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santacoppelia · 9 months

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Putting the Meta in "Metatron"

(couldn't resist the pun, sorry)

Ok, this has been tickling my brain for a while. I've been thinking about how The Metatron designed his role and discourse specifically to manipulate Aziraphale into the end result we saw in the last minutes of S2. I become obsessed with it because… well, I'm a bit obsessive, but also because there were many really smart writing decisions that I loved (even when I despise The Metatron exactly for the same reasons. Hate the character, love the writer). If you haven't watched Good Omens Season 2, this is the moment to stop reading. Come back later!

We already know that in Book Omens, the role of Gabriel in the ending was occupied by The Metatron. Of course, the series introduced us to Gabriel and we won a lot by that, but I feel that the origins of The Metatron should be considered for any of this. He is not a "sweet old man": he was the one in charge of seeing over the operation of Armageddon; not just a stickler of rules, but the main promoter for it.

However, when he appears in the series finale, we first are primed to almost pass him by. He is in the line for buying coffee, using clothes that are:

obviously not tailored (almost ill fitted)

in dark tones

looking worn and wrinkled

This seems so important to me! All the angels we have seen are so proud of their aspect, wear clear (white or off white) clothes, pressed, impeccable (even Muriel), even when they visit the Earth (which we have already seen on S1 with all the visits to the bookshop). The Metatron chose a worn, comfortable attire, instead. This is a humanized look, something that fools all the angels but which would warm up someone very specific, can you guess?

After making quite a complicated coffee order (with sort of an affable and nervous energy), he makes a question that Crowley had already primed for us when asking Nina about the name of the coffee: having a "predictable" alternative and an unpredictable one.

This creates an interesting parallel with the next scene: Michael is discussing the possibility of erasing Aziraphale from The Book of Life (a punishment even worse than Holy Water on demons, because not having existed at all, EVER is definitely worse than having existed and ceased to exist at some point) when The Metatron arrives, interrupts the moment and signals having brought coffee. Yup, an amicable gesture, but also a "not death" offering that he shows clearly to everyone (even when Michael or Uriel do not understand or care for it. It wasn't meant for them). He even dismisses what Michael was saying as "utter balderdash" and a "complete piffle", which are the kind of outdated terms we have heard Aziraphale use commonly. So, The Metatron has put up this show for a specific audience of one.

The next moment on the script has Metatron asking Crowley for the clarification of his identity. Up to this moment, every angel has been ignoring the sprawled demon in the corner while discussing how to punish Aziraphale… But The Metatron defers to the most unlikely person in the room, and the only one who will push any buttons on Aziraphale: Crowley. After that, Aziraphale can recognize him, and Metatron dismisses the "bad angels" (using Aziraphale's S1 epithet) with another "catchy old phrase", "spit spot", while keeping Muriel at the back and implying that there is a possibility to "check after" if those "bad angels" have done anything wrong.

Up to this moment, he has played it perfectly. The only moment when he loses it is when he calls Muriel "the dim one", which she ignores… probably because that's the usual way they get talked to in Heaven. I'm not sure if Aziraphale or Crowley cared for that small interaction, but it is there for us (the audience) to notice it: the sympathy the character might elicit is built and sought, but he is not that nice.

After that, comes "the chinwag" and the offer of the coffee: the unnecessarily complicated order. It is not Aziraphale's cup of tea (literally), but it is so specific that it creates some semblance of being thought with care, and has a "hefty jigger" of syrup (again with the funny old words). And, as Aziraphale recognizes, it is "very nice!" (as The Metatron "jolly hoped so"), and The Metatron approves of him drinking it by admitting he has "ingested things in my time, you know?". This interaction is absolutely designed to build a bridge of understanding. The Metatron probably knew that the first response he would get was a "no", so he tailored his connection specifically to "mirror" Aziraphale: love of tasty human treats he has also consumed, funny old words like the ones he loves, a very human, worn, well-loved look. That was the bait for "the stroll": the moment when Aziraphale and Crowley get separated, because The Metatron knew that being close to Crowley, Aziraphale would have an hypervigilant soundboard to check the sense of what he was going to get offered. That's what the nasty look The Metatron gives to Crowley while leaving the bookshop builds (and it gets pinpointed by the music, if you were about to miss it).

The next thing we listen from The Metatron is "You don't have to answer immediately, take all the time you need" in such a friendly manner… we can see Aziraphale doubting a little, and then comes the suggestion: "go and tell your friend the good news!". This sounds like encouragement, but is "the reel". He already knows how Crowley would react, and is expecting it (we can infer it by his final reaction after going back for Aziraphale after the break up, but let's not get ahead of ourselves shall we?). He even can work up Muriel to take care of the bookshop while waiting for the catch.

What did he planted in Aziraphale's mind? Well, let's listen to the story he has to tell:

"I don't think he's as bad a fellow… I might have misjudged him!" — not strange in Aziraphale to have such a generous spirit while judging people. He's in a… partnership? relationship? somethingship? with a demon! So maybe first impressions aren't that reliable anyway. The Metatron made an excellent job with this, too.

"Michael was not the obvious candidate, it was me!" — This idea is interesting. Michael has been the stickler, the rule follower, even the snitch. They have been rewarded and recognized by that. Putting Aziraphale before Michael in the line of succession is a way of recognizing not only him, but his system of values, which has always been at odds with the main archangels (even when it was never an open fight).

"Leader, honest, don't tell people what they want to hear" — All these are generic compliments. The Metatron hasn't been that aware of Aziraphale, but are in line with what would have been said of any "rebel leader". They come into context with the next phrase.

"That's why Gabriel came to you, I imagine…" — I'm pretty sure The Metatron didn't imagine this, ha. He is probably imagining that the "institutional problem" is coalescing behind his back, and trying to keep friends close, but enemies closer… while dividing and conquering. If Gabriel rebelled, and then went searching for Aziraphale (and Crowley, they are and item and he knows it), that might mean a true risk for his status quo and future plans.

Heaven has great plans and important projects for you — this is to sweeten the pot: the hefty jigger of almond syrup. You will be able to make changes! You can make a difference from the inside! Working for an old man who feels strangely familiar! And who recognizes your point of view! That sounds like the best job offer of the world, really.

Those, however, are not the main messages (they are still building good will with Aziraphale); they are thought out to build the last, and more important one:

Heaven is well aware of your "de facto partnership" with Crowley…

It would be considered irregular if you wanted to work with him again…

You, and you alone, can bring him to Heaven and restore his full angelic status, so you could keep working together (in very important projects).

Here is the catch. He brought the coffee so he could "offer him coffee", but the implications are quite clear: if you want to continue having a partnership with Crowley, you two must come to Heaven. Anything else would be considered irregular, put them in a worst risk, and maybe, just maybe, make them "institutional enemies". Heaven is more efficient chasing enemies, and they have The Book of Life as a menace.

We already know how scared Aziraphale has always been about upsetting Heaven, but he has learned to "disconnect" from it through the usual "they don't notice". The Metatron came to tell him "I did notice, and it has come back to bite you". The implied counterpart to the offer is "you can always get death". Or even worse, nonexistence (we have already imagined the angst of having one of them condemned to that fate, haven't we?)

When The Metatron arrives, just after seeing Crowley leave the bookshop, distraught, he casually asks "How did he take it?", but he already knows. That was his plan all along: making them break up with an offer Aziraphale could not refuse, but Crowley could not accept. That's why he even takes the license to slightly badmouth Crowley: "Always did want to go his own way, always asking damn fool questions, too". He also arrive with the solution to the only objection Aziraphale would have: Muriel, the happy innocent angel that he received with so much warmth and kindness, is given the opportunity to stay on Earth, taking care of the bookshop. The only thing he would have liked to take with him is not a thing, and has become impossible.

If God is playing poker in a dark room and always smiling, The Metatron is playing chess, and he is quite good at it (that's why he loves everything to be predictable). He is menacing our pieces, and broke our hearts in the process… But I'm pretty sure he is underestimating his opponents. His awful remark of Muriel being "dim"; saying that Crowley "asks damn fool questions", and even believing that Aziraphale is just a softie that can be played like a pipe… That's why telling him the project is "The Second Coming" was an absolute gift for us as an audience, and it prefigures the downfall that is coming — the one Aziraphale, now with nothing to lose, started cooking in his head during that elevator ride (those couple of minutes that Michael Sheen gifted to all of us: the shock, the pain, the fury, and that grin in the end, with the eyes in a completely different emotion). Remember that Aziraphale is intelligent, but also fierce. Guildernstern commited a similar mistake in Hamlet, and it didn't go well:

"Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me! You would play upon me, you would seem to know my stops, you would pluck out the heart of my mystery, you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass, and there is much music, excellent voice, in this little organ, yet cannot you make it speak. 'Sblood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe? Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, you cannot play upon me."

I'm so excited to learn how this is going to unfold!! Because our heroes have always been very enthusiastic at creating plans together, failed miserably at executing them, and even then succeeding… But now they are apart, more frustrated and the stakes are even higher. Excellent scenario for a third act!

*exits, pursued by a bear*

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens meta #good omens spoilers #aziraphale #ineffable spouses #ineffable divorce #narrative analysis #character analysis #the metatron #and a casual Hamlet quote #just because I love Hamlet

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petrichorca · 2 months

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Hello, I am slowly figuring out how to use tumblr effectively. I thought I'd give an update on fics I've written in 2024, but keep forgetting to talk about here in a meaningful way.

