I’m being so ffr rn, if the show runners definitively show that Buddie is not going to happen?
I’m probably not going to be watching anymore.
I mean it when I say that they’re literally the sole reason I watched this show in the first place. I saw a billion TikTok edits of them & was like “Idek these characters I need to watch this show and see what’s going on over there.”
And like, it’s a fun show, I’m not saying it isn’t, but first responder shows are a dime a dozen. There are other shows that have queer characters and found family and wild adventures. Granted, they don’t have Buck & his bi arc, but I’d still read fanfics to get my Evan Buckley fix lol.
I don’t need them right now, I’m so down for the slow burn, will-they-won’t-they & the pining & the yearning & the build up and the GOOD foundation. I want to see Eddie figuring himself out and dealing with his repression and figuring out he’s queer (& Demi, pls God. I hope if I just say it enough, I can will it into existence somehow) before anything happens with the two of them, but if they take definitive steps to have one of them like, marry someone else or something, I think I’m gonna head out. Find me on ao3 for the rest of my days lol.
I do gotta say tho, even tho I’m mad at aziraphale because he’s being a terrible boyfriend like what you said about the “I forgive you like” because WHAT. But also I really like the way the show really demonstrates the underlying cruelty of heaven and it’s angels. Really shows the hypocrisy of a group of beings who are supposed to do good, especially aziraphale who really buys into the heaven propaganda, who hurts people, particularly the person who means the most to him. Because like you said he fully just takes advantage of that devotion Crowley has for him. Insane, this shwo makes me INSANE
I missed this anon and yeah! The angels were one of my favourite parts of the season, and I think the strongest element aside from Neil Gaiman deciding he's just a simple man who wants to put his otp in situations. They are deeply awful and I kind of love them. They are the exact kind of moralizing hypocrites who are callous and cruel precisely because they think being on team good means everything they do is justified and it's actually impossible for them to be in the wrong (they're angels! is it even possible for them to do the wrong thing?).
but!! To me, they also seem like they're basically kids? Obviously they're not literally children, but there is this very consistent reoccurring joke about how childish/sheltered/immature they are. Muriel is the most obvious example, but the archangels come off like bratty twelve year olds to her sweet little kid.
Gabriel is basically teenager in love flipping off his family as he runs away with his backstreet guy. Uriel is constantly picking at Michael, Michael is playing at being in charge like it's a game, and it's ridiculously easy for both Aziraphale and Crowely to trick them obvious half assed lies. They're not allowed to ask questions! The Metatron treats them like badly behaved kids out past their curfew. At any point an old man with a beard may pop up to scold them and send them home, and they're all scared of doing something wrong by his standards and getting in trouble with this guy who is pointedly not God but who lines up exactly with the pop-culture idea of god the father, and who offers Aziraphale, among other things, a respite from the hard work of figuring out what the right thing to do is for himself. It's fine! You don't have to question the belief system you were born into or make a painful break with everything you've ever known! Aziraphale has had six thousand years on earth to grow up, but the other angels have been sitting in a sterile white box playing "i'm not touching you" games with each other and filing paperwork.
And I think that's extra interesting because this season also really emphasizes:
Heaven has Institutional Problems
Aziraphale isn't the only angel who's unhappy in heaven. Gabriel and Muriel were both completely miserable. They just didn't understand that they were unhappy because they'd never experienced anything else.
Angels who aren't Aziraphale can change and grow! There's very explicitly Gabriel being changed by love and Muriel growing up a bit on earth, and from a more fan-theory angle there's also Jimbriel, who I think is probably basically Gabriel minus the war and six thousand years of playing referee for Michael and Uriel while unleashing an assortment of plague and calamities on earth because that's God's will! Buck up champ.
We also get Gabriel and Beezelebub talking about how their underlings basically live for Armageddon, "if you can call that living." This is so bleak. They've all been on a six thousand year time out just dreaming of the day they get to beat the shit out of each other until they feel better, but it won't work because eternity is just more of the box.
