#honest thoughts

[wistfulnightingale]

Further thoughts about the finale. (spoilers). Why the epilogue still feels broken...

I'm really struggling to sort this out. In spite of my sadness and disappointment (which I recognize as my own), I do see that there is a beauty in Crowley's decision, and Aziraphale's loving choice to fully support it, no matter how heart-wrenching it was. I could work on grieving and rebuilding, and possibly manage it eventually. My problem is, the sacrificial beauty of that decision -- choosing freedom for the world -- got very broken in the execution.

The themes of Choice and Free Will, what is Right vs what is Good, have been woven throughout Good Omens from the beginning. And in those final moments in the bookshop, Crowley and Aziaphale choose what they believe IS both right and good for humanity -- given the crappy parameters set by an uncaring deity. But I don't think that's what we see played out in the human epilogue.

I want to believe that God cared just enough to allow Aziraphale and Crowley to repeat and repeat, to finally have the space to love each other. If the show had actually shown us that within the story itself, I could work with that. It didn't. We were shown most of our beloved characters all assembled again, each as someone entirely new with similar vibes yet healed and happy gathered together coincidentally in the exact same place at the exact same time.

That's where the Free Will, Ineffable semi-reincarnation, follow-your-own-path-now ending shatters itself.

I'm sure it was meant to feel emotionally satisfying to see everyone again, together and living without the pressures of heaven and hell and destiny. Whoops... Destiny. There's the shattering. The setup breaks the story's justification for its own ending.

Because it feels pre-destined. Fated. Which means, somehow not entirely Free. (And I'm not referring to Asa and Anthony finding each other.) In a random and evolving world, with billions of decisions being made every minute, the familiar assemblage of the now-never-existed angels and demons and SoHo humans and a once-upon-time never-was Savior and Antichrist all somehow now exist as humans in the same time frame of history. In the same city, same neighborhood.

Asa still works for the "new and improved" Metatron as Derek (fun naming tho!) -- Eric and Muriel fulfill those glances -- Josh and Adam, equal counterbalances in the old universe, are hanging out -- Justine's working in a restaurant, still wearing a beret -- Mr. Arnold is still wearing a celery boutonniere... Echoes and replays, bouncing through time and space and somehow creating such remarkably similar patterns.

How can those echoes exist for Everyone There when the story told us they all ceased to exist as if they never were?

And they all coincidentally hang out at the same restaurant. And all happened to be there at the hour of Asa and Anthony's first date.

It feels very... Ineffable. It cheapens the attempt at a reassuring reward for Our Beloved Angel and Former Demon, and calls into question whether God actually kept her end of the deal. Or did she shift the cards again?

(further discussed under the cut)

In a universe that's completely free of God and Fate and Destiny (pre-determinism), that level of coincidence, with that many players, is an impossibility. If it had only been Asa and Anthony finding each other, loving each other at first sight, and uniting their lives together, it could feel like God wove a reward for them into the new universe She created before she exited herself. Even their Eden-like apple tree would be a gentle nod to the history that no longer exists.

It could have been something to tuck into our hearts and eventually, maybe, find comfort in. I'm trying so hard to master my grief and give it a fair assessment here.

It resonated in my chest when I saw it, without knowing why. An unnamed cognitive dissonance. When Good Omens put everyone back together for a feel-good, they shattered the meaning of The Sacrifice.

I don't see how it can be both. Either Crowley and Aziraphale's sacrifice bought Free Will for humanity, or it was nearly meaningless because there is still an external force -- whether active or built into the design -- directing lives to be in the right place at the right time... like pieces on a chess board.

Could that have been the point? That even the most loving and noble sacrifice can never truly achieve freedom? That we can never get out from under the thumb of Destiny, Fate, or whatever Universe-Guiding Force brought everyone together there? Did the playful, sometimes joyful, philosophical challenge within Good Omens lead us to either inescapable predeterminism or nihilism?

It may not have been purposeful. But it's why many of us can't get past feeling hollow and betrayed. If unintentional, then the ending wasn't thought-out enough. They missed the implications scattered in it.

It was a loving intention to try to give us a mood-lifting "happy ending", but they didn't recognize where it could lead us.

It's okay that some of us are happy with this ending. It's also okay that some of us can't resolve it. We will do what we always have done in this community -- share our thoughts and ideas with openness and respect, appreciate each heart and mind we encounter, and accept and move on when someone reaches conclusions we feel unable to embrace.

Together we can find a work-around. Whether we celebrate, sigh, or weep, we can still rebuild Our World. Because it's Ours, woven into our hearts.

When you feel able to, dear heart, please join me in raising your glass, mug, or teacup --

To Our World...! 🥂✨

[crazycatsiren]

Honesty time: I don't think self hatred leads to effective activism, or effective anything for that matter, based on my own experiences with people.

