#I don't remember season 2 at all. wiped from my memory

[arttsuka]

Why did no one tell me beastars season 3 will be dropping on Netflix soon

[ineffable-suffering]

Why Aziraphale is an unreliable narrator

Part 1: The Story of Job

I'm absolutely not the first one to talk about this on here and I probably shan't be the last either. Alas, here's my take on why all of the minisodes in Season 2 should be enjoyed with great care – and taken with a grain of angelic salt.

I'm gonna split this into 3 parts, aka the three minisodes we are shown, since I tend to get a bit waffley in my posts and want to still be able to include all the little details. Once I've written them, I'll link Part 2 & Part 3 here as well!

Alright, let's get into it under the cut of doom.

Episode 2 opens with the Story of Job. Right off the bat, I noticed that it sort of looks like an old film playing. At first I didn't read that much into it, but once we see the cut-away to Aziraphale at the bookshop, currently reading that part of the Bible (presumably), I immediately thought: "Oh! It's because it's his memory. He's remembering how it went down and therefore it plays like a figurative film in his head."

This, I then came to realize, is a very crucial difference to all the flashbacks of S1, which were exclusively told and narrated by God. May her intensions be as ineffable as they are: She did tell us all of these stories from an objective outsider's point of view. Now, however, it's Aziraphale who's re-telling those stories to us from memory.

And if there's one thing that's for certain, it's that a memory is something entirely different to an objective narration of a story. Just think about how you yourself remember things. Especially things that happened years, maybe even decades (or, in an angel's case, millenia) ago. What is it, that you really remember? Can you know for sure, that a conversation was held with those exact words? Are you 100% certain that the clothes someone wore weren't different? Had it really been snowing or would that make very little sense given what you're remembering happened in May? And did it even happen in May? Or does that just happen to be your favourite month, the current weather, your preferred style of clothing and what it was that you would imagine someone would have said to you?

What I'm trying to say is: The further away it is that something happened, the more your brain has to fill in the gaps. This is why, for example, your parents will remember the family summer holiday entirely different when you ask them about it 20 years later.

"No, it was Sarah who puked on the car ride home!" "Nonsense, Sarah never puked as a child. Bobby had that gone-off pizza, he's the one that was sick the whole ride long!"

We've all been there. Bobby made it out alive. Don't buy gas station pizza.

Alright, back to the plot: Naturally, Aziraphale is not actually human, so it is a pure assumption on my part that the way his memory works is similar to ours. However, the whole topic of "memory" is actually quite a recurring one on Good Omens.

Crowley seems to have lost his in the Fall, yet somehow managed to get most of it back. Not all of it, though, he clearly has some major gaps ("You used to jump on me back, little monkey in the waistcoat!"). Beelzebub helps Gabriel store all his memories in their little fly container before they get wiped entirely too, by the Metatron and/or Saraqael. Crowley and Aziraphale (and possibly Jimbriel) perform a miracle together that makes everyone in Heaven and Hell forget who Garbiel is or what he looks like. And we know that the Book of Life apparently has the ability to completely erase someone from existence – ergo also erasing them from everyone's memory and making it is as though the person had never been in them at all.

So, clearly, angels and demons being able to remember, forget, reconstruct and, if you're the Metadork, wipe memories, is very much canon. Apart from that very last one, it does make them quite human-like in a way. We too can forget or (wrongfully and incompletely) reconstruct memories, due to things like trauma, illness or simply a lot of time having passed.

So, just like Crowley remembers going into battle but doesn't remember Furfur being there, or just like Jimbriel has entierly forgotten who he is but still remembers the tune and lyrics to Buddy Holly's song Everyday, and just like archangel Michael was miraculously made to forget Gabriel and yet says "Don't I know you?" when seeing him again – just like that, Aziraphale's memories of the story of Job, the story of wee Morag and the story of the magic show in 1941, might not actually be the whole truth.

So, time to look at where the furniture isn't.

Now, it could very well be that the costume designers of S2 thought: "Fuck it, let's go crazy" – but given that this show has a track record of meticulously making sure to stick to accurate and cohesive character design, doesn't it strike you as odd that Crowley would go from this look at the Flood in Mesopotamia, 3004 BC:

... to the (very iconic, don't get me wrong) Bildad the Shuhuite drip in 2500 BC:

... back to this at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in 33 AD:

I mean ... I mean– come on, that seems like a bit of a far stretch, even for someone as enthusiastically experimental with fashion as Crowley.