As We Go Hand in Hand (explicit, gentlebeard, 7100 words) follows Ed as he processes the past few months while living on the island with Stede, massively in love but struggling with himself. I wrote it while feeling a lot of delayed grief around the (confirmed) s2 cancellation, and while it's sad at points it's also quite romantic I think. I really love this story.

Behind Closed Eyes All I See is You (explicit, gentlebeard, 5300 words) is a smutty PWP my dear friend @chaoticturtleturtle invited me to write with her. Stede lets Ed take the lead in a scene with some sensory deprivation, pwp, and aftercare.

like sugar to my heart (mature, gentlebeard, 4200 words) is a silly fic I wrote for my Animorphs OFMD AU co-writer as a birthday gift. Our blue four-legged four-eyed mouthless alien Stedeth gets foiled by a vending machine (based on the tumblr art of the giraffe centaur), and Ed consoles him.

like a bird (teen, gentlebeard, 3700 words) with @ghostalservice gives some backstory about Stedeth's life prior to the events of our 177k fic and features some very cute art of Mary and Stede's children (as Andalites, of course) by @theogem

Stede’s Cursed Red Suit as a Metaphor for Grief and Moving On (teen, stede + izzy, 1717 words) explores the squishy time of season 2, episode 5, and the dynamic between Stede and Izzy in season 2 overall. I am also obsessed with how Stede acts in the cursed suit. I find their s2 relationship really interesting so this is me looking a bit at that via a missing scene starting with Stede yelling OH FUCK OFF.

Calypso’s Dawn (explicit, gentlebeard, 1800 words) centers around how Ed made his boyfriend blush the morning after Calypso's birthday and how Ed feels about it. I love this fic. I've been trying to challenge myself to write more self-contained, shorter stories and this one turned out really well imo.

Life as a Series of Forward Rolls (teen, gentlebeard, 9900 words) features Stede running into his teenhood crush, the gold medalist in men's gymnastics from the 1996 Olympics. This fic also centers around a Barbie doll in Ed Teach's likeness, which @swashbuckling-sweethearts made an INCREDIBLE art of (embedded at the end of the story), inspired by my own 1996 Olympics Barbie. Silly and light modern AU!

Did you mean to do that? (teen, gentlebeard, 700 words) explores Stede's grief around Ed dying, even when he knows Ed is alive. I had no idea I would be so interested in writing missing scenes, but long conversations with friends have really ignited me in exploring these. (The length - I was trying to channel @brigdh, whose ability to write devastatingly brilliant drabbles inspires me, and I'm pleased with this one!)

Perfectly Ordinary Tuesday (mature, gentlebeard, 4900 words) with @ferventrabbit follows Stede and Ed deciding to get married on a perfectly ordinary Tuesday, and drag their inn guest Dave along for the ride. We split up writing the vows, and I balled my eyes out writing mine and then reading em's. This story is fluffy and fun, and it was a great way to start 2024. :)

What's next: I'm working on or noodling a lot of projects, solo and with different collaborators. Imminently, I've got a fic with @veeagainsttheday coming for AUpril on April 1st. Hoping to get something else out in April for @ofmdjanuaury's AUpril 2024 event, which I highly encourage folks to check out - it's for all sorts of creators!

@ghostalservice and I continue to think about our blue alien Stede and his human boyfriend Ed. Wanna Fly Away was such an important project to me while we were writing, and it's become even more special as folks find it. WFA now has art embedded in most of the 15 chapters, so if you haven't seen those check it out. More to come in that space.

Where was I going with this? Well, I suppose I want to say I'm still here. OFMD changed my life, and the OFMD fandom community is deeply important to me. I still hold out hope for a third season, or a follow-up that brings us more closure, but no matter what I'm still thinking about our pirates and will for a long time. If you read this far, thanks for being part of my community. <3

#ofmd #our flag means death #gentlebeard #ofmd fanfic #my fanfic #stede bonnet #edward teach

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sameschmidtdiffname · 4 months

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Lapses

Billy x Gender Neutral! Reader

Summery: In the wake of death our minds begin to wander. To better times, to little moments. Reality is so fickle in the minds of the weak. But he's coming back. Eventually.

Tags: No use of Y/N, hurt/no comfort, set mostly during the nine months Reader spent grieving before Billy returned in 'My Ghost,' disassociation, distorted reality, death, references to 'Twin Peaks' (1992).

Previous Works in Series: 'My Ghost' (original) • 'Repentance' (prequel)

Warning: You should at minimum read 'My Ghost' before reading this work in the series first. (For best reading experience, please read both previous works beforehand.)

Notes: :)

-¤°》◇《°¤-

Down comes clumps of wet snow from the grey sky, falling.

And falling.

I don't know when I wake up.

The TV has been on for hours. Flashing the same photos.

He smiled at me from across the room.

Don't think. Don't perceive. Don't focus.

"I think you look pretty with your hair like that," I told him. His cheeks are so rosy when he smiles.

Smiled.

Why is he smiling?

Where is that photo even from? Have they contacted me with any new details? Check your email.

"Is the internet working? I can't get this fucking email to go through."

He left on an errand.

"Did the auto-payment go through for the bill?"

He's coming back.

"You didn't tell me that was due, I don't have anything on the account."

He's coming back.

"You don't have anything?"

He's coming back.

"I don't have anything."

What are you supposed to do after a death?

There's no guide. There's no instruction manual. Grieve, move on. That's it. That is all we know. How am I supposed to do the second if the general public disapproves so heavily of the first?

There's a long while I don't even leave my house. I lock the doors, shut the curtains tight and nail them to the walls so he can't leave. Like he's captured in my basement, wilting in the darkness as I try to preserve his voice ringing in my ears like the sirens on the TV I eventually break when I throw the remote at it in a fit of rage and desperation.

"It's a piece of shit anyways," Billy would say when he saw it again. "I always meant to buy us a new one."

First thing I did when I found out was rip open my nightstand drawer. "William, have you ever shot a man?" I ask, bolting upright as I wipe the crust from my eyes.

"What the fuck did you do? What the fuck did you do?" I whispered under my breath. "Where the fuck is the gun?in my nightstand. And if I don't get some sleep soon, I'm going to use it. I haven't before, but I can't imagine it's hard."

I tore the house apart looking for it. He's unwell. Wasn't it just last night he was curled on my bed, so sweet and small as he stared at the wall in front of him?

He didn't feel well. He said his stomach hurts. My stomach hurts. Must have been something he ate, he mentioned a mistake. He wouldn't do this of his own free will, I know him.

He walks through the living room, pulling on a jacket to fight the cold air that seeps through the thin windows.

"Whatcha watching?"

Your report "'Twin Peaks,'" I told him.

"Oh shit, seriously? I haven't seen that since high school," he laugh'sowhodoicallabouttheremains?"

"Apparently they came out with a new season," I said. "Got us a free trial if we wanna watch."

"We gotta start from the beginning. Won't make sense if we don't," he says as he throws himself and one other dead thus far against the couch, almost landing on top of me in his excitement. It makes me scream.

Our first date was a little bit of a mess. I wasn't really expecting to meet someone when I did. But I met him. And he was sweet.

"So he didn't tell you anything about this?"

I've dated. I've seen a few guys. Not to sound easy, it was only a handful. But I'd only dated one other guy seriously. It was high school, lasted all the way through. Didn't end well.

"He was running an errand. He does it all of the time."

Billy picked me up fifteen minutes early. Claimed Google overshot the time estimate to my address, so he left early. Later he admitted it was a lie.

But he's not a liar. Why won't anyone believe me?

"What does he do on the errands?"

"I don't know, get groceries or something. I never asked."

I never wanted to know.

Billy hasd this romantic side to him. Oh yes, Mister 'Primps and Primes in Front of The Mirror For an Hour Just To Get Drinks' had a flare for the dramatics. Who would have thought? And he showed up with this grocery store bouquet of lilies and baby's breath mixed with wildflowers from the local park.

"They price the hell out of these things for half the product. Figured I'd give you the proper amount," he said with a wink.

"Did you know he was affiliated with gang activities?"

"No!" Yes. "Of course not!" I helped him pack a bag of coke about a week ago.

Did you know that I love the color blue?

No.

Mm hmm. Had it on everything. Even dyed my hair that color in high school.

You with blue hair? You're full of shit.

No, I'm serious! Hated the bleaching process though. Do you know how bad it looks when you grow out dark hair from neon blue?

I imagine It'd look co-

Ld.

It's cold.

It's been a week. The police have decided I have nothing to do with this. The town has nothing to do with me.

The house is in shambles. But some things are prestine. Like his ashtray sitting on the kitchen table. I kept the surface clean for him, for when he comes back. A string of photos is on the wall from when we went to the arcade and found a photo booth. Half of them are photos of us just looking at each other. Not kissing. Not smiling. Just looking. He has such gentle eyes, you know? I tried to draw them once. They're really hard. They're just so soft, just the right angle. The skin on his eyes crease so specifically. And if you don't draw them right, it doesn't look like him at all. Told him I was gonna get it perfect eventually.

"I may have to go away for a little bit."

They won't give me anything to bury. They won't let him come home. One time Billy was trapped at a bus station during a snow storm and couldn't come home. He'd been running an errand for a friend. I think I know who that friend is now. Billy could hardly even call on the phone from how bad the storm was. He was so cold. Said he wished I was here. Said how much he misses me. Said there was a rerun of 'Twin Peaks' at the station keeping him company. So I put on the same episode and stared at the TV while I waited for him to regain service and let me know where he was. I told him to give me a call when he could.