Anyway I think it's going in a distinctly eden adjacent direction. Aziraphale is going to tempt those angels with knowledge and the capacity for change. I have veered so far from your ask anon i'm sorry you're right heaven really went all out on sucking this season & while Crowley and Aziraphale are both fucking it up Crowley refrains from being spectacularly cruel to Aziraphale about it and Aziraphale should learn to return the favour. I forgive you!! I forGIVE you. I forgive YOU. "you can be an angel again" is actually a worse thing to say than "you're a demon. i don't even like you." when he finally picks crowley over heaven i'm going to lose my mind.
Hands clasped perfect- it was perfection or screaming, she just needed to hold on, just needed to keep herself steady, Nesta needed time- Elain stared back. “Why what, Feyre?”
“You,” Feyre wiped her pink nose, even her flush a thing of otherworldly, rosy exquisiteness, “You’re so angry. You won’t- you won’t let anyone help. Won’t- what you said to Rhys, what you did to Mor- we’re all on the same side, Elain.” Feyre made a horrible little noise, threw up her hands, “You wouldn’t even bring Nesta to her bedroom.”
Something in Elain cracked.
Her bedroom.
Feyre had come to their home, to where they’d built all the while a place for her, and refused it. Slept in a cold unmade room, under the eye of some monstrous High Fae Lord, who’d told her she was the one in danger. That Feyre, an Archeron, was not safe on her own blood-sworn estate, the only bit of their birthright that could ever have saved them.
It was all gone now.
Everything was gone, and here Feyre was- perfect, immortal, unhurt, weeping- not asking where the hundreds of humans they were responsible for had landed. If the guards, under her own damned Court, had survived.
No, she wanted to know why Elain would reject the absurd hospitality they’d been shown. Three damned rooms, in three different gods-damned wings.
It might as well had been audible. Elain felt like the furrow should have been visible, hot blood streaming from her chest. Not blood- not simple heat- fire, alive, incandescent. Red ruddy blooming gold behind her eyes, a thousand withering blossoms overtaken into something beautiful too.
It was not unlike holding, wearing that crown- it was a rupturing, utter magic, to just feel what she’d been feeling and let it out.
“Nesta,” Elain kept her motion slow, precise, standing to back toward Lucien, away, safe, in control, “Told you exactly what would happen. I told you. We are not on the same side, Feyre. Do you understand?”
“Hybern,” Feyre’s voice pitched, half a shout, “Will kill us all. We need to stand united. Rhys”-
“Rhysand,” Lucien interrupted, all a forest shadow, suddenly both so dark and so bright he was impossibly to look away from.“Is not our High Lord.”
“He saved my life.”
“What part,” Fae and then some, a hiss of temper, Lucien right at the end of his rope, firelight seething off his skin with no clear source, air stinging with something harsher than smoke, “Of saving you, were the drugs, Feyre? Did he save you, by having you stripped bare before crowds? What does it cost you, to be the face of a war he cannot win? Has he not humiliated you enough?”
(Heads up, Yowapeda is going on a bit of a hiatus for the next three weeks! So there will be no new chapter until 8/3!)
Ride 737: New pedals
Pag 1
3: New... “pedals”
4: Yeah
Pag 2
1: Try using them
You'll probably be able to use them!!
Pag 3
2: Huh
3: …..!! Be able to use them!?
4: The.... pedals!?
5: Rokudai-kun
Ye-yessir, teh
The senpai of my senpai, the “super senpai”!!
6: Sorry but could you please bring here Onoda's bike?
Pag 4
1: Yessir!! Right away!!
3: So fast
3: Here!!
Thank you
Thanks
He's really so fast!! As expected of his hardcore manager spirit!!
Pag 5
1: Waaaa.... I officially touched Back-ga-.... Onoda-san's bike....!!
Why are you being all bashful by yourself now, Rokudai....
2: I'll install them right away
3: Ah-uhm
4: Uhm.... actually
I can't accept them
7: Teh!?
Onoda-san refused them..!!
