomfortable upon hugging Will. Then as the happy couple continues on their adventure into Rink-O-Mania, he watches Will lagging behind moping. And then unfortunately he's out of commission for the rest of the evening...

But once he's sober and back to being an attentive brother the following morning, we see him watching them at breakfast, with Mike barely sparing Will a glance, all while Will is blatantly staring, almost like he's waiting for Mike to look back, only for Mike to get up and walk away.

All of these instances gotta be SCREAMING unrequited gay love to Jonathan. He's already gotten signs for years that Will is gay, these are now just the signs that are instilling his suspicions that Will has feelings for Mike. He could have easily interpreted their relationship in the early seasons as young best friends, with Will seeming to have a crush on Mike, and with them growing up and that potentially including Will's straight friend distancing himself from him because he doesn't feel the same. It's not the most unexpected thing in the world considering.

But then there's a shift.

Suddenly he's creeping up on them talking in his room. And we know he was listening in on the conversation because he brings up Owens when he sits down. As he's eavesdropping, he's probably thinking something innocent like Aww they're making up! And like, hey! Even if Mike doesn't feel the same, which is okay and entirely expected honestly, at least he still cares about Will enough to make things right after acting so out of character. Still, I'm not gonna lie, that sounded a lot like flirting to me--

Then he's knocking on Will's door like 30 minutes or less later only to find Mike and Will back on their bullshit. Mike suddenly isn't going out of his way to ignore or put Will on the back burner. In fact, he's on his bed and they're talking, again! The door is even closed this time, which is interesting. This has gotta be a good sign in Jon's eyes. Nothing to worry about! Right? Right...?

But then suddenly this shift continues, going in a direction he probably didn't expect.

I mean, this is literally an identical jancy parallel we have here with byler on the hood of the car, with Jonathan right there to witness it. Despite him maybe only now subconsciously picking up on the similarities between Will and Mike to him and Nancy here, he's at least taking note (I mean he's even got his gay map out and everything).

It isn't until the van scene happens, that I think Jonathan starts to genuinely consider his suspicions, which is that Mike might actually like Will back.

EVERY time we get a shot of Jonathan looking back at Will and Mike in the van, followed by a shot of his POV from the rearview mirror, we're faced with Mike looking at Will while Will is looking away.

As Jonathan is hearing Will confirm his suspicions about his feelings for Mike, he's simultaneously witnessing Mike not looking at Will with disgust, but something more akin to reverence. All of those moments in the van that we witnessed, including all the ways Mike looked at Will and everything that was said, Jonathan was right there.

And what's even more insane about this scene, is that it circles back to Jonathan as a character himself.

I remember when people were talking about how odd it was that we never saw Jonathan with a camera in s4. After 3 seasons in a row of making his passion for photography a big part of his identity, that part of him was apparently absent entirely this time around... But was it really?

This is the same guy that said, "Sometimes, people don't really say what they're really thinking. But you capture the right moment, it says more."

Jonathan might not have had his camera in s4, but this was without a doubt one of those moments where he captured something more.

Something that I also think get's highly overlooked about this scene, especially when it comes to Jonathan looking back at them, being followed by a shot of Mike staring at Will, is that he could see both of their reactions the whole time, from beginning to end. Will nor the audience had the affordance of knowing because Will was facing the other way at the end, while we on the other-hand were blurred from even having the chance, despite Mike literally being in the frame. But not Jonathan. He even lets us see what he sees, a few times, but not at the very end, which would have been nice after they didn't let us see Mike's reaction seconds before this.

Let's just stop right there for a second though and circle back to what I consider to be the first time Jonathan really picked up on Will's feelings for Mike, which was at the end of s3, in a sequence that is a little too relevant to the van scene if you ask me, given that they are almost direct parallels.

While these parallels are pretty spot on visually, they are also near spot on narratively when it comes to the evolution each of these characters are experiencing.

For Will in the first scene, it's sadness that he's moving away from his friends in Hawkins and also feeling like he's losing Mike, after what looks like him and El making up, which makes him scared he'll distance himself again. For Jonathan, it's sympathy for his brother who appears to have some very deep feelings for his friend, feelings he can't quite grasp yet but soon enough will.

For Will in the second scene, it's heartbreak that he has to accept that Mike will never feel the same, knowing that supporting his relationship with El (encouraging it honestly) will likely turn out just as it did last time, with him losing Mike all over again, for the last time. For Jonathan it's sympathy for his brother who has now confirmed his suspicions that the feelings he has for Mike are more than just that of a friend.

Given that this parallel reinforces the same feelings Will and Jonathan had in s3 to now, why would this not also reinforce those same feelings that Mike had in s3 to now?

In the first scene, Mike was visibly distraught, with dialogue from Hopper in the background applying a little too perfectly with what he was feeling in that moment, which was scared. He’s apparently back together with El now, despite them doing just fine as friends for the last 3 months, as well as him and Will just having finally gone back to them being on good terms again. But now, it’s like he’s right back where he started at the beginning of s3, feeling obligated to be the perfect boyfriend to El, and as a result, having no choice in his eyes but to distance himself from Will. Mike then walks into his house looking like a zombie, almost emotionless stepping into his mother's embrace.

Now, I say almost emotionless because it looks like Mike was trying to hold back showing how he truly felt in this moment. He's not crying like he did in s1 when he lost Will that first time. Time has passed and things have changed (he doesn't want things to change). And he's trying his best to keep it together. But the in-focus close-ups make it clear that he is definitely not okay.

What's so impactful about these parallels is that it presents the inner struggle both of these characters are having, both queer and experiencing doubts, but in different ways and for different reasons.

Will is the one who covers it all up with lies, hiding the tears in his eyes, because boys don't cry.

Mike is the one who has never cried to them, just to his soul (RUN AWAY! TURN AWAY! RUN AWAY! TURN AWAY! RUN AWAY!!!).

If you actually try to get a gage on Mike's in-focus emotions in that first scene vs. his out-of-focus emotions in that second scene, well they're not that far off from each other.

We go from Mike smiling vibrantly at Will, to him now slowly turning away to look back down at the painting, with whatever the hell emotion this is...

It's near impossible to catch because of how out-of-focus it is, but looking a lot closer, it honestly appears like Mike is feeling something akin to sadness that he's trying to mask. For a moment it even looks like he turns his head to wince emotionally, only to correct himself.

And call me crazy, but these shots also low-key parallel each other. Mike looking down trying to keep his emotions in check and failing miserably, only to look up and meet eyes with someone whose witnessing it.

With each shot before this of Jonathan observing Mike looking at Will, with him showing all the emotions Will never got to see and everything else in between, I wonder what Jon saw this time? Probably another thing he didn't expect.

Can you just try to imagine the silence in this van, accompanied by Will's muffled sobs, and then try to imagine Mike turning to look down at the painting, only to sneak a glance, and then go right back to looking at the painting, IN SILENCE, and then try to tell me how the assumption that Mike didn’t notice Will crying makes any sense, like realistically?

Yeah me and Jonathan are confused too.

Right now, Jonathan's probably wondering why Mike was acting a little fruity and repressed during the painting reveal. And that although he may have a penchant for being able to 'capture the right moment', Mike is sticking with his story (despite all the stalling and doubt). He is 100% straight!

And so maybe this is where Jonathan tries to accept what is being presented to him as the truth, despite the contradictions in front of him. It's likely that despite the way Mike looks at Will and acts around him, in ways he would have assumed coming from Nancy in s2 would've been evidence that she felt the same, it probably doesn't apply to Mike.

Maybe Jonathan's ready to accept that it's a lot more likely Will is experiencing unrequited love as a gay kid growing up in a small town, the most predictable experience a gay kid could go through, and in contrast Mike just feels too bad to let Will down easy.

Or who knows, maybe Mike could still be a little bit gay too...

But it doesn't matter anyways. Mike seems to be adamant about this and so there's really nothing else Jonathan can he do besides tell his brother he'll be there for him no matter what. And so he does just that.

But then Mike just has to surprise him one last time.

For those that don't know, the line Mike gives here in his monologue was in part pulled from Will's monologue in the van. Most don't know this because this line didn't make the final cut for the van scene, but in the official script the writers posted, what we find is an almost a direct parallel.

Which makes the reaction shots of Will and Jonathan directly after Mike says this all the more epic.

From Will's end he was probably hearing Mike say this and just thinking 'Damn. Well, that's what you get for using your feelings to inspire Mike to profess his love to El.'

But from Jonathan's end, I don't think his outside POV of these events overlapping was nearly as naive as his brothers understanding of the events. Because why the fuck would Mike need to use Will's feelings to inspire him to profess his love to El in the first place? Is this what Mike has been struggling with? Really? Why before every moment Mike takes action in this scene, is Will's hand literally pushing him into it? Why is Mike being so dramatic about saying I love you, stuttering and rambling about her being a superhero, not saying nearly as meaningful of things as what Will said in the van?

And then it hits him.

Mike is reminding him a little too much of another Wheeler right now...

Nancy Wheeler, who was afraid of what would happen if she accepted herself for who she really was, leading her to retreat back to the safety of Steve. Because Nancy liked Steve, but she didn't love Steve.

And now here is Mike Wheeler, who has went from being incredibly distant with Will after reuniting with El, something that is very unlike the Mike he knew in previous seasons, to something more himself again after they make up, with him looking at Will with adoration after hearing his words in the van, only to turn away and look heartbroken. Mike who is now struggling to simply tell El he loves her with Will right behind him literally yelling at him to do it.

And now it's like all those little moments are starting to add up to Jonathan.

Suddenly all those signs he picked up on from Will when he was younger are now blending in with moments Will shared with Mike. It was Mike who jumped in after him and his mom's speech to Will in the shed in s2, with tears in his eyes recalling the day that they met (without being asked, let alone pushed to). And it's Mike who is now looking like he's at war with himself as he attempts to give encouragement to El, just like he did with Will in s2, but this time he needs someone to push him to do it, and that person just so happens to be Will. After just finding out about Will's feelings and also while assuming El wants him to love her that way still, Mike is stuck.