I'm at the bottom of his closet. Our closet. I don't know why I'm here.

When I was a child, I liked small spaces

Yeah?

"This is a hard time. It's only natural that you're grieving," says my mother on the other side of the phone.

A month ago Billy sat across from me, eyes trained on the TV as we smoked our way through season two.

"If I have a psychotic break, would you reenact history for me?" He teased around his joint.

"Why don't you go to church?"

"No one talks to me there. I've tried, momma. They hate me. They keep thinking I was in on it." I helped him pack a bag of coke.

"God won't judge you."

Scientists aren't really sure what happens to your mind when you die.

I've looked it up. Once. Read an article. Well, read is a strong word. More accurately I stared at it on my ancient computer I'd had since college while I disassociated for hours on end trying desperately to concentrate. Maybe it's morbid, but when your soon-to-be husband dies in a fire one is prone to wonder about such a thing.

Recent articles suggest DMT- a psychedelic drug that can occur naturally in plants -can actually be produced by your brain in the final moments of brain activity.

"Do you think there's anything after this?" He'd asked me one time as we layed beneath the stars, sand in our hair from the beach of the lake.

"I think we see what we need so that we'll be content as we drift away."

"Studies of animals undergoing brain death have found that the organ begins to release numerous signaling molecules and creates unusual brainwave patterns to try to resuscitate itself, even as it shuts down external signs of consciousness."

I'm sorry. I can't focus anymore. On anything. I feel like my lungs are being squeezed from bottom to top like a tube of gogurt.

We were hardly paying attention to the show anymore. So smoked out it was hilarious to us, laughing at everything as we focused on nothing except for the feeling of each others skin. My hands on his cheeks, his hands covering mine so soothingly. It was so sweet when he guided me off the floor where I lay. Julee Cruise sang on the old TV. Falling, falling. All I can feel is falling as he guides me into a gentle sway across the old shag carpet lit with the mid-July sunset, holding me like I'll fall far, far away.

"I think I've fallen in love with you," Billy whispered against my ear. His breath is warm.

"Yeah?" I'm too high for this conversation. I didn't even realize how low my tolerance had gotten since the last time I smoked. "You make me feel like I'm in high school again."

We'd danced the whole night. He didn't know hardly any of the songs, causing him to be off beat. I was too drunk to keep time, so I stepped on his leather boots enough times there was a visible scuff on the top of one by the end of the night. I always felt bad, offering to replace or help pay to fix it. He wouldn't let me.

"I could die tomorrow and I'd be happy," Billy confessed in a strained voice, finally letting all of the walls come tumbling down around us to the gentle beat of the song. "I'm so glad I got to meet you."

I was so nervous during our first date that I forgot how to eat hummus properly. It sounds so silly, doesn't it? But there was something about him. He wore this white button up shirt, basic jeans that were tight on his thighs. Not that I was looking. Much. His hair was combed neatly, gelled away from his face in a chic manner. Really, he took the whole thing so seriously he almost looked like some youth pastor they would have shuffled into a room with high schoolers to play a guitar and say 'you know, I was troubled once' before offering his story of repentance. It was so different from how he usually looked. Was he scared?

But anyways, I was so nervous that when they brought us our tray of hummus and bread to share, I took my little triangle slices and barely dipped them so to not look greedy before shoving the whole piece in my mouth one by one. I didn't even remember I was supposed to tear them apart until a week later. I was just trying to avoid double dipping.

"I think that's the first time I fell in love with you," Billy confessed. I giggle so stupidly, so incredibly high as I float on air.

"Because I was stupid?" I ask.

"Because you were sweet," he said.

There's a long moment of silence, the music swelling and making the cheap TV vibrate from the bass it was unequiped to handle.

"Tell me you'll marry me one day," he whispered.

What do you do with a ring that no one wants you to wear? I'm sorry I couldn't help you.

"Isn't it a little early for that?" I laughed softly.I'm sorry you went out on a romantic whim and borrowed money you shouldn't have for the ring I was too ashamed to wear on the proper finger. "It's only been a year." I don't even think we're dancing anymore. I think I'm sorry you couldn't come back for me.we're just swaying softly to the music flowing around us in a blind stupor, the humidity so suffocating outside that Billy shoved an electric fan in the living room window to try and blow in the cool air earlier that afternoon.

And I'm sorry for hating you when you showed up unannounced at my door.

“It shuts the door to the outside world and takes care of internal business because the house is on fire,” says biomedical scientist Charlotte Martial of the University of Liège, who studies near-death experiences.

He looks guilty sitting on the bed, watching me fiddle with the small container in front of me.

"You can't bring much," he tells me. There's sadness in his voice, honest and tired. His clothes smell like lavender.

"It's fine," I said.

He simply stares at me, bags heavy under his eyes. He had this spark of life before he returned to me that evening. I'm so glad he's home. Things weren't the same.

"Your hair looks so pretty like that," I said, stepping closer to cup his face in my hands. The contents of my nightstand drawer stabbing the bare skin of my feet as I walk to him. He blushes, looking away in shame.

"You can't ever come back if you leave with me," he says softly.

"I have nothing to return to. Everything is gone," I insisted. But I can see he's having second thoughts, glancing down the hallway. "You can't leave me again."

"What the fuck is that?" I screamed into the phone.

"Baby, I don't know-"

"There is a manhunt for my fucking fiánce who can hardly kill a fucking spider and all you want to say is you don't fucking know?!"

There's an article staring at me. Sent by my mother just a few minutes prior. Billy had been gone for a couple hours after leaving me with a small little keychain on the kitchen table and a soft kiss on my forehead, saying he had some plans for that evening. But he'll be back soon. He wasn't lying.

"I want you to come. But you have to be sure."

His eyes are desperate, staring up at me as I stoke his hair away from his face. His clothes smell like lavender.

They finally sent him home today. Took nine months. First they had to confirm it was his remains. Then I had to decide where I wanted him to go. It's such a hard process trying to get your loved ones back, especially when you were running out of the pills that kept you sane. Kept you wrapped in the thick fog of memories left behind to damn the living in a house that has turned more into a tomb. No sunlight, no visitors. My mother came over to see us once, but the smell was so bad she left soon after. I got a new bottle today. Might as well, after all.

He looks so tired on my bed. Curled in on himself. You could fit him in a box. So small. So tired.

It's so cold.

"You know, today would've been our anniversary?"

Zemmar says, because “death is sort of a mystery—we don’t really know what it is.”

I wonder who found me alone in the closet of our room.

We were too busy dancing to notice.

▪︎》◇《▪︎

Taglist:

@cassiecasluciluce @gh0u1ishly @joshhutchersons-slut @schmidtsbimbo @sugarevans @wompwompwomp57 . Thank you for your support pookies!!! <3

Masterlist • Article

#Spotify #josh hutcherson #josh hutcherson fanfic #josh hutcherson x reader #josh hutcherson fluff #josh hutcherson imagine #josh hutcherson x you #jhutch #billy burn 2019 #billy josh hutcherson #billy burn imagine #billy x reader #billy burn #burn movie 2019 #burn 2019 #josh hutcherson burn #hurt/no comfort

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formulaorange · 2 months

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Winter 2024 Anime Review

Solo Leveling - 24 Episodes

This has been and will be my most anticipated series. We've only scratched the surface of the story and people are going nuts. I've been reading the light novel translations for a while now and I'm not even a little ready for when certain things are animated.

Easily one of the best anime adaptations out there. More to look forward to.

Sidenote - A1 is killing the animations considering it's one of their bigger ones in a while.

Also - they did a really solid job with the sound design, a lot of the timing made certain scenes feel just that much more intense.

9/10 - Amazing

Frieren - 28 episodes

Such a unique watching experience.

I think so many shows these days are fast paced, and action oriented, especially within the fantasy genre. This is such a relaxing and enjoyable watch.

The story is moving and the animations are warm and fuzzy.

Not much I'd change about the series.

10/10 - Masterpiece

The Apothecary Diaries - 24 Episodes

The second half of this series kept up with the flow of the first half really well. I feel like that shouldn't be a feat but it really is these days.

I genuinely love watching the subtleties of the romance in this series and the medical mystery cases are just as fun to watch.

The story has so many little bits and pieces working throughout the show and the last episode had me wrecked for reasons I never saw coming.

Just overall a big fan of this series.

9/10 - Amazing

Delicious in Dungeon - 12/24 Episodes

This series has no right to be this much fun.

The animations match the energy of the show so well and I think it's one of the best "entertainment" series of the season.

I was worried it would start to repeat itself but found that the characters become the highlight of the series and I looked forward to every episode.

(This is the series this season that I'm high-key obsessed with.)

8.5/10 - Very Good+

Shangri-La Frontier - 25 Episodes

One of the most fun looking MMORPG animes I've seen. I remember reading the teaser manga a while ago and was stoked to see it animated. Just a genuinely well done gamer oriented series.

They do such a good job at showing exactly the kinds of small things gamers pay attention to and some of the combat learning is stellar.

Not to mention the sound track honestly did not need to go as hard as it did?!

Really hoping they continue on with this for another season.

