#sorry for always going off in tangents but this is a gemini's blog

[garbagequeer]

Also weird that they never mention or imply Astrid and Cody in new blood like???? He has two other kids he straight up left??

I think we need showtime to stop milking this but new blood was clearly set up for a spin-off . So I think we should get Harrison and Cody/Astor interaction . What happened to them?? I want to know

Idk dexter is a weird show because on one hand it tries so hard to validate the idea of non-biological family being real— Ie that’s at least part of the Debra vs Brian conflict and he picks Debra . Validating that she’s his real sister

And then at the same time they have him completely abandon and forget about his two other kids because they’re not ‘biologically’ his so it’s like. What’s the message here folks what r u trying to say

i think w cody and astor they just found it easier to not have them around but it did bother me that harrison could track down dexter who was supposedly dead and live under a fake identity but never even mentioned his siblings who would probably be much easier to find + it would make sense for him to do that after hannah died (like they could know each other but have harrison decide to be on his own to find dexter still and him deciding to not tell them about it and this could be like a couple of lines said in passing in an episode). or even that dexter himself doesnt keep tabs on them like it's 2022 can't you catfish your children on instagram like any good dead beat serial killer stepfather living under a false identity after faking his death following his suicide attempt obviously would?

personally i have no issue if showtime wants to keep making more content like to me beating a dead horse is essential to how tv works but id like to think harrison is for real just a normal kid with issues (im rita stan and dark passenger denier. i cant pick a struggle) so idk if that would pan out like it'd be a dexter teen drama spin-off which is silly (even though id personally watch it if they did it. but i think tv shows should be silly so im probably not representative of the target audience). though i'd also watch if they decided to stick to the dark passenger with him. what can i say i love stupid bullshit

and yes exactly i think an issue w dexter is it tries to kind of be this nature vs nurture thing but a lot of the time it doesnt work because the concept behind the dark passenger is so stupid like betty cooper serial killer genes but for boys (which i guess is bc theyre adapting from source material where it's demonic or something which is extremely funny to me like the summaries of the dexter books are deranged. also on those apparently astor and cody also have murderous tendencies bc of paul and dexter is like oh my children i will teach you the code <3).

like idk if they so much have a message or if it's just concepts audiences are familiar with that we can arrange differently because theyre ambiguous enough and audiences are diverse (like theres fans out there who think dexter was a heroic vigilante no matter how much the show evidently shows thats not what it's about so) like it's about family (the one he's born in? the one that raised him? the one he made for himself?) and cycles which you must break (harrison kills dexter)? but you can't break (harrison kills dexter)? and theyre choices (dexter didnt kill for 10 years)? but they're not (the dark passenger will always be with him)?

i mean i think this ambiguity is good in the sense that it accompanies dexter's own push and pull between facets of his own self so maybe the point is that nebulousness of a person's place in the world as a complex thing like is he a monster-brian's brother-not rita's family or is he a person-deb's brother-stepfather? he is both so he is harry's son (harry himself was also defined by duality) as harry unites all of it and he is more defined by that point of connection than by any of the rest so he often neglects one part of his life (thats why he's a fail dad to all his kids and also a fail serial killer multiple times during the show but he does honestly care) which he kind of points out in s1-s2 like he has a little inner monologue about how he's dexter but he thinks this means he is beyond harry... and yet who does he keep talking to in his head? and his perspective on his own life and self is always limited by this being the point where he stands so he cant overcome harry teaching him he was always going to be a killer because he sort of always looks at himself through the eyes of his father even as he redefines some of the non-murderous parts of his identity. i think in a way it's a lot about patterns and addictions but idk he's mostly my friend the silly serial killer from my shows

but as it is a tv show a lot of plotlines and elements simply get dropped and forgotten because something else was more compelling or more popular with fans (which i think is the case with astor and cody. like iirc people back in the day thought rita and the kids were pretty boring so they kind of exit the show which from a trying-to-build-dexter-as-a-person point of view IS frustrating but i do think that's why it happens although from the narrative pov it paints him as more uncaring or self-absorbed by his own issues of being dangerous and unable to connect/always hiding bc of what harry taught him). but i mean you cant really get much more in the sense of social commentary bc most of the things in the show consistently ignore social context and are extremely made up problems that can be reduced to a couple of generations of one person's personal biography for funsies (all while consistently ignoring most of the women of course <3 misogyny)

also the validation of dexter's family being his adoptive family through killing his biological brother was so hilarious to me like brian was a grown man who straight up did not understand adoption and dexter killed him over it instead of like talking to him about it to see if he can maybe get him not to kill his sister and also keep him and then he's like oh no my brother :( i loved my brother :( as if he didnt choose to do that i mean he's so funny

[thoughtfullyrainynightmare]

Hello Laura,

I’m 98% sure I’m accidentally going to end up rambling with this and also this may seem like a outta left field ask so... fair warning and I’m sorry in advance if it comes off as ‘huh?’ or something like that.

I’ve been out of the loop for a few days now and just logged on to see the Constellations Ask Game.

