#so i might as well also rewatch s2 while I'm at it...

[kitkatt0430]

So for the Make it Poly! bingo there's the prompt "villain couple going through therapy and their supportive kidnapee" and I admit my first thought was ColdWave + Barry which is probably what I'll go with when I get there, but...

Damien Darhk/Malcolm Merlyn + Rip Hunter... I mean, that's almost canon, that is almost what was going on in canon. *snicker*

So, uh, this will probably be a ColdFlashWave entry for me unless Damien/Malcolm/Rip becomes too irresistible now that I've thought it

[izzysillyhandsy]

A cool death - Ed's theatrical, performative suicide

"You know, I thought I'd have a cooler death than this. Something like being eaten, eaten by a tiger, or massaged to death by mermaids, or… belly-flopping into a volcano."

It seems I'm not done analysing The Scene from S2E2. It is a wonderful scene, perfect for rewatching - the music, the lighting, the double meaning of the things being said and the things unsaid, and the way it almost feels unreal, artificial and staged.

This is Ed's arranged suicide and he is playing by his rules, expecting Izzy to go along with it (as per usual). And at first, Izzy responds to it.

It is obvious to everyone that Ed is a highly dramatic person who loves the fantastical, symbolism and storytelling; he has a rich imagination and loves to perform. With Izzy, this is more hidden (especially in S1) but in S2 it becomes clearer and clearer that, in that regard, he is not that different from Ed. Both of them creating Blackbeard (their greatest fuckery) is only one example. The Kraken and the Shark is another.

For almost their whole lives, Ed and Izzy have been performing, creating theatrical illusions of their preferred realities to keep them safe, in charge and help maintain a certain lifestyle. But these illusions also helped in covering up their weaknesses (Ed can't kill, Ed can be unstable, Izzy loves Ed far too much, they're incapable of letting the other go, etc).

So is it any wonder that Ed, at his lowest point and just wanting everything to be over with, views his own suicide as a form of fuckery? He needs someone to kill him (the no killing rule extends even to himself) and so he arranges reality in a way to make that happen.

And for Blackbeard, it can never be an ordinary, boring, basic death. His death has to be cool and pretty intense.

Luckily, he has just the right person for the job - the master of real, sincere intensity: Izzy, who would do anything for him, who'd play along and follow him right into the fantasy, who has been with him for so long that he'd just get it.

And Ed makes it completely clear from the start - "I had a dream about you last night. I dreamt that you killed me." - this is about Ed and how Ed wants to die, dreamt up to the last detail. He holds Izzy's gaze. "It was good for me." - please do this last thing for me. He softly touches Izzy's (ungloved) right hand while standing up and getting into position - "I was standing. Just like this."

Izzy, probably half delirious from bloodloss and pain, follows Ed's every move with rapt attention.

So, how does Ed arrange his death? How does he imagine his last ever fuckery, his last shared fantasy with Izzy?

The execution of a mythical creature

Ed positions himself very carefully, at a good distance to Izzy and between Izzy and the stairs leading up to the door, with rays of sunlight coming from above.

From Izzy's POV, Ed must look like an angel ascending to heaven. Ed's posture and especially the way he holds his arms - almost a crucifixion pose - add to the impression. The sunlight frames him like a halo.

Contrary to the beginning of the scene, Ed turns his back to his executioner and calmly closes his eyes. He stands tall, proud and beautiful, accepting his fate with grace.

Perfect, beautiful and untouchable

Ed might be at his most beautiful and sublime in this scene. He is calm, dignified and regal. Izzy isn't granted the same status.

While Ed is a statue of perfection, Izzy lies on a filthy bed below him, drenched in his blood and god knows what else.

He's sweaty, his hair sticks to his face and his clothes are rumpled (and Izzy is normally so well groomed). His leather vest and even his omnipresent right glove are missing, as well as half a leg. He's so weak, he probably wouldn't even be able to sit up properly.

Also, in stark contrast to Ed, Izzy is almost hysterical. He's laughing maniacally, his face is contorted, and he's wildly emotional.

Ed is above it all, tragically beautiful and serene.

Surrendering to his fate

Ed almost projects the image of a hero or a revolutionary being executed by an evil henchman. He's Ed here - not the Kraken or even Blackbeard. His fate is decided by Izzy, Blackbeard's first mate. I think in Ed's mind, it is fitting that the man who "egged Ed on" to stay in his Blackbeard persona finally kills him when he can't do it anymore.

When Stede left him, Ed returned to Izzy without any plan what to do next. When Izzy kind of decided for him (at least that what Ed tells himself I think) Ed realized that he couldn't be what Izzy wanted him to be any more. He escalated the Blackbeard fuckery to become essentially Izzy's worst fear and nightmare.

Now, at the end of it all, he's back to being Edward, Edward who just wanted to be himself. And the man who had controlled him for decades gets to execute him. One last time, Ed is at the mercy of Izzy.

It is a compelling fantasy.

And Izzy finally, finally decides to stop playing.

At the beginning, Izzy seems entranced, a little hopeful, nostalgic and maybe even elated (even if everythings fucked to hell, at least this Ed wants to share with him). But as soon as Ed gets into position and expects Izzy to act executioner to his theatrical, arranged suicide - he just can't do it anymore.

Izzy could never kill Ed in any circumstances, but this must have been like a slap in the face (or, to be as dramatic as Ed, a dagger through the heart).

Izzy destroys the fantasy by essentially treating Ed like a little kid - "Ooh, you scared, Eddie?" and "Clean up your own fuckin' mess". He's not playing the part Ed chose for him, this is not who he is.

Izzy is not Ed's executioner. He is not a maniacal puppetmaster. He's not a higher power and Ed's not at his mercy. Ed is not a perfect, untouchable mystical creature and Izzy is not a hysterical wretch.

When Ed leaves (slightly disappointed, but not surprised, maybe even grudgingly approving), Izzy kills himself. Without any fuckery, theatricality and without an audience.

With his trusted scene partner gone, Ed immediately abandons his dignified hero fantasy. He throws himself into his next fuckery - the deranged killer. I'm quite sure that one wasn't as meticulously planned.

But when Izzy inexplicably comes back, the tables have turned. Izzy, who has finally taken control over his part in their shared destiny, appears on deck in the midst of lightning strikes and thunder. Now it's Izzy who is calm, dignified and untouchable - a mythical creature himself. Back from the dead, indestructible, disarming Ed with an impossible shot.

And Ed? Ed is visibly impressed. God I love those two. For the last time, Izzy is giving Ed what he wants, but on his own terms.

Finally, the crew kill Ed in the most dramatic way possible, in the middle of a fucking storm, on a ship doomed to sink with every soul on board.

Ed and Izzy can be proud - this was the most impressive fuckery of their lives.

[butterflydm]

wot rewatch (book spoilers edition): 2x2

Additional thoughts that had too many spoilers to go into my earlier post will be found here. Spoilers for all the teasers and trailers, plus through book 13: A Memory of Light.

So one of the big questions that I have is: how much is Lanfear acting with Ishamael's knowledge and how much is she going her own way? Ishamael said in the Darkfriend social scene that he is still looking for Rand. If he's being truthful there (and he's talking to his minions, so there's really no point in lying), then Lanfear has not told him that she located Lews Therin.

2. I hadn't thought about this on my first watch, but @ladyofpembroke noted that Lanfear is probably in Rand's final dream in the next episode, so it seems possible that she actually has a hand in all his dreams. Constantly reminding him that he could kill his friends if he sees them again is a good way to make him want to stay where he is (with her) and not try to reconnect with his past life. Like any effective manipulator, she's keeping him isolated from his friends and family as much as she can.

3. otoh, we know from the books that being able to locate someone's dreams doesn't mean that you know where they are in the physical world, so this might be an Ishamael-influenced dream (I note that while Rand's visions of his friends has them wearing their S1 outfits, Ishamael is wearing his s2 outfit, which Rand hasn't seen), so this might be an Ishamael-influenced dream since he figures he might as well torment Rand in the dream if he can't find him irl.

4. Given that Rand is already hearing whispers, I wonder when the show plans to re-introduce Lews Therin to us in his own form. It might even be this season, if they wanted to make sure to keep a lock on the actor (or we might get another Age of Legends cold open -- though I note that we only had one cold open in this set of three episodes, though that might be because Rafe & co were aware that they would likely all air the same night so that might have affected their choices there - I'd love an AoL cold open where we get to see Lanfear and Lews Therin together).

5. So, did Rand find his way to Cairhien first and then Lanfear set up an inn in the Foregate to entice him to her, or did she set up her inn before he arrived and she figured out a way to lure him in? Either way, she's doing a much better job than the Lanfear in the books. She's much less suspicious than "random noblewoman who managed to appear in an unpopulated parallel world so that Rand could save her" and she's more subtle too. While the cringefail Forsaken in the books can be amusing, the threat level of the villains also helps tell you how seriously to take your protagonists, so I'm glad that they beefed up her threat level by actually making her effective. Right now, Lanfear is #winning on every possible level.

6. I love Errol because he serves several story purposes -- he's reminding us that Rand looks "like an Aiel"; he's serving Hurin's purpose in the story of giving Rand someone to look after and be protective of; he's teaching Rand sword forms because he was a blademaster; and he's giving us a bit of history about "the Aiel war". And the actor is quite charming. Plus he's used to show us both Rand's compassion and his need/desire to find mentors to help teach him the skills he needs. At this point in time, Rand does believe that he's defeated the Dark One and his nightmares are just nightmares but he does still want to learn how to protect himself and how to control himself.