8/10 - Very Good

Bucchigiri?! - 12 Episodes (Updated)

I haven't seen any coverage for this show for some reason. It's a one shot that Mappa animated. The story felt quite slow but I personally had fun with it, the character design was satisfying - gives a bit of Jojo's and SK8 vibes. After a few weeks I couldn't stop thinking about it and went back - it ends up being a decently satisfying story. It's rare to see single season shows and I think that was really refreshing.

(Opening and ending are both bangers)

7.5/10 - Good+

Mashle - Season 2 - 12 Episodes

I decided to watch this once all the episodes had aired. I found that it's not one you can be in the mood to watch all the time, but when you are it's just as hilarious as the first season.

I've enjoyed the pacing of the story and I'm looking forward to future seasons.

7.5/10 - Good+

Unwanted Undead - 12 Episodes

Another series I read the manga for when it premiered. There's something about this series that gets me hooked. While the animations aren't anything of note, I find the story is oddly unique and I ended up bingeing all the episodes in one go. Definitely one I'm curious to see where it goes.

7/10 - Good

Mr. Villain's Day Off - 12 Episodes

This is purely for my own personal interest in attractive moody villains with alter ego's. It's a lot of fun to watch and it's just so wholesome.

That's it.

7/10 - Good

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megabuild · 1 year

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i've seen some people (mainly techno/quackity fans from the alliances) interested in getting into etho content after the polls, but it can be a little daunting when the guy's been making videos semi-consistently for over a decade, so here's your ✨ not definitive ✨ guide to Watching Ethoslab!

for starters: etho's videos can get a bit technical! he's a redstoner and is known for making lots of crazy stuff, like the original hopper clock design, a working tamagotchi, and a massive storage system that uses hexadecimal to sort and pull items.

if you're familiar with the life series, that's arguably where you'll get the most "character"/"lore" content from etho! he's been in all three seasons, starting with 3rd life. this is also where he shows off his pvp, and though it isn't as obvious in his own pov, you get to see everyone else being really intimidated and hyping up his mysterious guy persona... while he's busy crying over his stuff getting burnt.

however, if you want to start with some regular single player content, his lp series has been going for over a decade! if you're a big fan of older, nostalgic vids and can deal with him being a bit awkward, his season 1 is just over 100 episodes and imo is still very fun to watch today. if you're less into that, it can be intimidating to try and pick up a series with nearly 600 episodes, so you might want to start with his most recent world tour! it's a long one, but it summarises all the work he's done so far, and there's only 25 episodes after that which is a lot more manageable! (and then you can go back and watch the rest ^_^)

his current hermitcraft series is only 9 episodes long so it's pretty accessible, though he does start halfway through the season (and purposefully exiles himself across the world with no tools or help until he can beat a raid single-handed. because. jeez.) if you're looking for a more rounded experience though, his season 7 is where i personally started with etho content and is still one of his best series yet! he gets plenty involved with the overarching "story" of S7 too, so it's a great jump-off point if you're just interested in HC in general.

other iconic etho videos and series include

- king of the ladder, a fan favourite from his time on mindcrack (the series which, dare i say, made him the og mcytblr sexyman- seriously, look into nebtho and you'll see what i mean)

- team canada escape the nether, for a quick look into his dynamic with pause and beef, two other mindcrackers he collabs with a lot

- (and if you like that and want more, team canada's sky factory)

- lp episode 404. please watch lp episode 404.

overall, etho is a very chill guy to watch.. most of the time.. and i would highly recommend him to basically anyone who likes mcyt. he's your fave's fave, a pillar of the community, but also a guy just Doing His Thing, and even after a decade he's still finding new ways to improve and change his content... so even if i haven't convinced you to give him a try, hopefully i'll still have convinced you to give him a vote since he's about ~30 votes behind at the time of posting this ;)

thanks for reading, and happy watching! and of course, any other ethogirls are welcome to add their own recommendations in the notes!

#ethoslab #etho #mine #long post #propaganda hours!!!#this isn't just for the polls i just needed a good etho rec post to harass people with

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tigertales9 · 1 month

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Writing update

I've started writing the next chapter in the Hard Reset series. It'll cover the wrist injury in Baltimore all the way through the end of the season. I already wrote quite a bit of it a while back, but I ended up scrapping most of that and starting over. We still haven't seen him throw a football, but that vid showing him doing pull-ups on the rings gave me the inspo I needed to get back to it. I'm only about 50% done so it'll be a bit before I get it posted.

Having said that … I have no idea where I'm headed with the series after this next chapter. I thought about continuing the series once OTAs/training camp/the season start, but I'm kind of in limbo on that. Bottom line is this. I'm not writing about his actual relationship; everything I write is pure fiction/fantasy, but the vibe for this series is that he's in a committed LTR. If that status changes, it might feel strange to continue writing that type of vibe if he's giving a different type of (single) energy. I'm taking a wait-and-see approach, and eventually we'll know the answer. Def not gonna speculate in the meantime.

Either way, I intend to continue writing about him. I have a oneshot in progress that takes place earlier this off-season (established relationship but not Hard Reset universe). It's about 70% done, and I'll get it posted before the Hard Reset update (hopefully in the next week or so).

Thanks for reading!

#joe burrow #joe burrow fan fic #joe burrow fanfic #joe burrow x reader #joe burrow imagine #joe burrow oneshot

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gffa · 5 months

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Hi :)

I'm a pretty new SW fan, not because I didn't like the movies/hadn't seen them but because I grew up thinking it was extremely nerdy and would often feel awkward trying to bring up anything related to SW.

Fortunately I've finally reached and met awesome people who love SW just like I did but I feel like I lost A LOT of important stuff and there's so much content to the saga that it's extremely overwhelming for me to even think about diving into the whole SW universe and catch up.

I've been following you for a bit and your posts are just extremely interesting to me but again, sometimes I'm a little confused about certain things and so I wanted to ask you if you had any recommendations about where to start catching up (besides the movies which I will be binge watching soon hehe)

Hi! Welcome to Star Wars fandom, I hope you're having a good time! And around here we embrace being as nerdy as possible--I mean, fandom is such a mainstream thing these days, but I still like to embrace being a nerd about things because it leads to a lot more happiness, to just be silly and having a good time with the thing that tickles our brains.

But, yes, it is pretty overwhelming when you're first arriving, I still remember when I first came back to SW several years ago, having really only watched the movies as a kid, and there was All This Stuff and it seemed impossible to ever reach the deep end of the pool, and that was before the last seven years of books, games, movies, comics, etc. came out! I will hopefully set your mind at ease with this, though: The vast, vast majority of content that Star Wars puts out isn't anything I would consider "essential". It's wonderful, fantastic stuff! But a lot of us have just been around so long that we're combing through the finer details of supplementary material, rather than those being absolute Must-Read/Watch To Get A Feel For Star Wars.

My recommendations for How To Get A Feel For Star Wars is basically, start with the animated series and the live action series, they're the second layer of foundation in the Star Wars building, all the comics and novels and such will be built on them, and in this order: - The movies, this is the foundation on which everything else will be built. - The Clone Wars, season 1-6 are part of George Lucas' story and they're pretty essential (at least in this corner of SW fandom) to understanding wtf anyone is talking about or even watching many of the live action series. (Season 7 is fine and should be watched! It's just not part of Lucas' Star Wars.) - Star Wars: Rebels, starts off light-hearted but really is one of the best developed shows and does a lot of connective work between the prequels and the original trilogy. - The Mandalorian, set 9 years after Return of the Jedi, this show just massively blew up and while each season is slightly less well-done than the previous one (imo), it's well worth watching for wtf fandom is talking about half of the time. (The Book of Boba Fett is somewhat optional in this corner of fandom, but imo worth the watch. Generally, it should go Mando s1-2 --> TBOBF --> Mando s3.) - Obi-Wan Kenobi, because this corner of fandom lost our goddamned minds about it and still haven't gotten them back. - Andor, which is a really great show and, as long as you've watched Rogue One first, you'll follow along just fine. Does some solid connecting the dots between the prequels and the originals, but not as much as Rebels did. - Jedi: Fallen Order, you can look up a "movie" version on YouTube for the story of this game, which is a really good plot, has some great new characters, has some genuinely effective cameos, and will be referenced fairly often in other materials/in fandom.

If you're not feeling overwhelmed by All The Star Wars You've Consumed, I would personally suggest going for the comics next, over any of the novels. The novels are great! But the vast majority of them are self-contained and meant to be supplementary material even more than the comics, which get to tell bigger, more connected stories. I always suggest starting with: - Star Wars 2015 by Jason Aaron + Darth Vader 2015 by Kieron Gillen, both of which are really, solidly fantastic stories about the timeframe just after A New Hope, like there are so many absolutely banger lines that came out of these comics. I won't spoil them, just know that I think these were legitimately good comics, not just legitimately good Star Wars comics. (The first six issues of each series are meant to be read concurrently, but after that, you can just pick one and read in that specific title.) - Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 2017 by Charles Soule, which is set in the immediate aftermath of Revenge of the Sith. If Gillen's Vader keeps the mystique of the originals Unknowable Darth Vader, then Soule's Vader is more about the absolute BATSHIT DRAMA that is blending Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader. This series is BANANAPANTS in the absolute best way. - Obi-Wan & Anakin 2015 by Charles Soule, which is a five-issue mini-series set between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones and is both stunningly beautiful art and a solidly good plot that survives fairly serious analysis of. It's got some great worldbuilding details, but even more I like it for the look at why a young Anakin chooses to stay with the Jedi Order.

