#my favorite kind of gray

[justastrugglinghotchocolate]

Ya’ll I used to jokingly consider this, but nah, there is enough evidence in the book to suggest:

Henry ruins Dorian out of spite and jealousy towards Basil for moving on from him.

Let’s get right into this. 

I went back into the book because I wanted to review the post I made about Henry and misogyny earlier. Besides the usual annoyance at Henry’s dumb stupid rant, I noticed this line:

“I had buried my romance in a bed of asphodel.”

And then it hit me that Henry’s worst rants about women only come after the topic of marriage, but more specifically, commitment. Which then led to an even more interesting idea: I’m pretty sure Henry mostly uses ‘women’ as cover to complain about Basil and Basil’s ‘lack of commitment to him.’

I want to note that there’s a lot of interesting things in regards to Henry and his relationship with women that I’d love to go into, but this will focus solely on him and Basil.

Here’s what Henry says in his misogynistic ass rant after Sibyl dies. (This is from the 1891 ver):

“But [Sibyl] would have soon found out that you were absolutely indifferent to her. And when a woman finds that out about her husband, she either becomes dreadfully  dowdy, or wears very smart bonnets that some other woman’s husband has to pay for.”

Basil is often considered ‘unfashionable’/‘dowdy’ by Henry’s standards. This is only further proven in what he says about Basil’s disappearance:

“Why should he have been murdered? He was not clever enough to have enemies. Of course, he had a wonderful genius for painting. But a man can paint like Velasquez and yet be as dull as possible. Basil was really rather dull. He only interested me once, and that was when he told me, years ago, that he had a wild adoration for you and that you were the dominant motive of his art.”

But that isn’t all. The last part of that quote matches one to one to Henry’s claim about women (or Sibyl, specifically). Basil was not only ‘dull’, but his only ‘fashionable’ attribute, his art, grew ‘dowdy’ once he discovered Dorian’s indifference to him.

Henry also says this about women:

“Good resolutions are useless attempts to interfere with scientific laws. Their origin is pure vanity. Their result is absolutely nil.”

And later:

“But women never know when the curtain has fallen. They always want a sixth act, and as soon as the interest of the play is entirely over, they propose to continue it. If they were allowed their own way, every comedy would have a tragic ending, and every tragedy would culminate in a farce. They are charmingly artificial, but they have no sense of art.”

Guess who makes resolutions regarding goodness? Basil, who refuses to believe that Dorian is nothing but a good, pure man. 

“[Basil] could not bear the idea of reproaching [Dorian] any more. After all, his indifference was probably merely a mood that would pass away. There was so much in him that was good, so much in him that was noble.”

Basil’s arc traditionally should have ended once Dorian rejects him. Between that chapter and the chapter where Basil dies, there is no mention of Basil in any form. By all means, Basil’s role in the story is over—and then he demands the ‘sixth act’ to confront Dorian.

And finally:

“Besides, nothing makes one so vain as being told that one is a sinner. Conscience makes egotists of us all. Yes; there is really no end to the consolations that women find in modern life. Indeed, I have not mentioned the most important one.”

“What is that, Harry?” said the lad listlessly.

“Oh, the obvious consolation. Taking some one else’s admirer when one loses one’s own.”

Now before I point out the obvious irony of Henry literally 'taking someone else's admirer' (henry actually has a lot in common with his 'criticisms' of women), I want to bring your attention to a key part we don’t discuss enough about in the book.

““Life has always poppies in her hands. Of course, now and then things linger. I once wore nothing but violets all through one season, as a form of artistic mourning for a romance that would not die. Ultimately, however, it did die. I forget what killed it. I think it was her proposing to sacrifice the whole world for me. That is always a dreadful moment. It fills one with the terror of eternity. Well—would you believe it?—a week ago, at Lady Hampshire’s, I found myself seated at dinner next the lady in question, and she insisted on going over the whole thing again, and digging up the past, and raking up the future. I had buried my romance in a bed of asphodel.”

So I’m gonna make an educated guess and say Henry is lying his ass off here. He did not have a ‘romance’ with a woman. He certainly did not get an emotional, romantic attachment with a ‘woman’. I feel comfortable saying this because 1) his general distaste for women literally points to this being bullshit and 2) a significant change that was made from the 1890 version of the book to the 1891 version.

This is the quote in 1890:

“I once wore nothing but violets all through one season, as mourning for a romance that would not die.”

This is 1891:

“I once wore nothing but violets all through one season, as a form of artistic mourning for a romance that would not die.”

Well, well, well, who is the arti—It’s Basil. He’s literally talking about Basil here. AND GUESS WHAT VIOLETS MEAN IN VICTORIAN FLOWER LANGUAGE?