Personally, I love love LOVE comparing different methods like

horoscopes

zodiac

astrology/constellations

birth signs

cartomancy (probably one of my favs - I find this one really interesting)

tarot cards (both different and similar to cartomancy and vice versa... but, my opinion, these 2 methods are more different than they are similar)

palmistry

numerology

pendulums

spirit animals

and other fortune/horoscope telling methods/tools from all over the world through history. Practices like these and others alike that are scattered through history can seem small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things with everything that’s happened throughout the centuries...

but things like this, knowing the symbolism of something can give you a better insight of understanding different religions, mythologies, demonology, art, cinema, literature, etc. etc. because at the end of the day, when there isn’t much to go on, how symbolism is interpreted by someone and then used in whatever belief or work; based off of said interpretation can lead you to draw allegories between works, beliefs, or societies you probably would’ve never thought could’ve gotten something from one another; regardless if it was conscientiously or not - symbolism can open the doors to questions like

Why did this culture choose this to represent that?

Were they an isolated society that made it up on their own or could they have learned it from someone/somewhere else?

What was the interpretation then and the connection to how it is viewed today?

What allegorical conclusions can be drawn between this method ‘originated’ at point a and that method ‘originated’ at point b - if these two cultures are on opposite sides of the world and had to foreseeable means of communication with each other?

Etc. Etc.

& That’s one of my favorite aspects about Black Clover other than the story itself and the captain/magic-knight eye candy: Tabata’s use of symbolism and mythology is a talent in of itself; the way he dissects the tiniest context of something from various European mythologies and then uses it to his full advantage to hide in the crevices of a character, continually builds upon each reference and said reference(s) will start to reveal itself(themselves) as the character(a) develops throughout the progression of the story... sorry that was a bit of a tangent - but Tabata’s use of these things throughout Black Clover is so ingenious he deserves recognition and praise for that aspect of his storytelling...

I’m rambling aren’t I? (i warned you at the beginning this wasn’t going to be a conventional ask, sorry if I keep getting off topic) SO THE POINT OF THIS ASK — THE CONSTELLATIONS ASK GAME – I already knew there was a whole plethora of constellations named after figures in Greek mythology... however I was only briefly aware of a handful of Greek Mythology constellations that were used in astrology personality/horoscope predictions like our typical western Aries/Taurus/Gemini/Cancer/Leo(plod)/Virgo/Libra/Scorpius/Sagittarius/Capricornus/Aquarius/Pisces.

Dang it! I was rambling again wasn’t I? Stop rambling me! MY POINT IS: this ask game is one of the first times I’ve seen this many Greek Mythology constellations used that are apparently also used similarly to western zodiac astrology/horoscopes...

SO Laura, I was just wondering if you could please tell me if you knew the name or branch where these constellations stem from - in terms of fortune telling and birth signs? or just any knowledge basically you have in general related to the following?

Andromeda

Cassiopeia

Corvus

Draco

Hydra

Lyra

Persei

Pyxis

(tbh, going down the list, with all the Greek mythology references I almost asked about Taurus too because I read it as ‘Tartarus’ 😅)

Ursa Major

Ursa Minor

Apus

Aquila

Caelum

Canis Major

Crux

Indus

Lupus

Musca

Orion

Pavo

Phoenix

Puppis

Laura, if this is all too odd of an ask I completely understand... and again I apologize for how overboard I can get with my rambling... I just get very passionate and excited so when you’re trying to type it all down vs. talking to someone face to face where it’s easier to read social cues... it’s more difficult remembering when to cut off the sentence and shut up... like now🤭

Always, always, always enjoy your blog Laura! Regardless if this gets answered or not - I hope you have a lovely rest of your day!

Hiya anon~! ^_^

No worries, no worries, we all can ramble when we get exited!

But let me, let me try to get a hold of this first 😅

Okay, so:

I am not that well versed in mythology, but I do have a kind of fondness for it.

Andromeda & Cassiopeia: I believe that she was a princess in Greek mythology, the daughter of Cassiopeia. And the story goes that Cassiopeia boasted about being the most beautiful, which angers Poseidon. And Poseidon then sends a kind of sea monster (or a dragon) to torment the nation. Andromeda is to be sacrificed for the beast in an effort to calm it, but she gets saved Perseus (who later marries her and makes her his queen). And "Andromeda" apparently means "Ruler of men".

I don't know if the name "Cassiopeia" means anything, but it seems to be connected to beauty.

Corvus: It's a constellation that was known as "Raven" in some point, and was apparently one of the constellations that marked the Gates of the Underworld. So, an omen of death.

Hydra: Hydra was also another constellation to mark the Gate to the Underworld, and a general symbol/omen for death. Of course, there's the Hydra that Heracles defeated as his 12 heroic acts.

Draco: I might be mistaken, but I believe that Draco might be another name for Hyra. (If anyone knows better, please do correct me)

Persei: Is a triple star system, that I suspect is referring to Perseus. (Or named after Perseus)

Pyxis: I have no clue.

Okay, I'll... I'll answer on the longer list of constellations a bit later (because I need to wrap my brain around it). But I thought that I'd give a little something already now so that I don't keep you hanging 😅

And in the meantime, I do hope that you have a great day as well! ^_^