#this is a shorter update but its a shorter scene. Lots of action and then transition next time :)

[sonkitty]

The Sideburns Scheme (Good Omens 2)

Find the newest Sideburns Scheme material here: The Sideburns Scheme

Formerly titled "Crowley S2 Hair Project - Main Point of Reference for Sideburns".

This post as regularly updated as I process my thoughts.

Last Updated: 01/11/2024

This is short:

This is long:

There is more to to it than above, and we are going to work through that.

Crowley's sideburns change in length in season 2. I am reasonably sure I have figured out how and am starting to work though a little bit of why.

Here is my take.

The absolute most crucial thing to understand for my theory is space. Character presence, movement, and likely memory all impact the space, but the space decides the length based on those things. The space is practically a character reading the story with us and making decisions on what length to give Crowley in response.

If you walk way from my post with only one thing and one thing only, I want it to be this:

The Bentley is Crowley's own former-demon space, and the driver's door to that space is its primary threshold.

Now, if you're with me, and curious enough, here is so much more.

Effect

When I refer to the effect, I will specifically mean the changing of the length.

But what is the effect from that?

Each type of length probably provides a benefit of some kind since Crowley takes actions to get them one way or the other. Grasping what that is, is difficult to say the least.

We'll see what each space tells us because the spaces have different readings on Crowley as it is. There are lengths between short and long after all. Short is going to be considered a human space and long enough will be considered a former-demon space, to simplify things as best I can. I won't say "long enough" every time, just "long" and sometimes I will refer to a "longest-length."

On its most basic level, short trends human, and long trends supernatural with that length increasing depending on the supernatural elements within the space.

Even though the length is what I focus on, the sideburns even change on how full of hair they are, and sometimes aren't even...well, even.

Earthly Objects

I don't really know if Earthly Objects is a game or if that's the name of the game, but that's my understanding of what something is that is happening in the story.

The Earthly Objects game is somehow related to this Sideburns Scheme, which is also like a game. Both deal with thresholds so encounter each other. Certain aspects of the Earthly Objects game hint at falsehoods in at least the tutorial sequence for the sideburns.

Even so, the message about how the sideburns worked is still true. This story is tricky like that.

As such, a lot of my analysis is still going to be on what is presented nonetheless.

Home Base Concept - The Bookshop

Aziraphale's bookshop is where a lot of the present day season 2 story takes place, and it is nearly a second home to Crowley. Aziraphale himself is an angel, or a former angel.

The bookshop's default reading on Crowley being with just Aziraphale, if later scenes in the story are any indication, is somewhere between short and long, a medium length that gets closer to proper human-space short when in a private room together.

That's a reading that recognizes Crowley as a supernatural entity but still giving something shorter than longer reading around other angels. Most likely, that's because Crowley and Aziraphale are supernatural friends whose relationship is very similar to human partners.

When other angels are around, the bookshop's reading on Crowley increases the length. It's most noticeable from Gabriel, but that's likely because Gabriel is the angel who is around for most of the story.

Muriel shows up later, and Muriel is an angel, yet the sideburns are short. What gives?

The bookshop takes Muriel literally when Muriel claims to be human. It probably helps that Aziraphale literally accepts this claim even if he is fully aware that Muriel is an angel. As such, the reading on Crowley is that being a former-demon who tends to be around humans and pretend to be human often enough, the sideburns should still be the proper length for this "human" encounter.

When Muriel has admitted to not being human and Crowley acknowledges a full awareness that they are an angel, the next time they are in the bookshop together, both with other angels and alone, the bookshop then gives the longest type of sideburns to Crowley.

After that, the bookshop's not really going to tell us about other specific angels, such as Michael.

The main thing we're told is that other angels who are not Aziraphale are going to make that length longer, with at least Gabriel and Muriel being among those angels.

So, what does longer mean among the other angels? My general guess based on character behavior and story events when it's on, is that it's also a mark of rank from Crowley's time as an angel before his fall. The reading comes from a latent memory within the angels themselves. The story has repeated implications he was a high rank, seeming to be most specific at "First-Order Archangel" among those implications.

Crowley seems to be in charge among angels. He becomes a decision-maker and ends up directing the action.

When he is with only himself and Gabriel, he is in charge.

When he is with only himself and Muriel, he is in charge.

When he is with only himself, Aziraphale, and Gabriel, Aziraphale might make suggestions but otherwise follows along with Crowley's direction of what to do.

When Crowley is in the bookshop scene with both the powers of Heaven and Hell, he is in charge right up until he says to Aziraphale, "You got this?" Before that, he is quick to deflect a war, and they basically just let him with him yelling, getting the cardboard box, and recovering Gabriel's memories. There is a moment where it looks like Michael is taking charge by commanding mortals be turned into salt, but Crowley quickly steps in to volunteer to take care of it. Saraqael, who looked ready to do what Michael ordered, abides and lets Crowley escort the mortals out.

Do longest length sideburns do more than mark rank? I suspect they are related to memory, and they are always present during three access points of memory with Gabriel, who has amnesia. Each one is brief, and it's hard to say how much the information given is actually used. One access point is a mix of Gabriel's and God's voice, another is a mix of Gabriel's and someone else's voice who sounds like a woman, and a third access point is that Gabriel took his memory out of a matchbox, no, wait, he took it out first. In the first two access points, Gabriel's eyes turn purple, which seem to be a mark of rank on him as the Supreme Archangel.

If the sideburns mark rank in the bookshop among angels, what does that mean for Heaven? Most of my analysis on Heaven is not about that, but at the very least, none of the scenes provided in Heaven show the angels stopping Crowley from doing what he wants. Muriel is the only one who does something that even looks close to trying and abides once he changes his appearance for them.

Home Base Concept - The Bentley

Did you ever notice how abruptly the encounters with Shax and Beelzebub ended when Crowley was in or near his car? That was weird, right? Here is what I believe happened.

The Bentley has special rules as a space, and each of those encounters ended with Crowley kicking out the other demon, possibly on accident in two of those instances.

The threshold to the Bentley is mainly the driver's door, but the driver's seat acted as one when Crowley was summoned to Hell.

Of note, the sideburns are long in these instances though not at their longest length that happens in the bookshop. Based on Crowley himself, Shax, and Beelzebub, that altogether suggests a default demon reading from the car. It can change, but it has to be managed through Crowley in the season's ending.

Back to the topic of the encounters, let's move on.

Shax at the Door

Crowley placed himself on the threshold and possibly made Shax wait a full hour before answering his phone. When answering, some of his body is touching the roof of the car, which makes it so that he's not touching that door panel exclusively. Then he turns around when he would presumably not be touching his car but at least fully intending to touch it, which seems to suffice for the story. Shortly after, he is leaning against the roof again.

By taking this action, he is allowing Shax closer to the space around the car and talk to her.

For the shots we are allowed to see him from the front, he is touching the roof, door panel, and sometimes we see the window pane is included the lean as well.

Before he asks, "Is that all?", he stops touching those parts of the car entirely and cannot be seen touching any other part.

Shax disappears from the scene.

By removing the touch from the car, the home base kicked her out. The forced exit seems unintentional.

Summoned by Beelzebub to Hell

Beelzebub uses a fly already inside the car. Crowley did not invite Beelzebub in, but the fly is enough to get their metaphorical foot in the door.

They then do not fully manifest in corporal form into the car and summon Crowley into Hell.

Crowley very deliberately leans back and while we can't see his back constantly against the throne during the entire scene, it is implied, bare minimum, he is not leaning forward while on that throne for most of it. He's gathering intel despite his evident reluctance to be in Hell during the scene. The throne he sits in represents his driver's seat. Even when Crowley seems to want to lean forward, he'll try to not lean too much or he will lean to the side. Until the end of the conversation, he only leans forward off the back of the seat when he asks something ("Is that a new face?" "How?"). As in, he is inviting that part of the conversation into his space. He'll lean most toward Beelzebub's throne, even making sure to place his hand on the seat. The seat is to Crowley's own left, which is akin to the passenger seat in his car.

Crowley never stands up from the throne and only leans too far forward possibly at the end and possibly on accident. Beelzebub's "So if you hear anything..." is good enough to end the conversation, and that was a conversation where they were not invited. Crowley himself has no further questions and no further interest in actually being in Hell. The intel gathering is done. As such, the space reads that business is done and sends him back to the car instantly, whether Crowley intended for that exact thing to happen or not.

Shax in the Car

Crowley allowed Shax in by not verbally denying her entry and looking at where she would manifest. He kicked her out by non-verbally revving up his car even more after doing it once and giving her a second look. The home base understood it was about to de-activate and kicked her out.

The Park

The park would probably be considered a human space.

To my best estimates, his sideburns are a little longer than what their usual intended shortness is when he finishes driving.

The park is not a home base environment, but Crowley takes certain steps allowing the space to become more his own that might explain the slightly longer length.

The main step at work seems to be the newspaper, which is probably his intended earthly object eventually. Because he holds it with only two fingers on his right and has other touches in place, such as his back to the bench and his arm on arm rest, the newspaper actually gets to act as a door to his own space. At least, I think that's what happening based on my earthly objects analysis overall.

If it's not the newspaper, then it is the stillness. What does stillness do? I'm not entirely sure. Based on this context, I would guess it helps him be sensed or seen. Besides Nina later, humans don't usually approach Crowley, but one does before Shax later shows up.

The park itself is probably a more familiar place to Crowley compared to other human spaces too.

When each of the characters he speaks with show up, there is no interaction from him to them until he deliberately pulls the newspaper down from his face. That is to say, he passes through his threshold to talk to them.

His sideburns seem generally the same length during the scene.

Activation Points

The proper border for short and long is hard to explain, but when I say "longer" below, I am looking for length beyond what you see before Crowley enters the coffee shop and walks across the street with Aziraphale when they leave. Both scenes show us multiple angles of his face for comparison to the rest of the season.

Activation Points for longer sideburns:

-The bookshop under the right conditions

-The Bentley under the right conditions

-The pub (dependent on its threshold)

-The music shop (dependent on its threshold)

-Hell (likely qualifying through the Bentley)

-Heaven (likely qualifying through the pub)

-The park (see above, might be considered iffy by others)

What are the right conditions for the bookshop to make Crowley's sideburns longer?

Longer seems to be a default reading actually. It's more like certain exceptions must not be met.

-No individual angel claiming to be human

AND

-Not in the private room with Aziraphale after encountering Gabriel

AND

-Not alone before an angel activates the effect.

The sideburns will be longest in any significant angel encounter that has an angel who is not Aziraphale and not pretending to be human. Those scenes are:

Scenes with only Crowley and Gabriel

Scenes with only Crowley, Gabriel, and Aziraphale

The overall general scene with angels, demons, and two humans, where Crowley is actively trying to undo a declaration of war.

The scene with Muriel after everyone else has left.

There's a small chance they lengthened slightly after first encountering Muriel, then going to talk to Aziraphale in the private room, but I can't really tell.

What are the right conditions for the Bentley to make Crowley's sideburns longer?

-Not directly shown but hinted to be staying parked for a long enough time with him inside or possibly a long enough time in a preferred familiar area to the car.

-Standing at the threshold with utmost precision in the season's ending

Throwing away mail shows longer sideburns, which again, I am guessing means he was parked long enough before he exited.

The sideburns will be longest at the season's ending. I currently think it is because of stillness and how his touch is focused exclusively on the threshold.

Activation Points for shorter sideburns:

-Driving the Bentley for a long enough time after de-activating it as a home base.

-Exiting far enough away from the bookshop, assuming the bookshop already activated longer sideburns. This distance expands during the story, explained further below.

-Being present in human spaces. Thresholds can both force and counter this effect, dependent on their design.

-Entering a private room with Aziraphale within the bookshop shortened them from the bookshop's main first floor after encountering Gabriel.

Connecting the Two Home Bases

During the specific season 2 story, Crowley regularly parks his car across the street from the bookshop, generally by the coffee shop.

In episode 1, once Crowley reaches the middle of the street and starts to count to ten, the sideburns are a shorter length that better matches before he entered the bookshop.

In episode 2, we see Crowley with longer sideburns right before he crosses the threshold whereas episode 1 showed them still short. At some point he leaves and is seen with short sideburns again, across the street.

In episode 3, Crowley exits the bookshop to interact with Shax. He never crosses the street and remains mostly along the sidewalk. Still, it might be considered further in distance and longer for the sideburns than seen in episodes 1 and 2.

In episode 4, when Crowley exits the bookshop, his sideburns are again longer than the usual shortness around humans up to that point of the story. Episode 1 is structured to tell us that the sideburns get shorter from the bookshop threshold to the center of the street. Episode 4 shows us the sideburns did not get shorter from the bookshop threshold to the center of the street. They stayed longer.

Why?

Crowley and Aziraphale connected their home bases for when the Bentley is parked across the street, intentionally or not. I think it is intentional, but I have a very loose grasp on a possible reason.

So, how did they connect their home bases?

Aziraphale borrowed Crowley's car. Crowley borrowed Aziraphale's bookshop.

Put another way, Aziraphale inhabited Crowley's home base without Crowley for a certain amount of time and distance. Crowley inhabited Aziraphale's home base without Aziraphale for a certain amount of time and distance. Both time and distance contribute to changing the length from each of these homes.

Crowley and Aziraphale remotely contact each other once during this borrowing phase. Assuming this effect is memory-related, those spaces now share those memories.

When Crowley and Aziraphale take Crowley's plants, living things that inhabited one home base, then another, during this process, they are finalizing this connection.

The plants will now have memories of being in each space, and each space will now have memories of the plants inhabiting them.

I don't know how much the plants were necessary, but they are a significant part of Crowley's home at the very least.

Yes, despite Crowley's obvious reluctance and discomfort with loaning his car and my not fully understanding why, I think forming this connection was intentional from both of them, not like with super confidence, just the way I see Aziraphale look at the bookshop and look at Crowley. Crowley has a chance to see for himself by looking at the mirror in his car when putting the plants away. They are small clues.

All the same, back to my main stuff. My theory is the home base border along the center of the street has disappeared. It might actually be more like a radius around the bookshop that has expanded, but that's the main place the border is understood to exist.

Onto my loose grasp of a possible reason.

This connection, this disappearance of that border, does not protect the rest of the street from the incoming demon invasion when it starts. The demons enter the area without invitation.

After Crowley enters the bookshop for the ball, no humans, as best I can tell, no humans are on the street. There is a bunch of fog, and it's dark, and there are demons. Eventually, there will be an angel there, but there are no humans.

Crowley escorts some humans to safety to exit the bookshop. However, when he dismisses them, we don't really see where they go. The story cuts away and when we are back to Crowley's location, they are gone.

There are other times we've seen Crowley in or near his car with longer sideburns and no humans.

The basic idea is that the space surrounding Crowley's car, that we've been seeing, has split itself into two different spaces at once. One is the Earth where humans do what they do, as usual, but are now not disturbing Crowley while he is in his car. The other is the Earth where Crowley does what he does, not being disturbed by humans until the driving time deems otherwise. The "no humans" space is a supernatural-exclusive zone when it comes to angels, demons, and humans. For whatever it's worth, the only living natural beings I can find in the area are plants, inside and out of the car, and that one fly before Beelzebub shows up inside the car (assuming that fly is indeed natural).

Instead of a person, such as Crowley, being two places at once, one place becomes two places at once. The car being Hell, and the pub being Heaven further support this idea. Each of those spaces are accessed when Crowley has the longer sideburns and in that zone to begin with.

The mechanics are confusing with the flies, I don't fully get it, but it probably relates to the car having thresholds in a wider supernatural space.

In the case of the ball, the split didn't just happen by accident or through time alone. Crowley's car is near the bookshop, but he wasn't in it, and it wasn't in its usual isolated area. The window is open on the morning of the ball but closed when he talks to Nina, so we're never shown when it's being switched from open or closed.

There is a very specific point where things start to change, but before that, there are also some specific things that happen. Namely, during each ball invitation shown on camera, Crowley accompanies Aziraphale. He does not say anything during the actual inviting and makes some effort to touch an earthly object. Mrs. Cheng is a special case, but there is a touch against Aziraphale's shoulder while Aziraphale is speaking in a foreign language with Mrs. Cheng that ultimately counts. It's too varied to get even further into how these touches are different, because my main point is he does them.

He also makes self-touches on both his clothing and his skin. In the times where he does not have visible skin contact touches, he is doing something with his pockets that probably still end up somehow counting as the missing skin contact touch.

Once every such location has had Crowley do the necessary touches, finishing off with the wine he takes with him, he moves onto the specific point where things are about to change.

He goes to the bookshop and approaches Gabriel in basically Demon Mode. The music has a hint of foreboding. The subtitles include "drunkenly" when he first talks. There's an underlying menace in his entire demeanor from the start. He forces a light on with "Let there be light." He removes his sunglasses with a subtle demonic hiss. He uses his left hand to do the removal, which is the only time he ever uses that hand for that purpose of the three times it is done at all. The story provides a notable view of his long right sideburn. His eyes are fierce, and his voice grows increasingly fierce too.

The simple words "Did Not Care For it" are capitalized in the subtitles. They sound like a threat even though he's not threatening to do anything. He calmly tells Gabriel to jump out the window.

It all seems to settle down once he realizes Gabriel's obeying him without question. There's that rank hint again.

I digress. What I'm trying to say is, I think Crowley was drawing out his own demonic energy to start the split, a shift from one zone to the other.

Now it doesn't look intentional for the shift at all from everything else happening within the scene. It's meant to feel how it does on its own in the full context of the entire story with what we know of both characters. The main hint of the intention is actually from the consistency of the ball invitations. The story makes sure Crowley leaves with a wine bottle and glass from the restaurant, then arrive with a wine bottle and glass in the bedroom where the scene takes place. I definitely can't tell you how or why or what mechanics are at work, but I sense that they are. That's a noticeable pattern that might explain how the humans collectively invited to the ball are temporarily allowed in the supernatural zone.

