#planes pilgrim

[jkl-fff]

PLANES PILGRIM or DREAMLORD or ASTRALWALKER AU

Well ... not an Alternate Universe, per se, since the idea is post-canon. But you get what I mean. Anyway!

The basic idea is that Wirt and Greg, after the events of the series, possess and slowly develop certain powers related both to dreams and to alternate planes of existence. Those powers are: the ability to fall asleep at will, to awaken from a normal sleep at will, to enter planes of existence connected to our own (like The Unknown or The Desert or The Final Catarct or The Giant's Skull or The IKEA Eternal or The Starfield of Anorion, etc.) via their dreams, and to enter and manipulate the dreams of others.

To be clear, this is not to say everything that happened in The Unknown was All Just A Dream(TM); that trope is far too facile (and honestly boring) an interpretation for me, and also is not supported by canon. But it is undeniable, especially given how the brothers can reenter The Unknown in dreams in the comics taking place after the show, that The Unknown and the brothers' dreaming are related. Or, rather, they become related. Specifically because of the brothers passing into and then out of The Unknown via near-death experience.

People who can do this are sometimes called "Planes Pilgrims" (or "Pilgrims" for short). But also "Dreamlords" and "Astralwalkers" (also "Walkers" for short) depending on which plane they travel to. Because of their connection to "reality"--the main expanse of the fabric of space-time, of which the others planes are the fraying fringes of that fabric--they also possess the ability to act upon and cause changes to those planes. Otherwise, they tend to remain more-or-less timeless and essentially unchanging, without advancents or progress moving their world forward nor regressions or devolutions dragging it back (The Unknown, for example, if left to itself will always be vaguely and surreally like New England in the early 1800s) (The Beast is dead after the brothers' first misadventure because of their intervention, but otherwise would've always been a part of it).

So they get to explore more weird worlds and have more weird adventures! Yay! Especially as they gain more control over their powers with time, and thus more volition over when and where they'll go. Also who, if anyone, will accompany them. Sara was drawn unintentionally into The Unknown, I believe, by Wirt's desire to share some time with her. Later on, he'll be able to do such things intentionally. (Though accidents will always be a part of it, and "reality" and "surreality" can have a will of their own. It won't ever have a 100% guarantee.)

Upsides of these powers: No more insomnia ever again, and usually no more need for an alarm clock. And there are experiences in worlds beyond imagination!

Downsides: There are experiences in worlds beyond imagination, and that isn't always a pleasant or good thing. Besides, while dying in a dream has no real-world consequence, dying in one of these planes will kill your soul, thus your body will remain unresponsive in a supernatural coma until it eventually perishes. There is genuine danger to the soul, and to the body that can't reawaken as if from a normal, physical sleep.

Lighter uses of these powers: Fun times and new friends (especially since time moves differently, and weeks or months can be lived in the space of a real-world sleep). Or, when entering someone else's dreams, the ability to learn more about them and thus help their psyche. Even reawaken them from a coma.

Darker uses, since any power can be put to a dark use: Forcibly drag someone into another plane to banish them there (thus putting them into a supernatural coma). Torrment someone with nightmares, or spy on them in the most private and vulnerable of position. Good thing Greg and Wirt would never do such a thing, right? Unless ...

Anyway, just an AU idea that's been ricocheting around my head like an old screensaver.

[smanfa]

finally watched the scott pilgrim anime recently

[sweetpeaches666]

Reporter: This just in. Plane Racer Ripslinger is dating an actor who's playing a high schooler. Hahaha!!! That's actually hilarious!

Dusty: You're dating a seventeen-year-old?!

Ripslinger: She's thirty-one in real life!

[cassmouse]

oh my god I haven't rewatched episode three of Takes Off in a while now I better go do it

[porcelainvino]

partie movie aus except it gets increasingly more and more obscure but also more and more campy:

> scott pilgrim vs the world (ramona!puck, scott!artie)

> osmosis jones (osmosis jones!puck, drix!artie)

> hurricane bianca: from russia with hate (bianca!puck, katya!artie)

> better man 绝望主夫 (hu tienan!puck, …artie as one of his friends IDK THIS AU IS MAINLY JUST A PUCK, QUINN, AND KURT PLOTLINE (xu weiwei!quinn and concierge!kurt) BUT IT ENDS WITH PARTIE I SWEAR)

[undrthelights]

the best movies to watch on thanksgiving are planes, trains and automobiles and the witch. no questions.

[onika-t-maraj]

…

[phoenixyfriend]

Movies I've been meaning to see for ages and now, on the plane, I finally have:

Lisa Frankenstein

Birds of Prey

Scott Pilgrim

Disenchanted

V for Vendetta

Blade

I have opinions on all of them. (Yes this was all the same flight. Thirteen hours.)

(I've slept a total of maybe 4 hours in the past uhhhh 46? Gonna pass out as soon as I can lol.)

Lisa Frankenstein is a high-budget Wattpad fic and I mean that in the best way possible. The main characters are generally ludicrous overall and it actually works! The "slutty cheerleader" stepsister is actually the sweetest character in the movie and I adore her. Also, Cole Sprouse is clearly having SO much fun.