I don't think it's takes a genius to consider Jonathan is capable of realizing how fucked they all are in this situation.

As much as Mike isn't ready for a sleuth of reasons, Will isn't ready either.

This provides a huge contrast between the bylers ², because while Jonathan and Nancy went through a similar experience to Will and Mike, them being ready to accept it and act on it didn't involve nearly as many factors and risks. Will and Mike also have the added barrier that is homophobia.

Will's internalized homophobia lies in part with assuming Mike could never feel the same based on some of the words he said in their last two fights, with parts being painfully reminiscent of the things his dad and bullies used to say about him. These are also words that contradict Mike's own words and actions from the previous seasons, things that did once give Will hope. The shame and guilt that comes with falling for your best friend, who you now know will never feel the same after being foolish enough to believe it not too long ago, and who might not even want to be your friend anymore upon finding out the truth, is understandable. He can't have hope like Jonathan can. It's just not the same.

Mike's internalized homophobia lies with assuming El wants him to love her, along with their relationship being expected and socially acceptable from everyone around him. Though unfortunately for her he feels abundantly more in love in the moments he shares with Will. Despite trying to make it work with El as hard as he could, because she's amazing and all any guy could hope for in a girlfriend, he can't ignore the fact that the feelings he has for these two people are different. The shame and guilt that comes with you, a boy, falling for your best friend, who is also a boy, and who is starting to show that he feels the same, all while you can't muster up the courage to break up with your girlfriend, nor can you muster up the courage to tell her that you love her, not when she's begging you, dying or even just simply at the end of a letter, is pretty understandable too. He can't have hope like Nancy can. It's just not the same.

Spoiler: They were not ready.

PS: I'm still not over the fact that they low-key confirmed these events elsewhere in the story...

[unhealthy-reading-habits]

Like many people, I binged watched Season 2 of Good Omens on Friday. I had a couple of days to deal with all the emotions, and I’ve now reached an epiphany. What follows here is the mad rambling of a GO apologist.

Warning: Good Omens Season 2 spoilers ahead, do not read if you don’t want spoilers. I will be spoiling the ending of Season 2 in this post. Please go watch it first. I’m also going to mention the ending of two of Jane Austen’s works (P&P and S&S)

The epiphany: Good Omens is a romantic story. Both Crowley and Aziraphale asked for this heartbreak but both are so woefully naïve about what love is, they didn’t even realise what they were asking for.

What do I mean by this?

In episode 2 (S2), they both describe what they think a romantic scenario is, but both are only focusing on the romantic finale. They are not thinking about the build-up to that moment, which includes a heartbreaking separation which only then leads to those romantic conclusions.

They are actually describing the same romantic scenario of having a separation and then reuniting in love again, they just present the scene differently.

Crowley describes his idea of romance as two people looking longingly into each other's eyes in the rain. He does say “beneath a canopy” but follows the above line by saying that if you “get humans wet and staring into each other’s eyes”, this is what makes them fall in love, so Crowley is talking about confirming your love in the rain.

Examples in Richard Curtis films

Four Weddings and a Funeral - No cover, just rain kissing

Bridget Jones's Diary - No cover, just snow kissing

At face value, we think Crowley is saying the rain thing because of what happened at Eden, and I think that is part of it. But keep in mind that during the "before the beginning" scene and at the Eden scene, neither of them stared into each other’s eyes. They both kept facing forward.

What Crowley is actually describing is the romantic trope of the protagonist couple having a love-confirming kiss in the rain. The issue is the “confirmation” love kiss occurs after there is a period of separation or break-up in the relationship itself.

It’s sometimes called the “Second-Act Breakup” or "Third-Act Breakup" and the ending of Season 2 is a classic set-up for a Break-Up/Make-Up Scenario.

The trope often happens after the couple get into a big fight/misunderstanding/some event that breaks the two people up. The “under a canopy” bit isn’t the important detail here, the actual romantic scene Crowley is eluding to is the reunion kiss in the rain. To get a reunion kiss though, you need to break up properly first.

The romantic film story for the reunion kiss in the rain is only fully satisfying because it’s the moment after the horrible low of the two breaking apart, trying to forget the other person and thinking that they might not be together. So when the two characters do reunite at the end, it is a great romantic conclusion to the story.

Aziraphale described his idea of romance as going to a ball in a Jane Austen novel, where the characters realise they misunderstood each other, but the misunderstanding has to come first in this case.

It’s very obvious that the Good Omens 2 story is only halfway through and is written like a Jane Austen novel, which is blatantly said throughout the show.

[Side note: it’s been years since I read these novels so I’m hoping I’m not misremembering.]

Pride & Prejudice – Elizabeth angrily and rather viciously rejects Mr Darcy’s proposal mid-way through the novel and the remainder of the story is the “being separated” phase of the romance until they are reconciled at the end.

Sense & Sensibility – Elinor’s affection for Edward is disrupted by Lucy Steele’s presence as Edward’s fiancé half way through the novel. This “break up” of the courting between Elinor and Edward is only resolved at the end of the story when Lucy leaves Edward and he is now free to propose to Elinor.

The two most well-known stories by Jane Austen have a break up/separation scene about half way through, which the characters have to work through to then have the reunited happy ending.

For the Break-Up/Make-Up story, the two romantic interested need to finally realise/decide to disregard everything else, settle the misunderstanding and reunite, that’s the finality of the romance. To get this scene, you have to go through the break-up where the two separate first to get those raw emotions, which makes the reunited ending so incredible.

Yes, Aziraphale and Crowley have had fights and temporary lapses in their relationship, like the bandstand scene. But it’s not really them that are causing the break-up. It’s outside forces pressuring them, the environment around them making them act this way. They are also only fighting about something external (raising the antichrist, finding the antichrist etc).

This break-up is more personal, it is them individually instigating the break-up over their own intimate relationship. It’s not the usual song-and-dance, this is Aziraphale choosing a plan and Crowley choosing a different plan and both are too stubborn to relent.

It is Crowley and Aziraphale choosing to split because they cannot reconcile their opposing views about their own relationship and both choose to walk away from the situation.

There is a hypothesis about the “coffee” and Metatron’s maybe brainwashing here, but in my opinion, Aziraphale still chose his plan for their relationship over Crowley’s plan for their relationship. This was a conscious choice on Aziraphale's part.

This time, they were arguing about themselves, which led to a true break-up. An irreconcilable argument between them that they must work through so their relationship can mature:

Crowley still cannot understand that Aziraphale will never run away with him to be just the two of them. Aziraphale cares too much about Earth and humanity and wants to help people, so Aziraphale will never just leave.  

Aziraphale still cannot accept that Crowley is not and does not want to be an angel. Aziraphale is not listening to Crowley when he says he does not want to go back to how things were before because he is genuinely happy with just being with Aziraphale.

Aziraphale consistently reminds himself that Crowley is a demon because (maybe knowingly, maybe subconsciously) he still sees him as an angel.

Crowley’s good actions further emphasise what Aziraphale already knows, that Crowley is a good person, but it’s very difficult for Aziraphale to separate the concepts of “good” and “angel”.

Both of them are not accepting the other as they truly are. Their relationship needs a real break-up, caused by themselves so that they can learn to accept each other as their full authentic selves.

We have to endure the low points to fully enjoy the high points.

Neil Gaiman has been very clear he intends there to be a season 3 so this love story is only halfway through, and frustratingly the break-up scene is the end of season 2. It’s like ending P&P when Elizabeth rejects Mr Darcy’s first proposal, or ending The Notebook as Allie sees the newspaper article about Noah but not showing them getting back together.

We know Crowley and Aziraphale will end up at the South Downs cottage. It’s just an emotional heart-wrenching journey between the two points. But when we get that reunion between them, it’s going to be delicious.

P.S. Neil Gaiman, you goddamn tease, if you are going for a full P&P/kiss in the rain experience, I really hope we get an Aziraphale wet shirt scene

[meraki-yao]

I wanted to get your point of view on an issue. I've just been reading you, but your answers are always precise and intelligent, so I'll proceed! I'm not someone who likes to compare different works, or who gets stuck in one thing while denying the rest or what a biased part... but let's face it: the TIOY will probably only be saved due to Nicholas' singing performances. The plot is really obvious and banal (and I won't go into comparisons with Harry Styles because it's a real minefield) and honestly I haven't even seen this incredible chemistry with Anne (which was missing from the RWRB trailer immediately outside). I'll get to the point: I noticed that the two times Nicholas talked about the

project (the last one just the other evening) he seemed not totally at ease, contracted, not enthusiastic in short. The narrative of calling on his co-star Annie to show off the chemistry (I remember he didn't answer the famous question promptly, but said "I should probably say her") is obviously a PR move so I expect them to try to make pass it all off as something it isn't. So I think he is aware of the mediocrity of the product. I also found him cold for M&G but in that case it was clear that the matter had involved him anyway. I won't say anything about rwrb because his eyes speak for themselves. What do you think of all this? Thanks for the reply ❤️

Firstly thank you for the compliment, that's very kind of you 💕

I don't think it would be fair to judge TIOY so soon since the trailer's barely been out for a week, but I will say my own opinion on the project first:

I haven't read the book, frankly I don't have access to it, but while I don't hold any really negative thoughts regarding the premise, it isn't ... that exciting to me? Like it sounds fun, but I've read a fair amount of fics across fandoms with the same/similar premise. Plus from my Chinese celebrity experience, it kind of feels like it's feeding into the "dreamgirl" mindset which I feel iffy about

I also don't see the "incredibly chemistry"with Anne, it's better than what I saw in Cinderella with Camila (that was really freaking felt like besties) and it's there, but it's not what I felt with rwrb (then again I'm not sure how objective I am) but then again, we only have the trailer, so we'll have to wait and see to make a fair judgement

I actually got an ask about Nick answering the chemistry question that I haven't gotten around answering (I've gotten a lot, and I mean a lot of asks these couple of days and I'm also a full time student 😅) so I'll probably answer this point in more detail in that ask, but basically while I don't know it's a complete lie and he did have some genuine connection with Anne, it might be slightly exaggerated because of promo/PR reasons.