The shift from one zone to the other is not instant. It's happening while Crowley is out in the street to make sure Maggie and Nina are on their way. The street is growing increasingly foggy as it is getting darker. Fewer and fewer humans are around as time passes.

It doesn't really seem to be completed until Maggie is walking toward the bookshop with Nina not long before her as next-to-last. Maggie herself is a human, but she seems to be a special type of human not explained in the story as to how or why she is different. Nina could be too even if it's not as obvious. She is next-to-last.

If one excludes Maggie because she is human in some capacity, then it's probably done when Crowley himself enters the bookshop as a means to complete the matter, further confirmed with Shax arriving through the supernatural elevator in the pub instead of wherever the rest of the demons came from. The story referred to such a place as "stairs" when Shax was planning the invasion. An elevator is decidedly not stairs. It definitely raises questions about Shax with that kind of timing and wording.

Another thing about this special zone is that the Bentley is the only car around once the shift is done.

Speaking of the car, Crowley won't just drive away to re-merge these spaces. Not only that, he's not going back into that bookshop despite the indications in the dialogue he would.

Nope.

Instead, he goes to Heaven and spends time there until the war declaration goes off. Upon returning the following day, the merge has happened, either through the time itself or just the reset of the day. Sure, it could be the halo blowing up, but the people aren't shown as being in the street until Crowley himself is visibly there

So, if Crowley and Aziraphale wanted to protect the street overall from the incoming invasion but somehow still needed this ball to happen with some humans, that's what they did to protect everyone as best they could.

It might even be a trial run for needing to protect Earth on a much bigger scale later.

Now, admittedly, he did seem alarmed by the demons arriving, but both he and Aziraphale have been acting in certain ways to throw off whoever or whatever is reading them throughout this story.

By making the border disappear, or expand, that meant that once Crowley entered the bookshop on the implied Thursday, his sideburns could not become their usual shortness around humans until after he had driven for enough time and far enough away from the bookshop. He did not take that action and receive that shortness until right before the ending credits.

I suspect the sideburns do more than all of that since they seem connected to memory in some way.

The Bigger Thresholds Trick

This part of The Sideburns Scheme is likely a significant crossover with The Earthly Objects Game as one of the Threshold Tricks Crowley does during Good Omens 2. Much of the content below was written before I recognized the existence of these tricks and is still relevant to the sideburns overall.

There are three special threshold locations, but we'll talk about a certain two first.

Those locations are the pub and the music shop. They are human-specific locations that make it quite difficult to develop theories like the one about the connection and the other about the existence of a supernatural zone.

During the story, both locations have one thing in common that seems to have nothing to do with Crowley.

Both locations have an encounter with a human who remembers a meeting from some years ago and say as much to Aziraphale. Mr. Brown brings up this meeting while Crowley is busy getting drinks and describes the time frame as "several years ago" (I used to think "ten", sorry). Mr. Arnold brings up the meeting with Crowley standing at the door, describing the time frame as "ten years ago". Both of them mention lights ("winter street lights", "Christmas lights"). This might not be the exact same meeting, but the similarity is nonetheless there.

Their encounters also both have significant contrasts to each other.

Mr. Brown is met in a very busy pub with a lot of humans around. It's much bigger than the music shop.

Mr. Arnold is met alone in his music shop, which is quite small in comparison to the pub.

I've considered the idea that Mr. Brown is a human who has false memories about this meeting given to him by the Metatron to setup the present day Thursday night meeting. I have no reason to believe Mr. Arnold is setup in the same way. Mr. Arnold doesn't actually want to go to the present day meeting at all.

Heaven is not expected to be a human space, but it shares a connection with the pub. That is the third special threshold we'll discuss here.

All three of these locations have thresholds bigger than Crowley. Being bigger alone is not enough. Crowley manages each one of these special thresholds in a different way.

Let's go.

The Pub

The pub's threshold starts with a door frame when entered. It has two wooden doors with windows. It also has a panel along the door frame's right side leading further into the space. The panel does not end with a door. There is a post to parallel the end of the panel on the other side.

The length between the door and this panel is the threshold. That's enough space to be bigger than Crowley.

Because the threshold has two doors and two different types of ends, it also has two lanes, one for each door. The right door has a threshold from it to the end of the panel. The left door has a threshold from it to the post on the wall.

While we do not see Crowley's sideburn length before he entered, the camera zoom into the pub sign actually does show us, below the sign, that only the right door is open.

The story does not show Crowley switching lanes on camera, but to me, that seems to be the most likely action he did. His red-headed figure can be spotted behind obscure glass on the panel trailing Aziraphale. The rug he is walking on might be some kind of indication that he is in the left lane since Aziraphale is probably in the right lane and not walking along the rug at all.

When Crowley exits, he sticks to the lane by the panel and door that will make the sideburns short. If it makes any difference, the right door that is open, is open inward toward the space of the threshold instead of outward toward the street.

A possible factor I don't understand is that Crowley parked his car near the pub instead of the coffee shop that particular episode.

The Music Shop

The music shop's threshold starts with a hole in a wall and leads to a door.

It is also bigger than Crowley.

But Crowley entered the music shop, right?

Crowley is touching the door with his hand, then his back the entire time he is visibly on camera in that space. Sometimes it looks like he's shifted position between shots, but the main thing is the camera watching him when it is watching him sees that he is still touching that door. It's probably significant that this door has a window, and Crowley's touching that too with his back. All the same, the threshold still considers him as in its space instead of the music shop's space because he never let go of the door.

Which then begs the question...how and why did he know to do exactly that for exactly that scene? That entire setup suggests that he fully meant for that outcome or to learn it. Aziraphale is checking. Yes, he's giving away a book and catching Crowley off guard and thinking about how to get the ball with a dance going, but he is still checking that the longer sideburns are there. The story literally shows us that location receiving a mark on a paper for being done! No other locations get a mark, just that one!

So, a similar question is begged for the pub since a similar encounter happened. There was a human who remembered a meeting from some years ago and says so to Aziraphale.

One memory, by all appearances to me, seems to be fake. Mr. Arnold's doesn't make any claims that mismatch anything Aziraphale claims to remember.

But...he just coincidentally brings up such a similar memory in such a similar context of Crowley maintaining longer sideburns? While in a presumed human space unless one considers threshold size, two-lane management, and touching the door? I have no explanation. What good does having that memory recalled in front of Crowley do?

Heaven

So, if Hell qualifies through the Bentley, does Heaven qualify through the pub?

Yes, but I'm not sure how. I'm sure based on intuition.

The truly easiest, most basic thing is that Crowley doesn't press the elevator button and avoids touching the doors for the overall entrance. It's still worth explaining how this entry and design is so different.

Crowley enters and exits this threshold first. That is, by far, the most confusing thing he does. Admittedly, not long before this part, Crowley also crossed an open threshold first with Mrs. Sandwich next to him, implied and then confirmed arm in arm. Still, he was not first before Mrs. Sandwich. He was first with Mrs. Sandwich. Furthermore, that scene has a specific context of getting humans out safely instead of the more standard movement of just passing through a door to get from one place to another for other reasons.

In general, over the story, Crowley crosses thresholds alone or with Aziraphale. The other closest thing resembling crossing a threshold with someone else is Elspeth. She enters first, with him following, in The Resurrectionist minisode. That scene is a little suspect as it is, but even so, he wasn't first.

Upon entering the Heaven elevator, Crowley turns around such that two elevator doors are behind him and three elevator buttons are to his left. In turn that means that the doors behind Crowley are to the left of a front view of the buttons. Muriel hesitates but eventually joins, also turning around, and even listens to Crowley's request to close the doors.

The lighting and distance make it difficult to see just what his sideburn length actually is, but around when Muriel closes the doors, the sideburns look to be a medium length. They are past the standard shortness of being around humans and shorter than being around Gabriel when humans aren't around. That's largely been the length during the ball with some questionable hints of reaching full length at times but being hard to tell.

When Shax looks toward the elevator going up, the pub doors can still be seen on Earth. Later, there is a wall seen on exit that could be what took the place of the doors, but it's not explicitly demonstrated in the story.

Later, two of the buttons from within the elevator are shown from a front view. From that front view, reflections and lights suggest the elevator doors are opening on the right instead of the left.

Just like the wall, the story does not explicitly demonstrate if Crowley and Muriel turned around yet again.

I do believe that Heaven is supposed to be the pub, so it's rather curious that the story is working so hard to avoid confirming that, even on some level implying otherwise with the blocking. If the potential wall that formed where the pub doors were simply became another set of elevator doors, that would make Heaven the street outside the pub instead of in the pub, which seems unlikely.

There is a little clue in that when the elevator is summoned, the pub lights up a little within itself and outside where the elevator would be.

Another thing about this threshold is that if Crowley and Aziraphale moved that border from the center of the street...that might have been part of an expanding radius, would the sideburns be longer anyway? It's not like we could know!

Not pressing the button and avoiding the doors is the easiest explanation, but then why does Crowley make sure to move first? Honestly, I give up. I'm just going to tell you what my intuition is telling me. That move is for whatever is happening with that miracle sound right before Aziraphale enters later. It is more for season 3 or season 2's link leading up to season 3. The bookshop doors are open during this entire Heaven visit. The bookshop has a broken window during this entire visit. Somehow, these things matter and are part of a bigger plan happening in the background of the story.

But back to the entry all the same.

When Crowley does pass through the elevator doors, his hand is touching the wall inside, which is likely an earthly object touch to initiate the scene.

All that said, I believe the Heaven threshold still considers Crowley as inside its space.

The sideburn length seems to remain the same. It is a length close to when Crowley is around Gabriel yet not quite getting there, seeming to stop just short of it.

During Crowley's time in Heaven, the story puts a lot of effort into teaching us something about Crowley if we haven't figured it out by now. Well, sort of. The something is more evident to anyone willing and wanting to look for this type of information frame by frame. Crowley, for the most part, does not see people with his eyes. That is likely true of most other things as well.

His entire body language constantly tells us otherwise. He snakes his way about among pillars when talking to Muriel about bees. He glances back after passing Michael and Uriel. He turns his head in the direction of voices when he hears multiple angels discussing things on different screens. He taps Muriel on the shoulder directly. He knows to look downward to Saraqael's position. He even glances Saraqael's way without hearing them speak first at one point. He knows where to look toward Muriel when telling them, "You too." Everything about Crowley's movement tells us Crowley sees the angels.

Only one thing and one thing only informs us Crowley is not seeing the angels but is sensing them with his eyes instead.

Check his sunglasses.

His sunglasses will reflect panels of light, sometimes blurred panels of light, but they never ever reflect an angel in this tremendously well lit space with Muriel dressed in their all white Inspector Constable attire.

Most especially, check when Crowley turns to Muriel after they said, "That's pretty good, actually." He turns his head. They are literally on screen together. There is part of a more solid-looking white pane that's a light or something on the desk. We can see his eyelid. Move to the next frame, and we still see panels of light.

We do not see Muriel.

There are other times in the story where you can actually catch a reflection of a character in Crowley's sunglasses that threw me off. I saw it once when he was talking to Aziraphale by the car in episode 2 and again when talking to Muriel in episode 3. I think there's even Mrs. Cheng in episode 5, but I don't have the energy to decipher or further comment on that. She's special. The end.

Later on, close to the end of season, the sunglasses have reflections of people and movement, but that's a truly special case involving windows and thresholds though long sideburns are there too. If anything, much of this Heaven visit with the lights, light reflections, and lacking other reflections, are to help us understand how special the ending is. For a more in-depth explanation, here is a link to a post I made about it: Earthly Objects Study - Windows Part 2 (Good Omens 2).

Moving on, both of those times I saw reflections of Aziraphale and Muriel, the angel being reflected is actually holding an object and deliberately showing Crowley that object.

Crowley might be seeing them because he is seeing them holding something—with intent at that! Such things were also earthly objects.

Now onto the exit.

First off, we don't see them all get in or get out. The story gives us two little clues that Crowley was still first and hence, another clue, that it might indeed matter. Toward the elevator, he leads with Saraqael and Muriel following. Away from the elevator, he leads with entry into the bookshop.

Now during the trip for the exit, we see something interesting besides the fact that we have conveniently missed whatever led to Michael and Uriel being there.

This scene is so quick in its standard speed that it's easy to dismiss.

Those four angels are looking at him, right?

In my opinion, no, no, they are not. I am a little less sure after grasping how Crowley's sight works, but still...consider it.

They sure look like they are looking at him.

By Crowley starting his exit and maintaining touch on the threshold's door, he has become invisible to them. They probably saw him enter the elevator. We, as the audience, know that there is something special about maintaining touch on the door at the end of using a threshold as an entrance.

Now we see him do it during an exit by keeping a small part of his upper back against the door.

This scene is more like the angels are looking at his invisibility, not at Crowley himself. That's why they have the mixed reactions that they do.

Michael looks incredulous. Muriel looks mildly scared and amazed at the same time, in reaction to his place, not the angels surrounding them. Uriel looks annoyed. Saraqael remains neutral. Muriel's is the one I consider our biggest clue for reaction.

He's not reflected in the closer view of their eyes, but I can't say that happens much for the story or characters overall.

The elevator's surface is reflective and shows bigger shadows around the angels. There is no reflection or shadow to tell us Crowley is there when we see the angels. Muriel's white helmet is probably at least a little reflective. Still nothing.

Well, could it still be that they can see him and just have those thoughts on Crowley? I could just somehow be missing it, right?

Yes, of course. We're going to keep playing along.

Uriel starts to look down, soon followed by Muriel, as the light starts to go up as Crowley's appearance changes. The light itself might be allowing them to see him as it travels, but the story doesn't tell us. Instead, it alerts us very pointedly that the only thing reflected in his sunglasses are the lights along the side and maybe behind Muriel.

He says, "Funny old world, isn't it?" because those angels are now forced to trust a demon in their shared space of this threshold, and each side is invisible to the other. He senses them with his eyes and not seeing them, but the reverse is probably not true for at least Muriel and Uriel. Saraqael gets a pass on being shown. Michael is the biggest hint of an exception since Michael does not look down.

The Season 2 Ending (The Door Trick)

Just like with the bigger thresholds, this part of the sideburns scheme actually crosses over with the earthly objects game (Threshold Tricks). Much of the content below is about The Door Trick. Some of it is a mix of before I recognized it for being that, and some of it is the latest I've had to change due to what I learned about pocket touches. Just like with the bigger thresholds, I still consider the content in general relevant enough to keep here.

The end of season 2 chooses to show us a context we haven't actually seen despite seeing Crowley, his car, and this street as much as we have throughout the episodes.

This scene is extremely difficult to analyze for sideburns because of how much the sideburns depend on everything else. They're the longest length but don't seem to be quite as thick as when around Gabriel in the bookshop.

Based on all of the information available to me, the length is from a combination of his stillness and maintaining a threshold-only touch on the upper panel of the door to his car. That's not based on intuition this time like with Heaven. These things have mattered in other places, so that's why I'm looking at them now as part of the possibility. And there is A LOT despite how simple it all looks on the surface. This character is precise in his choices when it comes to whatever this scheme really is.

Let's start with how the context is different.

The most noticeable thing is that Crowley is a lone supernatural entity among a lot of humans. Muriel is presumably around the area somewhere, but they are not on camera for the parts I am going to discuss. I am taking that, from the story's meaning, Muriel is not why the sideburns are this length at this time.

Other demons and angels are gone. Aziraphale is part of this scene, but there is a distance between him and Crowley, probably enough that we're supposed to think it's not directly because of Aziraphale's proximity either. The same goes for the Metatron.

This scene was how it clicked with me that the length was determined by the space, not the presence of angels or demons or humans directly. They're all too far to say that this length is from them. It's the car and Crowley himself...because the car is Crowley's own space, his own home...that he connected with Aziraphale at that. This length is still different from being near or in the car in previous scenes. Well, he's doing some things that make it different.

Doors are thresholds, and most doors in this story have earthly objects on them, such as a doorknob or a window pane. Most touches on the door from the characters in the show are indeed on these earthly object parts, most especially the doorknob. Crowley's door to his car has a handle. It also has a window, which just so happens to be open in the first shot we'll see of him. There's no window pane there to get in the way of the things he's going to do.

Besides the touch on the door and the stillness, there are some other things he's doing.

He has his right hand in his pocket except for his thumb.

This part right here is crucial. The stillness is quite likely related to this thing. Every touch in The Pocket Trick has at least some movement. This touch is not part of The Pocket Trick, and that is one of many differences.

Pocket touches require extreme care in how they are done. When first realizing the scale of what they are, it feels like everything matters when it comes to the pockets. That may still be true. I cannot fully understand them. If it's not everything, it's still a lot. The sun beaming down on him and hitting the light where it hits him, especially his head? That is quite likely because of the pocket touch. It is the strongest source of light on Earth while not actually being an earthly object on Earth providing a light source. There is a car behind reflecting light toward him as well. It might be acceptable or even helping because of the sun.

Understanding pocket touches is overwhelming. I'm still working through it, so I cannot cover everything.

I will still cover some parts below.

As mentioned earlier, there are a lot of humans. Humans have a notable presence when it comes to the pocket touches.

Crowley's legs are crossed to help him lean onto the car in the specific way for this scene. By having them crossed the way he does, there is no space between them. Somehow, that's going to make them a Double touch for what he's going to do soon.

Though we see the legs, we do not see his feet.

Before Aziraphale enters that elevator, we are given three different camera shots that all look like Crowley is standing incredibly still as the scene progresses.

The first shot shows the lean, the hand in the pocket, and the sleeve of his right arm on the upper panel, deliberately avoiding the roof. As the camera starts to pan, there is an ever so tiny gap in his sleeve as if to help alert us that he is not touching the window frame, despite what the incoming angle would otherwise suggest. While we cannot see his feet, the angle is enough that we should conclude they are not touching the edge of the sidewalk. The edge of the sidewalk is a threshold, but it's not a threshold Crowley wants to touch in this scene. The window frame is probably a physical threshold for the window he's avoiding.

