Did we all forget that Taika threw a hissy fit (affectionate) over Kate Bush being in Stranger Things and at the time no one understood why?

Are we sure that the "Kate Bush song" that's announced in OFMD isn't Running Up That Hill??

So last night I had a dream that Alecto the Ninth was finally released, and in the first 2 pages Marta Dyas revealed she was a Mormon, and the POV character (probably Harrow) was like

“……Huh! (what the FUCK is a Mormon?!?!)”

Then dream-me put down the book and decided I would read it later, which is a very inaccurate choice by the screenwriters 😔

theories as to where Grace got the cigarette she was smoking after fucking Max's ghost:

she has actually secretly been an active smoker for a long time and always carries a pack with her

she bought a pack of cigarettes when she was on the run from the cops because she was stressed, and figuring that she had already disappointed the Lord by touching herself and lying to the police and dismembering a body, decided that she might as well relieve that stress by taking up smoking

Max died with a pack of cigs and a lighter on him and they stayed with him when he turned ghost and Grace pocketed them from his clothes after they had sex

she just found them in the school or on the ground somewhere after the Lords in Black meeting, and perhaps her mind made the association between sex and cigarettes and that's how she came up with the idea of giving up her chastity to end Max's reign of terror

Grace had immediately thought of giving up her virginity as the sacrifice after the Lords in Black meeting, and the entire time Steph and Pete are running away and tearfully coming to terms with Steph having to kill Pete to stop Max, Grace is running around the school or off to a drug store for cigarettes because she felt having a smoke after was that necessary

Ok hear me out: Gregory did NOT betray Cassie (A theory)

warning: spoilers for the game undercut

So when I was watching Dawko's video I've noticed that at the elevator scene, there were TWO Gregorys talking (obviously the real one and the mimic)

I think I should start off with an "I don't think Cassie is dead" but that's just my opinion, although the theory might still work even if she died I guess.

As for the theory, it may sound a bit weird, but all the evidence I have is the captions

See the two speech line/text (the top is real because he was talking first AND was a continuation of the lines of the Gregory that was helping Cassie)

The second/bottom one, however...

That "Gregory" was the one that betrayed Cassie cuz if you see in the clip here, the one that DOES say 'We can't be followed' is a continuation of the second speech line/text aka what I assume is the mimic

Besides, we know that the mimic could very much control tech and machinery around the pizza plex at least to a degree, so what's really stopping him from dropping Cassie. He doesn't need her anymore.

And in case she survives, she will just put the blame on Gregory. It *is* his voice that she heard after all, which would be beneficial for the mimic to have the only two that know he's free be on opposite sides.

Again, this may be just a caption error and Gregory actually betrayed Cassie. I don't think it is, but that might just be me idk.

Crocodile having such an explosive debut in his early 20s and such deep trust issues could also point to him having an even EARLIER start a la Shanks as an apprentice or something to an older pirate and their crew as a child/teenager — doubling down on the humiliation factor from facing off whitebeard as also a failure to “come of age” and broader sense of betrayal in watching eager encouragement fickly turn to “what did you THINK would happen”s like the kid who gets egged on by their peers into doing something dangerous and then immediately abandoned when they hurt themselves

Can't say if he did have like an early start for sure, since we really don't know anything about Crocodile's early childhood

But simply considdering how Oda typically layers backstories, I absolutely agree, I do think it's more than likely he has somekind of pre-Whitebeard trauma, be it either unrelated childhood trauma or early-pirating-life trauma (or something else)

Like the way Oda structures backstories, although we always remember like The Big Life-Changing Tragedy that happens at the end of the flashback, more often than not the flashback already begins with something horrible to indicate the character's already had a rough life

Robin was already alone, abused and rejected by most of Ohara even before the Buster Call Incident (followed by a life of running in fear for decades)

Franky had already been abandoned by his family before he lost Tom and got ran over by a train

Law had already lost his entire family before Doffy killed Rosi

Etc etc. Like not all the flashbacks are entirely like this, especially the East Blue-saga ones, but the backstories have been growing in complexity and structure, adding layers to the tragedies (like 🧅 onions 🧅) as the story has gone on

And with Kuma, his backstory doesn't end at two layers of tragedy. Like there's the early childhood tragedy of slavery, then there's the tragedy of losing his loved one in the most cruel, inhumane way possible, and we know there's at least one more gut-punch of a tragedy coming in the next two chapters to finish it all off

So with Crocodile especially I feel like... Like yes, possibly getting betrayed once in his life and having his dreams crushed by Whitebeard could break the man's psyche. But considdering just how seemingly broken his psyche might be, I do absolutely believe there's more layers here. Like his trust must've been broken more than once for him to end up the way he has.

