Ymmv - Tumblr Posts

Hey OP, I feel ya. I really do. But the nice thing is that there’s an easy something you (yes you!) can do about that! You can just ask, in a totally chill and platonic way, “hey, do you mind if I rest my head on your shoulder/put my arm around you/give you a hug?” It took me the longest time to realize that as much as I’m a touchy-feely person, so are many, many other people.

That’s only my experience, but I think it makes a lot of sense -- humans like touch, and we like feeling close to each other. And while a lot of the time that stuff reads as ““romantic”“ it really really don’t have to. By challenging that idea and being physically close with your friends, you can help to change that :) Plus, who doesn’t like being cozy with their pals?

Sometimes I get the worst yearning to just lean in and hold my friend, but like--platonically. I don't know his orientation but I wouldn't want him to think anything of it either way. I wish touch wasn't seen as such a romantic thing at times

I have started to think of the Jedi being blamed for the Fall of the Republic like blaming firefighters for wildfires.

They have been fighting fires (corruption) for years, but the fire is getting bigger and hotter and spreading farther. They're doing their best but there aren't enough of them to go everywhere there are fires. The Senate points them to where really big fires are, but sometimes it turns out they just want their property saved and there weren't that many people in the building. The Jedi still save lives but they have to look at the bigger picture and hope volunteers will put out the little fires because they simply don't have the people for every little fire even though they wish they did. The Senate starts restricting their use of water. Then an arsonist, Palpatine, is made mayor and takes control of their budget.

Dooku and the CIS start lighting fires on purpose. Palpatine let's Dooku know where the most flammable places are.

And the firefighters (Jedi) keep fighting the fire. They can't not fight the fire. People will die if they don't fight the fire. Then the government is like: there are not enough firefighters to fight the fire, but here is a large population of people we will force to fight the fire with you. You shouldn't have qualms, apparently an individual that used to work for you is the one that paid for their training so really they're your responsibility. You'll be in charge of them on the field and get to watch them die, but we control their lives and have decided they're not people so we don't have to pay them. Good deal. We are good at fighting fires.

And the Jedi can't say no because they need to stop the fire and they can't do it alone at this point. Many of the Jedi are killed in their attempts to stop the gasoline fire Dooku lights and it shows how badly they need these new people.

Luckily, the people drafted to fight with them, the clones are also good at fighting fires! It's dangerous many clones will die, but despite having no choice they stand beside the Jedi bravely. The Jedi do everything in their power to protect them. They fight alongside them and try to minimize loss.

There are a few Jedi that get overwhelmed by anger or trauma. They become arsonists themselves, but the number of those that do can be counted on one hand compared to the thousands of Jedi that continue to fight fires.

Sadly, the clones have explosives inside them that Palpatine, the mayor, has the trigger for. Just when it feels like the fire is under control and the people lighting the fires have been stopped, Palpatine sets them off.

Most of the clones are never the same. They think the Jedi had to have set off the bombs inside them, even though they would have never thought them capable of it before. Most never learn the truth. They hate the Jedi for being traitors.

Most of the firefighters die. And their families too. Their children and uncles and aunts and grandparents, and cousins even if they weren't capable of fighting fires they all get burned to death.

The mayor declares it was the firefighters lighting fires and outlaws being a firefighter.

Some of the Jedi survive. Some of them can't bring themselves to fight fires anymore. Some of them keep doing it because it's what they were trained to do. A lot of them are novices who didn't know all the best techniques, but they find their own methods to put out fires and teach others how to do it as well.

And the rebellion begins because when you see fire the logical thing to do is put it out, but all the firefighters are dead or in hiding and being a firefighter is illegal. There's no one to call so the town's people start doing it themselves, inspired by the Jedi.

This becomes extremely important when the mayor makes a device that can light entire cities on fire at the push of a button.

Anyway that's my metaphor and maybe explains my point of view when it comes to the Jedi.

Haven’t seen you since….

A Good Omens opinion piece

Oh… It's you. Dear me. Haven't seen you since… the flood? Ah, yeah. Mm-hmm.

This quick dialog in the opening of S2E2 has long bounced around in the back of my mind. Why do Aziraphale and Crowley have this little exchange? What is Neil trying to convey to us? I’m going to share my interpretation of it, just my opinion. I imagine it's one of many possible interpretations.

Those two lines help to establish that Aziraphale and Crowley haven’t seen each other in a long time, 500+ years since the flood. And it was another 1000 years before that since they were on the Garden wall together. They do not yet know each other all that well, as angel and demon, when we see them in the Land of Uz.

This felt important to me. And what I’ve come up with so far in my own head is that it put me in mind that Crowley’s leap of faith to reveal to Aziraphale, that he, Crowley, was not in 100% alignment with hell, was a large leap. He didn’t kill the goats. He was defying hell and his orders.

I imagine that he took this leap because he had observed Aziraphale giving away his flaming sword. He noted that Aziraphale was uncomfortable with what was happening with the flood and having to try and defend heaven. I can imagine that Crowley saw an angel who just might not be 100% in alignment with heaven. So, he took a chance.

The friendship may have started at the Garden wall. But this is where, to me, their bond started. No “falling in love at first sight” in the beginning, nor on the wall, nor at the flood. But from here, this collaboration to sabotage the Job bet, is the point from which their relationship truly started. From here the love grew slowly, eventually profoundly deep, and indescribably strong, over the long passage of time.