A couple of things actually, but the top three are:

‘Faithfulness, Modesty, and Love.’

Henry emotionally had been faithful to Basil. While I doubt he was monogamous in anyway, Basil held a special place that no else would ever have. Not even Dorian.

And this brings me back to the quote that originally sent me down this rabbit hole:

“I had buried my romance in a bed of asphodel.”

In the 1890 version, it says:

“I had buried my romance in a bed of poppies.”

Poppies are known to mean death and would have fit perfectly if Henry was saying he felt nothing for the relationship, but what does asphodel mean?

‘Love Beyond The Grave’, ‘Remembered Beyond The Tomb’ and sometimes, ‘My regrets follow you to the grave’. 

(NOTE: please keep in mind floriography could mean certain things based on the color and the type of flowers. That being said, considering Wilde described the shit out of every setting he wrote, the lack of detail about the flowers suggest the most broad meaning is meant to be taken.)

Henry isn't over Basil. He couldn't kill the love, so he buried it and took Dorian as a consolation and revenge. He will never be able to get over Basil until Basil or himself dies.

BOY DO I HAVE GOOD NEWS FOR HENRY/s

#long post #this is an opinion and a theory. #the picture of dorian gray #basil hallward #dorian gray #henry wotton #book theory #been workshopping this for some time #this post is very long and i didn't even get to go into my favorite example ;-; #anyways shout out to TheMissingMask on Ao3 for writing the fanfic that first got me into this theory. Their fanfic Eros is really good!! #You should read it #honestly read all their tpodg fics #does this make me an english major? uh oh #if someone else has made this kind of post already my bad lol #use this as supplemental or even confirmation #i will be back with the more headcanon-y part that relates to the first chapter alone. but for now i've got a chapter to finish ;)

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

sometimes i remember that gojo wanted to tell geto “we’ll meet again, right?” just before he died but forced himself not to knowing it would have cursed him and then i start thinking about how kind and thoughtful gojo is as a character and how he hasn’t been able to lean on another human being since geto defected and then i want to . Scream

#like. there’s something almost helpless about that question. because gojo doesn’t *know* the answer…. he’s asking for reassurance #he wants to know if they’ll ever meet again even though deep down he knows the answer #and it’s so… bare? so vulnerable. #if he had voiced it that would’ve been the first time in TEN YEARS that gojo truly bared his heart to someone and asked for help #but he knew it would turn into a curse and so he gulped the words back down. :(( #gojo is such a sincerely kind and thoughtful character and it breaks my heart that sooo many people in the fandom can’t see that 😭 #he isn’t a saint and he definitely isn’t selfless but above all else his goal as a human being is to make sure no one ever feels alone. #that no one has their youth taken away from them….. that everyone gets a Choice in how to live their life :(((( it’s so important to him. #i just genuinely don’t understand ppl who insist that he’s morally gray ….. gojo is a consistently Good person and that never changes #he wants to have fun and laugh and he wants his students to enjoy their youth. he wants them to think he’s cool. #he’s the big brother slash father Ever and i love him to death #i got sidetracked this was supposed to be abt geto 😔😔 anyway the final scene between them will always be my Favorite ever #and the key to understanding both their characters and love for one another #ty for coming to my ted talk i’m feeling normal abt them today 😇😇 #ari noises ✩

[questionablealibi]

I FINALLY FOUND SOME FREE TIME TODAY AND THAT MEANS MORE ONEIL RAHHHH

Finishing and posting o'neil's (and elias') reference sheet <<<< piecing their design doodle by doodle /silly

Im unfortunately not the type of person who can juggle academics and social media at the same time :'D but that wont stop me from trying to post! >:)

Version without text underneath the cut!

And of course, additional thoughts about the design in the tags ;)

"Dalaga" means young lady in tagalog! ^^

#THE YELLOW WHISPIE EYE CAN CHANGE ITS APPEARANCE/COLOR/TEXTURE ACCORDING TO ITS ENVIRONMENT/MAP #Thats all the explanation that youre gonna get #Ill make a post soon thatll clear it up more ^^; #Yes thats a bolo tie ^^ with a gold rim and a maroon??? Center #Discolored limbs 👀 mmm my favorite character design trope /silly /gen #You cant see it properly but oneil's eye is both yellow AND (faded) green! #Since he /kind of/ has two irises and pupils- the two irises have their own separate shades #Yes youre definitely seeing that right #Oneil has claws #Not very long but theyre there ^^ #He has TONS of gray hair #If you didn't notice /silly /lh #Some more prominent than the others #For context of the doodle im sewing a part of his clothing for his design ^^ and they're a little worried i might screw up #I know how to sew irl but im not very uh #Experienced enough :'D #I posted a version on discord where i forgot oneils glasses and ive been wanting to cry since #/silly /j #Discord people just hop on tumblr and look at this one instead please my dignity is already bruised enough /silly #Thats all! See you lot in the next post ^^ #Dw guys ill be drawing elias soon its alright youre getting him soon enough /silly /gen #Alibi! #the stanley parable #tspud #tsp #tsp narrator #tspud narrator #This NOT a “canon” inreraction! Just a silly little thought thats been in my head recently ^^ #Ah yes yes my sona's hair is pinned back ^^ cant have your hair slipping infront of you while youre sewing!