Birds of Prey: I was spoiled for a LOT of this movie. I didn't realize how late in the game they came together, though, and while people had talked about Ewan really selling Sionis as this blatantly queer villain trope, I still was not spoiled for That Much. Like. It didn't come across as a homophobic stereotype (to me) but I'm BAFFLED as to how.

Most likely, it's because we see three former relationships or signs of attraction, and all three are at BEST messy (f/f, Montoya and Ellen Yee), but generally just really bad, in the abusive f/m (Joker/Harley) or toxic m/m (see everything about Sionis, but also idk what he and Zsasz were up to).

Scott Pilgrim: The diegesis! I expected this to be something in the vein of Walter Mitty, where the superhero segments are all just extended daydreams that are 100% not actually happening. I thought the space-time weirdness was just the new show. But no! People have comic book and video game logic! And they're aware of it! People literally die and leave behind coins! Insane!

Also, wow, you(?) all really weren't joking when you said that 22yo Scott dating a 17yo is more Pathetic and Doormat than predatory creep.

Also I did not expect the mind control.

And I knew there'd be some big names but I was still blindsided by Aubrey Plaza and Anna Kendrick in the opening credits.

Disenchanted: love the plot concept! I adore some enforced tropes and family bonding! However, some of the "heavy" lines fell flat due to the writing, and the songs overall just felt worse, both in execution (Amy and Idina both sound strained when reaching for their upper registers) and just in general writing quality.

V for Vendetta: Really cool overall, great plot and messaging, but I occasionally had trouble keeping track of the Various White Men. V's accent seemed to slip to American a few times? I kept trying to figure out what year it supposedly was, and also which characters I saw being claimed as "V before he transitioned" on Tumblr.

Blade: I love the way Wesley Snipes talks in this. IDK why.

Pleasantly surprised that there was like... way less sexism than I'd expect from a 90s action flick. However, I was blindsided by the vaguely incestuous energy that was brought in every time Blade talks to his vampire mom.

[vitaminseetarot]

PAC Pick a Ride: Your Next Big Adventure 🌌🌠🌃

Thank you for voting in my latest poll! I'm surprised and glad to see that Next Big Adventure won by a landslide! Seeing as we have the New Moon in Sagittarius on the 12th, it makes sense that we are collectively interested in seeing what the next chapter has in store. Please note that some of these other topics mentioned in my polls may appear in future pick a card readings, so stay tuned.

So without further ado, let's get into our piles! Pretend as though you are a Knight from your favorite tarot deck about to embark on your next journey. Please choose your mode of transportation:

1 - Plane 2 - Ship 3 - Motorbike 4 - Train

Pile 1 - Plane

Cards: Re-Evaluate, Pencil Sketch, The Pilgrim, Ceres - Nurture, Patience, 26. Protection - Finding What's Important; I Magician, 10 of Pentacles, 4 of Pentacles, XIX The Sun Channeled Locations: Canada, Singapore, Morocco, Ukraine, Australia, Philippines, UK, New Zealand, NYC, South Korea

Hi pile 1, you've chosen to travel by air, bypassing all the long troublesome routes. After all, the sky's the limit! Isn't it nice to measure your distance by how the crow flies sometimes? You're ready to catapult yourself into the next big adventure; I can tell there's a lot of excitement to see what's ahead here. You'd rather get to the next phase of your life instantly yet with ease. This is likely the pile with big career goals, especially if moving or actual traveling will be in the big picture. Maybe you're dreaming of traveling by plane as part of your future dream job? You don't just want to get there, as great as that is--it has to be done with intention.

You're in the process of drawing out what your next life would look like. The future seems full of creative possibilities, but with Pencil Sketch next to Re-evaluate, you're being asked to pay attention to the details. How do you want things to go one month from now, and one year from now? As great as it would be to have an entire decade mapped out, it's unrealistic, but it doesn't mean you can't draft some concepts. You should have something in mind, though, instead of setting out with a knapsack and praying for the best. If your next career or long term project could be anything you wanted, are you going to hop into something for 10 years that doesn't end up panning out in your favor, or would you rather delicately test something for a year before diving in? Moving forward can be exciting, but if you're going by plane, you will need some coordinates.

I think your reading is super straightforward, pile 1. You've got a lucky edge going for you with the tarot cards here. Whatever kind of career goal you have in mind, you may have a chance to "make it big" at some point. That won't come without a lot of foresight and careful investment, however. Don't try to rush into any big decisions right off the bat. I occasionally see the Magician card as the one signifying "read between the lines". If any contracts get involved, be very careful and read thoroughly. Don't be afraid to ask questions or seek clarification. The ones giving you the contact would rather see you jump in it blind, but you've got the crafty Magician energy to help you out during this retrograde period.

As eager as you are to begin your next journey, you're being asked to consider what you want to grow over the long term. This reading wants to shift the focus away from the end goal, even if there's a message here about acting with intention. Setting intention doesn't mean straying away from the present moment to only consider what happens in the end. Part of paying attention to detail means being aware and present in what's happening around you. The present moment is a crucial aspect of your growth period, and it wants you to gently guard after and care for your goal as though it were a plant. You know the fruit of the plant will be ready to eat when it's there and fully ripened, but in the meantime you can enjoy its flowers and fresh budding leaves.