7. We mostly hear indistinct whispers until Rand is walking down the hallway (it's the shot from the trailer) and it resolves into "Do you hear me? You are mine, Rand al'Thor." Which is very interesting. Our first inkling of Lews Therin? If so, it shows a greater awareness of Rand as a person than LTT's voice showed in the earlier books when it appeared in his head. I've speculated that this might happen, so I wonder if we're going to get more genuine back-and-forth between Rand and LTT than we really got in the books as a way of letting us into Rand's internal narration without him needing to pour out his heart to any of the characters around him.

8. I am actually loving Perrin getting Rand's plotline here -- it's working really well for him, being used to show us how Perrin can smell what happened in places so vividly that he's re-experiencing the past. I feel like if I didn't know this was Rand's original plotline, I wouldn't have guessed. It suits how they're exploring Perrin's character so well. I do wonder... Elyas speaks of Perrin experiencing a 'vision' -- I wonder if they're going to make the mystical side of being a Wolfbrother more distinct from what Dreamers do in this show version. Because it really was kinda... weird in the books how Perrin and Egwene are doing all this training in the same dreamworld but Perrin never runs across her or any of the Aiel Dreamwalkers, even once they're spending more time in the wetlands side of things.

9. The nailed-up Fade is used in the books to mark when Fain 'takes control' of the Darkfriends & Trollocs. I wonder here if it's meant to mark the moment when the dagger owns him more strongly than the Dark One does. Because the people of Shadar Logoth were not darkfriends -- and they focused on this in s1, too, because dagger!Mat is not a fan of the Fade that he meets in the farmhouse.

10. Love foreshadowing of Errol talking about "Aielman among us and no one bats an eyelash in the entire place" -- Rand is going to be bringing a lot of Aiel to the wetlands. I bet we're going to get to see some of these sword forms in the finale!

11. Liandrin does seem like she's becoming genuinely invested in Nynaeve. I like that (almost) everyone gets their own personal Darkfriend -- Nynaeve has Liandrin, Mat also has Liandrin (she's a hard worker!), Rand has Lanfear, Perrin has (remorseful) Ingtar, Moiraine has (double agent) Verin, Lan has (repentant) Tomas, and even Egwene gets a scene with Sheriam (who will get to be Her Darkfriend Among Us later on, if we're able to follow the books that closely when we get there), though she's not really the focus of Sheriam's attention. Everyone gets a little personal attention from the Shadow!

I like that Nynaeve gets rushed forward to the test for Accepted due to Liandrin wanting to teach her so badly. It seems more realistic reasoning than we get in the books.

12. Another big lie from Liandrin here about how Mat is here because they are "only observing" that the effects of the dagger are out of his system, which Mat immediately calls bullshit on. He's locked in a cell and only Liandrin is around -- that is not an official observation by any means. That's a prison. It's been six months. So I would put Liandrin's official lie count at two. Notably, she's only lying to Mat so far, who is both kept well away from other people and also doesn't really know as much about Aes Sedai (we know from Egwene and Moiraine's conversation in the woods in s1 that the people of the Two Rivers do not have the Aes Sedai oaths memorized).

13. My dearest, my darling, my deepest love is finally here! At the end of my reread, when I was ranking my favorite characters, Elayne was my number one favorite. Ceara is doing such a good job with her and the writing is also excellent. I love how many different sides of her we get to see in just these two episodes -- sheltered noble, awkward girl who grew up with no friends, someone familiar with the Tower but not familiar being a novice in the Tower, but a tinkerer (!!! so excited that they put this in so early) at heart and incredibly loyal and compassionate. I just adored her so much in these two episodes and I am looking forward to seeing more of her. I do really hope that, in the midst of all the chaos, that the show does manage to give her something of a meet-cute with Rand, even if it's less obviously romantic than the one in the books. But I'm really looking forward to more of her interacting with Egwene and Nynaeve, and hopefully meeting Aviendha and/or Min and/or Mat in the finale or before it.

14. I have zero issue with Sheriam not being a redhead. I think it's a good idea for the show to cut down on the number of redheads, given that Jordan says it's rare but then keeps giving us random redheads. Limiting the on-screen ones to the Aiel and the royal house of Andor seems like a good idea to me.

15. So first we got Perrin's letters last episode. Now, in this episode, Elyas tells Perrin that the soldiers he's with right now "are not your pack". While he could be talking about the wolves, of course, I feel like, as a viewer, that makes me think of the EF5 and how that's who Perrin belongs with right now. Especially after Perrin's letter talking about how he feels 'exposed' without the others around. Again, it gives me the hope that we'll get more moments of reconnection between the EF5 over the course of the show.

16. This moment with Verin is such a great one to look at knowing the truth of her situation. "Even oaths have loopholes one can exploit". She's the expert at it. Oaths are a bit of a minor theme in this episode and the next -- the loopholes and also, next episode, we're introduced to the Seanchan oaths where Perrin is, I assume, going to take the very reasonable position that a forced oath is not binding (which is the same position that Mat had in Winter's Heart but inexplicably abandoned in Crossroads of Twilight when he decided his accidental wedding vows were binding).

Oh! I knew I remembered hearing the words "Toman Head" in these three episodes but hadn't remembered it was Verin mentioning it! I thought it was noted as part of the Dark Prophecies but it's mentioned here as mainline prophecy. But the name is out there now. And this conversation also confirms "sword of flame" and "battle in the sky" for the finale, most likely, and a mention of a "branded hand" which feels like it confirms the herons. I wonder if Rand is going to use the same weave on his dad's sword that we saw Verin using at the end of the last episode for Tomas's sword. This may also mean that it's using that weave that burns the herons into Rand's palms?

17. The Rand and Lanfear scenes. Wow! But, yeah, I wonder how much her non-reaction to his bloody knuckles struck show-onlys. She doesn't ask him what happened, who he beat up. She just kisses his bloody knuckles and sweet-talks him into bed.

18. So far, we've heard/seen three separate form of violent teaching in the White Tower -- the unnamed woman who beat Moiraine to make her channel (likely Elaida); Liandrin's behavior with Nynaeve; and Sheriam telling Elayne that she'll be switched. Both Liandrin and Sheriam, of course, are Black Ajah. But from Egwene's reaction here, it doesn't seem like being ordered to be switched is anything close to the common punishment that it seemed to be in the books. But we'll see!

19. It does occur to me that Gawyn (maybe Galad too) might already have been in training with the Warders even if Elayne wasn't a novice yet -- Elayne has been spending her summers in the Tower and it's entirely possible that Gawyn's training to protect her meant he was sent off early to start learning from the best. We don't get any hints in this episode or the next about her brothers, but we're pretty focused on her developing friendship with Egwene.

20. "Min is in Tar Valon" and "Min and Mat share a plotline" were my two most hoped-for options for Min's storyline for this season, so I'm happy about that. I do wish that Min had been given a chance to bond with Elayne or Egwene but, hopefully, there will be time for that later. But I really love the set-up we've been given where we are going to explore Elayne with Egwene and Nynaeve; Min being more fully-explored with Mat; and then Aviendha when she enters Perrin's storyline. All of them are getting fleshed out as individual characters before any of them get romantically involved with Rand. I am feeling pretty hopeful that we're going to get our polycule (and a genuine polycule, not a harem) in the upcoming seasons. They've been putting in a lot of "poly relationships are valid and complex" groundwork in and it looks like they are going to be making sure that all of the characters involved get to be full characters who have their own agendas and their own arcs.

Some people on reddit are still pretty disappointed that Min isn't the male-gaze fantasy that she is in the later books but I have been thrilled with the changes that the show has done so far with her. We also maybe get a hint here that Min is going to be canonically bisexual by the way she jokes about Liandrin, so I will cross my fingers on that.

20. Min's viewing! I do love that they're massively cutting down on the number of Min's viewings to focus on ones that are interesting and relevant. This one is particularly interesting because there's nothing like it in the books. Mat stabbing Rand, then cradling him as he falls.

Theory #1: this is a flicker-flicker world (maybe we only get one big one?) and it's not Our Mat stabbing Our Rand but an alternate one.

Theory #2: Rand asks Mat to fulfill his promise to keep Rand from going mad and that's why Mat stabs him.

Theory #3: Rand loses control of himself (like Lady Amalisa in 1x8) and Mat stabs him to try to get him to lose his hold on the One Power.

Theory #4: Mat gets placed under compulsion (which would be another reason for him to want protection from Aes Sedai and channeling).

Theory #5: Mat gets The Dagger again and he's the one who gives Rand the wound in his side, while under its influence.

Theory #6: It's metaphorical and Mat takes the place of Alivia and helps Rand 'die' at the end of the series (seems unlikely but I'll throw it out there).

And probably lots of other things I haven't thought of. But it definitely shakes Min to see it.

I wonder if she only agreed to help Liandrin after this moment or if she'd already agreed and this is just additional incentive. I don't think she's told Liandrin anything about Rand. She was able to keep that secret from Moiraine even under blackmail so I think she kept it from Liandrin too.

But I do love that we get a viewing that connects Mat and Rand together, even if it's through a traumatic encounter. I am a simple soul who finds messiness intriguing.

21. Lanfear! Talking about her broken heart to the man who broke it and who she is, even now, doing her best to groom back into the man that she wants. The layers in this conversation are exquisite. When she tells him that he can't hurt her, she also can say that because she has a strong grasp of what she can do with the Power while he's still stumbling in the dark. Ooof, but Rand was (unknowingly) on risky ground when he confirmed that he does sometimes think of his past when he's with her.

Also, talking about how "no one else" could ever have power over her heart now that her previous lover is gone... when she's literally talking to his reincarnation. The conversation is just so rich and so sharp and there's so much of it that is going over Rand's head because he doesn't have the necessary information to even begin to put the pieces together. "What's left to hurt if he still has my whole heart?" she says, to the guy in question. "When I'm with you, I can pretend you're him." YEAH. I BET YOU CAN.

