#it's insanely funny. THEY'RE insanely funny. And also just plane insane.

[tora-the-cat]

Itachi quietly and distantly absolutely fucking LOATHING Obito and Obito SWEATING over it but trying to laugh it off is just. such an underrated dynamic

[haneys]

I have new ocs btw lol and once again they came to me inna dream. breezy surferbro bleached blonde. roots showing five o'clock shadow on. flip flops on. Hawaiian shirt flaying open. corny top scars tatts. he really dgaf. trans biaro. he's just kinds letting the days go by chilling and being dope. no the sharpest tool in the shed but he emits chill vibes plus is a handyman so ppl vibe with him. big family. there's also this other guy who's kinda a rich fail son that's being very burned out by the whole yoire gonna take iver the company from ur dad so now ur basicislly being ceo junior and trying to learn how to not tank it. and there's also the dad. the dad was like the fucking vampire dad from hotel transylvania fucking help me. surfbro and failson met for a brief moment because the Richfam were doing some how about we all spend a day like Nirmal People I prommy were not detached from how normal people live trust me. and then they were having like the worst day in the beach the dad was really like well this fucking sucks while the mom (I want her so bad) was like meh but also thought it was funny to see the dad be mad as hell. failson before all that was like yeah I'm straight I'm just so busy with the whole ceo thing I don't have the time to date and think abt women👍 and then he ran into the surfbro amd he was like oh I am a homo. cool. this is not confusing at all and also I'm gonna behave so normal and natural rn. surely. and it was like the worst floppiest try at flirting ever. and I mean to be fair he kinda just had a personal revelation and also tried to date like probably once in his life but still it was really funny to see. surfbrobdidnt even register he was being hit on. he was like you're kinda weird lol let's hang out. failson had like heart eyes aura the entire time. the dad was like YOURE FUCKING KIDDING ME.???? he really didn't like that. not even the fact that turns out his son is gay he dgaf it was just the person he chose. like litersly super diving behind a McDonald's wpuld get someone better. he was seething and malding. the mom thought it was VERY VERY funny exactly because he was malding. but oh well the day comes to and end and thay all can move on surely right. 🤨 wrong. anyway to make it short failson gets surfbro to work for him, mostly secretary style, since he was looking for a more stable job than his odd jobs and repair work around the neighborhood. failson is having a great time. the mom really likes surfbro and thinks he's funny to have around. all the staff loves him. the dad tries to kill him. I mean no like litersly he's so mad 80% of the dream was dad teying to kill him looney tunes style he tried to drop a piano on him. he tried to flatten him with a mullet. the got surfbro escaping a big rolling stone. litersly cartoon saw traps. but surfbro has maxed out luck Stat he isn't even AVARE. failson is like hey I know my dad doesn't like u too much I hope he haven't been giving u any problems and surfbro is like nah it's ok 👍 unaware there's an angry lion waiting for him in the break room but becayse if bizzare chain if events he ends up safe and sound and the lion mauls the dad etc. it was so so so great. genuelly the dad surfbro stuff was better to me than the gay love winning thing. truly the dream of all time

[thearchercore]

Also Charles congratulating Max on Austria 2019 by tagging him on his post and then literally unfollowing him will never not be funny to me 😭😭 like we know you were planning his murder right there Charles, who held you at gunpoint to write that post

And Max is such a petty bitch for never mentioning Charles in his insta posts but always alluding to him like what do you mean trouble came to me why are you so extra 😭

It’s a miracle we came out of 2019-20 without any restraining orders being filed

them unfollowing each other while being on the same plane home? like???

they're so dramatic but like the way you just know max is TRAUMATIZED after austria 2019 because he never apologizes but RAN to apologize to charles for the turn 1 incident in vegas the second charles did not greet him (charles was initially not happy about ferrari strategy, and not max, so it was a false alarm - which max did not know)

but like just the possibility freaked him out so much, it was really funny. you will never see max go on such a big apology tour like that one lmao

you can notice they must have built a decent friendship after they managed to deal with the years of lore they had, but just the growth from austria to now? insane.

[bookishdaze]

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a...Chimpanzee?

How bird imagery, planes, mentions of flying, and Noa's intelligence could be foreshadowing Noa taking flight.

Get out your tinfoil hats. It's theory time!

I've been thinking about what'll happen to Noa and how the rest of the story will unfold. While doing so, I came up with this crazy theory. You'll have to forgive me for my wild imagination at times, haha.

To make this sound a little less...insane, I'll start with evidence that is in the actual movie itself before I start branching out towards more speculative territory.

Noa and Bird Imagery

Throughout the movie, Noa is likened to a bird through bird imagery. One way this is done is through feathers. Feathers are worn by the apes in Eagle Clan as necklaces, arm bands, baldrics, and other accessories, with elders like Koro wearing a lot more. Younger apes and apes of lesser status wear feathers too, just not as many. Even some of the children wear necklaces with a singular feather. These feather accessories come in blues, browns, and whites.

Here's the thing: Noa is the only one without colorful feathers.

Take a look at this image of the trio. Soona has her blue feather necklace, and Anaya has his brown feather arm accessory, but Noa doesn't have any similar adornments. It can't be because Noa is the youngest since we see children have feather necklaces, and we know Soona and Anaya aren't that much older than Noa, for they were "born within a sunset."

Noa has some feathers near his belt, but they're white and stringy, and don't match with the more elaborate feather accessories of other apes in the clan. They remind me of white fluffy baby eagle feathers, while everyone else's accessories have the larger, colorful feathers of a more mature bird.

Having Noa not wear colorful feather accessories while other apes do means that feathers are symbolic of Noa's character growth.

Noa starts off with little to no feathers because he's still a young ape at the beginning of his hero's journey who is yet to undergo his trials and break free out of his shell. To further emphasize Noa being likened to a bird, the catalyst of his journey is the literal cracking of an egg. When hatchlings are first born, they're featherless. He's even called "baby bird" by Lightning after he first arrives at Proximus' kingdom.

After Noa has defeated Proximus, brought Eagle Clan back home, and returned from his journey back to the ordinary world with new knowledge, our "baby bird" Noa has sprouted his first mature feathers. Look at 'em. They're so blue and pretty.

And I assume after the death of Noa's father, Noa will become the clan's new Master of Birds, or is at least on his way to become one.

The Planes

One thing that really stood out to me were the multiple planes in the background. We see these planes where Raka lives, which appears to be an abandoned airport. They're all rusted and crumbling apart after centuries of rotting. There's six planes in these two images alone.

Along with these abandoned planes, there's also this moldy mural of humans looking up at planes in the sky. There are so many planes in these scenes at Raka's home that I couldn't just chalk it up to mere coincidence. It could just be a cool way to show how much time has passed since humanity's downfall and how nature has reclaimed the earth, but I also think it might be foreshadowing staring at us right in the face.

Mentions of Flight and Falling

Ok, moving away from planes now. There's a few lines that caught my attention. One is right after Raka meets Noa. The friendly orangutan helps Noa up to his feet, then says to himself in amusement:

"Apes falling from the sky."

It's an unusual line, almost prophetic-sounding. Kinda funny, too. Reminds me a bit of the saying "when pigs fly," which is used as a figure of speech when describing something as impossible. Pigs will never fly, because it is impossible. Apes falling from the sky? Unthinkable. It sounds ridiculous, because it'll never happen...right?

Another line is when Proximus tells Noa of all the things humans used to do when they were the dominant species. We even hear these lines in the trailer, but in the movie, they're slightly different:

"In their time, humans were capable of many great things. They could level mountains. They could speak across oceans. They could fly, Noa! Like eagles fly!"

Proximus uses eagles when describing flight. The same type of bird Noa's clan raises and is named after.

And this might be a bit of a stretch, but Proximus mentioning Noa's name to bring his attention to the idea that humans could fly makes me feel like it was a purposeful decision by the writers as a little slip of foreshadowing for future events.

Ok, so what do planes, bird imagery, Noa being compared to a bird, and references to flying and falling have to do with each other?

From this point on, this is where I start heading towards more tinfoil hat territory, but indulge me, and bear with me. Remember, at the end of the day, this is all just fun theorizing. Here we go!

I think at some point, Noa will fly.

By the end of Kingdom, Noa has started to grow his first feathers, but there is still a long journey ahead before he can take flight. There will be a point in the story when Noa has fully grown into the ape he's meant to be, and just like a bird, will get to spread his wings for the very first time.

But why stop at just bird imagery? Why stop at metaphor, and have him literally fly?

Remember those planes? Could they have been foreshadowing that Noa will ride one?

As to why or how he finds himself in a plane, I'm not sure. It's too early to tell. Maybe humans are flying a plane that he has to sneak onto. Maybe humans force him onto a plane. Maybe he willingly agrees to ride one and go with the humans somewhere far (The humans from Fort Wayne are far from the west coast). Maybe he has to stop a plane. Maybe he's in a falling plane. Maybe him and Eagle Clan have to ride one to get to safety. The possibilities are endless.

Now let's take it a step further. What if Noa were to fix and pilot a plane?

