#idk where the name david even came from

[starleska]

Here to talk about the little cricket (?) dude you've been talking about, Lux I think his name is? Anyway I haven't seen such a accurate rubber hose character since cuphead and little fella is really cute! (Since he's from Dr Who I assume he's malignant in some way? Idk I don't really plan on watching it, I just wanted to comment.) Anyways, he's super charming and expressive, I like having him all over my dash :]

hahaha YESSSS gosh i am so happy that folks are so excited about Mr. Ring-A-Ding | Lux Imperator, even if they aren't fans of the show!! i'm biased as a long-time Whovian, but the episode Lux really is the best one we've had in ages, so i'd recommend it wholeheartedly 😉 let me give you a little bit of lore re: our new toony cricket fellow!! massive spoilers for the episode Lux and an ongoing plot in Doctor Who, so only read if you're interested 🥰 i hope this'll be useful for any newcomers who are interested in starting Doctor Who as well!!

HUGE LORE DUMP BELOW:

so!!! the basic premise of Doctor Who is: the Doctor is an alien called a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. he travels the universe through time and space in his 'spaceship', the TARDIS (stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space), and his almost always looks like a battered-up police box. he often travels with 'companions': usually human (though sometimes alien!) sidekicks who help him solve space/historical-related mysteries. when the Doctor dies, he can 'regenerate': his body changes, saving him from death and giving him an entirely new appearance. currently, we are on the Fifteenth Doctor, played by the brilliant Ncuti Gatwa 🥰

now back in 2023, we received three episodes for the show's 60th anniversary, and things changed hugely. as the Doctor regenerated into his Fourteenth version, he somehow came back with a familiar face: that of David Tennant's Tenth Doctor (perhaps one of the best-known iterations of the Doctor). this is because of the return of a character who hadn't been seen since the 60s: the Toymaker, a godlike entity who rules over games 👀

The Toymaker's introduction started a shift for the show, which was almost always strict sci-fi, into a more fantastical, rule-bending realm. the Toymaker turned out to be a member of The Pantheon of Discord: a collective of gods whose powers are beyond the laws of physics and nature. normally, The Doctor faces off against sci-fi monsters and antagonists, but the Pantheon are far more powerful, and not bound to typical rules (though they do have their own). there are a few members we know are in the Pantheon (The Toymaker, his child Maestro, the God of Death Sutekh) and some we speculate are in the Pantheon (the fourth-wall breaking Mrs. Flood), but the episode Lux finally confirmed our newest Pantheon member: Mr. Ring-A-Ding, AKA Lux Imperator, the God of Light 😱 in-universe, Mr. Ring-A-Ding is a character from a 1930s-era cartoon inspired by Fleischer Studios, Disney's then-competitor (and the inspiration for games like Cuphead!). however, Lux Imperator possessed and brought to life Mr. Ring-A-Ding's form by travelling on moonlight into a movie theatre set in 1950s Miami, where he climbed out of the screen and sealed the movie-watchers into celluloid film. when the Doctor and his current companion, Belinda Chandra, end up at the theatre, Mr. Ring-A-Ding (as he is calling himself) shows up as a smaller, physical manifestation of a living cartoon, and pretends to be innocent...but he quickly reveals his true form as Lux Imperator 🙈💖

after some completely crazy fourth-wall-breaking shenanigans wherein Mr. Ring-A-Ding | Lux animates the Doctor and Belinda, trapping them inside of celluloid film, he reveals his new desire: to use the Doctor's regeneration energy and build himself a body. this is because Lux craves light, but has always been trapped in the dark. having seen it on a film in the movie theatre, Lux wants to use the power of the atom bomb to unleash the most devastating light of all. it's pretty insane 😂

and the end of the episode is...the Doctor exposes Lux to sunlight, which causes him to grow infinitely large and...dissipate, into space? along with light itself? we have no idea. it's utterly mad, but SUCH a great watch!!! so to answer your question: yes, he definitely was malignant at first, but he kind of gets one of the nicest endings i've seen for a Doctor Who baddie in a while? he's just chilling up there in space now, twinkling along with the stars. that's wonderful 🙈💖 tldr; Mr. Ring-a-Ding is both the name of a 1930s Fleischer-esque cartoon-character in-universe, and the name adopted by Lux Imperator, the God of Light. if you're confused, don't worry: that's all part of the Doctor Who experience 😂💖

[ilions-end]

so euripides' hecuba (david kovacs translation) was wilder than i thought it'd be

immediate thoughtssss:

i'm pretty familiar with the sacrifice of polyxena through other sources by now, although this is the first time i've seen her, you know, speak and try to wield whatever small amount of agency she is allowed in her own death. VERY strong iphigenia in aulis parallels. really chewing on the "the trojan war begins and ends with the ritual sacrifice of a young girl" concept

this IS the first time i've gotten to polydorus' whole deal beyond very brief summaries (and similar but different fate in the aeneid). i'll admit i'm a dumbass so i got really confused about the timeframes and the geography. the entirety of the greek army is (somewhere!) in THRACE but not at TROY anymore, but achilles' TOMB is within walking distance? and i assumed polymestor was supposed to be further away but he's right there in this temporary camp and... idk, confusion.

also i rarely mix up greek names but the fact that polydorus was murdered by polymestor. i keep tripping up, sorry

it's interesting that we learn agamemnon argued NOT to kill polyxena, and odysseus got everyone convinced anyway. between this and aulis and trojan women: odysseus just LOVES lobbying for the murder of women and children

SPEAKING OF odysseus, his interactions with hecuba in this were so different than what i'd imagined! for one, there is no clear indicator that hecuba is HIS slave. i for sure thought that'd be a major thing in this.

secondly, in this version HECUBA SAVED HIM THAT TIME HE CAME TO SPY IN TROY AS A BEGGAR? he supplicated her, she got him safely out of troy... ooh you're a WILY one euripides!

ESPECIALLY WHEN odysseus, Mister Hiketeia himself, PHYSICALLY BLOCKS polyxena from supplicating him so he won't be obligated to help her. CHRIST, man!!!

augh athenian odysseus, you are such a genuinely awful man and i need to dissect you with pins and study your insides

when hecuba begs to be sacrificed in polyxena's stead (because she's right! the greeks actually have a REASON to want her dead, as hector and paris' mother), and odysseus argues like, well WHAT would it look like if they'd treated achilles with respect in life but not in death? and i could FEEL ajax reaching out ghostly fingers to odysseus in that moment because he experienced the opposite (odysseus' enemy in life, then respected in death) and WHERE did that get him? just. mm. thoughts.

hecuba knows odysseus is also a parent........ it still doesn't help

RETURN OF TALTHYBIUS! a weeping, sympathetic agent of violence and outrage. he's so interesting to me. is he largely an invention of euripides i wonder? i should look more into talthybius

i understand the need to make polyxena's death as noble as possible, but it did weird me out when talthybius assured hecuba that even as polyxena fell to the ground with a slit throat, she carefully minded her skirt so she wouldn't expose herself in her death throes

POSSIBLY the most sympathetic-acting agamemnon i've come across in these plays? even if all his sympathies and concern for hecuba is implied to be because she is a kind of pseudo-mother-in-law now that he "cares about" cassandra so much... which is, you know, it's own kind of fucked up. euripides absolutely downplays the non-consensuality of that relationship so agamemnon can serve as an agent of justice

okay, it is kind of delicious when agamemnon is like "a WOMAN kill a MAN??? PSSH as if that could ever happen". sir. sir.

how old are polymestor's children meant to be? they're young enough to be "passed between" the enslaved women but polymestor brings them to a soldier camp

if i had a nickel for every time someone had their eyes stabbed out with brooch pins in ancient greek tragedy i'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but--

i like the visual of polymestor "crawling like a beast" though. fuck you polymestor

and then there's the FAKEST trial because agamemnon pretends to be impartial? THAT was a twist

i couldn't supress a disbelieving chuckle when polymestor's like "oh by the way i have these incredibly specific prophecies given to me by dionysus at an unspecified earlier time. yeah so hecuba you're gonna turn into a dog in just a little while. and agamemnon, just so you know, clytemnestra's gonna kill you and cassandra as soon as you get home"

and of course agamemnon doesn't believe him but i have to wonder as he's getting chopped up later he's like "huh. why does this seem so familiar"

i don't know, man. this play was no trojan women.

[not-a-heretic]

jacob and nigel colbie

oh the beloved brothers au. created with my absolute favorite person, @sweetoneiros. obviously this drawing is for you.

someday i’ll get around to drawing them properly but this was mostly experimental because i wanted to try to bring them to life as i saw them, so the style of this piece is kinda strange given that i prioritized my vision over accuracy and lighting. hence why the colors are meh. but given that it was almost completely freehand with the exception of a pose ref that i tweaked to my liking, it didn’t turn out too bad and i think i got pretty close in capturing how i envision them.

i tried previously to sum up some of their story but it was entirely impossible to do briefly. so, in a MUCH much more simple passage, i included some of their background below for anyone curious. if you want something well written and poetically engaging, bother caitlin (she has a few posts about them on her blog i believe). i’m just the artist.

if you’re not interested in reading however, just… enjoy the picture i guess. idk

If you've read Sweetbitter, or have watched the series, then you're probably familiar with Jake. I drew him a bit younger than what we see him in the series because although the lore-accurate age gap between them is 13 years (while keeping both of the projects set in 2006), Jake's mother died when he was eight years old and we had to shift a few things around if we wanted them to be full blood siblings. (bear in mind, we have some alternate versions of the story where they're only half brothers or not related at all, but as far as the Traditional or Main Au goes, they share both parents)

You don't learn much about Jake's mother in either the series or the novel, so Caitlin and I took the liberty of writing a story for her ourselves. Her name is Diana. To whom we've cast Josefine Frida Pettersen.

To keep the two boys from being identical, I partially redesigned Nigel to look more like her. The resemblance being in the wider nose, rounded lips, and softer face shape. As opposed to Jake, who (in my opinion and to Nigel’s dismay) shares features more closely to John (still face modeled from David Threlfall) e. his sharper nose, more hollowed face, and geometric lips.

Diana was, in short, an adventurous and innocent spirit. One that caught John’s attention when she was only 17 years old and while John was traveling abroad, likely giving lectures on history or whatever else his profession was that tied back to Diana. (I don't believe we have the exact age of John at the time. But older. He was much older)

Like all stories that end in tragedy, they fell in love.

Despite their affection for one another, John had no plans of commitment to her or any sort of real loyalty whatsoever. He could see even then that she wasn't “fit” for him, and should they marry and he bring her back to England, she would have no place in the order and would ruin his perfect image with her reckless and carefree nature. Not to mention, Diana was an ill woman (much like either of her sons), she'd get caught between manic and depressive moods- ones that John hadn't the patience to care for. So when the time came, and Jake was eventually born, he left.

The expectations and delusions of a greater purpose were not exclusive to Nigel, so it’s really no wonder Nigel eventually grew into them with John’s constant indoctrination cast onto Nigel from even his early childhood. Like father like son, John believed that his line was too significant to be thrown to waste by some American teenager and so, John returned to England with the intent of finding a real wife who was better suited for his lifestyle. A woman who would obey his command and flatter his dominant nature, unlike Diana who was defiant and had some sway over him that almost brought out his inner vulnerability, proving that there was humanity within.

John met Helen. They married and although his love for her wasn't comparable to how he had felt with Diana, he made peace with this life and planned to settle and start a family with her, paying no mind to the one he had previously abandoned. Helen seemed best equipped for the job, to give him an heir; one with her temperament that would undoubtedly behave such as she did by his command, but after years of trying to conceive a child, they both realized the day would never come. So badly did Helen want a child. Her longing came not only from her grief of not being able to bear children but at the thought of failure. That same feeling of defeat at Helen’s infertility plagued John and sent him back to America, and I wish I could say it was his determination to remedy her heartache that drove him to such acts of evil, but that alone was not the case.