The camera pans, and you can see the longer sideburns if you check. His left hand and some of his forearm are not touching the door, including his watch. The thumb of the left hand is not easily visible with the other digits. Of what can be seen of the left thumb, much of it is cast in shadow. That's on purpose for the pocket touch. The left thumb joint is not as deeply cast in shadow, and that too is on purpose for the pocket touch. Those touches greatly depend on the left thumb joint. The index fingertip is visible. The other fingertips are not visible.

The scene moves back to Aziraphale, then back to Crowley.

Crowley is still standing quite still with his hand in his pocket. His left hand is partly obscured by the car's front side lining or whatever it's called. This story really likes the number three, and this shot is the second one. I can barely tell you what is significant about this shot because I'm only starting to understand it. The way Crowley's stance is set up is that there are actually multiple closed pockets between him and the car. There is one notably bigger than the others between the door and the left side of his jacket. Eventually, a human passes by who does have their left hand in their pocket. Through the closed pocket between the jacket and the car, there is an illusionary vertex touch to Crowley's jacket, probably in a good position as well due to the arm lines up if Crowley actually were using a pocket.

As things tend to go in other pocket touches, the left thumb joint is supposed to make a vertex touch to Crowley's jacket, or do so with assistance from the watch. So, this vertex touch from the human, and Crowley's overall stance being what it is with where his hand and watch are, somehow gets the job done or whatever version of the job it's supposed to be for this different type of touch.

The scene moves back to Aziraphale with that miracle sound and his reaction. He slightly turns his head toward Crowley as best he can manage.

Now we get a third shot of Crowley.

This time, there are touches, but they aren't just any touches either.

It's mostly a front view of the edge of that door but that will suffice. Pocket touches heavily involve edges, and edges are thresholds.

The watch is touching the door.

There are three skin contact touches on the door. One of them is the skin between his watch and his sleeve. Another is the right side of his palm. The third is a triple with three digits of his fingers collectively together. Their fingertips are not visible; it's hard to tell even when zoomed in and checking a screenshot. His index finger is decidedly not part of the touch, and that fingertip is visible. That touch is ready to use the pocket touch to its full advantage. Crowley has a full visible set of digits for a hand.

I have not gone over what each piece of apparel does here because the main thing I know is that they are probably all doing something. The tie, the belt, the shirt, and the vest are positioned the way they are, and have been positioned the way they are, in each shot for this pocket touch to help the door touch.

If the hand does something like share the touch because of how each digit has been shown, which I do believe it does, the main thing he's touching, especially with his thumb, is his pants, which have the double touch due to the legs being crossed.

Altogether, that gives Crowley a triple skin contact touch, a double clothing touch, and a single accessory touch on the door.

That act, that set of touches, is The Door Trick, and those extra touches within are multipliers on it.

Another thing found when trying to figure out the pockets while still not fully getting there is that even though The Door Trick is done, it sort of shoots a chain of the pocket touch to Aziraphale. Then Aziraphale has to make specific moves of his own to get in the elevator and framed in the exact way he is along with the Metatron. The Metatron has his right hand fully in his pocket. One of the curious ways The Pocket Trick works is the obvious intent and extent of using puns to figure out the puzzles of the touches.

As such, I believe Aziraphale's part that follows Crowley's is supposed to be...The Door Catch. The name is inspired by the story's focus of The Bullet Catch in episode 4, and the fact that we're chained in from a Trick about a door, that took advantage of a pocket touch.

Despite so much depending on the pocket touch, those longest-length sideburns have been there.

The sideburns have been long without pocket touches, so one would guess it's not all about the pocket though the pocket still did a ton for the touch.

Speaking of sideburns, Crowley's sideburns don't change during all of this. At least, from what we can tell. The second two shots further away from him are still enough to tell us those sideburns are long.

Every shot had Crowley being still, like really, really still.

While that might be part of the pocket touch, he was also quite still in his first present day scene with no pockets involved.

I don't know what the stillness really does. As mentioned way back, maybe it helps him be sensed in this case since Aziraphale wasn't looking his way until that miracle sound happened, besides fulfilling pocket touch requirements.

Since Heaven was accessed explicitly when the supernatural-exclusive zone was active, if indeed such a zone existed, I do believe The Door Trick granted access. After that, Aziraphale still had to do his own part to get in with The Door Catch.

Please see the following if you want a more image-focused and simplified post about these things happening.

The Door Trick Visual Representation

After this Threshold Trick, there is only one left after Aziraphale leaves, which is The Window Trick.

Here is a link describing it:

The Window Trick

A lot of physical touching is avoided in being shown during that windows sequence. The song might have something going on too, but that type of analysis is beyond my capability with how it might link to sideburns, windows, and thresholds.

Short sideburns at long last appear before the end credits and with them are faint physical touches within the car once again.

The end. I update this post a lot as I reach new realizations, just FYI.

~~

If you read only one of the rest of the links below, this one is probably best:

Crowley S2 Hair Post #10 (angry lightning walk)

~~

More here if you really want to go deep into my findings, still being edited as I learn things:

Episode 1: The Arrival

Post #1 (meeting with Shax in St. James' Park)

Post #2 (meeting with Shax in the street)

Post #3 (phone call with Aziraphale in the Bentley)

Post #4 (entering the coffee shop)

Post #5 (revisiting park scene for zoom and blur weirdness)

Post #6 (being in the coffee shop)

Post #7 (crossing the street from the coffee shop to the bookshop)

Post #8 (finding out Gabriel is in the bookshop)

Post #9 (fragile existence)

Post #10 (angry lightning)

Post #11 (being summoned)

Post #12 (being in Hell)

Post #13 (before driving to the bookshop)

Post #14 (driving to the bookshop)

Post #15 (fixing coffee shop power)

Post #16 (hiding Gabriel)

Episode 2: The Clue

Post #17 (meeting with Shax in the car)

Post #18 (the pub)

Post #19 (crossing the street from the pub to the bookshop)

#crowley s2 hair project #good omens #good omens 2 #good omens s2 #david tennant #crowley #good omens meta #good omens analysis #good omens season 2 #Crowley's sideburns

[convenientalias]

Rules: List the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern.

Tagged by @seamayweed. Thanks, I love these kinds of challenges!

Chi and Mei--The woman calling herself Yun Weishan lay naked in Shangguan Qian’s bed, though the comforter had been replaced over her so that nothing was visible below the neck.

The White Snake--The first time Yang sees the snakes around Tian is the day after they went to the opera.

A Hard Call--Myung-gil had known he’d lose some men assailing Choi Tae-ho’s house, which was almost a fortress, but he hadn’t thought he’d have to kill any of them himself.

all i will take are the consequences--Min-woo wouldn’t have guessed on his own that Lee Jun-seong and Song Jae-hyo were fucking.

mi soledad que da vueltas los brazos como un naufrago--“Why?” Min-woo says.

Loaded, Unloaded--If asked, Jo Young-jae couldn’t have said why he came up to the roof.

a shared punishment--Choi Chi-hoon tried to pick the lock on the handcuffs.

A Small Black Puppy--Hong-sae met the dog in the middle of a bridge.

chasing their own fantasy--Honestly, Eon Nyeoni finds Nam Hee-shin interesting.

Don't Want to Walk Alone--“An engagement?” Li Xiangyi raised his eyebrows.

At first glance, since I went in reverse chronological order, the main trend I immediately notice is that I've been writing longer first sentences lately. I think that's pretty immediately obvious if you just glance at this list. Some of the shorter ones (chasing their own fantasy, a shared punishment, A Small Black Puppy, Loaded Unloaded) are even their own separate paragraph.

However. Reverse chronological order of posting/updating is deceptive. "A White Snake" was posted recently, but I actually wrote it in September; "A Hard Call" was updated recently, but its first chapter was posted in October, and even then, it's a follow-up on a fic I wrote even longer ago. So... it's more like I usually write short first lines, but occasionally I do go longer, without much of a chronological element.

Otherwise... idk, there's a lot of variation. I don't often start with dialogue, but I do on occasion, especially when the fic is going to be short or fast-paced. I never start with imagery--"Chi and Mei" comes close, but it's only half imagery, really, the other half just orienting the reader in a canonical scene. "The White Snake" has a second and third sentence with more imagery, but the first sentence is more context. I often start with introspection, but I also often start with action. It's fun to try out different things.

Tagging: @trifoliate-undergrowth @flo-nelja @iatethepomegranate @general-sleepy @aboxthecolourofheartache @smylealong and anyone else who wants to do it <3

#meme

[variousqueerthings]

When i was writing it i also kept think about blindfolded Hawkeye, all evidence really does point towards him loving it...

He really does get lead and pushed around so often, I'd love to see someone's take on how it contrasts with his control and responsibilities as chief surgeon. Even outside of surgery, the contrast of him being with someone and then having a nurse or doctor coming in to ask for help or giving him an update on a patient and how he can swap between both mindsets ect.

I firmly believe that Hawkeye would valiantly try to be had by all of the nurses if given the time and opportunity. And any attention is good attention is the sort of mindset that Hawkeye would take and then promptly act like a terror until he got the attention he wants. I feel like he wouldnt have to do this with bj as much as others but he does anyways just to be a problem.

Margaret's a strange one bc it would make sense considering her personality and Hawkeye's interest but like, idk. I think its too much of a contrast in my head from his refusal to show her respect as a major, their relationship in the later seasons (in my head) hinges so much on their views of each other as equals and i think the power dynamics would be a mess.

Its kind of funny how they have Hawkeye acknowledge how sexist some of his actions were when i feel like i always remember there being more women in those earlier seasons. I might be misremembering but i feel like if theyre going to do that they could at least make female characters more core. Like not every woman has to be plot relevant to be featured.

Aro Hawkeye my beloved <3<3 I get him, he loves his friends so much it hurts and also is so so horny. He deserves to be held gently and then absolutely railed and then held again.

-majoranon

(listen okay sometimes I get worried that an ask is too personal or inappropriate so i hold off sending my name with it but the fact that you knew it was me is so funny. What tipped you of?)

Alright, post the first out of... maybe three (maybe four)! (the others of which will be about women in MASH and much shorter I think + blindfold Hawkeye + some more aro talks beyond this + idk, sometimes you’ve just got to see where the typing takes you)

THE FIRST THING I DO IS APOLOGISE FOR THE RAMBLES AND THE FACT THAT I COULD WRITE THIS BETTER AND MORE SOURCED IF MY BRAIN WAS WORKING AND I HAD TIME... I don’t, I’m sad....

I’d originally put your message into bits and was answering them one at a time, but then everything started being about a few of the same things, SO

trust me this all comes from your message 😂 

This post: aro Hawkeye 🤝 aro Margaret and my actual dream relationship on the show (or, you’ll never guess where this meta/headcanon is going, or maybe you will, idk)

ALSO KNOWN AS: I make the argument that Hawkeye and Margaret are already in an aromantic life-partnership and so her occasionally topping him is really just a part of the benefits for both of them (but also I barely make the latter half of that argument, I’m sorry, I go all over the place with this one)

I think (and I mentioned that in another post) that Hawkeye being chief surgeon and Very Good at his high-stress job is a feature in this entire (somewhat jokey, but also haha kidding... unless... you know?) headcanon -- lots of people with those kinds of jobs want to get to shut off any decision-making/responsibilities outside of that space and we see that a lot with Hawkeye (in a non-sexual sense). He really really hates being in charge when it’s not about the job 

I just rewatched Carry On, Hawkeye and I love how there’s that scene where Margaret is like “I should be in charge now” and Hawkeye basically goes “absolutely, have at it,” but because she’s so used to him being contrarian and bitchy with her, she thinks he’s arguing that she shouldn’t 

and it gives us this interesting line:

and then in the same episode having just given Margaret the reports she needed, if we’re going for the “Hawkeye and strong women/Hawkeye and I’m just a little guy/Hawkeye and putting himself on the table” well...

literally.... on the table....

(Margaret if you’re in charge you have to get used to a lanky weirdo lying about on your desk, that’s just who he is)

and then of course:

S I R (mr alan alda, you cannot tell me this guy has never been topped by a woman (we leave domming out of the discussion for today kids, but youknow.. it’s Margaret, she of the riding crop and vibrator))

Anyway this takes us neatly into “Margaret and Hawkeye” territory... 

*

1. first there’s all this stuff around sexuality and gender and romance and relationships happening between those two -- Margaret and “sir” and incorrect womanhood leading her relationships to not work and being openly sexual (and highly suggested dominating), Hawkeye and calling himself “aunt” and being a motherhen and all the being pregnant jokes, and being stepped on jokes, and “joking” about being married to men, etcetcetc -- 

of course the crux of which is that amazing conversation they have in “Stars and Stripes” in which it’s made textual how similar they are in their ideas about relationships. One of the main reasons I like to hc them as aro is that the way they phrase it is so... vague.... they can’t pinpoint why it never works out for them, time and time again, other than “they can’t change who they are,” and they’re looking for a “custom fit,” but at least with Hawkeye he’s been shown to “fall in love” with people very fast (Erika, Kyung Soon, Inga, etc) and (due to the nature of syndication) get over those relationships again/fall in love with someone new just as fast -- and a note on Erika is that he’s literally suggesting marriage and she’s the one to shut him down (in an also very aro way)

not to mention Carlye whom he proposes to have been in love with for years/never gotten over, but when given the chance for a do-over doesn’t leap at the chance... again because of vague “you choose your job over romantic relationships” reasons (any aromantic who can relate to that reasoning/has literally scoured for historical people who were described that way, raise your hands) 

with Margaret you do get the sense that she’d wanted these relationships/that she invests in them, but that the men can never accept her as she is (which Hawkeye does -- and he doesn’t even do it on purpose, to begin with they’re scratching and clawing at each other as we all know), so you see, she’d love to be in a romantic relationship if only she were a completely different person, but alas she can’t be and so she’ll never be a correct woman (again, any aro who’s felt that connection between brokenness and incorrect gender and aroness raise your hands...) and to stretch that one even further, the imagery in “Dreams” of her in the wedding dress with those bodies of men in her bed and the miscarriage-looking blood-stain, it’s all... very evocative of that same incorrect/broken woman, who will never get those things that society promises are what brings happiness that she won’t have and maybe doesn’t even want, but what’s the alternative being offered here? 

dead bodies and a lifetime of being alone?

*

2.  I think it’s interesting that you said that because Margaret’s and Hawkeye’s later relationship hinges on them being equals that the power dynamics would be a mess, when that respect is actually the very thing that makes me think of them being perfect for each other in this scenario – there’s a lot of trust and vulnerability that goes into that, especially considering aforementioned gendered expectations and the ways they both already fuck around with them, and how well they know each other at that point. And if I’m gonna take “Inga” at face value, Hawkeye isn’t as out about his (in this headcanon) preferences as one might have thought, so being vulnerable with a stranger? Or someone who isn’t as under his skin as Margaret is?  

What I do wonder about is whether later seasons Hawkeye is… all that interested in sex? Overall? Comparatively? Sure, there’s the occasional “Hawkeye has a date” or “Hawkeye does some flirting (with friends),” but – I will go more into this in my next post about women in MASH – when he talks to Marina in opening s10 about how he’s not treated women right in the past + has seen too much to ever be wide-eyed again, it is both good reasons to blow her off, and also something I definitely read at face value.

It also goes into something someone said on a post (I’m sorry I cannot remember where) about how later seasons had less sex, but also less homoeroticism hand-in-hand with that, but also that it’s just that the tone is overall – for Hawkeye more than any other character (he frequently gets The Narrative end of the stick, while everyone else is having a bit of a laugh) – less light-hearted at that point, and also it may have had to do with how they wanted to write the women who did come on the show (again, for next post). My point is that it all adds up to make him seem both Really Really Tired and Much Less Interested In Sex, and then as a consequence gives it a fun read of maybe he's less interested in sex, because he’s so damn tired?

In that scenario is he looking for an occasional fun time with his good friend Margaret Houlihan who maybe would step on him wearing heels (a thing he has canonically lamented her not doing at one point on the show) if he asked nicely and called her sir? Or is it that by the time they become good enough friends that he might trust her and she might trust him with these sexual and gender transgressions, he’s not in a place to try and make anything like this happen at all, because he’s just… tired?

But overall, I do think out of anyone at the 4077th… except for maybe Klinger (and also Sid, if we’re going beyond-but-adjacent), Margaret is the person who might be able to accommodate for Hawkeye the best, and Hawkeye might be able to give Margaret something she doesn’t entirely know how to balance with other men (the one downside is that technically Margaret would wanna be doing something like this with a guy like Trapper – bigger/more traditionally outwardly masculine, but it’s not like she doesn’t find Hawkeye attractive/I don’t think it would be a total dealbreaker – anyway, also smthinsmthin Hawkeye and Margaret are often attracted to the same kinda guy… as for women, I think Hawkeye is pretty broad, while Margaret likes Strong Women (similar to the men))

Meanwhile Margaret, it feels like, has prepared herself for this lifetime of loneliness, except she’s got this family all around her and maybe this guy who’s also not looking for normative relationship structures and is also Not Correct in vague, unspoken (queer) ways. But maybe, again, around the time where it could conceivably be going on, neither of them are in that headspace or maybe they can get each other out of the more tragedy-filled-careening-towards-the-end-of-the-narrative headspace, I can’t say for sure until I’ve finished the show

and speaking of that unknowable space...

What about after the show then?