Noa As An Engineer

Noa fixing and flying a plane sounded crazy at first, even to me, but in an early interview, Noa has been described as an "engineer" by Owen Teague.

We definitely see Noa's ingenuity multiple times in Kingdom. More specifically, Noa is really good at fixing things. When he finds the frame for the fish broken, he spends the rest of the day whittling away at a piece of wood for the frame, staying up late at night to finish his work.

When he finds one of the electric staffs, he spends a few nights tinkering with it until he finally gets it to work. This is important, because later on it is revealed it was Trevathan who built these weapons. When Proximus tells everyone at the dinner table that Noa was able to fix it, Trevathan gives Noa a look of shock, as if this were the first time he encountered an ape capable of doing so.

We also see Noa slowly picking up on how electricity works through his multiple encounters with it. He has his first encounter when Sylva uses the electric staff to shock Noa through metal as a conductor not once, but twice.

His second encounter is when he's repairing the electric staff. His third encounter is when he watches Proximus' apes try to open the vault, observing how they use electricity to set off the explosions.

Through careful observation and learning, Noa comes to understand how electricity is a power that runs through a wire when setting up the bombs with Mae to flood the vault. This is to show us that Noa is capable of understanding human technology.

In addition, the movie doesn't just want us to know Noa is smart, but that Noa's intelligence is a source of fear for the humans. Remember Trevathan's shocked look? Noa's intelligence even frightens Mae.

In this interview with Freya Allan about one of the other versions of Noa and Mae's goodbye scene, she mentions how Mae was going to kill Noa because his intelligence scares her. She doesn't want to, but she feels like she has to.

On Reddit, Wes Ball gives his perspective on what Mae bringing the gun means. One thing he mentions in parenthesis is to pay attention to the deliberate look Mae gives Noa when he repairs the staff.

One way I interpret Mae's look is her realizing what it would mean for apes to have the power to understand and even build advanced technology.

Think about it. The only advantage, the only chance humans have against the apes is their human technology. Apes are bigger, stronger, can survive in the wild, and will overpower a human in physical combat any day of the week. But as long as humans have their weapons and machines, they have a chance of reclaiming the world. That's another reason why Mae cannot under any circumstances allow Proximus to have this technology, for humans would lose their only advantage.

But it won't matter how many vaults humans flood or how much old technology they destroy so apes don't get their hands on it. If apes can just learn and build it themselves, clever apes like Noa are now a threat to humanity's future.

My overall point is that they're heavily emphasizing how smart Noa is by having him fix things, understand human technology, and how his intelligence scares humans.

Why show us all of this if it's not going to come into play in some big way in the future? What will he fix in the next movies? What other human technology could he pick up on? What could be scarier for humans than apes mastering electricity?

How about an ape fixing an airplane, understanding how it works, and mastering the ability of flight?

Airplanes Inspired by Birds

One way they could set up Noa to fly a plane is to have him develop a fascination for flight, particularly through birds.

"They could fly, Noa! Like eagles fly!" -- Proximus.

With Noa as an engineer and with plenty of birds at his disposal, especially if he becomes the clan's new Master of Birds, Noa could start studying birds to understand how they fly.

A quick Google search will show that a lot of the early ideas for flight were inspired by birds. It's called biomimicry, which is design based on the study of something found in nature. Take a look at these pictures as examples that I found while researching this.

Humans have been looking up towards the sky and dreaming of one day being able to fly, so they started inventing ways to be able to do so by first studying birds. The more ape society advances, it makes sense that apes will one day yearn to do the same.

Noa's Thirst for Knowledge

Noa starts the movie as a rule follower. Follow the law. Don't go to the forbidden valley. Listen to the elders. Eagle Clan has to submit to their new king Proximus, for it is law.

This all changes when Noa looks down at the symbol of Caesar, a reminder of a leader who had led with strength and compassion, a leader so unlike Proximus, and realizes with clarity that the law is wrong. The elders were wrong. The elders did not tell him everything because they do not know everything.

The story ends with Noa back at home with Eagle Clan. However, Noa has had a taste of what's beyond the borders of his village. There are books with strange symbols he can't understand yet. He found this strange machine that allows him to see stars far into the void of space. He doesn't know how, but somehow, humans could fly. He knows there's more out there. He's intelligent, and he's curious. He'll want to reach for the stars himself. The movie even ends with Noa gazing up at the sky. They're setting Noa up to be a character that wants to learn and understand all these new things.

This also reminds me of this quote, which is fitting, considering the topic of this theory.

"Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."

In Conclusion, Why Fly?

Having Noa fly could be how this trilogy continues the parallels to Noah's Ark and the Flood by having Noa and Eagle Clan get on an airplane that Noa fixes and flies in order for them to escape some great danger.

This could also be how Noa, Master of Birds, becomes a mythical figure for the apes by having him be the first ape to fly, the same way Caesar became a mythical figure by having him be the first ape to speak.

If not a mythical figure, this could make Noa one of the founding fathers of science in ape society, setting up the stage for ape scientists in the future like Zira and Cornelius. I could also jump the shark and talk about how Noa's dreams that were only mentioned in the trailer were not dreams of the past, the future, or Caesar's ghost like we all thought, but were the dreams of a scientist's mind coming up with the first ideas for innovations like electricity and flight.

In the trailer, Noa said his dreams were of strange things. New things.

Do you know how many great inventions came from dreams? Einstein's theory of relativity. The periodic table. The model of the atom.

Having Noa fly could be great for so many reasons. Not only for his character arc, but for the worldbuilding of ape society and ape mythology, especially if they have more movies set far in the future. They have plans for 9 total movies!

Finally, I want to share a scene from The Planet of the Apes (1968) where Cornelius and Zira, two chimpanzee scientists, question Taylor's ability to fly.

Having Noa, a chimpanzee, learn to fly, something considered an impossibility by apes, would be such a wonderful way to have this story rhyme with what came before.

[mallowdarling]

I miss my boys so I will rant about them cuz they're so fangtastic. . .

Lucifer is just a sad man, he wants kisses and hugs but don't know how to ask and that's okay I give it to him and also a pet on his head cuz I know it's hurting like hell. Can I tuck him in bed? I hope so, I hope he doesn't escape :((

Mammon is my everything, my beginning and my end, he's so girly pop and also so :3 yknow? He just hides it cuz he's silly but he's very >w< to me. I hope he gets paid today like 100000000000 grims and I hope somebody validates him

Levi is pathetic and cute and soggy wet cat and that's self explanatory. I think somebody should shrink him so I could carry him in my pockets or ontop of my head. Like ratatouille! But snake version!!! I think he should do the sssssss thing tbh. Like imagine imagine.. he's nervous and then he keeps accidentally prolonging his S sounds waaaaah (^o^)/

Satan is so funny haha he's all angry and he kills people I think but he's so funky talking about cats like that's the only thing keeping him from going completely delulu on his blonde head and it's also very distinctive the way he will put a whoopee cushion on the chair for you to sit and laugh his ass off. He's the number one Tom & Jerry fan me thinks

Asmo is the girliest of the girly pop but like in a maniacal way. He's actually insane and very murderous, he is a psycho but the "pretty litte" kind of way, yknow the song. He's so pretty and smart and beautiful and divine. He's very monster high, you see it don't you? But still he just needs a kiss and true love just like a princess, oh honey <3

Beel is live laugh and love. I am not great at cooking but I could make him a ramen you get what I mean cuz he deserves it. But also more than hungry he's so very sweet, he's a family guy! He's so cute that I would let him hug me even after his fangol matches when he's all sweaty and dirty, idc. He makes fly noises when his wings are out too, I know that cuz I was there when it happened, and I think that's great, super kudos for him for that. I hope he also makes the hand rubs flies do

Belphie is a BRAT! Gotta love him. He's also a psycho and an actual killer but like he said he was sorry :( I still hold that against him but I will throw that in his face and humiliate him while I hand him cookies and a glass of milk. I hope he falls face first on the floor but then stay there and have a comfortable nap. His voice is so cute the cutest I want to strangle him with my bare hands. I hate him, I want him to be happy!!! I want him so so happy just so I can ruin his happiness and leave him miserable and then restore his spirit by shaking him and giving him a kiss on the cheek and then slap his face as hard as I can. I hope he falls off a plane with a parachute in hands of course but like I want him to feel the fear

[itwoodbeprefect]

catching up!! watching 911 season 7 episode 1!! let's goooo

the first three minutes of this episode are like "athena watched a cruise ship disaster on tv and it affected her for life. here's a cruise ship disaster we're putting on your tv (hehehe)."

i briefly stop watching mayday/air crash investigation episodes, only to STILL see a plane crash into a house. let's get greg feith and his excellent colorful ties in here asap

okay not actually technically relevant but. i googled "greg feith ties" and found this:

and the answer is no!! shut up!!

anyway. bi buck and his bi saw! (i may be too early.)

ahhh, the face i've already seen a dozen times:

buck was missed. <3

god, i love chimney. presumably this honeymoon life plan of his isn't going to work out perfectly smoothly, but it's adorable.

athena's dress is great, but this is a prime Just Talk To Bobby Please sort of worry she's having. i mean, literally, talk to him, and she'll probably find they do have things to talk about.