The one book I will recommend--for a list aimed at getting you caught up on what fandom is referencing--is the Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover, that book is quoted constantly, and I'm not sure any other SW book has ever been as good as it is.

I feel like this is the best set of reading to get you familiarized with the source material that tends to come up the most! There's lots more that's really good, but once you get through the above, you can let me know what era or characters you're most interested in or if you have a specific question about something and want to see where it comes from!

But there's one thing to address and you're kinda going to have to figure out how to approach it on your own. 😂 There is a ton of stuff in SW fandom that's ostensibly from a book or a comic, but the version in fandom often comes from those who never actually read the books/haven't read them in a long time or are just picking them up from other fic and meta.

For example, the AgriCorps or Melida/Daan get referenced in fic and in posts all the time, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend reading the Jedi Apprentice series (I mean, I'm not your mom, feel free if you want to!) and often times how they're used in fic is not how they were used in the source material. Or the clones speaking Mando'a comes from the Legends books by Karen Traviss and she is a whole big can of ugly worms (both what she wrote and her IRL politics), as well as much of what she wrote was overwritten/discarded when The Clone Wars came out, but fandom likes the idea and so they put that into their fics (as they should, if they like it!). The idea of Mace using the lightsaber form of Vaapad is from Legends sources (the best source probably being the Shatterpoint novel by Matthew Stover, I'd guess?), same for his ability to see "shatterpoints" in the Force, which aren't part of Lucas' continuity or Disney's continuity, but fandom enjoys using them to flesh out Mace's character. This will get you started and, if you're looking for something more specific, feel free to ask, I enjoy these kinds of question--and don't feel you have to stick with any of the above if they're not fun for you. This is meant to be enjoyable, it's meant to have a good time, there's no wrong way to consume Star Wars media! <3

#lumi.txt #star wars #novel recs #(eh that's my tag for this kind of thing)

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eshtaresht · 1 year

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holy. fuckin'. DAMN. I was pretty good at predicting the plot so far, but this episode proved that stampede is going in a whole new direction for real. spoilers for ep 9!!! (and manga a bit)

first of all, we still haven't got a full story of the great fall, but I think it's something they'll reveal in this season, probably during confrontation with knives. and still no scar reveal!! I'm angy but it's something that could be relevant to the standoff with knives, hope we'll get it

the piano scene... oh we're eating GOOD, it's just so wholesome but goes to confirm my theory that twins weren't completely fine on the ship. vash feeling useless because he can't do cool plant shit, knives envying vash for being good at human shit.... oh it's great

so glad knives is getting proper characterization and not just "he evil because he evil"! the fear, the hurt, the genuine care for vash, but then frustration with him – it's right there and I'm eating it up so yummy

the way they recontextualized vash's arm loss is GORGEOUS! I've seen ppl reading this scene differently, but to me it was an act of care from naï. he looks really scared for a reason: we see that the gate consumed all matter, including the hand. vash couldn't control it, so it would only grow bigger and destroy him. NAÏ REALIZED THIS AND SAVED VASH THE ONLY WAY HE COULD

he didn't want to fight him, this was not an act of anger, like in previous versions. all he cared about in that moment was saving his twin..... and what did he get in return? a gun pointed to his face. a gun he gave vash to kill human scum. oh, the DRAMA

ahem, now to the less intense stuff

homeboy has so much trauma, like, damn... how is he gonna fit any more from his impending epic brother fight...... I'm quite curious on how they're gonna characterize him in the next season. concidering that we're taking off earlier than previous versions, he might end up with the same unhinged vibe 98' vash had, as a coping mechanism (if depression didn't work, try dissociation and silliness). but then it would be even more interesting to see meryl's and wolfwood's reactions: they knew him before the accident and saw the big sad

vash has sense in the prosthetic arm, so it must've hurt when he damaged it... probably it hurts less than the real one, and it's clearly painless to take off. but the hand seems to be rather sensitive and fic writers are gonna go crazy for this

age reveal! also brad and luida being in cryosleep makes sense, I was racking my brain on how they're still alive. seems like they're using much more plant power tho... both for cryo and the vegetation, while in manga they tried to keep it as low as possible and send signals to earth

saw someone say that they're probably not doing that here because the earth is destroyed... could be that they decided to go the hard way. but in the manga the earth was still fucked, and it wasn't clear if they communicated with the ppl left on the planet or the fleet that was in some new place. what I'm saying is, there is a possibility that they are looking for help in stampede, we just don't know it yet

meryl was so cute! go off, comedy relief goofy girl, while you can, there is more trauma coming your way :3 yeah, enjoy roberto calling you by your first name... oh it would be such a shame if he gave you his derringer before his untimely death..........

pretty weird that nobody knows why they fell on no man's land, but ppl probably were too ashamed of their past and 150 years later the new generation is oblivious. also so funny that luida has to explain what vegies are..... they have so many plants but haven't see any plants

tbh I wasn't expecting the zazie twist at all, but I'm excited! they are SO gender in stampede, might be the best redesign in the series, love me a genderless bug creature with bold fashion choices. really cool to see that storyline adapted, it was barely touched upon in the last volumes of trimax

btw the multiple bullets story about a plant, worm and human who went around figuring out if their species could coexist and just.... creating this foud family and then building a town there all were equal...... that's my favorite mb story for sure

wolfwood saying "I'm not your friend"... I know what you are. and we got a "you'll have to decide one day"... oh oh the misery, but the context was lacking. it just doesn't hit the same when he isn't daring vash to shoot him in the most homoerotic way possible. on and he looks so goofy trying to ride with his cross

in the last ep's rant I assumed that luida lied about rem saving everybody for some reason?? but no, she actually saved them, I just got a bit confused

so, as I predicted, the gang separated (tho not because of vash) and by the end of the next episode vash'll be in july and meet naï. the poster, man.... that gorgeous futuristic city is getting obliterated for sure

btw vash's gate being opposite to knives and sort of a black hole is nothing new. but there are new layers to this, like vash willingly giving away energy, but destroying things against his will, and knives with the opposite of this. ying yan twins go brrrr

#such a blast of an episode although the middle part on the seeds ship was kinda boring #stampede make more than one model for background chatecters challenge: impossible #every new episode is finding a new way to destroy me.... the season finale will be the death of me #trigun #trigun stampede #vash the stampede #meryl stryfe #millions knives #trigun spoilers #trigun stampede spoilers #wolfwood

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bonearenaofmyskull · 6 months

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Hey! Curious if you're currently into any great shows. If so, mind sharing your recommendations? Always on the lookout for some good TV suggestions!

I imagine you've seen everything I have. I spend more time gaming. Not into anything great at the moment, but I can dig deep and see if I can remember what shows I've watched since Hannibal aired and give my opinions. I binge TV series with my mom who is in her 80's and has Parkinson's and macular degeneration and can't really do activities or read anymore, so I rewatched some old ones with her here largely to torture her with them, so they'll be in here also.

S-Tier (Winners)

My Brilliant Friend. Probably the best thing I've watched since Hannibal. If S4 is out I haven't seen it yet, no spoilers.

Better Call Saul. Possibly tied with My Beautiful Friend. Better than Breaking Bad. Much better ending. So good, no complaints. Nailed the ending. Did I mention the ending?

A-Tier (Runners-up)

Black Sails: God, there were some parts of this that were so gratuitous and tedious, especially early on, and I hated Eleanor Guthrie and not in the kind of way that means good things for a show. Some of the dialogue was just really on the nose too. This sounds like a lot of complaints, but the things it did well, it did SO WELL that it really does make up for the negatives. The acting was sooooo good and the Flint and Silver dynamic was AMAZING and the show looked great, and over all that, it really had something thoughtful to say, and that stays with you when it's over.

Stranger Things: Some parts of this show hit better than others, but I'm squarely in the bullseye of the target audience and get the vast majority of the references and nostalgia, and I love David Harbour. I appreciate their exploration of various types of horror, attempting a new style each season, and I like the charm and humor and cheese, and it's a show that knows its voice and its tone and commits fully to those things. It's trying to be a fun show and it is, and it wants to deal with real fears and real grief, and it does.

The Handmaid's Tale: Speaking of shows that are committed to their tone, this one definitely is that. It's too heavy and relentless for most people, I think, but I don't mind that at all. Parts of it do drag, but it has a lot of the same qualities (for good or bad) as Black Sails: great acting, powerful character dynamics, the things that it does well it does so well it makes up for the shortcomings, imo.

Breaking Bad: Famous show, not much to say here. Rewatched it recently and don't think it's as good as Better Call Saul, so I put it here.

B-Tier (Can't complain but will anyway)

Good Omens: Can't get into it, can't find anything particularly wrong with it. I'm into the ship. I guffaw out loud while watching it yet am thoroughly bored most of the time. Love Michael Sheen and David Tennant on screen together. I know the show can't be that all the time but I wish it was. Aziraphale ftw. I feel like people missed the point of the ending of the last season.

Mad Men: Show could give Seinfeld a run for its money in terms of being about nothing, but definitely had its charm. Watched it with my mom so her nostalgia and appreciation for how historically authentic it felt went a long way. Good performances. God, it could be boring sometimes though.

Vikings: This one was a lot like Black Sails for me. They had a bit of a struggle for a season or two but once going, they really got going. Many great acting performances and characters. Loved Ecbert and Ivar especially. Didn't have Toby Stephens and Luke Arnold, so you know...can't quite make that tier. And didn't have as much to say, or didn't say it as well, and it doesn't stay with you.

