I am bloody freezing - at home, at the office, in my bed. It's nineteen degrees in my room and my balcony doors believe in breezes. *shakes fist*
I'm trying to post more often, namely so that I don't drown in links, but also because I just seem to have lost the habit of writing shit down. I've been using the same diary since 2007, for example.
Sickle's Supernatural Review, "Defending Your Life":
My review will limit itself to one thing and one thing only: Egyptian mythology. For everything else, check out my flailings with my darlings below.
So. I'm delighted that Show's getting its gods back. I love Hammer of the Gods, although it was also disappointing. I guess I loved the concept more than the execution. But now that we've had Castiel turn god, it was only a matter of time - or so my little fangirl heart thought - for more gods to show up. (And speaking of, where the hell is Kali, writers? And why isn't she dragging Gabriel back from wherever he poofed off to?)
Aaaand yeah. Show does its research and you've got to love them, but of course it's hard to write a story about a god and put in all the nuances without sitting Sam down in front of the camera and having him nerd-out on us. (I'd be fine with that, by the way.)
I squealed so hard when we learned it was Osiris who was behind everything. I've got a mad love for Ancient Egyptian mythology. So I was a bit miffed with how they boiled Osiris down (and that he wasn't green, that was a sad, sad thing).
So who's Osiris, you say? Wikipedia to the rescue!
...an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and holding a symbolic crook and flail.
As ruler of the dead, Osiris is also sometimes called "king of the living", since the Ancient Egyptians considered the blessed dead "the living ones".
Osiris is not only a merciful judge of the dead in the afterlife, but also the underworld agency that granted all life, including sprouting vegetation and the fertile flooding of the Nile River. He is described as the "Lord of love", "He Who is Permanently Benign and Youthful" and the "Lord of Silence".
Did we see any of this? Not so much. Now, what Bobby was talking about with the weighing of the soul heart and the feather isn't so much Osiris all on his lonesome as much as also other gods and monsters and the weighing of the heart and The Book of the Dead. Yes, like in The Mummy.
The feather is a representation of the goddess Maat:
...the Ancient Egyptian concept of truth, balance, order, law, morality, and justice. Maat was also personified as a goddess regulating the stars, seasons, and the actions of both mortals and the deities, who set the order of the universe from chaos at the moment of creation.
Seriously, Show, how hard was it to find an ostrich feather this day and age to put on Osiris' table?
While Osiris was the judge of the heart, there were other deities present at the trial. Also present at the trial - particularly the actual weighing - was Ammitt, a monstrous creature with the head of a crocodile, the front legs and body of a lion or leopard, and the back legs of the hippopotamus. Ammitt would eat the heart if it was too heavy with sin.
Again, this would have been awesome to see. Or even not see. Who's to say Ammitt isn't a hellhound? It is a beast of the underworld, after all.
So I was sad to see Osiris and the weighing of the heart be reduced to "but do you feel guilty" and then death-by-ghost. I see how it'd be necessary in the narrative, but again, a big-ass necklace does not mean "Osiris, Egyptian god" so much as, well, "stereotypical Ancient Egyptian". *sigh* Not even a feather.
While we're on Egyptian mythology, I just want to write down a bit on the Egyptian concept of souls, because it is awesome. There are five parts to the soul:
- Ib - heart - the seat of emotion, thought, will and intention
- Sheut - shadow - unlike Peter Pan, a person could not exist without a shadow and vice versa
- Ren - name - one's name would live for as long as that name was spoken
- Ba - soul - everything that makes an individual unique; personality
- Ka - vital spark - what distinguishes the living from the dead
- Akh - the dead - a union of Ba and Ka after death
With
seschat: ..surprisingly no canyons. Well, alright, maybe some for Dean, because the whole episode was about how Dean feels guilty about everything and everyone and how he's ruined everyone's lives (oh hai Jo!) and the poor guy actually had to give himself A PEP TALK to hook up with a girl (and he was already drunk!) so Dean's a far cry from the cocky lovable flirty fiend in S1.
ETA: There were actually TWO women in the fridge that episode: the monster Dean killed behind Sam's back and Jo, so that was double the angst and double the manpain. (Not that she showed up in the episode apart from flashbacks. If she'd been called to testify against Dean, now THAT would have been awesome. But no, we got Jo. Who was basically brought back as Pretty Woman Bearing Angst.)
With
mrscastielftw,
here:
The writers gave us absolutely amazing Lucifer, when I was crying too hard to appreciate it and now, I long for his snark. - Now I desperately want to see Lucifer critiquing Sam's brushing technique, or making lewd comments while he gargles, or something. But no, we just get references to Lucifer's awesome snark. :(
Let go of black and white - Go to grey side: The characters are more interesting, the plots are richer, and we have cookies! - *prints and frames* This is now my Everything Grey motto \o/
However, so far season seven has been all about my Sam love. I am perplexed and concerned about this dramatic switch in my emotions. - Same with me. I've never not liked Sam, but the level of love I've got for him this season is ridiculous. (Granted, there's not much outlet for my love at the moment, what with the dead, the missing, and the black-and-whting...)
Are we not supposed to remember Sam’s epic guilt about all the crap he did while he was soulless? Did season six magically disappear? Was the wall made of guilt and when it crumbled, Sam was better off psychologically? Maybe that’s why Cas did it - He was helping out a friend *Ponders* - I found some meta on that you might be interested in:
Why does Sam feel good?
