#they're cute!

[deepfrieddeltarunememes]

[eunlessyoutrai]

I wish we could see that picture of themmm!

[lifeisatrialarchive]

My answer to @hisjimct's question which was way too long for a comment: What's some good interviews or moments together you've found that you think illustrates this dynamic best??? (Disclaimer that I haven't really applied myself into a deep dive research, I'm doing cursory googling.) Strangely, quick searches don't easily turn up any filmed interviews of the two of them together, but I think there are two interviews which illustrates the tenderness Weller feels towards Noel, particularly given what Weller knows about Noel's upbringing and the contrast with Weller's extremely indulgent and doting father. And how he admires Noel as a person for coming through that and appreciates how that aspect of Noel's personality gets expressed through his music. We have to thank @ostensiblynone for both of these (I've included the links to the original posts as underlined). 1) That time Paul Weller put NGHFB's 'A Dream Is All I Need To Get By' on a list of his favourite B-sides.

This to me is THE most important key for unlocking the Weller and Noel dynamic. Because the chorus of 'A Dream Is All I Need To Get By' is the Noel Gallagher Character Thesis Statement of all time: Some of us need it sometimes / A dream is all I need to get by.

Because that's it, that's the worldview that got Noel out of Burnage and refused to let him get beaten down by an upbringing that would have destroyed the will in a lot of people (c.f. for one his brother P*ul as a teen, but we won't talk about that bastard).

I think it says a lot that Weller zeroed in on this particular B-side and says that he appreciates the 'real joy' in Noel's solo output and prefers it (he may be biased based on his own career trajectory, but I also think he genuinely feels this way).

2) The joint interview with Noel where Weller said 'Love always makes a difference whatever your age' + Weller keeping a childhood photo of Noel in his studio

'I don't think that childhood always decrees how a person is going to turn out,' agrees Weller. 'Love always makes a difference whatever your age, but if you look at our backgrounds and look at us, I'd say that, if anything, Noel was more confident than me, and no less the loving person for it, if you don't mind me saying so, Noel?' 'I don't mind you saying so, Paul. I agree, I agree!' splutters Noel.

Taking these two things together, I think when Weller keeps that childhood photo in his studio, it really is a sign of affection, tenderness and admiration (very 'do it for him' meme tbh) for how Noel's come through so much hardship and is still at heart a joyful person (despite grumpy appearances) with a zest for lif, who makes beautiful music. It's also telling that (leaving aside the reunion, but I'm inclined to think Weller's not as pissy about it as we might assume), Noel said he's never fallen out with Weller. Which is a big deal. Because Weller is a menace when he's drunk (violent, temperamental, quick to take offence; if we think Liam is bad on the drink, Weller is much worse) and has fallen out with practically everyone at one point or the other when he was in his alcoholic years.

I wish I could find the post I think I saw on @oacest where they answered an ask about why Weller is so unusually tender towards Noel and they replied with that quote about love. 3) I recall reading this, but I CANNOT for the life of me find it (and would be grateful if someone links it). It was a quote about Weller telling Noel that when he goes solo and if the day comes where he can't write or he's at his lowest point, Weller would be there for him because he knows what that's like (and he does). And I think you would need to be a songwriter and working class yourself like Weller to be in a position to fully empathise with Noel. Also, Weller is ridiculously hardworking as an artist, even with the alcoholism, and so is Noel.

So yeah, I don't see any evidence they fucked (shame for Noel, given that Weller is working with ... all that), but I think Weller loves and understands Noel as an artist and a human being in the way that Noel deserves and which many people rarely do because they get distracted by Noel's gobby persona. And this bond started very early in Noel's career in around 1993 when they met because there was an implicit shared understanding between them as artists. And whatever it is, I think from the body language and attitude, Noel does find Weller a kind of safe presence (ironic) when he's sober (wanting to be taken to Weller's house right after the Cricket Bat Incident; his body language when they're hugging; the way that Weller has zero reservations cuddling him close ON CAMERA for a photoshoot). Photographic evidence from @ostensiblynone's Weller tag posts (which I cannot recommend you scroll highly enough) under the cut:

(Sidenote: Helps also that they are both haters in the same way about what they perceive as bad songwriters / artists. James Blunt must have skin made out of titanium because if Noel Gallagher + Damon Albarn + Paul Weller had all loudly expressed their unreserved contempt for my work, I'd kill myself.)

[glitradora]

Kev shutting down Rob calling him Kevin was also very cute personally he was like

"Oi! Only Mrs. Claudette earned the right to call me by my governmental name Suggers. 🙄 Cook me breakfast first at least ☺️"

[spinkerxd]

i wanted to draw them c:

[arkhnight]

I swear I was only going to make that half-joke/half-serious post yesterday about Jinwoo/Tiel because I know the quickest way to start a fandom war is with those damn ships, and most people don't want to hear me babble about why character A and character Z together would be fun.