Exactly as he had been betting on, he found Diana waiting for him. Now she was roughly 24-25 years old and no longer the immature child he abandoned- but rather, a mother- so he had to plot carefully in order to succeed.

John manipulated and took advantage of her still naive and hopeful nature, of her optimism that they could be together now as they had once dreamed of.

He fed into her fantasy, enabling her to believe that it was a mistake and simply ignorance that motivated him in abandoning her. One thing remained true in each of his lies, he did still love her, and that feeling would outlast everything.

In due time, Diana was pregnant once more. They celebrated their gift but Diana could still feel the distance between herself and John, but she could never name exactly what it was- and maybe a part of her just didn’t want to confront it. There was something that he wasn't telling her, and she knew that. Even with her flaws, she was a saint; more forgiving than any rational woman ought to be, but it was her love for John that clouded her better judgment and put her life at stake.

During this time, Jake didn't see much of his father. He recalled him as a cold and stern man that would on occasion, attempt to win him over with expensive toys. Action figures of brave knights that John would tell him stories about, those memories faded quickly, but what he remembers fondly, was how happy John had made Diana.

The most important takeaway was that they were still in love, but nothing was more clear to Jake even at such a young age than how the growing baby inside her made his mother smile and hum to herself in the early morning while she took her vitamins and allowed Jake to pick out one for her, one for baby. Jake was overjoyed to soon have a little sibling that he could stir up all kinds of trouble with, and on the day that Nigel was born, Diana insisted that he get to hold him first while seated on the tile of their quaint home on the shore in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

John, as absent as ever, was pleased to learn the next morning that the baby was healthy when he could finally be bothered to visit his post-partum wife whom he had neglected during labor. All ten fingers and toes. The baby had his own dark hair but Diana's grey eyes that were sure to turn blue. He hadn't thought of a name, that was for Helen to decide. But Diana had already called him Nigel, and of all the things he would soon strip from her, the boy's name was not one that he could bring himself to take.

Merely weeks were all that Diana and Jake had with Nigel. A few months of bliss that were increasingly growing tense as John's treatment towards his happy family darkened and he turned on them as if becoming impatient. He spent less and less time with his older son and distanced himself from Diana as much as possible, but Nigel was shielded from any hateful behavior and was instead adored for a span of time while John made the necessary preparations to bring him home. Then on an empty and almost chilling night, John took the baby from Diana’s side where he slept with her in bed still, and left without a trace.

Diana was heartbroken. She knew immediately what happened but no one would help her and it almost seemed as if no one believed this mad woman. She lost herself in her grief. Jake watched her anguish from afar, still not quite old enough to understand what was happening, just that they had lost something and would never get it back. Diana had seen the last of her baby, she assumed the same for her oldest son.

Diana dressed Jake warmly one day, bundled him in layers, and took him by the seaside, telling him to wait there.

Diana drowned herself, accepting defeat and unable to face her suffering any longer, and Jake was taken in by his neighbors- by Simone and her family- and from there, the canon story unfolds for Jake.

As for John upon his return to England, he presented the baby to Helen like a prize he had fought bravely for in war. Nigel became John’s pride and joy as he was proudly displayed in front of his pretentious colleagues. That was until Nigel began to grow strikingly more resemblant to Diana with each passing day, and although Helen still had it in her heart to love him- in Nigel’s face and rebellious attitude, John saw the woman he had sacrificed. During the days of his youth, in Nigel’s messy hair that surely would’ve been tangled with saltwater and sand after long afternoons spent with his real mother, John could only see the woman he had taken advantage of. Therein lies his hatred towards his son; a haunting reminder of the poor fair maiden he had traded in exchange for his perfect heir.

Firstly, John tried to discipline this part of Nigel out of him. As if to exorcise Diana's spirit out of him like he could drain every ounce of her blood from his being, but the more strain he put on the boy, the more he reminded him of his mother. Nigel's demeanor shifted and his mental state cracked in the same way Diana’s had, and it became thoroughly agonizing for John to witness until he was left no choice but to send him away at 17 years old. The same age she had been when John began to ruin her. No one is haunting the narrative quite like Diana.

In some aus, the events of both stories still take place, others are set just before or maybe after. Then in our more abstract storylines, the canon lore just never happens at all, but in most cases, Nigel (often accompanied by Alex) flees to America in a desperate attempt to escape. Why he was called to America specifically likely had to do with half of his heritage, but he didn't know that. It just felt like the best option at the time. America is so large and is rarely well versed on the criminal cases taking place in England, at least well-versed enough to actively be on the hunt for two psychotic teenagers.

Oddly, Nigel and Jake’s first interaction is something that has never been directly hashed out. Regarding how exactly Jake and Nigel met, there are a couple of different approaches we've taken but it’s ultimately better left open-ended. But, it takes a LOT of warming up for the both of them to even get to the point of trust that we see pictured above as Nigel is reluctantly seeking affection but only as long as Jake isn’t looking at him.

They live in Jake’s small but ridiculously priced apartment and slowly, incrementally, Jake begins to introduce Nigel to the truth of their parentage- however best he can remember it. As on par for Nigel, he's a bit suspicious of it all. He’d known his lineage had to have been partially false given dominant genetics and the things John had refused to tell him, but that didn't mean he was being dealt the whole truth by Jake, and it wasn’t easy to completely forsake Helen (if he ever fully manages to accomplish that).

Caitlin is more of a Nigel + Diana truther, but I like to desperately cling to his canon roots and decide how it affects him and his relationship with the stranger claiming to be his brother.

Does Jake know what Nigel and Alex have done? That’s purely circumstantial and dependent on what is currently being discussed in the au. Mostly, Jake overlooks it or channels his inner Diana to refuse to acknowledge the warning signs he’s seeing or hearing in the person he cares about. Jake, blamelessly, is willing to trade or overlook a few atrocities in exchange for Nigel’s return because if he can't have his mother back, he'll (maybe begrudgingly) accept his brother.

There are too many variations of the brothers’ story post-reunion for me to elaborate much on that, I also saved you their character descriptions because I’m assuming anyone who reads this is mostly aware of the basics of their characters and exactly what sort of troublesome dynamic that would create. Predominantly, the au consists of dumb memes or any excuse to make tragic media about our favorite miserable characters and worsen their lives.

How it ends? It doesn't. Well, it does, but in many ways. Sometimes Nigel leaves again (either physically or in death), other times Jake isn't so forgiving of Nigel’s crimes and is killed for his knowledge of it or it drives them apart at the very least, (I don’t believe we’ve ever considered the alternative of Jake turning the boys in, however. He’s still loyal to his brother, but to a fault), and then of course, there's the possibility of psychopathic mind games inflicted onto Jake so Alex and Nigel can use him for their own betterment. That one is quite rare though.

Caitlin is about to pull up in her New Bugatti and tell me that I got it all wrong and she would be entirely justified in that because my memory of all that goes on in the au is so scattered because it’s been going on since December 2023.

Feel free to correct me on any of this, Caitlin. Or even add on. I had something more intelligently written but then scrapped it all because it was reaching a truly ridiculous word count and I could bear it no longer. So I’m just firing from the hip here.

the creation of the au can be mostly credited to caitlin as it came about from an edit she made comparing he characters’ similar themes. once the knowledge struck that both projects were set in 2006, we began digging ourselves in too deep to escape. but if you see them drawn again, now you know who and what they are. they’re the closest i’ll ever get to having OC’s i fear.

[isacksteban]

First Kiss (Race 6)

A strollonso AU where 18 year old rookie Lance Stroll falls helplessly in love with the notoriously mean world champion. (1.3k words, angst at first? idk, it gets fluffy) [@v3lnys @biancathecool] {I kept getting ideas while writing this so I stopped like 4 times to write another chapter}

last part - masterlist - next part

Lance made his way onto the paddock, his dad having driven him instead of Nico. After waking up in Fernandos bed after his DNF in San Marino he'd unintentionally avoided the Spaniard for the past week. He didn't remember much past him complaining about Coulthard, all he knew was he woke up in an unfamiliar hotel room with Fernando Alonso asleep peacefully beside him.

He looked gorgeous, obviously, his long hair slightly covering his eyes, chest rising and falling slightly as he breathed, he looked peaceful, Lance could've stayed and stared for hours if reality didn't hit him suddenly.

He was in bed with Fernando. Alcohol was out on a table a few feet away and he could tell he'd had too much to drink the night before, without thinking he collected his things and left as if he was some sex worker the world champion had taken back to his room the night before.

He'd managed to ignore all of the older mans texts, a part of him feeling bad and longing for him while another part was busy worrying about how badly he must've embarrassed himself.

After a week of putting it off there was no way to now, if Fernando didn't speak to him before Quali he most definitely would after.

He walked alone through the paddock, answering short questions here and there before he found a swarm of people who all called his name.

"Lance, Lance Stroll, How do you feel about what Red Bull and David Coulthard have had to say about you this past week?"

Lance thought for a second, wondering if it was a wise choice to answer the question, in the end he decided it couldn't hurt too much "I honestly couldn't care less, I don't care what Red Bull or Coulthard thinks about me, thank you" He nodded slightly before leaving, not having much more to say and not wanting to elaborate on the whole thing

Somehow he'd managed not to run into Fernando even as Quali came to an end, he was set to start the race in 11th, somehow stopping himself from checking where Fernando was starting from.

His luck didn't last long before he was greeted by the same voice as always

"Lancito, will you avoid me forever?" Fernando asked, Lance wasn't sure whether the Spaniard was joking or was truly hurt by what Lance was doing

"Sorry, I've been busy" He lied, not even turning around to look at Fernando

"What is wrong? Did I do something? I am not sure how to fix it if you do not tell me, mi sol" He spoke softly, just like he always did with lance, he entered the Racing Point garage, just trying to get closer to the Canadian, trying to get him to meet his eyes

"It's nothing, I'm just busy" Lance tried to convince Fernando, he wasn't very good at it

"Too busy to talk to me but before I was the only one you'd talk to" Fernando teased, trying anything to figure out what was wrong

Lance tried to hide his embarrassment as he finally looked at Fernando, the only thing he could think about was the morning after the Europen Grand Prix.

"Is this about last week?" Fernando guessed, Lance couldn't help but be slightly annoyed at how the older man was always right "All we did was drink, Lancito, you were upset so I thought you would like drinking alone, no?"

"Yeah, sorry, I- I don't know why I freaked out" He forced out a laugh, trying to make himself feel less awkward talking to Fernando for the first time in a week

"Is okay, Lancito, are you embarrassed because of what you said?"

"What I said?" He echoed, now he was embarrassed, what did he say for Fernando to bring it up so many days later

"About the crash, you were very upset, mi sol" Fernando didn't exactly lie but he knew that wasnt what he meant. If Lance really didn't remember what he had begged of Fernando than maybe he didn't mean it, Fernando was sure his emotions were just hightened.

"Oh" Lance laughed, feeling relieved after Fernando confirmed nothing else was talked about "I'm not embarrassed, I kinda feel like you"

Fernando smiled, patting the Canadians shoulder "Feels good, eh? Getting in a little trouble?"

The two continued talking, both felt as though a weight had been lifted of their shoulders except Fernandos was replaced with another. While he spoke to Lance as if nothing had happened he couldn't help but hear Lances words replaying in his head.

His eyes stayed glued to Lance as he rambled on, the Spaniard wondered if he really did need him, if he truly felt that way, or if it was just drunken words influenced by how he was feeling earlier that day.

The two spoke for a while longer, just catching up as if much had really happened in seven days.

Lance felt better walking into the paddock the next day, arriving with Nico again as if he hadn't spent the last week moping and ignoring everyone (besides his dad, it proved to be harder to ignore your dad-boss than your coworker-friends.)

"Let's hope coulthard keeps his distance today" Nico spoke, breaking the silence between the two

"God, the next time I hear his name I think I'm gonna explode." Lance whined, having been asked about him all week

"Cmon, you know no press is bad press" Nico added, reminding Lance of his dad

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just get ready" The two entered the garage, both almost going straight to their drivers room to get in their fireproofs and race suit

This week was better, David Coulthard qualified last so there was almost no chance in a collision with him, Lance was thankful.