And it's not just that: Where did the sunglasses come from, all of a sudden? And why do they look like some sort of obscure, ancient optometrist's device? It's a known historical fact that the Romans were the ones to have invented sunglasses, somewhere around 50-ish AD. Which actually matches perfectly with when Crowley and Aziraphale meet again in Rome 8 years after the crucifixion (51 AD).

So, where do the weird spectacles come from, over 2000 years too early? Maybe from Aziraphale's brain filling in some gaps? Hasn't Crowley always worn those ridiculous sunglasses? Was it Rome? Or Golgotha? Wessex? Oh, blimey, what does it matter!

And it's not just Crowley: Aziraphale's own clothes, as well as the other angels', seem to be very different from the rather plain linen we see him wear before and after the story of Job.

They're laced with golden embroidery along the neckline and sleeves. The remind almost of the clothes angels are depicted wearing in biblical and historical drawings. Ornate and decadent. Not at all like we see Aziraphale in the other flashbacks of S1.

Even Bildad the Shuhite's hair within the minisode keeps changing, going from all pouffy and voluminous to rather deflated and straight-looking:

The costume department either had to fix up two seperate wigs or manually straighten out the volume of the one again to give it a more sleek look. I'm not a professional in this field, but if there's anything I've learned from watching hours of behind-the-scenes material of movies and shows, it's that very little about costume, character, prop and set design is purely coincidental.

You know what it could be, though? An accurate representation of how memories aren't linear, historically correct and objective representations of a certain event, but rather an ever-changing, jumbled mess of impressions, emotions and exaggerations.

More specifically: Aziraphale's impression, emotions and exaggerations.

Like "remembering" Crowley with sunglasses because he's been wearing them for so long.

Like "remembering" himself wearing more luxurious, angelic clothes because that's how he thinks of the difference between Heaven and Hell.

Like "remembering" the permit as a ridiculously long scroll that folded out over an entire valley.

Like "remembering" Job's children to be weirdly sassy in an almost Aziraphale-esque way (Enon: "Don't be silly!") for the fact that Job would have probably taught them to be more humble and obedient in the presence of a literal angel.

Like "remembering" eating an entire fucking Ox after having just one bite of it while Crowley watched him lustfully, sipping on his wine.

Like "remembering" Crowley calling him 'angel', despite them having barely known each other back then.

There's a reason why the flashbacks in S2 seem so much more alive, quirky and, at many points, confusing and all over the place. Because they're not objective stories being told by a third party. They're Aziraphale's. So much of his own thoughts and feelings at the time get projected onto them because that's simply how memory works!

It's subjective. It's unrealiable.

It's not that I'm calling Aziraphale a liar. He's no more a liar than your parents are, mixing up Sarah and Bobby. Or you, remembering snow instead of sunshine. Memories aren't lies. They can simply be faulty, focus on things that you thought were more important and leaving out or changing things that weren't, to you.

The real challenge in all of this, is trying to filter through Aziraphale's stories to see what it actually is they're telling us. Where it is that the furniture isn't. And I think in this case, that's 6 main things (eff you, God, I know you like sevens, but I don't care):

God and Satan (still) talk to each other We see that Aziraphale is quite surprised when Muriel mentions that the whole Job thing is God's bet with Satan. But clearly, despite having made him and the rest fall, God still converses with Her number one traitor about whether or not the humans simply love Her because she gives them nice things or because they truly believe in Her.

God and Satan (and Heaven and Hell) can and do collaborate with each other when they feel like it So much for choosing sides, huh? Truthfully, this is not the first time this is shown to us, but still. It's another piece of evidence on the growing pile.

Aziraphale understands the World and humans way better than any of the other angels "Well, you see ... Citis is 58 ..."

Aziraphale, despite having troubles voicing it, absolutely disagrees and even condemns God's plan of destroying Job's children (and goats and camels and––)

Aziraphale is willing to lie and thwart the will of God Also not the first time we're being shown this but again, piiiile of evidence.

Angels don't automatically Fall simply by doing the above To me, this is one of the most important take aways. It's already hinted in S1 as well that 'Falling' seems to have been a one time even back when the first war broke out in Heaven. And I actually believe that ever since then, no other angels have Fallen again. Aziraphale is the best example for this. He has gone against God's plan numerous times and even lied to her very face (voice?) about it. And yet, nothing ever happened to him. Why exactly that is the case remains a topic for another meta (that I might or might not be working on already, teehee).

Alright, that concludes this first look at the Job minisode! If there's anything I missed, feel free to share it with me. I'll try and add Part 2 (the story of wee Morag) and Part 3 (the magic show of 1941) soon.