Enjoy the gentle growth process, because once you do start to take off, you may be shocked by how high you'll find yourself in mere seconds. The initial lift of the plane as it begins to run with the sky can give you a wonky feeling like your whole world is shifting and moving with you. Your sense of time can change, requiring adjustment. If you're unprepared, the change could feel overwhelming. Make sure that by the time you're ready for that big takeoff in your work or projects, you will have built up a solid foundation to ground you once you're ready to come back down to earth. That's how you'll build lasting success in your life's next adventure. Stay optimistic, because that positive shift could come sooner than you think!

Pile 2 - Ship

Cards: Limitless, Calla, The Alchemist, 10. Capricorn - Achieve, Express Love, 11. Invention - Burning with Passion; X Wheel of Fortune, 4 of Wands, VII Chariot, 10 of Swords Channeled Locations: India, Greece, Ethiopia, Thailand, Spain, Iceland, Turkey, Croatia, South Africa

The seas are calling you, pile 2, calmly asking you to take only what's truly needed with you. The water's may be choppy, but out in the expansive blue seas, you can feel connected to the coasts of the entire world. With a firm grasp of the ship's wheel, you designate yourself captain as you adjust your sails and set your sights for the hidden treasure that lies ahead--or perhaps beneath your anchor. You're entering your next big adventure lit up with grand ideas for what to do all laid out on your map. Over the vast horizon, anything could happen, and you could find yourself shaking hands with anybody new. This pile may be seeking proposals or offers of some kind, ones that will let you dream bigger than you have before. This pile likely has a good idea of where to go next, or at least some interesting things written down.

These cards ask you to make peace with some aspect of your past. It could be that whatever you had planned before didn't entirely work out in your favor. As much as the online community talks about how rejection is divine protection, sometimes having plans fall apart is not going to feel good, even when you're just glad it's over with. The worst thing can be the feeling of not knowing what to expect after a fall. But your next chapter is showing a lot of promise in things to come, so don't let your past be the omen of your future. The tides are turning right now, and if you can focus on what you'd like to accomplish next, you'll be able to shift those tides in your favor. The first step is to see that you've survived the bad times, and that in itself makes you a victor. With that, you can move ahead with more confidence than before.

That's the thing about Capricorn energy: it thrives in conditions that others would consider too harsh or demanding. It's the drive to take the roughest materials and make diamonds from them. Once you can decide to make peace with what you've gone through, you can take the nuggets of wisdom you've garnered to make a beautiful new path for yourself. You dissolve the worst of your experiences and bring them together to make it better, as the Alchemist card suggests. The difficult times and failed attempts were not for waste; you've gained a lot of valuable growth that will provide a smoother current toward success in your next endeavor. This could be the pile that wants to start a business. Please know that simply starting a business, or even taking the first steps to plan one, takes a lot of guts already. If you've managed to go that far, congratulations! It takes a lot of hard work for a new business to be survive the long haul. So celebrate your milestones, no matter how small they seem.

Part of what makes this next chapter so fortuitous for you is how the energy is transiting through. You could be hit with a wave of inspiration from out of nowhere. If you've been stuck in one place without any wind to carry you through the fog, be prepared for that big splash! All hiccups set aside, you're still brimming with a lot of zeal for your next idea. You may even receive a cascade of insight, so be sure to write these things down as they come. You never know if something silly and small could end up helping you out later on. Your next big adventure is going to put the spark back in you, with a feeling of having a second chance at life, as Calla lilies represent rebirth. Don't be afraid to get excited over what's to come, pile 2. Your faith that things will work out for the better is contagious, as is your gratitude for the accomplishments you've made so far.

Pile 3 - Motorbike

Cards: Breathe, Snowboard, The Heir (Rx), 5. Leo - Shine, Balance, 21. Resilience - Finding Your Limits; 6 of Cups, Queen of Cups, Page of Wands, XIII Death Channeled Locations: Mexico, Italy, Midwest US, France, Norway, Egypt, Chile, Brazil

Your pile is like the fiery passion of the wands suit. Independent and bold, you chose to take open road for your next adventure, blazing a new path in front of your very eyes. You have an eagerness to take the world by storm, going wherever your first impulse wishes to carry you. This pile has a lot of drive to move forward to the next chapter with as much speed as possible, optimistic to find that next golden opportunity. And you're not afraid of a little showboating along the way. You even have the Snowboard palette card, which is a sport involving nothing but speeding down slopes and catching incredible air. This pile is the most excited for their next adventure.

Except actually, pile 3, you're being asked to slow down a little bit. And I get it! I get that this message can be so frustrating when you see what looks to be an endless highway yet the speed limit says 55. That might be a good pace for many folks, but for this pile it's not nearly enough! The thing to keep in mind is that this process of moderating your pace is for your overall benefit. See, you have the only reversed archetype card in all the piles. The card speaks of untapped potential, which is still there. It's simply saying that whatever you're seeking to do next, you're not totally ready because there is too much you're still carrying with you. To go with the motorbike analogy again, any leftover baggage from your past is going to weigh you down so it's in your benefit to review what you have before you can move forward. The more you let it go, the faster you'll be able to pick up the pace.