Lance managed to overtake a few times in the race, going from 11th to 9th by the end but he knew it wasn't good enough, neither drivers securing points for the team.

He wasn't upset though, he decided to go to the podium for the first time after the race, excited for Fernando since he just won his home Grand Prix

Fernando looked gorgeous on top, practically beaming as the Spanish anthem played. Fernando was basking in it, the win, his home country, his fans supporting him so loudly with flags and signs, though none of it made him smile as bright as seeing Lance in the crowd below, the Canadians smile shining brighter than anyones.

He stood out, whether it was because Fernando couldn't help but search for him in every crowd or because of his bright pink suit, Fernando didn't care. All that mattered was that he was there, celebrating the Spaniards win as if he hadn't had a disappointing race.

Once he got off the podium he went straight to Lance, not letting him speak before trapping him in a tight hug, he wasn't sure why, he just wanted to.

"Good job, Nando" Lance laughed, hugging the Spaniard back

"Gracias" Fernando spoke into Lances shoulder, feeling as though the pair were on the people in the world. He wasn't sure why he was so happy knowing Lance came down to congratulate him, it just felt good, earlier in the week he was scared it would never be the same between the two because of the past week but he'd managed to save it perfectly, leading to the two in one anothers arms once again which was exactly what the pair wanted.

"You did good, great, amazing, seriously, you led 55 laps and just won your home Grand Prix, you're brilliant" Lance gushed, Fernando raising his head to look at the Canadian

"Is this how you feel when I come to you?" Fernando asked, a smile still plastered on his face, not able to imagine a better end to the race week.

[screamfome]

guys I maybe like John bender(John hcs)

(MENTIONS OF ABUSE!)

I was watching the fresh prince of bel air and it was a Christmas episode I believe?? Idk but Hilary mentioned JUDD NELSON AND I ALMOST SCREAMED BUT MY MOM WAS IN THE ROOM SO I HAD TO ACT NORMAL BUT I WAS SMILING NONONONONONONONNO

John bender n you sharing a blunt

vampire John bender,

John bender fixit au where he was never abused by his family. John bender who still lives with the breakfast club as an adult.

John bender who grows up to be successful despite what Vernon and his father says.

John bender BECOMING BUCK TAYLOR FROM RELENTLESS 1989- my bad guys…I love connecting two of my favorite films together…(ahem ahem, STAND BY ME TURNS INTO THE LOST BOYS.- *cough cough* ACE MERRILL DIES AND BECOMES DAVI-*)

John bender who isn’t scared of horror at all because what he went through was scarier than Micheal Myers. John Bender who makes jokes to cope with his trauma.

John bender who doesn’t have a therapist and cannot afford it so one of the members is his therapist(bonus if he lays on their lap as they run their fingers through his hair AGHHHHHH).John bender who becomes a therapist for abuse survivors who went through the same thing he did. IN FACT ILL DO YOU ONE BETTER.

JOHN BENDER WHO BECOMES A TEACHER AND RECOGNIZES THE SIGNS OF A CHILD BEING ABUSED AND DOESNT BLOW IT OFF AND INSTEAD MAKES SURE THAT THE WILL GET THE CARE THAT THEY NEED.

Bisexual/Pansexual John Bender(listen you can’t tell me that man is bisexual or pansexual,he’s just like ME.)

John who loves snakes.

John who actually WOULD hang out with the lost boys.

John and David would be best friends ABSOLUTELY.

John who stares at everyone on the first date(yeah that’s right)

John who hates cops.(they did nothing to help him and his dad was one so he doesn’t really like them)

PUNK JOHN BENDER.

John bender who stole a switchblade(then Allison took it)

John bender who hates birthdays and only remembered his birthday through his other family members that came by for a “Bender family reunion”.

John Bender who was jealous of everyone in the breakfast club. Especially Brian + Claire. Andrew related to him as did Allison.

John Bender who listens to all Grunge Bands.

John Bender who has an album of Jimi Hendrix(I NEED TO LISTEN TO MORE SONGS,I LIKE HEY JOE SO FAR)

John bender who would become famous by making a band and naming it “The Breakfast Club” to honor his friends. He would then make an album dedicated to each member,the last one being for himself.

John Bender who grew up too fast.

John Bender who slowly likes to read books.

John bender who’s more used to everyone calling him “Bender” but not John. Sometimes it’s used to differentiate him and other John’s , but most times people use it because they don’t respect him enough to call him by his first name. Because John acts like a jerk to others so they don’t even call him by John.

when he IS called “John” he is deeply confused and doesn’t even know you’re referring to him. Tbh he completely forgot that his name was John.

John is absent from school the majority of time due to his home life and sometimes he just skips school entirely. He only came whenever there was something that dealt with HIM in general. Until the breakfast club formed.

John bender who becomes a lawyer…and defends the wronged.

John Bender who is so scared of becoming a father and does not want a child. If he did have one however, he!d be frightened of being like his father to the point where he wouldn’t want to take care of the kid at all.

John bender with anger issues and does not bottle up his feelings at all.

John Bender who believes he’s a criminal and was trapped in the mindset of “if they think I’m a criminal,I’ll be the criminal.” And just does bad things to tick people off.

John who becomes softer with time.

John who will randomly point out random things like “Look” as he grows softer because I KNOW HE WOULD.

He doesn’t know affection and if you hugged him or something he would immediately think that you wanted something from him.

But when HE DOES? OH HE WILL SMOTHER YOU IN LOVE.

He never got a gift in his entire life other than Christmas and his 10th birthday.

If you saw him blush,no you didn’t. It’s the Sun.

John Bender who’s house is near A BASKETBALL COURT MY BOY IS BALLIN’.

John bender who’s like 6’1.

John Bender who’s fairly skinny under his clothes. John Bender who’s insecure about his looks because of it. He can’t even bear to look at himself.

John Bender who doesn’t know how to cry(HES LIKE NILES CRANE BEFORE DAPHNE KISSED THAT BARISTA GUY-)

John’s full name is John Abraham (short form:Abra) Bender…(@danyayeni2)

John Bender is a senior by the time the breakfast club movie events happened.

Cat John BENDER. I SAY IT ONCE AND AGAIN.

[satin-polar]

FNAF Bible theory. In light of recent Dave theory. It's just from my surface knowledge of the bible (but I am from a christian home, I know a lot) and few wikipedia findings.

Scott is very well known for being a religious person. That's nothing new. And this theory will conclude with statement that ,,FNAF is just a retelling of the bible,, at least part of it. There will not be Jesus in this one. The closest one will be his cousin John.

Pls. Mind that english is not my first lauguage. Im good at using it, but I keep missing word. And i keep using languagetool. And few time I use term ,,standin for,, I'm not sure im using correct term. But hope you understand. So let's start with what we got now:

David - King of Israel, Battle with Goliath

Michael - Guardian of Israel, Battle with Satan

Elizabeth - Known for being a mother and having a baby (stick with me)

And few important names: Gabriel and Henry

When the name David came out lately, when Hyper Droid was talking about CC real name. It struck me. David in the bible is best known for battling the Goliath, and Slaying him, becoming King after that. And in the World of FNAF, CC also battled the Goliath, but this time Lost. Goliath being stand in for Fredbear, you know Giant Robot. We can argue that even if CC lost the rest still happened, Goliath was slain - Fredbear was never used again, and he kinda became the King - CC is probably the most important spirit in FNAF, and Golden Fredy is the Leader of Animatronics, Golden like a Kings Crown - And stay golden even after all the years, when Golden Bonnie faded, but that's later. Golden Freddy leads the Spirits even if it's not David (CC) it's Cassidy, but Cassidy is probably not a biblical name, but there might be something to it if we dig deeper.

Michael - The Archangel. The One that cast Satan out of Heaven. Yes Satan being stand in for William. ("...he does battle with Satan and casts him out of heaven so that he no longer has access to God as accuser" - Wikipedia quote). And mentioning. When David is the King of Israel. Micheal is the Guardian (prince) of Israel (If we take methafor for Israel in FNAF as the place where every spirit lingers, sooo Freadys. Yeah Freddy's is Israel, The Bible one, not the moder country, it's sounds weird now, but let's deal with it.) Then, idk whats better way to describe Mike. After his brother's death, he goes and protects what his brother has become part of, to redeem himself, to give his brother and every soul Afton killed an afterlife. But this Flipped retelling of Bible. As David failed to Defeat Goliath. Michael failed to Protect Souls. But after tries and punishment, he banishes the evil from immortality. Except there are no happy endings in FNAF.

Elizabeth is more difficult than two brothers, but. I might have something. As the fact that FNAF is Flipped retelling of bible more struck me, where nothing goes as it should, but parallels are visible. It got me there. Naming FNAF characters after biblical figures must have some reason. At least minimal. Let's start with this, and it might sound more weird than the rest, so at least trigger warning here. The Big Elizabeth in story in bible start with her husband going to a Temple and being visited by Angel Gabriel. And is promised Elizabeth will bear a son - John the Baptist. Kinda like Mike going to Circus Baby Pizza. Yes I compared Circus Baby Pizza to the Temple of God. But as we know, everything must go wrong. It might be parallels that Elizabeth, instead of bearing the child, got crushed in the belly of a child (baby) looking robot. (And you know, I think Elizabeth in bible is only known for being a mother of more important figure, and naming fnaf character after bible character might be difficult, and SL is kinda a spin-off, I don't know what Stott was thinking, I just see parallels) But as we now know, even if figures failed to fulfill their job, everything else still needs to happen. Destiny needs to fulfill itself. And have you ever noticed that Scooper rips out your guts, from the belly. And as spoken before, something needs to be born. And as Elizabeth would bere the child, now she crawls into someone's belly, as Baby put her self together. In flipped reflection of destiny. Michael goes to a temple, and is promised a Baby, it happened but in crocked refection, Elizabeth is born from her own Brother. But it's not Elizabeth that is the most important that day, because at the same moment, Michael is born again as the Baptist. To cleanse evil in the Baptism of Fire. And as weird as it gets, Mike being also the stand in for John the Baptist resonates well with me.

And that not the end, but I wanted to leave that on the end, because now we will talk about remnant, and remnants are still controversial in FNAF fandom. And I didn't want to taint my Elizabeth part with it. But You can add this to Elizabeth part, and it will only add more to the theory. Trust me. In the Bible when Elizabeth's husband visited the temple, angel said, and I quote "...and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born." Mention of being Filled with the Holy Spirit is something that just struck me the most. And I feared that it made sense. As we go further in FNAF games, (technically first ever mention of Remnant is in FNAF 6, but it's calling back to the Scooper) First ever usage of Remnant comes from FNAF SL. When Mike is being Filled with Remnant by the Scooper. As Biblical Child of Elizabeth was Filled with the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit in bible is reserved for very special things. And if we going with naming FNAF characters after biblical names. Usage of Holy Spirit in the most important story connected to name Elizabeth and the Child she bore. As Scooper standin for filling someone with Remnant - Michael goes to a Temple of The False God that created the Baby and is Filled with The Remnants of Spirits. God!

Did I mention that It's not the end yet. It's not that big, but I want to point out what I see as interesting findings. And maybe we can do something more with this. I never readed bible, I just had religion in school, and I was kinda interested in that when I was younger. But I have really good memory, and this all just started coming to me.

When researching Michael, the name Gabriel keep coming out, It was interesting (like ohhh Scott, you know what you were doing) later when the name Gabriel came up in The Story of Elizabeth. There must be something more. First it was, did Scott name missing children after Archangels - No. But using just one name is enough. And as we all agree, Gabriel, being a child possessing Freddy. Scott used the name Gabriel on the first gravestone. Freddy the face of basic animatronics. Scott could name every kid after (as I found) - 7 archangels, but that would be too obvious, but he named only one, the first, the one we all agree is Freddy. Scott could give him a normal name, but he needed to name at least one after biblical name. And it's Gabriel. I have a weird feeling that, as Scott is a religious person, he just jumped on Wikipedia just like me, and found that Michael and Gabriel are very connected with each other. The fact that the name Gabriel comes out in 2 most important names in FNAF that also are standin for biblical characters. To this moment we got 2/3 names, but Mike and Elizabeth are kinda normal names, so we didn't care, but Now there are 3, we got David. All of William's children are named after biblical characters. With show how egotistical he is. But we got more; as we got Gabriel, it's now 4/3.

