#farscaping

[l0cal-cryptid]

Ka D'Argo study (sorta)

[serenabenson]

the vibe watching prayer is like abject suffering and primal horror and overwhelming nausea coupled w astonishment that claudia black did not go on to have a career after this where she was in literally everything. is there any justice in this world.

[audible-smiles]

Farscape: time for the Chiana/Jothee fuck subplot!

every single person watching Farscape:

[l0cal-cryptid]

Farscape specific Art Dump

Bonus

[l0cal-cryptid]

a doodle from my break today

Im gonna draw that stupid lizard man so good one of these days just you wait

[l0cal-cryptid]

The Wicker Man (1979)

Farscape S0#E0#

[serenabenson]

post-won't get fooled again i keep thinking thinking thinking about john/aeryn. how when an aeryn that shows up in john's funhouse mirror maze horror show that actually seems like it could be her, his relief that it's over is so palpable, only for him to lose it even worse when that aeryn he thinks has come to save him is revealed as another distorted reflection. i don't think it's a coincidence that the lure of an aeryn who could actually be Aeryn comes after the intensity of the torture has gone up, after the point it's gotten so bad that john has already begged them to stop being so cruel (to the image of his dying mother: "no, please, thi-- please, please. god, this is just cruel. please don't.") aeryn is a symbol of protection, of safety, to him, and that's what's really got me bugging, because it's an inversion of the usual science fiction tropes wrt gender roles, embodied in them as a central couple.

on a character level, aeryn, from the beginning, is set up as the stronger of the two, both physically and mentally, while john is the one needing guidance and correction and-- often-- protection, who wants to spend a lot of time talking about his feelings, and her feelings, and understanding the world around him. her frustration ("all you do is talk!") going all the way back to the pilot with one of their first real exchanges being about compassion, or her lack thereof. part of the reason john/aeryn even happens in the first place is because john-- hurled to the ass-end of the universe-- immediately imprints on her as the first being he comes into contact with that *looks* like him, even though she is also the most immediate threat to his safety. aeryn is the first thing he recognizes as familiar at all.

as the plot marches on, aeryn's role solidifies into a bruiser. not quite on par with d'argo, perhaps, but if anyone is doing some fighting, or some shooting, it's usually either of them. on a narrative level, too, her personal arc is about choice-- her actively trying to become more. she doggedly works to grow, to connect, to emotionally soften and complicate herself, in spite of her fear and discomfort. in contrast, john's plot becomes so much about his relative lack of agency-- he becomes an object, almost a macguffin--and his story is about the toll that it takes on him, and, by extension, those trying to protect him. half the galaxy is out to get john as a result of, first, a mistake, and later, because he has become a vessel for knowledge he isn't even aware he has, knowledge he can't even access himself. information that was implanted inside him without his knowledge or consent in the first place! he can do nothing about the circumstances that have led him to where he is-- the only thing he can do is try and fight to the best of his ability as the noose tightens around his neck.

and then. won't get fooled again. john, tortured by scarrans as a result of scorpius' hunt for him (not even as a consequence of his own actions!), trapped in a neverending party of the worst fever dreams his own imagination can offer him, intentional perversions of his most cherished memories and ideals. he keeps trying to connect with not-aeryn, and you can see it hurts him every time "bettina" (and d'argo/gary, zhaan, chiana) isn't who he's looking for. and then! an aeryn shows up that seems to be aeryn, dressed in her peacekeeper leathers, hair pulled back severely, and-- most key-- who seems to be trying to find him. aeryn draws her pulse pistol, and john falls to his knees. the next shot of his hand shaking as he reaches to touch her boot...... my god. with aeryn there he calms, he centers, he starts to catch his breath, until he realizes that this aeryn isn't there to save him after all. this is the last full sequence we see in his mind-- after that are flashes which end, again, on the image of his mother as she's dying, asking him to stay with her as she goes. per the scarran, this is kalvo 10 stimuli, brain scrambling so strong the scarran believes that it kills him when he collapses. at that point, john’s worst nightmare, one of the biggest fears john could dream of right underneath having to experience again his mother's agony while dying, is an aeryn who finds him suffering, but leaves him behind to endure more of it. again i say. My God.