Update: Part 2 and Part 3 have officially been written, you can find it them right here:

Part 2: The Story of wee Morag

Part 3: The Story of the Magic Show in 1941

Hugs and kisses, (God)!

[starlightshadowsworld]

I don't think we talk enough about how traumatising the memory erased stuff is.

Like how hard must it have been for everyone to suddenly realise years of their lives were missing.

To just come to the chilling realisation someone up until an hour ago was your friend.

Has caused the apocalypse.

You think your a first year high school student but nope.

Turns out you've already graduated.

Do they even know how old they are?

You don't know what's changed in your life, what hasn't.

Byakuya's whole family company is gone.

Makoto won't know if Komaru is alive for a long time.

... Are they the only ones left?

Food's suddenly an issue.

They have nowhere else to go.

Makoto has to carry on like his friends didn't just try and kill him.

Everyone else is gone.

They won but... Did they?

And that's just the first game, the Remnants are on a whole other level.

They've caused genocide.

Killed family, friends.

And don't know who or if anyone's left.

Hajime basically lost himself and his own identity for who knows how many years and he's just supposed to just... Exist like nothing happened.

It's like waking up from a nightmare and realising it was all true.

And they don't know what their forgetting or even if they want to remember.

All of them are alive but... Is that good?

They all know who killed them, and have to go on like they didn't.

And their alive...

Nagito's back in a body that's still sick.

Does Nekomaru have a body?

Hell, Sonia's country doesn't exist anymore.

And if I'm remembering correctly, Chiaki's still gone...

... Fucking glad Makoto was here at the end to do damage control because holyshit.

He's already gone through all of this and now is helping them get through it.

Which is great but also means he went through it alone.

Komaru has all her memories in tact but has to constantly choose her words.

Lest she sends Makoto or anyone of the other survivors into a crisis.

And than you have what may be the worse case, V3.

Because Shuichi doesn't even know if anythings real anymore.

Is he real?

Is his name Shuichi Saihara?

How many times has he died?

Is this the real world? What even is the real world?

Am I even a detective? Is all of my personality fake? Who am I? What was made for the show and what's real?

Does it even matter?

Do I have a family? How old am I? How long is 53 seasons? Are my friends still my friends, are they the same?

Is any of this real? Am I real?

If V3 ends like Danganronpa 2 did, is Kaede alive?

Do they remember each other? Is Kaito still sick?

Was Tsumugi ever a friend?

And again, knowing exactly who killed who.

..... You know people give Junko a lot of credit for causing despair.

As she deserves.

But her boyfriend deserves just as much because... Holyshit my dude this is sick.

Her boyfriend was, Yasuke Matsuda the Ultimate Neurologist.

Aka the dude responsibile for all the memory wipes.

Shame she killed him because talk about a power couple.

Causing the end of the world and lasting trauma to everyone involved.

Makoto gonna have to go give everuone therapy while also desperately needing therapy.

[wittyvitale]

Untangling the Knots (A Fluffy Castlevania Nocturne Fanfic)

Summary: During the day, Maria was flourishing in Paris, truly in her element. But nightmares plague her in the evenings, and Alucard is the only one who can hear her sobs. When the moment presents itself, Alucard asks Maria if she would like him to comb and style her hair, similar to the way her mother once did.

So Alucard braids Maria’s hair, talking about families and Belmont ancestors in the process. Season 2 spoilers.

*

Author's Note: This came about from a sleep-deprived tweet I made at 5am this week. I don't know what's going to happen in season 3, but I do love the idea of Alucard, Juste, and Maria being a found family (2 grandpas and their granddaughter.) And I've missed writing dialogue for Alucard. Hope you enjoy!

*

During the day, Maria flourished in Paris, truly in her element. She led riveting revolutionary meetings and engaged in robust debates, passionate about the direction in which the revolution was heading. Maria barely had time to think of anything else outside of her itinerary. And honestly, she was happy about that.

Evening was a different story entirely. The same nightmare took hold when Maria slept. Always about her mother. Always about the last time Maria saw Tera.

Goodbye, my darling girl.

That one line ended every one of Maria’s dreams. The voice was loud, mournful, grieving. Maria always woke up in a cold sweat, taking a few seconds to remember where she was. She would eventually realize that they were just dreams, shadows of events that had already happened. But just as quickly, Maria also remembered that her mother was gone. Upon this realization, Maria sobbed quietly into her pillow until sleep claimed her once again, trying to be as quiet as possible so she wouldn't disturb the other inhabitants of the apartment.