*

3. So here’s some stuff I can’t know until I’ve finished it -- I don’t know where Hawkeye ends up and I don’t know where Margaret ends up (or anyone else for that matter), but I do think they’re the two characters who are the most conflicted at this point and likely will be right through to the end 

Margaret has made a choice to not get into a romantic relationship with anyone unless they understand her as she is, and so to all intents and purposes has practically sworn off romantic relationships -- this is also framed as her putting her career first, although not entirely. It’s more like she’s putting herself first, but also… there’s something there that doesn’t quite fit. It’s certainly more possible for her to stick with the military than to conform to a housewife ideal, because she’s been with the military her whole life, but she also no longer idealizes what it is and stands for. I really do wonder where she’ll be by the end and I sort of assume she’ll stay with the military, but I also read that somewhat through the lens of disappointing, but expected romances.

Because she’s changed a lot. I don’t think the military really is her home, but I don’t think she knows of anywhere else to go. So I wouldn’t be surprised if she stays with it – I think it would be in character – I just think it would be bittersweet. Better than a marriage, but also not as good as she could do if she could unpack some more of those vague ideas that niggle in her brain (it’s queerness, but not just that, but this read of her is based around that aromanticism in particular).

And meanwhile Hawkeye is just a mess. Idk, I can’t see that changing. I also can’t see where I’d place him after the war, because I can’t see him as okay in that movie-lotr Frodo Baggins Can Never Go Home way. I can’t see anyone as technically “okay,” but I don’t think he has anyplace where he could go to attempt what people call “resuming a normal life.” Hell, I’m not even entirely sure I could see him continuing as a surgeon (that episode with the surgeon who completely breaks down is uh… well, it’s not there for nothing). Similar to Margaret, but with added PTSD, there’s all that Vagueness niggling at his brain, which maybe angers him, because he already knows he’s a big ol bisexual who falls for married men, so what gives? And he doesn’t even have a fallback like the army. At best he might simply be a surgeon or a general practitioner, but you know… The Horrors. I can’t see him as anything but haunted for the rest of his life

And so thinking of a dream scenario where they both somehow make it and it’s not just “trying to get by (trying to get by in the army, trying to get by back in Maine, trying to remember what “home” is supposed to be)” I’m like… what if they just moved in together and tried to deal with the Vagueness together, same as they’ve done multiple times on the show? 

(And sidenote I maybe should’ve gotten into earlier, it’s so interesting that their romantic travails are shared with one another more than any other character -- Hawkeye is the person who knows the most about what was going on with her and Frank/Don/Sully, and she knows about him and Kyung Soon, and the aforementioned Big Conversation about The Revolving Heart Of Korea, which is said by Margaret, but is really the both of them)

(sidenote: Hawkeye is consistently the person who makes her smile like this the most)

(other other sidenote: “double-solitaire” ought to be codeword for queerplatonic aro partnership?????)

(other other other sidenote: literally just watched “Birthday Girls” in which Margaret rails against getting sympathy, but in this one she accepts it so readily from Hawkeye, and has done multiple times ever since the episode with the dog)

Margaret is the woman (maybe even the person) that Hawkeye knows best/has Hawkeye’s number and has done from very early on (but now she’s incredibly fond of that nr), Hawkeye is at least 10% of Margaret’s perfect man, it would be a great beard for the both of them, and they’d be able to draw a lot of comfort from each other.

And you know... they See Each Other and don’t expect the other person to change the core of themselves to fit, and they could challenge one another to become their most truthful selves better than anyone else could 

*

SO IN CONCLUSION WOULD MARGARET DOM HAWKEYE (is barely the question that’s been answered in this long fucking post): IT DEPENDS 

early seasons Hawkeye would have been SO up for it, but Margaret would not + it wouldn’t have been great for either of them I think? Although, sometimes they got along, even then, so maybe off the back of an episode like that... (but I do think it matters that they never canonically have sex until “Comrade in Arms”)

later seasons Hawkeye may have been too depressed for sexual frolicking and Margaret was going through an identity crisis, so idk, somewhere in between all of that somewhere? 

POST seasons Hawkeye and Margaret... maybe? depending on where you puttem? if they get to spend time together?

would they at the very least have fantasized about it? Oh yeah, absolutely!

I leave you with this image:

#margaret houlihan #hawkeye pierce #MASH #MASH meta #aromantic hawkeye #aromantic margaret #and with the aromanticism: gender fuckery #mate help i wrote this mostly today and it is barely edited and im going to sleep now #but i did SAY i was going into Places with all of this

[wondereads]

Weekly Reading Update (12/04/23)

Thoughts and reviews under the cut (also, have you ever seen a weirder combination of books lol)

In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire (10/10)

I absolutely loved this book, but I will be billing Seanan McGuire for my therapy. She does an amazing job of writing these stories that you already know the ending to, and it doesn't make it any more gut-wrenching when the children are rejected or expelled. I see a lot of myself in Lundy, which only made it hit harder, and I loved the world of the Goblin Market. I really enjoyed seeing what would be referred to as a High Logic world with hard and fast rules and seeing how the characters worked within them (or around them). The side characters were, as usual, amazing, and they really helped bring the story together.

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett (10/10)

I was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did! This was a really good, fast-paced adult fantasy; it was a bit refreshing since adult high fantasy tends to be much slower. Despite being more action-oriented, it still had strong characters and the beginnings of a good message. I suspect it'll be elaborated upon more in the later books. The magic system was so detailed and unique, exactly what I want from worldbuilding, and I'm really interested to see if we'll get more of the world outside Tevanne in the rest of the series.

Cinder Ella by S. T. Lynn (5/10)

This is part of a little project I'm doing, and I unfortunately didn't enjoy it very much. I think a fairy tale retelling would do quite well in a shorter format, but this one just falls short. It adds in a bit too much and as a result reads as rushed with not enough time dedicated to any of the scenes or relationships. Also, fairy tales tend to go by the "that's the way it is" rule of worldbuilding, which this book tries to do, but it raises too many questions to get away with not answering any of them. For example, the increased role of the fairy godmother brings up a lot of worldbuilding implications that the book just doesn't have the space to address.

Redfang Royal by Lola Rock (7/10)

Ok, I've never talked about these books before because they are the guiltiest of my guilty pleasures, but I'm trying to get over that. I'm a huge fan of Lola Rock's Pack Darling duology, so I've been looking forward to this book for a while. I finished it in a day, and I definitely enjoyed it. I did find the plot a little convoluted, and I wish it had been split into two parts like Pack Darling. The ending in particular feels a little rushed; I feel like there's a lot of stuff in Sol's backstory that was never explained to her pack. Still, I really liked the romance dynamic, and the love interests were quite different from the other series, which I appreciated.

Forget Me Knot by Marie McKay (CR, 48%)

Another of my guilty pleasures, this one is much darker than Lola Rock's books. All the characters have trauma upon trauma, but I can definitely see how things are going to resolve. Also, McKay's take on the omegaverse (yes, these are omegaverse novels if you haven't figured it out) is pretty unique with some interesting worldbuilding that adds a bit more to the story. I wonder if that worldbuilding has anything to do with why most of the main characters are named after objects (i.e. Arsenal, Riot, Ice). So far, I like Onyx, the main character; she's pretty different from what I've seen in this genre before, and she's a breath of fresh air.

Rising Storm by Erin Hunter (CR, 15%)

The Warriors reread continues, and I've remembered what takes place in this book. Unfortunately, I think that other than Fire and Ice, this is my least favorite of the first series. Still, the nostalgia does a lot of the heavy lifting for these books, especially since cat politics would probably intrigue me on its own today.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson (3%)

My first Brandon Sanderson novel! I was initially going to start with Mistborn, but this is required reading from my book club. (Literally. There's a group of us that choose a separate book each month that we have to read.) So far, I really like the narration style. It reminds me of Diana Wynne Jones and other classic fantasy authors, which happens to be my favorite kind of writing.

#books #reading update #in an absent dream #seanan mcguire #foundryside #robert jackson bennett #cinder ella #s t lynn #redfang royal #lola rock #poisonverse #marie mckay #rising storm #erin hunter #yumi and the nightmare painter #brandon sanderson #wayward children #warriors #cosmere

[gallavictorious]

What staple fics of the fandom would you recommend for someone just starting to read gallavich fic?

Hiya there, nonnie – and welcome to the glorious world of Gallavich fic, if you're new to it!

On the one hand, I'm very much the wrong person to ask because staple fics tend to be AU:s and that's not really my cup of tea. On the other hand, I am a librarian, so never let it be said I balk at giving recommendations about stuff I haven't actually read or isn't necessarily to my personal liking. 😉

To make this list, I sorted Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich fics by bookmarks on AO3 and selected the first ten that I've either seen talked about a lot or have had at least a look at myself. This is admittely not a great way to curate a rec list, so for better and more initiated recommendations, maybe check in with the the amazing ladies of @gallavichfanficlibrary? They'll have you covered! If anyone else feels like chiming in with fandom classics for nonnie, I'm sure they'd be grateful. 🙂

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace by shamlessquestions

AO3 Summary: Mickey just needs to keep his head down and stay out of trouble at his new job. Still trouble always manages to find him and when it takes the form of his red haired boss, Mickey's not sure he can resist even if he wanted to.

Comment: The Gallvich fic with the most bookmarks and the most kudos on AO3. You’ll hear this one mentioned a lot! Fair bit of explicit sex scenes.

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Ian Gallagher by shamlessquestions

AO3 Summary: "It's fuck all about heat or chemistry or any such shit, Gallagher. You and me...it's just a thing that cannot happen. The sooner we both accept that, the better off we'll be."

Comment: Mickey's the right hand man of a Chicago mobster. Club dancer (and college student) Ian starts ”dating” said mobster. Gallavich sparks fly. High stakes and quite a bit of action in this one. Explicit sex scenes.

Take Me In by MintSauce

AO3 Summary: Mickey's Dad finds out about Mickey being gay and even though Ian's not there, but he finds the Gallaghers are still willing to take Mickey in.

Comment: If you enjoy Mickey becoming friends with all the Gallaghers and bettering himself/beginning to heal from the abuse at Terry's hands, this might work for you. Heavy focus on Mickey, as Ian isn't actually there for most of the fic (though he's never far from Mickey's thoughts).

Like Real People Do by grayola

AO3 Summary: At the age of 26, Mickey Milkovich gets his first apartment, his first wifi connection, and his first kiss. How he gets from wifi to kissing is a complicated story. Mickey is socially anxious. Ian is a frustratingly lovable escort working through an app. Mickey downloads said app. The rest is history.

Comment: Fan favourite from last year. Very soft. Not a lot of plot, just Ian and Mickey falling very, very deeply in love (and dealing with their mental health issues in a lowkey, everyday sort of way). Heavy use of texts and messaging, making for something of an old-school fic feel. Explicit. A companion piece, told from Ian's POV is currently being published: Everything About You.

eighty-four by kissteethstainedred

AO3 Summary: “I slept with Mickey Milkovich last night,” Ian whispers.

“So?”

“So—” Ian stares at his phone for a second. “I slept with Mandy’s fucking brother.”

“Ian, what do you want me to say? Congratulations? You’ve been dating Mickey for almost a year,” Lip says, sounding confused as fuck. Ian blinks. That can’t be right. Ian’s only seen Mickey in pictures with Mandy. He’s never even met the fucking guy. How can he be dating him?

Comment: College fic. Time loop, so great if you’re a fan of that! Mandy plays a prominent role. At 13k words this one is way shorter than any other fic on this list.

Our Stubborn Love by TheWaywardBride

AO3 Summary: In which, after years of being separated by more than just prison walls, Ian and Mickey try to find their way back to each other.

Comment: Canon-divergent slow burn told from a bunch of different POV:s. Something of an ensemble piece, although Ian and Mickey are the focus. Doesn't shy away from Ian being in a very bad place post-5x12.

None the Wiser by loftec

AO3 Summary: AU. Slow burn. The real time accounts of Ian visiting Mickey's dingy diner and slowly becoming his friend.

Comment: WIP, with irregular but still happening updates. Domestic, with strong focus on the character's emotional lives. Mickey's a father to Yev, even though him and Svet are long since divorced. They're not kidding about the slow burn.

This is the Road To Ruin by bricoleur10

AO3 Summary: The day Ned asks Ian to rob his house the redhead almost says yes – why shouldn’t he, after all? Ned seems nonchalant enough about the whole thing, he’ll get some free expensive shit out of the deal, and if he plays his cards right maybe he can even convince Mickey to be his accomplice – but something stops him from going through with it.

The third-eldest Gallagher has never been much of a believer in fate or divine intervention or destiny or anything like that – can’t be, with the life he’s led – but he just might have become one, had he only known how that one seemingly insignificant decision had changed the course of his entire life.

Comment: Straight up canon divergence, capturing the early season Gallavich feels before hurtling down the road not taken. Some angst, but with a happy ending. Mandy and Lip play prominent parts.

Cooperative Gameplay by grayola

AO3 Summary: At nineteen years old, Ian Gallagher’s stuck. Stuck in a minimum-wage job he hates. Stuck in the same boring routine--sleep, wake, work, take your meds, Ian!, try not to lose it day after day after day. But after his little brother introduces him to MICK MILK, a frustratingly hot horror gamer he watches on YouTube, Ian's life will never be the same. ♥️

Comment: WIP (but with regular updates). Darker than Like Real People Do, but with a similarly emotional focus. Depicts online fandom on Twitter and Instagram in a rather knowing way. Explicit sex scenes. This fic, and these versions of Ian and Mickey, currently has its own fandom.

The Boyfriend Experience by anomalously

AO3 Summary: The Prompt: Ian: sex worker (male escort, explicit videos: stripping, masturbation, etc) Mickey: client who's an avid fan who gets up the courage to hire ian for "the boyfriend experience" I saw a porn star who said she only sleeps with 1 client & it inspired me.

Comment: WIP, last updated in 2017. Commonly held to be worth reading in spite of not being finished. Quite a bit of explicit sex, occasionally with a bit of BDSM thrown in.

#i hope this is helpful nonnie #i did my best #and wish you the happiest of reading <3 #fic recs #asks

[elliotapricot]

My Anime 9/10′s

With probably no spoilers cuz I don’t wanna talk too long about them zzz.

1. Fullmetal Alchemist

YALL ALREADY KNOW THIS A 9/10. The only real reason this show is not a 10/10 is because it’s just a story that I’d never rewatch. There’s like 70 episodes, which is way too long for my short attention span, especially since I’ve seen it already. But yeah, by all accounts, this story is a masterpiece and is one of the only “shounen” anime’s that I genuinely enjoyed. No random sexualization. No dumb filler. All the characters have an actual purpose and role in the plot and everyone has their own morals and ideals that interact to make the story interesting. I couldn’t bring myself to really hate anyone, even the villains, because everyone was pretty well written. Also super satisfying ending that ties up everything properly without leaving me confused or upset. If you only watch a few anime in your life, Fullmetal Alchemist is pretty much a MUST WATCH to see a beautiful example of a modern classic anime as an artform. Also I should say that I really don’t like Hunter x Hunter (AN EXTREMELY CONTROVERSIAL OPINION BTW) but I love Fullmetal Alchemist so take from that what you will.

2. Parasyte: The Maxim

Same kinda shit where you already know this a 9/10 for me. It’s just a very satisfying anime that doesn’t have random sexualization or random filler or anything like that. Ending is also very good and ties up the story in a way that doesn’t leave more questions but also allows the characters to have a “life” outside of the scope of the story. I think Parasyte, because of its more horror and psychological-esque vibes, counts as a seinen and not a shounen, so for more mature audiences. I also really liked how the story was successfully adapted to modern times since the manga is from the 80′s. I have actually rewatched this anime, but what stops me from giving it a 10/10 is a few things that I found kinda “stereotypical” that I don’t wanna discuss further too much cuz it’s spoilers. I still obviously really like this anime and highly recommend it.

3. Zankyou no Terror

TBH, this anime is pretty hard for me to properly describe in a lot of words as to why I like it. The art was really pretty as well as the music, which was just straight up amazing. The cinematography of this anime is excellent as well, and a lot of scenes have that sense of being acted out by real people, as opposed to feeling completely drawn/animated. I was a teenager when this anime came out and I think a lot of the themes presented in the show really related to me. The show does kinda have some leftover questions when it ends that prevents me from rating it a 10/10, but I have such a soft spot for this anime. It’s from the same creator as Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop, and although those two animes are also very good, they did not impact me as much as this anime did. Recommended for people looking for idk something that gives off Inception vibes?? In the sense that it’s much more about its themes and its message more so than the believability of the events that occur.

4. Magic Kaito 1412

THIS IS JUST A PERSONAL PREFERENCE BTW LOLOL I DON’T KNOW ANYBODY WHO’D PUT THIS AS A 9/10 ANIME. I JUST REALLY LIKED IT OKAY. It’s made by the same person who does Detective Conan but I like this a lot more because it’s a much shorter series and slightly more mature (more for teens than just straight up kids). I really liked the main guy, I think he’s funny and charismatic. He’s a pervert at times but Imma forgive that cuz of the 90′s. Idk it’s just a really fun anime that I don’t have to take seriously and can just watch and enjoy.

5. Mob Psycho 100 (season 1 AND 2)

Imma put season two as slightly better than season one. So season one would be like a 9 and season two is like a 9.25 for me. Super super funny anime and I like it SO much more than One Punch Man. I liked that there was a good balance of serious moments, but you can definitely still count this anime as a comedy. I’m typically not the type to watch “comedy” but this anime genuinely had me laughing out loud, while also crying and freaking out right alongside the main character. The main guy is super great because he’s just this shy and sweet middle schooler, and it’s really interesting watching him balance trynna have a normal life while also using his powers for good and such. Apparently the anime was decently faithful to the manga and there’s apparently enough material for a third season so I’d be pretty stoked for a season 3, but season 2 ended on a pretty good spot and was satisfying. TBH, if I had the time, I’d probably rewatch both seasons and bump it up to a 10/10.