THREE DATES A WEEK. yeah, there we go (affectionate), that's gonna be a mess. very sweet, very stupid!

a spreadshEET. i love themmm. still very stupid though!!

"except only in one case is there underlying sexual tension [sprays using phallic looking object at hip height]" is definitely a little insane, you were all correct. also EXTREMELY a conversation that feels like they knew what they were doing, considering i now know where this is going

eddie is a nester! he nests!

christopher doesn't get this from eddie, implying he gets it from buck somehow. feelingssss.

god. buck taking save the trees a bit too figuratively:

throwing the champagne glasses to the side while you're in the pool is i guess a cool carefree no fucks given thing to do in theory, but it's going to be so much less cool and carefree when you step in the glass while walking around barefoot later. i mean, on top of the waste of a perfectly good glass

i HAD seen the angsty mom-left-us (and eddie is listening in) part of the buck&chris conversation, but not the entire part before it with buck very earnestly trying to find his way through this parenting talk eddie enlisted him for, and it's great, i love it.

"i feel like you're trying to avoid me." < thank you for Saying The Thing, bobby.

lola is resting..... this man has blood behind his ear...... this is 911...... he killed lola?

"i don't think we're gonna see much of lola any time soon." oh, she's VERY dead. and/or locked in their cabin, which would potentially be good and dramatic when the ship starts sinking

he made a list!! love you, bobby

athena going full "norman peterson murdered his wife!!!" and bobby being very convinced that he didn't and athena is making things up to avoid him is a) finally a funny turn for this subplot and b) even funnier in light of bobby's behavior in the rear window episode.

"... o-or he murdered his wife." i love when this show does comedy and the timing is just right. thank you, peter krause

one of the things about this show that i still think was a terrible writing choice is the way they killed shannon, so i'm glad they're at least dealing with the impact all of the parental shuffling and absence had on christopher. it's great that they brought the actress back for that one moment.

"did i read the spreadsheet wrong?", reminding me of the spreadsheet, and "did something else happen on a call?", meaning maddie immediately knows what would have changed chimney's mind again - maddie and chimney are flawless, no notes.

THEY took lola!! so that's how the ship activity manager or whatever that guy with the weird vibe's job is will turn out to be evil and/or in evil cahoots with lola

dongle. i haven't heard that word in forever. didn't know they were being used for bitcoin

oh, 911. just a ship in a weather-related emergency isn't enough, we also need terrorists holding everyone hostage. at times i could almost start to think i was watching h50

[starryybugs]

i just wanna know more about the worldbuilding in demonoier au, literally whatever occult lore you wanna share. are there different kinds of demons, or angels for that matter? hierarchies? different planes? how do they feel about human beliefs about them, any superstitions they find funny or annoying? (you absolutely don’t have to answer all of these, also i hope you feel better soon!!)

moth I owe you my life for this strap the fuck in. ^_^

okay so! demons and angels used to be like one species, and they split like thousands of years ago. heaven and hell used to be more of what people think of as an afterlife, but now they're really just where demons and angels are born.

because of angels and demons stemming from the same source, it's easy for one to become the other under the right circumstances. like roier just leaving and being happier not being an angel was what turned him from a more feathery fallen angel and into how he is now.

demons and angels integrated into mortal society around 500 years ago by the time the au takes place, so everyone's pretty used to them hanging around. and there's a lot of people with angels or demons in their family trees

heaven and hell aren't accessible unless you've got a portal or a spell to get there. they used to be, like thousands of years ago, but it's not a good look for mortals to somehow fucking stumble into them so they're hidden.

okay so onto types of angels and demons!

so for demons what you are is more of just how you came to be, there's not a lot of demons who are the way they are for a job so to speak.

like roier is officially classified as a fallen angel, he used to be an angel and now he's not. or dapper and ramon who are twin demons, demons who used to be one singular being before they were born. there are demons of lust but nobody in the story is one of those, cellbit just thinks melissa is but she's not.

bad is one of the few demons who is a demon because of what he does, he's a reaper. technically anybody can become a reaper but they're usually demons or angels.

phil is like his angel counterpart, an angel of death. he does the same job as bad, the only difference being he's an angel.

etoiles is another type of angel, a guardian angel. he's a protector of the people around him, they used to be sent down specifically for certain people but now they usually protect an area or their families.

antoine is an Angel with a capital A. his true form is always hidden because it would probably drive any mortal who saw it to insanity. he's honestly just hanging out and there's not a lot of angels like him.

there's also risen demons, aka demons who became angels. that's what kameto is even though I've literally never spoken about him before

there's not really hierarchies in demons and angels anymore, there haven't been since heaven and hell became more like earth.

I'm also gonna talk a bit about summoning, since it's a huge part of the story.

summoning is basically speed dial for demons and angels, and depending on how you do it it's either like facetime or there's now a man in your house. (looking at you cellbit)

roier thought he closed his summoning line ages ago, back when bobby was born, so he was pretty fucking surprised when he showed up in cellbit's attic. he did eventually shut that one down and make a new one, and another one that won't pull him out of his house randomly.

roier's favorite superstition is the idea that he can steal souls. he absolutely can't, but he loves scaring the shit out of people who think he can. getting someone's soul is basically fucking marriage, and there's really only one soul he even wants.

[nozomijoestar]

On a completely speculative note about Asulili, what do you think their relationship is like at home? I really want to know how close they are at this point. I wonder if they are at a stage where they do hug each other or hold hands, or one using the others lap as a pillow. I feel like Lili deep down is so soft for Asuka. I feel like Asuka's the type to act like she's mad about having her head on Lili's lap and getting her hair stroked but her protests are so weak that they're laughable.

They're so funny I feel like they bounce back and forth between being all over each other and just stewing in it from across the room. Shifting from intentional to unintentional affection and back too as easy as changing hats. I've written several scenes like this but say for example one is just doing her skincare routine and the other is looking at bicycle mags and they're both giving each other looks in between, which builds to comments, which may or may not build to sitting next to each other with their arms over each other's shoulders or something. Or Asuka coming over and leaning and smiling while she watches Lili work.

That's affection and touching without really thinking about it, and teasing each other over one feeding the other at dinner so that it escalates into play fighting etc. Or not touching at all but definitely looking until someone breaks into action. Then being more direct is straight up going for it whatever the contact is and not breaking it or stopping till it gets too much or something snaps them out of it.

They at the very least are holding hands in canon. 100%. Asuka of all people let Lili drag her away by the hand to keep her from fighting Devil Kaz because Asuka is insane enough to think she could just go for it. I love that Lili seems like she knew Asuka would do that and immediately went to get her bf to stop her from dying lmao. The fact Asuka let her and held her back makes it feel normal now or at least accepted. There's probably other small touches they get away with; I hesitate to assign anything bigger just because we got no FUCKING scene showing how deep they bonded they just ARE being friendly now for literally any reason. But that's just bad writing and I don't like saying something is true when I can't find reasonable evidence enough to take an educated guess. I laugh though just imagining the fucking third wheel XiaoJin and Panda were on that walk to the air strip for Lili's jet because you just KNOW that Lili would have turned it into a lecture/argument on why Asuka shouldn't have tried going for Kaz before they make up over it on the plane. And everyone else there stuck in the couple's argument has to decide how gay what they're looking at is.

Everything else is kinda fair game since we don't really know. Hugs however I feel are reserved for intense moments of emotion. But Lili absolutely has a soft spot for everyone she cares about or wants to care about (Her father, Sebastian, even trying to be connect and be concerned for Eliza in Eliza's 7 ending despite that going nowhere) and Asuka would be no exception. When she wants to give Asuka affection well Asuka's just gonna have to deal with it unless she expresses that she's genuinely not in the mood. But if she's not genuinely furious then 100% I also see Asuka as playing up annoyance or being fake mad or her anger simply melting before returning the favor or letting Lili give her affection. It stops being worth it to stay angry at her. She puts up a half hearted fight meanwhile Lili laughs and chuckles in her face knowing the truth. Oh you hate it this much? Then why are you leaning into my fingers through your hair? lol. Asuka too has to soften up herself around someone caring about her specifically. Up to this point nobody but Asuka's dad has shown her affection or cared about what she's doing- because everybody threw her away after Feng and the Jin family connection.

They're both very gentle with each other if they'd let themselves be, both openly and making it part of their little game of pride imo. Even in things like sparring I get the sense they never intend to actually hurt each other seriously, we'd probably have seen that or gotten dialogue about it if so, it's pure games at this point. It's also a mutual test of each other's abilities; in Lili's 7 ending Asuka actually says "This sucks but I can admit it's my loss!" which means hot head Asuka ISN'T taking this the same as fighting gang boys. She's not fighting to pummel and subdue she's fighting to enjoy the challenge. It's one fighter to another and if Lili proves herself better then Asuka can put her pride aside to admit that. Her unique victory line against Lili says "It's my win but feel free to come at me again." (more literal translation). In both 7 and 8 she tells Lili this time they'll settle everything. To me that sounds like she gives her and their fights a level of respect and restraint. It means something beyond I'm Good You're Bad I Punish You. And should someone (most likely Lili let's be real) get hurt to a level that makes it uncomfortable then the first aid comes out after the fight. If they're already holding hands then by Tekken 9 we will see marriage even more PDA casual or not I bet you.