Here's someone's drabble of Lucifer critiquing Sam's brushing XD
Also, next week's episode? All the squees.
Meme: 30-Day Original Story Development Challenge
Here is a 30 day original story development challenge. It can be filled by prose or illustration or comic or even just script, whatever works for you and how you’ll be displaying the setting. Feel free to reveal as much or as little as you want.
Day 18 - What would your protagonist do if they saw your antagonist on the street?
The little things he could fix, mused Chip. The broken headlights and the rust were nothing he hadn't dealt with before. Hell, even the chipped paint could be fixed after a word with Chuck and the restocking crew. The tires were trickier: the treds looked pretty worn out and they probably had more punctures than were worth fixing. It wasn't that replacement tires were hard to find, it was just that they took time to extract and that time was spent in areas where any time spent was too much.
Those things Chip could fix. It was the bigger things - the caved-in roof, the trunk so warped it barely closed, the side-view mirror hanging down like a bloodhound's ear - that were out of his league. He wondered if they weren't out of Thomas' league as well. The camp's mechanic could probably resurrect the Imapal's engine, but Chip doubted either of them could get the car looking halfway decent again. Someone - Dean - had put their back into putting her out of commission.
Chip pressed a hand to the hot metal, running his fingers along a crease in the hood, brushing off paint chips and dust. These mental exercises - tallying up the hurt and how to fix it - were pointless, he knew. He had no doubt Dean would rip him a new one if he took so much as a screwdriver to the car. Chip patted the car gently in appology. Well, maybe one day, he half-promised, like he promised himself a hundred little things. Things he was saving for later, for after, although he didn't know when that would come. But one day, he'd get that car running again.
Chip ran his hand along the Imapala's side, leaving a clean streak amidst the dirt that no one would notice because no one ever went close to the car. He walked down to the next row of cars, dusting his hands and trying to pick out a small red pick-up he was working on. Working on a particularly stubborn grease stain on his palm, he almost bumped into Dean. Chip took a step back and half-raised his hands apologetically.
One look at Dean's face and Chip raised them in earnest. He took another step back and felt a side-view mirror dig into his back. "Hey man, sorry," he said, while inside he was thinking a panicked guilty mix of shit, he saw me with his car and oh God, he's going to punch me.
Dean glared at him, his jaw clenched and shoulders tense. For a moment he looked about ready to snarl and Chip seriously considered either dropping to his knees or reaching for his iron wrench. Then Dean licked his lips, chewed on the bottom one for a moment, and his face went blank like a windshield wiper in a storm. "Forget it," he said, pushing past Chip and walking down between the broken cars.
When Chip looked back, his heart thumping so hard it choked him, he saw Dean press his hand to the Impala for one split second, his unreadable face hidden by the upturned collar of his jacket. I'll fix it, Chip thought, and this time it was a promise, one that counted, one made of iron and engine grease and now.
Day 19 - What would your antagonist do if they saw your protagonist on the street?
Day 20 - Demonstrate a character and their best friend and/or love interest interacting as they most commonly do.
Day 21 - What is a character's deepest desire?
Day 22 - What animals appear in your setting?
Day 23 - A unique place in your setting.
Day 24 - Where did you draw inspiration for the setting/story from?
Day 25 - A character's proudest moment.
Day 26 - What special talents or abilities does a character have?
Day 27 - An average day to a character.
Day 28 - A character's most embrassing moment.
Day 29 - An important thematic element.
Day 30 - A major event in the setting's history.
Quote of the Day:
mangacrack, here
For your soul I flew to hell alone.
Links of the Day:
Supernatural:
ancastar's Review
Defending Your Life - "Think how much more interesting the episode would have been if the truth had come out about Amy while Sam was being asked to defend Dean. Imagine how Sam would have had to balance news of Dean's betrayal with the knowledge that he must convince his brother of his innocence or Dean will be savagely killed by Amy at Osiris' command. An episode like that would involve real change and real angst."
cherry916's Meta
Who is Dean Winchster? - SPOILERS (tiny)
tigbit's Fic
Home Cookingcydsa's Angel Crossover Fic
They’re Just Big Fluffy Puppies With Bad Teeth...Right?honeyappletree's Fic and Fanart
The stars fell one daymorganoconner's RPFic
Shades of Greyjustanotherwhat's Fanmix
Hallelujah Lock & Loadhoneylocusttree's Life on Mars Crossover Fanart
Test Card Girl - XD
dean_sam's flocked
Songs of Seasons 7Doctor Who:
Other Fandom:
HBO's Game of Thrones
Illustrated Guide to Houses and Character Relationships - ...I might have to rewatch the show with this on hand.
Random:
ursulav's
It's not just you - "It is astonishing how many of us, while we would deny strongly that we are special snowflakes of mind-boggling uniqueness, are nevertheless willing to believe that our gloomy mental ploddings are not shared by anyone else and that we are alone in our miserable freakhood."
zqfans' Twittercap
Zachary Quinto's response to the love ;
New York magazine Interviewmisslynx's
metaquotesed
On News Site Commentsseanan_mcguire's
metaquotesed
On why print books must live onshaysdays's GIF Comic
Strong Female CharactersLivescience's
Giant rat kills predators with poisonous hairSacred Texts'
The Book of the DeadWiki's
Seshat -
seschat? ;
Egyptian soulAsk MetaFilter's
Compelled to BlurtSimon's Cat's
Double Troubla - The most adorable cartoon kitten ever.
* The Colour of Magic by TPratchett (oh gods it's as old as I am)