You have a lot to be proud of with how far you've come already. This pile likely thrives on challenges and sees overcoming them as a big part of spiritual development. Which can be true in many cases, and you demonstrate clearly that you're not afraid of what's to come next. It may come as a shock to you that your next chapter might be a little more quiet than expected. This is likely because, if you've gone through a lot of growth in your last chapter, it makes sense to have some downtime to balance things out. The Queen of Cups can be introverted energy, but she knows how to use her alone time to replenish her soul with art and meditation. You may have more time to spend by yourself steeped in creative drive rather than trying to accomplish too many things in the outer world.

This is one of the more spiritually oriented piles; over this next big phase in your life, your creative skills may flourish and evolve to another level. Maybe for a while you've been inclined towards artistic pursuits, but feel a desire to expand upon what you're already doing. With this energy, you're in alignment to have more time and energy to devote towards passions like painting, sports, or music. In this way, you can take that immense enthusiastic drive from the Page of Wands and channel it into something constructive or purposeful, even if you don't intend to monetize it.

Your next big adventure is tackling the speed limits that exist within you: the self imposed beliefs that tell you how fast you can go or where you're allowed to proceed. Thing is, in your inner world, you have a lot more freedom than you would on any highway. You can choose for yourself how you wish to manifest your passions into the world, and you can decide how much or how little passion you put into your work. Things like imposter syndrome can be their own mountains to climb, and this time around you're more geared up than ever to take it on. Once the spiritual mountains have been overcome, you'll be able to top anything the next chapter in life brings you.

Pile 4 - Train

Cards: Nucleus, Billiard Green, The Gambler, 44. Sixth House - Sustainability, Trust, 1. Vision - Contemplating the Future; XVIII The Moon, 10 of Wands, 3 Cups, XV The Devil Channeled Locations: West US, Sweden, Japan, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Slovenia, China, Germany, Switzerland

You've picked the solid, earthy pile of moving forward to your next adventure by train. Locomotion is slow but it's steady and reliable with time. Fully embodying the principles of inertia, once it moves it keeps moving, but it takes a lot of initial effort to get things going. Something you've worked on is slow going, but you're close or nearing the finish line. Once this is accomplished, things will move much more smoothly for you without so much push. Your next chapter will be steady, but it will be easier than before because it's already in motion.

I find this pile intriguing, y'all. You have Gambler above the Billiard card, and the Devil card shows a casino as well. It's almost bringing to mind old train heist movies. There's action, adventure, mystery, and a lot of fun here in this pile. Your next big adventure could involve having more chances to go out and have fun with friends. You could meet new friends around this time who will have a lot of extra pep in their step. They'll get you out of your shell if you've been in one for a while. Alternatively, if you see yourself as a party loving daredevil already, this new friendship may slow you down and protect you a little, in a good sense. They'll either be the head to your heart, or the heart to your head.

This pile is definitely more inclined to go with the flow in the next chapter. I almost typed 'glow' on accident, so perhaps you'll also experience basking in a 'glow' of some kind. You could be overcoming a huge obstacle at this time and look forward to more unstructured down time. You're encouraged to take time to enjoy yourself before moving to the next phase, but to also balance it out by taking moments to see where you'd rather go next. It's easy, after a huge achievement, to lose pace once the "now what?" sign is reached on your path. Go-with-the-flow doesn't necessarily mean 'fuck around and see what happens', lol. Try to find a middle ground here between playing and planning.

Your work-life balance will likely have some kind of pressure valve released like steam. You've had to really push for what you wanted this year. When opportunities looked scant, you had to tap in to your own power and immense resources to pull through. You've done so in flying colors. So your desire for freedom and thrills after a hard chapter is totally understandable. If you're not finished with something, there's almost a temptation here to run from it now and deal with it later. This isn't recommended; push through to the end because soon you will find yourself on the other side basking in the glow, and relaxing will be so much easier once you're fully done.

There's also advice to not get too carried away with material desires here. Your next chapter may have your finances fluctuating up and down, so try to stay steady with investments. If a windfall comes in, don't spend it all in a day. The Trust card here is talking about how you trust yourself with your resources and energy. When you're able to carry a greater amount with more responsibility, more will be added to you in due time. You're being asked to make small and consistent investments with wherever you're putting your value and resources into. Nothing wrong with wanting to splurge on something nice of course, especially if you've been working hard and you want to reward yourself. This is more to do with long term investments over the next few years.

This reading has not been evaluated by the FDA to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease or infection. Please ask your physician before going online.

2023, @VitaminseeTarot ™

Decks Used: Tarotwave, Starcodes Astro Oracle, Citadel Oracle, StarDragons, Opal Oracle, Starlight Messages, Color Palette cards

[14carrotghoul]

and you can tell everybody (unplugged)

Hi friends! Do not proceed if you don't want spoilers for my fic, and you can tell everybody! Album notes and extras are below the cut :)

ACD's early career is releasing covers and original songs with June on YouTube and later TikTok. Career takes off his first year of university and the rest of the band joins, agreeing to play for a few years to see what happens.