Which alone gives Crocodad a bit more plausibility in my mind, because being rejected by the person you loved and trusted the most would most certainly break your heart (even if it was understandable why). And that really would make for a fine Final Nail on the Coffin for Crocodile's ability to have faith in others

But to really get that broken trust to be an on-going theme in his life that just happens again and again.... yeah it needs to start earlier

Personally, I think some kind of early childhood trauma would make the most sense, at least to me, not just because it could help Crocodile get started "on the wrong foot", but also because Rough Childhoods is just. A General Theme in One Piece lmao. Of course, it wouldn't be The Key Life-Changing Tragedy (I think Dragon would be that), just a "bad start"

i find ppl with "men dni" on their blogs kinda... confusing. cuz like... its not enforcable?

like, what, ur gonna go thru every single blog that interacts with u and block all the men? how will u kno who the men are, even, its not like everyone puts their whole ass gender on their blog. and also, what about multigender or genderfluid peeps who are men and also women?

its just like, i dont rly see the point ig. it feels like something ppl put on their posts without really thinking about the actual ramifications

Aziraphale is doomed because of Good Omens naming conventions (prepare for pain)

Aziraphale’s (AKA Mr. Fell’s) name drives me insane because

Good Omens is so precise in its use of words (almost like it was a book first!) I didn’t know anathema was a word (yes, US education is dire, I know) which means “vehemently disliking” or, in the religious sense, excommunication

Anathema Device in Good Omens 1 is a witch (antithesis to the church,) yet is loved by Newton Pulsifier, who, based on their family histories, should hate and seek to destroy her

Her name being Anathema is a subversion of expectations; anathema should mean repulsive, tearing apart, unholy, and according to God’s plan, she is— but she really isn’t! She brings everyone together! Love wins!

Also…… Device. She’s a literal plot device

(Also Newton being a revered scientific figure VS Newt being woefully inept at computers— the ironing)

Aziraphale isn’t a real Biblical name, but one that sounds similar to actual scripture. His chosen human name is Mr. Fell because it sounds similar and is a real last name

Or

Aziraphale, despite everything over centuries, still takes Heaven’s side because he truly believes he can work within The Plan ™️ to save humanity and Crowley

He’s completely incapable of grasping why Crowley wouldn’t want to go back to being an angel (because, who wouldn’t?)

He loves Crowley because he sees the good in him, but also still sees Goodness and Heaven as inextricably intwined

What’s tearing him and Crowley apart isn’t their mutual desire (to be together forever,) but that Crowley wants them to be on “Their own side,” while Aziraphale wants Crowley to be on the side of Good and therefore Heaven

Aziraphale remembers Crowley’s joy as an angel and wants to take away the pain of his Fall. His biggest fears and motivations as a character are losing Crowley and Falling himself

He’s now in the highest position of power possible and it’s strongly indicated that he’s going to have to reckon with the Second Coming. He may have been able to get away with a bit of deviance before, but this was for centuries when he and Crowley flew under the radar. He keeps defying divine will and getting away with far more (that we know of) than Crowley ever did to Fall

So, considering Good Omens’ use of metaphor in names and how high in Heaven Aziraphale is now—

Is Mr. Fell going to Fall?

you know the assassination and immediate aftermath was definitely suspicious but it is entirely possible that the extent of Kirsi's injuries caused parts of her face to necrose and fall off or have to be removed during her recovery. the whole face area is kind of delicate like that

LISTEN all I’m saying is the amount of press jamie and Joseph are doing together, despite never having a scene together as far as I can recall, is ✨SUSPICIOUS ✨

I've been on a Elena/Maeve mood today and while on the bus I started thinking about many things but I wanted to ask you about one in particular, especially because I don't know how these things works in USA.

So, I assume Maeve had money. I don't know how much but if they're meant to be like very popular celebrities I assume she had a considerable amount. What do you think happened to that, if she's "dead"?

Could she have a will? Do you think she left everything to her father? Or maybe even to Elena since she, presumably, didn't have anyone else and still loved her? Or she found a way to get it somehow before going into hiding?

I don't know, just a random thought but I was really curious to hear your take...

oh boy. i HAVE thought about this a bunch, though not for a long time, so let me think back and also do some more quick googling to get together a way too detailed pitch that basically boils down to "celebrities are rich" (i am procrastinating at work lol).

disclaimer that i am not very smart about money shit and just going from casual knowledge and guesses

so, yeah, Maeve certainly has a lot of money. but to try to get a better idea, i'm guessing her net worth in the hundreds of millions range, definitely not billionaire because a billion dollars is a stupid amount and most of the richest entertainers don't even come that close.