EDIT: The fact Asuka has to be provoked at all to fight Lili and now in 8 she has lines remarking on changes in Lili's strength/technique is a massive indicator that she doesn't equate Lili with how she fights boys. When Asuka has fought boys SHE is the one doing the provoking (see her TT2 ending because it's the only direct glimpse we get on how she handles gangs) while technically you can say "Asuka isn't provoking people she's just telling them to not fight" YES BUT- she deliberately uses a belittling tone and patronizing language in doing so. Pay attention to the way she phrases things. In Japanese she even directly calls what the boys do "being an eyesore". She also doesn't explain why they shouldn't hit each other in public beyond it's just a bad thing to do. She talks as if either she herself has a simplistic view of the situation (ie. Her child like moral view in general) or as if she's purposefully talking in a way to provoke the kinds of people she knows will be provoked to hitting her this way. Or both.

Now I might include this in La Vie en rose i'm not sure lmao

[lanaevyssmoved]

i dont think ive seen any of ur pcs other than afhiri (who i adore) basically i am here to say if u want share pics and some facts abt ur other pcs!! :D

this is rue she is my durge and her playthrough got murdered by durge related bugs that i didnt wanna deal with and would rather wait for them to fix the cutscenes <3 also known as rue the impaler shes a wild magic sorcerer who got fed up of being one shot and became a tank with a barbarian multiclass <3 afhiri is a resist durge who i can explain best as those uncomfortable and uneasy to be around strange emo girls who stare into ur soul with lifeless eyes. shes pretty... but shes weird

my oc dru kind of got cannibalised by rue but still exists.. cuz dru's intended path literally doesn't work because i made her before i finished the game and the ending doesn't allow her to exist and it would have to be rewritten by me so much that i just don't have the energy so dru just lives in my lil au "what i wish the ending allowed" space in my brain <3 i'm not gonna share a picture because this also allows me to have her exist outside of the games limitations so no picture <3 she's so much cooler than the cc allows <3 dru is a high elf who is delusional and thinks shes actually a fey eladrin and is very uncomfortable to be around because shes just insane. completely isolated from society and the world and would have the hermit background if they didnt remove it .. larian literally didnt want her to exist.

unfortunately due to my pc death i no longer have asuras cc stuff so she will need to be remade but... this is asura shes literally terrible. shes my unfortunately extremely power hungry character who will accept every single option to make her stronger. she fucks mindflayers. and minthara. and she and minthara will rule the entire world together as tyrant wives and maybe they ascend. true love stuff. asura won't live until i'm confident minthara isn't a broken fucking mess . i think playing asura will make me worse. shes like how people play bhaalist durges who love their daddy but shes not the durge. shes just a bad person

THIS IS TAV. yeah his name is tav. they're just a tav man idk. this is my first character from full release tav is an ancients paladin whose entire vibe is "you don't quite suite your oath" and that's fun. they are the most lawful good boring ass motherfucker you ever met and literally my favourite type of character. he's all about Justice and Order and Goodness and Sacrificing Your Happiness For The Greater Good. that kind of annoying paladin! <3 tav never got to finish the game because my pc died and killed them. oh and tav has a twin who dedicated their life to annoying tav because .. like. lawful good paladin? DESERVES to be annoyed

which is really funny because the twin is my EA character! also tav! see the thing is. paladin tav is actually tav. but this monster? tav isn't their name. but they go by tav. just so they can hopefully fuck with their twins reputation. doing terrible things in their lawful good twins name!!! i still can't decide if i want twin tav to work with the guide and kiss nine-fingers keenne or work with the zhentharim and kiss rugan. or maybe they're a double agent and kiss both. idk!!! twin tav has literally no moral compass and just does shit for money mostly. and to make their twins life hell <3

and lastly i have this dude who doesn't have a place on my oc page because he doesn't have a name or nothing like. he's completely blank beyond i KNOW he's something to do with afhiri. so fun fact afhiri's lore was leading towards this dude being some sort of outer planes entity, either a god (dead star) or the herald of such, and baited afhiri through a portal as part of her destiny. this is how she gains her wild magic. BUT this was scrapped for what ended up happening (afhiri befriends a chwinga. cuteness ensues). HE STILL EXISTS IN AFHIRIS LORE SOMEWHERE - HE IS LITERALLY A COMPANION IN HER PARTY - when my pc stops crashing every time i play bg3 he's going to be on my blog a lot because im gonna use fancy editing to make him a companion and shove him in cutscenes. afhiri and he will kiss btw. i definitely don't want him to be actually a tiefling though this is just a form he uses to walk faerun and not to cause any ruckus... and to make afhiri feel ease around him <3 ALSO HES NOT ACTUALLY AFHIRIS GUARDIAN... u will see who is when my pc stops dying <3

[pistachiotalenti]

After all this time, Dream can’t believe that he and George have actually made it. They’re a couple. Boyfriends. Partners.

George is the love of his life, his best friend, his future personified. He swears he’s gonna marry that man some day. And holy cow, he’s so overcome with the fact that George actually loves him back that he could sing his joy from the mountaintops.

So Dream gets a little restless when, months after they start dating, George has still neglected to update anyone aside from Sapnap about their relationship. And naturally, when Dream gets restless…

"You're an idiot," George laughs, smiling broadly at his phone. He turns to Dream, who lays beside him in the warm nirvana of their shared bed. "You're causing chaos."

Dream grins back, proud, and folds his arms closer to his chest. "Yes. And?"

George shakes his head. "It's chaotic."

"You say that as if you don't also like causing chaos."

"Why do you keep posting weird tweets?" George chuckles, resuming his perusal of Twitter.

"Because you like it." Dream shifts closer, arm draping across the soft plane of George’s stomach. Together, they scroll past fandom tweets and reminisce the not-too-distant memories, until the screen settles on a post from earlier on in their relationship—a blurred picture of George hiding his face as Dream leans in for an obvious kiss.

Dream beams at the sight. He can’t help it, not when he can feel the happiness radiating from the photo. And if it weren’t for the insane puff of George’s cheeks blooming in front of the screen, Dream might not have known just how big George is smiling, too.

Dream pulls back, laughing and hurling an accusatory finger at him. "See! Why are you smiling? You–"

As if it helps to hide his own giddiness, George slaps a hand to his face. "I'm not," he murmurs.

"You are! You are a freak who likes chaos. See?" Dream returns to his position from before, selfishly latching onto George, touching him everywhere he can reach. “And you were trying to make me feel weird for posting them.”

George clicks his tongue and looks back to his phone with a soft grin. "Whatever. So what if I do like chaos?"

“Soooo,” Dream starts, “are you gonna join in on it?”

George pauses and tilts his head in Dream’s direction, his dark brown hair brushing against Dream’s forehead. “What do you mean?”

It’s an innocent question, but Dream is so eager for George’s answer to his own that he gets a little huffy. “You know. Are you gonna reply to me? Post that picture you took of us the other night?” He waggles his eyebrows impishly.

George snorts, bashful. “No.”

“Okay, then just a reply.”

“No.”

Dream frowns. “Why not?”

“It’s funnier if I don’t.”

“Funny to see the fans’ reactions, or funny to see mine?”

“Mmm, both.”

Dream exhales heavy through his nose. It’s a different sort of noise, one in which George senses the genuine frustration. After a beat, George rolls over to face him, and Dream sighs again, nervous anticipation rising in his throat.

Once George gets resettled, he places a gentle hand on Dream’s cheek. Dream feels his face warm under the touch.

“Dream,” George says, “what are you so impatient for?”

Dream melts, flustered and embarrassed all at once. So they're having this conversation now. “I-I don’t know. I–” He waves his hands in front of his face as he musters an explanation. “I don’t know if ‘impatient’ is the right word. I’m just… so… this is gonna sound cheesy, but I’m just so happy. And like, I don’t even know if I’d be posting this much deranged stuff if all the fans knew about us, but I think now, just knowing that they don’t know and I can’t just be gross and sappy and disgusting about you online at any given moment… it’s like, making me really jittery. I don’t know. It’s weird.”

Dream chews on his lip and looks into George’s sweatshirt. George hums, his thumb passing over the short stubble along Dream’s chin.

“Mmm. That makes sense,” George says. “So… do you think it’d be better if we just… came out and told everyone?”

Dream furrows his brow. “I don’t know.” He exhales and meets George’s eyes, brown and searching. “What do you think?”

“What do I think?” George repeats, pausing to gather his thoughts. His thumb twitches against Dream’s face. “Well, I dunno. Don’t you think it’s nice just keeping things between us for now?”