Forgive me, but I don't really look too much into how they talk about their work unless it's blatantly obvious, so I won't comment on what you said about him being tenser.

As for M&G:

I don't think Nick's acting cold when it comes to M&G, but also please keep in mind that M&G is something VASTLY different to any of his previous projects.

I actually have thoughts on what M&G means to Nick: it was a really, really hard job, arguably his hardest to date, but he's happy with what came out and has a sense of satisfaction from the work done: Nick often describes the process of shooting M&G as "gruelling", and he got hurt a lot, A LOT on that set. Also a lot was demanded from him in that role: (mild spoilers for M&G till *) a complex character who's recognizable from who he was in the first episode, sleeping with a lot of people, fencing, dancing, speaking French, horse riding, falling off a horse and deliberately running into a tree, filming in a flaming forest, etc. It was a lot, and a job like this doesn't come with entirely happy memories. Like I do believe the cast and crew were great, and Nick made really good friends, but just what entailed definitely took a lot out of him. So I think he's happy with the final product, but if you have him summarize the project, I think he'd say something along "learned a lot", "fulfilling" rather than something like "a joy", what he used for rwrb. So Nick might have a little more complicated feelings towards M&G, but I really don't think it's entirely negative.

But rwrb is something entirely different. It arguably gained the most traction and caused one of the biggest positive changes in his career, and there's also a bunch of personal, private connections and emotions there that we don't know about. So while M&G is a roller coaster, RWRB is a mostly happy experience.

Althought disclaimer, all of the above if my observation from what Nick has said, posted or done, and my own understanding of it. I do not or cannot actually speak for Nick.

I hope this helps? I think I might have gone off a tangent (I'm answering this while taking notes in a law lecture, fuck yeah multitasking 😅) so let me know if I missed something

[randoauthor]

Secrets (B.B)

Pairings: Rooster x Reader, Platonic!Hangman x Reader

Warnings: the possibility of death, like so much fluff

Word Count: 1.6K

Author's Note: This was one of the prompts I posted a month ago! Here is that link in case you want to request a prompt! @itscheybaby requested this one so I hope you enjoy it! :)

Summary: Jake was supposed to be your confidant. Jake has a big mouth which you tend to forget.

MasterList!

It was a drunken night.

You and Hangman had been hanging out and you had one to many to drink and you let it slip that you were in love with Rooster.

Hangman promised he wouldn't say anything to anyone, swearing to be too drunk to remember it the next morning anyway.

So the look displayed on his face right now combined with the crimson of yours made it blatantly obvious that neither of you had forgotten that night or the secrets that came with it.

This was the third special detachment mission that you guys had been brought in on. At this point you were more like family than anything else, spending more time with each other than your own flesh and blood.

That's probably how you got into this mess.

You had ended up at Hangman's a couple nights back, the two of you downing beers like they were bottles of water, and someone (Hangman) brought up crushes.

He had been trying to get it out of you for a while, pestering you at work mostly.

"Come on," he whined, his words slurring together, "I just wanna know!"

You laughed before giving a sigh, glancing over to find slumped on the floor beer bottle on the table, a stupid smile plastered to his face.

"Fine," you say with a giggle, "but if they ever find out I will end you."

Hangman nodded sharply as you roll your eyes.

"It's Rooster."

How you found yourself here you have no idea. Hangman's eyes grew wide as he realized the words that left his mouth. You were gonna hurt him.

You had all been sitting in the briefing room of the ship. Sweating your asses off as a random admiral droned on and on about the task that you had trained mercifully for the prior month.

Each and every detachment was the same.

The Navy catches word that some evil power somewhere in the world was up to no good and they bring in the best of the best when it comes to their pilots, you all find yourselves on North Island, most of you have just settled down there with the frequency that you were brought back. As previously mentioned you guys spend more time with each other than with your own families.

The detachment however was different. This was a two-person mission, and they expected only one of you to make it home alive. They had written our death sentences four days prior, the night you and Hangman got shitfaced in his living room, the night you let it slip.

Hangman was known for being cocky, he was known for talking back. He was your favorite person on the face of this planet, you went to him for everything and he protected you more than he did with the others. You guys had created a bond that not very many knew about, which is why you went to him after your meeting that morning.

"(Y/n), hey, whatcha doin here it's late?" Hangman seemed surprised to see you standing on his porch at 10 pm. You had been crying, trying your hardest to wrap your mind around the words you had heard a few hours prior.

"We brought all of you back," Admiral Bates said, his head held high. "We knew this mission would be the toughest you guys have dealt with so far."

You already knew that you were one of the two pilots flying, you and Mav had been chosen, they had told you prior to the group meeting to save the breakdown for the privacy of where you were living.

"They picked me." You said softly, tears rolling down your face again.

Hangman knew what that meant. He knew you might not come home. So he gave you a warm smile and once you made it past the threshold of his door he offered you a hug, and then you guys drank until you couldn't feel your faces.

Hangman couldn't shake it though. He knew he might lose his best friend that was the line of work they were in, but he couldn't stand the thought of his best friend not getting their happy ending before they died.

You had first noticed his snippy attitude the next day, you had chalked it up to him being worried about you. You understood why once he got into it with an Admiral, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in one of the hottest rooms on the ship, your death slowly lurking in the corner. Hangman's attitude was particularly bad today and finally, someone had had enough of it, calling him out on it the second his snarky comment left his lips.

"It's just not fair okay," he said, slamming his hands on the table and standing up, this sudden outburst concerned everyone. "You get to send people to their death without a second thought, you have little to no regard for their lives or what they do for you!" He shouted, his finger pointed right at the man in charge.

"Okay," the admiral said with a sigh, "what am I missing?"

You and the other pilots shared nervous glances with each other, Hangman can be cocky yes but this was a new level for him.

"It's not just you," Hangman said, turning his attention to Rooster, "it's you too!"

Rooster shot him a confused glance, every scene where he had recently fucked up running through his head. Hangman continued.

"They are madly in love with you and you don't even care."

Your heart sank, and the room grew quieter.

"Who is in love with me Hangman?" Rooster said, adjusting himself in his seat.

"Oh my god," Hangman groaned, "(Y/n) does!"

Oh shit.

Hangman stood, eyes wide, frozen in his place. Rooster sat, eyes even wider, watching your every move. You sunk, face bright red, hoping, no begging, god to just kill you now.

The attention was on you, Hangman's sorry expression displayed fully on his face as he cleared his throat and sat down, eyes glued to his lap.

"Anyway," you say softly, "I hate to cut this short but I would rather just go get in my plane and hope they get me and not Mav." You stood up, giving what appeared to be the room a sharp nod before turning on your heel and leaving. The room remained silent for a moment more before Hangman grew impatient again.

"Jesus man, go after them!"

Rooster gave a nod before trying his hardest to catch up to you, finding it to be too late because once he reached the deck he found you already in your plane, people helping you with your controls, making sure the plane you were about to fly was safe and all clear.

You never even said goodbye.

Your eyes found him as he stood within the crowd, sadness displaying his entire face as he watched you. You wave him over, watching as he climbs the ladder.

"Hey," he said softly looking you up and down.

You give him a soft smile in response.

"You know you never gave me a chance to respond earlier." Rooster said with a smile, you shook your head slightly before looking at him.

"I don't need to sit there and watch you tell me you don't feel the same." You say, sadness dancing throughout your voice.

"Who said I didn't feel the same?" He said with a smile.

You began to say something, but nerves from multiple simultaneous situations happening at once proved to hinder that ability.

"Hey," He grabbed your attention, his hand placed gently on top of yours, "I can kiss you when you get back, but I don't want you putting your life on the line because you think I don't feel the same."

You laughed slightly before getting the signal that it was time, you looked to Rooster, fear laced in your eyes. He gave your hand a comforting squeeze before having to climb down the ladder watching as you take off, hoping that you make it home.

And you did.

The detachment with as well as it possibly could have, neither you nor Mav had been noticed by enemy aircraft until you were almost home and by then it was too late for them to do anything.

You were flooded by ship hands as you climbed out of your plane, the chaos of 'congratulations' and 'so good to see you again' as they all celebrated yet another successful mission. You frantically searched for Rooster, hoping to continue the conversation from earlier.

A warm hand on your shoulder alerted you to his whereabouts as you turned around to face him, his smile as bright as ever as his hands found your hips, his eyes studying your face. You didn't waste another moment before you grabbed him by the back of his neck and pulled his lips to yours. The cheers seemed to get loud by the time you two pulled apart but you only managed to find Hangman, who was smiling like a proud dad with his thumbs up.

You and Rooster chuckled before looking at each other again, you offer Rooster one more smile before he pulls you into another kiss.

"So," Hangman's voice cut the moment you shared short. "I'm sorry, are we okay?"

You laughed, "of course Hangman, that doesn't mean I won't hurt you though."

He smiled.

"I guess that's fair, though I am sure you'll get me back eventually."

You finally pulled him in for a hug, his stature softening as he gripped you even harder back.

"I'm happy to have you home," Hangman said.

"It's good to be home," you replied.

Rooster pulled at you one more time, kissing you again before smiling. You smiled right back at him before glancing around at your friends.

They were more like family to you than your own flesh and blood at this point, and they all watched, beaming joyfully at the situation in front of them.

Taglist!

@itscheybaby

@turningtoclown

@daryldixonstorm

@Dilfsandtherapy

@Nickie-amore

@malindacath

@luckyladycreator2

@sadpetalsstuff

@Shanimallina87

@Wishingwell-2

@Xoxoloverb

@Majormaybe1

@Mizzy-pop

@Saramaple

@Hope-love-equality2

@toothhurtyam

@beaner-life-23

@fogle97

@justanothermagicalsara

@tallrock35

@callsigns-roo-and-bag

@marchingicenotes7

@scoopsahoy008

@oxxolovemelikeyoudooxxo

@malindacath

@calsjack

@notanordinaryprincess95

@fxngsfxgxrty

@louisahale

[lucascsinclairs]

Does Lucas on the line talk about Billy (derogatory) at all? On one hand I would hate to see people make Lucas’s book about him of all people but. That seems like a pretty significant moment of racism lucas faced. If it doesn’t come up at all I smell something fishy from the duffers bc it seems like they don’t want to admit Billy’s a racist even though it was blatantly obvious. But apparently (I haven’t verified this so I could be wrong) the scene where Jonathon takes pictures of Nancy in s1 has been removed so stranger things seems more than willing to pull some strings to revise their flawed white boys’ entire characters.