22. So I wonder if Moiraine's threat here to Lan, that she would let Alanna take his bond if he didn't let her leave on her own, is going to be the extent of the "Myrelle" plot point that Alanna absorbs and it won't actually happen in fact. But now it's out there as an idea that Warders can be forcibly bonded so that when Alanna forcibly bonds someone else down the road, the idea isn't coming out of nowhere.

23. I was so shocked when the Seanchan attacked in episode two. I was thinking this would happen in episode five. But once I sat down and thought about it, I realizes that Perrin has already hit all the main points of the Hunt for the Horn storyline on his side of things (and even partly on what Rand would have been doing). We've found the traitor and had Ingtar reveal his sympathy towards said traitor; we've found the Fade and the moment when Fain started playing by his own rules; and we've even been exploring Perrin and his senses. This does mean that we're going to have a lot of potential time to explore the Seanchan invasion and culture.

24. I don't have any issues with Ishamael openly being Suroth's advisor vs someone covertly giving Suroth her marching orders. High Lady Suroth is a Darkfriend and always was. We're just taking it out of the shadows and showing it openly to the viewers (and Perrin).

I do wonder if Perrin specifically seeing the Shadow and the Seanchan so entwined will have an impact on his later storylines. That I wonder about. But the later books were, tbh, really weird about how low-impact the Falme encounter ended up being in the long run for pretty much everyone except Egwene. Min basically forgets she knows anything about the Seanchan even when that information could help Rand, everyone forgets about the environment of paranoia and fear that the Seanchan created in Falme, etc. There's a lot of weird forgetfulness going around, especially in CoT & KoD, when Jordan wanted to sell us on his slaver romance.

(the way that the show has been improving characters like Min and relationships like Rand/Lanfear does give me a lot of hope in how they will handle Tuon and the Mat & Tuon 'romance' and that they'll make it better than the poorly-written dumpster fire that it is in CoT & KoD)

[avelera]

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

SPOILERS below the cut, if that needed saying.

--

Let's start with the good.

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

John Hamm in general was fabulous

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

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

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

Muriel was adorable

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[sylvies-kablooie]

tbh, i think the whole thought process behind how sylvie is written is that she is not attached to loki and her happiness doesn't at all depend on him in any way.

was their connection deep? did he impact her? "shatter" her world even? yes. this is why she is so angry at him. bc in her mind, he had betrayed her.

but he doesn't take up much more space in her mind. she goes on to live her life just fine without him at the end of both seasons.

loki is a different story, he is obsessed with her to the point of doing something completely "out of character" and being ready to sacrifice everything for her.

i personally love how "unequal" their relationship is in this way, but i understand that it's not the majority of shippers' cup of tea kind of dynamic.

this is an interesting interpretation! i enjoy getting to hear people's differing takes on their dynamic, so this was a fun read. and hey if unrequited is your trope then all the more power to you. you're braver than me, that's for sure.

i haven't rewatched s2 (and tbh idk if i ever will- it just didn't do it for me the way i wanted it to) but the consensus that "loki fell first and harder" def seems supported by s1 and enhanced by s2. which i think made it all the more shocking when she kisses him first. i love that little detail.

i have a different take, which is informed by episode 5- particularly the bar scene contrasted with the record shop scene. she tells him to go and live his life and move on, then immediately goes to a record shop, tells the man at the counter she had a bad day, and then cries to the velvet underground (it looked like crying, also possible she was just laying there and basking it all in, which is just as compelling in my opinion).

to me that read as someone who is trying so hard to place their feelings in a convenient little box and ignore them and then running away when it doesn't work.

sylvie doesn't strike me as someone who can sit still, especially not after living through a million apocalypses and trying to ensure her survival. and while getting a job in oklahoma might not be the same frantic pace she's used to, i do think she threw herself into it (employee of the month placard i'm looking at you!) so she has a new life, a new job, time to do things like go to the bar and get a haircut and listen to music and do everything possible to just. not. process. the annoying feelings that the citadel situation brings up. just keep moving! just don't think about it! and so when loki rolls up at her work, she tries to push him away, tell him he's the last thing she wants to deal with, get him to leave. the tone in the bar scene felt like that to me as well. like she's saying just leave me so i can stop thinking about this.

of course, loki does not want to leave her- it's just that for some reason he is physically incapable of talking about anything but the TVA, who ruined her life and she justifiably wants nothing to do with hearing about how great they actually are. he is pretty skilled at killing the mood. (i take great pleasure in rewrite fics that make a show of addressing this)

am i blinded by shipping goggles and my own projection onto her? it's possible! but to me it read as someone in denial. when we hear sylvie talk about her love life on the train in s1 (a scene i LOVE because it seems so out of left field for her) we get a very clear sense she has no idea what she is doing when it comes to romance (and then flat out says so during the blanket scene). her experience with romance hasn't been anything real, to the point where i hesitate to even use the term "romance"- just centuries of numbing herself by staying busy with a fling. she is like a shark that will just collapse if she stops moving. which we get to see her do in the record store!

that's just how i read it though! your read on it is just as valid and i like hearing all of the different takes. i am by no means trying to persuade you to join my pining sylvie agenda, just using this blog as a means of idea exchange. which i love doing. seriously it's so fun.

[ineffable-rohese]

Oh hey, I've gotten a few followers/mutuals, so I guess it's time for a pinned intro post?

Demographic info (because it gives context to my words): Early 40s white fat cis queer poly pagan woman living in the wet corner of North America. My nearest and dearest are almost all trans/non-binary.

Personal (public facing): I'm an Aziraphale-coded hobbit. Like, so cozy and wholesome you might want to puke. I rewatch just the first disc of the LOTR extended edition because I love the Shire so much. I drink Earl Grey with milk and one sugar. (Or a good scotch, cause every Aziraphale needs a little bit of Crowley inside them, right Sheenie?) I read mainly historical fiction, especially anything set in (actual, not fantasy) medieval Europe and I was at one point a medieval music history nerd. I wear cozy sweaters. I love rain on ferns and April flowers. I make soup with things I've tended and harvested. I work a Wholesome AF job. I unironically hug trees. I'm deeply in love with the world.

Personal (in private): I'm deeply kinky. I'm primarily a Sensual Sadist with a significant Dominant streak. I often play as a Panther. I absolutely love consensual violence, and get great joy from hurting people who want me to hurt them. I've only really given myself permission to be that in the last year or so.

Fandoms: I fell in love with Good Omens in 2000 when a college roommate gave it to me. It was genuinely the funniest, greatest thing I had ever read, and I evangelized about it to anyone who would listen. S1 of the show immediately became a comfort show, and it got me through a time of massive loss and upheaval. I put it on when everything was too hard and I needed something that made me feel like everything was going to be OK. S2 - well we're all here still, aren't we? It dropped when I desperately needed One Good Thing for my brain to latch on to as I got through some intense pressure, and boy howdy did it lodge itself in me.

Other fandoms in roughly chronological order: Star Wars (original trilogy made me a child nerd), X-Files (first real social fandom, and intro to fanfic!), Buffy/Angel/Firefly, LOTR, Doctor Who, Torchwood (the only other show I've been driven to write fic for), Sherlock to an extent. OFMD and WWDITS are great fun, though not obsessions.

My Writing: Writing Index Here I'm really enjoying writing right now! I don't know how long this ADHD hyperfocus will last, but I'll take it while it lasts. My goal in writing is to challenge myself, create things I'd want to read, and have fun with it (for a definition of fun).

I'm also definitely working on being comfortable expressing the things I like and want and being unashamed about that. I worry too much about how my 😈 side might reflect on my 😇 side, and honestly, these shades of grey lovelies are helping me with that a lot. It's probably why I love writing Dom Aziraphale so much, because he is just so sweet and good and bright, and also a toppy BAMF who can make demons (and their Bentleys) do whatever he wants and wields a flaming sword against Satan himself.

So yeah, every time I make Aziraphale go to a dark place, and then come back again to being a ball of delight, it's helping me create a map that allows me to do the same (to a, you know, somewhat lesser and more reasonable extent). And when others read and like the things that come from the darkest corners of my brain, it makes me feel seen.

Anyway, you made it this far. Here are my cats for tax. Yes, I have one of each of the Kinds of Cats.