[scary-monsters]

diego redrawsssss !!!!! im smacking him on your fridge and running

real facts: when you knock on my head and open it up like a hatch, all you will see is diego brando. that's it

#jojo's bizarre adventure #diego brando #steel ball run #jjba fanart #my art #diego #i have two more but the post looked cluttered with them included hfkdjsg #so i will be posting more later maybe tomorrow or something #follow for more diego content bc that's all i know how to talk abt!!!! /hj #anyway he's so pretty and i hate him for it (affectionate) #first one is one of my favorite panels of him ever so i'm glad i feel like i kind of did it justice :') #second one is ofc a Classic so i was intimidated by it but i think it came out okay too #Tried to emulate the actual bgs in the panels but idk if that came through or not hmmmm #maybe im thrown off bc it's not Gray like my bgs normally are .. posting it and not ruminating on it anymore

[theshadowrealmitself]

There should’ve been a scene where Valerie sees Phantom with Cujo in his small form then seen him go up to Danny in his small form and drawn her own (incorrect) conclusion from it

#superhero identity misunderstandings are my favorite kind of misunderstandings #danny phantom #dp #danny fenton #valerie gray #danny phantom cujo #dp cujo

[coquelicoq]

it's interesting, a few people on my post yesterday about the dandelion dynasty told me they were taking it as a rec for the series, but i didn't actually recommend the series in that post. it's making me think about whether i would rec it to people, a question i hadn't fully considered yet (as it is a very different question from "do i like this book?"). so this is me figuring out the answer to that question. i'll keep it spoiler-free (though i make no promises on brevity).

i just finished book 3 (of 4) and each installment has left me more invested than i was before, but the series started out very slow, and i didn't really get into it until halfway through book 2. i wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people bounce off the first book; i didn't, but only because 1) i almost never give up on a book that i've started (it's a character flaw of mine 😕) and 2) my trust in ken liu is ridiculously high because the other stuff i've read by him is so beloved to me. so my reaction to feeling kind of meh about book 1 was "okay, let's see where he's going with this" rather than "i guess this just isn't my cup of tea."

i should say that the problem might just be my own ignorance/lack of familiarity with the form. i don't read a lot of epic fantasy - in fact, lord of the rings is the one series that i have given up on reading a couple of times because it just left me totally indifferent. so if you like epics, you are starting out way ahead of me and can maybe just ignore the rest of this post lol, but i think i had to adjust to what the form is asking of me and what it's best suited to accomplish before i could get fully on board.

the main thing i struggled with is the writing, like the actual sentence-level mechanics of voice and style. this surprised me, because i usually find his writing very beautiful, or, when not beautiful, i can get a sense of the effect he means to achieve by employing a certain style. but in this series, the writing came across as kind of awkward and one-note to me at first, and i couldn't see a reason for it to be that way.* the dialogue especially - different characters don't really have different ways of speaking, they all feel pretty much the same. this was one of the main things i had to adjust to, but i do get it now. i don't just mean that i got used to the style and it doesn't bother me anymore, though that is true; i mean that i now understand the effect he means to achieve by employing this style, which gives it purpose and inextricably ties it to the story he's telling (this becomes especially clear in book 3, as it's directly related to a major theme of that book). if the style were different, he would be telling a different story; that's the sign of a successful execution, i think.

i said in the tags on yesterday's post that one reason the series doesn't have much of a fandom on here might be that the characters aren't natural blorbos. of course every character is probably the blorbo of somebody somewhere, but i don't know that these characters were designed to be blorbos, if that makes sense. not that they're plot devices either! every single one of them is conflicted and complicated and compelling, and most of them are followed over a period of many years, so we see them develop as people over time. but there is no protagonist, for example. you could also say that every character is a protagonist. the "list of major characters" at the beginning of book 3 is six pages long, and there are stories to be told about each of these characters, and none of them are told in isolation. but in a way, the characters themselves are not the point, or if they are, it's in aggregate - it's in the ways they're all complex, the ways they all have motivations that make sense to them (and that make sense to us, once we get to know them). and it's about power and the roles that the characters play in their society, rather than the roles the characters play in the story. or maybe those are the same thing! because ultimately, the main character of this story is the society. and the plot is the history of this society, rather than the journey or life of a single person or handful of people.**