My smalled finding is that old version the name Henry is Harold. And it get me to Herod, the Guy that Order to Kill Children when Jesus was about to Born. But It sound more like William, You Know the Guy that KILL CHILDREN.

And Afton. The Guy Himself. Standin for Satan, Devil, Mephisto. The one cast out and banished from heaven. As Golden Freddy faded but stayed golden. Golden Bonny rotten, darken, faded to pitch green. Should be punished in hell, as destiny called for that. But not everything happened as it should. William is still punished, but what Cassidy the Vengeful Spirit done. Will it let go. Old Man Consequences is God Himself. The End (The last is just my own little head canon)

I went. Kinda insane at the end of this. But pls dont toss it out as a wird therory. Ther is a lot to this that make sense. And fell free to add more to this, if you can find more, or know more. My knowlege isnt that full. Retelings of the bible are very common. And no one ever get that angry when you use bibilical stories as the inspiraton. A lot of stories if you dig not even that deep, can be traced down to bibilacal stories. As its collection of very basic moral stories - Of good fighting evil. And thanks to Hyper Droid, his David theory opened the gate for.

[a-chaotically-small-lunta]

hey! Idk if anyone has every asked this before, but I can't find anything about it so... what is a lunta? I'm guessing its from some game or show right?

Thanks!

I haven’t been asked this but I definitely got the answer. Funnily enough it’s kinda complicated and a bit of a long story of why I chose it and where it comes from and how I came across it.

So ever since I was young I always loved winter and the snow (hell I was born during a snowstorm) People would blame me whenever it snowed cause I would be the only one genuinely enjoying it. This reminded my dad of something he experienced when he was young and he shared it with me and my siblings once he was able to find it.

Back in like November of 1970, in Michigan (specifically the upper peninsula not the hand) they were having trouble getting snow and they needed it for the races. So a man named David Riutta decided to write a song to ask a Finnish snow god for help. (I believe he made the snow god up for this but I don’t really know) Either way this snow god’s name was Heikki Lunta (which translates to Hank Snow) So Mr Riutta makes the song and they blast it over the radio constantly. My dad remembers hearing it on the radio constantly that year. Then the snow hits, the song worked! But it worked so well that they had to cancel the races due to too much snow. Then the people blamed the song so Mr Ruitta made another song telling Heikki Lunta to leave. Since then it became a legend that if you play the song and shout where you want it to snow after it finishes, it should snow there within the next few days or so. According to my dad they tried it one year by shouting his uncle’s home and three days later his uncle calls and asks what they did cause there’s snow everywhere now. He gave me a look, knowing I’d try it. He knew I’d love the idea of it and he even made a comment once that maybe I have some of Hiekii’s abilities or something lol.

But I absolutely loved this story and honestly enjoy the song too. So my love for folklore and snow were bundled up into a neat little package. Bonus points for starting with the same letter as my actual name. Honestly like being called Lunta more. I officially chose it cause it felt right. Also if you read up on Heikki Lunta you might learn that he’s often depicted as a Goofy guy who likes to have fun, which I can definitely vibe with haha!

So in short Lunta comes from Heikki Lunta, which my dad got to experience, and as the snow queen of my family and friends, it just sort of slipped into place.

Bonus! Here’s the snow if you were curious about it

[cyanbugremix]

Reductive Audio #7 Spoilers

Uhh this is just a list of my favorite facts from the reductive audio

All d(a)emons are ambidextrous, and Ivan is left-handed, but the cool part is that Ivan became ambidextrous when Vega was controlling him (idk is that cool?? It's interesting for sure)

Brachium has only ever experienced vanilla extract through the memories of the dead.

Caelum on the other hand has made a "Vanilla Extract Tumblr Cake" (one of those polls where people "bake a cake" and it has too much vanilla extract voted for, i think) and it turned out horrible!

In Mario games, Elliot was forced to play as Luigi by Aaron, because of his at home nickname being "Ell/L" and Luigi starts with an L (you get the gist. It sounds the same)(Elliot wanted to be toad tho)(Aaron would play as Mario)

Gavin technically can and has pretended to read a book, he just has never actually committed to doing so

Lasko is scared of heights even though he knows that he could catch himself if he were to fall, so he thinks the fear is annoying

Damien peut parle français (Where did Damien learn french?? At home? School? As a hobby?)

Ash was taller than David, until David hit puberty and shot up (thus the big guy nickname came to be)(Seriously tho. So many boys would shoot up in like 3 months during summer break and be wayy tall when we'd get back to school and I was always amazed that someone could grow that tall that quick)

Oof T-T Sam was close with his Grandma Adeline (Adelene?), and when she passed he went back home to Mont Blanc to say goodbye to her grave (he snuck into the cemetery at night because he was a vampire by then)

Kody was gonna originally be involved with Closeknit, but then his character was taken in a different direction (makes lots of sense. He would be a closeknit guy)

Huxley was the fastest kid in his grade because he was obsessed with Bionicles (specifically pohatu with the mask of speed) (omg i forgot about bionicles until I looked them up again. I never did anything with them but I remember them)

Milo doesn't drink alcohol because he doesn't want to find out if he can get addicted to things as easily as his dad

Avior has HEARD of Gavin but never met him before

Oldest 3 d(a)emons in order: Polaris (Dead), Vega (dead for a bit but alive again), Ursa (elation daemon)

Camelopardalis has been in therapy for 2 years to work through the the bad memories that he had to keep of the whole Vega and Ivan problem (and he hasn't wiped his therapists memories yayy!!)

Arden took out the second most shades (David is the winner in taking out the most) during the Inversion, and Christian and her defended the VIP box through the whole night, even when Christian couldn't stay in wolf form

Kelsey started the Chrissy nickname! (Arden and Asher use it the most)

Aaron, when Elliot's powers first manifested, would imagine what it was like to be magical (He wanted to be a "Warder" and do force field stuff)

BLAKE WAS GOING TO ORIGINALLY BE CALLED CARVER OMG

Zeke (Member of Closeknit) drinks "Cactus Cooler" (orange and pineapple soda)

Xavier (contra-elemental) was originally supposed to survive the inversion

Bailey's mother is beta of the Keaton pack

DJ Anxiety (Hudson) still makes mixes, he just hasn't done live DJ-ing since the Inversion

Gregory Keaton doesn't exist in the Fooliverse (his parents never met in that AU)

Anton doesn't like gore, and bcuz of that he prefers black and white horror movies (modern ones often have too much gore in them) (Such a vibe for him)

Brachium was the last serenity daemon created by Min'Ara's own hands

E'Laetum has a grudge against Vega because Vega was specifically built to be the opposite of Polaris (even tho the dude didn't have a say in his creation)

Quinn sounded like he was interested in turning Darlin' (but they never could figure out if he was serious or not)

Hush was supposed to originally be apart of one of Echo's "deals"

Porter's maker was a dude named Felix, who got executed because Felix seemed to really like creating progeny (as well as being horrible to them)

Alexis resents Porter for becoming William's favorite when he wants someone to go out and do whatever, because Alexis does more "collateral damage" than Porter

(And there's cool Vampire lore from The Summit vampires from 26:18-27:36)

[angel-with-paper-wings]

Seeing POTO Live: Part 2 (Show Review)

This is my personal review of my first time seeing a live production of The Phantom of the Opera, on the West End on May 20th 2024 (see Part 1 of this post for that crazy story). The main trio cast was: Lily Kerhoas as Christine, Jon Robyns as The Phantom, and Joe Griffiths-Brown (I will list the rest of the cast as I mention their characters).

Act 1:

Auction/Overture:

JAMES GANT HIMSELF WAS THE AUCTIONEER 🤩🤩 TWO PHANTOMS IN ONE NIGHT, I CANT BELIEVE MY LUCK 

He was totally channeling the Phantom when it got to the “Lot 666…” part, I got chills

I was watching Raoul (Joe Griffiths-Brown) like a hawk during the auction scene because I wanted to study his acting, and he did not disappoint. When the music box came out, he leaned forward and touched it longingly with his fingertips 🥺 And he spoke in this hushed, gravelly old man voice that was so accurate. No notes.

THE OVERTURE

SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP

ITS JUST AS MAGICAL AS I ALWAYS DREAMED 😍😍😍

I totally got flashbanged by the chandelier 😂😂 (the sparks and pyro effects in this musical are BRIGHT)

Hannibal/Think of Me:

Both Carlotta (Lily de-la-Haye) and Piangi (David Kristopher-Brown) SLAYED, not only with their singing but their comedy bits were perfectly timed

Guys these costumes are SPARKLY 😍😍✨✨ like I didn’t realize until seeing it live but almost EVERY costume has sparkles and it makes everything look gorgeous under the stage lights

This Andre (Adam Linstead) and Firmin (Matt Harrop) were SO FUNNY OMG

Andre was such a little fanboy over Carlotta, and Firmin was like a grumpy old man

Lily’s “Think of Me” was DELIGHTFUL, her voice is so smooth and sweet! When she started her “audition” her voice was VERY quiet (barely audible), but once she got going she had such a beautiful crystal-clear tone.

Again, I was watching Joe Griffiths-Brown a lot during “Think of Me” because I wanted to watch his reactions. For a while, Raoul didn’t really look at the stage to see Christine playing Elissa, he was too busy looking at his programme and greeting the managers when they joined his box. But eventually he saw her, and then he looked back down at his programme to search for her name and check if it was really her! I loved it and thought it was such a neat acting detail!!!

Angel of Music/Little Lotte:

While Madame Giry is scolding the ballerinas for being “a disgrace”, Christine was talking with… some dude?? I couldn’t really tell who it was, but I’m almost certain it wasn’t Raoul or either of the managers. It looked like a stagehand. Does anyone know who this is and why she was talking to him? I’ve never noticed this detail before in other productions.

OMG BRUNETTE MEG NATION RISE UP

Meg (Maiya Hikasa) has a few extra lines during the show that I haven’t heard before, and the one I remember best was a little frustrated remark after Madame Giry told her to go off and practice: it was something like “There’s always more practice.” I thought it was cool that they gave her a bit more character!

Okay idk if this was intentional, but during the beginning of “Angel of Music”, Christine’s dressing room set was covered by a curtain but illuminated from the inside by a lamp, and the wardrobe mistress was in there arranging her dressing gown. But since Christine was singing about her father at the time, I thought that part of the stage was like a “flashback” scene to show us what Christine was remembering in her mind. Idk if that makes sense, but that was what crossed my mind. 

Idk if this was intentional either (or maybe it was just the angle from where I was sitting) but you could see the actual conductor of the show reflected in the mirror from the orchestra pit, which I thought was cool and tied things together thematically

Lily’s Christine was quite hesitant and timid when Raoul came to see her in her dressing room. I liked this choice because to me, it showed that even though she is happy to see him, Christine is aware that the Phantom is listening and she is afraid for Raoul’s safety.

And Joe was just so sweet and charming the whole time!! He didn’t seem too demanding when he said they’ll go to supper, which is a plus for me.

HEEHEE JON ROBYNS HAS A PERFECT PHANTOM VOICE AND NO ONE CAN TELL ME OTHERWISE

He has a very mixed range which I like in a Phantom, going from a higher goblin-y voice to a really low seductive growl on “I am your Angel of Music…”

Title Song:

God I just love the scenery changes that happen during this song, they are nothing short of STUNNING

Lily’s and Jon’s voices sound SO GREAT together

When the candles started raising out of the stage, Christine leaned forward in the boat and looked so enraptured (same), and I don’t think the Phantom took his eyes off of her once during the whole song (again, same)

Unfortunately, there was no cape swirl because poor Jon dropped the cape 😭😭 I felt so bad for him but he recovered very well (let’s just say he was so awed by Christine’s singing that his hands stopped working)

Lily’s high notes at the very end had almost no vibrato and were very choral-sounding, if that makes sense. They kinda reminded me of Emmy Rossum’s high notes in the 2004 movie. Overall very nice.