[unnamed] (2020) [very little info on this besides being very pointedly Mexican-American, but the genre is rock influenced by Mexican music, like Cafe Tacvba? Molotov? but more modern]

tex mex - Lyrical inspiration: "Somos Mas Americanos" by Los Tigres Del Norte

decisions (November 2023) [highly influenced by Omar Apollo, I promise the other albums are very different! I'm shoving him down your throats here and I know it lol]

1 new message - mellow r&b. Have suspected something is wrong, ignored it, and now the impact is hitting full force. Wrongly interpreted as Alex leaving a voicemail for an ex but it is a song written for his past self about missing his ADHD and bisexuality. Sound: "3AM" by Haim

reckless abandon - daddy issues song cowritten with Liam. Bilingual. Sound & lyrically: "Voice Inside My Head" by The Chicks

am I? - 'You raised me to disappoint you bc I could never live up to your expectations'/'It took me too long to find myself bc I've been trying to be who you imagined'. Sound: "Go Away" by Omar Apollo

new year new me - fuck expectations, I'm going to do what I want Sound: "Invincible" by Omar Apollo

very bad things - upbeat hookup song. breaking all his own rules and it feels good. "Mercury" by Steve Lacy

split household - child of divorce anthem. Sound: "Kamikaze" by Omar Apollo

seria una mentira - don't make me choose a side. I love you both and it tears me apart. Pointedly about parents. Sound: "Two of Us" by Omar Apollo

too much - Cumbia version of "Too Much" by Carly Rae Jepsen

never enough - never enough to convince people to stay. Sound: "Pram" by Omar Apollo. Also feel this song's outro is very fitting for this!

a light left on - Platonic June appreciation song about how safe Alex has always felt with her. Sound & lyrically: "Caminar Bonito" by Natalia Lafourcade

Good - First time he is told and BELIEVES he is good. "While U Can" by Omar Apollo

yrs - Dramatic love song. First time Alex uses rain motif. Sound: "Petrified" by Omar Apollo

seria una mentira pt. 2 - it would be a lie to choose something simple over choosing you. Sound: "Two of Us" by Omar Apollo but slowed down and more hopeful

spine/die climbing - vulnerable pillow talk. Sound: "Plane Trees" by Omar Apollo, Mustafa

miel - sacrilege bj song. Catches on with queer Latine audience and is memed similarly to Call me by your name by Lil Nas X. Grows the band's audience. Sound: "Te Mata" by Kali Uchis.

on purpose - I choose to be all the things that I am and am not picking a side. End album on a positive note. Sound:"Done With You" by Omar Apollo

vows (June 2024) [very American sound, dreamier, more optimistic]

no booty calls - voicemail w instrumental. Sound: "All Around Me Now" by Perfume Genius

apricot tarts - honeymoon period of a new relationship. Sound: "Someone to Spend Time With" by Los Retros

in dreams - extended version of Henry's in dreams email set to music. In this universe, they met and kissed on New Years at Pez's party and still did long distance and exchanged emails :) Sound: "In A River (Acoustic)" by Rostam

supersonic - secret, fun ode to karaoke night and letting loose on a night out. Sound: "Runaways" by The Killers

tapestry - thank god I'm bi anthem. Sound: "The Steps" by Haim

lipstick on her neck - sung by June. Essentially the lyrics of lipstick lover by janelle monae but in "ALLIIGATOR TEARS" by Beyonce Americana style.

then have me - tender I'm putting it all out there, all you have to do is take it. Sound: "Solar Pilgrim" by Twain

pride (and prejudice) - purposefully anthemic chorus. about being proud despite prejudice in a red state. Sound: "Delta Dawn" by Tanya Tucker

he is my choice - eloping in the rain. comedic/romantic song about how everything went wrong at a wedding. Sound: "Howling at Nothing" by Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats

roasting Alex - jam session - the band lovingly roasts Alex. Sound: "Ballad of Hank Williams" by Hank Williams Jr., Don Helms

Not Just Friends - Liam to Spencer. Song about how they're frequently mistaken for just best friends and how happy it makes him to correct that they're more than that. Song chosen so piano and drums play the beats together. Sound: "A Little Honey" by Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats

Be Cool - Spencer to Liam. Quirky/self-deprecating song about his butterflies about being with someone he's in awe of. Sound: "Heart's Content" by Brandi Carlile

a romantic - June to Nora. Confirms that Nora is aromantic to public. June saying she would never need more from Nora bc she gets to wake up next to her best friend every day. Sound: "Tu" by maye.

bluebonnet - This place (Texas) was never a home to me until you showed me how it was a part of you and now I see you everywhere. Sound & lyrically: "I Think of You" by Rodriguez.

red-blooded (August 2029)

cover: Navy suit w white shirt and American Flag pin on lapel, cropped so only torso is showing

Americana sound again - about 50/50 rock and Americana. Features from Dolly Parton, Orville Peck, and Brandon Flowers

blue blood (August 2029)

cover: red British army dress, cropped so only torso is showing

British glam rock sounds. Features from Elton John, Brian May, and samples David Bowie.

co-written with Henry

-

AND as for where they go from the end of the fic:

Alex becomes a civil rights lawyer in Austin.

Henry's writing career grows but he remains relatively private.

June becomes a music journalist. Eventually ventures into exposes on the industry's shady practices and successfully pivots into investigative journalism

Nora does her own thing.

Liam stays in music industry as a band manager under Zahra's tutelage.