(sidenote, there will be a period during book 1 when you will think to yourself, "wow, all the women characters are super one-dimensional and the narrative doesn't seem to respect them." this is on purpose. just keep going.)

the plotting is intricate while also feeling very organic. he's got dozens of plates in the air at once, he's maintaining them over a long period (these books are MASSIVE), and he's somehow making it seem like a real history, not like an author pulling strings. i haven't finished it yet, but my guess is that he's going to pull off a very satisfying conclusion that's at the same time very open-ended. definitely looking forward to it.

and the worldbuilding. oh, the worldbuilding. this is some of the most detailed, complex, realistic*** worldbuilding i've ever encountered, and he covers SO much ground. you want linguistic worldbuilding? you got it. philosophy? it's here. psychology of empire? coming right up. the nitty-gritty of everyday governance? buddy, pull up a chair. mechanical engineering? how much time you got?? (it better be enough time to read 3504 physical pages, because that's how long this series is.) and he's drawing on chinese history and cultural narratives rather than slapping lipstick on a tolkien clone (see his comments here, but stop reading at "In this continuation of the series" if you want to avoid spoilers). he WILL go on for a hundred pages about a single invention, but it's SO interesting that he is allowed. this is a story about how technology (including language, and schools of thought, and agriculture, and...) shapes, and is a product of, its time and place and people, so again, this is all to purpose. but it's also just. really cool.

the last thing i'll say, and this is mainly for other ken liu fans, is that one of the things i most love about his short stories is how they tap into emotions i didn't even know i had, as though they're reaching inside of me and drawing to the surface ways of experiencing consciousness and love and mortal life that i had no idea were in there. this series is not causing emotional revelation for me in the way his other stories do, which isn't a bad thing - i don't mean to say the series is not engaging or that it inspires no emotions! i just mean, iykyk. if you've read the paper menagerie and are expecting that experience, you will have a better time here if you leave those expectations at the door. i am invested in this book because it's engaging my intellect, curiosity, sense of wanting to find out what else the characters will learn and what's going to happen next...less because it's turning my heart inside out inside my chest. and like thank goodness, because i don't think i could survive four entire 900-page books' worth of that! but anyway. word to the wise.

tl;dr: yes, i recommend it, especially if you like epic fantasy. if you're a fan of ken liu's other work, this is quite different, so just know that going in!

*this opinion is of course subjective and not universally shared. for instance, see this review of book 3 (full of spoilers, so don't actually read it lol) which says "There's Liu's voice to hold onto, though — beautifully deployed here and fully in command of the language of his imaginary universe." so ymmv. maybe it's an epic fantasy thing.

**this is making me realize that the story is commenting on this very thing through a tension between bureaucracy (founded on interchangeability) and monarchy (informed by a specific personality). dude. that's so meta!

***though sometimes i'm like, "really? you scaled up that invention to use untested on the battlefield in the span of like two weeks? sure, jan." so sometimes he falls down a little on translation of ideas into logistics, but it makes for such a great story that i'll allow it.

#i kind of want to call it epic science fiction rather than epic fantasy #i know the categories are very porous. but if you think of fantasy as having 'magic' and scifi as having 'technology' #this is scifi #there's no magic. unless you count the gods creating weather patterns etc. to help or hinder their favorite mortals #but i don't count that as magic #okay i guess maybe Gitré Üthu is magic...but again that's a god thing. so there's a gray area #the aesthetics are more fantasy than scifi. these terms are meaningless though so just ignore me lol #another thought. it occurs to me that some of the style choices he's making might be related to comments of his that i've read #on translation...and how when he translates a story he tries to retain a sense of it having been written in a different idiom #he likes people reading a chinese story in english to be able to tell that it was not originally written in english #this story was originally written in english irl. but in the world of the story itself they are speaking other languages #like for instance page 1 of book 1 features the lyrics of a song. they read kinda awkwardly. but don't translated lyrics almost always #look like that? because the rhymes and cadence and number of syllables etc. are so dependent on the language of origin? #the dandelion dynasty #ken liu #the grace of kings #the wall of storms #the veiled throne #my posts #links #wow this is NOT how i planned to spend my evening. and yet here we are. time to shower and then start thinking about bedtime #why does everything take me so long???? how are people so fast. ugh. it takes me hours just to have thoughts #and then writing them down? fuhgeddaboutit.