6. Vinland Saga

This anime is just the first season of what I hopes to be a whole series that will be stay beautifully and faithfully adapted from the manga. As someone who read very far into the manga (but quit like years ago simply because I hate slow updates lol), I actually didn’t enjoy watching the anime at first. I was impatient and kept waiting for when like the “major” events would happen. So I watched like three episodes and quit. But when I had some free time, I decided to get stuck in and commit to watching the whole series and I was so pleasantly surprised with just how good it was. I was impatient but I needed to realize that there is no “filler” or like “wasted time” in the entire anime. I hadn’t read the manga in years, so so many things were only vaguely familiar but I think this helped me stay surprised and excited throughout the anime. I’m looking forward to the rest of the manga being adapted because it’s just a good Viking saga lolol. Major themes of stuff like growing up, violence vs. peace, what it means to be a good person, etc. Lots of blood and LOTS of violence like a LOT they are VIKINGS CMON but tbh not really any gore which I liked cuz gore makes me ughhhh. A very good watch and only a taste of an excellent story.

7. Demon Slayer

It’s just Demon Slayer duhhh. Of course this a 9/10 for me. I don’t wanna write much just cuz the show is so popular. Just read a REAL review of this anime somewhere else lmaoooo. Also yes I did watch the movie in theaters and yes I liked it a lot as well mmkay. I’m mad hype for season two. My S/O doesn’t like Demon Slayer as much as me, but also has Hunter x Hunter as their all time favorite anime. Do with that information what you will lolol.

8. Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2

Same shit as Demon Slayer. Just go read someone else’s review about why it’s so good lol. Also, unlike Mob Psycho 100, I can’t include all of the seasons in this, because I have very various opinions about how good/bad the other seasons were. But this season 3 part 2, was just plain and simply amazing. While I might not like each season equally, as a whole Attack on Titan is also a modern masterpiece of storytelling. Read the manga if you can.

9. Great Pretender

I love this anime so much. Such a good and fun wild ride. The whole show is ridiculous but in a fun way. I’m a HUGE fan of heist films, so of course I absolutely enjoyed a heist anime. I’ve watched this show in sub AND dub, due to the fact that everyone is “technically” speaking English the entire time. If you’re a purist, just watch in sub OR dub cuz I did get confused here and there, especially when I would go back to compare language discrepancies.  Because basically I did this super high maintenance thing where I switched back to Japanese whenever the main character had flashbacks, since he’s ya know, Japanese. The dub also has this confusing thing where the first five minutes or so are still in Japanese, but switches to English when a little cue card on the screen goes “For the Viewers sake, everything from now on will be translated to Japanese.” It’s cuz in the sub, the inverse obviously happens where the characters are initially speaking broken English to each other, but for convenience sake, everything from that point on will be in Japanese. It’s confusing at first but I liked it cuz it just proved the whole international vibe of the show. It’s funny either sub or dub when they joke about how bad the main guy speaks English, cuz in the dub he’s speaking perfect English, while the sub has him not speaking English at all. But anyway, great anime that WOULD have gotten a 10/10 if not for the last episode. Like without spoiling ... WTF WAS THAT LMAOOOO. The anime as a whole is super wacky and zany but at least I could try to think it’s real life, but that last episode was just so unbelievable and bizarre and pulled my suspension of disbelief into the STRATOSPHERE that I just had to convince myself that this show takes place in some improbable alternate reality where something like what happened in the last episode is at least 5 percent possible CUZ HOW DID ANY OF THAT WORK LMAOOO??? Once again, great show, one of my absolute favorites, BUT THAT ENDING THOUGH WTF.

10. BNA

Good super underrated anime that I don’t hear people talk about at all. If Beastars is anime Zootopia, then BNA is Disney Beastars lmaooo does that make sense? It’s a lot more fun and zany than Beastars and I liked it way more. Made by the same people who made Kill la Kill. I really like that more classic, animated “cheap” art style that the anime has, and I also really liked the plot of the story. Not a 10/10 cuz the show does leave a few unanswered questions at the end of it, but this show was such a fun and interesting ride. When I finished the last episode, I was left with a big smile on my face because I just genuinely enjoyed this anime. Recommended if you wanna watch something a little unique and more on the silly and wack side. Talks about some serious stuff, but luckily the show never takes itself TOO seriously, and remains overall lighthearted for a fun action/sci-fi show.

#bna #attack on titan #parasyte #anime review #myanimelist #great pretender #demon slayer #vinland saga #mob psycho 100 #anime #fullmetal alchemist #terror in resonance #magic kaito

[tossawary]

How do you prepare for a writing session? I have a terrible time focusing on anything and would love some pointers

My focus has been all over the place lately, but, ahhh, here are a bunch of things that help me personally focus on getting that WIP done: 

- Deadlines. Deadlines make me focus like nothing else. If I allowed myself to officially say that my update day needed to be Thursday this week instead of Wednesday, the chapter would come late on Thursday. Having an official update day of the week helps me pace myself. 

(Having that day of the week not be a weekend day lets me actually relax and enjoy my weekend, which helps me recharge.) 

- Outlines. Having an outline to follow makes it easier to write a lot all at once or to pick up where I left off if I’m writing in bursts. My outlines are a mess of point-form notes with all the plot and character moments I think I need to hit. Sometimes they’re snippets of nice-sounding dialogue and sometimes they’re things like, “Shang Qinghua says something here that reminds the audience of the existence of X plot detail coming up shortly.” 

Or: “- Shang Qinghua does Y action. - Mobei-Jun is amused.” 

I can dig up one of my outlines for a PINTWILF chapter. I have nearly all of them still, I think. Some of them have very detailed outlines and then some of them were super vague, like, “I HAVE A VISION, LET’S GO BEFORE I LOSE IT.” 

I have a notes document with the outlines and a document that I’m actually writing in. Sometimes, I’ll have the side by side on my screen, with the notes document on my left, so I can glance between the two as I write. 

(When I do this, I keep a third window hidden, which contains my music tabs and my thesaurus tabs and my distraction tabs. If I can’t see it, it helps.) 

Sometimes, if I want one big window, I’ll copy-paste the outline into my writing document, underneath the in-progress writing, separated by a “CONTINUE HERE”. The point-form notes come up one by one, and I delete the point-form notes as I hit them until the copy-pasted outline is gone. 

- If your eyes are slipping over the words, change the font and the font size. A large, dyslexic-friendly font like Comic Sans is usually good. Switching fonts is also good for spell-checking. 

Shorter paragraphs can also make things seem snappier and catch my eyes better. They can also reveal the beats (plot, character, tension, etc.) of a scene. Once your bones are made clear, you can always go back in and rejoin paragraphs, or elaborate on the beats that need it. 

- Honestly, just having massive chunks of free time (yay, being confined to my house) is what has allowed me to write this much. When I have errands or chores or tasks, I try to get them over with before I start writing, because constantly thinking “I need to remember to pay that bill after this” is a focus-breaker. It’s easier to just do it now so I don’t forget later. 

Work is left at work! So fun writing time can be fun writing time only! 

If I’m hungry or thirsty or need to use the bathroom, I just get up and go do that. Being hungry or thirsty makes my brain uncooperative. It needs energy to do its thing! Get up, solve the body’s problem, take the opportunity to stretch, and then my focus isn’t constantly divided by thinking, “I’m hungry.” Meals and other needs shouldn’t be withheld as rewards! They’re needed for writing! 

If my feet are cold, I go get socks. One more distraction eliminated! 

On a similar note, sometimes I can’t focus because I feel like I haven’t “accomplished enough” of other things and it feels like I have other things I should be doing. Taking a walk, cooking a meal (or a treat!), or getting a task or chore out of the way can help with that. I have Accomplished Something and now I can write freely! 

- Give myself permission to just GET IT DONE and then go back and improve upon it later is a huge help. My writing doesn’t have to be pretty. I don’t have to get it right on the first try. I can go back and make it nice later. 

If it’s feeling a little flat, I can come back later and tone it up. 

If it’s feeling a little too much, I can come back later and tone it down. 

I also don’t have to go back and make it nice later. Projects can be imperfect. 

Likewise, it’s good to give myself permission to be direct when I’m writing. “Oh, damn, I need Shang Qinghua to cross the room here,” I’ll say, and it feels like I’ve hit a dead end. How do I write that transition? I write: “Shang Qinghua crossed the room.” Done! Stage directions don’t have to be fancy! 

Maybe I’ll add an adverb later on the second pass, but dialogue can convey that he crossed the room carefully (“Are you... okay?”) or angrily (“What is wrong with you?!”) well enough. 

I’m also allowed to just use “said”. Sometimes less is more! 

- I’m only “allowed” to post one WIP to AO3 at a time. That also helps. 

If you have other WIPs that feel like they’re dragged you down, you can just mark them as “incomplete” or “on hiatus”. Feeling accountable to others helps me write, but it also helps to remind myself I don’t “owe” my time or effort to any project if I’m not feeling it right now. People might be disappointed that I’m not writing what they want or that I even have to backtrack on a promise, but their disappointment isn’t really my problem. I’m allowed to change my mind. 

Sometimes ideas have limits. Some ideas can become feature-length films and some ideas can become 6-hour mini-series and some ideas are only really worth about a short film (unless you bring in more characters and themes and sub-plots, etc). Sometimes, you have to get the writing version of a seam-ripper, figure out what you’re not vibing with, and come back with more characters and themes and sub-plots to make an idea vibe with you again. 

And sometimes it’s good to follow Marie Kondo’s example and go, “You know what? This unfinished fic taught me that I do not enjoy writing fics like this.” Or: “This unfinished fic taught me that I do not vibe with this idea.” 

- Sometimes, music is more distracting than anything else, especially when I’m writing dialogue. I’ll turn music off when I need to “hear” the dialogue better. Listening to ambience mix style stuff that goes on for hours can help set the mood and also means I’m not distracted by constantly picking new music. 

- Sometimes I wear specific outfits or change into a different outfit when I want to be in a better mood for writing. Usually into a more comfortable outfit. (But sometimes there’s a scene that calls to be written by an author wearing a fancy dress! However, I find very fancy outfits are for very rare occasions.) 

Brushing my hair or brushing my teeth before a writing sessions can help me feel refreshed. Sometimes I shower before my writing sessions. I find it relaxing to feel clean. Changing bedsheets or rearranging the couch to my liking can help too. Sometimes, I channel the energy of a bird picking at my nest and fluffing my feathers, for the Best Environment and Best Look! These cleaning behaviors are important for attracting mates and all the jazz, but they’re also good for attracting personal happiness and good writing vibes. 

- Rereading comments before a writing session can help me feel pumped. 

I answer comments or asks in bunches because most often I prefer to direct my energy towards my writing sessions. I love the comments and the asks! So much that sometimes I want to hoard them forever! But sometimes I need to set them aside so that I can keep making the writing I enjoy. 

Sometimes it can be distracting, though. 

- Okay! I think that’s everything off the top of my head! Key points for me: 

Time! 

Preparation! 

Comfort! 

Environment! 

Different techniques will work differently for different people, of course. Sometimes, these techniques work very well for me and sometimes I just get more distracted. Oh, last thing is something I’m bad at, but: if it feels like I really need to sleep, I probably really need to sleep. Naps are my friend. 

So are break weeks. Recharging is good. 

#marichromatic #ask tossawary

[ka-writes]

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Notes: I am posting every week now.. :/ <3 also sorry it’s shorter than usual, I did it within a day instead of a full week.

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Incase you missed:

Chapter 1:

Chapter 8:

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Inspired by:

Humans are Space Velociraptors

By:FreshRoses_InMyGarden_NeedTheRain

Some kids come from storks, others come from crashed spaceships

By: mmmajora

Home Again, Home Again

By: teeth_eater

All works can be found on Ao3

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Ao3 link:

Other fic:

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Warning: cussing, lots of pain, panic attack, mentions of blood.

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Chapter 9: Lost.

——————

What the fuck just happened?!

That was the only question racing through Tommy’s mind.

One moment he was finally drifting into a peaceful sleep, the next one of the crew members was getting him and Tubbo up and ushered them out of the ship. Now they were on an unknown planet attempting to gain any energy possible.

Once he finally blinked his tired eyes open, he looked at the surrounding terrain. They were in the middle of a field at night. Stars were the only thing lighting their patch of land. Soft flowers and grass flowed easily with the small chilly breeze. A forest was to their left, an ocean to their right. Both leaving conflicting peaceful aromas mixed with flowers and a crisp breeze. Behind them were huge cliffs blocking and hope of going that way. Leaving the only option to head to a town that lay ahead of them.

After he surveyed the environment he turned to his partner, who was currently sitting on the ground, presumably to read the land through the plants.

That was an interesting ability to find out. One night he found the droneling sitting next to a small plant, Dream had left, talking about what the others were doing. If Tubbo was connected to a plant his senses were tripled and he was even able to echolocate if other plants were connected to the one he was using. His eyesight was very poor in the dark leaving the crew to have to make night vision goggles, making him look even more like a bee. Sadly that was left on the ship along with the rest of their gear. All of which was Dream’s and only his.

“From what I am seeing there is a village ahead.” Tubbo gestured towards the plain in front of them.

“Affirmative.”

“We head there then. I will either have to crawl or hold on to you.”

“It would be better if I led you. You wouldn’t look as stupid then.” Tommy playfully responded, receiving a small sting from his counterpart’s nail. “I am just joking! You look stupid either way.” A hoofed foot kicked Tommy’s shin, and with that they headed towards the warm glow.

——————

“Dammit George!” Sapnap yelled into the pitiful night, which still felt like day in the busy port city.

“Language! And yes I am very mad at his actions too.” Bad added, which was unnecessary but only furthered the other’s rage.

The blazeling started fuming. His eyes turned into orange embers and smoke escaped out of his mouth, which only furthered as his fangs doubled in size revealing a glowing orange at the back of his throat.

The other shook his head and pulled the other into a tight hug. It was as if all pent up rage vanished, leaving only hurt and betrayal in his mind.

After a few hours of sitting at the end of the dock looking into the vastness of space, the pair got up and looked for new job opportunities, hoping to find at least one.

They wandered from place to place, before finally landing in a small bakery.

Even after four months of living a relatively normal life they felt lost within its seams.

Eventually Bad found a partner and became head manager of the small bakery, finally weaving himself into the domestic lifestyle.

As for Sapnap?

He was lost. Guilty, hurt, and cold to the world. He pondered on the thought of what he could’ve done differently so he wasn’t just discarded when his ex-best friend claimed to not need him.

His endless drifting led him to a casino. He met his fiancés who turned from fury to concern quickly after they noticed his disheveled appearance.

Only after the trio was reunited for three months did he let down his wall. It took two more months to confess to everything.

Surprisingly, they didn’t leave him to be lost again. They helped weave his story back into society, and he was found.

——————

“George…. Not Found.” A computer voice rang through the cabin for the twentieth time.

The captain pressed the code again, switching it mindlessly to another planet. His patience no longer there.

“George…. Not Found.” The captain’s hand punched the monitor, “ERROR” static filled the cabin and blood tainted the deathly clean smell.

He mindlessly walked through the halls and switched on a small illusion box and watched the ISF news for the hundredth time. Hoping that there was an update on the human’s whereabouts. And for the hundredth time no news was reported.

——————

They finally made it to the edge of the town. Slipping down a small alley they scanned the area.

Odd.. why weren’t the signs written in common? That was a law everywhere, it made it so much easier for people to understand the purpose of shops.

The lamps also seemed dated, and the buildings were a different kind of structure than what most towns used.

There were also strange illusions, they only moved within the confinement of the screen.

Tubbo turned to the human who stood shell shocked.

He turned his head to what his partner was staring at.

It was a human.

What the hell??

Tubbo started falling in on himself. His brain became a static escape. Tommy turned to the now panicking droneling.

The other human noticed the commotion.

They started walking towards the pair, which only led Tubbo into a more panicked mindset.

After a minute the world spun to a stop and he woke up in an unknown room, a human sitting beside him anxious beyond belief.

——————

They certainly weren’t expecting to find two teenage starlings panicking in an alleyway, on their nightly walk.

It started off wonderfully. The night was crisp and the colony was flourishing.

No one knew of the colony’s whereabouts and even few knew it existed.

Eret the monarch of the first non Earthian colony. It was full of refugees, most of which being humans, few having other heritage.

He usually took a patrol every night. Checking in on new colonists and shops. Reviewing stock supplies, and any suggestions from the colonists.

Most of the time nothing happened. But this time two starlings that have been circling the news for sometime wandered into an alley, luckily they were found by none other than the monarch of this land.

He was stressed to say the least. They were supposed to be under the care of two of the most well known ships on this side of the galaxy. Both of which had declared war on eachother.

On one end if he took them to the Dream Team ship, he would most likely be unscathed when it came to confrontation from the ISF. Yet they would know of the location of the colony and probably would attack him sooner or later.

On the other end, he would be handing off two starlings to the biggest pirates in the galaxy. Meaning they would have no obligation to keep the colony a secret if it benefited them.

She made the decision to talk to the two in the morning, when all of them are less lost when it comes to plans.

——————

The news struck all of the crew in the heart.

Two starlings were reported missing. Both said to be returned to the Dream Team ship.

None of them knew whether to be ecstatic or terrified.

Either one. The pair had figured out a way to escape, or two they were dead. Both are plausible when it comes to what Dream could’ve done.

Either way, tears streamed down all of their faces for the first time in months.

——————

There was one thing Tommy was sure of.

They were lost, within the vastness of space and had barely any hope to return Tubbo home.

Instead of taking the time to sleep, he voted to sit by the window and watch the town end nightly activities and start on morning routines.

He was tired, sure. But for the past six months he couldn’t find it in him to sleep. When he did it was dreamless and empty. Furious voices yelling at him for things he had done in both present and past. It was unbearably lonely and more often than not he got lost within the confines of his mind.

So instead he sat by a window, resting his head in his arms and staring at the people moving past shops and such. He matched stories with faces and entertained the idea that many of them had much worse lives than him. Or that they had better lives than he had ever known.