Those who hate themselves, tend to project that hatred onto others. Those who are unhappy with their own lives, tend to make others unhappy. Misery loves company. Those who are miserable tend to want to make others miserable.

I have had friendship after friendship go up in flames, because I simply can't help those who don't want to help themselves, and they were dragging me down and down with them and with their unhealed shit. And this goes the other way around, too: there's no being there for others, if you're not here for yourself.

[sunlitcourts]

Dear anon, who didn’t want me to publish their ask:

Thank you for sending me your thoughts! I still wanted to share my thoughts with you, so instead of publishing your ask, I will just talk about it! I hope you see this.

I’m not going to lie, hearing this from someone who doesn’t even read explicit fic was incredibly validating. I struggle with some Jerejean fics because even without anything explicit, the personalization (and I really mean personally) just grates on me. I kept wondering if I was imagining it or being too sensitive. With Jean, people tend to crank up a few of his canon traits—the possessiveness, the jealousy, the violence, the intensity—and, it does makes me incredibly uncomfortable sometimes, but with Jeremy, they sometimes strip away whole parts of who he is in canon. It’s such an odd imbalance, and it’s reassuring to know I’m not the only one who sees it.

This “bottom” or "submisive" version of him exists because they seem to want Jean to be the stabilizing force in their relationship, rewriting Jeremy in the process. In my very personal opinion,Jean can absolutely be a stabilizing force for Jeremy in the same way Jeremy has been for him, but that doesn’t require turning Jean into a macho savior daddy and Jeremy into a damsel in distress. Jean wasn’t “saved” by Jeremy in canon. And Jeremy doesn’t need to be rescued from himself by Jean either—he might need help, grounding, or someone to lean on, but that’s not the same as being fragile or helpless. Their relationship doesn’t have to be framed as Jean swooping in to save the day; it works because they steady each other, not because one of them is rewritten as weak so the other can play hero.

And I am quoting you in this because YES YES YES: it might be just me, but I never considered Jeremy to be outright insecure. Having low self-worth and being insecure are not the same in my eyes. Jeremy is confident in many things: socially, athletically, sexually, etc. He doubts his value, not his competence, not really. His confidence is gentle and wavers sometimes, but it’s there.

I also agree that with what we know about Jeremy from before Noah's passing, whatever softness he grows into later, it’s layered over a core that’s always been sharp, reactive, and not submissive.

And I’m not saying people who prefer bottom‑Jean never go too far to make Jerejean fit more into the top and bottom roles—that definitely happens—but in general I feel they at least try to keep the two of them balanced. And that’s really the heart of it for me: when people lean toward bottom‑Jean, I feel like there’s usually at least some effort to keep both characters intact: Jean gets to be soft without losing his edge, and Jeremy gets to be warm without losing his backbone. Their dynamic works because they’re both complex, both capable, both shaped by trauma and growth. They’re at their best when they’re allowed to meet as equals.

I don’t want to tear down anyone’s preferences—I keep repeating that everyone has the right to interpret the characters however they want, but it's necessary—but for me, it’s like wasabi. A lot of people genuinely love it, and that’s great for them, but I can’t stand even the smell. So when those particular tropes show up, especially the ones that flatten Jeremy or turn their dynamic into something I don’t recognize, it’s just not something I can enjoy, even if I understand that others do.

[thepittrat]

Do we think Mel was a belieber? or is still a belieber?

[natalielatis]

I’m rebuilding a version of myself after years of being made to feel like I was too much, too intense, or simply wrong.

Everything is changing — my body, my voice, my boundaries, the way I process grief, my friendships, connections, and what I seek and understand as love.

I’m learning to inhabit my body as if it truly belongs to me, not something foreign or borrowed.

I’m still here, against all odds.

I’m still trying.

I’m still me.

[kyg-photography]

tw: mental health; dissociating

Dissociating is like walking in thick fog; wandering around with your hands stretched out before you, desperately searching for something to hold on to, to ground yourself with, any kind of familiarity that can lead you back home. But instead of finding comfort, you find ghosts and monsters from your past, grotesquely amalgamated together, so you don't know when or where you are in time, and then you forget who are you too.

@k-y-g // @unwanted-daughter

📸: arisaig, scotland, uk 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[omegansamurai]

You know, I gotta be honest...

I...kind of thought season 2 of NATLA was...okay. Not bad, but not great.