Absolutely no hate intended to the author I really suspect if this is the case they were told they weren’t allowed to shine certain negative lights on “redeemed” characters

Hi! Thank you for the ask, sorry for just now getting to answering it, I wanted to take the time to answer it properly and with the quote from the book. A couple of disclaimers to start off with: I am white, so obviously can't speak about any of these topics through my own experiences, and only as a viewer of the show and a fan of Lucas as a character and having read the book. And also, I hate B*lly (may he rot in hell) and won't stand for any apologism and I have always read his treatment of Lucas as obviously racist from the start. So just a reminder that if you are a B*lly fan, my blog is not for you.

Starting off with the last topic you brought up, the ST writers room twitter confirmed that they have not edited or removed scenes from any earlier episodes. I also wanted to see for myself to be sure so I went and checked since I have the episode downloads, and the scene on Netflix now is the same it's always been. So that was just a rumor, they haven’t gone and changed anything (and in the case of that scene of Jonathan taking the pictures, there’s no way they could’ve easily taken it out without also having to remove later scenes as well, it just wouldn’t be doable.)

Okay so now onto your actual question, sorry for such a longwinded answer haha! So B*lly is mentioned in the book a couple times, but there isn’t a lot of focus on him, which I appreciated, the less we have to hear about that piece of shit, the better. The times he comes up are mostly in relation to Max and her trauma, or the consequences of his death on her and her family's life, and aren’t elaborated on that much. 

The most significant point in which B*lly comes up is the following passage:

"She always said she didn’t consider Billy family, but there’s something about seeing a person die before your eyes. I will admit I absolutely hated Billy for how he treated her, how he treated me. But standing right there, watching the Spider Monster dig into his chest like he was a throwaway mannequin—it still gives me nightmares. She cried a lot that night—and many days after—and there was nothing I could do but try to be there for her. A part of me wanted to be upset, to say, Billy made your life a living hell. When she later told me something he once said about me being bad news for her, it made me even angrier. He didn’t know me, but thought I was a problem? And what did he base that on? A part of me thought maybe he deserved what happened to him, that maybe the Mind Flayer chose him as a vessel for destruction because he already had so much darkness in his heart. Because Billy was a destroyer himself. But no one deserves to die like that. And no one deserves to watch that happen to family."

So that part is really interesting as it highlights Lucas’s struggle of understanding Max’s pain and its complexity, and then also the fact that he did hate B*lly and in a way thought he deserved to die. It is interesting how similar his thoughts are to Max’s monologue in the s4 finale, about hating B*lly for making Max’s life a living hell and thinking he deserved what happened to him, but then feeling guilty for thinking that.

B*lly’s racist treatment of Lucas isn’t spelled out but reading between the lines of reading his point of view, it’s quite clear that he knows that’s what it was. And I mean, in an interview after volume 2 Caleb himself talked about B*lly being racist, so if it wasn’t clear before (to me it has been clear even since he referred to Lucas as “certain type of person to stay away from”) it sure is now. And all in all the book does not shy away from discussing Lucas’s experience as a Black boy living in a rural, mostly-white town, and the author has said it was important to him as someone who also grew up being both Black and a nerd, that that dynamic and identity was explored. And I thought that it was a really well done and added a lot of depth.

So to answer to your question: No, I didn't get the impression that the author was made, or the book was trying to downplay or redeem B*lly in any way. He is not in focus in any way, and only discussed in relation to Lucas trying to understand Max's complicated situation and feelings after his death.

[curtklingermanposts]

Judging God

God Should Have To Pay

As irrational as it may sound, countless people sit in judgment of God, Himself. The reason is they blame Him for all the pain and suffering in the world. Of course, when one says to them, “God is love. He is not the cause of pain and suffering,” they quickly respond with, “He could stop it. If He is such a loving God, why does He allow it in the first place.” It’s a similar question to the one which the devil asked Eve, “Did God really say?” In this case, the enemy whispers in their ear, “Is God really good? Look at all the terrible things going on in the world.”

Of course, several of them suffered great loss, or experienced severe trauma.  They are angry, and feel He should be made to pay for it all. What they fail to realize is when Jesus died on the Cross, He not only bore our sins, He paid for that pain and suffering. In fact, He experienced the greatest pain and suffering of all, for all. Justice was served; in fact, the Bible puts it this way: “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).

Isaiah 53:4-6 Surely, He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all (read entire chapter).

His Suffering Reveals His True Nature

Perhaps, you have had some of these thoughts floating around in your mind. Let’s think more deeply about these questions. Here’s something blatantly simple: if God truly wanted humanity to experience pain and suffering, no one would ever smile, let alone laugh. They never could, because they could never experience pleasure, nor have a sense of humor. He wouldn’t allow us to have it as a coping mechanism, nor any other. Words like, enjoyment, and fun would never be found in our vocabulary. They wouldn’t mean a thing to us.

Jesus suffered so we wouldn’t have to suffer for all eternity. We’re not home yet; but when we are, there will be no more such things. This points out at least a couple of things. First, He gave us the choice to eternally suffer or not, which is predicated on receiving Jesus, or rejecting Him. Our decision! Even on this side of eternity, much of our pain and suffering is the result of our decisions, choices and behavior -and that does state the obvious. Of course, many of those who play the victim card, don’t see it that way. That would mean personal responsibility.

Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

God gave us His Word, which is filled with His wisdom, and enables us to avoid all kinds of hardship. He has given us many warnings in order to keep us from driving ourselves of a cliff. If He truly wanted us to suffer, why would He do that? Many ignore His warnings, and then blame Him for the results.

 His suffering reveals His true nature, which is love. Jesus did not have to do anything for us, much less endure the Cross.

Who Are We To Judge?

When thinking rationally, wouldn’t we simply ask, “Who are we to judge God?” Perhaps as believers, we haven’t been bold enough to judge Him as those of the world, but. . . “I would never judge God!” Have you ever been critical of Him? Have you ever accused Him of being unfair? Have you ever been disappointed with God?

When people decide their way is better than the Lord’s, they’re saying His way is inferior to theirs. When they prefer to make their own decisions without Him, they are saying He makes poor decisions. How can anyone say Jesus is their Lord; yet, decide to be the captain of his or her own soul? God will never withhold anything good from us, but what He considers good and what we consider good, may be two different things.

There is a plethora of contrasts, points of argument and so on. Perhaps, the best judgment to make is this: He is God and we are not.

Romans 9:19-21 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use (NASB)?

perfectfaith.org

[apoapsis]

@dimensionalspades said, For the past month, Jack and Sigma had only spent time on the battlefield. They were keeping each other safe in those altercations, but there hadn't been a single moment to spend together. Normally, Jack wouldn't mind, but after the amount of time they'd been able to steal beforehand, Jack was a little... disappointed. He found he was a little starved for the man's attention- even if he wouldn't outright admit as much yet. The quiet between them allowed the sound of rain outside to permeate the room, and it was only after a while that he was at least mostly sure that they actually had the time to rest and relax. So, he peeled off the jacket, then the gloves, and finally, he unlatched the mask, red glow fading as it disconnected from its base. Sitting back, he settled comfortably against Sigma's side. "Storm's not goin' anywhere for a while. Might as well wait it out here."

                      Despite SIGMA’S whimsical mentality, even he is aware that too many late-night excursions would eventually draw attention to himself. Actually, one could argue that they already knew all about what he was doing– it wasn’t as if he was all that discreet about his absences, even with Miss Sombra’s aid.  In all likelihood, they simply wanted to be certain that he would continue to return without prompting. 

Even still, the astrophysicist waits a little over a month to try seeing him again– just to try to be safe. 

                       What he hadn’t anticipated, is the [ ALMOST ] warm welcome he receives from Jack, once they’ve met up and squirreled themselves away into Jack’s latest respite. How, before he even has a chance to request an update from the soldier, Jack asks him a peculiar question.

‘-- Where’ve you been? Something come up with TALON?’

                    … Strange! He cannot recall Jack ever wanting to know– at least, not in regards to his whereabouts. In reality, he’d assumed that his absence would have been treated more favorably– as was often the case with his colleagues. It sounded almost as if Jack had wanted him to visit! The query prompts a puzzled look from the astrophysicist, ever-vacantly cocking his head to the side as he observes him for a moment. “-- Me? N-not at all!” SIGMA chimes back reassuringly, his uncertainty as to how to deflect the unanticipated concern blatantly obvious. “I– ah… I do not always sneak out to see you! So… sometimes I have to suspend my nighttime roaming to avoid drawing attention– at least, that is what Miss Sombra asks of me.”

The living space is so small compared to SIGMA, with very little space to stand, let alone float, with his gangling body. He almost feels as if he’s in a dollhouse, as he settles himself onto the edge of the mattress haphazardly tossed atop a couple of empty crates– everything being Jack-sized. Allowing his back to recline against the wall beside Jack’s bed, SIGMA’S pale, lavender eyes crinkle with muted delight as he watches the soldier pace about the little warehouse storage space. “-- I did not think you would notice.” He adds after a moment of silence.

