After Learning Of The Existence Of Magic, Everyone Started To “cheat” The System, Treating Magic

White & Red Dragon by Romain MAZEVET

Boromir: Today I realised I'm old Aragorn: What happened? Boromir: I slipped and fell on something and instead of laughing, Merry came running to see if I was ok Aragorn: Boromir: I saw fear in his eyes

ngl I hated last years royal institution Christmas lectures

Okok so I’m reaallllly late to finish watching them but I need to rant so context:

I live in England (yay ig) and every Christmas the royal institution (which I think does actual science/research as well but meh) does a series of three lectures about a particular scientific subject ie climate change, genetic engineering one time I think, and last years: ✨ai✨

it’s about 3hrs long in total

and in 3hrs they proceeded to ignore all current issues with ai. Including the main one: *stealing*. They did a small section on “art” where they brought in an “artist” who, looking at the subtext I’m pretty sure he uses ai to generate images then photoshops them. They do a demonstration with some basic suggestions from the audience (all kids/teens) and show how it works. Then the presenter says that some artists have an issue with “their works being used” as training data. He then asks this “artist” what he thinks about it and the guy predictably says that he doesn’t have an issue. Like, of course you don’t, *your* “art” isn’t being used. The show then has the balls to pretend that is the only opinion of artists that actually exists.

I just

[insert scream of rage]

But then it’s the bbc what was I expecting

sam, reading bilbo’s book: “well now, i’m sure he had a very nice voice, but that’s hardly a reason to go on an adventure with someone you just met”

sam: turns page to an illustration of thorin, with his dark hair and blue eyes

sam: “understandable, good for you mister bilbo”

Hi, so, just a question, hadn't the OG bench already been replaced before? The one in the tv show is different than the one that has been replaced now. The bench handles are different…

The “OG” one

The one in the show (s1)

Idk maybe I’m wrong, could you explain if I am?

Hiya! :)

Short answer: for the filming they put more benches there and changed the layout :) it's unlikely that the bench we see in the shot remained in the same place.

Long answer:

In 2017 when they were filming Good Omens there, there were only two benches in that place

But for showing that this is the place where many opposite agents meet they needed more benches, for example here we see five.

So they must have added benches for the filming.

Furthermore the layout of the park benches changed over the years (it has been more than 7 years since filmiing S1! :D ❤), until 2021 there was the layout with two separate benches

Somewhere around 2019 when the show came out the park put the benches together:

and here I suppose people picked one of them as the The Bench.

In 2022 they added two more benches next to them:

This layout remains until now.

So as the OG bench was picked the bench that was in the place, but yes it is not the one that the butts of Michael and David touched, because of the filming changes to the park benches :).

there is no soul of an artist that distinguishes them from some 'non-artist' category of person that could simply never comprehend what it is like. anyone can make art. you should know this by now. from ratatouille

June 26: Soulmates/Soulmate Marks AU

Your mark shows how old will your soulmate be when you fall in love with them. (Meaning both romantically and sexually)

For an event by @bagginshieldweek24

More headcanons after the cut. Seriously, there’s a lot, as I developed a whole idea but had no time to write a fic because of exams.

— Dwarfs come of age in around 80 y.o., having a soulmate from another race is a very rare occurrence; throughout the history of Middle-earth, there have been at most a dozen such cases, so most dwarves are unaware of this possibility. Having a mark with a number younger than the age of majority is a lifelong shame, essentially an admission of pedophilia. Unfortunately, this happens more often than having a soulmate from another race.

— Thorin spent his entire adult life, from the moment the mark appeared, wearing an extra layer of bandages under his bracers to prevent anyone from seeing the number. Fortunately, among dwarves, it is not considered inappropriate to hide the marks, as many value their privacy.

— The mark and thoughts about it were the reason why Thorin often appeared especially gloomy when the topic of romance came up.

— He truly tried to compensate for his "defectiveness" with his virtues.

— Of course, Thorin is a virgin.

— Bilbo, on the other hand, didn't think much about this; hobbits don't see anything wrong with living without their soulmate or seeing their soulmate as a friend. They are generally a loving people and don't worry about the concept of "the one and only."

— Although the topic of soulmates is considered highly romantic in hobbit literature, Bilbo was somewhat disappointed when he realized he would likely never meet his soulmate. (Hobbits are also unaware of inter-racial soulmates.)

— I tried to make young Bilbo look more like Frodo, so here he has smaller curls and a different style of shirt.

— Thorin and Bilbo both hid their marks, so when they felt an attraction to each other, especially after the Carrock, both were initially upset, thinking they weren't soulmates. Thorin, of course, was much more upset.

— During the two weeks they stayed with Beorn (yes, I'm mixing the movie and the book, what are you going to do about it? Slow burn needs time to be slow), they managed to reach the point of kissing near the river or something like that. But when Bilbo tried to unlace Thorin's tunic, Thorin stopped him and said that, unlike hobbits, for dwarves, sexual interaction is a very serious step in emotional attachment. It wouldn't be fair not to tell Bilbo what kind of monster he was getting involved with, because after seeing what Thorin had to show him, Bilbo might not even want to look him in the eye. Bilbo was honestly frustrated. (It is implied that Thorin used some term characteristic of a pedo... ahem)

— With a terrifyingly serious face, Thorin unwrapped the bandages on his wrist, and Bilbo, with a sinking heart, prepared to see a number like 5 or 12. Instead, there was a very respectable and completely normal age. Thorin turned away, not wanting to see the disappointment in the hobbit's eyes. Bilbo spent a few seconds calculating how long dwarves live and how old Thorin actually was.

— Thorin thought Bilbo wanted to shame him for having the audacity to enter into a relationship at such an age, knowing his soulmate's extremely young age. With closed eyes, he forced out that he was 195 and knew how disgusting he was because of it.

— Instead of a slap or something worse, which Thorin wouldn't have opposed, thinking any normal person had the right to treat him like that after seeing it, Bilbo reached for his own wrist and, with suspicious enthusiasm, pulled off the leather bracelet he had worn since the Shire. On the pale skin was clearly marked Thorin's age, written in dark ink with characteristic dwarvish notches.

— Some time passed in silence as they both realized that such a coincidence simply couldn't be.

— They were in for a very pleasant evening away from the company🌚🌝

— Later, when the entire company gathered by the fire, Bilbo and Thorin would come to them, holding hands, the hobbit nearly glowing with happiness in front, and a red-to-the-tips-of-his-ears Thorin slightly behind. This would be the first time anyone in the company saw Thorin without bandages, and if not for the matching age on Bilbo's wrist, now also not hidden by a bracelet, they wouldn't have believed Thorin could be normal with such a number on his skin.

— And the dwarves would realize how young Bilbo was by their standards.

— Truly, the ways of the Valar are mysterious.

— At the very end of the night, Fili would nudge Kili with his elbow and hint that since their uncle had an inter-racial mark, he might not be so angry and yell when he finds out that his brother has a four-digit number on his wrist.

It seems like it’s a lot nicer and easier to travel when you’re cishet