Music of the Night:

Jon Robyns made this song look EASY. His vocals and acting choices were top notch, it was a treat to watch.

In the pause after “abandon their defenses…” when Christine looks away from the Phantom and towards the audience, he gasped and touched his mask as if ensuring it was still there. SUCH a great detail 🥺

He WHIMPERED when Christine touched him during the portcullis sprawl (after that, I wasn’t sure I would survive PONR, the horniness was too strong)

Lily’s Christine seemed quite unsure about the Phantom’s sensual touches at first, especially when he went in for the iconic pose, but then she relaxed and just fell against his arm

His “touch me” was the lowest sensual whisper I— 😩🥵

Christine touched his mask for a good couple of seconds during “savor each sensation”, but then it looked like her thumb went underneath the edge and was about to take it off, and that was when the Phantom pulled her hand away. Great stuff 👍

I know why they don’t do it anymore, but I miss the catch 😭 Christine fell to the floor and Jon’s Phantom reached out for her, before grabbing the cloak and covering her up. Then he knelt down next to her with his hands on his knees (like a lil kid) to say “you alone can make…” it was adorable and so sad 🥹

Stranger Than You Dreamt It:

When Christine first lays eyes on Erik’s deformity, she doesn’t flinch until he lunges at her. But then later, after she returned his mask, she flinched right away as if expecting him to lunge at her again 🥺

She even pushed herself as far away from him as she could when he began STYDI

He dragged—and I mean DRAGGED— himself across the door on his belly

Also he gave this like angry grunt before “repulsive carcass”

Jon’s voice sounded so scary, but his “dreams of beauty” and “oh, Christine” were WHIMPERS 😭😭😭

PATHETIC LITTLE MEOW MEOW ENERGY

After “oh, Christine”, he covered his face with both hands and sat on his knees with his back to the audience. When Christine handed him the mask, he ripped it out of her hand and put it back on.

Notes I/Prima Donna:

Excellent chemistry between Adam Linstead and Matt Harrop as the managers, I couldn’t get enough of their antics

This scene was where Joe Griffiths-Brown began to show his colors as a more aggressive Raoul, akin to Hadley Fraser in the 25th anniversary. Whether you prefer this portrayal of Raoul or not, I think it worked well here.

While the managers are busy singing “Prima Donna” with Carlotta and Piangi, Raoul was seen chatting with Madame Giry (Francesca Ellis). There were a couple more moments in the show where they are seen talking together or sharing a knowing look, which I’ve never really noticed before when watching recordings/bootlegs. It makes their little one-on-one discussion after “Masquerade” seem less random because we know they are already familiar with each other.

Also, Joe Griffiths-Brown’s voice is STRONG, like it cut through all the rest of the voices and could be clearly heard at the end of “Prima Donna”

Il Muto:

Lily de-la-Haye’s croaks were kind of strange… like I know it’s a strange part of the musical, but they sounded less like croaks and more like big yells. Idk

Guys. Jon’s Phantom laugh. 😳😩 Deeper than the Mariana Trench. Sent chills up my spine.

After hearing the Phantom’s voice, Raoul starts searching for him around Box Five

Guys, Adam Linstead is HILARIOUS as Andre. He was shaking like a leaf when he had to go out and announce the change in plan, flipping through his programme nervously. And his antics with the ballet dancers seemed so naturally clumsy!

“the ~BALLET~” 😂😂😂

When the scary silhouettes of the Phantom were showing up during the ballet, they were spotted by the shepherd dancer (Jacob Hughes), and he looked SO SCARED. He had on this huge nervous smile, you could tell he was thinking “oh shit god please no”, it was just a good piece of acting

All I Ask of You:

Lily’s Christine was very up-front about what she wants from Raoul in this song. During “say you love me every waking moment…”, she had her hand out to him as if saying “these are the terms, you can either agree to them or be done.” This, along with some other moments later in the show, made Lily’s interpretation refreshingly strong and assertive.

Joe Griffiths-Brown was BORN to sing Raoul. His voice suits AIAOY so well

He did a lil twirl with his arms out during AIAOY as he said “then say you’ll share with me…” and it was the sweetest thing ever 🥹

THE KISS!!! 😍😍 Raoul kissed Christine first (it was a little earlier than I was expecting), but after he pulled away Christine leaned in and gave him a bigger kiss back!

AIAOY Reprise:

Behind me, a girl went *gasp* “SHIT” when the Pegasus turned and revealed the Phantom, and that alone was worth the price of admission. (Btw, that moment of shock is exactly why you wait to reveal that the Phantom is eavesdropping until AFTER Christine and Raoul leave the rooftop… unlike SOME versions *glares at 2004 movie 😒)

Jon made me cry with his “I gave you my music…”

HIS WHIMPERS WHEN HE HEARS RAOUL AND CHRISTINE SINGING, Y’ALL I AM UNWELL

The horse statue is center-stage during this part, and the Phantom is perched right on top (VERY high up, holy shit). As he sang “you will curse…” he looked down at the audience and istg STRAIGHT AT ME 😳 (I was sitting dead center). Even though he definitely wasn’t staring at me in particular, I felt like we had a moment.

Act 2:

Masquerade/Why So Silent:

THE COSTUMES

SO SPARKLY ✨✨✨✨✨

AND SO DETAILED

AAAAAAAAAA MY EYES CANNOT HANDLE SUCH MAJESTY

If you’re like me and have only ever seen photos/video of the Masquerade scene, let me tell you that it does NOT do them justice

Speaking of which… I would like to formally apologize for hating on Christine’s “Star Princess” dress. It is a LOT prettier in person. I understand the hype now.

There was another moment where Raoul was seen chatting with Madame Giry about something. Again, this makes their convo at the end of this song make more sense since they already know each other.

Omg the Phantom’s entrance was STUNNING

Y’all how does he balance his big ol’ hat??? It’s just a big red puffball on top of his head lmao

Some people in the audience laughed in shock when the skull mask’s jaw started moving

Got flashbanged so I didn’t see the Phantom go down the trap door (which I guess is the whole point of the flashbang lol)

The convo between Raoul and Madame Giry was kinda rushed. Madame Giry reveals some important information about the Phantom’s backstory here, but Raoul was talking over her at some points and it was hard to hear.

Notes II:

I kinda wanted more acting-wise from Lily (Christine) during this scene… I was hoping she would get more angry at Carlotta and the managers, but she seemed oddly quiet. I think she was trying to convey how Christine is tired of all the bullshit happening around her during this scene. She was just done with everything.

Her “I cannot sing it, duty or not” and “I can’t. I won’t do it.” were certain and final.

Again, Joe’s Raoul was rather aggressive during this scene when he was coming up with the plan to trap the Phantom. Of course he was still gentle with her physically, but he was not hearing any arguments against the plan.

Having both a stubborn Christine and a stubborn Raoul seems like a difficult thing to make work, but I think it did in this show! Their clash during this scene makes Christine’s storming out more realistic—she has lost all her patience and just needs to be alone.

Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again:

Lily really shone here. This was her moment, and she did not disappoint.

“Little Lotte thought of everything and nothing…” sounded so defeated and sad 😔

Her voice is just very nice to listen to. It’s not as classically operatic as some other Christines, it has more of a modern musical theater flair, but it suits the role very well imo.

When it got to “too many years…”, she let out all of her repressed anger and frustration in a powerful final chorus. It was very satisfying.

Wandering Child:

“Far-reaching gaze”

Damn these three sound SO GOOD together!!! Their vocals blend perfectly with each other

The sparks from the staff were cool! I’m always worried that they will look cheesy (and yeah, they kinda do), but Jon Robyns was selling it

GOD that fire effect at the end is HOTTT 🔥🔥🔥

Point of No Return:

Oh boy, this one was fun

His “preeeeeeey” was so long and creepy 😳

Maybe I’m just a simp, but I kinda wanted their acting to be a bit more sexy… like I don’t think Lily’s Christine was into it as much as I’ve seen some other Christines get into it, but it was spicy enough

You could tell the moment Christine realized it was the Phantom under the cloak, a look of understanding passed over her face. In the pause before she starts singing her verse, she was thinking for a bit… and then her “decided…” was so long and sultry.

Based on how she acted during this song from that point on, my theory is that she put together her own plan to trap the Phantom by using his lust for her against him. She went along with the seductive choreo in order to expose him to the audience… her hand touched his mask, and it looked like she was going to pull of the hood then and there before he flinched away.

Once they were singing the final chorus, they were straight up arguing with each other. Christine was already letting out her spite and frustration ahead of the Final Lair, and sje was letting the Phantom have it.

After the hood is off, it is Christine who calls off the guards by holding out her hands. This didn't seem like a protective move to me, it seemed like she was just saying “not yet, it’s not the right time”.

When he said “Say you want me”, he patted his chest (like calling a cat lol)

OMG Raoul’s jump into the lake is HIGH like how is that even safe??? Massive props to all the Raouls, that looks scary as shit

Final Lair:

Holy. Shit.

No notes whatsoever.

It was perfection.

CHRISTINE LET ERIK HAVE IT

SHE WAS DONE PLAYING GAMES, SHE WAS SCOLDING HIM WITH ALL OF HER ANGER

And Erik was done too. He had so much disdain in his voice when he talked about his backstory, his bitterness felt so real and justified

When Raoul came in, Erik’s mood switched COMPLETELY to being a cocky lil shit 😂 He was having way too much fun teasing Raoul and mock-bowing to him and being a lil goblin

He also said a line I haven’t heard before! Instead of “I had rather hoped that you would come”, he said “I did not think we would be so blessed” or something like that. Idk if that’s a recent change or what, but it was hilarious because he said it dripping with sarcasm

After “tears of hate” when Christine ran back over to Raoul, she held both her hands out, one to protect Raoul and one to hold back Erik

Lily’s “You deceived me, I gave my mind blindly” was so angry and accusatory (as it should be, because it’s true)

“Make. Your. Choice.” Chills 😳🥶

THE KISS 😱😱😱💀💀💀 (I’m dead)

The first kiss surprised Erik…he held his arms out to the side, unsure what to do with them. Then during the hug he wrapped them around Christine’s waist (with his hands still splayed out). Then the second kiss he kept his arms where they were and ACTUALLY KISSED HER BACK, HE LEANED IN AND EVERYTHING

GOD I AM DECEASED 😭😭😭😭

He pulled away first, looking SO SHOCKED. He stumbled over to the other side of the stage, touching his lips with his fingers 🥺🥺

After he let Raoul go, he had to chase them out of the lair. His “go now and leave me” was the DEFINITION of heartbreaking 😭😭😭 I still haven’t recovered.

When he saw Christine had come back he looked SO HAPPY, but then he looked down and saw the ring, and you could see him just deflate 🥺🥺 she handed him the ring, and he just held her hand for a minute.

His “Christine, I love you” was LONGGG and it just ripped my heart apart further

Lily did NOT want to leave him. She lingered there for several seconds, before turning and running away, leaving Erik’s arm still outstretched 😭

GOD the little sobs he let out as he watched Raoul and Christine leave on the boat 😫 and he covered his ears again like in AIAOY reprise

Overall reflection:

It was SO GOOD. Like I cannot describe how perfect it was in so many different ways. The cast and crew were nothing short of PHENOMENAL and I already cannot wait for a chance to see it again, however long that takes!!

I am an unapologetic RAH 25th anniversary stan, and the Ramin/Sierra/Hadley trio will always hold a special place in my heart (it’s more like a chokehold but I digress). I bring this up because I was SHOOK with how similar the current West End cast sounded to the 25th anniversary cast. Some of the acting choices were also quite similar, especially Joe’s Raoul and Jon’s Phantom. Overall, the three complimented each other very well vocally and the directions in which they took their characters worked together very nicely to tell a cohesive story.