[w1f1n1ghtm4r3]

the fairy and their companions (happy birthday mizuki!)

#drew this to finally have something for daily kyushumi...... #kind of embarrassing ive drawn something for mizuki day but not for the birthdays of any of my favorites but oh well #the butterflies are based on my designs for kyushumi miku and meiko btw :3 #project sekai #prsk art #project sekai fanart #prsk fa #mizuki akiyama #april fools shuffle units #w1f1 draws #minori is a gray catbird and honami is a dove if you were curious #idk what kind of bird nene is. shes just a funny little creature. #i could have made her a canary but i didnt realize until i was too late :shrug:

[cainware]

Okay I might get devoured for this, but I'm gonna post it anyway, so please bare with me:

I feel like Bruce has this belief that Jason never understood why he can't kill right, but also I feel like Bruce also doesn't understand why Jason can. Like he looks at it as a moral failing in so many different iterations from writer to writer but like? Bruce, understanding is a two-way street.

Bruce thinks he'd never be able to come back from taking a life, but then you look down the line at Jason, and Jason can and does. He's not lesser because he kills when he thinks it's the right thing to do, he doesn't lose himself in the bloodbath like Bruce thinks he himself would. Jason doesn't go mad with power, he doesn't go around just murdering any random thug just because.

And I think that damages Bruce a little bit, because he doesn't want to admit that Jason's killing isn't as much of a moral failing as he thinks it should be. I think that Bruce, somewhere in his mind, wanted to believe that if he couldn't do it without losing himself, then nobody could. And I think he can't bring himself to admit to himself that in that regard, Jason has always had a better understanding of the world and his own person than Bruce ever will.

#idk i was rereading utrh and ive been absorbing a lot of other batman related content at warp speed #and maybe this doesnt make sense but to me it feels like bruce just #doesnt want to admit that its possible to take a life for the right reasons #as a direct relation to his own personal traumas #but in that same vein feels like his views on it should be universal because its no shocker that #bruce has very black and white thinking and the concept of the grey area doesnt exist very often to him #but at the same time i feel like its either a blow to him mentally to think that someone can do something he cant #or a blow to his ego that he wouldnt be able to control himself if he slipped #and this is based entirely off the more popular and rehashed versions of bruce that dont fully understand him #but unfortunately that kind of litters a lot of batman media #like dont get me wrong my favorite versions of bruce are multidimensional and has a broader understanding #of the world and gotham and all his kids and their motivations #but the more popular versions (i dont want to say badly written because every batman has their own merits) #(except for you frank miller you know what you did) dont all have that level of growth and general acceptance #of gotham and his kids being Naturally Morally Gray #i should probably shut up or not post this but its out there now so yeah #jaybirdwhistles #shut up jay stop being annoying on the tl

[wigglebox]

i surface from time to time waving the chuck won theory flag and i’m back again babeyyyyy

*the following is an utter denial of that heaven endgame and that cas is there so if you don’t agree with that then this post may not be for you! 

Let’s talk about this shot. 

This shot... makes me feral. Especially knowing 15x04 was the first episode they shot for the season. 

This shot is why I just cannot accept the fact that they are actually in Heaven, nor that Cas is there. 

Let’s start here. The fireplace mantle.

This mantle is like an adult toy shelf. We’ve already been in Becky’s space where she’s creating things that are like “toys”. They’re models, sets, other merch items. But here, it’s all decoration. You have funko pop stuff action figures — toys. It’s all toys up there. It’s a toy shelf. 

While they’re talking about Chuck getting his motivation and inspiration back, he takes the little Sam one down, fiddles with it, and puts it back in the opposite direction. 

There is also some Cas ones up there.

It’s a toy shelf. 

A lot of folks will say that the presence of Cas at that Road House means he’s in Heaven, but in my one on one with Misha he said that Jimmy was supposed to be dressed as Cas. 

To me, this plays into the theory that Chuck just cannot control Cas whatsoever and it’s only gotten worse as time goes on. He can’t even create a fake Cas. The only way to do so is to pull over his vessel who’s in Heaven and dress him like Cas. The last time we saw Jimmy he was not wearing the coat and tie. So putting him in this outfit would have really signaled to us that something is wrong. 

More on that in a bit. Stick a pin in that. It’s a big reason why I don’t believe Cas is with Dean by the end, nor do I want him to be. 

But going back to the toy shelf — look at this at the end. 

I always forget her family photo is on this toy shelf. 

In talking with friends about the Chuck Won theory, I use the metaphor of Chuck putting Dean and Sam up on the ‘toy shelf’ bc he’s done playing with them. Much like this toy shelf here. 