C-Tier (Can complain and will, but were good enough to stick with)

LOST

The X-Files

His Dark Materials

Downton Abbey

BBC Sherlock

Game of Thrones (I think most people have misdiagnosed this show's problems, but it sure did have them)

D-Tier (Tried but could NOT, though many people will like these...they were just Not For Me)

Bridgerton

Dark

The Good Place

The Gilded Age

Outlander

The Crown

Outer Range (what even the fuck with this show)

I tried to think of more shows I've watched in this time, but this about sums it up. But here are a couple YouTube channels I really like:

Beau of the Fifth Column

Bistro Huddy

#bear answers #not hannibal

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trulybetty · 8 months

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Sunday Week in Review XI

This week's header is dedicated to @legendary-pink-dot for the idea of Dieter being his own 80s sitcom 😝💕

Is everyone okay this morning? Have we all recovered from last night? Do we need to hydrate, grab a snack (not that kind of snack) and recoup? Any welfare checks we need to send out? Phew 🫠

It's been a slog to get through this week, and I didn't get to as much reading as I wanted, which you'll see below. These daily prompts have been taking up more time than I expected and work has picked up (rude). But I'm also realising as I read through people's weekly round-ups, that I've missed a lot this week that I haven't seen come across my dash.

So if you've posted something this week (fanfic, thots or anything else) and you'd like to share it - feel free to drop it in my DM's or as an Asks!

T R U L Y U P D A T E S . . .

oct' x 15 - first wine (sequins!joel x reader)

oct' x 16 - flying kites (frankie x reader)

oct' x 17 - whispers (chiffon!dieter x bryony)

oct' x 18 - picking apples (sequins!joel x reader)

oct' x 19 - ghosts (dieter x f!reader)

oct' x 20 - sweater weather (chiffon!dieter x bryony)

oct' x 21 - acorns (tim rockford x f!reader)

birthdays, besties & bravos (celebrating the lovely @wildemaven)

W H A T I R E A D . . .

A Safe Haven | Chapter 9 (Joel) (Check TW’s) by @joelsgreys This was the update I've been so patiently waiting for and it did not disappoint! This is a fantastic series that I never thought I'd get so emotionally invested in - but that's how good Vee is! This is always one of my top recommendations when suggesting Joel fanfics to read!

Working Title | Chapter 14 (Dieter) by @rhoorl Another great update for Dieter and Belle - I'm rooting for these two from the sidelines and I'm exciting to see how things play out for them!

Delta Landscaping | Chapter 8 (Triple Frontier + Pedro Characters) by @rhoorl Okay, there's not one, but two Pedro Character appearances this week and I'm trying to figure out how I can move to Mule Falls Court like yesterday - because it's all going down over there and I highly recommend this be added to your reading if you haven't read it yet. A Month of Sundays (Various) by @gnpwdrnwhiskey I'm living for all of these prompts and I can't choose one or two because they've all been soooo good!

M E M O R A B L E P O S T S . . .

I'm on edge as @for-a-longlongtime shares more of their WIP that is Peña x Rockford x Reader, with that line up you know it's going to be good!

Self Care with Dieter & Jett (@morallyinept) - this week it's emotions and highlights some important stuff!

More Dieter and his hippo table shenanigans delivered by @i-love-movies to @gnpwdrnwhiskey, this made my week 🤣

B R O U G H T T H E J O Y . . .

Bit of a personal one, but we got to do a little Halloween festive trip out yesterday with the little Truly's. Something you're not always able to do when you have a child with extra needs, as events such as these can be a bit overwhelming for a multitude of reasons. So when we're able to attend ones that are specially catered for families like ours, it's always a special occasion - even if it does make you realise how unfit you are wrangling two kids 🤣 Also, keeping on brand, Baby Truly adored all the Halloween decor and was waving and saying hello to her minions the props.

Watched the new Goosebumps on Disney+ not expecting much, and I actually enjoyed it. Little Betty would have been all over this as a kid.

Also, watched my annual viewing of Practical Magic, which thanks to the wonders of the digital age I own to stream to my heart's content regardless of the season.

T H I S W E E K ' S J A M . . .

Back in my Matchbox Twenty feels this week 💛 - this one has been in heavy rotation while writing!

Hope everyone has had a great week! Here's to a new week ahead! Hopefully, if Pedro makes another appearance we'll all be ready for it, or at least recovered by then! 😝🫠

Happy Sunday all! ☀️💛

#betty's sunday in review #sunday week in review #Spotify

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lurkinglurkerwholurks · 4 months

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Sunrise

First posted: May 11, 2019

Focuses on: Jason Todd and Damian Wayne

Tier: Middle of the road, not super popular but with more hits than I expected

This is my “behind the scenes” series where I indulge myself horribly by annotating my fics. Link to the fic itself above. Thoughts below the cut.

Another ficiversary "give me a fic I've written and I'll add more" entry, this time adding Jason's perspective to Safe House. Also, I'll say up top here so I don't forget like I think I might have on Safe House's BTS brain dump—this one has a podfic!

Jason remembered returning to Gotham the way one remembered suffering through a fever. It was a wash of muddied, muddled images, an anxious blur of memories with no defining features except where the very strongest impressions blazed through. He remembered the rage. He remembered the plan. And he remembered the feeling of invincibility, of power.

Honestly, you say it's because of the Pit but I think everyone at some point in their life will hit a stretch of emotion where they react so utterly out of character that in retrospect it all seems a little dream-like and vague. He ain't special.

Fear had snapped at his heels like hellhounds, chasing him into the dark.

Yep, little bit of the If The Sky imagery, little bit of the Dean Winchester imagery, just sprinkled like seasoning. but also I have a feeling that used that phrasing somewhere else, too, and I can't remember where.

He brought seed packets to the Manor and helped Alfred plant them in rich, loamy soil. When not patrolling the streets, he wrapped himself in soft, tagless fabrics that soothed his skin and blanketed his frozen limbs in warmth. He filled his safe houses with small comforts—blankets, good food, his favorite tea, books, crossword puzzles, and soft rugs. He stayed inside on the nights when the wind howled and the sky crackled and the air filled with the smell of despair.

Self-Care King 👑

Storms had been worse for him since Bruce had dragged him back to the Magda Valley. (Everything had been worse for him since returning to the Magda Valley.)

I had to ask what had happened with the whole Damian resurrection thing and where it had happened. I don't touch canon, remember, but I'd read other fics that had referenced the incident in question and I had already set up in Safe House specifically that Damian had been revived via Pit. So here we are, though I like to think my version of Bruce would be less of a butthead about it.

He hadn’t even thought to check. Damian, to Jason’s disbelief and envy, had seemed to come back fine. Better than fine, even. The kid had returned with temporary superpowers and the welcome of the entire family, the little prince ushered back into the court.

I remain baffled by that little side story that I'm told is canonical. Why would the Pit give him superpowers? That's just silly, DC.

Jason was smart. He knew he was smart. He was cunning and he was clever and he was nigh on diabolical, and above all, he was smart. He didn’t need Bruce or Dick or any of them to admit it to know it was true. But it still stung, like a sunburn deep in his chest, to know they thought he was stupid, street scum, a thick-necked thug. Damian hadn’t been trying to be snotty. He’d spoken the truth in his surprise, and that innocence had knocked the wind out of Jason.

Jason, I think, will always have a sensitive underbelly when it comes to his origins. And while Bruce and Dick know for certain that he is extremely smart and that's part of his danger, they historically haven't been very good at communicating who Jason is to the other kids, and so Damian has had to make his own assumptions.

But he’d been looking down at this boy, this kid who looked tinier than Jason had ever seen him in his borrowed Han Solo shirt and rolled sweatpants, and thought about him getting caught in the rain.

teeby

#fanfic bts brain dump #jason todd #damian wayne #fanfic #batfam

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helix-studios117 · 3 months

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My Headcanon Star Wars Timeline

This might also double as a "Star Wars: A Beginner's Guide," so if you want, you can also use this as a reference for Star Wars stories you can pick up if you want to get into the franchise; but ultimately, this is not the main point of this post.

Pretty much all Pre-BBY Legends stories: How the Sith and Jedi came to be, how lightsabers were created, the first wars, how everything started out as a high-fantasy before it evolved into proper sci-fi, the fleshing out of the midi-chlorians as entities in Star Wars... it's all so damn fascinating.

KOTOR - KORTOR II: SITH LORDS - SWTOR: The Knights Of The Old Republic games, and it's unofficial third entry in the form of 'Star Wars: The Old Republic,' are stories that take place in an even LONGER time ago in the same galaxy that's far, far away. The first game talks about Revan, the second talks about 'The Exhile' and the third game has both characters be greater-scope forces in the background that influence the events of the game.

The Prequel Trilogy: I never had a problem with these movies. I grew up playing the LEGO games, so I guess it never registered to me that these were bad. But I love the prequels.

The Clone Wars 2003: Unpopular opinion, but this is way better than Clone Wars 2008; no offense to anyone who loves the 3D Show, but the 2003 cartoon is a flashy and high-octane series that NEVER stopped and it had an appealing art/animation style. More importantly, the characters here are far more faithful to their film counterparts than 2008!CW. Plus, Grieveous was a straight BADASS in this show.

Republic Commando (both the book & the game): The book is generally a good read, but the game is basically "What if Star Wars made a Halo game?"