Having a vampiric sense of hearing, Alucard could always hear Maria’s sobs. His heart hurt for the young girl, empathizing with her pain in a way that most others could not. But he was still getting to know her and didn’t want to be overbearing. He could also discern that Maria didn’t want anybody to know that she was crying at night. He’d occasionally ask her how she was but didn’t push further, hoping that Maria would come to either him or Juste whenever she wanted to talk.

One night, Alucard walked past Maria’s bedroom. He found the teenager sitting at her vanity, combing her long golden hair. She grunted in frustration as she hit a knot. She placed the brush on the vanity and buried her face in her arms.

“Tangles, hmm?” Alucard asked, entering her room. He twisted his finger around a strand of his own hair. “I’ve been there before.”

“They never used to be this bad,” Maria answered, lifting her head up. “I think it’s because I’m wearing my hair down more than I used to. I tied it up when I lived in Machecoul.”

Just mentioning her hometown made the girl tear up. She sniffed and rubbed a quick arm across her face. Alucard stood behind her, listening patiently.

“Mum used to do my hair all the time,” Maria said thoughtfully. “It was one of our favorite things to do together, her combing my hair while we talked about our days. I’d sit on her bed and she’d comb out my tangles. She was always gentle. I don’t know how she did it, but when she hit a tangle, it never hurt, and she always got it out. Now every tangle I snag hurts.” Despite her best efforts, a few tears slid down Maria’s face. “God, look at me crying about hair. This is so stupid.”

Alucard placed a comforting hand on Maria’s shoulder. “It’s not stupid at all, Maria. This was one of the ways you bonded with your mother. One thing I’ve learned after living for so long is that the seeming mundanities of life are actually the ones that have the biggest impact. Such memories should be treasured.”

Maria appeared to think this over, but couldn’t find the words to respond. She wiped her eyes with the corner of her sleeve. Alucard looked at Maria’s hair in the mirror and smirked, an idea coming to him.

“You’re more than welcome to decline as we haven’t known each other for that long. But would you be open to me trying to get your tangle out?” he asked earnestly. Maria’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You know how to do hair?” she asked. Alucard chuckled and looked at his own locks.

“Oh yes. I have my own to take care of after all.”

Alucard thought he saw the ghost of a smile on Maria’s face. “Oh, I suppose that makes sense. I think I’d like that.”

Alucard grabbed the comb on Maria’s vanity and stood behind her. “Did your mother ever style your hair? Put it in braids, that sort of thing?”

“Sometimes. It’s been a while. But I liked it when she did.”

“Then I think I have another idea.”

*

Alucard combed Maria’s hair until the knot was out. He ran his fingernails through her locks a few times in a repetitive, comforting motion, ensuring that there weren’t any other tangles. The way Alucard combed her hair was very similar to the way Tera combed Maria’s hair; thoughtful, intentional, gentle. Maria closed her eyes, a sense of peace she hadn’t felt in a while surrounding her. Once Alucard was satisfied that all of the tangles were out, he grabbed a brush with soft bristles. He ran the brush through Maria’s hair until it cascaded smoothly down her back.

“I think a French Braid would suit you,” Alucard started, cradling some of Maria's hair in his palm. “It’s very functional for battle, not to mention very pretty. And we are in France after all.” A playful smile graced his lips at the last sentence.

“All right,” Maria answered, her trust in the dhampir’s hairstyling skills growing. “The time my mum gave me a French Braid, it was easier to move around and fight.”

Alucard hummed in response and got to work, running his fingers through Maria’s hair once again and preparing it to be braided.

“My mother braided my hair too,” Alucard started. “But it wasn’t until Trevor and Sypha’s first child was born that I started braiding other people’s hair.”

Maria raised her eyes in thought, the names sounding familiar. “Trevor and Sypha… those are Richter’s ancestors, right?”

“Yes. And the two who prevented the extinction of the Belmont line.”

Maria’s eyes shone with curiosity. “Richter mentioned them a few times when we lived together. But I’d like to hear more. Do you have any stories that didn’t make it into the history books?”

 “Oh plenty.” Alucard chuckled. “Here’s one: Trevor and Sypha’s first child was a girl, Sonia. She was very much her father’s daughter. A strong child who took the Belmont mission very seriously. But she also loved her long brown hair. She never wanted to cut it, even though it always got in her face when she was training. Oh if her parents even made the suggestion to cut it, she’d throw a fit. That was when I got the idea to braid her hair. The first time I did it, she was very happy with the result. She showed everyone in the village and her battle skills greatly improved. I braided her hair several more times throughout the course of her life. I did the same with many of the Belmont descendants.”