But that does not mean they’re dead. And this family portrait up there is why. 

Chuck by the end of the episode Thanos’ed Becky’s family and then her. But before he dusts her, they have this exchange:

BECKY: No! The kids.

CHUCK: Oh, don’t worry. They’re not dead. They’re just away.

Sam and Dean aren’t dead, they’re just away. They’re put back up on the shelf. Chuck is done with them.

The shelf itself? The Empty. 

My poor friends have had to listen to me ramble and rant about this theory that Chuck and The Empty were working together, and that’s how Chuck managed to get the plot going in his favor. 

This right here is why I think that. 

The Chess Board TM 

Right now the game is not in play. Everyone is set at their starting positions, where they know to be. The position that esablishes their role. Chuck at this point in the narrative doesn’t know where to go or how to start in that direction, so the game is not yet in motion. 

But there’s a chessboard regardless right in the foreground of the shot [thanks jackles] and that’s another metaphor I keep mumbling about to my poor friends. 

If the toy shelf is The Empty, then the chess board is Chuck’s plan; his game. 

In constantly thinking about the Chuck Won theory, I think about who’s left on the field — and no one is. 

Chuck managed to get rid of every threat against him by the end of the show. And, if he’s in cahoots with The Empty, then he knows about Cas’ deal. He knows he can’t tell Cas what to do, but he can put Cas in a situation that’d force him to act. 

So now we got:

Billie — who already didn’t like the brothers, Dean in particular all that much, antagonized against Dean after Dean hits her with the thingy thing she has idk I can’t spell it. Chuck starts dusting people, Dean thinks it’s her. They have a forced hostile relationship, thus putting Dean in a lot of danger. Chuck knows the only way to contain her is to get the Empty down there to get her but there’s no way to do that — unless —

Cas — Putting Dean in a situation where his life is in danger like that would automatically cause Cas to respond. Chuck may not be able to control him but ‘too much heart’ was always Cas’ problem, and while it’s a strength it’s also a weakness that can be exploited at times. So, put Dean in a position where he’s about to die, Cas is going to call The Empty down to get Billie and sacrifice himself in order to save Dean. 

So now Chuck got rid of two threats and they’re gonna be kept there by The Empty who’s working with him. 

Jack — The Empty, working with Chuck, is leading Billie on a little bit with this plan that Jack can be Thee Solution TM but here’s how to do it. However, the plan wasn’t actually to defeat Chuck, it was to prime a vessel for him. If you can’t beat Jack, join him — by... possessing him. In my opinion, this season was about preparing Jack to be a vessel, not to defeat Chuck. Why I think this is because Jack had a monolouge at the end of 1519, but the ‘villain’ in 15x20, Jenny, had 8 words. Jack to Chuck is the villain. But also, ironically, Chuck is the villain to OUR protagonists, and Chuck also knows that. So Jack-Chuck got the monologue, and said ‘Chuck [myself] wrote himself into the narrative, that was his mistake.’ So essentially, Chuck nabbed himself a new ride and is off to the races. 

Amara — Chuck appealed to her sense of love for humanity and this idea of love as a weakness in general and basically silver tongued his way into getting her to join up with him. How on earth did the boys defeat Chuck when he’s literally at full power now? But anyways. 

Michael — I don’t think Michael was AS big of a threat but likely Chuck knew that Michael could be talked into doing the right thing by Adam. But literally just in case as an insurance policy, he feeds Michael and pulls down Lucifer to feed to Jack so Jack can get strengthened up. Adam, his moral compass, is also gone, making it easier. 

Dean, Sam — Just... put them back on the toy shelf. They believe they defeated the bad guy, and just go back to life as normal. Almost way too normal. Like a deep regression. Get Dean out of the way first bc his death was always going to be tragic bc Chuck likes that shit. Sam can live his little life or whatever and then he can bite the big one and go join Dean and they have no idea that they aren’t, actually, in Heaven or reality at all. 

So that’s the chessboard cleared, and Chuck’s calling Check Mate. 

*another side tangent — a lot of folks write off 15x01 to 15x03 but if you take into consideration what was going on, in a broad sense, you get a bunch of souls, trapped in a bubble, trying to escape. And wouldn’t that just be fitting for a continuation? 