Revenge Of The Sith - Junior Novelization: While RotS is a good movie, the book is... it's just so much better. It goes in-depth into Anakin's descent into complete madness, properly fleshing out his paranoia and his trust in Palpatine; it makes everything he's gone through in the film more believable.

Jedi Fallen Order, Force Unleashed, Force Unleashed II, Jedi Suvivor: These four games, all taking place in-between episodes III and IV, are two sides of the same coin. Both are epic hack-n'-slash games where you play as a lightsaber-wielding force-user. But that's where their similarities end, the Force Unleashed games are power-fantasy games where you are so unbelievably powerful that you can do just about anything; the Jedi games are a more traditional journey from zero-to-hero where you start out weak and the gameplay requires a bit of legitimate skill to properly master.

The Han Solo Books: The REAL origin story of Han Solo. Born of a family of thieves, Han joined the Imperial Navy because he wanted to fly. He meets Chewy and loses his job. Other goofy stuff ensues.

Rogue One: Didn't think a movie that was based ONE LINE IN THE OPENING SCRAWL OF THE FIRST MOVIE was gonna be as good as it was, but here we are.

The Radio-Drama version of the Original Trilogy: I love the movies, but I love the radio-drama adaptation WAY more; as it expands upon and fleshes out the things in the films that left me scratching my head, it has more context to a lot of it's scenes AND it has a bunch of other extra scenes that weren't in the movies that make listening to the radio-drama a fresh experience.

The Mandalorian (seasons 1 and 2): I haven't seen season 3 (I'm sure it slaps, though), but I think this is an awesome sequel show to the original trilogy.

The Courtship Of Princess Leia: I just— this book is so damn funny, I can't wrap my head around it. (Plus, I love Han and Leia as a couple).

The (original) Thrawn Trilogy & Dark Empire: While I'm well-aware that the Thrawn books are pretty much loved by many a Star Wars fan, Dark Empire (I've noticed) is a lot more contested... but I love the Dark Empire SO MUCH. I love the idea of the World-Devastators and Luke turning Dark is awesome.

All of the Post-BBY Books from the Legends continuity: Mara Jade, the Solo kids (Jacen, Jaina and Anakin) and Ben Skywalker are such cool characters that I'm actually depressed that they get de-canonized.

Star Wars Legacy: Cade Skywalker is a very interesting character, as he's a Skywalker who became a hedonistic criminal who doesn't want the burden of responsibility weighing on him by proxy of being a Skywalker, the Empire is actually kind of chill, and everything that we all thought we knew about Star Wars gets flipped on it's head. Legacy, in my mind at least, is an interesting way to end the story of Star Wars.

#star wars

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explosionshark · 1 year

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I've seen like one episode of Buffy maybe but I've watched most of Angel including the episodes that had Faith in them and I feel I understand the concept of Buffy the show and the character, anyway should I read Faith/Buffy fanfic and if so which ones?

god okay i REALLY think you should watch buffy though. i mean, i'm remarkably biased because it's one of my all-time favorite shows, but if you have the time and even the slightest bit of interest i'd recommend at least season 3 (IDEALLY. season 2 + 3 because they are very much part of one big conversation, but if you can only commit to one thing then i'd say prioritize s3 for the faith arc).

BUT you didn't ask me about that, you asked me if you should read faith/buffy fanfic so - yeah! yes. there's a lot out there that's SO good, of course you should read it.

i think ground-up AUs are good for this bc you can read them with basically no knowledge of the source (i mean. it's enhanced by source knowledge, but you can get by without) for this I'd recommend the no-powers college AU 2001 by @morningsound15, which does an incredible job of translating the important parts of the characters and their relationships and hang-ups and issues to a world where they aren't wrapped up in supernatural shenanigans.

Aside from that, I think there are a few season-rewrites that are pretty accessible if you've got a basic working understanding of the show and the characters. Some of my favorites are:

Coexist by @coraniaid which is a lovely (and recently completed!) canon-divergence AU that explores what would change if it was Giles, not Jenny Calendar, who was killed by Angelus in season 2. It's a rare type of AU that consistently surprises me with how intricate and thoughtful it is in exploring the ripple effects of such a huge change and it does some great character work with both Faith and Buffy.

to hold off the lightning by @episode5s which is a season 3 AU that picks up about halfway through s3. Again we get some really amazing character work (the character voice here is just insanely good) with a lot of amazing fallout from another canon-divergence point - what if Faith was able to be walked back from the ledge after killing Allen Finch? It's a tricky proposition - I genuinely think a lot of the best parts of Faith's character arc are tied into the fact that she has her heel turn and goes dark, but here the author is able to preserve all the best of the tension and trauma of that arc, while still allowing things to play out differently. Incredible slowburn romance here, too.

Finally, I'd be remiss to write a fuffy fic rec list without touching on a truly inspirational all-timer from one of the fandom's best and most prolific writers: the Vengeance verse fics by @aliceinwondrbra. The series begins with Vengeance a Wishverse AU - season 4 Buffy meets an alternate universe version of Faith that didn't go dark and experiences a belated gay awakening in the course of working together. The sequel, Hypnopompia, is where things really take off for me - back in her universe, Buffy is determined to help Faith. There's a ton of great stuff here: shared coma dreams, Faith redemption, a really great exploration of Faith and Buffy's sexuality and related traumas. Alice is one of the best in the biz when it comes to voice - absolute, total pro. I read this fic like two years ago and it changed my brain. Left me feeling like "wow, I want to write something that will make other people feel the way I felt reading this" and I don't know if I've done that yet, but I'm gonna keep trying.

ALL those fics are great and I can't recommend them enough. Luckily for you, if you want to get into this, the fandom has been going strong for years and there's a ton of good stuff out there I haven't linked here. There's plenty to discover. Enjoy!

#replies #Anonymous #fic recs #fuffy #btvs

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marshallpupfan · 8 months

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Just Some Thoughts About the Third Film

As many of you know now, it was official revealed recently that PAW Patrol will get a third theatrical film. It's due to release on 2026, three years from now. Third movie, three years, and a certain spotted pup drives a vehicle with the number three. It just fits, eh?

Okay, maybe that's a stretch. As of right now, we still don't know anything about the third movie, it's plot, or which pup it will focus on. From what I've noticed, most fans are rooting for Marshall, as am I. Despite my complaints in the past, I want this to happen for a specific reason; to put Marshall back in the spotlight again, which I feel is sorely needed after the way the franchise treated him these last few years... ESPECIALLY during season 9. To see the TV series practically treat him like a side character for nearly a whole season was... annoying, to say the least.

Marshall headlining a theatrical film (and a good one, I hope) would surely mark a great turnaround for the pup and hopefully negate all of that. However, despite how much I want to see him be its main character, I must admit, I do have some reservations.

This isn't a rant, but more akin to a fan expressing some thoughts and concerns. This is, however, easily one of my longest posts yet, so if you're curious, click "Keep reading".

Whenever I look back at the first theatrical film, I have mixed feelings about the way Brunker handled Marshall. On the plus side, he had some great rescues, especially when he saved all those people on that subway. And if I have to credit the film for anything, it's that I'm grateful it allowed my favorite spotted pup to actually be a fireman and put out fires. This seems to be carrying on into the sequel, thankfully. Believe it or not, the last time the TV series allowed the pup to put out a dangerous/uncontrolled fire was, no joke, all the way back in season one. Only the theatrical films, and Rubble & Crew, interestingly, seem to let him do this anymore.

While his rescues were really cool, everything else wasn't as good, in my opinion. And one of the biggest reasons I say this has to do with how Brunker handled one particular element; Marshall's clumsiness.

You all know I love that aspect of the spotted pup... but if I had to take a guess, I'm going to assume Brunker does not. The first film only gave us two brief bits of clumsiness, and both were restricted to the first twenty minutes, no less. Furthermore, he wasn't even allowed to have his pre-mission wipeout, which is arguably one of the franchise's most iconic elements. Brunker skipped over it like it was nothing. Granted, we did sorta/kinda get something else in its place, but it was given to Rubble. Sadly, I can't help but believe both of these will be lacking once again in The Mighty Movie (at the time of typing this, I haven't seen it, so I've no idea yet).

It wasn't just the lack of clumsiness, but how it was handled that also left me disappointed. In the TV series, Marshall might get careless while playing a game and trip over his own paws, or he might slip during a moment of haste. It just depends on the situation, how serious he is, among other factors. And yet, it tends to be, for lack of a better word, natural. Marshall was excited to finally find Jake in that dark cave, wasn't watching where he was going, slipped, and he slid all the way down and kept going until he was stopped by a stalagmite and started spinning on top of it. Classic Marshall! If Chase has slipped, he likely would've only slid a little or stopped near Jake, but with Marshall, we always seem to get so much more out of it.

And in truth, his clumsiness isn't always a detriment, but often a moment of humor. It's something we've all come to expect from him over the years. He saves or helps save the day, and we tend to get a laugh or two along the way because... well, that's Marshall!

In the theatrical films, each moment of clumsiness always seems to be specifically *caused* by something. So far, he's been "clumsy" because he was dancing in a moving vehicle, startled by a hologram appearing beneath his paws, and Chase startling him when the shepherd snuck up behind the Dalmatian with his super speed. Cute moments, but with his tumble in the PAW Patroller being a possible exception, none of these felt like natural moments of clumsiness to me. Rather, they're scenes that, arguably, could've made any of the other pups react in a similar way. What if Rocky was the one standing there when the hologram appeared? Wouldn't he have jumped, too? Or, what if Chase startled Zuma instead? Couldn't he have accidentally sprayed someone or something with his water powers?