Pag 6
1: You purposely cam here to encourage us, you even offered me a drink – I can't accept the “pedals” too, in addition to that!!
2: You even greeted the first years
That's plenty, thank you so much!
Onoda-san....
4: Is that so?
Yes!!
5: I thought they would suit you, Onoda, but..
Pag 7
1: I- I wanted to see the new pedals, teh...
He said “he'll be able to use them”, I wonder what that meant
2: Maybe the shape is different?
Maybe they're difficult to use? Like there are two on both sides
How would you even step on them, teh
3: I actually got these for myself....
4: With my style of pedaling I tend to lose torque near the limit, so I tried using these
5: But it didn't suit me
So I went back to use the old pedals
7: And while doing so I suddenly thought
8: That you, Onoda... your pedals
Pag 8
1: How long has it been since you last changed them...?
2: Huh
6: The pedals used for bicycles racing are consumable
Pag 9
1: When you fall, they're the first thing that hit the ground, and they're shaved by the impact
2: The structure is simple but surprisingly useful, but still metal isn't perfect
3: They receive the torque and the force from the legs, so you can say the pedals are one of the most important part of a bike
And there's no guarantee they'll never break right during an important race
4: A race...!!
5: Of course you usually bring your bike to Touji-san, and I don't think he'd fail to notice something like this
6: But, has it ever happened before that your feet unfastened during an important moment and you had troubles because of it?
Pag 10
2: …. during the Inter High's third day... at the end...
Yes, it happened....
3: You fought in the Inter High twice
4: You ran in the prefectural qualifiers, every day you use your bike for practice
5: And you're overusing it now during training camp
6: When they'll break it won't be surprising
Onoda, sometimes.... caring... isn't just about the club members....
Pag 11
1: It's about your own bike, too!!
2: The pedals I received from Teshima-san on that rainy day during training camp onmy first year
3: I asked Touji-san to fix them on my new bike, since they were important to me
5: Looking closely, they're all ruined
Pag 12
1: The bike that connects me to everyone
And what connects me to this bike
2: The pedals
3: You went to the Inter High with the pedals I gave you, and you delievered our jersey to the final gate in the end
4: Twice
And I, who gave you those pedals, also am happy and want to thank you
5: But, it's enough
They carried out their role perfectly
Pag 13
1: Let them rest
3: Waaa it's already this late!? That's bad, I got a lecture tomorrow next period
4: I have to go back!
Th- that's bad!
5: …. ah, but you refused these new pedals. I can't give them to you... you said
Ah- wa-
Ahh, what should I do
Ah-
6: Well it can't be helped
Pag 14
1: I'll forget them in the lobby and leave
4: Do your best during this training camp!
Yes- thank you so much for coming here!!
5: Say hi to the others for me, too
6: Share those with everyone and eat them
Pag 15
1: Thank you so much...!!
If you speak so loudly you'll wake everyone...
He....
He's such a nice senpai...
2: I could see ans feel the Sohoku bond, teh!!
Righ!! It's so strong!!
3: I'll change them now
4: The pedals!!
6: I wonder what kind are they, teh, these new pedals!
He said “you'll be able to use them”!?
7: Huh!?
These are the pedals!?
It's the first time I see them in this shape, the... the tip...
Pag 16
1: is round!!
Pag 17
1: The part where I put my feet is a round pedal...!!
2: Amazing, since this pedal is round
3: I can move my heel left and right
4: With incredibly wide movements!!
5: My ankles... and my knees are incredibly free to move!!
And also, these pedals...
Pag 18
1: They feel so close to the sole of my feet
2: I feel like I can turn my pedals so much more like this!!
3: Thank you so much, Teshima-san!!
Pag 19
1: Have you noticed, Hotshot?
Onoda-kun's....
Yeah, his pedals are new
2: “Speed play”
3: It's the only kind of pedal in the world that has the cleat and fastening mechanism on the side
4: Your legs' range of motion left and right becomes wider, so when you're swinging the bike you can still under all circumstances pedal at an high cadence and apply torque
It's perfect for Onoda's pedaling style
5: Was it Touj-san?