Some other things I wanted to note:

I don’t believe Cas is in heaven. For one thing, narrative wise, makes no sense. There’s no Empty rescue, there’s no reason to believe he got out on his own. The Empty CAN hold humans, they just don’t default to The Empty. But Billie threatened to throw them in there so — The Empty can hold humans so even Cas’ fading grace wouldn’t have had an impact. In all the times Cas has died we have had to wait a very long time to see him again. There’s just one time, the season 5 finale, where we didn’t. Otherwise: Season 4-5 hiatus, Season 7, Season 7-8 hiatus, season 12-13 hiatus and subsequent episodes etc etc. To me, bringing Cas back for 15x20 kind of dulls the impact of 1518 which was just one episode prior. There’s just 15x19 between them [and no even if there was a 22-23 episode season it’s still not enough time]. There’s no effort made to get him. Plot beat wise, it makes literally no sense for him to just magically appear like haha hey waddup it’s ya boi skinny penis 

But also, going along with the Chuck Won theory — Bobby had said that ‘Cas helped’ Jack fix up Heaven. How... in the fuck... did Jack get Cas out of The Empty? How. The Empty hates HATES both of them. ABSOLUTELY Hates them. 

Also, Jack said basically he was going to be hands off, and I’d imagine that includes plucking people down from The Empty. 

However, you know who does pluck people out of The Empty? Chuck. Though no, I don’t think Chuck took Cas out of The Empty either. 

But also, The Empty is loud! Everything is awake! We have no reason to believe it’s not because we weren’t given evidence that anything happened up there. Where we left off was: Cas and Billie taken ALIVE to The Empty which is awake and loud now. Nothing else. 

And Jack MADE it loud. The Empty hates Jack, The Empty hates that Cas keeps getting away — they’re not going to just walk in and walk out. 

So that made no sense to me. 

But also on another note: In 15x02 they managed to sneak in that VERY pointed and thematic line of “You asked what about this is real? We are” from Cas. 

Cas is the ONLY one who has escaped the narrative. It’s why Chuck hates him so much. Cas is the beacon of ‘real’. He’s the truth, he’s the antithesis of Chuck. He’s the Free Will guy and Chuck is the Puppet Strings Guy. 

The reason why, if the Chuck Won theory is correct, I don’t want Cas in “Heaven” is because I don’t want Dean to ever EVER EVER question if Cas is real or not. I don’t want him, if Cas is rescued and they all live happily ever after, to constantly be worried at night that he’s still locked up somewhere and whatever is happening isn’t actually happening. 

Cas has to remain this beacon of truth. Chuck can’t recreate him or make an imitation. Cas has to be able to exist as someone Dean can look at and go ‘Real’. So if Chuck Won is correct, and they’re really not in heaven and it’s all a mirage to placate the boys, then I don’t want Cas there. 

I don’t want Cas, The Truth, Reality, to ever be anything other than that. 

#other things to note: El Sol beer and Dean commenting on it for like the first time?? i think ever??? #The concert was for us not for dean #dean doesn't give any more of a shit about kansas than he does any other 70s band #that's not his favorite band #also in 15x04 chuck spikes the lense twice before he gets his inspiration #anyway this has been brought to you by vyvanse and caffiene #don't do drugs kiddos yayyyy #long post #spn meta #spn spec #all of this to say is that i think in the prequel dean is in this 'heaven' before sam gets there and is pulling on the thread #and wouldn't it just be great that leading into the continuation we get the shot from the bridge but as soon as the cameras are 'off' the #colors go back to gray and blue and dean's like we got work to do #bc he figured it all out WOO #okay i have to go burn this energy off #also like — i know people like the cas is in heaven thing and like the heaven thing #and this isn't to diminish that but to just kind put my thots on paper #or a blog post lol #i know it's sad to think that cas an dean may be apart. but i think maybe bc i'm such a continuation truther #i don't think it'd be like that forever anyway #idk #15x20 felt like dark night of the soul #and not a final thing

[welcometoteyvat]

if cloud retainer’s actually becoming playable they better retain her bird personality instead of making her into some random waifu

#genshin leaks #genshin spoilers #she is one of my favorite npcs (for liyue) for a REASON. that being out of touch old grandmother energy #gives you too straightforward love advice and is oblivious to your growing blush but also stuffs you with clementines on lunar new year vibe #please don't make her into some kind of mommy design mihoyo i'm begging #also not rlly a fan of her supposedly leaked design rip i just really dislike gray themed characters eg haitham #but if she's funny. if she still sounds exactly like bird retainer. i'll pull lmao #it would also be really funny if the leak was wrong and we'll just be stuck with bird retainer forever which i wouldn't mind tbh #she's too good already sjdskjf #ramblings!