[leverage-ot3]

What are your k drama recommendations??!? I need new ones

omg my time has come thank you anon for giving me the opportunity to ramble about shows

I ended up talking WAY too long so I'm putting everything after the first one under the cut

all of us are dead- show about high schoolers as a zombie apocalypse starts. very funny and relatable, literally they call the police and are like 'have you seen train to busan?' bffrrn. has a lot of social commentary and there are references to the sinking of mc sewol (a cruise that sunk where the captain deserted it and left a large amount of high schoolers to drown). commentary about how adults save themselves first/leave youth to fend for themselves. one of my comfort shows and although they didn't intend for more seasons, it was received so well that they have been renewed! I am also an ot4 truther and sometimes talk about them on my international shows sideblog: @nam-on-jo

sweet home- (disclaimer: I am not caught up and have not yet seen s2 which came out a little while ago) honestly I have no idea how to explain this so I'm gonna copy-paste the blurb: as humans turn into savage monsters, one troubled teenager and his neighbours fight to survive and to hold onto their humanity. basically people turn into monsters for [redacted] reasons and everyone in his large apartment building is stuck inside trying to fend for their lives.

my name- I'm just going to paste the blurbs going forward because it's easier: Following her father's murder, a revenge-driven woman puts her trust in a powerful crime boss -- and enters the force under his direction. bro some of these twists I expected but others caught me off guard. I love the main character and am a little gay for her but I think that's valid because she's a bamf. there was a plot point at the end of the second to last episode that I really didn't like and made me very upset. narratively I get why they did it but it made me sad so I'm still pissy. might get around to writing a fix-it fic one day when motivation strikes because my girl deserves better things.

the guest- a detective, a catholic priest, and a psychic join forces to fight crime caused by supernatural forces. not to say they are my ot3 but they kinda are. (other ppl interpret it is a lesbian and her two bi/gay bffs which I also accept but. ot3 tho). LOVED every twist and turn and how the three of them go from not trusting one another to being family. genuinely one of my favorites from all the kdramas I've watched over the years and I want to rewatch it again soon

happiness (tvn)- The residents of a high-rise apartment fight for their lives against a deadly infectious disease while Sae-bom and Yi-hyun try to find the person because of whom the virus spread. bro I adored this. some characters annoyed me (which means they were written effectively) but it has so much. fake dating/marriage (they wanted a better apartment lmao). annoyances to lovers. mean/rude woman soft for sunshine man. what you will do for the people you love. morals and humanity during a catastrophy. *smacks show* you can fit so much into this. no but seriously, I thought this was a really interesting take on the zombie virus! so some of the time you come off completely asymptomatic and 'normal', so people can get away with acting normal and hiding the disease around other people, so the paranoia and mystery is REALLY amped up. had me guessing a LOT. sae-bom and yi-hyun are both cops/detectives and you find out really early (ep 1/2?) that sae-bom is immune which gives a really interesting dynamic that leaves her (to yi-hyun's exasperation and heightened blood pressure levels) to be kinda reckless in the pursuit of truth and salvation. I'm rambling now because this is making me watch to rewatch but yeah as a zombie/dystopia/apocalypse lover this was a good watch. it's more story-focused than violence-heavy which was a cool and refreshing twist

alice in borderland- okay y'all I am aware people had mixed feelings about s2 but overall I did enjoy the series. 'Obsessed gamer Arisu suddenly finds himself in a strange, emptied-out version of Tokyo in which he and his friends must compete in dangerous games in order to survive.' what can I say, I love a dystopian-esque setting.

the silent sea- imma be real, I only watched it for loml bae doona from sense8. 'During a perilous 24-hour mission on the moon, space explorers try to retrieve samples from an abandoned research facility steeped in classified secrets.' basically earth is in severe crisis mode as they run out of water to drink. water has recently been found on the moon, and although there was a mysterious tragedy that happened previously to researchers looking for water in a base on the moon, they have reached a level of desperation where they have another mission to look for moon water. mystery, paranoia, a couple of good twists ensue. I thought it was pretty good even though I have some mixed feelings about the open ending.

semantic error- yes I am sliding a bl into this list. bitch you thought. of course my bl-loving self would mention this (I forgot about it until I looked up good kdramas to remind myself of stuff I have watched). 'A strict, rule-abiding computer science major must work together with an artist with a polar-opposite personality to his.' confident cool boy meets bitch boy. it's great.

and of course...

leverage con artists- I would be fired from running this blog if I didn't mention the beloved korean spinoff of leverage. 'The series follows the story of Lee Tae-joon, a former insurance investigator who forms a team of thieves and con artists to target the rich and wealthy. The team was also formed to avenge Tae-joon's son's death.' I've posted about it before so I won't go super into it but it's VERY camp, a good time, and the ot3 is alive and well. debatable more overt than their predecessor!

other mentionables:

I tried watching kingdom (again for bae doona) but couldn't really get into it. might try again later because it's critically acclaimed (I think) and has even gotten a spinoff series

my roommate really liked mr queen. I didn't really pay attention when we were in the same room and they were watching it but it's fruity

the island on amazon prime was good! interesting plot but not in my top 10 or anything. worth a watch if you're looking for a kdrama to watch in your spare time. features girlboss businesswoman being thrown into a world of the supernatural because [redacted]. supernatural black horse man keeps her safe while keeping a life-changing secret.

let's fight ghost was a thai show that I saw and loved that was adapted into a kdrama called bring it on ghost, but honestly I couldn't get through it because I liked the thai one better.

train to busan is technically a movie but it's iconic and well-known and I highly suggest watching it if you like zombie/apocalypse movies. disclaimer: kdramas do not have the slow 'walker' zombies. they are fucking fast and the stuff of my nightmares. would probably just jump off a bridge if this actually happened ngl

I did think that extraordinary attorney woo was cute. I never finished it and know that there are VERY valid criticisms about the perpetuation of media portraying people with autism in the stereotypical savant ways. however, I liked how the love interest accepted her for who she was, loved her because of who she was and made efforts to accommodate and learn how to comfort her in ways that would work for her

business proposal was pretty decent if you like lighthearted romance- I didn't finish it but would like to at some point

tale of the nine tailed was another one that my roommate and I started watching but never finished. it was alright! just lost interest

shows on my watchlist:

black knight (netflix)- 'In a dystopian future devastated by air pollution, the survival of humanity depends on a group of deliverymen known as the Black Knights who navigate the wastelands using unconventional means.'

copycat killer-

hellbound (netflix)-

shop for killers (hulu)- 'A nephew who lost his parents and grew up in the hands of an uncle who runs a shopping mall faces a new truth after his uncle's sudden death.'

the legend of the blue sea (viki + hulu)- 'A magistrate's plan to release mermaids into the ocean backfires when they're caught by fishermen.' (legit I just miss mermaid media)

gyeongseong creature (netflix)- 'In the city of Gyeongseong in 1945, a group of young people thinking only of their own survival encounter a monster born of human greed and ask themselves what humanity is.'

dark hole (viki)- 'A mysterious black fog from a petrochemical factory's sinkhole turns people into bizarre figures; people who are not infected try to survive in this middle of pandemonium.'

the cursed (multiple)- 'An enthusiastic social issues reporter, fighting against the evil hidden behind an IT conglomerate, meets a teen-age girl who is possessed by a spirit and has special abilities.'

blood (multiple)- 'Dr Park Ji Sang believes in the sanctity of human life, and struggles to treat terminally ill cancer patients and save lives while at the same time being a vampire.'

the ghost detective (viki)- 'In this horror thriller drama, a detective who catches ghosts tries to solve the case of his younger sibling's death with the help of his assistant.'

possessed (netflix)- 'A smart-mouthed detective and a reclusive psychic medium join together to get rid of the ghost of a murder who was executed 20 years ago.'

connect (hulu)- 'A man is kidnapped and one of his eyes removed by a gang of organ hunters; his eyes was transplanted into body of a serial killer; the unwilling donor now has terrible visions as he witnesses terrifying attacks on the residents of Seoul.'

and now just because so many of these only have het romances, I looked up k-dramas with lgbtq representation... (some of these recommendations were from articles from screenrant, movieweb, this subreddit, herzindagi (bl-focused), allkpop)

schoolgirl detectives (viki)- 'Five teenage girls join together to investigate mysterious incidents that occur at their school, as well as help classmate deal with bullying, depression and other crises.'

be melodramatic (netflix, viki)- 'Three 30-year-old best friends, Jinju, Eun-jung and Hanju each pursue different paths in both career and love. Despite life's difficulties, the three friends can always return home at the end of the day and support each other.'

lily fever (available w/subtitles on youtube)- 'The story revolves around the budding relationship between Kim Kyung Ju and Jang Se Rang who meet when Kyung Ju can't find her passport and has to go to her friend's house to try and find it.'

love alarm (netflix)- 'In a world in which an app alerts people if someone in the vicinity likes them, Kim Jojo experiences young love while coping with personal adversities.'

nevertheless (netflix)- 'The story of a romance between a man who is annoyed with relationships but likes to flirt and a woman who wants to date but does not believe in love.' (wlw side couple romance)

[marie76]

Season 2 Final | A through analysis on Aziraphale's behaviour in the last 20 minutes

Hi!!! Hope you're doing great. So I finished good omens a few days ago. Wanted to talk about it somewhere so I logged back into tumbler. Please forgive my broken English.

I kept thinking about the last minutes of the s2 final. My very first reaction was wtf? I usually don't look into details on my first watch and naturally I miss some important things. That's why in my second and third and forth rewatch of some certain scences Aziraphale's expressions and words kept surprising me.

Let's have a chinwag

At first, when Metatron asks him to talk, he says "there is nothing left to be said, I've made my position quite clear" It's clear he doesn't want to deal with the highee ups But the Metatron kept insisting and offers him a coffee. Aziraphale asks if he should drink it, And the Metatron says yes. Something clicked here for me. He got the coffee from the coffee shop across the street. What's the name? Give me coffee or give me DEATH. Now I don't think Aziraphale really takes it as threat. Not at that moment. But In my opinion It's the Metatron's way of saying that you don't have a choice if you want to stay intact. Remeber what he said to Nina? He asked if people really ask for death? So thoes who go to the shop don't have a choice but to buy a drink. They dont want death obviously.

Back to the shop

Before going back we see him have a brief chat with the Metatron. He is clearly nervous. He is definitly scared. He keeps looking away and doesn't make long eye contacts with him and have fake short smiles. Then he comes to the shop and I think he becomes a bit calmer. Which is kinda cute if you think It's because Crowley is there.

He manages to keep his shit together just before him and Crowley start talking. At first I thought that he was really happy. But he was not. We know how he really looks like when he's truely happy. When he wanted to be a magician or when he was dancing in the gentelmen club or when he was talking about taking the Bently. There were real joy inside his eyes, a bit cocky even. He didn't keep his eyes off Crowley. Actually, he didn't have any problem eating him out with his eyes in public. While talking about the Metatron's offer, he smiles but thoes are not smiles of joy. He keeps eye contact but there are times that he still looks away.

From now on some speculations are mixed with the analysis. You can call them delulu as well cause I'm delusional.