Spencer majored in music production/mixing(?) and gets taken under Pez's wing. Has a smaller solo career and produces for a few indie bands before he settles down and works as a sound mixer in the film industry.

Bea continues to play guitar and flit between collaboration projects.

Zahra is the band's manager and Shaan is Henry's publicist/mentor and they meet while officially strategizing Alex's coming out.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Extreme trigger warning but I just came across a list that speaks volumes and the point they made hut ne like a truck...

That point being that Wukong was literally suicidal in s3 when he decided he was going to try to take the Samhadi Fire and use it to burn LBD up.

The Fire is known to be one of the few things in existence capable of killing him, he knows that Ao Lie taking on just a portion of it likely resulted in at minimum a shortened lifetime and very likely lead to his actual death, and that if left unchecked it could destroy the world. It's why they all sealed it away to begin with! And yet, this stupid, self sacrificial, immortal monkey was going to literally let himself be burned to a crisp in a half-baked attempt to stop LBD AND NOT THINK TWICE ABOUT IT! You can bet he fully expected to die in that moment and didn't care!

And throughout s3, you can tell Wukong wasn't quite right. He started the season with everyone angry at him for not warning them about LBD and going off on his own, inadvertently leaving MK to deal with the spirit on his own and putting him in danger. Wukong knows this and fully regrets it, you can TELL he's beating himself up over it the entire time, he's just hiding it because that's what Wukogn does when faced with uncomfortable emotions, he puts on a laid backed persona and pretends nothing bothers him, that such things are beneath him becaue its only for "dorky mortals," not an immortal hero like himself. It's what years and years of pain and misery and abuse had taught him to do. Because he's gotten to the point that all he and all he believes he can be is the Monkey King. The Legend, not the person.

Which reminds me... Throughout all of Lego Monkie Kid, nobody ever refers to Sun Wukong as his actual name except for one notable exception. Macaque. The person who was once Wukong's closest companion turned the most hateful enemy up u til that point. Someone who specifically targeted an innocent bystander simply for the crime of being Wukong's apprentice. How messed up would that make you, to get hundreds of years in isolation only for the first people you reach out to to never call you by your name? For the people you've come to love to only ever call you by a title you, more than likely, hate. The only person to call you is your own name, Macaque, who is actively trying to kill you and despises the very air you breathe and your very existence.

BIG TW cus its pretty heavy topic.

Me and another asker discussed this a while ago about how Wukong's canonical actions and behavior throughout the series are eerily similar to someone suffering from depression.

But I don't think he's actively trying to kill himself - at least he doesn't think he is. For Wukong; hosting the Samadhi Fire will either go off without a hitch - or he can leave the mortal plane in a huge final Big Bang.

It all goes back to his self-sacrificial nature, and becoming self-destructive after losing his Pilgrim brothers/support system.

The fact that he's been reduced to a "character" in the eyes of the public honestly makes him feel kinda sick. He can't think of who in his life would actually call him by his name - other than his enemies.

Also you are incorrect about Macaque being the only one to call Wukong by his name; Nezha and DBK pointedly call him by his name, albeit during moment when he's not in their good graces. Perhaps in Wukong's mind, the only people who really "care" about him anymore are the people who hate him/want to fight him.

Its sorta why a lot of my aus have Wukong re-establish a support system with assistance from the universe.

Wukong needs a therapy episode.

[critrolestats]

Media References and Puns of 3-076 A Gathering of Heroes

Thanks to @floweroflaurelin for this art piece!

Media References

(0:00:06) Liam: sings “Concerning Hobbits”

(0:04:08) Matt: I’m pretty sure Stauf’s mansion is a little more involved.

(0:05:45) Laura: Dom’s voice is very low… (Dominic Monaghan)

(0:05:56) Ashley: Hey, give me some Old Toby!

(0:08:55) Liam: Bread makes you fat? (Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World)

(0:09:14) Matt: I’m dressed as Hagrid.  You’re a wizard, Frodo!

(0:09:59) Travis: Scottie.  Sam: Pippin. (Scottie Pippin)

(0:10:03) Liam: I’m Mickey Dolenz from The Monkees.

(0:10:11) Sam: Gangnam Style? (PSY)

(0:10:22) Sam: Pippin-- (sighs)  Travis: Longstocking. (Pippi Longstocking)

(0:10:43) Liam: And you’re Ice Road Truckers, right?

(0:17:48) Liam: (like Gollum) It burns, it burns!

(0:18:42) Liam: (like Gimli) My axe!

(0:21:20) Travis: Only I can hide from my destiny. (Lord of the Rings)

(0:21:36) Sam: He’s a Plane Strider.

(0:21:37) Travis: singing Sail away, sail away. (“Orinoco Flow” by Enya)

Read more at critrolestats.com

[putah-creek]

The pilgrim moves with a gentle grace. His eyelids are the door to the other side, the astral plane. His flesh is the iron that the angels beat into a fine steel for swords, swords that fight the darkness, swords that shine like a kind thought. And behind those eyelids, his eyes are starlight, moonlight, sunlight, dreams, compassion, and mercy. The pilgrim moves with a gentle grace through this world and the next, through the days and nights of time. He moves, and he does not stop moving. He does not return. -james lee jobe

[usafphantom2]

AC-130J Ghostrider Gunship Has Operated From A Highway For The First Time

Operating from highways could make AC-130J gunships more survivable and flexible, but questions remain about their role in high-end fights.