Who knows... I sense some kind of intention behind the guess of giving him those pedals
So. What an issue, huh? Absolutely stunning, and while I wish we got some Jake and Steven interacting with the Midnight Mission, I do adore this issue and it was an incredible follow up to the last issue. The art, the writing, the color choice's, the Steven, THE JAKE!!! anyway, this is an analysis so let's do it.
Marc Spector doesn’t believe that he’s enough. He never has, which is why he was initially so reluctant and terrified of giving up control (which I went a bit ham on analyzing here). He’s scared of someone else seeing him how he sees himself, as nothing more than a means to an end, and realizing once they’ve gotten what they need out of him, he won’t be useful anymore. He calls himself a “fist”, he literally says “I still have my uses” in the context of a fight. Marc doesn’t see himself as being much else outside of that violence and his mission as Khonshu’s fist.
Which directly contrasts with Steven and Jake. (YAY I GET TO TALK ABOUT THEM!!!)
Steven, who’s already got his own society he feels semi-comfortable in, can slip into that role of rich benefactor like he was born for it. The first thing he does when fronting is always always take off the mask and take care of them. Which is, so impactful. Because yes, he’d care about their appearance. He's rich, sure. But it’s more than that. He takes care of them because it’s what they deserve. They’re worth something. They’re worthy of love and affection, self care in the form of expensive hair treatments and makeovers.
He takes off the mask (literally and metaphorically and the secret third meaning and fourth and—) and looks in the mirror and chastises Marc for not taking care of them then does exactly that because Steven Grant doesn’t see Marc or Jake of any of them as tools or means, but as people. He proves Marc wrong by just by existing.
Then we got Jake. JAKE FUCKING LOCKLEY!!! Our avuncular scoundrel’s first act when fronting is going to see his friends. Which I just. I love it. When he throws open the doors and says he’s back and is met with such love and care and enthusiasm. Which is such a magenta moment (passion and compassion and kindness and I’m not gonna get into the color theory of it all but the fact that his two colors are magenta and sooome green make me gigle🤭). But it also takes us back to the last issue where he laments losing their friends. Where Marc said he never needed them. Where Marc is obviously dead fucking wrong.
Jake’s not in his element, he’s at home. He’s with his people, and his people have him and it’s beautiful. And it’s how Jake takes care of them, by creating connections with everyone from all walks of life. Because, once again, everyone wants to be loved. So he goes out and makes jokes and earns trust and makes promises and gives and gets love and lives. He shows he — and by default the system — aren’t incapable of giving or receiving affection. He proves Marc wrong just by living.
And now. We got the biggun. Marc.
We’ve already established Marc’s issues with constantly needing to be in control stemming from his fear of being cast aside or deemed unlovable, said issues causing a lot of the problems in his life. What I love about this issue is that it works on dismantling those thoughts, one by one. If Steven and Jake prove Marc wrong, the rest of the Midnight Mission enforce those ideas by hammering them home with a comically oversized hammer. Soldier does what Soldier does: be the chillest fucking guy around. Badr obviously has his own Khonshu/religious tinted lense of looking at it but that doesn’t make him any less understanding. He just thinks Marc is a fucking idiot (and he’s not wrong!).
Then. Then. Reese. Reese who comes in, shatters every single insecurity and fear and preconceived notion Marc has about himself. Reese who doesn’t know about his past and doesn’t care because she sees what he’s trying to do now, the good he’s trying to do and is doing, and admires that. Reese who doesn’t push when that’s clearly what Marc is expecting her to do (because that’s probably what everyone has done, always done. Ask probing, invasive questions that he forces himself to answer and now he’s so used to them he’s constantly shocked when people don’t ask. He’s shocked when people care. He’s shocked when he finds himself caring.).