The Offer and The Good News

Well I think that Aziraphale takes the possibility of the Metatron listening to their converisation into consideration. That would explain why he was harsh on Crowely that much. He can't seriously think that Crowley would go to heaven without absolute urgency, hell, HE HIMSELF didn't want to go back to heaven.

As soon as Crowely's name comes out of the Metatron's mouth he tensed a bit.

The Metatron say you can make your friend an angle again. We know Aziraphale doesn't want to change Crowley. He loves him the way he is. He never tried to change him (atleast not that I remember) they talked and drinked together without trying to change eachother FOR 6000 YEARS.

(That can be the case but I also think It's possible that Aziraphale thought if they are both angles then no one would bother them like they did in the past-This part was said by a friend so Credit to my lovely Dora)

but he can't explain things to Crowely then and there because the Metatron might be listening.

Confession | The Beginning of the End

Crowley starts confessing. That's when Aziraphale starts losing his cool again. He looks the other way which I assume is the window but I may be wrong. He also look away from Crowley a few times.

When Crowley says "Just the two of us" (45:05) for a really really short time his right lower eyelid goes up a little. Perhaps I'm reading too much into it but I think he's like "are we really doing this NOW?" Which is kinda funny lol. As Crowely was saying "heaven and hell are toxic" he shakes his head nervouslly multiple times. As if he wants him to stop saying thoes. Why? The fucking Metatron

"Come with me"

Well this part is really interesting because I see it in everyday life pretty often specially during the argument. When, you ask? Well, in the middle of an argument, when things get heated, some people tend to get closer to the other person,Talking closely to another with a lowered voice with words coming out calmly is usually used to convince the other, as if to believe that if articulate calmly, the other will undrestand your point better. I think that's what Aziraphale was doing there.

When Crowley wants to leave he begs him to go with him because Aziraphale needs him, because he's scared.

" I don't think you undrestand what I'm offering you" means "You dont undrestand what I'm trying to say in codes to you" "I undrestand it a whole lot better than you" "Then there is nothing left to say" That's where Aziraphale gave up.

There is anger, desperation and sadness on his face but there is nothing else he can do.

The Kiss

"You idiot, we, could've been us" as soon as Crowely said that Aziraphale looks away and when Crowely pulls him to a desperate kiss we can see he was about cry.

This part is my favorite. He is obv shocked, but after a few seconds he closes his eyes, his hands move up to hold Crowely for a very short while but then he removes them. After the kiss is broken he still looks like he want to cry.

"I forgive you"

I legit thought he was going to say I love you, his lips movement and the sound that came out sounded like "I l..." I think a "get out" would've hurt less💀✨. It can mean I forgive you for leaving me or I forgive you for confessing now, I forgive you for npt choosing heaven (remember, the Metatron is listening) or It's his way of saying I love you because we know forgivness is Aziraphale's favorite thing (delulu)

The Aftermath

After Crowley left the shop his eyes are full of tears, he touches his lips like a little virgin receiving his first kiss but It's a painful one.

The Metatron comes back to the shop. During their short convo Aziraphale looks away multiple times, again, and where does he look at? The window, probably to see if Crowley is still out there. The Metatron asked if he's ready to go and ✨Aziraphale still tries to stay✨"But.... My bookshop" "I entrusted it to Muriel" "but..." "Anything you need to take with you?"

Oh the Metatron is not letting him stay.

That's for sure.

"We call it the Second Coming"

Lmao there is a big "fuck" written all over Aziraphale's face. He shortly looks at Crowely before going to the elevator.

So now he has a heaven to fix and a Second Coming to stop.

The Smile

Well I have to say that smile is creepy one💀 his lips moves up and down many times as if he can't control his feelings. If you look at his shoulders you can see he is breathing rapidly. I see sadness, anger, confusion, pain and "what the fuck am i supposed to do" on his face but at the end I also see determination. The determination of a man who is so done lol.

Why Aziraphale wants to make things right? Because he knows if this system stays, the earth, Crowely and himself will always be in danger ans It's only a matter of times either heaven or hell mess things up on earth. They can run away all they want but heaven and hell won't leave them alone forever. Crowley would probably say it doesn't matter, we will run again which is a cute plan but not permenantly functional.

I didn't check the theories myself but my friend shared some of them with me. I hate the coffee theory andI don't think Aziraphale is thirsty for heaven's love like an abused child. Like I said he seemed pretty determinded about staying, he didn't want to go, even when he got to elevator he didn't want to, his heart was somewhere else but he needed to stand up and do something before thoes angles mess things up.

Well, that was my analysis + delulu's. Hope you all enjoyed it. Please share your theories and thoughts cause I love reading theories.

[variousqueerthings]

i went and read through all the scorecards and commentary you’ve written so far, and i just have to comment that i think you’ll have a much better time rewatching twelve’s era - it’s got its own problems, of course, but it’s such a breath of fresh air. i think m*ffat actually took some of people’s biggest criticisms of s5-7 to heart - the hamfisted sexiness is toned way down, and he did away with the whole “the doctor is the center of the universe and the most specialest guy ever” angle almost entirely. honestly, i almost have a hard time believing both eras were written by the same person.

hahaaa thank you, and idk why the below got so long, when your ask was relatively simple, blame it on the hyperfixation!

I acknowledge I tend to write m*ffat (mainly because im not trying to put stuff in tags to be a buzzkill but also as a joke about censoring him), but I do think he got... better

in the sense that he was overall less sexist and more character-driven later on and seems to have really run with a lot of what people wanted set up in terms of genderbending Timelords and queer lead characters, although I am finding s6 has some really good stuff... not.... his episodes so much lol...... but I'm liking it more than s5 which runs contrary with my assumptions/memory of his era, which is pleasantly surprising

I don't think he's egregious in the way writers like, say, Joss Whedon were, I've not heard stories of him being an asshole on set (except for that one story about him throwing a hissyfit about not getting the horse through the mirror in GitF back in s2), which may just be me missing stuff, so can let me know, BUT... nothing I know of. and while he's said some... Highly Dubious Shit About Women Especially and also asexuality, I genuinely think he's been working on some of those biases and fucking nonsense

we went from the Doctor kissing a lesbian without her consent to Bill Potts (who has some flaws -- the fat joke I've been seeing mentioned on Tumbls, the somewhat off-centre flirtation with the one-night stand she doesn't get to have that seems more like it comes from girl-on-girl porn than like a way lesbians might speak with one another)

from writing Rants about the dullness of asexuality that assumed a cis- and heteronormative perspective of the Doctor (he's a bloke of course he'd want to have sex was a lot of the Vibes of it) to in a "confused but got some of the spirit" writing about how the Doctor wouldn't understand human definitions of sexuality and monogamous relationship structures (there's a post about that somewhere in the depths of my blog @fabiansociety made some excellent points)

from describing the original first casting for Amy as "wee and dumpy" to... well, actually can we have some clarification there sir, also the shit you said about Karen Gillen basically just being cast because she was hot (I'm not saying I am super Yay Moffat after all), but at least toning down the sexy sexy talk on the show from what you say!

also maybe a smallish thing, and idk how much power he had and and and, buuut I appreciate how he went from the way he talked in GiTF about how Reinette was "worthy" of the Doctor because she was cultured and educated and whatnot... when Rose is literally the companion of the season and semi-textually Created Ten (regardless of youknow, reads of the relationship and all that, definitely important to the narrative and the Doctor), to having Rose appear as The Bad Wolf in the 50th anniversary special... haunting the naaarrative baybey

and I remember feeling like "Missy" when introduced was just a rehash of River Song rehash of Irene Adler (or whatever way around those characters existed) but then Gomez is actually amazing as The Master, to the point that she's the Number One thing I remember from that era of the show

and he's not an asshole about trans people, which, low bar perhaps, but not in this flipping country, especially not saying so out loud, which, like... Doctor Who is a big deal in this country and RTD is obviously a big ol' queer who's been yelling from the rooftops from Day One, but to not just have it be him, to have a cultural institution firmly in our corner, it's good feeling-wise, and Moffat is a part of that too

and what you're saying, which I cannot quite remember the details of but will eventually reach, the pivot from how the Doctor is portrayed in the Eleven arc vs the Twelve arc, and what the core of that story is, and the glory of Capaldi!

the limitations of this praise then come in the fact that he was learning this stuff while running two of the biggest British institutions, a version of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who, and so the above Things that he was a dick about, alongside the mocking of fandom during Sherlock and the weird "queer but not queer" stuff with Sherlock/Watson (look, the fucking... BBC marketed it through the lens of a ship, and then there was a whole idk... campaign to make fandom seem weird and over-invested, and then of course Sherlock actually sucked as a show for so many reasons...) means that he's managed to be a prat in real time and it's meant that what should have been fun engagement in storytelling wasn't so much for many of us wincing through the shit he was saying and writing in his shows

... that time he was like "people are accusing me of being sexist, but I love strong, sexually confident women who can step on me, and having a dominatrix kink that I'm projecting onto my female characters onscreen is the opposite of sexism actually Check Mate" (that paraphrasing was mean, sorry not sorry, but also.... I could find the quote or just a handful of handy videos that have aaaaalll of the quotes... because they were happening.... in national newspapers and in interviews and panels and twitter and.... like.... not in private... there's more I'm vaguely remembering but not sure enough to just throw out there, so yeah... but he did not shut up!)

also I will never think he's a good writer so much as Very good at thinking up cool concepts that others might be able to run with or work with him on, and he should never ever be left to his own devices and encouraged to do whatever he wants (... Sherlock..... Jekyll.... from what I've heard, Inside Man....) AND I think generally and hope that RTD2 is going to be about heralding in the next gen of creators, including perhaps... a future showrunner who didn't grow up when Classic!Who was in its infancy (I don't mean that as a diss, I just mean that we've had three of those showrunners so far), and perchance isn't a cis man, because I think a lot of cool shit that could have been better might have been if moffat wasn't learning the ABC's of third wave feminism at the same time

Gosh and he's the least sexy writer I have ever come across... maybe not ever, but considering how confident he was being about allosexual alloromantic Doctor, that man is as sexy as getting slapped by a wet fish (unless you're into that, in which case insert something else here)

ALL OF THIS TO SAY... yeah, I'm excited for Twelve. and I'm enjoying Eleven more by watching the way I'm watching and being able to set criteria for worse and for better!