“Wait,” Maria started, very amused. “So you’ve basically been the Belmonts’ hairdresser for the last 300 years?”

Alucard laughed in spite of himself. “I suppose you could say that. I’ve been many things to the Belmont clan. Uncle, teacher, companion.”

“Who else’s hair did you braid?” Maria asked, interest in this part of Alucard’s history thoroughly piqued.

“Let’s see… Sonia’s son, Trevor Belmont II. We all called him “Treffy” for short. His grandfather hated when we called the child “Treffy.” That’s part of why we did it, if I’m to be quite honest. Treffy inherited his mother’s love for long hair and never wanted to cut his. There were countless others too. Marie. Eliza. Lily. Matthew. Soleil. The Belmonts have always been passionate warriors, but they also care about their physical appearances. And they were well-aware of the effects their looks had on passerby.”

Maria snickered. “That sounds so much like Richter. He could be absolutely insufferable about his appearance. When he became a teenager, he always bragged about his muscles and his ‘handsome looks’ as he called them. He would show off to all the girls, thinking he was the next Casanova.”

“Typical Belmont,” Alucard snorted. “Though it seems Annette has had quite the effect on Richter’s maturity levels. I didn’t see that same childish bravado from him before he left with her.”

“Annette’s definitely good for him. I’m glad they found each other.” Maria agreed.

“And it looks like we’re done,” Alucard said, tying the last braid. “What do you think?”

Maria turned her head back and forth in the mirror. Her mouth hung open and she beamed. “Oh I love it!” she exclaimed. She stood up and walked around her bedroom. Maria drew a circle in the air and her white tiger Byakko appeared. “It’s much easier to summon creatures now that my hair isn’t falling in my face.” she drew another circle and Byakko jumped back into the Otherworld.

Maria looked at Alucard, tears brimming in her eyes again. But this time, Alucard could tell that those weren’t the same tears he had been hearing at night. To Alucard’s surprise, Maria rushed up to him and hugged him tightly.

“Thank you, Alucard. For everything.” She said gratefully. Alucard smiled and cradled Maria’s head with his hand.

“It was my pleasure, Maria. I’m glad I could make you smile. And I’ve missed braiding hair.” He answered.

A knock was heard at the door and Juste Belmont stood in the threshold.

“Hello, you two,” he said. “Everything all right in here?”

Maria nodded vigorously. “Looked what Alucard did!” she turned her head so Juste could see her braid.

“Well, look at you,” Juste said, admiring Alucard’s handiwork. “Is that the new style the girls are wearing in Paris these days?”

“Alucard is a master of braiding,” Maria replied, unable to keep the smile off of her face. Her eyes widened again and she looked at Alucard excitedly. “Alucard! Have you ever braided Juste’s hair?”

“Has he ever done what now?” Juste asked, eyebrows raised.

A devilish grin spread across Alucard’s face, his mind moving in the same direction as Maria’s. “I haven’t. I’ve been traveling more over the last hundred years, and I saw Juste sporadically. Perhaps that’s a Belmont tradition we can restart.”

Juste looked back and forth from Alucard to Maria, growing more concerned by the second. “And what tradition is that?”

Maria pulled out the chair in front of the vanity and beckoned Juste to come over. “We can tell you all about it.”

“Err…”

“Come now, Juste. I braided Maria’s hair and look how satisfied she is. I’m sure I can do the same for you.” Alucard encouraged.

Juste couldn’t deny that this was the happiest he’d seen Maria since they had all arrived in Paris. He’d been worried about her, just as Alucard had been, and Juste wanted to keep that smile on Maria’s face for as long as possible. He sighed and stepped towards the vanity.

By the end of the night, Maria and Juste had matching French Braids.

*

End Notes: Writing this fic made me so happy. I finally got to incorporate some of my Belmont headcanons that I wasn't able to fit in my other fics!

[madametamma]

I've heard fans keep bringing up that My adventures with Superman should be 20 episodes per season instead of 10, and I think that's highlighted most in Season 2 ep 9, because this was a great episode but it could have easily been a spectacular 2 parter.

They did tackle a lot of what I was hoping they would do for the concept but it didn't have a lot of time to breath or get into it too deeply. Here's what I would have done.

First part: The story goes exactly the same until Amnesiac Lois and Kal EL meet and shake hands. They both get flashes of their real lives but it doesn't ALL come back to them all at once. It is enough for them to want to try and figure out what's going on together though.