A small smile slips onto the corner of Dream’s mouth. It’s an answer that he probably could’ve predicted coming from George, a man so infamously calculated in crafting his online presence. But it’s also an answer that clears some of the fog in his own head. Dream nods, saying, “I guess there’s, like… less pressure to perform. Fewer eyes watching us and waiting for us to do stuff we wouldn’t have done before.” Dream cocks his head. “And it is sort of fun to think that we’re basically the only ones who know. Like it’s our dirty, little secret.”

George smiles back. “Yeah.”

“I think… in the end, the pros of keeping our relationship on the down-low probably outweigh the cons. But I don’t know.” Dream titters, sheepish. “I sort of feel bad for stringing along all the fans.”

George offers Dream a small smile. “We don’t have to tell them, not yet,” he reminds delicately. “It’s not like they’re entitled to knowing. And besides, the real fans already know.”

Playful, Dream rolls his eyes. “Well, clearly not. Every time I post something cryptic, I’m, like, flooded with responses from people who can’t tell if I’m joking or not. I’m getting tired of getting ratioed on my own tweets, George.”

George laughs brightly before letting his voice drop to a smooth murmur. “That’s not something you’re used to, hmm?”

“It’s not. And it’s very not-cool.” Dream frowns to himself before blinking out of his train of thought and catching George’s gaze, warm and fond. It makes Dream fumble his words. “B-but– I mean– I guess it’s fine.”

George pulls his hand down Dream’s face, fingers curling into Dream’s hair. “You guess? Changed your outlook that easily, huh?” he chuckles.

“No,” Dream answers honestly. “But I know you like your privacy, and– and I like you, so…” Dream’s eyes wander down George’s face. “I guess I can handle getting ratioed, for your sake.”

George’s hand stills, resting warm at the crook of Dream’s neck. “Good answer, Dream,” he says before pulling Dream in for a lazy kiss.

It’s like falling, each time they kiss. George’s scent and taste and touch is a body of water that Dream can dive into endlessly, with zero hesitance, reaching so deep until George is all he perceives. Fingertips ghost lightly down his shoulder, making him shiver. He barely licks George’s upper lip, and the shuddering breath George lets out against his mouth makes his head go fuzzy.

They both see stars once they lean away. "I'm tired," George whispers, looking up at Dream with sleepy eyes.

Dream's mouth pulls into a fond smile. "Then lay here with me."

George follows suit and flips on his side, settling back into the nook of Dream’s arm. Dream doesn't bother to move his hand off George's body the entire time.

“But for real," Dream says above George's ear. "If I have to see a hundred more people clowning on me for being a boyfriend-baiting simp, I’m straight up posting your nudes.”

A shocked blip of laughter bursts out of George. It shakes the mattress. He scoffs, “What nudes?”

“What nudes?” Dream mocks in a nasal voice. George responds with a small laugh, and they both nestle closer to each other, attention turning back to George’s phone screen.

Dream sighs wistfully. In the end, he supposes he can wait a few more lifetimes before the man in his arms is ready to tell the world about them—really, truly tell them, with none of the frills and silly distraction techniques.

It shouldn't be that hard, Dream decides as he presses a kiss behind George's ear. He's okay with having George all to himself, after all.

[o-uncle-newt]

Cabin Pressure Advent Day 8: Helsinki

OK, so Helsinki doesn't get the ultra-enthusiastic "HELSINKIIII" that I've been giving to episodes like Fitton and Gdansk because, well, it's just not a favorite of mine particularly. It's been a while since I listened to it, and there were a BUNCH of things that I noticed that really surprised me on relisten.

Like, it's significantly nastier than I'd remembered! I was expecting Ruth to be horrible and Kieran to be an annoying little shit, but I didn't expect Martin to actually hit Kieran (I remembered a contretemps and Kieran beating Martin up but couldn't remember Martin's precise role) and I also, less flashily, didn't expect Douglas to directly call Arthur an idiot while addressing Carolyn, and her basically being okay with it. I guess in the context of a defense of Arthur's zealousness in trying to find Carolyn a present for her 63rd (that very significant birthday...) she let it go? But I feel like that's a lot.

(Also, as one of four children... Arthur is the onliest only child I have ever heard of. Like, everything about every one of his plans and interactions this episode... wow.)

I was also kind of surprised that the plot felt a bit weaker than usual- it's hard to really understand why Carolyn was okay with paying for a whole flight largely on the strength of Douglas's ulterior motives. I can't decide whether the Northern Lights viewing is meant to have been one of those ulterior motives and is therefore worth it for her... which is sweet, but doesn't really explain her taking him at his word for what would seem to be, on the surface, literally no reason with every reason to reject him (the cost, the fellow passengers...). Maybe this is me not being subtle enough or something, but I was really surprised when she agreed to do the flight, it felt under-justified. Idunno, YMMV.

It's interesting- I REALLY can't decide whether I think that the Martin and Kieran scenes work better alphabetically or as aired. Is it funnier to listen to it in Helsinki already knowing that Martin isn't paid, or is it funnier to take this scene for granted as written and then only the next week in Gdansk have it be suddenly retroactively funnier? I'm not really sure, and I welcome all opinions on the matter.

The episode as a whole was definitely on the darker and bitterer side, and I can't decide what I think about it. Martin hitting Kieran is pretty insane, though of course after Arthur LITERALLY MANSLAUGHTERING A GUY it's tame relatively speaking, and while Kieran is annoying as fuck the storyline is fine. I did feel, though, like I would have liked just a bit more of a throughline for the Carolyn and Ruth storyline. It's SO vitriolic and angry, and I feel like, in order to be entertaining and not just discomfiting it needed to either have a clearer emotional throughline OR to just be funnier/sillier. Them leaving Ruth and Kieran behind, and Philip hiding away on the plane and turning out to not be deaf, is very funny, but it doesn't really change, for me, that their fight felt very bitter but in a bit of a pointless way. We learn a bit about Carolyn and her past and some of her sore points, but Ruth herself as a character is basically just there to be nasty and I wish she could have been there for just a bit more than that. (NOT that I think that they should have reconciled or whatever- just that their interactions felt kind of pointless except for the sake of being mean. And she was right that the fact that Martin hit Kieran is nuts, and ideally to be funny a character like that shouldn't be right about anything...)

Helsinki has some super funny bits (obviously- the fact that I keep saying that feels a bit redundant at this point- it's Cabin Pressure, obviously there are funny bits- so I'll point out that Arthur celebrating his numbers winning the lottery is precious), the birthday celebration at the end is sweet and a sign that they're simpatico with each other by now, and of course this is the episode that launched a thousand and one Douglas-centered ships. So it's fine- but not really the kind I go for.

Unlike tomorrow... when we go to IPSWICH!

[hermannsprecursors]

Hetalia x Pacfic Rim AU official stuff yay!

HERE I HAVE ACTUAL REFERENCES FOR THIS AU INSTEAD OF JUST SCREENSHOT REDRAWS. PLUS SOME EXTRA STUFF. THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG POST. SORRY. LMAO. HERE. MERRY CHRISTMAS. PLEASE TELL ME IF YOU WANT MORE BECAUSE I HAVE OTHER CHARACTERS AND LIKE. ACTUAL PLOT ESTABLISHED. THESE ARE JUST THE MAIN GUYS

PILOTS

EXTRA STUFF: -Did I not tell you? This is an Ameripan au! Yippee! -Alfred has universal drift compatibility-- meaning they have the capacity to drift at least semi-successfully with everyone. However, he's had a pretty bad track record, and most of their drift partners have had serious accidents befall them. They quit for a year after his carelessness caused Lovino to get hurt. -Kiku went through a HEFTY breakup with Casper before being thrown into a partnership with Alfred (I'm not immune to nedpan propaganda, dear viewers). He is very bitter about it. -Kiku worked tech and development for about 7 months before being partnered with Alfred. -Initially, they were incapable of drifting. Alfred forced them to be able to. -Technically this au's Mako and Raleigh if you're keeping track of canonic similarity

EXTRA STUFF: -The two ended up really disliking each other initially. They've since grown on each other. -Initially, though, a lot of that dislike was just because of a language barrier-- that being Casper refused to speak anything but Dutch or occasionally Japanese and it just confused Matt. They're better now! -These lucky bastards have THE most recent model of Jaeger known to date, and by far have the fanciest tech. -Not only are they drift compatible, they're also compatible via star sign. Matt thought that was really funny when they first got together. -Roderich regrets pairing the two every single day. Alfred and Kiku may be this au's main couple but these two are the most chaotic duo and everyone hates it.