                    There’s… a fractional degree of anxiety with the way Jack seems to speak more openly this time; he doesn’t wait for SIGMA to break the silences– asking questions he never seemed to care for the answer to previously, carrying on in an almost… lighthearted tone. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was already exceptionally familiar with Jack’s atomic structure due to repeated usage of his ANOMALY upon him, this wouldn’t align very well with what he concretely– objectively– understands in regards to Mister Jack Morrison. Even still, he’s nervous, as the other continues to quietly pace loose circles while they talk– although when another lull in conversation is filled by the sudden crack of thunder, the startlement of which causes his ANOMALY to make several loose items around the hideout clatter and wobble, jostled from their original positions in SIGMA’S surprise. When had it begun to rain? How was he going to get home in all of that? “-- What? That is–” It’d been overcast when he’d make the venture over here– why was he acting so surprised? “I– h-how am I supposed to–” 

The worry must be evident on his stern face, judging by the way Jack finally pauses fully, rather than wandering aimlessly, to address his concerns. Stay? Here? The last time he’d spent an extended period of time with Jack was when he’d stayed behind to ensure SIGMA hadn’t been captured… but he had been injured then– there had been a legitimate need for safety. “... That… does not sound particularly–” The astrophysicist trails off as he watches Jack begin to peel off the many, many layers that he comprised of, concerned violet eyes softening with wonder as he even goes so far as to remove his mask. Even with his damaged eyesight– or, perhaps, because of it– he could almost swear that Jack bore some degree of visual likeness to… SIEBREN. Perhaps not with the scars, but the whitening military fade and sharp angles of his jaw were of striking similarity enough all on their own.

                      But that isn’t what shocks him the most– rather, it’s the way Jack takes the liberty of sitting himself beside him, and while he’s about to shift, to make a little space for him, considering he’s taking up a little over half of the available surface area… Jack opts to lean on him. Even the way he sits with his body tentatively pressed shoulder-to shoulder with him– clearly wanting to be close, yet being so blatantly careful so as to avoid making too much contact– reeks of familiarity from his decades spent alongside SIEBREN. Gaunt cheeks unintentionally flush, his sedated heartbeat skipping a beat all while his mouth becomes so dry. He really had missed SIGMA, hadn’t he? He had no idea his absence could affect any one person so directly– it was as if Jack really wanted him to stay. This was the first time any one person in this reality had ever expressed any kind of longing for his presence. It wasn’t as if SIEBREN counted– they were never truly apart, were they?

“Ah... O… Okay.” SIGMA whispers hoarsely after the initial alarm resides, hesitating momentarily– before daring to cuddle a little closer to the soldier, his long legs pulled upward so that he can fold them under himself as he leans the entirety of his negated weight against Jack fully, as if they were keeping one another propped up– before, finally, allowing his own head to loll to the side, resting the side of his cheek against the soldier's greasy white locks of hair affectionately.

                        “... Y-you are… significantly warmer than I would have expected you to be…! Hehe…”

[wiltingdecay]

sfw 15 for Rowan's pairings! ♥

shipping headcanons ask game

15. Vacation ideas: who decides them? Where would they go, if anywhere?

Rowlian: Julian being the one to decide is the blatantly obvious answer. Even assuming Rowan's regained all of their memories, they've still been to a grand total of 3 (three) places. It only makes sense for Julian, being the well-traveled one in the couple, to decide where they should go. Rowan's fine with this. They trust him to know what he's doing and pick somewhere good. Julian takes this responsibility very seriously. He'll probably have a whole pepe sylvia board planned out of everywhere he's been and the pros and cons of each place to help figure out a destination that'll suit both of their tastes. The ideal vacation would be just peaceful and quiet enough that Rowan won't freak out, while not being totally isolated from society so that Julian won't freak out (unless it's a "spend the whole time railing each other" kind of vacation, in which case the more isolated the better). Something like a week away in a village or small town like Nopal while some kind of festivity is going on would be perfect, as well as a nature getaway or a stint on a cruise ship. They can sightsee and go for dinner and drinks in bigger cities, but Rowan would prefer not to stay there overnight, which Julian is completely fine with. Of course, because it's Julian, there'll be at least one grand romantic gesture included; all the better if wherever they're vacationing has a place perfect for such a thing.

Ruasha: While still more well-travelled than Rowan, Portia doesn't actually know most of the places she's been to that well, as she never lingered there long and spent most of her time sailing. Therefore I think her and Rowan's vacationing would be much more spontaneous - a kind of a "throw a dart at the map and we'll go where it lands" kind of deal, perfect to sate their adventurous and impulsive souls. They'd end up spending most of their vacation exploring, sightseeing, and trying to absorb as much of the local colour as they can. It'll be something they can learn and experience together! Even if the place they go to isn't particularly interesting or enjoyable on its own, they'll turn it into an adventure and make their own fun. And if they stumble across an amazing place by accident? They just consider themselves all the more fortunate for it. For more chilled-out vacations, they'd just go out on the ocean and spend the week relaxing (and fucking) on their ship with no particular destination in mind. Though if they see any mildly unfamiliar land, you know Portia is gonna want to drop anchor and go look for treasure.

[laylainalaska]

Bucky’s metal arm (and gloves)

Okay, this is a collection of thoughts I’ve been having on the way Bucky deals with his metal arm in Falcon & Winter Soldier, and hence with himself/his past, and the way this changes through the show. 

Basically, I think the show is very deliberate about when and how he uncovers it, and the way this relates to his state of mind and relative level of comfort with the people around him. There are times when there are external factors in play (the weather, the need to hide his metal hand in public, the need for his arm to do something specific in some scenes) but even in those cases, I feel that whether or not he has it uncovered is still significant, and still works with the emotional context of the scene.

Let’s gooooooo!

Okay, so basically Bucky’s main emotional arc in the show is struggling to come to terms with his past as the Winter Soldier, the things the Soldier did, the way he feels about it, and the way he fears that other people feel about him because of it. And this is all symbolized by his arm.

It’s not exactly accurate to say that he’s embarrassed or ashamed of it. He knows that people know about it, and he will uncover it around them in certain contexts. But in the first couple of episodes, I think it’s safe to say that he really dislikes people seeing the metal hand and covers it up most of the time, even around people who already know about it, like Sam and Dr. Raynor. People who don’t already know never get to see him with his gloves off; he wears them literally all the time outside and inside, including on his date with the girl at the bar, when he’s at Yori’s apartment, and during his session with Raynor.

I think the Raynor session is honestly the most telling, because in that case, it doesn’t actually matter if he takes them off. With people like Yori, or the girl he had a date with, or the public in general, he’s actively hiding his Winter Solder past. But with her, it’s not actually a secret that he’s hiding. It’s just that he doesn’t want her to look at it. It’s a vulnerability thing.

I really like how subtle this is, because he’s not weird about it in any obvious way. He’ll even occasionally take his gloves off around Sam, like on the plane in ep. 2. But there is only one circumstance in which he displays the whole arm openly:

.... when he’s going to use it for a weapon. (And there is a noticeable bit of steeling himself that happens right before he rips his jacket sleeve off, too, and Torres gets a look at it.)

But again, it's not that he's openly, actively uncomfortable about it most of the time. Walker and Hoskins see the arm during the fight, for example, and it's not a big deal. But Bucky continues to have it covered in just about every civilian context - at the police station, in the "couples therapy" scene with Sam and Raynor, etc. 

But then he starts hanging around Sam a lot (and also Zemo, and Sam's family) and things start to get interesting.

I think in particular it's interesting to me how he behaves with the arm around Zemo, because Zemo, like Raynor, is someone who already knows about his Winter Soldier past, but also someone he very blatantly does not trust (for good reason!). So keeping the gloves on around Zemo, like with Raynor, is a vulnerability issue; it's not that he has to keep Zemo from seeing it, it's that he doesn't want him to.

So he wears gloves around him 24/7 early in the episode: in the prison, in the parking garage, on the plane.

He has the whole arm uncovered in Madripoor, but not by choice; it’s part of his Winter Soldier persona. However, this is another example of Bucky actually not being that uncomfortable with people seeing the arm in a battle/Winter Soldier context. It’s not the arm exactly, it’s what it symbolizes, and he’s okay with having it on display in a context where it “belongs,” that is, a battle or Winter Soldier context.

However, after being extremely guarded about it early in the episode, he gets noticeably less so during their time in Madripoor.

He’s not wearing gloves in Sharon’s apartment, for example, even though it’s exactly the sort of context where he would have been an episode or two ago.

And he’s not wearing gloves on the dock, either, although it would be a perfectly reasonable pretext for him to wear them as camouflage, like he generally does in public. (And Zemo is also wearing gloves here ... for vaguely similar reasons, I think; that’d be a whole other essay, but I also get the impression through the show that Zemo often covers himself up as a vulnerability thing similar to how Bucky does.)

Anyway, by the time they’re back on the plane for the flight to Riga, he’s not only got the metal hand uncovered in front of both Sam and Zemo, but he’s actually cleaning it up after the fight, which is another vulnerability achievement unlocked: he doesn’t mind them (either of them, which is interesting to me) seeing him handling the post-fight cleanup and basically treating it like a normal part of his body.

And then Riga happens.

So basically the whole Riga episode is a gradual, subtle thawing of tension between all three of them. There’s still a lot of distrust, but there’s also a steady slide into a more relaxed working relationship. By the time they get to the team-up with Walker and Hoskins, there’s a very clear “our side” and “their side,” and it seems like Zemo getting hurt cemented the “our side” thing; Sam is a lot gentler with him, and Bucky, well ...

Bucky takes his jacket off!

This is the first time in the whole show that he wears short sleeves in a non-fighting context, so that it’s possible for the people around him to see the entire arm. He doesn’t act self-conscious or cover it up when Walker barges in, because this really isn’t something he’s aware of. But you’ll notice that even though he was getting a little more comfortable around Sam all the way back in ep. 2, enough to have the gloves off, he was still wearing long sleeves when he wasn’t fighting:

It’s not specifically a “these people are special” thing (especially Zemo), but it does indicate how much more comfortable Bucky is getting by this point with himself, as well as having been around these two people enough by now to do something casual like take his jacket off when he comes into the house without really thinking about it.

(I mean, on a metacontextual level, it’s probably also because he needs to have the arm exposed for Ayo to remove it in the next scene. But there’s no specific reason to do it like that; he could’ve lost his jacket in the fight.)

And this warming up and relaxing continues in the next episode with Sam’s family.

Another milestone: he spends most of the episode with his hands uncovered around a bunch of people he doesn’t know, including having his sleeves pushed up while he’s working on the boat and even using the metal arm and his superstrength in a casual, work context, as opposed to a fight context, which is the only way we’ve seen him use it before.