They come up with the idea that maybe they can put Lois in Kryptonian clothes and glasses and walk around the city with most citizens thinking she's a normal Kryptonian. They get to know each other more, Kal El shows off more of what his life is like and how he feels about it and himself. Lois is supportive and they're falling in love all over again as strangers. Lois asks if it bothers him that she's not Kryptonian and he returns "Does it bother you that I am?"

"We get some "Hiding the creature from mom and dad" cliche and see more of what Kal El is like with his parents and finally, enough of their memories come back that they're almost free but Clark hesitates stating that "The real Lois wouldn't come for him." Fake parents find them and attack and we have a moment of believing that the fake parents have actually succeeded in erasing Lois until she wakes up again where she started.

Part 2: We start again from the beginning of Lois's time in the simulation and her memories are gone again. Except this time they come back to her much quicker. She's erased again and again and has her memories wiped again and again, except with each time the memory wipe is less effective and she's able to retain more.

She's still doing the live, die, repeat thing, and each time she's playing with a fuller and fuller deck.

______

Lois on the 3rd time around: "We have to wake up and go home!"

Kal El: Where's that?"

Lois: "Uh.."

-Erased

_____

Lois on the 4th time: "LISTEN TO ME! YOU'RE LOIS LANE! WAIT! NO! I'M LOIS- ONE OF US IS LOIS!"

-Erased

______

Lois on the 5th time: "You've got to come back to Ma, and Pa and, who else? What's their name, Joey? Is Joey one of them? I don't think it's Joey."

-Erased

-------

Lois on the 6th time:

Kal El: "If what you're saying is true, why would you do all this for me?"

Lois: "Uh..."

-Erased

---------

Then we finally get into the cool anime finale where they remember everything together, and beat the bad guys with the power of love.

[indigovigilance]

Saraqael isn't real

I wrote a piece on the source of energy for the 25 Lazari Plume. In it, I set aside the "holistic power of the duo" hypothesis, that @dee-morris actually provides a very compelling argument for, on the basis of something Saraqael said. Which means that, in order to accept @dee-morris's hypothesis, I have to explain why Saraqael is an unreliable source, and why no one around her seems to realize that except one demon in particular.

Let's get started.

The Hypothesis

When Aziraphale and Crowley did their body swap at the end of Season 1, it generated a lot of energy, because it is the same miracle that they perform to hide Gabriel.

Word of God has also stated that this took "Big Miracle Energy"

Why I Set it Aside

I ignored this because Neil is a lying liar and I treat him as such.

I also relied heavily on the disbelief from Saraqael that Aziraphale would be capable of casting such a miracle.

Why I Should Not Have Set it Aside

The Metatron makes a statement at the end of S2E6 about the de facto partnership between Crowley and Aziraphale. This implies that he knows about the body-swap that occurs in S1E6, since we know that Michael started surveilling them long before that. Also, a "big energy" miracle should have set off alarms in Heaven. Just because we didn't witness it doesn't mean it didn't happen, and that it didn't put all of Heaven on alert that they had collaborated in this way.

What that says about Saraqael

But Saraqael may not be a reliable source of information because she didn't exist at the time that this happened.

Who Crowley "Doesn't Remember"

(and we should not misconstrue this as "has forgotten, which we were doing)

Saraqael and Furfur are both characters introduced in Season 2 that have memories of significant events with Crowley, but Crowley doesn't remember them. There are two explanations for this.

Crowley's memory was wiped and he hasn't retrieved these particular memories.

These beings were created post-facto with false memories that Crowley doesn't have because they never actually happened.

Why doesn't anyone else notice a problem?

Everyone else acts like Furfur and Saraqael belong because they may have gained new (false/implanted) memories when these beings were created. But Crowley has more control over his memories than other beings do. He claws back memories that were lost. Who's to say that this doesn't also make him immune from receiving implanted, false memories?

Crowley's understanding of this situation

Crowley doesn't know that some beings are new constructs; he thinks he's forgotten them because of his memory loss. I infer this because he owns that he doesn't remember them; if he knew that they were constructs and that he's supposed to have implanted memories, he would probably pretend to have those memories. This might be a stretch but it's my thought on the matter.

Who Else is a Construct?

fucking Maggie that's who Please read "What's Up with Maggie?" by @iammyownproblematicfave through the lens of her being completely fake with implanted memories that are also implanted into others, like Nina. Memories that don't correspond with reality, like having been at the shop for [forty?] years and not noticing that Mr. Fell hasn't aged a day.