EXTRA STUFF: -These two are just. A mess. Both are absolutely RIDICULOUSLY traumatized and no one knows how they're still able to drift or how they're drift compatible but they make it work. -Nobody knows if they're dating or if Feli is just really clingy. It's very much so the latter, they're just besties. Feli just doesn't know boundaries. -Feliciano walks with a limp considering he has pins in his knee keeping it together via brace! Let's hear it for accidents while piloting -Also all of the burns and scars Ludwig has ALSO comes from accidents while piloting. Said accident kills his brother. Like I said, traumatized. -Literally NOBODY knows how they got put back in the Jaeger program. They literally just showed back up one day and Rod was like "eh alright, let's test them for compatibility because the world is gonna end in like 2 weeks"

SHATTERDOME STAFF

EXTRA STUFF: -And they're all married! (Well, Elizaveta and Roderich are married. Antonio is just there. Gilbert was also part of the polycule but he's dead lol) -Roderich has NO idea how he ended up in charge, but he's been the director of the Shatterdome since 2018 once he started to develop symptoms of MS and couldn't pilot anymore. -Elizaveta hasn't been able to pilot with anyone but Roderich and she's PISSED at him for it because she wants to PILOT AGAIN, DAMNIT -Roderich will greenlight literally ANYTHING, considering he has 8 months of spending, it burns up in about 3 weeks as of the starting date of this AU's story, and he has NOTHING to spend it on -Yeah Roderich is officially in charge but Antonio is really the one who makes most of the important decisions which is DEFINITELY for the best

EXTRA STUFF: -Science guys! (Which is SO weird considering Arthur and Francis used to be ACTUAL pilots. Like, plane pilots) -POINT AND LAUGH AT THE DUMB BRITISH MAN WHO'S DRIFTED SOLO WITH A KAIJU 3 TIMES (they're technically clinically insane at this point and Yao and Francis have no idea how they're alive) -Arthur was removed from active pilot duty after it was revealed they were exposed to radiation during early testing, as they were one of the test pilots in the Jaeger program, courtesy of the RAF. Francis was supposed to take their place but wasn't compatible with any open pilots. -Yao is HONESTLY the only sane one here and nobody knows how considering he's surrounded by FREAKS. -Also Yao was the only of his family to do the science-- all of his siblings went into actual piloting. -Yao and Arthur are technically the Hermann and Newt of this AU. Again, only if you're looking for like contingency with the actual plot of Pacific Rim

EXTRA STUFF: -These two aren't related in any way they literally just work here. Both are victims of Alfred's bad luck streak though! -Seriously. Alfred's trauma from previous drift experiences wrecked Ivan's psyche so bad he's incapable of drifting and had to move to munitions and Lovino was partially paralyzed after a mission gone wrong (same one that ruined his brother's leg) that Alfred couldn't be there for because they were ill. -Lovino gets to run missions for other people now so he just gets to sit and be petty over a microphone all day now. -Ivan WOULD have universal drift compatibility if he didn't undergo such psychological trauma. Plus he just really isn't well and should not be anyone's drift partner. -Lovino on the other hand only ever drifted with Alfred and her brother. In fact, Vino and Alfred were partners (both drift and romantic partners) for about a year and a half before the accident

YAY THERE'S CHARACTER STUFF! PLEASE TELL ME IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN ANY PLOT STUFF BECAUSE I LOVE PACIFIC RIM STILL AND I WANTED TO COMBINE IT WITH A FANDOM STILL VERY VERY VERY SPECIAL TO ME

[katie-the-bug]

Last post about Left Behind, I promise.

I'm as surprised as you are that the book isn't over yet.

Anyways, for those just tuning in, our cast: Rayford Steele, pilot and newly minted evangelist; Chloe Steele, getting evangelized to; Bruce Barnes, source of spiritual guidance and exposition in unequal measure; Buck Williams, newly promoted magazine editor and reporter; Nicolae Carpathia, the Antichrist and the only character I like; Hattie Durham, Rayford's emotional sidepiece who's moving on to better things, and by "better things" I mean Nicolae.

In Chapter 20 Buck sees Chloe for the first time and is immediately "stunned." Oh god no.

In Chapter 22 Chloe becomes a born-again Christian. Or, technically, she recounts how she became a born-again Christian to Buck, who's deliberately gotten himself a seat next to her on a plane. She decides that Buck's sitting next to her is, rather than Buck being creepy, God answering her prayers. I don't know quite what kind of example this is setting but I don't like it.

In Chapter 23, Nicolae becomes secretary-general of a revamped United Nations, which the authors think means King of the World. Earlier in the story he had set a number of conditions to his accepting the role - such as disarmament of member states, his election being unanimous, and the UN being moved to Babylon (which has for some reason been rebuilt in this universe) - all of which are enthusiastically met. In a better book this would be evidence of a far-reaching ability to manipulate minds, but as it is I can't tell where Nicolae's Antichrist powers end and this world's endemic insanity begins.

Nicolae also discusses plans to create a one world religion as though religion is in any way the UN's business. What do the authors think the UN does?

Throughout the second half of the book Bruce has been emphasizing how horrible the coming years will be and how most new Christians will die horrible deaths. The characters have discussed this multiple times, but if they're anxious about it for longer than a few minutes, the narration doesn't show it. Usually I'd criticize such a thing, but this is, in my experience, pretty on-brand for Christians. I've heard several of my Catholic school teachers treat the persecution of Christians in America as an inevitability, before getting on with the curriculum as though they haven't just given a bunch of twelve-year-olds a new reason to be anxious. (I am bitter.)

After wrestling for a few chapters, in Chapter 24 Buck finally says the magic words (in a bathroom, immediately before a press conference with Nicolae) and becomes a True Christian. The immediate consequence of this is that he can now sense that Nicolae is evil despite having no hard evidence for his misdeeds.

Almost immediately afterwards Nicolae shoots two guys in front of an entire press conference, so I really don't think Buck sensing his evil was necessary.

And immediately after that Nicolae uses his powers to erase everyone's memories of the event - except Buck, who is protected by the plot God. Nicolae had previously something about how the people present will "understand cognitively" that he is in charge, even without remembering it, which sounds like the authors just wanted Nicolae to do something bad without it affecting the plot. Cowards.

At the end of it all Buck tells the Steeles and Bruce that Nicolae is without a doubt the Antichrist. All I can think is that it would be so funny if he were wrong, the Antichrist were someone else, and Nicolae just had powers for no reason. It wouldn't have made for a good book, but the book wasn't good anyway and it would at least be funny.

That's Left Behind for you. My posts about the next books in the series will be spread out a bit more because I'm going on vacation and won't have access to my computer all the time. Still, expect a considerable volume of posts about this over the next month or so, because these books are just so easy to make fun of.

See you in the next book!

[shmowder]

Ascending is thee greatest compliment I can imagine, wow ♡ I too am ascending, meet me on the astral plane.

The P1 music being good is quite the selling point for me actually! I absolutely adore a good video game soundtrack. There are some songs from P2 that I love, but a lot of unmemorable ones, too. On that note, are there any songs or albums that you associate with Pathologic? Over the past few days, Shrines by Purity Ring has become this for me. Grandloves is a Victor song and Cartographist is a Yulia song... maybe because of the name. I also really heavily associate that whole album with Silent Hill 3 for some reason.

I love the little divorcing Yulia drabble omg. "Why bother honey? Just come back to bed." Like ok. I suppose I will. *does my best impression of that gif of Tigger walking away dejectedly* And the divorcing Eva one is funny.

Out of everyone, Yulia is actually the one I have the most trouble imagining as a yandere. She's so gentle and mild-mannered - so I agree with what you said in your other reply. She'd make it so she's the only one who'll be there for you in this sick sad world.

Your yandere thoughts are my yandere thoughts <3 What's better than codependent mutual obsession to the exclusion of everything else... wait, don't answer that. I think I imprinted on the relationship in Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms. "You've such a lovely temperature." "Your blood coagulates beautifully." Would yandere Daniil say those things? Probably not but I'm thinking about it anyway.

Losing my entire MIND over your yandere Victor thoughts and I didn't even send you a request? You're telling me this in casual conversation and I am eating it UP omfl. Ooh thanks for reminding me of that quote. (Would Yulia say it was destiny that I chose to be 🐿️, a prey animal, before these ideas ever existed?) God, how uncomfortable would that be for Khan and Maria. Especially given you're closer to Maria's age than to Victor's.

YOUR WHOLE HEART LAID BARE BEFORE HIM ON A SILVER TRAY! PLEASE why is this reminding me of when you said "dissect and break her down to use for their own biddings" from your post on the Kains obeying the laws of nature. The lyric "I'll stake rare toothpicks in my dirt filled heart / meander the sacred lot of you in every season" from Grandloves by Purity Ring. Are these like the Lines that the kin talked about?? Not to sound like an insane person but I always imagined that letting someone get to know you, really really know you and the entirety of your ugly soul, is like being peeled. Ripping all your skin off and being so vulnerable. And for someone to want anything to do with you after that? [disintegrates]

More overprotective yandere Victor thoughts I had while doing the dishes earlier in this mcfreaking humidity (before I read most of your reply): not a big gift giver but will make dove-themed things for you or have them made for you. A cuckoo clock, a music box. You're the proverbial bird in the gilded cage. Spoils you in the sense of not having to do small labors/chores - even if you want to do the dishes, well guess what, that's someone else's job. (Perhaps this was wish fulfillment while doing the dishes).