He’s also ungloved in the Sokovia memorial scene, which I think is completely intentional, or if not, works perfectly with the general trend across the last few episodes. In that case, it’s not really an “I’m comfortable with you” gesture so much as “I’m comfortable with myself”—a sort of “in your face, Zemo, I don’t mind showing this part of me to people now, including you, because I’m coming to terms with it.”

And finally, the last things we see him do with the arm in the show - taking his glove off with Yori to explain and apologize, and then, at last, gloriously, this:

It’s not a weapon, it’s not a symbol of his past. It’s just a normal part of his body now, a thing for kids to play on.

[shinidamachu]

https://shinidamachu.tumblr.com/post/677333253759418368/i-aslo-think-rt-refusing-to-draw-inukag-kiss-is this is the most damning indictment of rt not only not bothering to reread her works for consistency, but tbh to me is also lazy of her. So an unmarried couple post coitus is fine of her to draw, kagome and other female characters fully frontal nude is fine to draw, uncensored gore is fine to draw, multiple pairings getting shown kissing is fine to draw, but not the main pairing of the main characters kissing except only as an implication but then they get interrupted and so its only used as a cheap last minute gag? LOL either she really did end up hating them or used inukag as bait for crap will they or won’t they too keep fans hooked

I mean... I've heard that she doesn't bother to reread her work before. And considering how inconsistent the characterization of some Inuyasha characters can get in certain scenes, I'm willing to bet good money this assumption is completely true.

However, she definitely didn't need to reread Inuyasha in order to write an Inukag kiss. I suppose one could judge her lack of rereading the series to make sure there won't be any inconsistencies as laziness. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, after all.

But the lack of Inukag kiss wasn't laziness. Wasn't forgetfulness. Wasn't because of Kagome's age and sure as hell wasn't out of shyness. I don't even know what these so called justifications are based on, because they're either too fragile or too easy to debunk..

No. The lack of Inukag kiss was a creative writting choice. And I say this because the points you made are just some of the reasons why I don't buy the excuses people try to make to explain it. I think people only cling to them because they don't want to face the truth, which is: she simply didn't want to do it.

But we're way past that. The discussion is: why didn't she want them to kiss? Why was this the creative (if we can call it that) choice she made? What was the point she was trying to make? And was this really the best decision, storytelling wise?

I don't think she was solely using them as a "will they, won't they" bait, because, for one, it was blatantly obvious that they, indeed, will. For the people really paying attention, it was just a matter of how and when (in fact, for a huge part of the fandom, Inuyasha and Kagome were already officially dating, at least in the manga, so what was the point of dragging it out?).

And for two, the "will they, won't they" trope usually has a pay off, if the couple being foreshadowed is the endgame one. And it comes in the form of a kiss,. Especially in Inuyasha and Kagome's case, because that's the love gesture that has been heavily teased between them not once, but twice, while the other couples had not the same level of build up expectation but still got to kiss anyway.

Regardless, by the end of the manga she didn't need to keep anyone hooked anymore. It was over. They were together. For good. And there were many opportunities for the kiss to happen then, but she opted for letting the Inugang interrupt their reunion. And I'm not sure if Sota telling his friends that Kagome got married and Kagome calling Sesshomaru "big brother" were manga scenes as well, but if they were, this was Takahashi once again choosing to give us throw away scenes instead of simply showing Inukag kissing at their actual wedding (if it was Sunrise only, well... at least they did give as the kiss inside the jewel).

I also don't think she ended up hating them, but I do think she was a bit resentful and this made her lose interest in the story. But this reply is already long enough, so I won't dwell on it here.

[jxsatlas]

���𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐍 ⇢ keith kogane, ch. 2

keith kogane x gn! reader – previous, next

DISCLAIMER! this story does not originally belong to me, the author is @MaddieWolf37 on Wattpad. i have simply received permission to rewrite and continue her story. go and check out her profile for the original version!

SYNOPSIS! a story in which you are thrown into the middle of an intergalactic space war and have the undesirable weight of being a symbol of peace dropped on your shoulders. but maybe if you look past the constant danger and endless fighting, there's some good to being a paladin of voltron.

MATURE CONTENT! swearing, violence, gore, war, graphic descriptions, mentions of self-harm

The roof..? you think to yourself as you watch Pidge disappear through the stairwell. The three of you give it a moment before following him up. Your footsteps will echo loudly in the enclosed stairwell, and you have a hunch that it won't be good if Pidge hears you at this point.

So you try to climb the stairs as quietly as possible, but you still make some noise. It's hard not to when there's three of you.

You reach the top and Lance opens the door leading to the roof slowly. Pidge sits close to the edge of the roof, surrounded by various types of tech. His figure is silhouetted by the glow of the screens.

Lance shoves his hands in his pockets and sneaks up to Pidge, who doesn't hear your brother's approach because of the bulky green headphones he wears.

You and Hunk walk out onto the roof. You shiver slightly from the breeze, wishing you had put on some longer pants.

Lance grabs Pidge's headphones and pulls them off of his ears. "You come here to rock out?" Lance asks, causing Pidge to jump five feet into the air. He relaxes when he realises it's just you three.

"Oh, hey guys," he says.

"Hello," you say and give him a friendly wave.

Lance looks over the tech. "Hey, where'd you get this stuff? It doesn't look like Garrison tech," he asks, furrowing his brows.

Pidge smirks. "I built it," he says with pride.

Hunk's interest is piqued. He steps closer and starts looking over all the things Pidge has laying around him. Although Pidge has to smack Hunk's hands away a couple of times to keep him from touching his stuff.

"With this, I can scan all the way to the edge of the solar system," Pidge explains.

"All the way to Kerberos?" you ask with a smile as you join Hunk, your eyes sparkling with curiosity and awe.

Pidge hangs his head a little and grumbles at the mention of Pluto's moon.

Lance irks. "You go ballistic every time that's brought up! What's your deal?" he asks in an annoyed tone, but Pidge is hesitant to answer. "Look, we can't have any secrets between us if we wanna bond as a team," Lance says as he puts his hand on his hip.

Pidge looks down at his hands in his lap for a moment, letting Lance's words settle in. He sighs and looks up at the three of you. "Fine. I'll tell you."

He looks back at the objects laying around him and picks up a small notepad. You can't see what's scribbled all over the page as he holds it close to his chest.

"The world as you know it is about to change," Pidge says ominously, looking back at us. "The Kerberos Mission wasn't lost due to some crew malfunction. So, I've been scanning the solar system and picked up alien radio chatter."

"Aliens?" your eyes widen.

"Wait, aliens? Like the little green dudes? Or something bigger and meaner? Like Predator?" Hunk questions with fear, but Pidge only shrugs. This makes him uneasier.

Lance, however, isn't bothered at all by the mention of extraterrestrial life. "Okay, so you're insane," he insults.

"I'm serious," Pidge says sharply, glaring at your brother. "They've been repeating one word, Voltron," he says as he holds up the notepad.

Scribbled on the page with various coloured pencils looks to be something straight out of a Transformers movie. The word Voltron is messily written in big letters above it.

"What is it?" you question, taking the notepad from Pidge's hands. You stare at it. "It looks like a warrior or something."

"It's a superweapon," Pidge answers, "And the aliens are crazier about it more than I have ever heard," Pidge says, turning back to his tech.

"How crazy?" you ask.

The school alarms start to blare the moment the words leave my mouth. A voice crackles over the loudspeakers placed throughout the campus.

"Attention students!" the voice says. You all pause and listen, wondering silently if this has something to do with what Pidge was talking about. "This is not a drill."

You swallow. For some reason, the coincidental emergency announcement makes you uneasy. You grab onto your brother's sleeve in hope of a bit of comfort.

"We are on lockdown," the voice informs. "Security situation Zulu Niner. All students are to remain in barracks until further notice."

The voice repeats the announcement a couple of times, making you feel worse. Whatever it is must be serious.

Hunk stammers, pointing to something in the sky. "Is- Is that a meteor?" he asks wearily. "A really, really big meteor?"

You look up to see a giant bright ball falling towards the earth. Your heart climbs up to your throat and a worried expression takes over your face. Are those the aliens Pidge has been talking about?

Pidge grabs a pair of binoculars he had sitting next to him, using them to look up at the object burning up in the atmosphere.

"It's a ship!" Pidge exclaims.

Lance reaches over and snatches the binoculars from Pidge, taking a look for himself. "Holy crow! That is not one of ours!" he says.

"No, it's one of theirs," Pidge says with awe.

You watch it shoot across the sky, crashing down to the earth in the far distance with a loud boom, a trail of smoke behind it. For a moment, you just stare, trying to process what just happened.

Is this real? Or is it just some dream?

Lance jumps up excitedly. "We have to check out that ship!" he shouts, grabbing your wrist and dragging you to the stairwell. Pidge quickly packs his tech into his backpack and him and Hunk race after the two of us.

"Is that your idea of team bonding?" you ask.

"Yeah!" Lance chirps happily, racing down the stairs with you, Hunk, and Pidge trying to keep up with him.

﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋

The four of you are now perched upon a ledge not too far off from the crash site. The Garrison had beat you to it and were guarding the area heavily. They have the ship loaded up on a large, flatbed truck and a big, science tent set up off to the side. Scientists and high-ranking Garrison officers walk in and out of the said tent and you wonder what they have in there.

Did they find something? An alien? A strange artifact?

Pidge types away furiously on his laptop while Lance surveys the area with a pair of binoculars. You and Hunk sit back, tired and not really wanting to be there. Your head rests on his shoulder and you start to nod. The boredom you feel from the lack of interesting events is getting to you.

How long have you been there exactly?

"Hey," Pidge says, looking back at you and Hunk. You jolt out of your half-asleep state and sit up. "They set up a camera inside and I managed to hack into it and pull up the feed."

You stand up and stretch, yawning as well, and walk over to Pidge. You plop down beside him as he adjusts his position so you can all see his computer screen.