Reese. Who says…
…which is probably the first time anyone has said that to him. It’s probably the first time anyone has cared enough to even think it. The very thing Jake and Steven have been proving to him all issue, the thing Reese says so naturally and casually. It’s not a grand revelation from her, it’s not something she has to think about. Marc is enough and she knows it, Jake and Steven know it, the rest of the Midnight Mission and the community know it. The only who doesn’t, or didn’t, was Marc. And now. And now.
He does. And Reese and Steven and Jake will be damned if he forgets that anytime soon.
(AND VERY BRIEFLY I WANNA TALK AB THE COLORS!!! Ok so I’m absolutely in love with the colors Rosenberg chose. They vary a lot between pages but my color associations are: Steven gold, Jake magenta, Marc blue. There are a lot of pages where the characters swap colors or have different ones but I’m going to stick with these associations because they make sense to me.
Steven gold is probably the most clear cut one. Gold is a warm color, symbolizing wealth and generosity. Divinity and power. Steven is rich (or was) so there’s the wealth, I’d say the generosity comes from how he takes care of the body, mostly physically. There aren’t many pages where Steven appears in, but the one in the barber or whatever is where I’m drawing most of these thoughts from. Marc is also depicted with a lot of gold, particularly when he’s speaking to Dr. Sterman especially when he’s giving long ass melodramatic monologues. Which I find interesting, as those extended metaphors and speeches seem like his way of establishing control, or power, in a conversation which is generally supposed to end up with deep self evaluation and a certain amount of vulnerability that comes with giving up some of that control (he is talking to his therapist, after all, even if she doesn’t do a very good job of it but— that’s a story for another day)
Jake magenta is a very clearly shown visual. Magenta is another warm color, symbolizing passion and compassion, kindness and love. Jake is the Just Some Guy of the three, probably the most affable and easygoing, so magenta makes sense thematically for him as well. What’s also cool is that magenta is the primary, dominating color in a lot of his pages where he’s surrounded by people he cares about (I’m thinking of the last issue in his headspace emotional support strip club where all the dancers looked like Marlene and this issue at the bar with his friends). Almost as if he’s overflowing with love and care for others.
Both Jake and Steven appear in several pages where the primary color is green, which symbolizes growth, renewal, rebirth. This is the only cool color they’re depicted in, which is also interesting because Marc is almost exclusively shown in panels with cool colors (minus the gold ones I mentioned earlier). Marc also appears in pages with greens, particularly those where he talks to Soldier and Badr, symbolizing his growth of being able and willing to open up to them.
Finally, Marc blue has been a dominant color for basically this entire run. Blue is a cool color that symbolizes a lot, but I’ll stick with sadness, peace, security and freedom. Sadness is pretty obvious, but the other three are aspirational for him. And I think this is most clearly shown by the fact that the only exclusively blue Marc pages are the last two with Reese. Her understanding and words help take him one step closer to those things he’s always wanted, that love and understanding. And I think her wearing a YELLOW shirt also shows the positive influence and power her words have on him. Plus, it’s a good contrast against the background and his suit ;)
Last last thing I wanna mention about colors because wow this got out hand is the page where Marc takes off the mustache (NOOOOO) and introduces himself. It has all the colors I mentioned in a gradient, which imo symbolizes how he’s finally starting to work with Steven and Jake as a system, a team, and how they’re all separate parts but also parts of a whole. Also harkens back to earlier, when Marc mentioned he hasn’t asked Jake and Steven’s opinion. They aren’t perfect, there’s still some work to be done on communication, but they’re getting there and that’s what matters. It’s a great visual, and he even gets his emo anime boy hair back so win there, I guess😐)
After over a month of vet visits, different medications and various blood and other tests to try to figure out why he wasn’t eating and why he was anemic we finally found out he had a tumor in his heart. Today, two days later, we had to let him go so he wouldn’t hurt anymore. He died at home in my arms, thanks to our amazing vet who arranged everything.
He was a wonderful cat and I already miss him so much
I posted this yesterday and then realized how cute Gigi and AB’s individual layers looked,, so I thought I’d make some adjustments and post em here >:)