Joseph Trevithick Posted on Aug 5, 2024 1:51 PM EDT

The US Air Force says an AC-130J Ghostrider gunship has operated from a highway for the first time as part of the service's larger push to reduce its dependence on traditional runways. This is also comes amid questions about the future of the gunships in future high-end fights.

USAF capture

An AC-130J Ghostrider gunship has operated from a highway for the first time during a recent exercise, according to the U.S. Air Force. This reflects a push across the U.S. military to be less dependent on traditional runways and established bases that would be high-priority targets for enemy forces during a future major conflict, such as one in the Pacific against China. This also comes as hard questions are being asked about what roles and missions there might be for the AC-130J in a high-end fight after the type has spent the past two decades supporting counter-terrorism and other lower-intensity operations.

The AC-130J in question landed on and then subsequently took off from a stretch of U.S. Highway 63 in Bono, Arkansas, on August 4 as part of the larger Emerald Warrior Field Training Exercise II (FTX II). An MC-130J Commando II special operations tanker-transport, a C-146A Wolfhound special operations light transport aircraft, and a standard C-130H cargo plane also participated in the road operations training. With the exception of the C-130H, all of these aircraft were from units assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The C-130H was from the Arkansas Air National Guard’s 189th Airlift Wing.

“The MC-130J crew then set up a Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP), as the AC-130J assigned to the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida, made its approach, landed, refueled, rearmed, and took off again,” according to an Air Force release. “The primary objective of this exercise was to validate AFSOC’s capability to operate in austere environments with minimal infrastructure.”

A picture showing personnel setting up the Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) using the MC-130J as the hub during the road operations portion of Emerald Warrior FTX II. USAF Senior Airman Ty Pilgrim

“The exercise provided an opportunity for participating units to refine their skills and advance ongoing pathfinding and experimentation efforts within AFSOC,” the release added.

A picture for the road operations portion of Emerald Warrior FTX II showed what appears to be a Common Launch Tube (CLT) being unloaded from a transit canister. What other munitions Air Force personnel may have practiced loading aboard the AC-130J in this austere environment is unclear.

What looks to be a Common Launch Tube (CLT) being unloaded during the road operations portions of Emerald Warrior FTX II. USAF Senior Airman Ty Pilgrim

The AC-130J’s current armament package consists of a 30mm automatic cannon and a 105mm howitzer that fire out the left side of the aircraft, as well as the ability to employ a variety of precision-guided bombs and missiles. This includes precision munitions that are launched via CLTs, such as the GBU-44/B Viper Strike glide bomb and AGM-176 Griffin missile.

“This exercise serves as a significant milestone for AFSOC, demonstrating our ability to operate in diverse and austere environments,” Tech. Sgt. Robert Gallagher, assigned to the AFSOC Air Commando Development Center, who acted as the lead planner for the highway landings, said, according to the Air Force release. “By leveraging ACE concepts, we enhance our operational flexibility and resilience.”

ACE here stands for Agile Combat Employment, which refers to a set of concepts of operations centered on expeditionary and distributed deployments that occur at irregular intervals across a broadening number of operating locations. The core function of ACE is to upend enemy targeting cycles, and by extension reduce the vulnerability of friendly forces, by operating in a less predictable fashion. The video at the top of this story from Emerald Warrior FTX II highlights all of this by showing the AC-130J being able to get in and out relatively quickly. The C-130 family’s impressive reverse thrust capability is on display, as well.

Being able to operate from remote and austere environments, such as highways, is a key element of current ACE planning. As such, the Air Force special operations aircraft, like MC-130Js and C-146As, as well as conventional ones, like A-10 Warthog ground attack aircraft and standard C-130 cargo planes, have been conducting road operations training on an increasingly regular basis. MQ-9 Reaper drones have also participated in similar exercises in the past.

Other services have been involved in this new burst of roadway exercises in the past few years. The U.S. Marine Corps has also been very actively training to use roads and other alternatives to large traditional runways as part of the service’s own array of new expeditionary and distributed concepts of operations.

AFSOC, as well as other elements of the U.S. special operations community, already have a long history of operating from impromptu forward locations, often in sensitive or denied areas, but generally on a more ad-hoc mission-to-mission basis.

“We’ve recently been returning to tactics, techniques, and procedures to find out where all of the 3,000-foot straight highways in the world are” as part of a broader push to become “runway agnostic,” Air Force Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind, then head of AFSOC, said last year. Bauernfeind is now superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy.

The C-130H from the 189th Airlift Wing on during the road operations portion of Emerald Warrior FTX II. Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Samuel Zang

For AC-130Js operating in their traditional special operations support role, being able to operate from roads and other remote locations on a more general basis could help allow them to fly (as well as refuel and rearm) closer to designated operating areas. This could increase their time on station and shorten how long it might take them to get to and from where they need to be, as well as just generally expand their operational flexibility.