Your eyes widen when you register what you're seeing on the feed. A human man is strapped down to a metal table, his eyes darting around frantically as he struggles against the metal restraints.

He looks extremely familiar and his name is on the tip of your tongue, but you can't quite make out what it is.

A couple more scientists walk into the tent, joining the one that's already in there. They start to prepare a few things, and now that he has an audience, the man starts to shout a few things.

"Shiro, calm down," one of the scientists says, walking over to the man and placing his hand on his shoulder. "We just have to keep you quarantined until we run some tests on you."

"Shiro?" You say under your breath, the identity of the man now clicking in your brain. He was the pilot on the Kerberos mission. Him and his crew were pronounced dead about a year ago. But obviously, that isn't the case, and Pidge knew that for some unknown reason. Shiro is alive. Are his crewmates alive as well?

"Do you know how long you were gone?" a scientist asks.

"I don't know! Months? Maybe years?" Shiro answers frantically. "But we don't have time! Aliens are coming, they're probably on their way right now! They'll destroy us! We have to find Voltron!"

The four of you share a look of shock at the mention of the superweapon, wondering how Shiro knows about it.

"Sir, take a look at this," a scientist says and gestures to Shiro's right arm. "It appears his arm was replaced with a cyborg prosthetic."

The other scientist nods. "Alright. Put him under until we know what that thing can do."

Shiro jerks his body, pulling against the metal restraints at those words. "No! No! Don't put me under! There's no time!"

You watch with wide eyes as the scientists inject an anaesthetic into Shiro, not heeding a single word that comes out of his mouth. You definitely would, seeing how blatantly obvious it is that Shiro was captured by aliens.

"They didn't ask about the rest of his crew," Pidge says, a frown tugging down at his lips.

Lance furrows his brows. "They aren't even listening to him! That guy's a legend," he says.

"We have to get him out," Pidge says.

"Wait, weren't we just watching the feed because we couldn't get in?" You say, raising a brow at the others. "Plus, the place is heavily guarded. It's a miracle we haven't been spotted yet."

"True, but now we're properly motivated," Lance says and holds his chin in his hand. "We can come up with a plan."

Silence only gets a second to settle before Pidge perks up. "Oh! Maybe we can get some hazmat suits and dress up like scientists and sneak in!"

"That could work," You say with a shrug, "But I don't think they have spare suits just lying around in the open desert."

Pidge shrugs. "It's an option."

"Maybe we could tunnel in?" Lance suggests.

"That'll take time we don't have," you say with a roll of your eyes.

"I have an idea!" Hunk announces and you look at him. "Why don't we head back, dress up like chefs, sneak into the commissary, and have a late-night snack?"

"Food does sound appealing," You say and place your hand on your stomach. It's been a few hours since you have eaten dinner and you can feel a minor hunger.

Lance shakes his head. "No, what we need is a distraction–"

You scream when large explosions go off in the not-so-far distance. The loud, booming noise hurts your ears and you slap your hands over them, hoping to muffle it out. You squeeze your eyes shut out of fear.

When it's quiet, you peek through one eye to make sure everything's okay before opening both. Your hands fall to your lap as Hunk starts to panic.

"Were those the aliens? Are they coming for us?" he asks wearily.

"No. That was a distraction," Pidge says and points to something kicking up dust. "For him!"

Pulling up on a red, hoverbike beside a boulder near the tent is another person. Almost immediately you recognise the dark mullet and red jacket, and your brother seems to as well.

"Oh no," Lance growls and jumps up to his feet. "He is not beating me in there!" he says as he slides down the steep side of the small cliff.

Your brother runs towards the tent.

"Who's he?" Pidge asks, shoving his stuff into his bag once again to chase after Lance.

"Keith!" Lance shouts.

"Are you sure?" Hunk asks, following after him.

"Oh, I'd recognise that mullet anywhere!"

You roll your eyes and chase after Lance.

You know Keith as well. He was one of your classmates until he dropped out halfway through the school year.

He was top of the fighter pilot class with you just under him. You always got a score a few points less than his, and secretly strove to surpass him.

You were actually on pretty good terms with him though, seeing as your instructors liked to pair you up for team activities. The two of you were more promising than the rest when working together, so it made sense.

As you run towards the tent, you wonder what he's been up to. And if he even remembers you.

[bisexualemmettcullen]

Why do you think Edward is worse than Jacob? Genuine question

ok first of all id like to state an obvious disclaimer: both edward and jacob have done shitty things. That's a given. However I am in no way defending them. I would also like to restate that the question is "why is edward WORSE than jacob", not "why is jacob BETTER than edward". ok buckle your seatbelts kiddos because i have a LOT of Thoughts.

Edward has been mentally and emotionally abusive to Bella from the very beginning, starting with the van fiasco. The way that Edward tries to make Bella think that she's crazy, and didn't see what she knew she did (that he had been standing next to her instead of across the lot) is, by definition, gas lighting. It is a very common technique emotional abusers use to gain control of their victim by making it seem like the victim is overreacting or making stuff up that is actually true. In Edward's case, at first, it's pretty easily played off as "he's just trying to protect Bella and the integrity of his own family", which is what makes Edward's worsening abusive character progression more subtle. Once Bella has established with herself what Edward was, he attempted to physically intimidate her on several occasions.

Edward also lied to Bella. A lot. He lied about stalking her. He didn't admit to literally sneaking into her room at night to watch her sleep for like. over a month. He took the engine out of her car to prevent her from going somewhere. And Edward did all these things under the guise that he was "protecting her", although he never blatantly states what he is protecting her FROM. (Just overall, not in specific situations like the trackers)

Of course, this isn't to say that Jacob is without flaws. He definitely overstepped his boundaries multiple times and was possessive/ acted entitled to Bella on several occasions. However, Jacob was protective in an entirely different way. Bella had so much more autonomy with him, and for the most part she wasnt being controlled; especially not in minute, sometimes unnoticeable ways like Edward did. Jacob had always been a proponent of Bella making her own decisions vs Edward who only granted the illusion of choice. Even when Edward had been gone physically, he was always watching. Jacob didn't indirectly cut Bella off from her human friends. Edward did. With Jacob, the supernatural would not have taken up every aspect of her life, and she could still lead a relatively normal one as Edward claims to have wanted for her.

Another thing that bothers me tremendously is that there was no way Edward would have stayed with Bella forever if she hadn't been changed (which was, of course, ultimately against Edward's wishes). His only choice would have been to stay with her until their visual age gap was no longer appropriate. If Edward had it his way, there was no long term solution for them to stay together as a couple.

Additionally, Edward was also a guilt tripper. His explanation for him not wanting to change Bella was that he was worried about her soul. Every time Bella brought it up, he gave her the same spiel and made her feel terrible for even suggesting it.

Jacob had at least been more honest, and objectively approached the subject of the supernatural WAY better than Edward. He told Bella the histories of the tribe in a way that she could better mentally grasp and digest the situation. She was able to use what he had told her to do her own research. Edward had literally told her nothing about vampires until he was actually forced to after Bella figured it out, from the information that JACOB gave her. Edward, again, just pawned his potential vampirism off as Bella seeing things/ making unreasonable conclusions as to Edward's own existence.

Ultimately, in my opinion, Jacob is an actual protector. He fits the bill quite to a tee; only interfering when there is danger whose origins were out of his control. Edward is not a protector. Edward is a manipulator. He creates unnecessary danger (generally not on purpose, though); passively guilts Bella into thinking its somehow HER fault by self-pitying himself extensively; and then tries to distance himself from her, even when he knows that will only make things worse and cause Bella more pain.

TLDR; Edward is an asshole and an abusive prick.

[rainbowsky]

Hey Bow,

Do you ever think, who is more delulu, cpf or solos?

I mean as a turtle, I saw two people, behaved loving, possessive, jealous, touchy feely etc. towards each other. They did it in the BTS and then in the fan meetings. Sometimed when they TRIED to do nothing it SCREAMED louder than when they were doing something.

Deng Lun and Yang Zi gazes barely lingered on each other in their BTs and they were a match made in heaven.

Heck DD was perfect for a married woman with a kid. Who as far as I could see in any BTS, he was polite to but nothing else. Its like as long as GGDD are paired with women its ok but not witb each other. As a heterosexual, I not only recognize the bias and blatant homophobia but find it disgusting.

All it says to me is as GGDD APPEAR het, solos can continue to live one of two delulu fantasies which are

1. Maybe one day they meet GGDD and fall hopelessly in love or

2. GGDD exist solely to live up to their societal expectations.

Sorry it turned into a rant.

It depends on how invested they are in GG or DD.

If they're a casual solo then I think it's totally understandable that they wouldn't necessarily realize what's happening. Not everyone has time to dig into the details. A lot of people just want to enjoy an actor/singer/artist they like, and that's totally fair. The more serious solos who've been following them for a long time, though - that's a whole other story.

If someone is a long time fan who has a high level of familiarity with GG or DD's backgrounds and behavior and they still don't see what's going on between them, that totally makes me scratch my head. To me as a fan of both of them, it seems blatantly obvious there's something between them.

I think there are a few mechanisms at play that probably lead them to obliviousness:

Heteronormativity - Let's face it, most people are completely blind to queer relationships and attractions. Most straight people see straightness as the default and assume that everyone else around them is also straight. This is hammered into everyone's brains by the media as well. Heteronormativity is the very air we breathe.

Homophobia and 'burden of proof' - Homophobia is such a powerful force in people (even in a lot of gay people) that they often need irrefutable proof before they even consider someone might be gay. This is in part due to the internalized belief that being gay is so undesirable - such a 'negative' thing to assume about someone - that you'd better have a LOT of evidence to back it up before you make those kinds of claims. This is how you end up with solos who will deny mountains of evidence that GG and DD are a couple, yet instantly ship them with women based on absolutely nothing.

Mob mentality - A fan who enters a fandom is going to in most cases be acculturated to the values and beliefs of that group. Most people lack the basic skills to think critically, evaluate claims and challenge prevailing views. Most people just go along with whatever the rest of the group thinks. If fan doctrine says that GG and DD hate each other, or if it says that GG and DD are straight and CP fans are creepy pervs, that's what fans are going to believe 99% of the time.

