Pond Dweller

Obviously, this has already been pointed out by Black people in the fandom, but I wanted to bring it up because I’ve had a few asks about that song specifically that I’m not comfortable with answering. I am extremely happy that Jax is canonically transfem because even though I’ve never watched the show, I’ve witnessed people’s excitement about it, and I’m not trying to rain on anyone’s parade, but I’m also not going to pretend like the racism doesn’t exist because that’s not the kind of blog I’m running here. Any other song could’ve been used, and perhaps there wasn’t much thought put into its choice; I’m sure it wasn’t a deliberate act of malice, because from an outsider perspective that song seems to fit perfectly, but that ultimately doesn’t make it any less harmful, especially given the context surrounding the production.

I feel similarly about how United In Grief by Kendrick Lamar became a popular TikTok sound for people to make funny jokes about something going wrong when the original lyrics are specifically about Black grief. Or about the new trend of “the saxaphones are getting louder” taken from Boyz N The Hood, which is a movie about Black-American experiences that a lot of (white) people using this sound likely haven’t even seen.

This is the new flag, the old one was more vivid and in a z shape, but it's been made more neutral to be inclusive of people with seizures or sensory issues.

Each stripe represents a different aspect of disability:

Red: Physical disabilities

Yellow: Cognitive & intellectual disabilities

White: (And this is the key one I think) Invisible AND undiagnosed disabilities

Blue: Mental illnesses

Green: Sensory disabilities

Particularly when you learn more about the artefact and learn that the suppression and torment inside is an active choice, when you watch the bodies waste away because the artefact doesn't see the point of feeding them or caring for them.

Do you think Thjazi ever looked at the victims left behind and saw the tortured bodies of Merzhad's rebellion that he was trying to save? Do you think he looked at those malnourished people, who had been living in an apartment filling with food that rotted whilst they were unable to reach it, and saw the shadow that hung over the city? Do you think he ever sat in one of Hal's theatres, looking at the stock characters of pantomime masks, and wondered whether the halflings had used the only thing their shaper would truly look at to kill her, her own reflection?

What an awful thing to happen in a city of free people, who have fought so hard for the freedoms they hold. What an awful thing to learn that the artefact has a consciousness too, and is also a free person, but only when subjugating and destroying another. What an anathema to the idea of liberty.

Bolaire is the death penalty given personality at worst, an out of body experience at best. So difficult a concept to chew on, especially for a man who believed that nobody should be owned or controlled against their will. They called the followers of Sylandri flower dolls - pretty things to be shaped and played with as they followed the lines she put in their mouths - it is not hard to see that Bolaire does the same, only no autonomy remains, even when he is being kind.

Here are the fics that set my ridiculously high expectations for any sort of sequel(s). I have lots of favorite fics out there, and there are plenty of great recommendations in general, but I'd like to focus SPECIFICALLY on post-book/s1 canon compliant fics written before s2 was announced. Would love a thread of these, so please reblog and add your own fic recs that you think would make a great sequel!

Category 1: Top 3 Recommendations

In All Things, Balance by Kedreeva (T, 17k, 2019)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20320441

GO READ IT! In the back of my mind, I always considered this to be canon, which I didn't realize until actual canon didn't meet those expectations. Missing a bit on the human side of things, but otherwise a fantastic alternative.

Choices by Bookwormgal (T, 154k, 2019-2022, 8 part series)

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1739542

Humans from the book continue the story with Heaven and Hell. Honestly I read this so long ago that I don't remember much, but I do recall that this filled the void of how flat the human characters (particularly the children) were written in the adaptation (i.e. s1)

Akashic Records by peniG (G/T, 206k, 2019-2020, 26 part series)

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1446628

To skip straight to the sequel-to-book/s1, start with part 21, although I highly recommend the full series. This has, hands down, always been the canon I've been missing. This fills in all the gaps we don't have in the source material in a satisfying way while staying true to the characters and themes. They really respect both Aziraphale and Crowley as intelligent, experienced partners who are clever and fallible and perfect.

Additional recommendations under the cut!