There was a pang in his chest, as he watched siblings walk through the streets carefree and happy.

His tears fell silently as he stared at the scenes.

He told many stories to himself that night.

He got no sleep.

And the galaxy’s pain crashed down on him.

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Chapter 9-End

Words: 1497

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Everyone be lost.

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Remember to go take care of yourself! Also likes are appreciated but reblogs are better!!

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Chapter 10:

#dream smp fanfiction #my fanfic tag #my writing #tommy mcyt #wilbur soot #philza #ranboo #reblog #sbi au #space au #dream mcyt #eret #technoblade #georgenotfound #computer lady #humans are space orcs #captain puffy #sapnap #karl jacobs #quackity #badboyhalo #pain #tubbo

[animebw]

So Rebuilds, Huh?

For those of you just joining me, welcome! I’m The Anime Binge-Watcher, a blog dedicated to be binge-watching anime and analyzing it for your enjoyment. You’ve sadly caught this blog in its final days; I’ve only got a couple more things lined up before I retire (mostly; I’ll still be doing regular One Piece reading updates and occasional shorter reviews). But if you’d like to join me for the final stretch regardless, then come on board!

So, the Evangelion Rebuilds.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of my favorite works of fiction ever. It’s a raw, primal scream from the depths of humanity, all its ugliness and beauty woven together into a single tale of finding self-love in the midst of the apocalypse. Asuka is straight-up my favorite fictional character ever; I have never related so deeply, so empathetically, to any other character. I’ve watched it three times, and every time I find new things to love about it. Even two decades later, it’s still as vital, powerful, and transcendent as when it was first released. You can read my re-watch here if you want my more complete thoughts on the show as a whole.

I’ve been holding out on watching the Rebuilds until the final film’s release, so now that it’s finally out, it’s finally time for me to check them out! I’m not going in entirely blind; I’ve picked up a fair deal of spoilers over the years of waiting. That said, I was also spoiled on a lot of the original Evangelion (and End of Eva) before I watched it, and I still ended up loving it, so knowing a bit of what’s to come in the Rebuilds shouldn’t be a problem. Here’s what I know so far:

Rebuild 1.11: Mostly a shot-for-shot remake of the first six episodes.

Rebuild 2.22: There’s a new character called Maki who’s fairly divisive. Fanservice exists (ugh). Asuka has a different last name for some reason. The finale goes full Gurren Lagann.

Rebuild 3.33: Easily the most controversial of the four. Shit goes very off the rails. There’s a timeskip. Asuka has an eyepath now. Kaworu gets to be an actual character instead of a plot device. 10/10 gay piano scenes.

Rebuild 3.0 + 1.0: Mercifully, I’m still basically unspoiled on this one. All I know is that there’s some live action footage at some point, and- in a first for Evangelion- basically everyone agrees it’s a great ending that makes the franchise feel complete.

Don’t spoil me on anything else! Let me experience these movies as blind as possible. Evangelion is so important to me, and I can’t wait to discover how Anno decided to retell this story. Expect my thoughts on the first film later today; thank you all, and I’ll see you soon!

#anime #the anime binge-watcher #tabw #neon genesis evangelion #neon genesis evangelion rebuild #nge #evangelion #eva #eva rebuild

[kaypeace21]

i’m a survivor too, and i found that certain scenes/stuff will said just really struck me as ‘csa-survivor’-like? i felt a bit uncomfortable about headcanoning it happening to someone else, especially for a fandom as wild as this one, but your metas have really been a comfort to me because they’ve been able to pick out and explain things that i couldn’t necessarily find the words for myself.

and yeah, i would love to have a character like me that is powerful and who finds love and who gets a happy ending. the people who call the theory disgusting always kinda hit wrong with me because although csa is a difficult subject, we shouldn’t be ashamed about sharing it. they sound like they’re trying to say that it’s a bad topic to talk about and implying that it can’t happen to kids, which uhhhhh-

(i’m sure that’s not what they mean, precisely, but it’s still what they sound like, and i wish that they would stop implying that we can’t exist, especially in popular media. we do, and i’m not gonna pretend we don’t, and if they feel uncomfortable with the topic they can just use the block button. we deserve to have some well written representation just as much as anyone else. also, i really really hope that will gets a happy ending.)

anywayyyy i love your theories and i can see your post in the tag so i think you’re fine?? have a good day ❤️❤️❤️

SORRY, this ask took so long to respond to. It always warms my heart to hear other survivors speak and say they found comfort in my theory.

Yes, I think I and a lot of c*a/r*pe victims (subconscious or otherwise) were triggered by some of the symbolism/visuals in s1-3. And s3 made it hard for most of us to ignore the past imagery- since s3 wasn’t as subtle.

I get why people have reservations about the theory. But the debates to the contrary are usually just plain offensive. Or people trying to be respectful but being the opposite. There’s the obvious bad-apples . I got many anons after part 1 of my DID theory saying it “ruined/tainted byler”, and “if that happened to Will i’ll stop shipping byler” , or that it  “ruins the best gay character” ,  and to “remove the post immediately”. And this was when I was open about being a gay c*a victim. I obviously blocked them. Many survivors don’t come forward because they’re afraid people will see them as “tainted”, “ruined”, “ just their trauma”, or blame them for what happened. So yeah, it pisses me off when people say similar stuff about Will (and thus other c*a victims). Not even diving into the messed up psychology about byler/mileven shippers (knowing i was a lesbian c*a victim) but purposely spreading bs rumors about me being a p*do that was into Will/Noah-all because of the theory. -_-

Then there’s the people who try to be “respectful” but literally do the opposite.

I’ve heard numerous times it’s somehow “less offensive” to just use r*pe imagery to make monsters scary. Rather than have  the monsters have that imagery cause Will created the monsters from his memory/imagination-and st is a story of Will healing from that trauma. SORRY- I disagree. Using the worst experiences of peoples’ lives (and triggering their trauma) for no real purpose- except to make their monsters scarier to the normal/general audience who haven’t gone through it so won’t be triggered like us - is MORE OFFENSIVE to victims! NOT LESS! At least to me.

Then there’s the people who say “c*a should never be talked about (in stories).” Which I disagree with. V*ctims have already been told by ab*ser’s  and enablers of the ab*ser- to never talk about what happened to us  . So it rubs A LOT of us the wrong way when people say this.  Because (subconscious or not) you remind some of us of the people who used to hurt/silence us. People say this -simply for their convenience (like ab*sers) and cause deep down they’re uncomfortable with our existence and equate the despicable act to us the innocent v*ctim ...or just want to deny the horrible reality of the situation (like many enablers who deny the truth and hurt us because they don’t want to accept reality) . And 1) It brings us back to a time where they told us to NEVER talk about it- and makes us feel like we did something wrong when we didn’t! 2) Every psych professional says with-holding/keeping the ab*se a secret is detrimental to our mental health.

Plus, there’s a HUGE difference between sugarcoating/minimizing trauma or WORSE glamorizing, condoning, or romanticizing C*A in stories (ex: pretty little liars) VS showing how the action is wrong, causes trauma, but showing recovery and happiness is still possible for v*ctims.  if the story shows how accurately traumatizing it is (instead of minimizing/glamorizing it)- it’s incredibly rare for that character to get a happy ending. Having a story about recovering from that type of trauma and finding happiness despite such hardships would be amazing for US survivors! We rarely get stories with a happy ending-  it’s more harmful to us survivors to never see ourselves get happy endings in tv/film/books. How can some survivors (in a dark place) think there’s a light at the end of the tunnel- if it’s never shown?Also if Will has DID too- it’s good mental health rep, along with queer rep (and survivor’s rep.) All 3 groups rarely are treated well or get happy endings in media. A lot of people may feel more heard, seen, and a bit more hopeful for the future - If Will (and other characters) get a happy ending.

And even though st has many themes- like say homophobia. To try and hand-wave all the disturbing  r*pe imagery away  as ‘Will is just gay so the monsters are like that”. IS SOOOOOO offensive. Trigger warning for examples. I’m sorry what part of Max saying when Billy had c*nsensual s*x it’s “good screams” but when possessed by the mf he causes Heather to do “bad screams” read as gay???! Having the possessed ch*ke/dr*g people before throwing them in trunks (like it’s implied Lonnie did to Will -since Jonathan checked Lonnie’s trunk for Will in s1)?Tying their arms and legs up/ g*ging  them and  getting on top of them and saying “stay VERY still it’ll all be over soon”-before a monster shoves it’s tentacle into someone’s mouth and inserts a goo - just gay??? Similar to the sentient vine/shadow monster forcing itself down Will’s throat. Let alone Will saying things like “he made me do it”, “i felt it everywhere”, or being tied to a bed and screaming “help! stop! it hurts! let me go!” While Jonathan is the only one who’s visibly triggered by this and has to literally turn away and hug someone . Or barb, billy, and El spiting up a white liquid from their mouth (similar to will spitting up a slug and lying to his mother about it ).El/billy touching a suspicious looking slime with their hand and looking at the substance confused . El drawing Papa with 3 legs (the middle one being shorter) ,  trying to undress in front of the boys , and Benny saying “I think she’s been ab*sed or something”.The theme of ab*sive dads- brenner , Lonnie, and Neil . Even when the demogorgan (called in d&d the “deep father”/ in the show “a man without a face”) attacked Barb it’s chopped up with scenes of Nancy having c*nsensual sex (the monsters are doing the opposite symbolically). There’s way more examples but NO- to try and hand wave /equate ALL OF THIS to just “gay imagery” or an “a*ds metaphor” is WAY more problematic. And just offensive (specifically to gay people) than just admitting what it may actually represent. R*pe imagery and gay imagery is NOT THE SAME THING!

Also ST has never been a kid show- maybe rewatch the show and see the rating of tv-14 . Goodness sake- s1 has a st*ged su*icde, k*dnappings, m*rder, discussions of physics, h*mophobia, and s*x (with stancy in s1 & jancy in s2-s3). S2/3 discuss at their finalies recovering from tra*ma . S2 had gra*ic de*ths,  a man causing a women br*in damage/ and faking her m*scarriage, and a gang of vigalantes k*lling criminals. s3 had critiques on capitalism /media/s*xism, many d*eaths, and questionable imagery like the prior seasons. The Duffers constantly reference  movies & events from the 80s (capitalizing on 80s nostalgia /subverting 80s motifs that middle age people  from that time remember)! Those people were their intended age demographic . Most 80s centric refs go over most kids’ heads (heck a lot went over my head too since I wasn’t alive in the 80s XD).The Duffers even said in the book “worlds turned upsidedown”  “it’s not a kid’s show despite having kids”. And maybe it’s a coincidence but when Lucas in s3 hands Will the “devil’s baby” firework (a hint about Lonnie) he says “18 and over only.” Which idk is a weird/random af line unless it’s foreshadowing that the show will get darker about various themes- and maybe even change ratings.

I get people wishing nothing bad ever happened to Will or Jonathan. And being apprehensive and not trusting the Duffers to do such a story justice (cause it’s difficult to do). But personally i trust them to do so tastefully with tact and not be exp*itative, (overly gr*fic) or offensive to v*ctims. You can disagree and think the show is about something else (or not trust the Duffers)- but it’d be great if people could stop using these other messed up talking points. While trying to appear ‘(fake) woke’ and like they care for victims- cause we see through it that you really don’t.

Have a lovely day anon ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

Update- I just really agreed with and appreciate the tags in this reblog

#tw: csa #tw:r*pe

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Bad Batch Season 1 Review

Overall, I give this season a 7/10. Out of all the Star Wars shows that I’ve seen, this is definitely weakest so far. However, this is only season 1 and as I recall, Rebels and Clone Wars didn’t start off that strong either. In fact, season 1 Ahsoka was very annoying but she got better as the show went on. I hope The Bad Batch is the same way.

Personally, I did enjoy this show. There are some really great things about this show, which I will discuss. On the other hand, my criticisms are pretty big and I hope the second season does a better job with handling them.

What I loved: 

The animation is absolutely stunning. Some of the backgrounds looked real and were gorgeous to look at. The expressions on the characters were so detailed and I really enjoyed the attention to detail. Although some of the character models need work, I still loved the designs. Cad Bane probably was the best updated character model. Yes, his hat needs to be larger, but I loved how detailed his face was with all the scars. This was really crisp animation and it was awesome.

The music was beautiful to listen to. The Kiner brothers are amazing composers. I really enjoyed the soundtrack. Star Wars has always had epic music, no matter what movie or show you’re watching. My favorite track has got to be “The Bounty Hunter is Back.” Hearing the western theme while Cad Bane made his grand entrance was epic! I love how he finally got his own theme song. The final episode’s music tugged at my heartstrings. This is the end of the clones and the music tells us that.

The voice acting is superb. Dee Bradley Baker is so talented and I have no idea how he does it. He’s voicing 5 main characters who all have slightly different accents. To add to that, he has to portray a lot of emotions while being two different characters at the same time. How he always hits the emotional moments or doesn’t forget which voice to use is amazing. I loved Michelle Ang’s work as Omega. She does a great job portraying her and her voice is very unique. And yes, Corey Burton as Cad Bane and Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand were awesome. 

I also really loved the parallels to other characters like Kallus and the action sequences. There are some really thrilling moments in this show. Cad Bane’s standoff with Hunter was amazing and visually stunning. Our space cowboy finally got his big western moment. Now, we need the Boba Fett standoff and it’ll be perfect. 

The cameos were fun as well. Seeing Cad Bane and Cut again were great. Young Fennec and Hera were also enjoyable. We see where they began their journeys and I’m here for it. I also like how the cameos weren’t just for fan service but tied into the story. We know now how Rex and Gregor found each other. Cad Bane and Hera were probably my favorites out of all the cameos.

As for the Bad Batch themselves, I did enjoy watching them. Omega is great addition and Crosshair worked his way into my heart. What can I say, I love tragic villains. 

What I didn’t like:

Now, for my criticisms. I still love the show but it isn’t perfect.

I feel like this show is unfocused with its plot. When it’s allowed to explore the main story like with Omega’s purpose and Crosshair, the show is at its best. However, the filler episodes do get in the way and don’t offer much except for fun side quests. I think if they cut a few of the filler episodes or rewrote them to develop the characters, then they would have worked. However, as they stand right now, they do drag the show a bit. The plot, from what I gathered, is the Batch trying to survive in a changing galaxy. However, I wish they showed more of the Batch struggling to fit in. I wish we saw more of the Empire’s presence affect things. The Batch seem to be doing just fine for most of the episodes. Perhaps a shorter season with a more focused plot would benefit this show.

Secondly, the character development needs to be worked on. Hunter and Omega got the most followed by Wrecker and Crosshair. Tech and Echo received very little. They touched on Echo’s PTSD and I wish we explored more of that. Seeing how he adjusts to his new life after months of trauma would be great storytelling. I’m glad he at least got to be the focus of one episode. I feel like the filler episodes should have developed the Batch instead of focusing on Omega or Hunter. I hope in season 2, we get more development for the Batch instead of just learning how to be parents. Tech and Echo deserve more. I want to know these characters better but it’s hard when some get left behind.

Finally, Crosshair. He’s still my fave but the show didn’t do him justice. When Crosshair is allowed to be the focus, he really shines and is easily one of the most compelling characters. However, he’s only really in the last few episodes. I definitely think the show should have explored his time with the Empire more. Then, we’d really see what he’s feeling. I think the show did a major disservice by portraying the Batch as if they didn’t care about him. They do, but it’s not shown very well. Hunter especially because he came off as being very uncaring at times. I think Crosshair deserved a lot more. Under his cold exterior, he’s really hurting and still cares for his family. I hope season 2 explores more of his feelings because he clearly feels a lot. The pain of being abandoned is something he feels strongly. I want to see him heal and eventually find his place where he isn’t hurt or forgotten. The Empire doesn’t care and I hope he realizes that. I also think the chip is still in because of his occasional headaches. And I need more scenes with him and Omega. Going forward, I want more Crosshair because he’s such an interesting character. 

Anyways, that’s all folks! I’m looking forward to the second season. I hope that it does fix the problems I mentioned above. See y’all later!

#the bad batch #star wars #the bad batch spoilers #bad batch crosshair #bad batch hunter #bad batch wrecker #bad batch tech #arc trooper echo #omega #Crosshair needs a hug #justiceforcrosshair #dave filoni

[glassprism]

Which version of Point of No Return do you like the best? Original staging, updated tour version, some of the foreign companies like Greece, etc? Side note on the Greece staging, I absolutely adore that staircase for the descent to the lair scene!

Yeah, that staircase descent was pretty cool! And I really liked how they reversed it for ‘Why Have You Brought Me Here’; whereas for the title song it was the Phantom leading Christine down, with that scene it was Christine leading Raoul up.

As for ‘Point of No Return’, I’ll just go over the ones I’ve actually watched.

Original staging - What can I say, it’s the original. It actually took me a bit to get used to, but nowadays I feel it has the right combination of intimacy and sensuality, without going overboard on the latter or doing something that gets rid of the former, something pretty much every version below has trouble with...

2004 film - Close-ups mask the fact that this version is sadly lacking in much actual interaction between the Phantom and Christine, apart from a few moments at the beginning and end. Random cuts to the tango dancers and a disappointing deformity are just the capper. On the other, I like Emmy Rossum’s “conSUME US”.

Las Vegas shortened version - It’s pretty much the original staging, but shorter. A lot shorter. That’s the big flaw with that - of all the songs to cut down, why this one?? - as well as that Christine loses most of her lines and, it feels, her agency and sense of taking control of the song. But it does have an epic chandelier fall.

Restaged tour - Looking back on it, I see what this scene was trying to do. This is definitely ‘Music of the Night’ 2.0, down to the “blindfolding” of Christine and a painful tango between the two. I also enjoy that Christine realizes earlier on that she’s performing with the Phantom, and takes steps to get him caught. Manipulative, dead-set-on-survival Christine is underrated Christine. But the table dancing and staged nature of the scene means little connection between the Phantom and Christine.