[kadoodles-on-ao3]

Thought it would be fun to share that for Christmas my bf got me a custom-made Xenoblade-concept-art puzzle and we're working on it together :)

#aside #xenoblade #is this concept art??? it's in the monado archives but i do know the story behind xc1's lack of/''retro-made'' concept art #either way it's one of my favorite pieces of video game art ever and it was very sweet of my bf to remember that and get this for me :) #the poses and composition are so goodddd and the art style!!! idk if there's a name for it but i LOVE it #it's like pseudo-watercolor-ish? but kind of not? i have no clue how to describe it lol #but some final fantasy art (especially everything from crystal chronicles!! my beloved) is in a similar medium/style and it's just lovely #also this puzzle is so freaking hard lmao it's 1000 pieces and 30% of them are just bluish white #about 40% of them are a jumbled mess of brown and/or gray lines and circles #and then aside from the few identifiable pieces (like their faces) the rest are just red. #so as you can see we've decided to start by doing the red ones haha #it's a fun challenge overall though haha #i can't wait to see what it looks like when it's all put together :) #also yes i know that disconnected spot in the bottom right totally looks like those edge pieces should fit together but they don't #trust me i tried. there's just a lost edge piece somewhere in the middle-piece pile and i desperately need to find it haha #also also fun fact: when i took the second pic my camera recognized Reyn's face as a face hahaha

[deromanus]

my husband is super color blind and sometimes he'll say something like "hey can you hand me that green [thing] over there?" and i'll look confused bc i don't know what he's talking about he just gets all dejected and says "....or whatever color it is 😔"

#his favorite color is gray because it's the one he sees best no joke #we can't play any kind of board games with color coded tokens #he can't see the leaves changing in the fall either #and he frequently has no idea when i've dyed my hair

[camerica]

#the gray man is WAY too much fun #i hate the 'stache but my man is KILLING IT #CAUSE I GOT SHOT IN THE ASS SUZANNE #is my favorite fucking line of all time #that chris evans has ever said on a non-marvel movie #chris needs to play a villain more often #this is some good timetravel!steve content #precisely the kind of shit steve would do just to get to bucky

[britishchick09]

some appreciation for oroyeso (and alfredo) in the rewrite! :D

...and the mini series! ;)

#oroyeso is my favorite rewrite character outside of the main quartet #he's so supportive and kind! :) #truly the jolliest soul around! ;D #alfredo is cool too :) #in the rewrite he's a small man with gray hair but honestly? i'm digging the prequel obi wan look in the mini series! :D #how could you not like a guy named after yummy pasta sauce? #oroyeso and alfredo are great pals! (and they seem to be in the mini series too!) #it's funny they perform 'don juan' alongside flora from the mini series carlous from the book and vercheres from the 1943 movie! #and carlotta piangi and christine ;) #the rewrite is a melting pot of poto! :D #and it sure is a delicious one :) #OROYESO'S SMILE IN THE 2ND PIC THO #edit: since the rat catcher is a small man with gray hair alfredo is now french prequel obi wan! :D #poto rewritten

[wolvereaux]

sometimes the need for a haircut is prompted by Too Shaggy.

others, it's when the buzzcut has grown out far enough that the gray hairs are noticeable again. begone beasts.

#one of my favorite coworkers was shocked when I told her I had gray hair #so I took off my hat to show her #cue her carding through my hair to see (which was funny tbh) #and she informed me that those weren't gray hairs! they're silver!! #bestie that's what gray hairs ARE lmao #DISCLAIMER THAT HAVING GRAY/SILVER HAIR IS FINE AND I DON'T REALLY SUPER MIND THEM!! #IT'S JUST KIND OF A MARKER OF 'BUZZCUT IS NOW NO LONGER A BUZZCUT AND IT'S TIME TO MAINTAIN THAT SUCKER' #YA FEEL?

[beestandsforbiancanottheanimal]

"tim's favorite taylor song-" WRONG first of all that boy is a 90's boy let him be butttt if we're going that road anyway tim would obviously be more of a lana del rey fan like please

#idk I was listening to snow in the beach and this came to my mind #even so i know I'm right #wich takes me to #Right Opinions from an Autistic Teenager #i want to quit the caps but it helps with the emphasis idk #going on #i think it would be something like this #dick: katy perry/lady gaga #jason: olivia rodrigo #(don't ask about it I was listening to favorite crime and it felt right yes?) #(I mean #I really don't feel like he listens to much music #least of all THIS kind of music) #(so take this mainly as a joke? but not completely cause I can see him with some of her songs) #(like vampire and favorite crime and hope ur ok) ( #but not completely y'know?) #tim: lana del rey #damian: conan gray #(same that with jason #but like #with crush culture) #(but not completely the same as with jason) #(I'm very serious with this one) #(same with jason as in it came to me while listening to a specific song) #(but I stand by it) #(damian listens to conan gray and you can't change my mind) #stephanie: little mix #cass: taylor swift #(but like) #(her softer and like deep ones)