I didn’t really know what to make of Lily Kerhoas’s Christine at first. I kinda felt like I wanted a bit more from her acting-wise, but as the show went on and the more I thought about it, I started to understand the journey she was taking with her Christine throughout the show. She starts out very shy during the Hannibal audition scene and “Little Lotte”, and only during MOTN do we start to see her come out of her shell a bit. Over the course of the show, she learns to become more confident and to stand up for herself and her needs against Joe’s very assertive Raoul and Jon’s very needy Phantom. I really liked this, because too often Christine is written off as another sweet innocent ingenue who is seduced by the Phantom, but Lily’s Christine was nothing like that. She had her own goals in mind and held onto them stubbornly, which led to her having the upper hand  in a lot of scenes. Perhaps not my favorite portrayal of Christine, but it was a refreshing change!

Joe Griffiths-Brown plays a very serious and determined Raoul that reminded me a lot of Hadley Fraser’s “out for blood” portrayal in the 25th anniversary production. He has his moments of sweetness of course, and he is very protective of Christine during AIAOY and the Final Lair. He definitely wasn't the sweet, golden-boi Raoul from the original novel, but alongside Lily’s very courageous Christine and Jon’s emotional Phantom I thought he was a great fit. Plus, he was pretty to look at. 🤭🫠

Jon Robyns NAILED IT. He mastered the balance between a terrifying force of nature and an emotionally broken man. His emotions felt real in the way that he said/sang each line… he meant every word he was saying. I think I would have liked a bit more physical sensuality from him (his Phantom Hands™️ were not as special as others I’ve seen), but other than that I cannot fault his portrayal. He ripped my heart out of my chest and stomped on it, and I said thank you.

Bonus:

My parents were waiting to meet me outside of the theatre after the show ended. According to them, the first person to leave the theatre was a teenage girl—she exited the doors with her hands stretched to the dark London sky, tears in her eyes, and said “OH MY GOD, I FEEL LIKE MY SOUL HAS BEEN RAPTURED!!!”

Same, girl. That pretty much sums it up.

[demonir]

Welcome to Adrian’s good omens thoughts while he’s half asleep again, on todays episode I want to talk about how important the gender expression in the show is to me

Don’t mind the typos I’m lying down without my glasses

I really appreciate how subtle they are about characters genders and stuff, characters with commonly male names being played by actresses and they still use stuff like “sir” or “lord” even if they also get referred to as they/them. They don’t make an intense effort to make them look incredibly androgynous either which like- idk it’s nice.

Knowing neither angels or demons have a defined gender also feels so so so nice because it comes paired with the fact they still choose to present in specific ways and use specific pronouns because newsflash bozo someone can be nonbinary or agender and still present masc as fuck or fem as fuck and use either he/him or she/her and if they wake up 2 weeks from now and change that they are still valid.

Which takes me to my second favorite point, Crowley’s change in gender presentation. I know we all know or at the very least agree he’s genderfluid but like I want to highlight the way he does it because it means so much to me. He has obviously chosen to be masc presenting through most of history (that we’ve seen, there could still be periods of time we haven’t seen where she’s been fem) and idk abt you but I was a tumblr teen years ago learning a very skewed version of gender identity and expression where if you wanted to be genderfluid you had to look very attractive as both genders and also PASS as both genders convincingly (as well as being perfectly androgynous when being neither, this also applied to nonbinary people), as well as change it like every 2 days or so and have no preference? That’s the way people would make it seem to me, that’s the way people would portray their genderfluid characters in fandom spaces and that’s the way my teenage mind came to absorb it.

Now, it’s 2024 and I’m sure all of us with common sense know this is bogus but still seeing Crowley just sorta… brightened my everything? Knowing nanny Crowley wasn’t just for the joke, knowing that during certain scenes she was indeed being fem… but the most important part to me is that no matter what he was still HIM, they could have gone the easy route and have an actress play fem Crowley and be like “oh well she’s a demon she can shapeshift whenever ooooo” like so many people do with their ocs (I was one at one point) but it is still obviously him, it is still David Tennant playing Crowley and nobody else and when she’s fem she’s still got the same features the same everything and that’s somehow just… so freeing to see? It’s realistic, it’s grounding. You can be fem and still have overly masculine features, you can be fem and still have facial hair, you can be masc and still wear makeup, you can be masc and not hide your chest.

Now I wish this was all just… more obvious to everyone, I know some of this stuff because I saw posts, I saw people talking about it… but not everyone is gonna go through a 3 hour post scavenger hunt for extra lore like I do and these things are simply not addressed in the show. There IS a certain freeing feeling to the gender stuff not being addressed, it simply happens, it passes by and you might not even notice, but also comes with the double edged sword of people simply thinking SOME of the characters have funny genders but the others don’t.

Sorry I’m distracted rn bc I can hear a fucking bohemian rhapsody cover coming from my moms tv the timing of this is fucking wild, anyways I’m gonna try to get my thoughts back on track

So yeah, to some people like for example my aforementioned mother, the nanny Crowley thing was merely a joke and nothing else, not a brief moment of gender expression but just a perhaps even nasty joke played at the expense of other people. To her every other Crowley before and after that has been strictly cis male and mlm despite the fact I did in fact explain to her that he’s not, same applies to Aziraphale and perhaps even harder because we only ever see him presenting masculine through the entirety of it and trying to explain otherwise to the woman that thinks she can use she/he on me because I’m bisexual will not work (and she refuses to use he/him on me anyways mind you, or my chosen name. Says it’s too complicated, but I know for a fact that if one of the characters had changed their name mid show she would switch to the new name instantly…..yknow… just casual transphobia for me only)

I would like just…a passing comment or a scene that lets everyone know the nuance yknow? Finally something that cannot be disputed by everyone, and you might say “well but Crowley says he’s neither when he gets called a good lad” and to that I say yes but people still dispute the meaning behind it, my mom certainly would. And again you might want to shake the nanny scene in front of me and again I’ll remind you of people thinking it was just a joke, a disguise, a singular haha funny. You might want to gesture towards other scenes or moments or passing phrases but the thing is they will or have already been debated on because people will try to deny it no matter fucking what and it’s FRUSTRATING, so perhaps it’s just me being petty or wanting to give them a good ol fuck you but I’d like it if either Crowley or Aziraphale or both just looked at the camera head on and went “we are not men, also Crowley is genderfluid” no ifs no butts no second meaning just straight to your face, a giant “shut the fuck up” to annoying people.

Now I’m not gonna die if this doesn’t happen, I’m fine with that… it just sorta feels depressing seeing someone in the wild genuinely saying shit like “why are you using she/her for Crowley? He’s a man” my brother in Christ I am about to hit you with the mallet of knowledge and you won’t be able to look at that demon the same way ever again.

The gender expression in good omens matters so much to me as someone who struggles with her own and Crowley and Beelzebub matter so much to me as a little afab genderfluid/nonbinary (I’m not sure yet) motherfucker, I need to go bite some fuckinf ccomcrete right now man, accidental typo but I’m keeping it.

[nodulemodule]

Camp Camp S5E1 opinions (spoilers)

I just watched the new episode of Camp Camp and nobody cares but here's what I have to say, first:

(this is your disclaimer to please watch the new episode LEGALLY and in a way that supports the creators. Even if that means blocking spoilers for a bit so you can watch it for free when it's available. It's a small team, and they deserve all the support they can get because making cartoons is hard!)

All this is my opinion, if you disagree, let me know! I genuinely want to discuss it. If you agree with me, then feel free to vent along with me and we can be excited or dissapointed together. The show qualifies as art and is open to criticism. Also WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE NEW SEASON PREMIERE OF CAMP CAMP!

Ok with all that garbage out of the way, here's what I have to say:

Likes:

• Max’s new voice is pretty good. I got used to it pretty quick. Props to the VA!

• Dolph’s new design is cute. I totally understand why they changed it and the redesign is good.

• DAVID WITH GUN. DAVID WITH GUN.

•I think the idea of the whole camp hating the trio is funny and I kind of wish they made it real even though it went against the point of the episode kind of.

• The part where the trio is shaming Preston and they all move in sync was the one part that made me laugh. I love when they're all being goofy together.

• I liked the idea with the circle in the dirt at first because I thought it was just Max’s way of illustrating a point and I thought it was cute how he included his friends. Started as a nice moment

• Nurf lovingly flipping them off was funny.

• my gwenvid heart was soaring. They were very cute and I wish we got a more overt gwenvid moment as a send-off. Like, it doesn't have to be made canon and can stay subtle but something for the fans would have been nice.

• Gwen’s new voice did a good job. Slightly different vibe to her but it wasn't bad at all. I liked it. It was an interesting change and I didn't mind at all.

• The scene with Max and David’s hike was beautiful and the best part of the episode by far. They're both so in character, they are well-written and their dynamic is so sweet, and the message rings true. It was a nice moment and something I think Max needed to hear.

• “somebody. Fucking. Has to.” GUYS WHEN I TELL YOU I FJGKRNGKRHDNR WHAT A CALLBACK. I wish they made David’s reaction a little longer and made it more of a moment because I nearly missed it at first but once I heard it I got so excited. Really, Max’s whole pep talk in that moment is very good.

• The camera is such a thoughtful and fitting gift for Max because he's struggling with letting go of camp, and the fact he uses it himself too makes it all the more sweet.

• My lil Makki heart jumped when Max came back and Nikki shouts his name. It was sweet, the excitement and joy in her voice. I forgot it was meant to be a joke at first honestly it was so sincere.

• the animation was great! I loved the facial animations, especially on David and Nikki. Idk why those two had such good expressions but I'm not complaining.

• the trio. They're such besties. I'm love them.

• Honestly the fight cloud with Nikki and Neil was fun idk why I liked watching them wrastle. Children fighting is amusing.

• I'm glad Gwen finally got recognized for her talent. It’s a running theme throughout the show that Gwen is more talented and capable than she lets on and this was a fine way to end it. Good for her.

• Whe- WUH- THE ENDING. WHERE ARE THEY GONNA GO FROM HERE? I AM EXCITED AND INTRIGUED

Dislikes:

• opening narration was unnecessary

• wish they introduced Dolph’s new look more organically. It deserves to be it’s own moment.

• why can't Nikki write? She's 9 not 4. She was never stupid.

• plot is all over the place. It's like two or three episodes smashed into one and there's not enough extra time for any of them. It lacks focus. If it were up to me I would have cut out the first half with the social media app and the trio trying to get people to like them. It felt like filler.

• it's just not very funny. There was maybe one joke that made me laugh. And not even hard. Camp Camp is usually pretty funny to me so I don't get what happened. The comedy is all so slow despite the plot being so crammed so I wonder if the delivery was faster if we would have more time for plot. Anyway, they just lacked any sort of setup or punchline. Just nothing jokes.

• Why does Max go along with trying not to be bossy? He clearly didn't care before and the way it's written it isn't implied he's doing it for his friends. It's like he suddenly did care about being liked out of nowhere. I think it would have been funny and made more sense if maybe Nikki or Neil made him play along, like Nikki bit him until he stopped.

• the circle thing. It was a cute idea at first because I thought Max was just making some kind of metaphor, and I thought that it was cute. I wish they kept it like that and just made it a sweet moment of Max expressing his devotion to his friends in his own way but instead they stay in the circle and are just unfunny for a few minutes and then Nikki says they ran away?? Like first of all why are you running away and also no, you didn't run away because you're still at camp. WHY ARE THEY IN THE CIRCLE IT DOES NOTHING FOR THE PLOT AND MAKES NO SENSE?