[riise-my-anngel]

Spoilers for Nightbringer, but I have some thoughts to organize that will all likely be incorrect theories but I'm gonna say them anyways.

I think most of us predict Nightbringer is Barbatos, it aligns with his powers and the mystery of his backstory. But I think it's past Barbatos we see now doing it. He gives subtle hints that he wants you to go against Diavolo and release Beel, he doesn't at all react to anything regarding your appearance or revelations of being human almost like he knows already, his strange distrust of Solomon to the point where he is actively trying to keep him out of the picture. I think past Barbatos brought you back here and he considers Solomon's presence a hindrance since he knows he's trying to get you back to the present, and is trying to keep him away so Barbatos can continue to influence the situation to his advantage. I have yet to theorize the details of why, but a lot of magic is in place keeping you as alone as possible and I wonder if he is actively also trying to protect you from being found by Barbatos in your timeline. I don't think his intentions are malicious, but he clearly is a much more heartless version of himself for so easily ripping you away from the people you love and trapping you in a world where none of them trust you.

I am super suspicious of Simeon. We know from season 1 that he and Lucifer were on tense terms and had no spoken for a very long time before the exchange program. It took him time to get used to the Devildom, and he was uncomfortable for a while. Simeon here is not. He is rather at home, and speaks to everyone including you, who should be a complete stranger, like a friend. Simeon canonically is very deceptive and is so good at hiding his true thoughts and intentions that both Lucifer and Diavolo have commented it makes them uncomfortable. So we know, Simeon is very talented at hiding in plain sight. I can't say for sure if this is our present Simeon, but he seems to be a future Simeon doing a good job at pretending to be himself in the past. The way he speaks to Satan about the future is more confident then comforting words he has gave in the past, and he speaks of you like he knows what you're capable of. And I wonder if Solomon is in on it, considering their discussion that has yet to be revealed. I think this might be our present Simeon, who is masquerading as himself in the past and taking advantage of the fact that no one could tell he had lost his angelic abilities during seasons 3 and 4.

This is just my personal idea that stems from my approach to time travel. I personally retcon a few things mostly in season 1, because I get confused by multi verses and multiple timelines. So I ascribe to season 1 was all one timeline and the version of you that died was just you now and you came back. Just to preface. I'm wondering for Nightbringer on it's own merits however, if this is a closed loop timeline. You do not remember your journey in the Celestial Realm and neither do the brothers remember you, but they know you. Now we don't know who spoke to you, I think it was Michael you spoke to in that scene (I do not think it was Michael you spoke to however at the end of season 2), but I think he wiped your face and name from memory but not your actions. And I think the same is going to happen here. You are involved in many events that play out in future seasons that no one associated with you (i.e putting Goldie in the freezer). I think it's a closed loop because you and the brothers seem to be fated together. From their time as angels to the present, you accidentally have been a presence in their lives due to forces not your own and that impact has left the brothers chasing your ghost until Lucifer/Diavolo picked you for the exchange program. Now that also means, i think Barbatos might have played a hand in selecting you. He might actually be aware of his actions as Nightbringer and silently guides Diavolo to investigate your existence. I think your prescene in the Celestial Realm kickstarted a destiny that forever tied you to the brothers and the powers that be have spent thousnads of years searching for that person who showed up out of the blue. Which is why everything happens when you get chosen, because finally, the powers have discovered the person who came to the Celestial Realm before their time jump.

Now for Smaller Details

I don't think Adam was Liliths lover because he has been there for a very long time and this is only one year after the Great Celestial War, so the timeline doesn't add up. I think it was just a bit of an Easter egg in regards to the name. I don't think her lover is important personally, just their representation as the metaphorical snake that tempted a bite from the proverbial apple.

I like how clearly the weight of Lucifer's actions rests so heavily on his shoulders. We don't talk a lot about how Lucifer is the only one who could have inspired the actions of a war. We know the weight of Beels guilt and the suicidal ideation of survivors guilt in Belphie, but we forget that on top of all that, Lucifer knows all of this pain was his choice. He broke Lilith free, he started a war, he chose to have her revived in human form with no memory of her time as an angel and he chose to keep all that from the brothers because he still sees her death as his burden to bear. It's interesting to see how close to his abrupt, sort of cold and joyless angelic form still is. That tells us Lucifer was clearly NOT happy as an angel. He repeatedly mentions he doesn't look back at himself fondly during his time as an angel. I think his rebellion was brewing for much longer then Lilith. I think this war was inevitable, but he decided to make it worthy of a cause, his sisters life. And I think he is finding it hard to let go of that, and it's nice to compare it to later seasons and see how he is much more at peace as a demon. He still feels his weight of angelic actions, and I hope the 2nd half of Nightbringer shows us the beginnings of that change.