Idk where him randomly ignoring occasionally came from tbh, but oddly I feel it's specific to him as a yandere only. Perhaps he has flashes of self-awareness - is he being overbearing? He's giving you some time to yourself! But the townspeople are so chilly - they're polite to you, but you won't find any warmth or companionship there. There isn't anywhere else you belong. Will solicit your opinion on intellectual pursuits but will only use and credit your small ideas. Will twist your big ideas & won't publicly credit you for them; will have a convincing and perfectly rational reason for not doing so that he explains gently to you. But truthfully, it wouldn't do for you to be getting *too* much of the townspeople's attention, and god forbid you start thinking you can make something of yourself without him.

I love the contrast of yandere Big Vlad! Yandere Big Vlad my beloved indeed... DON'T MAKE ME HAVE FEELINGS FOR BIG VLAD PLEASE 🫣 Ngl the #1 quality that the fictional men I would bang (though there are not many) have in common is Being a Widower 😭 Gosh the glorified pet/temptation & sin incarnate/prince/princess paragraph is good stuff. And Saburov 100% ok with being a cuck lmao

Yandere Aspity - if she falls in love with you then the earth itself would too? That's so cute honestly!! I also really like the second option, "a piece of the earth defying its original self." Neat. I saw bits and pieces of human kink stuff while looking through your archive at sorcerous-caress. It's interesting to think about, though difficult to wrap my head around another species seeing humans as "other" and exotic haha

We haven't mentioned yandere Aglaya yet. I haven't progressed past day 7 yet so there's some context I need to refresh myself on probably. But I think yandere Aglaya is overprotective and isolating as well. It's for your own good and one day you'll understand. She wants to save you! She'll take you far away from here and build the two of you a little nest and you'll be so safe and happy. You're the only one she can be her true self around, the only one she can bear her soul to.

-

Ex-husband Artemy was great and and I'm completely sold on aroallo Artemy :) For him to give you a kiss without being drenched in the smell of post-surgery blood? lolllllll Not to butter you up even more (jk I am happy to do this) but you can get me to read x readers for characters I don't wish to know carnally and that's not typical of me. It helps that the characters are all really interesting, but the way you write them definitely helps too 🫡🫡

Thanks for letting me be a silly goose on your blog!! And for all your sweet comments. I have the same worry about repeating myself, oh well. But you make me feel comfortable being a little deranged on here. As always, take all the time you need to respond.

🐿️ anon

Hmm songs I associate with Pathologic

There is one! but it's in Arabic "مطلوب زعيم - كاريوكي" It talks about leaders or governments in general betraying its people and how those people still fought to survive despite it all. Despite the leaders they entrusted throwing them to the wolves. The song describes wanting a righteous leader that can hear their (town) heartbeat (literally the lyrics which fit too well) A leader that doesn't live in castles when a portion of their people live in houses akin to graves (again pathologic lore)

The Kains, the Olgimskays and even the law obiding Saburov all used the plague to try and gain more power, to prove that their way of thinking and living is superior. They didn't help people just for the sake of helping them or combating the plague, no they wanted something out of it. They derailed the healers progress and made everything way harder for everyone.

Oh and my favourite Pathologic 2 OST is Twyrin. Yeah it's on the shorter side but god is it so iconic? OF FUCKING COURSE ANDREY STAMATIN GETS THE BEST MUSIC IN THE GAME >:(

While in Pathologic Classic HD it's Utroba Disease

I also love the character specific music? Like the Haruspex Lair theme, because it embodies him in a way! It's an impressive feat to merely use music alone without lyrics to tell a story or communicate a certain vibe, but god does P2 and P1 achieve it seamlessly.

Take the soundtrack Warehouse-Rubin for example and how it starts so quietly, building up ever so slowly that the silence itself merges with the music notes.

Like an ever growing shadow in the corner of your vision, it's hard to spot and you forget about it immediately after looking away.

But then. Oh but then.

Insanity spiral. A painfully sharp high pitched sound pierces your eardrumns, akin to a human scream muffled by the beat, a symphony of agony, a tortured soul crawling out of the grave to give one final scream with the last of its breath.

Lastly, it stops. The screeching of the record follows, someone choking on air, or regaining their breath.

The curtains are drawn back, and Rubin puts his gaurd up again.

There are so many beautiful ones too that tell a tale with just their title. Painting a melancholic picture.

The Haruspex is all alone

The music itself feels as if it's making fun of him while letting him wallow in his sadness. Cruelly taunting him and breaking his already bruised heart into a million pieces. Not even giving him the courtesy to lick his own wounds or mourn what he has lost.

The Bachelor learns

Starts with one instrument, and then gradually, more and more are added, as if every new sound is a puzzle piece that the Bachelor is putting back into place. Slowly making progress until a whole symphony is formed when all he had at the start was one single note, sounding like the bells of a clock.

The Changeling sneaks into the Stamatins loft

The suspension! The thrill in every note, building you up before letting you fall when it suddenly pauses. You can't be discovered, someone is nearby, you need to be cautious. Hold your breath, steady your feet, and don't step on the creaking wooden boards. After the excitement dies down, you're given a steady rhythmic beat that guides your foosteps. The sound of someone taking a short breath is incorporated into the notes, even the breath in your lungs need to follow the beat and blend in

I'm glad you liked the Yulia divorce hc lmao. I feel like whatever worst case scenario possible there is, Yulia already thought of it and not only that but spent restless nights imagining the divorce before the two of you even got married?

So when it arrives she is prepared, doesn't even bat an eye. And her casual approach makes you doubt yourself out of sheer shock? Like huh, maybe divorce is really not a big deal... yk what sure I'll stick around for a little bit longer, scoot over.

The biggest flaw in Yulia's design is that even if she had those yandere urges, would she bother acting out on them? Suddenly, her fatalism becomes a beneficial trait. Gentleness goes a long way more than possessiveness ever does.

Yandere Yulia would rather reel you in slowly, be as soft as a breeze of air. You could spend your whole life together and never be aware of the unhinged thoughts going through her brain at all times.

She is easily content and doesn't demand a lot. Probably one of the safest bets in terms of yanderes. She doesn't isolate you or try to hold power of you. While eats her up at night that you might leave or find someone else, those feelings aren't new to her, she had a similar crisis about the thought of the world ending last month.

By being unstable and unhinhed naturally, the yandere thoughts perfectly blend within her inner world and all that comes out is the same mild-mannered Yulia you've known.

And oh 👀 those are amazing lines for Yandere Daniil. Honestly he'd be as intense as a storm, you'll be constantly prodded and questioned as if you're the greatest enigma he has ever seen.

It'd would annoy him so much that he can't understand why he is so obsessed with you. He NEEDS to know. Why is everything about you so special? Why is the colour of your blood the most beautiful red he has ever seen? Why are your pupils the loveliest black there is? Why are you so intoxicating and magnetic?

If that was before getting together, he'd notice some unhinged comments slipping his lips every now and then while everything else seems to be as business usual.

And omfg yes everything you said about Yandere Victor is so true.

He wants you to think he is on your side, that he could never be anything but supportive and kind. That the idea of him purposely sabotaging your attempts to have anything that doesn't involve him is silly and you're overworked, sweetheart.

He babies you intentionally so you forget how to fly. The townfolks are nice and chill to you no matter what so you never have to put in effort in socialising and therefore will never develop any meaningful relationships or build a support system besides him.

It's like being suffocated by a feather pillow. Victor can't possibly be stealing your ideas if he credited you for the small ones and makes such a big deal of mentioning that it was you who picked the colours for the townshall new curtains.

So how come he stops at that and doesn't even bring up the new laws you proposed adding or public wellfare plans you worked hard on?

Coincidentally, the next month, people stop you in the streets to sing the praises of your husband for coming up with such a brilliant plan for aiding people struggling with income. A plan that suspiciously sounds similar to your own papers left collecting dust in one of the locked drawers in his desk.

Except it's just different enough that you feel doubtful it was on purpose. Remembering his words, how silly of an idea this even is. Yeah... you're probably just need some rest. Victor is a genius, what would he ever copy your papers for? You need to have more faith in your husband.

Until one day you'll wake up and realise you've completely forgotten how to fly, that the wings weighted heavy by your sides. How kind is it of your husband to offer to pluck some of the feathers off and relief you from the burden of thinking or working? Even simple tasks are too much. No, leave the dishes. That's someone else's job, dove.

oh god Yandere Aglaya is a special case. Because she is a meta character, she knows about the 4th wall (in a way) That makes her so much more dangerous.

And 👀 She can fall for the player, becoming a yandere for this force controlling the healers around.

Aglaya knows she is a doll and thinks you are a doll, too. She knows this is just a game played by kids, that nothing really matters. No one is really alive.

So it's completely morally justified in her views to take you for her own. I mean, she is THE inquisitor and her word is law. She is the one who orders the destruction of the polyhedron, you think she can't simply order you to be her spouse?

But Aglaya wouldn't take stoop that low, it's also tiresome to constantly throw her weight and power around. Instead, she will tell you about the bleak reality you're living in and how everyone and everything in your life is a lie.

Did it break your mind? Good, stay with her then. It will be extremely easy to nudge you along.

Did it not? ...that is strange. Explain yourself. Now.

Are you that apathetic? or are you too stupid to comprehend her words? Which one is it?