• I HATED THE CLOSE-UP OF NIKKI’S NOSE SO MUCH IT WAS SO UNFUNNY WHY IS SHE MADE TO BE SO UNLIKABLE FOR THAT ONE BIT JUST SO MAX CAN LOOK AT HER IN DISGUST IT WAS SO BAD

• Is it just me or do they keep playing sad music like... A lot? It just keeps popping up every other scene and at some point it just became funny to me. It's so badly paced out lol

• I mentioned Max’s pep talk was good and it was but also I wish that it was in a better written context. Like, I think it would have been a better end to the cliff scene instead of a way to motivate David to... fight a robot cause... He thinks he can't... Because reasons? It doesn't make a whole lot of sense and I think that it's supposed to connect but it really doesn't.

• Too much Preston. Never liked Preston never will. Why did he talk so much.

• the running gag of everyone being like “oooookay” when the trio assumes they hate them is just... So unfunny omg

• This episode suffers from season 4 syndrome, which was a characteristic of season 4 that I heavily disliked where they sacrifice the outrageous personalities of the characters to have them sit around and discuss life lessons that aren't even that profound to begin with. It's boring, unnatural, and uncharacteristic. At least make it funny. I don't want to see them sit on the ground and calmly discuss basic friendship lessons like I KNOW THAT NOW PLEASE DO SOMETHING INTERESTING.

• I wish David and Max got a better goodbye. I kind of liked David’s line of “That's good enough for me.” but I wish they expanded on it. Maybe have Max struggle to be sincere and make it more obvious that he's trying to act tough and David still sees through it. So he's like “I get that's you're struggling to be sincere so ill take what I can get because I appreciate the effort.”

Overall, it was kind of a mixed bag. It had some very VERY good moments and a lot of good ideas, but I think it was messy and didn't use it's time well, as well as not taking advantage of a lot of potential jokes. I understand that they likely had limitations but they tried to tackle too much with one episode. If I were to change anything I would cut the first half and work on giving the characters a more clear and smooth arc from beginning to end. Pick a focus and stick to it! Still, I'm excited to see where this will go!

[1moreff-creator]

Happy Birthday Nico Hakobyan!

Meow meow! (Our favorite cat person's birthday has arrived!)

Mrow. (As always, small character analysis + fun facts + songs!)

CW Transphobia, bullying, blackmail, death threats, murder attempt

-Nico is the Ultimate Pet Therapist! This is because, as they've explicitly stated, they like interacting with animals more than humans. They feel as though there are many unwritten rules of human conversation they don't fully understand, while animals are a lot simpler by comparison. Mood.

-Their secret may also play into why they prefer interaction with animals. It was "No one accepted you for your identity. You were constantly mocked by your family, your peers, and everyone else." Basically, people made fun of them because they're non-binary, to the point apparently they threw rocks and mud at them :(

-Speaking of secrets, the quote on Mai's page associated to them is "Everyone confided in her." Presumably they came out to Mai out of their own will, instead of being essentially outed by David (which is one of the many morally wrong things with David's whole "sharing secrets" operation, but this ain't about him).

-And speaking of secret quotes, the one on Nico's page's source code is "Why should I own up for the mistakes that someone else made?" A bit vague, and one which will probably only make sense with future context. Although, it may actually be referencing something we already saw.

-Time to talk about The Gym Incident.

-Ace got Nico's secret at the start of CH2, and because of his own set of issues, he decided to use this power over Nico to bully them relentlessly. Now, Nico also got Ace's secret, but for one reason or another never brought it up. Possibly because they had a "better" idea for how to stop the bullying: in the heat of the moment, Nico threatened to kill Ace. I mean, killing the guy is a lot simpler than the blackmail equivalent of mutually assured destruction, and we know how Nico feels about complicated social rules and norms.

-Thankfully Hu stepped in before things escalated further, although her method might have been, uh, flawed. Giving her friend the benefit of the doubt, she blamed Ace for everything and slapped him. Which, yes, Ace was horrible to Nico. But the death threat should probably be addressed, shouldn't it? Or should they "not be forced to apologize for someone else's mistake?"

-One thing led to another, and Nico tried to kill Ace in the gym.

-To be fair, the whole situation is still surrounded in speculation, but they have admitted to it. To be clear, I don't actually think this is the situation their secret quote refers to, since they did say "I shouldn't have done that" in the trial, so they presumably feel enough remorse to feel like maybe they should apologize, even if Ace is far from blameless. Or maybe I'm wrong and this is the situation the quote refers to, who knows.

-Additionally, they never denied stealing Rose's turpentine to pull this off, so it's very possible they did.

-Oh, yeah! Nico and Rose and friends :D (or at least they were before the turpentine thing). They shared an FTE, which only had a 0,4% chance of happening apparently :O

-It's a very sweet one, where they vibe for a few minutes without talking, then call each other cats, and talk about their issues with communicating their feelings. It's revealed Nico has a pet cat named Tractor (because he meows very loudly), which is pretty old, and that they miss other cats they knew before the killing game. Also, when Rose brings up she's scared of what she knows because of her memory, Nico drops this while thinking of the killing game:

Nico [thought]: Everyone here probably is afraid of themselves and what they might end up doing.

Foreshadowing is a narrative device-

-Their numeral in the the David MV is VIII (8), which is "even if I try to think, IDK!!!". Explained at 1:58:22 in this video, though it's not too complex.

-According to Color Theory they get light blue, with the words "cry, cry, idk!!!" I don't think I need to explain why this applies to Nico, who might actually have more crying sprites than the rest of the cast combined (I don't think that's true, but you get the idea). Mood.

-Their birthday, December 19th, lands on National Hard Candy Day, National Harry (yes the name) Day, National Oatmeal Muffin Day, and National Emo Day, among others. At this point I'm no longer surprised by these things.

Fun facts!

-They like cat-themed things and dislike bathtubs. Cat behavior.

-Like most of the cast, they're American, right-handed, their sexuality is unconfirmed and their hair color is natural.

-They don't have a favorite color, as they are not interested in such things, but their least favorite is white. They find it unsettling.

-Nico cuts their own hair, as stated in their FTE.

-Their favorite ice cream flavor is "the flavor." No elaboration. Mood.

-They smell like a kitty-cat.

-Their favorite food is unprocessed and natural food.

Songs!

(I was really tempted to give them some of Muu's songs from Milgram, but whether or not they work depends on what their secret quote actually means so :p)

+The Chattering Lack of Common Sense by Ghost & Pals

+Scapeg∞at by Ghost & Pals

+God-ish by PinnochioP

+Karma by CreepP, CircusP

+Nobody Makes Sense by PinnochioP

+Monster by KIRA (listen evil Nico lives rent free in my head ok?)

+The Spider and the Kitsune-Like Lion by MASA Works Design (So about the evil Nico thing-)

+And Happy Birthday! Sung by kitties of course.

(Wow I did not have a lot for them rip)

[loverboy-havocboy]

*slides in a home-made cookie* Any headcanons or info about the characters included in the aliit verse you're able to share? Whether it be the main gang or anyone else?

i spent hours telling @the-starry-seas about the boys (mostly sinker) last night, so here are some thoughts from that convo as well as some fresh ones. some of them are also from rolling the blorbos around with @executeness

sinker has pretty severe adhd and his favorite fidget toy (besides boost) is one of those 3D printed slugs. it probably has a normal person name like james or something so he can say he needs to "fiddle with james".

boost got into a lot of fights in high school. he had a lot of rage after his parents died and he used it on anyone who tried to bully sinker or comet (or really probably anyone - i see boost being the kind of guy to step in even if he doesn't know the kid getting bullied).

before meeting gregor, comet was a sleep-until-the-afternoon type of guy, then he adjusted his sleep schedule so it would be easier to get up closer to gregor's time whenever gregor was on leave. he's still not an early riser by any means, but those few extra hours with gregor when he's home mean the world to him.

wolffe and gregor's relationship is the definition of "you came." / "you called."

sinker doesn't try to set his dates up with boost, but if they're not at least a little bit interesting in him, i think sinker is less likely to pursue a relationship. related to this is that boost loves befriending sinker's boyfriends - i mean, they share an interest in boost's absolute favorite thing in the world, after all.

sinker is a he/they in my mind though it is not canon. i could also see boost using he/they, but in a lack-of-gender way unlike sinker's abundance-of-gender way.

people have a tendency to underestimate sinker because of his bleached blonde hair and neurodivergence (they assume he's "ditzy"), but he's incredibly intelligent and he uses their assumptions to his favor.

i headcanon thorn as having had metoidioplasty.

echo uses a wheelchair on days that his pain is too much or he just can't be bothered with his prosthetics.

this can't go in the story, but the dominos and the pack are all stoners on some level To Me. echo and thorn have chronic pain from their injuries and the pack just seem like they smoked a bunch of weed behind the mall in highschool.

gregor's favorite music is rock, especially from the 60's-70's.

comet's favorite band is placebo. brian molko was a big influence on his gender expression. he also loves david bowie - both his music and his role in labyrinth.

sinker is a model so he sometimes gets to take clothes he wears for shoots, but his favorite pieces are things he's bought from small businesses/artists. clothes that are hand painted or beaded or given zest in some other way. he likes supporting them and he also likes wearing their love around and looking hot as fuck while he does it.

the pack were not normal about my chemical romance in high school. sinker's favorite album of theirs is danger days, boost's favorite is bullets, and comet could never choose between them.

tupma are unwritten at this point but here are some for them:

background is they met in college. dogma is a he/they transmasc, he cracks tup's egg and helps her become comfortable in her identity as a she/they/he* transfem. *she does get comfortable reacquainting with he/him pronouns eventually, in a "he's my girlfriend" type of way. after college, they moved to keldabe (mandalorian nyc where the rest of the aliit gang lives) together.

tup has 3 sisters and 2 moms, so as the only "man" in the family, their coming out as transfem is the funniest thing they could've done.

dogma is autistic. his special interests are bugs (especially spiders), and idk i feel like he's a minecraft and animal crossing man.

dogma has a tarantula named daenerys. tup saved up the money for him to pick her out and all the stuff she would need as a gift. tup may or may not have a pet lizard of some kind.

dogma's parents are divorced, his mom remarried and he got a little brother who's in elementary school now who likes to hunt for bugs with him.

tup sews and paints as hobbies. she likes to alter clothes she thrifts, and also makes dogma patches for his shorts and jackets to add a little spice.

i'm really going now but i think i will leave it here. thank you so much for asking, my dear, this was really fun 💖💖💖

[darkfire359]

Thoughts on e1 of The Terror

I've started watching The Terror, mostly to understand all the random posts I see about catboys and about how OFMD totally should have had an ass-whipping scene. Anyway, some thoughts:

As I predicted, it is super hard to tell the difference between all the various old white guys, but the thing I forgot makes this even harder is the fact that sometimes characters use first names and sometimes characters use last names. I think that Francis Crozier is the name of the Terror's captain and Sir John Fitzjames is the name of the Erebus's captain (though maybe he is Sir James Fitzjames, which would be amusing). Goodsir is is the doctor and David Young is the kid who died? Reid and Tozer were mentioned (but idk who they are), someone (maybe multiple people?) is named James. Of course I can identify Hickey, the guy from all the tumblr pop song AMVs. I assume he'll eventually murder and eat some people.

I initially thought that everyone would totally die, but the scene at the beginning indicates that maybe some people only ambiguously die? Walking by foot when you can barely walk seems like a bad idea.

Francis is probably the main character? The scene where he was arguing to play it safe and the other captain was arguing "just two more weeks" made it super obvious who was going to be right and who was going to fuck things up for everyone. Also, the show is called "The Terror" not "The Erebus" so probably the other captain is going to get mutinied on and eaten. Especially given that the men don't him being religious and making them dig a real grave. The Erebus itself probably will get abandoned at some point.

The doctor seems like a good guy, maybe also main character-ish? I was a bit squicked by him not wearing gloves during an autopsy though.

Something spooky is afoot. I came in knowing that the manbearpig monster thing (whose name sounded like "Tumquack" but which I'm sure I'm utterly mangling) was real, but there seems to have been a spooky hallucination guy and something spooky in the water. No idea how this will all connect together. It's also unclear if Young died from tuberculosis(?) or general spookiness.