[frobisher-smythe]

I just rewatched S1 bc Netflix, idk if im gonna go into S2 bc it aint on Netflix but i do have questions!!

- We figure out that only a descendant of Amneris can restore the Cup right? So, Nina.

- why was Sarah considered a Chosen One during S2? was she also a descendant?

- if she was a descendant, that means she and Nina are related which isn’t the wildest theory— makes a lot of sense actually. but, if she’s a descendant via her father, would that make KT a possible Chosen One as well?

- Rufus Zeno was considered the Osirian remember?

- then it was Eddie, but what exactly is the Osirian? (asking for a girl who hasn’t rewatch s2 in a minute)

- is it not related to your bloodline? because in the movie, Eddie lived while the Osirian part of him died. did it just pass from Rufus to Eddie when Rufus became unworthy or something? Or are Rufus and Eddie, and therefore Mr. Sweet possibly all related?

- off topic but never forget that Mr. Sweet and Jerome’s dad knew each other because they both attended Anubis House as teenagers. and they more than likely had Victor as a caretaker as well. isn’t that wild. imagine Jerome’s dad in Anubis House, happy and relieved to be out of prison, and then boom! there’s that creep-raven-obssesed-i-want-to-hear-a-pin-drop-bastard still looking the exact same age. must’ve been a nightmare.

Sarah was a Chosen One in season one as well! That's why Nina didn't start heavy hearing voices and talking to the house until after Sarah died :( Nina is the "true" Chosen One bc the thing they were being chosen for was to rebuild the Cup of Ankh and only Nina did that. It's implied that Nina will be the last Chosen One, meaning when she dies there won't be another one to take her place like she did with Sarah, because the goal has been achieved. Now there was some open-ended stuff with the Chosen One with the "not allowed to be around the Osirian" thing, so that might not be accurate.

From what I understand, to be a Chosen One you have to be a descendent of Amneris (meaning that Sarah and Nina are distantly related) and you have to be born on all the same number. Sarah was born on the first hour of the first day of the first month (1AM on January 1st) and Nina was born on the seventh hour of the seventh day of the seventh month (7am on July 7th). KT is also a descendant (I think? ig the Amneris could be from Sarah's mother but I feel like it was always implied that her father was the start) but can't be a chosen one because there can only be one at a time and that's Nina. I also don't remember if KT's birthday was ever stated. Also fun thought: this means Nina and Joy are also probably distantly related!

Not as much about the Osirian is known but I imagine it's in a similar vein. The job of the Osirian is to protect the Chosen One. Rufus was the Osirian during the generation that Sarah was the Chosen One (and failed his duty), and Eddie was the Osirian during the generation that Nina was the Chosen One. Similarly, Eddie's Osirian abilities didn't fully develop until Rufus was near death and then dead. It's implied that Mr. Sweet knew that Eddie was the next Osirian, which implies that it's also based on birthdate, but we don't know the details of that, or who the original Osirian was (by comparison Amneris being the original Chosen One). This also suggests Eddie and Mr. Sweet are related to Rufus. The movie was kinda wack but I think it was just that Eddie gave up his abilities as an Osirian and like Nina would be the last Chosen One, Eddie was the last Osirian so when he gave it up it just died instead of passing onto someone else for the next generation.

THATS SO FUNNY I have honestly never thought about Jeomes dad returning and seeing Victor exactly the same. It's even funnier if you think that bc it's never brought up he just saw Victor and was like. Nah I'm good. None of my business. 😭😭

[itsjustlux]

50% Crowley theory 50% Crowley Angst

Let's talk Crowley and religious trauma because I just got done rewatching s2, this time with the company of my mother (the absolute icon that she is).

Side note, this is 50% theory and 50% character speculation, so enjoy this behemoth of a post.

After we finished e6, my mom and I had a lovely little discussion about the roles of both the Metronome (yes, she actually called him this) and God. Much of the discussion revolved around wether or not God was a malicious/cruel force in the Good Omens universe. While my mom had made the argument that yes, God in this universe is not a sympathetic character, I ended up arguing the opposite.

And I can easily see how she would come to that conclusion. Heaven, after all, has been shown to be pretty morally dubious. But that's just the thing. Heaven and God are two completely separate entities. And that's a really, really, really important distinction (especially for Crowley's character). Crowley hates Heaven, yeah, but does he hate God? I would make the case that he doesn't. In fact, I think he might actually still love Her.

In s1 he literally talks to God about his fall. Obviously, he doesn't get any sort of reply, but he doesn't seem angry here in the slightest. He's just sad. Sad and literally begging God not to destroy humanity. That does not seem like hate to me. And if he resented God for his Fall, why would he still be talking with Her? Why would he be trying to reason with Her? But let's keep going. In season 2 when he sees God talking to Job, I don't get any anger here either. Unlike the scene in s1, I don't get sadness either. I get wonder, and just a hint of envy. He wants to be able to ask these big questions, to speak with God even if he doesn't get a proper answer. That means something to him.

But why would he still love God if She cast him out? Well, I actually don't think She was the one to do it. I think it was the Metronome (yes, I'm calling him that until the end of time). I mean, Crowley recognizes him immediately and Metronome over here recognizes him right back. And even more that that, the Metronome was the one at Gabriel's trial, not God herself. If the trial of the Supreme Archangel Gabriel doesn't warrant the appearance of God, why would Crowley's Fall? Crowley got in trouble for asking God too many questions. And what happened when Aziraphale tried asking questions in s1? He spoke with the Metronome. It's pretty reasonable to assume the same thing happened to Crowley.

So what does this do for his character? Well, it gives some additional context to his conversation with Aziraphale, especially that second "tell me you didn't". Because I get some genuine fear from David Tennant's performance in that moment, and this would definitely explain why. It also gives him some delicious internal conflict and adds to his whole wanting-to-be-a-good-person-but-that-puts-him-in-immortal-danger thing. Because loving God would be like, the ultimate demon no-no. Loving in general is pretty unacceptable, but loving God???? And that would just make his isolation among the demons that much more significant. Of course he became so set on helping Aziraphale. Aziraphale was (is?) all he had (has?) in so many ways, this is just another one of them. And adding onto all of that, knowing that a God, his God, would sit there and allow him to feel all these immensely painful feelings and then not even finding it in himself to be hateful or angry at Her...Just hateful of the systems build around Her 'ineffable plan'...There's something deeply compelling and deeply human about that, which I find very relatable.

[mdhwrites]

Reccomendations for cartoons to watch include: Gravity Falls, Adventure Time, Regular Show, the later seasons of MLP Friendship is Magic (for the sake of completing it and being able to properly evaluate the show), Steven Universe, DuckTales 2017, OK KO, Big City Greens, Star vs the Forces of Evil, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Kim Possible, Hilda, Helluva Boss, Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated, She Ra 2018, and the Ben 10 franchise.

I actually still have another ask that is mostly this same list but I think Hilda and Helluva Boss are new. Mostly responding because something I find interesting about myself given how ruthless I can be with TOH is that, well...

I probably will never truly be able to be some big reviewer because when I start disliking something, I drop it. That's actually the big reason I'm responding is because there is NO WAY I am watching the like 4+ seasons of MLP:FiM that I didn't watch because I just can't engage with stuff I dislike. I find no joy in it and while I can rant for a couple episodes, it just loses my interest.

I never seek things out because I think I'll dislike them. I just don't think life is enjoyable that way. It's why I have no plans to return to Helluva Boss. I absolutely believe people would potentially send me asks about it with how polarizing it is but I got to the episode when Moxie and Blitzo are interrogated, went "Ah, I see, the two characters I hate the most and don't even find funny (Stolas and Blitzo) are the actual main characters and the pilot was potentially kind of a lie for what the real focus of the show is. I'm out." And I haven't watched an episode since. My brain struggles to click with media after all so why would I bother with media I actively know I dislike already?

I'll comment on a couple others that I have at least had experience with on the list in a minute but since Amphibia, I've watched the first season of Craig of the Creek and think that show is just AMAZING. There's at least one episode I keep wanting to do a blog on just because it exemplifies how much the show understands the wonder of fantasy and childhood without actually being fantastical. I've also seen S1 of SpyxFamily and some of S2 but right now the only streaming service I have consistent access to is Hulu (the Disney+ I was borrowing cancelled theirs to swap to Hulu) and they only have S1 dubbed of SpyxFamily.

I'm hoping to sometime soon actually watch Over the Garden Wall finally and just have been kind of a mess as of late as for why I haven't yet. I've heard only good things, and shockingly few spoilers, and it's about time I gave it a proper shot.

ANYWAYS:

Steven Universe: Watched the first episode and only really liked Greg so just didn't bother watching more. Steven was fine but I actively hated all three of the gems because of how brain dead they were in both segments of the episode. As far as pilots go, I think SU might genuinely have one of the worst I've ever seen for convincing you to like a main cast.

Gravity Falls: I rewatched the first episode recently and went "This is oooookay." Something about Dipper's VA just bothers me. Not like they're doing a bad job but that it falls into an uncanny valley my brain doesn't love. I really wish I could better explain why that show refuses to properly click for me.