Hungarian non-replica - I used to be harder on this version, but having seen worse, I think I’ve lightened up on it. The strip tease is a bit much, and like many non-replicas they occasionally try to make it a bit too sexy, but Christine knowing it’s the Phantom from the start is a nice change, and their interactions have more than enough sensuality.

Polish non-replica - I’m sorry, but all I remember of this version is that Christine unmasks the Phantom before the song is over and nobody does anything. Not even the Phantom! He just keeps singing! Piangi’s dead body literally flops out and everybody is still standing around, too involved in this only vaguely ugly dude’s romantic drama to do anything! Thank God for the one policeman with the sense to do as he was actually told and fire, otherwise we might still be stuck in that scene.

Czech non-replica - I appreciate how much of the dinnerware gets hurled off the table by the end of this scene, but otherwise, yeah, wow, this is probably the definition of “too sexy”. I get it, trying to beat Hal Prince’s direction is hard, but that’s a lot of groping, even for PONR.

Greece non-replica - For the most part, I liked this. The beginning felt like there was too much distance between the actors, but it was mitigated by how the actors stayed focused on each other and not doing so much extraneous movement, so the result was that it built some excellent tension and, miracle of miracles, did not blow it by doing too much touching and stroking. There was still a fair amount of table action, but no table dancing, thank goodness.

Bulgarian non-replica - I have never seen this version, I am just basing this off these photos. But I want to see it, oh how I want to! Please someone film this E/C fanfic version of PONR where Christine actually (gasp) accepts the ring happily! She even hugs him! Where Raoul, that evil villain, is actually the one to unmask the Phantom! Where the Phantom is not mad, just disappointed, and flees without Christine, leaving her to berate Raoul for being so horribly mean, how COULD you, Raoul??? before presumably going after the Phantom herself. Somebody, send this to me, I need to see it in all its glory.

So my favorite? Bulgaria. No, ha, can you imagine, it’s definitely the original, but Greece is good too, and I kind of liked the ideas the restaged tour had going, even if I hated the execution. So there you have it.

#Anonymous #GP gets asks

[kentonwrites]

Hiemal Update #2

So, I’ve been working on this draft for exactly 3 weeks (2 weeks actually since I was at the beach in between) and my current word count is 20,712. I’m like shearing through it at the speed of light. 

Don’t let that fool you though, there have been some major obstacles along the way. Several times I wasn’t happy with the draft and I would abandon it for a day, just to come back the next. It’s been a productive writing sprint, but not exactly a smooth one. 

In previous renditions of this book, there were 3 parts. I’ve gotten rid of the part system for this draft, but where I’m at now is essentially the end of part 1. Since I’m going to be extremely busy over the next few months, I wanted to finish at this natural stopping point so I can go back and leisurely edit what I’ve written instead of worrying about drafting part 2 just yet (I might get to that during NaNoWriMo!). A few issues I’ve noticed need addressed during my editing phase are:

1. Like always, it’s severely underwritten, scenes are thin, etc. I’m expecting to add at least another 5k to part 1. I know it’s probably going to end up being a shorter novel (70-75k?) but right now I feel like the chapter arcs are too rushed. 

2. There’s one chapter in particular (a flashback) that I am not happy with whatsoever, and I need to make the decision to either cut it and revise the chapters in the present, or just improve the chapter/its place in the narrative. 

3. Cleaning up misc. awkward phrasing/line edit because my first drafts read convoluted as hell.

4. I’m still a little shaky on the protagonist, Torr. I’m pantsing/discovery writing a good bit of this draft, and because of that the personalities of the characters now are sometimes unaligned with how they were in previous drafts. I don’t exactly know if this is a bad thing yet--it could just be because I see how different they are and automatically assume it is. I think Torr is more active now as well as intensely cerebral, and a more compelling protagonist. In my old version a big problem was Torr just existing and reacting to bad things that happened to her. In this version she gets to go out and experience things/make decisions. She feels much more mature, I think. I’m going to keep an eye on her.

Overall I’m content with how it’s gone thus far. I think once I’ve edited part 1 it might end up being one of the best things I’ve ever written, and since I haven’t been involved in writing for such a long time that feels great. It feels so new and different and experimental. 

Excerpts!

From chapter 14, “Smokee the Owlet”

I hadn’t planned to write this at all, it just came out randomly and I love it. It shows spiritually-conflicted Torr at her most unhinged. Content warning for self-harm/cutting.

Over the coming weeks I habitually trespassed the chapel. I returned several commentaries I’d finished, I prostrated before the altar, I replayed the scenario over and over again, modifying my actions until I was the heroine. I prayed to no avail. I prayed aloud to no avail. I held the chalice high above my head and asked God to shatter it at my whim, spritz my hair with glassdust. I paced the aisle reading Wisdom. I paced the chancel reading Van’s textbook. I pried a shard of tinted glass from an alcove and dragged its edge up my ulna and dripped the silvery blood on the podium, like it would rejuvenate the Spirit of God in this place, like the reredos would open a portal to the astral realms of Enoch. Each night I traipsed through the snow toward home, embarrassed beyond belief.

From chapter 17, “The Man in the Window”

This plot-line was never part of any old versions. I completely improvised it and it’s one of my favorite things ever. Torr is blackmailed into visiting the “town hermit,” a disfigured man who lurks in his window. This is a description of what she enters to:

I broke my grasp on the knob and ambled, knees stiff, beneath the entryway. My heart fluttered. The kitchen walls bristled with steel weaponry: maces, flails, morningstars, an enormous battleaxe. A harpoon taller than me mounted across the window. Wicked bludgeons, rusting spears, ulus, pikes, hammers and scythes. A grizzly leghold trap mawed over my head. Blades and serrated arrowheads on each square inch of wallspace. I turned to bolt, heat flushing my face, the safety net gone, plunged into animal fear. He shouted to stop.

“They’re not for you,” he said.

From chapter 18, “What I Did After Reading Matthew 5-7″

This chapter was also never in the plan. It’s formatted as a list, detailing how Torr’s behavior changes for the better (and worse) after reading the famous Sermon on the Mount. 

I shed my coat, my underclothes. Giddy at such an altitude, at such a slant. I sat in the roots and prickling thistles, laid supine, sunlight white on my chest and legs. Light snowfall down the valley; it clung to my lashes. I gazed up at the high blue cirrus, shivering, nauseous with the gravity, then at peace.

And, if that seemed strange, don’t worry--at the end of the chapter:

I asked myself who this person was, the one who thought about Christ and got naked in boreal forests.

See, she’s self-aware!

Lastly, from chapter 19, “Liminal Theologians”

I had an entirely different plan for this chapter from the start. Since the majority of part 1 is Torr off on her own, I wanted part 1 to end showing her relationship with her two friends, Van and Nik, since they’re instrumental in part 2 and especially in part 3. In this chapter they all go down to a bridge, fish, and talk about conspiracies. Unbeknownst to Torr (and me) one of them has brought alcohol. This excerpt is of Torr going on a drunken, TMI rant about her life: 

“I feel like there’s a lot nobody knows about me,” I continued. “I think about a lot of stuff all the time. I do weird things now. Well they’re not weird. They’re beautiful sometimes. I actually don’t know if I believe in God actually. Why am I the only one in the whole world asking the questions? And it’s all buzzing up here in my head and I have no one to share it with and I want to just scream do you know?”

“Torr,” Van said. “You have to stop.”

I’m going to take Van’s advice and stop this update before it gets too long. I hope you enjoyed! I’m not sure when the next update will be but stay tuned!

#writing #write #My writing #writers on tumblr #writing update #hiemal #first draft #excerpt #excerpts #literary #literary fiction #wip #my wip #imagery

[withabackpackandcamera]

July 4th, 2021 Day 9: Ending Our Last Full Day With A VERY Full Day Indeed

We arrived at the streetside parking lot for Geldingadalsgos (based on what I found out from Jeroen, the vent that I was taking photos of isn’t the volcano volcano, but more so a vent of a bigger volcano system; therefore, the vent itself doesn’t have a name, the eruption is called Geldingadalsgos, and the volcanic system is Fagradalsfjall Volcanic System. So, 60 Minutes named it wrong… lol) around 12:15am or so, at which time there were probably somewhere between 20-30 other cars parked. Yup, we didn’t even start hiking until after midnight. Indeed, we were a bit crazy and so was everyone else out there at an ungodly hour. Anyhow, because I got a little bit of rest in the car thanks to Minh’s driving, I was ready to go and see this volcano again.

Unlike the first trip to the volcano on our first day here in Iceland a week ago, this trip was much nicer despite the time of day we hiked. Instead of clear skies with heavy midday sunlight, we arrived as the sun was setting in the colorful orange and pink sky. The skies were darker than expected but the night itself teased us but never actually came in full force. The wind today was calm and collected compared to the violent winds the guys in the group endured last week. And the hike up the mountain was much smoother and easier than the first time up, likely because the authorities had done some fixing up, de-graveling, and repaving of different routes to make it safer for hikers. With conditions being great for hiking (and because I had emptied my camera bag of nonessentials), I made it up the mountainside in about 50 minutes or so, which was much faster than the first time. Cynthia and Minh slowly made their way up behind me since I was rushing to get to the top and they weren’t really into rushing.

Once at the top, I scurried across the ridge and to the same area that I had already hiked to last week, hoping for a good vantage point for some volcano photography. Most of the conditions were great for photography on this early, early morning. The skies were beautifully colored. The weather wasn’t too cold or windy. And the volcano was a little more active today compared to last Saturday. But the conditions weren’t perfect because we were still far from the volcano, the volcano wasn’t spewing out enough lava to make lava rivers that we could see from where we were, and the darkness of the lava field and volcano made it hard to take great landscape photos without the contrasting colors of lava rivers. But I guess that when you’re traveling on a tight schedule and you’re looking to photograph natural phenomena like erupting volcanoes and vents, you just have to make do with the photography conditions you’re presented with and live with the result.

So I just took out my camera and started taking photo after photo after photo of the vent spewing lava. I attempted to take portraits and action shots of the volcano and its activity as well as landscape shots of the volcano in relation to its beautiful surroundings and the gorgeously colorful sky above. I moved to a couple of different spots to try and find different perspectives from which to shoot from but ended up spending most of my time at one location where Cynthia had found a spot to sit and chill.

Throughout our time there, I tried my best to look for Jeroen, the photographer I was communicating with on Instagram. When I had contacted him earlier in the evening to help assess the volcano situation for the evening, he told me that he too was headed to the volcano and that if we spot each other, we should definitely say hi. But unfortunately, I never did catch him there. I later found out that he had hiked way past the point where I had stopped and had made his way over the mountain ridge and to the backside of the valley and lava field, where he discovered lava in action. He found a place to see lava (relatively) close up! So jealous! And that’s the problem with attempting landscape photography on a short schedule… You just don’t have enough time or energy to roam around and scope out areas after a packed trip full of sleep-deprived days. How I wish we could’ve had another whole week in Iceland just to hang out in Reykjavik and follow the volcano live stream until we found the opportunity to leisurely make our way over to photograph the volcano when its activity increases.

We stayed at Geldingadalsgos for quite some time and didn’t actually start heading back to the car until close to 4:00am. Minh and Cynthia went on ahead as I took some time for my last few shots. Once I finished, I ended up basically running down the mountainside and arriving at the split in the hiking route at around 4:15am, at which time I could see the heavy clouds and fog rolling in over the mountains, creating a beautiful, early morning scene. I caught up with Cynthia and Minh shortly after that and by the time we actually turned on the car to leave, it was around 5:00am or so. Yeah, really late and really early… I drove home as everyone crashed in the car and got us all home safely around 5:30-6:00am, at which time we all just crashed, knowing that there was little sleep to be had this morning. Because we had an appointment at 9:00am to get our COVID swabs completed for our flight back home, we slept for a measly 2.75 hours until 8:45am, at which time we had to wake up and jump into the car to drive to our testing site. Luckily, the line and swabs were quick and we were in and out in about 15-20 minutes.

We went home after the swab. The three of us who were out until early this morning were pretty exhausted and groggy. But because it was our last full day in Iceland, Cynthia was determined to make the most of it despite severe sleep deprivation. So instead of taking a nap like Minh did, Cynthia and I joined my parents on a morning walk to explore downtown Reykjavik. We started from our AirBnB located near Klambartun Park and slowly made our way toward Laugavegur, the main street lined with shops and stores that ran through downtown Reykjavik. As we strolled down the quiet street, we spotted a long line in front of a store and decided to take a closer look at what people were waiting for. And it was pastries and baked goods at Sandholt Reykjavik! So we joined the line (though mistakenly, since we waited in the dine-in line before realizing there was a faster, shorter line just for take-out from the bakery) and bought our delicious morning pastries to enjoy outside at a table nearby. And the pastries were delicious! Especially the almond croissant Cynthia bought! SO SO GOOD!

The family sat and enjoyed our pastries and coffee before continuing on our lovely morning stroll through town. We walked around downtown and checked out some stores here and there before turning around to head back toward Hallgrimskirkja to meet up with a rejuvenated Minh. Along the way, I took the family on a detour so that they could see my old flat on Bergstaðastræti. We briefly got lost along the way since I couldn’t remember exactly where it was but we eventually found it after some backtracking.

We met up with Minh at Hallgrimskirkja and took a brief look inside the church before splitting up from mom and dad to meet up with Thorsteinn and his girlfriend Thordis Erla on the other side of downtown at a cute brunch place called The CooCoo’s Nest near the Old Harbour. Along the way there, we stopped by to look in a couple of stores and even ran into an old Stanford buddy, Bryce Kam, and his wife walking around Laugavegur. What a coincidence! We chatted in the streets for a few minutes before we had to bid them farewell so that we could make it to brunch on time.

After a relatively short walk through town to get to the Old Harbour side, we finally arrived at The CooCoo’s Nest and found Thor and Thordis already there waiting for us and for a table to open up. After officially meeting Thordis, we sat outside and started catching up over all sorts of things until it was time to be seated at our table inside. We continued on with our great conversations inside as we ate our delicious brunch (Cynthia and I ordered their Breakfast Burrito and Eggs Florentine, both which were yummy). We had a wonderful two-hour long late brunch with the two of them and shared a ton of great stories and talked about all sorts of topics, from Thor’s and Thordis’ life updates (including buying a house together, Thor getting a new job managing assets and portfolios, Thordis going back to school to study industrial finance after briefly working, Thordis’s previous work life working for Icelandair as a flight attendant) to stories about our trip and our lives in the States during a pandemic. So much fun to catch up after almost five years!

Once we had taken our photos and said farewell to each other, Cynthia and I slowly walked through downtown and made a couple of stops along the way as we headed back to the house while Minh went off on his own to look for Icelandic sweaters to buy. By the time we arrived back at the apartment, there was only 1.5 hours left until our next social gathering with Sveinn Magnússon and Kristin Bragadottir at their house for dinner. OH. MY. GOODNESS. I was so full and so tired by the time we got home that I couldn’t even think about more talking and more eating. We helped do some laundry before Cynthia and I went to lie down and take a quick power nap. Unfortunately, we were woken up soon after we went to bed and rushed out of the house so that we could make it to dinner on time at Sveinn’s. We drove over there, and when we arrived, we were warmly greeted by Sveinn and Kristin before Minh and dad finally showed up after their souvenir-buying stroll. It was such a pleasure to see Sveinn and Kristin again after these busy last 4.5 years!

Sveinn and Kristin welcomed us with open arms into their warm home, one that I have visited every trip I’ve made to Iceland. While waiting for dinner to be prepared, I introduced Sveinn and Kristin to my parents and Cynthia, who they had never met, and we shared stories in the living room while sipping on white wine. It was great to finally introduce everyone to each other after they had all heard stories about each other over the years. We caught up for a while before we were seated at the dining table for a fabulous and delicious dinner spread that included an appetizer of shrimp and cheese salad, mains and sides of baked salmon with a puff pastry top, half-mashed potatoes, and salad, and rhubarb oatmeal pie with vanilla ice cream for dessert. What a yummy treat! Over dinner, we learned so much more about Iceland, past and present, from Sveinn and also learned about Kristin’s journey to her PhD in history and her authorship of several historical books as a result. Always so great to hear about the amazing things they are doing and the amazing knowledge they are always willing to share with us!

After dinner, we continued to sip on more wine while chatting more and looking through family photo books that Sveinn had collected over the years. I learned more specifics about Sveinn Magnusson as a physician. For example, before working at the ministry, he was a general practitioner in Sweden and Iceland and was boarded in Internal Medicine and Family Medicine. He then transitioned to working for the Icelandic government where he served primarily as director general, the second highest ranking civil, nonpolitical official in Iceland who reports directly to the prime minister. And while working at the ministry for 21 years, he served a total number of 16 prime ministers. These days, while not doing government work, Sveinn is primarily on call to do death exams on folks in the community. Every now and then, he is tasked with doing a little more than that. In one instance a few years ago, he was the physician who did the baseline intake physical exams for the group of Greenland boat guys who were involved in the murder of a young Icelandic woman. Crazy! After hearing all sorts of cool and crazy stuff and before we even knew it, it was 9:30pm and time for our exhausted family to bid Sveinn and Kristin farewell and a big thank you for hosting us at their lovely house on our short trip through Iceland.