BF fantasies and cognitive dissonance - We should never underestimate the power of denial and wishful thinking. A lot of fans harbor secret, deep hopes or fantasies that one day their idol will fall in love with them. In such a situation, any evidence to the contrary is going to feel unsettling and even upsetting. In psychology this is called 'cognitive dissonance' - the discomfort one feels when one's observations don't match one's understanding of reality. It's a very powerful force. The mind will go to extreme lengths to resolve cognitive dissonance. Because it's often easier and less painful to dismiss our observations than it is to change our internal understanding of reality, people often walk around thinking things that are completely incorrect simply because it's more comfortable to do so. For example, anti vaxxers find it easier to believe Covid is a hoax than it is to accept the very emotionally upsetting reality that we are living in a serious global pandemic.

Protecting GGDD - There are some solos who believe that GG and DD are probably together, but they keep their opinions to themselves out of a desire to protect GGDD from the perception of being queer and from the rumor/perception of being in a relationship - which can be a career killer. Such fans are unlikely to aggressively deny the ship, though, so they aren't the type we're likely to encounter much in the wild.

I know to a lot of people, the idea that these two huge idols who did a BL drama together that required them to appear to be romantically interested in each other might actually be in love and in a relationship seems completely ridiculous. Taken at face value, it seems like an outrageous claim. But the evidence is real, and there comes a point where ignoring the evidence does come across as more irrational than acknowledging and accepting it.

However, not everyone has actually seen all the evidence, so I think it's best to try to be charitable and not judge people too harshly for not 'getting' it. And I don't think we should be trying to convert people into turtles, either. We can share our thoughts, of course, but if people aren't interested or if they are unconvinced, that's their right and we should leave them to enjoy fandom in whatever way makes them happy.

We are going to be attacked for our views from time to time. We are going to be judged and sneered at and brigaded in our own spaces. It just goes with the territory. We can't control what other people say, do or think, all we have any control over is how we respond to what they say, do or think.

We can come together and discuss our frustrations, but I hope we don't take them out in any sort of warlike fashion.

[ghost0loxer]

Imagine, a gender fluid teenager like myself has a favourite/feel-good film and that film is “Just One of the Guys,”from the mid 80s.

Picture this: theatre class, we watch “She’s The Man”, a dreamworks film from the 2000s. And yet, the social justice issues within the film are glaringly obvious to today’s society. Don’t get me wrong, it can be a funny film in a group setting - but then there are scenes that are just uncomfortable. Now, we discussed these themes in class, but I just can’t help but think about the film that came before it. Yes, StM (she’s the mans) is a modern day adaption of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” but I was thinking about the modern day adaption before StM, “Just One of the Guys” from the mid 80s.

I love this film. For multiple reasons, which I hope to discuss.

Number one, our main character. Terry Griffith is stubborn. If she thinks something is right, she won’t let anyone say no or get in her way. Now in some cases, this is great. It’s definitely a shift in the usual romantic comedy female lead (especially for the 80s). But it’s one of her biggest flaws. In the beginning, Terry doesn’t win a contest for a part-time job at the Sun Tribune. She believes her article was amazing, but she speaks with her English teacher and he gives it to her straight. “You don’t have what it takes to be a reporter.” Her article is boring; it’s about the nutritional value of the lunch menu in the school cafeteria, of course it’s boring. But the words her teacher tells her has her convinced it’s because she’s a woman. Thus, she leaves school for two weeks and transfers as a buy to another school who are holding the same competition. Once she gives her article, she is told almost the same thing, but this time, she’s given proper feedback to improve it. Of course, there was some irony with this scene between Terry and the teacher. “Just because you’re guy, doesn’t mean you can’t be sensitive or light.” Thing is, she doesn’t give up, she strives to fix it and finds a new angle. I love her determination, I love the way she doesn’t let others push her around. Furthermore, her transition to a man. In StM, Viola as a guy is made to be cringey and comedic, you watch and think, there’s no way a guy would do that. But Terry, having grown up with a younger brother and is actually smart, manages to nail the role. Sure, she has slip-ups, but she stays afloat and she’s not being over the top. She’s chill and convincing, yet you as the audience can tell she’s trying to appear masculine. Her lines are witty and she’s sharp. Someone has something to say, she’ll be able to backtrack and answer with a joke or sarcasm quickly. I like smart characters.

Another point, the way women are written in this film. A lot of women in this film are treated like shit, but it’s probably a realistic depiction of the 80s. Everyone is talking about dating and sex, it seems to be the only topic the women in this film speak about, unless they are Terry. Terry seems to be the only character in this film whose main goal is not romance or sex. She strives to be a reporter, she wants to prove herself, and she rejects the advances upon her frequently. Whether it’s the boys asking her on dates in halls, or her own boyfriend attempting to seduce her when her parents aren’t home, she doesn’t put them above herself, yet she still lets them down easily, unless they become more pushy (case in point, her boyfriend, Kevin, in the beginning). She can stand up for herself, but she’s not the only one. Her best friend, Denise is one of the many women looking for love, nevertheless, she holds standards. I will admit, I didn’t like Denise’s acting in the beginning; she’s not a great character, but even she manages to reject men’s advances constantly. She’s not afraid to say it bluntly and she expresses her true emotions when certain guys try to ask her out. She tells it to them straight, and I respect her for that (despite her lack of empathy for some). Terry’s brother is constantly hitting on Denise, but she stands her ground. She doesn’t hit him or curse him out, she spins words around him and always lead back to the key word “no.”

This is my third, and maybe final point, (because I’m not great at writing but I’m starting to get tired) the way they handle sexual orientation. It seems if you’re going to make a film about a cross-dressing woman who falls in love with a man, you have to discuss sexuality and this film is not afraid to. That was my biggest beef with StM, when Viola confessed her love to Duke, the made it blatantly clear that it was “weird” and “unusual”; the editing and music cuts. It was done for comedic purposes, but in that moment, it just made me cringe. Even when the principal marched onto the field during the big match to expose Sebastian as “the woman he was all along,” he used a big megaphone and said to the whole crowd this man is in fact a girl. If it were to happen in the real world, and this character was a trans male, that would be traumatizing and so so insensitive. I couldn’t help thinking the way they handled the reveal in StM was poor and shitty.

But with JOotG (just one of the guys)? It’s done respectfully. Throughout the film, Buddy, Terry’s younger, sex-obsessed brother (I have thoughts on this character), often refers to Terry as a transvestite or sexually confused. They make references about her dating other women and jokes. It’s not treated like taboo, but just something people normally talk about, and as a questioning kid when I first watched the film, I really needed that. Although it was used for jokes, the fact that it wasn’t treated like a silent topic made me think more of it and discover who I was; it was media like this that made me accept myself.

Even with the reveal. Kevin, Terry’s boyfriend (or ex boyfriend by the end), stomps up to Terry after she’s wrestled with the school bully and was dumped into the waves at prom. Rick, who’s been Terry’s friend (and is the male lead) throughout her time at his high school, immediately questions who Kevin is and he responds with a harsh and sure “Terry’s boyfriend.” Of course, that doesn’t expose Terry as female, but makes Rick assume she’s a homosexual. But instead of calling her weird or replying negatively, he answers Kevin’s question calmly and says he’s just a friend. There is no prejudice, no disgust, Rick is shocked, but that’s expected. Furthermore, this reveal not only does not alienate homosexuality, it puts the center of focus on the main characters rather than have the whole audience/prom witness this exchange. Sure, the rest of the school is watching but the camera never pans over to them, and even then, Terry drags Rick away from the crowds to a secluded area to explain more.

Even once they’re secluded, Rick doesn’t yell at her or is homophobic. He just says “I understand, you’re gay.” As we know, Terry is not in fact gay and she reveals this to him in a similar fashion as StM, at least it’s not flashing a whole crowd. But the thing that hits me, is the fact that it’s not used as a joke or for comedy. Throughout the film, they’ve mentioned homosexuality and being transgender, but it was used as a light-hearted joke (nothing insulting or derogatory). In this moment, it’s not a joke, and it’s the bare minimum for a emotional scene like this, but it always hits me.

Of course, Rick gets justifiably mad that he’s been deceived and he storms off. Terry’s flaw catches up to her here, as she kisses him in front of the prom guests, stubborn to make him realize how much she cares. ( I didn’t agree with this action to be frank, I cringed ). The crowd gasps and it’s the usual reaction to a homosexual kiss and Rick just pulls back, says “It’s alright everyone, he’s got tits,” and leaves with Deborah.

In true romantic comedy fashion, life moves on. Terry gets the job at the Sun-Tribune after writing her article about posing as a guy and everyone who was longing for love in the beginning has found it, except Terry. The ending, however, is Rick coming back for her after a couple (days? Weeks? Idk all I know is it’s summer by the time he comes back, how much space between prom and summer?) and they kiss, go on a date and all is good.

Now after writing this long ass post, I’ve come to realize the main reason I like this film. Sure, Terry is a good character (not morally sometimes, but she’s interesting to watch), the way women are presented also is good, but my main source of affection for this film (in comparison to StM) is the way they handle the switching of genders. I’m gender fluid, I don’t always like being a woman or a man, I switch almost daily and half the time can’t decide if I want to grow out my hair or cut it. Seeing Terry, originally a woman, manage to convince people she was a guy made me wish I could do it too. It made me realize, I don’t always like being a woman. I want to be a guy sometimes, and I want that to be accepted. It was media like this, like Ouran High School Host Club, like Bare: A Pop Opera, that made me understand my gender and sexuality. (Even media that didn’t have any relation to LGBTQ+ helped).

When I first heard of “She’s the Man”, I had hoped it would be like these pieces of media. And it wasn’t. It was an alright film, but made me feel disappointed and somewhat let down. And that’s why I just prefer Just One of the Guys. Maybe it wouldn’t float in today’s political climate, maybe I’m wrong for seeing these points as reasons it’s one of my favorites, but its still better than StM and is one of my favourite films.