Regular Show: I forget why but I've seen a few episodes. It's not bad but I don't think it's really for me. I find Rigby and Mordecai annoying more than anything else. Not awful but I think without it feeling like they're actually meant to be learning something, they fall into the trap Randy and Howard from Randy Cunningham fell into eventually for me where I was like "Okay, assholes can be fun for a while but if that's all you're ever going to be, I don't care."

Adventure Time: I have seen as many episodes where Fiona and Cake show up in that show than I have Finn and Jake. XD I have genuinely liked what I've seen and just for some reason never sought it out. Maybe someday.

Star Vs: I need to give S2 a chance but MAN when I got told they break up Marco and Jackie for NO REASON I lost a lot of interest in the show. I like Marco more than Star, and I've only seen S1, and thought Marco and Jackie's relationship was genuinely really nice and kind of unique. Also knowing it's most people's cartoon punching bag doesn't exactly fill me with enthusiasm for it.

Kim Possible: I remember rewatching the pilot a couple years ago and being shocked by how much I didn't care for Kim. I think the fact that Bonnie is the only one who gives her shit but she's actually just genuinely amazing at everything and liked by most make her just not compelling to me which is a shame because I have REALLY fond memories of the show. I'd probably commit to a rewatch of Danny Phantom first though since it has been just as long since I watched that.

(Weird fact: I was looking at Hulu's unfortunately limited amount of cartoons and saw they had Kick Buttowski of all things which is WILD to me.)

She-Ra: I've seen literally one episode, thought it was good, and definitely is one of the ones I keep telling myself to watch because everything about it seems like it'd be up my alley. These are also my thoughts on Voltron though with how much... less divisive that last season of Voltron is, it's definitely below watching Princesses of Power.

Ben 10: Loved the original series as a kid, tried the first two spin offs that came out and didn't really jive with either but I thought Julie, the tennis girl Ben gets with, was super cute. I know a friend who would LOVE to see me get into Ben 10 and do some reviews of it.

And just as an anime shout out, a part of me is still tempted to give Little Witch Academia another try. Not only is it just an obvious next show for me to watch but it's one I REALLY want to like because I like a lot about it... I just absolutely despise Akko from the like four episodes I watched a good number of years ago now. I thought almost all of the supporting characters were great though.

Just... Consider this my weird, rambly blog late at night about cartoons and the fact that I do wish I engaged with media better. One of the worst elements of it is that I don't engage well with scripted content well if my brain isn't already in an alright place. Like I don't go to television for distraction and cheering me up. I vastly prefer streams for that as I can actually turn my brain off during those normally. It's something I've talked about before and something I'd like to change. Heck, I even at one point had a therapy goal to watch something at least once a week since that'd still be easier than streaming or writing. Whoops. *sigh*

I do also appreciate the recommendations! The reminders are good sometimes since I don't feel like I actually stay in the loop all that well. And since I kind of assume this is the same person who sent a list before, I decided I felt like actually responding, especially because the MLP pitch is an interesting one but man... That's a LOT of Starlight Glimmer I'd have to put up with when just like six episodes of her as a good guy made me want to light both her and Twilight on fire to put them out of their, and mine, misery. That's without me getting into the fact that I just think the characters in general got worse by then, almost like series shouldn't last for that long because finding new angles on characters becomes REALLY HARD (says the dumbass with a series of his own that honestly is longer than he should reasonably plan a story for.)

Again, late night rambling while my brain deals with suddenly snapping out of a hyper focus on a game for three days and doesn't deal with that well. *sigh* Have a good night everyone, take care of yourself and see you next tale.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[the-eclectic-wonderer]

Tag someone you want to know AND/OR some of your besties.

I was tagged by @valentinaonthemoon, my sweetest mutual! Thank you!

Favourite colour: warm shades of yellow (think gold yellow or sunglow yellow).

Last song: Dreams by The Cranberries (thank you, Derry Girls!)

Last movie: Anastasia (1997). My brother mentioned he'd never seen it, and I simply had to show it to him. It's as magical as i remember. The last new movie (as in, not a rewatch) I watched was Asteroid City by Wes Anderson, which left such an impression on me I still rant about it regularly with the friend I saw it with. It was an incredible experience!

Currently watching: The Golden Girls! I'm having such a blast - it's hilarious, the girls have amazing chemistry and interactions, and its treatment of 'charged' themes (regarding eg sexuality, gender identity, poverty, race, having/not having children etc) holds up surprisingly well for a show that was made between 1985 and 1992. It's easy to see why it's so well-liked. I'm also watching season 2 of Loki, and enjoying it very much! I haven't really posted anything about it yet because I'm watching with family, and we're quite behind schedule. So no spoilers, please!

Other stuff I watched this year: Oh, dear. I don't remember all of them, but let's see... I rewatched Steven Universe, Steven Universe Future and Brooklyn Nine-Nine in the first few months of the year, but I don't remember watching anything new in particular (although I remember playing a lot of videogames - that's probably why). I caught up with the new season of the lovely Only Murders In The Building just in time to theorize about the last four episodes or so (and this season was so so so good, I think it's become my favourite!), and I watched S2 of Our Flag Means Death as it aired (I still haven't recovered from the ending of Ep. 3, good heavens). A dear friend recommended Derry Girls to me a couple of weeks back; I finished it just a few days ago and loved it to bits. It completely broke my heart and put it back together in such a gentle, caring way - instant favourite. And then, of course, although I haven't talked about it all that much, I've also watched Good Omens, season 2. And then rewatched Season 1. And then rewatched both in Italian, to check out the translation. And then rewatched them both in English, because I missed the original voices. I might have a bit of a problem.

Shows I dropped this year/didn’t finish: I don't recall anything specific this year, but the last season and a half of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel has been hanging above my head for a while. I reached a point in the story where the second-hand embarrassment was so intense I couldn't bear to keep watching, and it's been haunting me ever since. I'd love to get back into it, eventually, when I find the courage.

Currently reading: The Blackwater series, by Michael McDowell. I'm not usually a fan of horror, but the cover art captured my attention, and before I knew it the story had captivated me completely. I'm also re-reading and annotating A Girl's Story (which is a horrible translation of the original title, Mémoire de fille) by Annie Ernaux for my book club. It's a poignant, thought-provoking work, and a truly deserved Nobel prize winner.

Currently listening to: Mr. Hozier decided to drop his new album at precisely the right time to twist the knife into my Good Omens heartbreak, and so it was inevitable I'd end up listening to his stuff a whole lot. Jokes aside, Unreal Unearth is phenomenal and has made me cry a lot of tears so far. Then we have some sparse stuff (Glenn Miller, Queen, Kate Bush) and some rock - mostly Greta van Fleet (Starcatcher) and Voyager (Colours in the Sun and Fearless in Love). The most recent addition to the roster is the new album by Rebecca Sugar, Spiral Bound (Good Morning Afternoon has quickly become a new favourite of mine).

Currently working on: a couple of WIP fanfics, planning for Christmas gifts.

Current obsession: Listen. Listen. If you follow me, you know. You know what my current obsession is. Good Omens has filled my every waking thought since July 28th, 2023 and I have made it everyone's problem for months. (I'm not sorry about it, by the way. i did warn you all.) At this point, I'm guessing this new obsession will sustain me at least until season 3 drops.

This was really fun, thank you @valentinaonthemoon! I honestly can't choose someone to tag, so - if you got this far and would like to tell the world about your interests, please consider this your official invite. And tag me if you do it! Enjoy!

[butterflydm]

wot rewatch 1x3: a place of safety

Onto episode three, where we get to have some new dynamics and some relationship building for the future.

spoilers for the first season and the new s2 teaser scene that we got and for book spoilers... through The Dragon Reborn due to an identity reveal, I guess.

Nynaeve! I think it was a really good idea for the show to make sure to show us that Nynaeve was still alive at the end of episode two rather than trying to draw it out any further.

We do get some useful info here. We see the Trolloc's willingness to kill their own. We get to see Nynaeve being both brave and clever in how she dispatches the Trolloc. And then she tracks down Lan & Moiraine afterwards. We get shown on screen how impressive Nynaeve is.

Lan is also very impressed by Nynaeve, even so that he's very honest with her here. And he also needs her help, of course.

I'm going to be watching for our mirrors and parallels between Rand and Egwene while they're separated.

Rand is still calling out for Egwene and Perrin, and Mat is the one thinking clearly - he reassures Rand that they'll find the others but that they need to keep themselves alive first.

Mat wants to go home, but Rand is now picking up the responsibility baton, both to protect their home and because he knows Egwene will want to continue to the White Tower. I love Rand and Mat's banter in this episode a lot.

Perrin and Egwene are being followed (by wolves) and make a fire - Perrin tries with a flint but Egwene succeeds with the Power. Perrin takes her using the Power pretty well -- I do wonder if he jumps on board the "Egwene is the Dragon Reborn" train here.

Now they get to have their parallel discussion about what to do next. Rand knew Egwene would continue to the White Tower but Egwene thinks that Rand will go home. Perrin says that they won't, and he's right. Rand wants to go home -- Egwene's correct there -- but both responsibility and wanting to reunite with Egwene and Perrin prevents him from turning back even though Mat was on the side of "let's go home".

But that gap between Egwene and Rand loving each vs maybe not always knowing each other is something that continues from the first episode. They know parts of each other but they both also have gaps of knowledge - Rand makes assumptions about Egwene in episode 1 because he doesn't know about her offer from Nynaeve and Egwene makes assumptions here because she doesn't know that Rand has reason to believe that he's the Dragon Reborn. Rand accepting being the Dragon Reborn means accepting that he "can't go home", which is a big thing that he struggles with over the season but deflects onto first Egwene and then Mat once it starts looking like Mat might be the Dragon (exhibiting the 'signs' that Thom told him about).