I mean, don't get me wrong, there were good ideas in this season, like the Beifongs being associated with the Avatar, Iroh's guilt, and the White Lotus just being retired Fire Nation Army folks. Even Jet's sacrifice in the Spirit World was gut-wrenching. There were some actual good changes and moments in this season...however...something bothered me as I kept watching it. Now, this isn't about ships or anything, although I was a little disappointed that there weren't a lot more Taang friendship moments in this season, when I think they need it the most here to solidify that they are friends. And while I'm on the topic of ships, I will give a breakdown of how each ship was handled this season:

Taang: It's...there...the showrunners of NATLA said they were sibling-coded, which...is not a good sign for me. And it really did show in this season, kind of. I mean, they're friends first and foremost; they're not related, for crying out loud. I really thought they were going to go deep in their friendship, really, since that famous line in season three about "Friendships last longer than a lifetime" was going to be present. I like the first meet-up they had...but it was just one moment. I guess they were trying to cut some of those Taang friendship moments for time, but even then, the cartoon never really explored their friendship that much, as it just...got pushed aside. And it kind of did that in NATLA as well...which seemed to focus almost a little bit on the next ship that I'll cover here. A ship I'm not too fond of, and even then, this ship came...almost out of nowhere, I would think, to people who are getting into Avatar.

Kataang: This was...a little TOO tame. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm really glad they didn't go full-on romance between Aang and Katara, and I'm glad they didn't go full-on creepy mode for Aang with Katara, but even then, when season one was airing, he didn't actually say outright that he liked Katara. It was also like Aang was beating around the bush in saying that he likes her in the last episode. And really, Katara being unaware that Aang likes her is valid, and honestly, she should view Aang as a little brother since he was...you know, a KID one time. Honestly, when they have their moments, I actually did cringe. Cause it's like...ew. You were a kid one time, Aang; just cause you shot up and got taller does not mean you need to be in a relationship with an older young woman. And to be honest, I didn't really watch the last part of the last episode of season 2, because I thought I was going to get Kataang overload after Aang got shot with lightning, where it doesn't really need it...I mean, it really doesn't. Focus on the friends instead of Katara, or just focus on the friend group being concerned about Aang...I just didn't want to see that cringe. I know Kataang is supposed to be canon in the cartoon, but...well, I'll get back to this topic. Time for the next ship.

Sukka: I mean...I was digging it...until she had to separate herself from Sokka at the entrance to Ba Sing Se. Which...was heartbreaking to me. I felt for Sokka...honestly, I hope they don't kill Suki off. I am actually serious; I hope they don't. If they do, no way, it's over. Nah-uh. Not watching any of it.

Zutara: I mean...I guess it sets it up...I like their talk in their cell...but really, they should've done something different with the betrayal. Like, as Zuko and Katara fight each other, they would exchange words, and Katara would ask why or something. I don't know; the Zutara parts feel a little tacked on. I feel like they could've done something different with the scene where Iroh was shot with lightning, and Katara could heal him with the Spirit Water, ignoring Zuko's protest...but again, I'll get to that topic in a moment. One more ship to go, and this one...I don't really like. And even then, it was...odd how they did it.

Tokka: Yeah, the haiku thing...that was...it was hard for me to watch. It was really because I'm wondering where they're going with this, cause like...I don't know, I had an idea where Suki was still in Ba Sing Se, and Sokka would make a haiku for Suki...I would think that would be a lot wholesomer. This, though...I mean, I'm sorry, power to you if you like this couple, but I just find it...weird...like why focus a segment on this? Why would you focus on THIS friendship when Aang and Toph's friendship needs the most development? Seriously.

Now, for the criticisms.

Honestly, they could've just made it different than the cartoon and still kept the essence of Avatar. But that's the other thing; I think they were trying too hard to make it almost like the cartoon while trying to put new things in it. I mean, I like the new stuff, but...well...really, I think it all comes down to the Gaang's relationship. It all felt...forced? Like some of the romance bits and the Gaang friendship moments felt forced. The story is good, but...the character interactions are just...flat. I hope that makes sense. Like I was expecting deep connections with some characters...I don't know, maybe there were; I just felt like Aang and Toph's relationship was pushed aside. I mean, he didn't even apologize to her before he got zapped! I hope they fix that in the first episode of season 3...which I hope is better than season 2.

Either way, I feel like NATLA would benefit from letting the characters interact more in a meaningful way. In fact, they didn't have to limit it to 7 episodes; they could've added one more to showcase all of that. They didn't have to use special effects on that episode at all if all they did was act and use practical sets.

But yeah, I can only hope season 3 will be a lot better...until then, I thought season 2 was...meh.

But with all that said, I wanted to be honest with my thoughts. I'll still give NATLA a chance...although I won't watch all of season 3 when it drops. I'll just hear from word of mouth about how it is. ^^;

So yeah, I get the criticisms, but come on, it's not that horrible. Some of these Avatar fans are being hyperbolic about it, saying it's worse than the 2010 movie...like, nah, man, get over yourself. XP At least with Netflix, they care about this IP, unlike (maybe)Paramount and the creators, Bryke. Yeah, I went there. Bryke doesn't care about their IP; they care about that fame and those dollar signs. XP

Anyway, that's my rant. What do you all think of this season? :O