At the same time, as the U.S. military shifts its main focus away from counter-terrorism and other low-intensity missions to preparing for high-end operations, especially in a potential future conflict against China, questions have emerged about AC-130J’s future. Even during the past two decades of support operations in largely permissive airspace over places like Iraq and Afghanistan, AC-130 gunships have operated almost exclusively at night in part to reduce vulnerability to potential threats from the ground. The War Zone just explored these broader issues facing the Ghostrider in the context of a rare appearance by one of the gunships at a sinking exercise (SINKEX) during the larger biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, which just wrapped last week.

An AC-130J from the 27th Special Operations Wing at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii during RIMPAC 2024. USAF

The Air Force is in the midst now of a review of the Ghostrider’s current and future capabilities that could lead to the aircraft losing their iconic, but relatively short-ranged 105mm howitzers. A plan to integrate a laser-directed energy weapon, described originally as having immense potential in lower-intensity warfare contexts, has already been scrapped.

There is growing emphasis now on increasing the AC-130J’s stand-off strike capabilities, including through the addition of small cruise missiles to the Ghostrider’s arsenal. The Air Force is looking into the potential of using other C-130 variants, including MC-130Js, as well as the C-17, as launch platforms for larger cruise missiles and other munitions using a palletized system called Rapid Dragon.

In addition, AFSOC is interested in adding a new active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar to the AC-130Js to help extend the reach of their targeting capabilities, as well as provide added situational awareness. The gunships have already been receiving upgrades to their electronic warfare and communications suites.

The AC-130J, its capabilities, and its roles and missions appear set to evolve significantly in the coming years. Operating more regularly from highways and other roads looks now to be on the horizon for the Ghostriders.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

[the-s1lly-corner]

ADMINS FICTIONAL CRUSH TOURNAMENT ROUND 1! KUDAAI V SALTBAKER

Vote based off of who you prefer, character descriptions under the poll for added context

Kudaai: Not much is known about Kudaai outside of him serving a purpose like his siblings; his purpose being that he is to act as a blacksmith for those who cross him- namely gods, though the pilgrim comic shows that mere mortals can interact with him and his siblings, and perhaps even offer services- possibly. if so then he doesnt discriminate based on whether or not youre divine... nice...

Saltbaker: Initially he shows himself as jolly and willing to help the Cuphead and the others in making the wondertart, however as soon as all the ingredients are gathered he immediately flips a switch and reveals his true plan to conquer the astral plane with the power of the tart- even if it means sacrificing someones life and soul for it. After his defeat and going through jail as well as community service he becomes humbled and truly does become kinder

[thebreadmundfitzgerald]

The Phyrexian hyperfixation has been back in full force so I've been thinking about these lil dudes a lot, and I'm almost wondering if the recent story's focus on the preators, while great for worldbuilding and character-based storytelling, ultimately undermined them as a threatening villain.

The preators started off as figureheads, culminations and representations of each color's ideology, and I think this is where they are strongest: as products of Phyrexian ideology instead of sources. As narrative focus shifted to the preators as central antagonists, it created the idea that things are only "bad" because of their guidance. Without Vorinclex, Phyrexians wouldn't be as slaughter hungry, without Norn, they wouldn't be blindly righteous zealots, etc. And this was only reinforced by the cop-out ending of "Well Norn's dead so I guess every other off-plane Phyrexian just forgot how to exist I guess."

Ultimately, I think what made the recent Invasion so disappointing (aside from how rushed it's execution was) was that the Phyrexians are not particularly frightening as a force of will. The Phyrexian threat is instead at its most alarming when it is a force of nature.

As long as one drop of oil exists, the joyous work continues.

What made New Phyrexia so captivating as an antagonist was it's renewed focus on compleation, on the oil, the idea of a silent menace that infects and corrupts and creates. It's sort of threatening in the same fashion as radiation: it doesn't necessarily want to kill you, as it has no real will, but it will anyways because it is a force that naturally does so. It has no schemes to undermine, no ideology to fight. It simply exists, inexorably, and that is enough to be a threat. Some go to it willingly, most do not, but all who come from it are ultimately bound to and united by it and its eventual spread, be they mindless creatures, leaders of armies and civilizations, or any of the countless creeds in between.

The glistening oil made New Phyrexia, not the other way around. So why did the loss of New Phyrexia ultimately defeat the seas of oil spread accross other planes?

I get that the story needed to move on. I get why the writers wouldn't want every plane to just have pockets of New Phyrexian invaders hanging out and causing problems. I think it makes sense for New Phyrexia, as a society, to be lost due to the hubris of its larger will. But I also think that, if we want the Invasion to feel like it actually mattered, we need to keep the oil.

Make the existence of glistening oil a minor but ever-present force across the multiverse, integral to the structure of planar worldbuilding with the same treatment as things like mana, leylines, etc. Never really a focus unless the story wants it to be, but something that simply exists among abandoned wilds and war-torn ruins. It no longer has a people to force its spread, but by the crossing paths of wayward pilgrims who seek it's grace, misguided explorers who stray into unfamiliar grounds, and wary animals who are occasionally betrayed by curiosity, Phyrexia survives. Fading into myth, stories told around campfires that some remember all too well, kept alive by occasional sightings of beings and beasts that don't quite look like they are entirely of the native world.

For as long as one drop of oil exists, the joyous work continues.