I don't think the show gives solid numbers very often but one reference point we have is in the pilot, Madelyn offers the mayor of Baltimore a contract with Nubian Prince for $300 million per year. Even if we assume Vought is taking the majority of that for themselves, that suggests that a Supe like him is getting at least $50-100mil per year as payment. Which makes me think the Seven are probably all getting over $100 mil per year through some combination of salary and other compensation. That's not even getting into how much they might get in terms of merchandising or image rights, etc. And Maeve, I would GUESS is one of the higher paid in the Seven? but then again, maybe not, because of how women are usually paid less in general... but also in episode 1, when Translucent mentions they've all got "four points" (i believe this means 4% stake in merchandising? which tbh would be LARGE for each of them) - then A-Train says "the fuck, you got four points?" (a nice nod to him getting a worse contract as a newer member or bc of racism...) and Maeve adds, "and clearly, better lawyers." which, doing my thing where I take one line of hers and wildly extrapolate from it, says to me she feels good about whatever her contract is so talk about it so glibly, like she knows she has good lawyers & got hers... and she doesn't chime in with what % she gets but seems like its 4 or higher but she's smart enough to keep her mouth shut about it, ANYWAYS none of that matters...

tbh, some of those numbers sound ridiculously high, so idk, but this is a fuckin fictional show about superpowers, so it doesn't matter--

the point is, Maeve probably has a net worth in the nine digits.

I imagine her good lawyers would not allow her to NOT have a proper will laid out for what happens to her money. so there's gotta be some plan in place. I like to believe she explicitly left nothing to her father, just to spite him. idk if he could try legal action to get a piece of it (i dont know much about the law around this stuff) as her next of kin... but I imagine if she had a proper signed will saying he got none, that would stand. I don't know that she would include Elena in her will because that would kinda out her, but maybe if she trusts her lawyer and doesn't care about people knowing after she dies, she would. Or maybe she'd do it secretly, more on that later. given that we don't know anyone else significant in her life, I bet that she specified the majority of her money would go to charity. not out of goodness of her heart, exactly, just that she has nowhere else to give it and that's an easy lazy answer, yknow?

but then idk what happens to the rights to her image, or her profit shares in merchandise/movies after she dies. again, not a lawyer, but when celebs die their rights usually go to their "estate", so maybe her dad would have a say? but also idk if an "estate" is automatically granted to next of kin or if that's something that has to be specified ahead of time in a will (in which case she could deny it to him)... but the most likely outcome in either case seems to be that Vought would own her likeness forever, especially given the comments in the show when A-Train is on the verge of being replaced by Shockwave, that Vought owns his name and will put Shockwave in his costume. (which is a weird thought to me, though, bc A-Train replaced a guy with a different name and costume, why wouldn't they let Shockwave be Shockwave in the Seven? lmfao. maybe that dude was just trying to get A-Train scared.).

All that to say I think the majority of her money would be inaccessible to her after her "death". BUT. I think Maeve being a smart person who clearly wanted out from Vought for a long time probably had an emergency fund set up somehow, whether it was stashing actual physical cash in case she went on the run, or some secret account under a different name she could access in the future (or elena could access). i don't know how people actually do this, but you know who would know? ELENA, who is a banker. and since Maeve and Elena did at some point talk about running away from the Seven together, I bet she told Maeve exactly whatever is the smartest way to hide some of her money so she could take it in an emergency, and Maeve probably implemented that for several years leaving them a sizable amount to live off of post-season-3... even if it's a tiny fraction of Maeve's former wealth.

sorry that was way too many words for vague speculation but as I said I'm procrastinating HAHAHA

the 2099 timeline is wonky as hell (without even talking about retcons), but there's something very interesting to me abt the implication that Miguel torpedoing his relationship with Xina and Gabriel feasibly coincides w George and Conchata's divorce (plus her subsequent institutionalisation).

i finally wrote an xword that i think might be nyt-submittable...i originally wrote it for the local paper though so i now have to go back through and rework the clues to take out the specific local ones and make some of the others harder. i know exactly which day of the week this would run in the nyt (if it gets accepted) because this type of theme always runs on the same day, so at least i know which clue difficulty to aim for, but i'm still finding it difficult to hit that precise level! i'm used to just making the clues as easy as possible because my local paper's audience is mostly people who aren't xword aficionados. i already reworked this puzzle a couple times based on feedback from friends and family but that was all still when i thought i'd be running it in my local paper. i kinda just want to be done with it but i've never had a theme and fill i thought were completely nyt-worthy before!

A Theory on Starscream’s missile mechanics in Prime

So, we know how Starscream fires off a missile, right? The index digits on each hand act as the trigger. Once fully bent, the missiles are launched. I’ve noticed that he makes a fist every time he wishes to fire, which gave me an idea.

Either his middle digit, or all four remaining digits, act as a safety. After all, you don’t wanna miss fire in an enclosed space, nor accidentally blow a comrade’s head off.

Or, all other digits have individual functions. Stablizing/ internally reinforcing the arm (Thumb), targeting (Pinkie), locking onto the target (Ring), releasing the safety (Middle), and firing (Index). I personally think this one’s better, but what do you guys think?

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

Do ya think knuckles would eat fish?

mmmaybe?? maybe he views them in the same way he views insects and as fair game, or maybe he doesn't wanna hurt them bc they're also animals even though he doesn't spend as much time with them and doesn't have that same close bond with them? shrug

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