...oh, you don't care because the love you feel is real even if the people are not?

You've spelled your doom with that sentence, she is hooked. All her life she has been the only one with free will, in all her years of living she has never ever met another person who is aware of the truth of this universe without having gone insane.

But you stood your grounds.

Yandere Aglaya doesn't beat around the bush, she doesn't play mind games nor manipulate you.

She puts all her cards on the table, shows you ever single one. Explains herself fully and make her intentions clear.

She is not letting you go, you cannot run far enough. She has you corner on this chessboard, what is your move?

Be with her and she will make your life heaven. You don't have to do anything you don't want to, she won't force you. She just needs you around like her body needs oxygen to stay alive. She will provide you with anything you dream of, she will use her powers to shield you. Even in the worst case scenario where whe she is stripped of her inquisitor powers, she will find a way somehow to make sure no harm befalls you.

Aglaya is very direct. She doesn't lie, but... she has a tendency to conceal the truth. Would you count that as her lying? She doesn't.

But if you call her out on it, she doesn't deny it. If you ask if she's the one who behind why your world is suddenly falling apart, why no one dares look you in the eyes anymore. She will admit it with zero shame.

She doesn't try to paint herself in a tender soft light like Victor, nor does she keep her innermost desires in her brain and only show you gentleness like Yulia.

Aglaya is a constant, she doesn't falter. You can slow her down but never stop her. It's simply a matter of time before she wins.

And really... her feelings are sincere. The way she openly admits her awe when it comes to your mind and heart, the flirtatious poems that smoothly slide off her tongue in an almost jarring scene from the usual icey lips of the steel inquisitor.

She refuses to involve you in her work, they're bad people and will only try to take advantage of you. Everything you are will be broken down then stiched together to fit their views.

But she lets you fly freely instead of caging you in. It is your freedom she fell in love with after all. All those extreme measures before were just so you'd agree to her proposal, after getting together, Aglaya is more than content and never clingy.

She only asks to see you once a day. The rest is up to you. They are all just dolls in the end. She doesn't even consider them human enough for her to be jealous over.

Aglaya is used to getting results and finding solutions to impossible problems. Why would she ever do something which might harm you or scare you away? that is counterproductive and won't result in you falling in love with her.

Instead, she offers to compromise. You can live your life, have all your friends, and do whatever your heart may desire. As long as she stays a constant in that life, write her letters back and tell her about your days. She genuinely enjoys taking a peak at your mind.

Aglaya is very charming when she wants to. She knows how to read people like the back of her hand. It's easy to figure out what motivates you and what you're attracted to. It's easier for her to dapt those traits and watch you subconsciously seeking her company more. She knows what makes you tick and how to sweep you off your feet.

[beevean]

I'd like to see the people getting upset about the IDW exclusive characters being referred to as OCs be around during the time when Shadow was constantly viewed as just a Sonic recolor- even though it's very clear his character design is not just a palette swap of Sonic. Which I'll always find the latter kind of funny when looking at Shadow's earlier designs.

Shadow's glowup in development is insane lmao. It's funny to hear him say stuff like "why does that hedgehog look like my twin?", but I'd rather take that over Sonic With A Fringe 😂

Anyway, I know why the fans of IDW characters bristle at having them called OCs: they see the implication that they're inferior and not "real", or worth the same as game character, or "unofficial" in the same way a person's OC is. This is why they're also happy that "IDW is canon": because it elevates the comic and the OCs to the same plane as the games, and now they have to be taken seriously.

It's much more than fans rejecting the new character in the new game because they're nostalgics :P

But yeah, sorry, undeniably, IDW-exclusive characters are on a slightly inferior plane than game characters. It doesn't mean that you're stupid for loving them, or that your passion isn't worth as much! But it does mean that it leaves me a sour taste in my mouth when a comic character barely a few months old is written as dictating around a game character who has been around for 17 years. I think it's bad writing. I am not going to sympathize with the months-old comic character. Then you add all the rest...

[flashfuture]

There's this really funny plot arc in the 1975 Invaders comics that I'm so sad with never get adapted and it's 8 issues. It's vaguely 1942. Captain America, Bucky, The original Human Torch, Toro, Namor, and Spitfire are in Berlin fighting a bunch of Nazis. They all get drugged and it affects Toro and Namor the most this is the arc where it was revealed Toro was a mutant. Anyways the drugs lessened the power of Toro's fire so the bullets coming at him didn't melt. And one lodged right beside his heart. Now keep in mind throughout all of this their worry is the bullet will move and enter his heart.

Bucky sits with Toro out of fire and bandages him up while everyone else fights. When they get a break they all fly off with Jim Hammond the original Human Torch holding Toro completely on fire. They get into a plane. Crash the plane into the ocean and float until they find an Allied ship. Fly onto the ship. Move Toro to a hospital where they're told operating can't happen unless they get the help of Dr Sabuki in Hawaii. They're all in England. Suddenly the Invaders are called away on an urgent missions. Jim Hammond nearly defects he's so mad and worried about Toro. But Bucky says he'll take Namor's ship and fly Toro to America. And he does fly Toro all the way across the world. Toro has at no point woken up totally unconscious.

Bucky lands at the house of Doctor Sabuki and learns about the Internment camp situation. Flies Toro to a random hospital the doctor tells him no one can operate a nurse says this doctor is a racist quack Doctor Sabuki is the best. So Bucky leaves Toro there and races to the camp beats up a bunch of American soldiers and finds Doctor Sabuki and his daughter Gwenny Lou. Suddenly a giant drill emerges from the ground it's Agent Axis and his Axis soldiers. They're looking for Doctor Sabuki and the three of them all get abducted.

Back at the hospital, a boy named Davy Mitchell overheard the doctor say Toro was going to die and he snuck in to see how the young hero was doing. When suddenly a giant drill emerges from the ground it's Agent Axis and his Axis soldiers. They abduct Toro ripping out his plasma and also take Davy with them too I guess cause why not have another hostage. Also Davy is black so the Axis soldiers just start throwing slurs around. The Axis soldiers fight the kids, also Gwenny can fight, and then Bucky orders them all to stand down when they point a gun at Toro's head. Davy and Gwenny think Bucky is insane which is fair enough I think.

Anyways Captain America, Namor, and the Human Torch have arrived in Hawaii looking for the boys. They find Namor's ship still parked outside the internment camp. Steve yells at the soldiers in the camp but then they learn about Agent Axis and his drill and run off to go find everyone.

Back in the drill Davy tells the gang his story and Gwenny is like screw you guys I don't have anything in common with any of you except being stuck in this giant drill. They arrive at a secret layer and Toro is moved off the giant drill and finally operated on by Doctor Sabuki with Gwenny assisting. Bucky acts incredibly weird during this and Davy is like why are you staring at the bullet so hard and Bucky is all "I wanted to see if Toro's name was written on it" okay kid save the poetry for when Toro wakes up. Agent Axis is trying to force Doctor Sabuki to do some insane science experiment while someone moves Bucky out of the room. Toro gets up and shoots fire at that Axis soldier and Bucky goes "yahoo" cause Toro woke up and starts throwing punches. The soldier goes to shoot Toro and Bucky punches him literally thinking "these bullets are going wild! hope they don't hit anyone but I couldn't let him shoot Toro" And Bucky I think you should probably put some emphasis on the poor civilians that have been dragged into this fight instead of your superhero friend.

Anyways the bullets go wild and hit the machine Davy and Gwenny were stuck in and they get so electrocuted it gives them superpowers. Gwenny has something with light and Davy the ability to spin and generate wind. Someone says he's like a Human Top and Davy goes with this. Then at the end Captain America, Namor, and Human Torch burst through the wall.

Gwenny and Davy realize they've developed superpowers. Gwenny calls her golden bursts of sunlight and dubs herself Golden Girl . Steve is like don't know who either of you are but keep it up ! Then over in the corner Agent Axis is escaping with Doctor Sabuki in his giant drill. Namor gets Doctor Sabuki in the water and Steve follows Agent Axis. Back in the secret Axis base Bucky locks some soldiers inside and he's all oh Toro are you well enough to use your fire while Gwenny and Davy just electrocuted and super powered up are kicking ass. Like I can't describe accurately how funny it is to watch Bucky fret over Toro like this.

Then the kids go off on their own adventure for a quick minutes. And Toro finds outfits in the ship which are canonically Namor's which is really good actually. Bucky and Toro call each other Mr. B and Mr. T

They arrive back at the internment camp and then a giant drill emerges from the ground it's Agent Axis. The new kid commandos beat him up and Toro welds shut the giant drill. Doctor Sabuki makes the decision he will stay in the camp while Gwenny will leave with the others. The soldier in charge tries to protest and Gwenny threatens to fucking murder him so she gets to go. Back with the Invaders, its revealed the last Agent Axis fight was actually Namor putting on a show for the kids to and I quote Bucky here "Give them more clout"

In any case I always think it's interesting how Marvel handles addressing American atrocities without having heroes change the entire history of them.

(The Invaders #28)

The Human Top and Golden Girl