The Notes For This Post Are GOLD!

David Tennant with his wife

David Tennant without his wife

She’s back!

Aziraphale once decided to gift Crowley a plant, because he knows that Crowley likes them, and it’s all good, except, Crowley can’t put the fear of, well, himself into this plant. It is a gift from Zira, after all.

Crowley: YOU ALL, YOU’VE DISAPPOINTED ME. GROW BETTER!!!

Crowley, turning to the plant that Aziraphale gave him: not you, sweetie, you’re doing great

Why are you determined to make me reread Pride and Prejudice for the umpteen-zillionth time?

Did someone say reread Pride and Prejudice for the umpteen-zillionth time?!

I’ve seen a lot of wonderful analyses on how Aziraphale played up the part of Crowley, but I haven’t seen much on Crowley’s portrayal of Aziraphale. This is the angel he’s been in love with for millennia, the angel he’s watched and guarded and adored since before written history began, and finally in the very last episode we get to see what Aziraphale looks like through his eyes. 

Standing before the one thing in the universe that could actually destroy him, Crowley’s Aziraphale is resolute, unflinching, gracious to the very end. He talks about the greater good and how angels are meant to be the champions of that greater good even when it goes against how the Great Plan was written. He stands up and speaks his truth even in the face of total opposition. And when the Archangel Gabriel, the person Aziraphale has always tried to emulate, tried to impress, tells him in no uncertain terms that this is what heaven does to the people who fight for the right thing, Aziraphale straightens his shoulders and lifts his chin and says, “It’s been lovely knowing you all. May we meet on a better occasion.” And then he steps into the flames. 

We’ve seen other sides of Aziraphale. We’ve seen him be selfish, gluttonous, desperate, closed minded, we’ve seen him be just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing, but when Crowley is asked to take the part of Aziraphale this is who he chooses. This is who he really believes Aziraphale is deep down: kind, chivalrous, compassionate, brave, the sort of angel that heaven ought to be peopled with. The sort of angel who smiles even though he’s broken. The sort of angel who doesn’t mind dying as long as he did the right thing. 

dealing with the worst case scenario

your condom breaks

you feel a lump on your breast

your friends are ignoring you

you’re stranded on an island 

you got rejected by a crush

you get into a car accident

you got stung by a bee/wasp

you got fired from your job

you’re in an earthquake

your tattoo gets infected

your house is on fire

you’re lost in the woods

you get arrested abroad

you get robbed

your partner cheated on you

you’re on a ship that’s sinking

you fall into ice

you’re stuck in an elevator

you hit a deer with your car

you have food poisoning

your pet passed away

you fall off of a horse

you or your friend has alcohol poisoning

you have toxic shock syndrome

your house has a gas leak

Movie Rec: "Jab We Met" (Bollywood)

“Jab We Met” is a pretty traditional romance narrative at surface level, which is also quietly but very effectively subverting a lot of the common romance tropes.  It’s one of my favorite Bollywood movies, but it’s rarely one that I use to convert people mostly because it isn’t a movie that could only exist in Bollywood.  It’s a pretty universally awesome romance narrative, all around. 

HOWEVER, there is an aspect of it that makes it more subversive given the cultural context, which is that the heroine, while wanting a romantic happy ending for herself, wants one that’s traditionally frowned upon by her culture.

While the narrative starts with the premise of a Brooding Hero meeting his Manic Pixie Dreamgirl, that’s where the similarities end.  Because we find out a lot more about Geet, her hopes and dreams, and her family than we ever do about him.  One of the only things we do know about him is that at some point in his childhood, his mother ran off with another man because she didn’t love his father.  The language used to describe her elopement will give you an idea of just how huge of a deal elopement is in this culture, and what kind of social disgrace Geet is possibly setting herself up for by wanting to elope. 

However, the movie has Geet identifying with the mother pretty early on, and before the movie ends, this turns into an epic commentary on women and their choices and about doing what makes you happy rather than following social conventions that stifle you.  So the most important thing we DO know about him still becomes about her.  <3 

I never have much to say about men in fiction, but the male protagonist of this movie is one that I quite like.  He spends a good part of the movie being in love with her, but never even telling her, because he sees that as his own issue, and nothing *she* should be burdened with.  Like, he has ZERO need for his feelings for her to be validated or returned.  Which NEVER happens in romance narrative (except for in “Pride and Prejudice,” and that’s why it’s my favorite.)

And Geet!  <3  Geet is one of the most self-assured and confident heroines I have ever come across in any narrative.  She knows what she wants, and she has no hesitation or doubts about how she’s going to get it.  She has a strong sense of self that briefly wavers in the face of the utter force of everything that’s against her, but comes back stronger than ever. 

This is, by all means, set up as a narrative where the heroine would Learn Her Lesson about Wanting Unconventional Things, but the entire movie sets out to show HER way of life as the correct one, with everyone around her adapting to her worldview.  Even though the specifics of what she wants for herself change, she still gets the exact kind of happy ending she set out to chase for herself.

 I also love her need to create drama and constantly strive to write out a more interesting narrative for herself than the one life would otherwise give her.  She reminds me of Jane Austen’s Emma Woodhouse or Catherine Morland, except that both of these women had to learn a lesson about Needing to be Serious/Mature (from the men they loved), while Geet keeps on being herself, and the guy has to change himself to adapt to her viewpoint.  <3

Like, the speech that both Emma and Catherine get from the Men Who Love Them and Know Better?  Geet gets that about halfway through the movie, only to totally set the guy straight, and that is literally the actual moment he falls for her.  BECAUSE SHE REFUSED TO SUBSCRIBE TO HIS WORLD VIEW.  And then he subscribes to her awesomeness.  You should, too.  

These tags! ❤ @ishqsa

Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum | Episode 56    ↳ Rohit & Sonakshee

Matilda (1996), dir. Danny DeVito

little miracle

😂😂😂

can you imagine how crowley would have reacted if he had witnessed gabriel giving aziraphale a hard time about his tummy