Before driving home, we briefly stopped by the water so that everyone could check out Sun Voyager Sculpture and the Harpa Concert Hall. After some photos, we were pooped and drained, so we finally drove back home and started the task of packing and tidying up for our trip home. Minh’s energy tank was still holding some gas by this point (probably because of his effective power nap), so he decided to walk around downtown and check things out before hitting the sack. Cynthia decided to go with him to maximize her only full day in Reykjavik but because I was so tired, I stayed in to rest. I helped with laundry and hung out around the house until a bit past midnight, at which time I went to bed shortly before Cynthia and Minh returned home. What a ridiculously packed and exhausting last full day in Iceland! If only I had more time to just chill and do everything over a few days instead of over 36 hours… But at least there is one more half day left to enjoy tomorrow…

5 Things I Learned/Observed Today:

1. Today, tourism is the number one industry supporting the infrastructure and economy of Iceland, surpassing Iceland’s fishing industry. Therefore, when the pandemic hit and set the world on fire, tourism took a huge hit in Iceland and resulted in the crippling of Iceland’s economy. There were huge drops in revenue due to travel restrictions and mandates. But for some Icelanders, it was actually quite nice to have their country all to themselves once again after a decade-long boom in tourism. Local Icelanders got the chance to, once again, experience and enjoy Iceland’s beautiful nature the same way they used to enjoy it before tourists flocked to Iceland. It was now quieter and less crowded and locals could now go to tourist hotspots that they previously avoided due to tourist crowds (like the attractions along the South Ring Road). Icelanders got to travel locally with their families again and spent much of the pandemic just reconnecting with their families and friends. With tourism essentially on pause, it also gave nature time to rest and recover, something that was much needed in Iceland. Funny enough, though, despite everything I wrote above, when the country was open to tourists again, a lot of Icelanders, who are a social breed of people, actually appreciated and welcomed the tourists again. Not only did tourists bring money that was desperately needed into the country’s economy, but they also brought with them interesting conversation topics and new perspectives that helped break up the monotony of Icelanders keeping conversations afloat with people they’ve known their whole lives. During the pandemic, Icelanders actually missed seeing and talking to us tourists! Funny!

2. Thordis informed me that Icelandic weddings typically don’t have wedding parties to accompany the bride and groom to the altar but just have the bride and groom’s fathers present at the altar for their ceremony.

3. Supposedly, until 1974, the many rivers running through Iceland played a major role in travel and exploration in the country. Rivers were one of the major reasons that limited domestic traveling because, at the time, the country lacked a way to cross those rivers. However, around 1974, Iceland was gifted single-laned bridges to bridge them to broader horizons and to expand their previously-limited area for exploration.

4. When the latter half of the year arrives with its darkness, snow, and cold, windy weather, non-city-dwelling people in Iceland sometimes have to take up a secondary job or change the nature of their primary jobs because their work may be limited due to the challenging and harsh weather conditions. For example, if the farmers are growing crops, they can’t really do any of that in the winter. So they, along with other people from the countryside in need of something to do, sometimes volunteer to help in town. Sometimes they volunteer in civil roles and things like firefighting and teaching. Others will just take the down time to fix up their homes and do repairs they didn’t time to get to over the year. If you’re a farmer who raises animals or has animals to deal with, those farmers can continue working but maybe in a different way. Dairy farmers will continue their work with their cows. Sheep farmers will work to feed and breed their sheep after the sheep have been collected from the previously-green-but-now-yellow-and-brown fields where they roamed all summer. They can also start collecting the wool they shave off the sheep to get that side of the business going.

5. It isn’t that farmers don’t grow crops in Iceland because of the poor soil. Rather, they can’t grow successful crop fields because of the variation in the amount of sunlight and relative lack of sunlight during certain parts of the year. However, some manage to grow potatoes or other crops in very environmentally-controlled set-ups like greenhouses.

#withabackpackandcamera #huyphan8990 #travelblog #travel #blog #journal #Iceland #Europe #Geldingadalir #Volcano #Geldingadalsgos #Vents #Hiking #landscape #landscapephotography #eatingwithlocals #Icelanders #travelphotography #Hallgrimskirkja #Harpa #SunVoyager #Sandholt #Stanford #4thofJuly #wanderlust #worldtravels #seeingtheworld #july #2021 #fagradalsfjall

[gaminghardware]

Top Factors To Consider While Buying Gaming Peripherals & Accessories

Gaming Monitor

As mentioned above, your choice of GPU will determine your best monitor setting, or if you put your heart into a gaming monitor, it may dictate your GPU options. See the GPU section above for more information. 

 1) Monitor resolution: Simply put, higher resolution = better image. You need at least 1920 x 1080 (1080p / Full HD). 3840 x 2160 (4K / UHD) provides the sharpest image available for today's monitors. 

 2) Refresh rate: is a measure of how often the monitor image is updated per second, measured in Hertz (Hz). 

 3) Response time: the shorter the response time, the better. It is generally measured in milliseconds (ms). Delayed reaction times cause motion blur when gaming or watching high-resolution action scenes. Almost all modern gaming monitors have a response time of less than 5 ms. 

Ready to Shop? Buy Gaming Monitor

Gaming Mouse

The variety of games you want to play has the most significant impact on the kind of gaming mouse you should buy. 

 If you play real-time strategy or role-playing games (RPG), you may want a gaming mouse with multiple buttons that you can assign macros to. In first-person shooter (FPS) games, you can lean towards a more straightforward mouse.

 1) Sensor - The laser mouse adapts to different surfaces, while the optical mouse is surface sensitive and requires a mouse pad. However, optical mouse tend to be more responsive and reliable but are less portable due to the need for a mouse pad. 

 2) Buttons - For role-playing games, a mouse with lots of programmable buttons is the way to go. You can cast spells smoothly and set macros for a perfect gaming experience. 

 3) Weight: For FPS games, you need a lightweight foam that is easy to move and respond to. Some FPS mice even allow you to adjust the weight to your liking. 

 4) DPI - which stands for "dots per inch," For example, if you move the mouse one inch and its DPI is 1200, that one-inch movement will cause the mouse pointer to move 1200 pixels. For your information average DPI for a mouse is 1600, which is fine for most games, but a higher DPI can concern some FPS players.

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Gaming keyboards

As with gaming mice, the type of games you want to play has a significant impact on the kind of gaming keyboard you need to get. However, unlike gaming mice, 

 1) Membrane vs. Mechanical - Membrane keyboards contain a thin membrane that converts keystrokes into a conductive circuit underneath. Some say they feel "wetter" and calmer. Also, with membrane keyboards, you can only record one keystroke at a specific time, leading to errors. Mechanical keyboards have mechanical switches under each key that tend to be more reliable (and expensive) and have a "click" feel. They are very accurate and customizable if you want to change the keys. 

 2) Keys - For RPG / MMO, you may want to look for keyboards with many macro keys to link actions. Most role-playing keyboards have six to twelve macro keys. Keep in mind that the more extra keys you have, the bigger the keyboard will get. So make sure to have sufficient desk space.

 3) Lighting: If you've chosen PC parts with eye-catching RGB lighting or a unique color scheme for the guts of your PC, you might want a keyboard to match. Functionally lighting is not particularly useful, and RGB lighting will drive up the price. If the flashing isn't your thing, this might be an excellent area to save a little money.

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Gaming Headsets

Gaming headsets are a highly saturated market for gaming peripherals, and they are not all created equal. Here's what to look for: 

 1) Wired or Wireless - Wired gaming headsets don't need charging; wireless headsets do. Wired headphones tend to be cheaper, and wireless headphones of comparable quality cost more and more due to the additional technology required. If a wireless headset is not AptX encoded, streaming sound via Bluetooth may cause a loss of sound quality. 

 2) Comfort - You want something that doesn't give you a headache and isn't too heavy to sit on your head, which can cause neck pain. Things to consider include head pads, memory foam velvet / good quality material for the earmuffs, and adequate (but not too much) holding force for the head. Cheap plastic gaming headphones can creak and create tension that builds up after hours of gaming. 

 3) Microphone - Some headsets have detachable microphones when you are not constantly engaged in voice chat, and you use them instead of regular headphones. You may also want to do some research to make sure the mic is adjustable. Also, if you are using an external microphone, you may not need one. 

 4) Sound quality: Compared to gaming headphones at a comparable price, the headphones almost always have lower sound quality. For FPS / Shooter, you should also consider surround sound for Omnidirectional listening as ambient noise can make the difference between life and death. If you're more into role-playing / MMO games, surround sound may not be that important.

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[rigelmejo]

listening reading method updates

Some updates because I’ve done Listening Reading Method maybe 10-15 hours within the past week and wow is it worth doing (for me) if done properly:

First some notes of what “properly” means for me: It means I’ve done step 2 at some point (since I’m using all books I have at least vague prior context for whether its this past year or in life I’ve seen them before). It means I do step 2 first. Then I do step 3, with parallel text so I keep my place OR do it in Pleco (doing step 3 in Pleco is strangely super effective for me).

So, I’ve been testing my general listening comprehension. How I’ve tested it: listening to some audio file of a chapter I did with L R method, and see if I can understand it better. So no text aid. Also generally some time gap (at least a few days) between when I did L R, and when I listen to test my comprehension.

Limits of test: this is not new material - I have both prior context of the plot, and doing L R method on the material before means I have intensively studied that audio material with L R method at one point. I’m trying to find some ‘totally unknown’ stuff to test with too we’ll see.

Benefits of the test: its easy to compare my progress, because I’ve listened to these audios many times so I know where my ‘comprehension’ of them was at a few months ago. I can more easily compare.

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So anyway, has L R Method helped listening comprehension? YES god oh my god. 

I listened to Chapter 9 of Guardian’s audiobook just falling asleep, because I didn’t feel like full on L R Method the chapter (I have done Listening Reading Method for chapters 1-8). I could understand enough to follow the entire main plot and all the main scenes - a few descriptive sentences lost me, but I got all the action-related (touched reached stood cried shouted left side pocket held objects movement and set phrases priest uses for certain expressions), key emotion related (like sad cold warm kind sharp worried investigated pushed shivered and set phrases I remember priest using for certain expressions) details, and got all of the main dialogue (this part context helps for though since words like reincarnation and sundial are fairly new to me and I only understand since I already ran into them in previous chapters I’ve done L R Method with). 

I was freaking FLOORED I could just listen and enjoy the story, so today I listened to chapter 1 again. And YEP - same thing applied. I could follow all of the main plot, main scenes, and certain details. I totally missed the part where he talks about his aunt/uncle but I heard his bad grades, got the letter for a job notice, how he hates phone calls, his plan to go, him getting to the place, what the place looked like and Wang Zheng and all the scenes at the job - so like I mentioned, actions/emotions/real objects being interacted with I can mostly follow. The paragraphs of description background (like Guo Changcheng’s upbringing and how his uncle got him a job) are harder for me to catch everything - I am guessing because there’s more description phrases and less straightforward action=response. (For example - xiao guo sees Lao Wu, they respond, so its easy to follow, or he sees Wang Zheng and faints, or he walks into the courtyard and reads the address - all of these moments directly focus on things and react which is easier to follow). 

For the first time I can say I can listen to just the audiobook and follow it enough to enjoy the plot and what’s mainly going on without any text aid. And I’ve only done the listening reading method for 8 chapters! That’s 40-50 minutes a chapter, around 360 minutes or 6 hours. 6 hours spent Listening Reading Method Guardian, and I already see a huge boost in what I can comprehend in listening! (I also did some random L R method chapters of other stuff so add 1-2 hours - that’s still like 8 hours total... that ain’t much). 

Last time I listened to guardian audiobook without any text aid (a few months ago), I could hear some words I knew and some phrases, and had a vague understanding of when he got to the job (heard courtyard and si ming hao), met Lao Wu (i heard him report for duty), when he talked to zhao yunlan and got generally welcomed, met Wang Zheng and thought ‘he has no feet’ and got scared. No fucking details. The vaguest impression of the main plot mainly because I’ve read the chapter before and knew the scenes coming. But that was still eons better than Before That - around 6 months ago i listened to chapter 1 like 5 times until i could hear some phrases instead of just isolated words. 

This time, I could follow things because I could HEAR what was actually going on, not just because I heard some keywords. I could clearly hear the details about Guo Changcheng entering the courtyard, reading the address and special investigations name, go up to Lao Wu and report in and Lao Wu greet him warmly and excitedly mention how lucky it is he came today that their boss is there! And fawn over how cool the boss is, and all the specifics of the convo with Zhao Yunlan (and half of his appearance like how he’s handsome and heroic looking and had a hand in his pocket and seemed cold until he noticed them and smiled and acted warm and friendly). And all the scenes were like that - like with Wang Zheng I could hear all the details of Guo Changcheng freaking out, eventually noticing her head had been cut and it wasn’t a necklace it was like sewn on and how he passed out. It was soooo much better ToT. The amount of comprehension is sooooo much higher than the last time I tried to listen! It shocks me how much better! This is enough comprehension to actually listen and just enjoy it. ToT

So yeah, I’d say Listening Reading Method, as I’m doing it right now, is making noticeable improvements in my reading skill and listening skill. 

So yeah I’m super curious how listening comprehension is gonna be 20 chapters into Listening Reading Method. 

What I do think this would be good for, if you were studying short term? If you wanted to understand a specific audiobook - doing L R Method with the book until you can listen to the rest. It would probably take a short enough amount of study to do within a month if you already have some skills in the language (since this is with 6-8 hours of study). I saw someone once do SRS Flashcard study based on a show they liked in a foreign language, and within a month they could watch that show they liked without english subs and follow the main plot. I think L R Method with a novel works kind of similar - its intensive study on one story. So within a reasonably short amount of time (10-50 hours maybe, something that can be done within a month) you can get enough comprehension skill of that One story to understand it ok. 

I imagine you need to do L R Method longer, and with either a word dense material (lots of varied vocab) or else multiple stories (ideally different authors and genres), in order to get broader listening skill improvement. Like right now my listening skill in general seems to have improved somewhat... but its more like ‘listening to a show without subs’ is now easier. Not like I can turn on a brand new audiobook and follow it this well. So some slightly easier listening activity is now easier, but for other audiobooks I am probably comprehending more but the listening skill improvement is NOT as drastic as it is specifically with Guardian. 

Testing listening comprehension with materials I have not L R Method with:

Alice in Wonderland (story is shorter/simpler than novel): I can follow it mostly when listening only. I can follow it near entirely (know exactly what’s going on just a few words I don’t recognize) if I’m looking at the video (since it has pictures for context - like watching a show). My listening comprehension drops noticeably if I do NOT look at the video visuals for an aid - since I am used to Alice in Wonderland hitting the original novel beats, not this shorter movie-based version. This level of comprehension makes sense, as its written simpler than Guardian so I should have an easier time following details in this. But lack of context means I have to put more effort into figuring out what scene is what if I don’t have any visual cues. So easier ‘written’ audiobook material is much more comprehensible now (easier than Guardian even since I know most words), but I still need context like an image or prior awareness of the overall plot or else I need to pay more careful attention to follow everything: https://youtu.be/HqCg5y8Nwhg

Sherlock Holmes 血字的研究: Some benefit just like Alice in Wonderland in that I have broad context (I know Watson and Sherlock live and work together to solve issues, Watson is a verteran and doctor). First 5 minutes I can vaguely tell its probably Watson narrating, that he lives in London, that before he might have been injured (I heard bing like sick or?) - I’m truly not sure what happened, and now after 5 minutes I heard ‘great friend’ and ‘touched shoulder’ and ‘gaoxing’ so happy. So I’m guessing Sherlock and Watson are interacting now. What improvement in my listening comprehension I can Notice - is that words stick out, phrases, and sentence structures (like finally, since, therefore, actions). So I feel if I paused I might be able to look up some words I notice but can’t understand, to follow along better. As the 2 of them have their conversation I can catch SOME details and I could probably follow what’s going on IF I had some prior context (like what the general case is about). But I only hear - its a pity, what happened last night, poor lad, fangzi, destination. So i’m not sure if someone died or was hurt or what happened the other night?? But again, conversations seem to be the easiest part to follow. For this particular audiobook I almost feel like if I just kept consistently listening or re-listening, I could understand more... like I probably know more words than I’m catching, but since my brain’s working on trying to catch the main gist plot right now its not grasping any details I might otherwise be able to notice. No prior context of plot, no image - hard lol. Unlike guardian, I cannot follow most of it. But I can catch bits of each scene, most clear are the dialogue parts (but cause I have no surrounding contexts I’m still pretty lost). Also the clear action parts are easier to follow (he spoke, moved, reacted to something). Mostly the lack of context is what’s making me struggle. In the descriptions I hear a lot phrases and words I recognize, but I’m struggling to comprehend them together. Unfortunately context is mostly in the description parts I can’t figure out lol. https://youtu.be/J1sbP6_3680

I suspect an audio DRAMA might be a little easier now. Since they’re mostly dialogue, and dialogue seems to be what I’m finding the most improvement in (from very vague to some of the clearest comprehended parts). I listened to tian ya ke audiodrama a few days ago and it was doable to follow along with - but that was before more Listening Reading Method, and of course my prior context (having seen the show/read part of the novel) means it was muchhhh easier to follow cause I had enough context to guess which scene each moment was supposed to be - so I didn’t have to figure out overall context, just details. 

#rant #may #may progress #listening reading method #l r method #i'm also hella curious if just listening to guardian audiobook would produce any benefit - perhaps consolidate my skills and help make #future audiobooks easier? #anyway basically my summary is: how i have BEEN doing L R method this month is hugely effective for me rn #and note to future self: SPECIFICALLY doing it THIS way - with pleco or a parallel text for step 3. and doing STEP 2 (which is helping with #reading). #i am mostly surprised by how Little time investment this has taken. i've done maybe 1-3 hours a day. i remember on the l r method original #article site - the person said 30 hours for a closely related language. and like 50-100 hours for a less transparent language #and like. i have only done maybe 8 hours max this month. and maybe 15 hours MAX the entire time i've tried l r method this past year #so i'm not even at 30 hours - which is when i should start understanding 'some'. im wondering if the improvement is faster since #im not an actual beginner in chinese. i have some base skill #which - since im only trying l r method in languages ive already studied i have some base skill any time i try this #anyway 6-8 hours so far is NOT a very big time cost to get the reading/listening improvements im seeing #like? i talked about listening in this update because thats what l r method is SUPPOSED to improve