ON THE OTHER HAND, @little-shadow-club and @kandiarus-secret-archives literally posted a shitpost where literally every answer that linked Suho and Tiel (which is an adorable ship, btw) was Jinwoo. And the funniest part is that the answers that link Jinwoo/Tiel are Suho, so since @little-shadow-club basically told me to have fun, that's what I'm doing.

WARNING: What follows is a far-fetched AU idea that will probably only interest me and maybe 3 other people at most and has no basis except for Tiel and his obsession with the Sungs - if you ask why and how I thought of this, I have no answer, just that this is how my brain works.

And it all basically starts with "what if Tiel ended up in the original Solo Leveling timeline before Jinwoo reset everything?"

How did he end up there? Suho. Why? The end of the world was happening and Tiel was the only possible choice, since he was someone who technically doesn't exist in Earth's history.

note that I say "the only choice," not "the best choice"—he's probably the worst choice for this, and we're all questioning Suho's decisions, but rip, there's no Suho to question.

And that's the biggest problem of Tiel's existence at this point: that Suho doesn't exist. Being in the wrong time? No problem. The Shadow Monarch isn't the Shadow Monarch yet? We can deal with that. Time limit to save the world? Easy peasy. But Sung Suho not being a concept in existence yet? Unacceptable.

So basically, Tiel goes after Sung Jinwoo because he owes him a child, yeah that's it folks, that's the joke, we can all go home now

...obviously it doesn't end there because my brain then decided to ask "but, Sun, does Tiel know how human reproduction works?" and the hilarious answer is no - the right one is probably yes, but that's a rareship/crack ship and my AU and the idea of ​​an alien who becomes human doesn't know how human reproduction works because he doesn't have to reproduce and ends up in a situation where he needs to deal with human reproduction makes me LAUGH OUT LOUD

Tiel probably does a bunch of crazy calculations in his head and manages to define the time Suho was born, but he needs to get there first, so... SHADOW MONARCH SPEEDRUN

Jinwoo now not only has a system that probably wants his soul, but is also accompanied by a fallen and vengeful angel who wants his firstborn for some reason

pause so we can imagine the following scene: Tiel and Jinwoo meeting and Tiel offering to train and help Jinwoo (because what a disappointment, is this the Shadow Monarch? Suho was much better at that age) (remember that Tiel compares Suho to Jinwoo? here the opposite happens) only Jinwoo at this point in the story knows that nothing comes for free

Tiel: then I'll train and help you, Sung Jinwoo.

Jinwoo: and what do you want in return?

Tiel: your firstborn son.

Jinwoo, who never thought about having children and only wants to survive and get stronger: ????

(If you've seen that post about the human and the fae, and the fae asking for her firstborn and her saying "so when are we going to start?", that's exactly the vibe and basically what happens in the future. I'll pray for you Tiel, RIP my guy.)

If you've made it this far, I applaud you, because genuinely from here on out it's only going backwards because it's simply Tiel catastrophizing the Solo Leveling timeline and dragging Sung Jinwoo along for the ride.

Jinwoo's biggest concern right now isn't the system, it's preventing Tiel from creating deadly situations so he can level up faster and stop brainwashing people – it's Tiel, my friends, he doesn't change overnight, not even for love.

Besides, Jinwoo isn't such a good guy, and they seriously discuss at some point whether killing and turning someone into shadows versus brainwashing someone is better... to utilize that person's abilities to the fullest, obvious.

This is a romance post, so they fall in love at some point and this becomes a problem because Tiel's goal is Suho, not Suho's dad.

He also discovers at some point that human reproduction requires a woman, so now he has to go after a second person – Rip Cha Haein – but he's with Jinwoo at the moment, and the concept of sharing HIS shadow monarch with someone is a big no-no for him – the shadows are bad enough, thank you very much.

You know, a really good name for this whole idea would be "How to Become Your Enemy's Father: A Guide by Apostle Tiel" or "An Angel's Journey to Discover Human Reproduction."

And don't worry, dear reader who's read all this mess, Tiel achieves his goal and gets his well-deserved baby Suho. The end.

(I think)

(Also, clearly, I wrote the post mainly in a joking tone, but obviously there's a lot of room for existential and romantic angst; I just prefer lighthearted things and comedies with their dramatic and serious moments, like The Greatest Estate Developer.)

(And if you REALLY read this far, thanks? I think?)

[accfsally]

I love the chesse in this game so much.

Just some of them.

[hansama]

I tried to sketch Papyrus in both my art style and @skull-otaku xD