I guess what I'm getting at is, to me, these didn't feel like genuine clumsy Marshall moments. They felt less "this happened because of Marshall's characteristics" and more "Brunker wanted a funny scene, and any pup might've reacted the same way so it largely didn't matter which one it was". Maybe I'm wrong, but that's just the feeling I get.

Now, compare that to Marshall's appearance in "Rubble & Crew". That episode included his trademark clumsiness at just the right moments, even during the mission. They never restricted it to the first act, but rather, it was seen throughout the whole episode. Even little moments, like when he slipped while climbing into Mix's truck, left me with such a big smile on my face. His clumsiness wasn't caused by something, but rather, it happened naturally and in a way we, the viewers, expect! And these moments really made me appreciate the episode all the more, as I felt the writers took their time to understand Marshall and get him just right. If you ask me, they did a great job!

Going by the first movie alone, I don't get that same impression. Maybe things will be different in The Mighty Movie, but for now, I don't think the director seems to *get* Marshall. He might just see him as the one who "trips a lot" which is why he wrote his clumsy scenes in a way that, to me, didn't feel natural. Instead, they felt forced. Something *caused* Marshall to be clumsy, instead of something happening *because* Marshall is clumsy. There is a big difference, and I'm not sure if Brunker sees this.

And if he doesn't, and he sees Marshall's clumsiness as something that can be turned off as easy as the lights in a room... then I fear we might be in trouble if he directs a film based on the spotted pup. Personally, I don't see Marshall's clumsiness in that way, nor do I believe that was ever the intention. I think it's something the pup simply can't help at times, and it's just a part of him he has to live with. He always gives it his best, but his paws just slip more than the others. It just happens, although it doesn't make him or his actions any less heroic.

And I don't know if Brunker sees it that way. His version of Marshall doesn't trip down the slide, doesn't get a wipeout before the mission, and only acts clumsy when something causes it to happen. Due to being unwilling or uninterested, I don't think Brunker understands Marshall's clumsiness, which in turn makes me think he doesn't understand the pup...

...and to write a whole movie based on a character he might not understand? That... is what has me concerned.

With that said, it's not like Marshall is super complex or anything, so Brunker can certainly take the time to learn more about the pup and how he's like. I just don't know if he will, as he has a tendency to shrug off stuff from the TV series. As he, himself once said, he doesn't treat most of the cartoon as canon to his films. He ignores everything after a certain point in season two, which is why the pups are discovering their Mighty powers for the first time again in his theatrical sequel. Will he try to build off what we know about the character, or will he instead pull something out of thin air again, like he did with Skye and her sudden lack of confidence about her size? Or will he pretend Marshall's clumsiness is the result of something from his past, and like Chase's fears in the first movie, will a pep talk before the finale make it magically go away? Again, I don't know.

Furthermore, I also fear things becoming too stale for film #3. From what little I know so far, it seems like The Mighty Movie, and even Skye's backstory, might share a few too many similarities with the first movie and Chase's own backstory. These films even share similarities with his The Nut Job 2, oddly. Brunker seems to be following a template of sorts, and he's sticking to it like glue. Will Marshall's movie involve more of a corrupt mayor? Will we get more adventures in a city? Will Marshall suffer from a lack of confidence due to a painfully sad backstory, too? If so, I fear people are going to start getting bored. I'd hate to see that happen, especially if Marshall is the focus. The pup has plenty of potential, if Brunker's willing to see it.

It's times like this I really wish I was a somebody in the entertainment industry. I'm not saying this out of arrogance, but I'd like to think I possess a considerable amount of knowledge about Marshall... possibly more than anyone at Spin Master now. To them, he's just a thing in a cartoon that's helping them make money... but to me, he's a character who I've admitted before is my #1 favorite of all time. I know and remember things they've likely forgotten over the last ten years. The character has become special to me and I love him to death, whether that's a good thing or not.

I just wish I could be a consultant to Brunker, should the third or any future theatrical films focus on Marshall. Not to say I'm perfect, but I'd like to think I'd be useful with helping him decide what would and wouldn't work for the character, how the pup might react to certain situations, when and when not to add some [natural] clumsy moments, among other things. I'd even help figure out ways to push the character to help him stand out, especially in-regards to avoiding any similarities between Chase and Skye's stories in the theatrical films thus far. It's wishful thinking, I know. In the grand scheme of things, I'm a nobody, and I'll be the first to admit that. I don't have the slightest chance of this happening. I doubt anyone at Spin master or GURU know I exist... I doubt Brunker knows much of me, either (he might not like this post, so maybe that's a good thing). 😅

All I can do at this point is hope for the best... which I find myself saying a lot nowadays, it seems. If film #3 is about Marshall, I just hope Brunker takes the time to understand the character and get him right. Maybe he, too will start to see why so many of us, both young and old, have fallen in love with this clumsy pup over the years.

As usual, only time will tell.

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litcityblues · 5 months

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Farscape, Season 1: Very Late To This Party

Farscape is one of those shows that has floated in and out of my general consciousness over the years, but I've never actually sat down and watched it. I've started it a couple of times, but like a few shows out there (Parks & Rec, and The Office both fit this category for me) it took me a few tries to actually dig into the show and really get a season under my belt.

Having finished the first season, let me just say this: I get it. I get it now.

My first impressions of this show, were sort of so-so, to me. The first couple of episodes are pretty good. Human, experimental spacecraft, gets sucked through a wormhole into another galaxy. He gets picked up by a crew of escaped prisoners and joins them on the lam after he accidentally kills one of the local law enforcers (the Peacekeepers, as we come to find out.)

As a basic premise, it's pretty good. Sort of Quantum Leap meets Star Trek with a touch of Doctor Who and a few other sci-fi shows thrown in for good measure. The early delivery, however... Maybe it's because I watched too many episodes of Andromeda when I was younger but this feels a lot like that show blended with Stargate SG-1 (in their 'planet/monster of the week' type of episode- not the longer arcs, which are genuinely good.) So I wasn't sure if I was going to really dig in on this show. It was okay.

But then, episode ten comes along. 'They've Got A Secret' turns out to be a game-changer for this first season, because when their ship, Moya seemingly turns against them, the crew has to spend most of the episode figuring out why, and then they do: she's pregnant.

That got my attention. A sentient ship is an interesting enough idea, but one that can get pregnant? I'm in.

The rest of the season gets much stronger from there as we learn more and more about the characters on the ship what got them put in prison in the first place and what they're doing to escape their pasts. Zhaan (Virginia Hey) gets a nice moment with 'Rhapsody In Blue', 'Durka Returns' and sees Rygel (voiced by Jonathan Hardy) confront his interrogator/torturer, and a new shipmate named Chiana comes aboard. We learn more about D'Argo (Anthony Simcoe) and the quest to reunite with his son in ''Til The Blood Runs Clear' and 'The Flax'. (The ship, Moya is piloted by a creature known, funnily enough as Pilot (voiced by Lani Tupu)-- who is grafted into the ship's nervous system and essentially the voice of Moya to the rest of the crew.)

Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black), the ex-Peacekeeper forced to join the crew, and Crichton (Ben Browder), the astronaut sucked through the wormhole are sort of the core characters- so their arcs sort of run on and off throughout the first season. I do like that they're not in any hurry to put Aeryn and Crichton together- even though there's some romantic tension between them that's pretty obvious. (Even though I haven't seen the show, I've read enough about pop culture/sci-fi shows over the years to have learned that they do, in fact, end up together.)

The first season ends on a nice cliffhanger with a new big bad established- Scorpius (Wayne Pygram) and the old one, Crais (Lani Tupu), actually defecting to their side- even if does wind up double-crossing them and forcing Moya to flee, while D'Argo and Crichton are left floating in space with only Aeryn Sun to save them.

If you dig a little bit into this show, there are a lot of interesting things that jump out at you. First, Wikipedia calls it 'an Australian-American science fiction television series' which was originally produced for Australian TV before it was picked up by the Sci-Fi Channel to be part of their Sci-Fi Friday lineup (hey, does everyone remember when the Sci-Fi Channel used to have sci-fi shows on it? It's almost like remembering when MTV used to show actual music videos and not 1,345,344 episodes of Ridiculousness over and over again.) As a result of this, the majority of the cast is either Australian or New Zealander with Ben Browder being the sole American amongst the cast- so that kind of makes it unusual.

The second thing is that The Jim Henson Company is one of the producers-- so they're responsible for the various alien make-up and prosthetics you see, but two of the main characters- Rygel and Pilot are animatronic puppets that are entirely Creature Shop creations. I'm sure it was a minor deal at the time because animatronic anything is cool-- but these days, when even Yoda has become CGI, I really appreciate practical effects and both Rygel (who farts helium when he gets nervous) and Pilot are great additions to the show. Rygel is more mobile than Pilot, but you also don't see many moments of weirdness/fourth wall breaking like you do with Muppets who have to suddenly jump up or show all of their limbs or something like that. It's really well done.

Overall: I am very, very late to this particular party and I have to acknowledge the slow start, but by season's end, Farscape had convinced me: I'm on board for the rest of this ride. My Grade: *** out of ****.

#farscape #season 1 #late to the party

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