Lan is developing a big crush and Nynaeve has no clue. <3 also I like Nynaeve's little healer's kit. We get some hints about the Warder bond here but we'll be getting much more next episode.

The set-up of the give-and-take between the three pairs being explored in this episode is a lot of fun.

Perrin's dream... Ishy trying to suss out if Perrin is The One, I assume. I wonder if he was trying to trigger Perrin into a memory of "his" past life and guilt over his dead wife. Which isn't going to work because it isn't his past life, of course. But it does make me wonder if he thought Perrin was TDR. We know from the finale that he appeared to be genuinely surprised it was Rand until they got a bit of quality time alone.

So Perrin and Egwene start out having a rougher and scarier journey -- howling wind, howling wolves, and being chased. While Mat and Rand appear to have found a touch of luck by running across a town. But the town is not a genuine "place of safety" while the wolves are actually doing their best to help out and lead Perrin to people who can help him.

Thom's coat does have colorful patches on the inside. I do understand why they toned Thom down, for sure. I wonder who wrote this song - given the subject matter. But we know why Thom would feel so sympathetic to Lews Therin.

Dana was such a great introduction to Darkfriends. It really feels like the show put a lot of thought into why someone would decide to become a Darkfriend and are putting it into practice early on. Lots of thought into all the various world philosophies that we've seen so far.

Go to a slighter large village than the one you grew up in, immediately get pickpocketed. No safety here for Rand and Mat. And poor Rand is so grossed out by how Dana just dumps all the leftovers back into the stewpot.

Mat Tries To Set Up A Porn, take one: offering to work for their stay.

Mat Tries To Set Up A Porn, take two: threesome edition.

On a more serious note, lol, this is also where Mat and Rand first get into a genuine bit of conflict, when Mat blames Rand for them being here and tells him that Egwene and Perrin are likely dead and, even if they aren't, that Egwene wouldn't go through any of this effort for Rand's sake and so he shouldn't do it for her. Basically, taking all that emotional sensitivity that Mat has shown previously and using as a weapon against Rand to try to get Rand to do what Mat wants to do (go home).

He successfully hurts Rand's feelings, clearly regrets it, but instead of apologizing, he goes with Mat Tries To Set Up A Porn, take three, which ends in him serving drinks.

Dana is pretty honest with Mat and Rand. Except for the big thing she's lying about, of course.

Honestly, I'm finding Perrin's guilt and grief over Laila to be pretty touching in this rewatch.

Rand trying to talk himself out of a room for the night, lol. Rand burns Mat so hard and he's not even there to hear it. Dana, of course, already knows about Egwene so it feels like her trying to "help" Rand and Mat's, uh, relationship woes was her angling to get some kind of in with Rand (which worked). From what we see in S1, Ishamael does have a fair amount of knowledge about their current lives (likely from Fain) but just doesn't know how that tracks into them potentially being the Dragon Reborn.

Mat is starting to get pretty twitchy and quick to draw his fancy new dagger. But he's still willing to calm down and realize Thom isn't a threat. We also get some tiny bits of Aiel lore.

"Mat says a lot of things" yeah, so true. But both of these scenes -- the Mat & Thom one and the Rand & Dana one -- are so good.

At this point, Thom was willing to give some advice and then walk out, because the two boys might need a life lesson but there's no indication they're in trouble they can't get out of. And then he hears that a Fade is after them, and everything changes for him.

"All five of you... but only one matters, only one of you can be it." Ishamael hasn't ruled Nynaeve out yet, because he doesn't know the exact wording of the prophecy.

I love how passionate and sincere they had Dana be here. And now that we've seen the teaser, we get a look at how Ishamael acts around prospective marks so I feel like Dana probably got started with the 'soft sell' just like the little girl did.

And now Lan leads his group to a hopeful place of safety. And we get to explore Aes Sedai politics in the next episode. <3

Logain! Talk about you soon. <3 <3

[hydesjackiespuddinpop]

https://www.tumblr.com/hydesjackiespuddinpop/733253054933188608/estelanel-001-send-me-a-ship-and-i-will-tell

I got a few ships for the ask game: Gwikki, Jeia, and Beric.

Yay!

Gwikki

when I started shipping it if I did: I remember getting dan/blair vibes on a rewatch and them tumblr and tiktok left me obsessed.

my thoughts: My perfect babies! I need them to be canon <3

What makes me happy about them: Their chemistry, the J/H parallels, how genuinely happy and comfortable they are around each other.

What makes me sad about them: Post Step by Step, there was less interaction :(

things done in fanfic that annoys me: There isn't much gwikki fic and in the fics that are there, they hit all the spots lol. But I wouldn't want to read a gwikki fic with n*ia there.

things I look for in fanfic: good writing, good arcs, and just them being together. Also jeia as a side pairing lol.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Gwen with Leia and Nikki being independent or with Sharkayla but she reminds me of Robin from himym, where she'd be super focused on her career.

My happily ever after for them: Them being married and getting the hell out of Point Place (which they do!)

who is the big spoon/little spoon: Most of the time, Gwen is the little spoon and Nikki is the big spoon but they take turns.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Watching tv and debating the shows

Jeia

when I started shipping it if I did: Lip Smackers

my thoughts: Cutest couple on T9S

What makes me happy about them: How Jay genuinely cares for Leia and protects her, how Leia sees Jay beyond his player rep.

What makes me sad about them: That the writers might ruin them in s2 and have n*ia be canon. Also Lindsey what's-her-face reducing jeia to lust.

things done in fanfic that annoys me: There was this one jeia fic (from a writer I love, don't get me wrong) where the gang was pushing Leia to lose her virginity so she doesn't make them look like virgins. Which was in very poor taste imo and there's nothing wrong with being a virgin lol.

things I look for in fanfic: Good writing, them being endgame, and gwikki being paired up as well.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Leia with Gwen and Jay with Nate.

My happily ever after for them: Them being married and having kids (which they do!)

who is the big spoon/little spoon: Jay is the big spoon and Leia is the little spoon.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Cuddling and watching tv.

Beric

when I started shipping it if I did: Going onto tumblr made me appreciate them more <3

my thoughts: Cutie pies! Dated in s4 as far as I'm concerned <3

What makes me happy about them: Eric being able to just be himself with Buddy and how Buddy appreciates him <3

What makes me sad about them: That they didn't date in canon s4

things done in fanfic that annoys me: At this point, you know how I feel w character bashing. But even with that, I won't care TOO much because my babies <3

things I look for in fanfic: good writing, cuteness, and a happy ending.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Eric with Donna, Connie, or Mitch, Buddy with Fez (his early self) or just some sweet guy who makes him happy.

My happily ever after for them: Them being happily married and raising Leia with Burkciotti

who is the big spoon/little spoon: Eric is the little spoon and Buddy the big. But once in a while, it's vice versa.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Cuddles, tickling, watching tv, and just hanging out.

[nativehueofresolution]

hii hi uhm 5, 9, 16, and/or 27 for the ask game?

hiiiii, ty 🧡🧡

5) Do you recommend the show to your IRLs?

sadly i have only one irl friend who likes fantasy/supernatural fiction, and she was the one who recommended it to me 😭. i still talk about it anyways, and my mom did watch one episode to try and understand what i was going on about so much even though she hates horror stuff lol.

9) Have you rewatched the first season?

i've watched the first season like two and half times, which frankly is a low number in my opinion. i paused bc i decided i wanted to read the books and then come back and to see how that shaped my viewing (well, at first i was planning to just read the first book, but then i kept going bc i have no self control rip). it's long series and even skipping some of the crossover books or speed reading some of the barely comprehensible ones like memnoch, i still had to take breaks and read other stuff for my own sanity... which is all to say it did end up taking a while. but i did finish finally and i got the blu-ray as a christmas present, so i definitely plan to do another watch before s2 airs.

16) Do you have a favorite piece of art (book, movie, painting) that’s referenced or featured in the show?

this is so hard, i love all of the references they've done, they're all so well thought out. the first one that springs to mind is i love all the references to the grand guignol with the threatres des vampires. obviously, that's just from the set pics so we don't quite know how it will play out in the show, but i think it's such a cool idea and it gives the troupe a lot more character than was present in the books where not too much time was spent on the plays themselves (sad for me, as a former theater kid). i also love all the artwork, particularly in the the dubai penthouse like "slave auction" or "three studies for figures at the base of a crucifixion" - they add so much character to the dubai scenes even without calling attention to themselves.

27) Do you have an ideal endgame?

i would like for the show to have the planned 7 or so seasons rolin jones and co have referenced as their plan... i know some people are leery of shows that go on that long, and i get it, but i think when a show is strong - something like the sopranos (6 seasons) or mad men (7 seasons) - that length can work really well for the long-form story-telling of tv. (on the other hand, i shudder to think about what fandom will look like at that point slfljf. but going purely off of the merits of the show i think it could be great.)

plot-wise... not really? the book series really peters out and has an anti-climatic ending, so i'm not sure exactly what you could rework to make a satisfying conclusion. there are some elements of the prince lestat era i enjoyed (i adored fareed and seth, i'm hopeful they will have more to do with the tv series since they brought fareed in so early), but the actual plot of like creating a vampire aristocracy and lestat being in charge was so goofy and nonsensical idk how you'd make that into a compelling storyline... so i really think it'd have to be pretty much all original material (maybe we find something more interesting for amel than aliens). but after 7 seasons idk where the characters would even be emotionally and all that so it's hard for me to think of what new endings might be fitting. so i'm pretty open to the possibilities, i think! i do think tonally something more bittersweet or ambiguous that the happily ever after anne rice tried to go with would be more fitting.