My watch-buddy and I have resolved to not get emotionally attached to the dog, who will probably die.

No real thoughts on shipping yet, except maybe that one guy and the guy who was helping him put on his clothes while talking to him in a dark corner. I promptly forgot who both of those guys were. Ships that I've heard about pre-show include Hickey/Tozer and Hickey/Crozier, but I haven't seen any of that.

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

MAC!!!!! i hope u r havin a GOOD DAY!!! i came 2 tell u that a) i watched ep 18 of pd s2 and i feel like i lost all of my braincells. businessman vyncent you are SO fucking cringefail. “it’s time for my four o’clock piss” ????? they brought in tony from tony’s pizza as a lawyer. this was so fuckign dumb oh my lord. what even was that episode i think my brain leaked out of my ears!!!! this is a got damn sitcom!!!!!! i had to pause every few minutes because i felt like i was losing my mind. genuinely surprised i did not have an aneurysm through that whole mess it was so fucking funny and so fucking stupid <3 ALSO!! things from the episode that immediately made me think of u: the wiwi danny phantom parody at the beginning!! as soon as i heard the beginning of the theme song i was like “YOOOOO MAC GHOSTIEZONE MY FRIEND MAC GHOSTIEZONE PROBABLY WENT NUTS OVER THIS!!” also BRIEF GILLION TIDESTRIDER MENTION 🎉🎉🎉 charlie accidentally did the voice he does for gillion at some point in the episode and i was like!! that is mac’s fish guy!!!!! the he!!!

also. b) i heard. that in riptide. at some point in an episode. grizzly decided to write gay smut and have gillion read it. and i am too curious for my own good so i found the episode and the timestamp and watched it. head in hands. Grizzly What Is Wrong With You. THE THING IS IT WAS ACTUALLY LOWKEY WELL WRITTEN LIKE HE ACTUALLY CAPTURED THE FEELING OF READING EROTICA WRITTEN BACK IN LIKE THE 1800���S. I DONT FUCKING KNOW HOW HE WROTE THAT OR WHY. BUT I THINK IT ALTERED SOMETHING IN MY BRAIN CHEMISTRY IN A VERY STRANGE WAY. THAT IS NOT HIS FIRST TIME WRITING SMUT NO WAY IT IS HE HAS TO BE LYING. GRIZZLYPLAYS WHY DID YOU WRITE THIS. I DONT KNOW THE FULL CONTEXT ALL I KNOW IS THAT I LISTENED TO GILLION TIDESTRIDER READ GAY EROTICA AND THE TERM DARK PUCKERED HOLE WILL UNFORTUNATELY LIVE IN MY HEAD FOREVER

and c) THAT. ASIDE. lookit the lil guy i bought yesterday :3 he is a cat…….. BUT ALSO A SHARK!!!!

i wanna name him wiwi. not rly for william related purposes he just looks like an el wiwi. fuckin itty bitty thing!!!!!

anyway i’m gonna watch ep19 today <3 i hope ur havin a lovely day i am sending u one million hugs in the mail they’ll be there in five to ten business days

AHAAAA GOD THE HEIST EPISODE WAS SO FUCKING STUPID I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. THEYRE SUCH IDIOTS. CANNOT BELIEVE THEY GOT OUT OF THERE IN ONE PIECE. anyway . hi! u just met david how do you feel about david!!!!!! stupid idiot fell for businessman vyncent.

AHA I FORGOT THAT WAS THE ONE WITH THE DP INTRO. u know whats really funny. the first post in my pd tag is a clip of that intro. i saw that when i was about halfway through riptide and my immediate reaction to it was "oh god i can never watch prime defenders now. ill be too insufferable about it if they lean into the dp angle for the ghost boy" and. well. look at me now. funny enough i think the second post in my pd tag is a piece of mark winters fanart where i was like "man idk this guy yet but he looks cool" LITTLE DID I FUCKING KNOW. points at past me. his ass is clueless!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOD. FUCK. YOU DONT EVENFUCKING KNOW. YOU DONT EVEN KNOW. THE EXTENT. AT WHICH GRIZZLY WROTE OLD MAN SMUT. THE FUCKING VISCERAL REACTION THAT CLIP HAD ON ME. I HAD TO TAKE OFF MY HEADPHONES A FEW TIMES. I WAS ON CALL WITH JONESY AND THEY WERE LIKE. no. no. coward. put your headphones back on and listen to dark puckered hole like a man. i hate it here. and the fact that it was gillion who read it OUT LOUD who is the like. EXPLICITLY ASEXUAL CHARACTER. extremely funny to me. peepaw getting down. god i love riptide it sucks so much this podcast is so unserious. theres no way this is grizzlys first time writing fanfiction WHY IS IT SO WELL WRITTEN. fuck!!!!!!!! fuck you for making me think about dark puckered hole. this is not a single occurrence btw there are MULTIPLE readings of this book. jay cannot leave gillion and chip alone for five minutes or gill will start reading the smut book out loud again.

I LOVE WIWI THE CAT ALSO.................... OH MAN..... LITTLE SHARK KITTY........ he looks squishable. activating my cuteness aggression i think i need to bite him.

[hexarcana]

**okay now for some Yearling Centric RF goodness that I forgot to share so I’m posting it tonight bc I didn’t have enough brain power to do drafts 🤡

**mostly about Aggies parents and why Aggie lives with Olive

So David ran away from his mother as a child. He ran all the way to town, illegally hopped on SEVERAL forms of Public transportation which EVENTUALLY got him back to New York. He didn’t bother looking up his grandfather bc he’d just tell his mother and he vowed that day that he’d never see her again. He wound up at a police station where he explained to officers that he was an orphan. For the sake of “it’s a cartoon guys it’s not realistic” this works for him and he’s placed in Foster Care. I don’t have an exact timeline so idk how old he is exactly, but all that matters is that he was eventually adopted by a decent family in Staten Island. He settled into his new extremely boring but secure life very quickly and was on his way to having a normal life if it weren’t for the literal FAMILY of witches living across the street. He just knew them as the Cross Sisters. Most of them were older than he was but the youngest was around his age. She was a shy, timid girl who was always staring at him whenever he saw her. He didn’t really care.

As he grew up the youngest Cross sister started to try and make advances, which he wasn’t interested in. He had big plans to go into medicine someday and was very academically focused. Unfortunately Lucinda Cross had made her decision about who she wanted and she wanted him. Just like in canon, she bewitches him into falling in love with her. Now mind you, they’re teenagers in high school at this point, and thankfully (for his sake honestly) they forbid their daughter from dating. The spells were broken, David was confused and felt a little under the weather. He didn’t see the Cross girl again, apart from dreaming about her quite often.

Fast forward quite a few years. Lucinda still came to him in dreams but it was infrequent enough where he didn’t quite make a connection. He’s finally finished med school and he’s ready to embark on a new life in Manhattan. Her moves into an apartment a few blocks from the Hospital he was doing his residency. Across the street is an odd little house crammed between two apartment buildings. It looks really out of place, all white and old looking. He pays it little mind, not really caring to notice how the people who lived there appeared to be a group of about 25 women who were always dressed in black. He had a passing thought that maybe they were nuns? But one day as he’s walking home from work, he’s approached by one of the women in black who looks OVERJOYED to see him. It’s Lucinda. She’d found him. Or maybe he’d found her- it was hard to say since from that moment on he was once more under her spell, and it was stronger than ever thanks to her close proximity to her coven.

They were married VERY soon after they reunited in a small ceremony performed by the women of Lucinda’s coven. David wasn’t even mentally present. He had very little autonomy at the time.

Lucinda kept him docile and compliant. As far as he knew, he was happy.

Within a year of being married, they welcomed a child, a little girl named Agatha, named for David’s favorite author.

Had Lucinda had a son, things probably could have stayed as they were and David would have been under her spell for the rest of his life but unfortunately for her, she had a daughter who’s magic was wayyyy stronger than hers. That WAS her goal, to have a witch child that was supremely powerful, but she didn’t anticipate that Aggie’s meer presence even as a baby had a sort of curse-breaking effect on David. It was slow, and he came out of the magic in fits of rage where he and Lucinda would get into horrible screaming matches before she’d subdue him once more.

Canon Aggie free up in a house that was silent, but RF Aggie grew up in a house filled with anger and resentment and confusion and so much yelling and throwing things. She feared both of her parents in equal measure. David was at best, quiet and sort of blank and at worst he was angry at the whole world. Lucinda wasn’t motherly in the slightest, and as far back as Aggie could remember her mother was persisting her about magic whether she was awake or not. If she didn’t meet expectations she was punished. MIND YOU THIS WAS WHEN SHE WAS LIKE??? 3-5 YEARS OLD? So Anyone who saw Aggie would comment on dreadfully pale and sickly she seemed, but Lucinda was able to keep it up until there was a major shift.

When Aggie was about five, David broke free of the magic firmly enough to hatch a plan. He ordered Aggie to pack her things. She did as instructed because she was terrified that he’d yell at her or worse if she didn’t obey. When Lucinda came into the home, David incapacitated her (AKA hit her with something very heavy) and then he fled the apartment with Aggie in tow.

In between fits of being bewitched and not, Lucinda had revealed what she was and what was happening and David was fucking PISSED. He’s lost years of his life with this woman that he hated, who used magic which as far as he could tell was just evil shit. He took Aggie (who he was neutral about at best) bc he knew Lucinda would twist her and make her as evil as she was and even though David HAD basically resolved to abandon her somewhere he didn’t exactly want her to turn out like Lucinda. But where to take her? What place could take a witch?

He remembered the town he’d spent a short amount of time in as a boy, trapped in the woods in a rusty old RV while his mom was off doing god knows what. That town, those woods, there was something about them. Full of freaks like his mother, the freak he was raising would fit right in.

So, just like in canon, he drove Aggie alllll the way to Oregon, where he sought the assistance of a local tourist trap owner to locate his mothers home.

He really hasn’t antipated how enraged he would become upon seeing his mother again. It didn’t matter that she seemed shrunken and empty, unable to meet his eyes or say much more than a few words in a shaking voice. Frankly, she disgusted him, and he went the fuck OFF on her, yelling at her for everything from how poor and unhappy they were in New York when he was small (Honestly this was a fucking low blow bc that was before she cracked) to leaving him alone in that camper and never trying to find him when he ran off.

Olive just. Stood there. Because she couldn’t argue, even if she could string together enough coherent thoughts to do so. She was sickened by herself too, frankly.

What neither person expected was the frightened five year old in his car tearing out into the yard and yelling at her father to stop yelling. Aggie was five, but wise for her age, and she could tell that this poor woman was sick and also she just!!! She was so scared of him when he yelled! And after being taken from her home, dragged across the country- She’d had ENOUGH. Thing is she put a way more oomph into her shout than intended.

In that moment David suddenly forgot the following:

-Who the two people in the woods with him are

-The fact that he had a child

-The fact that his mother even existed

-Where he was, and why he was there.

Aggie had wiped massive chunks of his memory. All his rage and anger were gone as if a switch had been thrown. He looked between the girl and the woman blankly before asking who they were and where he was and what was going on. Olive was stunned, and unable to really speak. So Aggie took over, explaining that he was on his way to California looking for a new job, and he’d gotten lost. He asks for directions and Olive shakily points back the way he came. He thanks her and apologizes for bothering them, and got back into his car. Aggie watched him go, clicking her fingers to “summon” her suitcase to appear right next to her. Olive doesn’t see this though, she was too busy staring as her sons car drove off. This absolutely broke her heart. She crumpled to the ground and cried. Aggie sat by her in the grass beside her and patted her shoulder.

David never came back, and likely never will. And Aggies been there ever since.

Aggie doesn’t like to talk about her parents in general, but she feels terrible about what she did to David mostly bc she knows it hurts Olive to know that she’ll never be able to talk him again. She also just… KNOWS that’s the kind of the magic her mother would want her to do and that’s not who she wants to be.

Speaking of her mother… She is out there. Somewhere.