Mammon kills me. Underneath all the jackass behavior (affectionate), he is the most emotionally stable of them all. He speaks about his actions in Nightbringer towards the war in the same way he speaks about it in season 3. He knows what he did and what he chose and decided that if he can't change it he should just accept it. There's still fresh pain he has not let go of yet in NB, but I think Mammon recognizes he was not a good example of an angel, simply due to how easily his existing personality fits in within the realm of demons. I think it's just nice to have confirmation that under it all, Mammon is really the emotional stability that the other 6 brothers ended up following. (Of course they get meaner as they grow into their demonic forms but Mammon is still aware that he is the constant in their lives and they really would be much more lost without him). You can really see why Lucifer goes to Mammon as his second in command.

I think Solomon really is trying to help you get home, but he also knows that once you do, he loses his chance to have you. I find it odd that he chose to involve himself in the conflict with Asmo when it was the perfect chance for you to guide him like you did Levi. I think he knows going back to the present means bringing you back to a world where you don't have to rely on him anymore and I think he hates that idea. He mentions there's a violent fate awaiting him in the present should he not bring you back, meaning he very likely was aggressivly confronted by Lucifer and the brothers to bring you home safe or they'll take that loss out on him. And I think Solomon is conflicted about wanting to pursue you as his heart begs, versus doing what is right and bring you back to the people who already have your heart signed and sealed.

The demon king sounds like a bad father, and I would like present Diavolo to know he's doing a great job and I want him to enjoy himself because he deserves to have fun.

Season 3 revealed that Solomon knows his cooking is horrible because a hard mode story shows us Asmo got super drunk one night and ranted to Solomon about how shit his food is, and so the fact that his cooking is still bad enough to incapacitate a giant snake is hilarious. That either he knows it's bad and just doesn't try and fix it, or he really is trying to fix it and is still failing at it. And I don't know which is funnier.

I'm wondering when the brothers will eventually feel comfortable enough to shift out of their full demon forms, and since Diavolo and Barbatos are like it too, I wonder if staying in full demonic form is like a sign of instability. The devildom is not in any kind of peace, and they want to be prepared at all times and not let their guard down. So I wonder when they start feeling comfortable enough to just live in their own skin without being in full power form at all times.

Asmo has serious dysmorphia about his demonic form however and I also wonder if it's a mentality. The brothers typically shifted when they lost control and I also wonder if being in full demon form is a sign for them at least, that they are not fully in control with their new forms and so have not settled. Like how their Celestial Realm selves all had halos and wings out, but Simeon, Luke, and Raphael do not when we meet them all. That maybe being in their more relaxed form is something they have never been allowed to do and don't feel okay with.

One last thought. So all angels consider one another brothers and sisters, but once being in the Devildom the demon king had to tell them that they are brothers. So I wonder how much of deciding they weren't brothers was stemmed from trauma. Saying they are demons now so why should they still be brothers, when in reality of course they are but falling from the Celestial Realm has completely warped their senses of self. Meanwhile Satan barley has a grasp that he is his own individual so of course he rejects them being his brothers because how can people be his brothers when he barley knows what he is, yet.

Also Satan immediately connecting cats to you like my lord, don't do this. Satan has a deep love for cats that we now know directly ties to his interactions with you. He doesn't remember you specifically (memory manipulation again i theorize), but there's only two things present Satan shows such soft love for and that's you and cats. Because even though he doesn't realize it, his feelings for them lead right back to that day where if you weren't there, he might not have given that cat a passing thought.

Uh that's it. I just finished lesson 10 and had many thoughts. Sorry.

[shadowknightapologist]

can you elaborate on the zenix playing soccer with genes head thing. it’s actually so funny to me. does he just kick it around. does he make a goal out of sticks and kick it into the goal

wait that’d be so funny imagine a soldier (ranked lower than you) gets mad at you (a general straight from hell) and then rips your head off and starts kicking it around on the floor and launches it it into a really messy makeshift goal and then yells “goalllll” at the top of his lungs. what then

biting at the bars of my enclosure i love zenix and genes dynamic i wish there was more content about them interacting

do yuo have any hcs about them or any ideas on what you would rewrite about them

ask and you shall receive /gen 😎

they're kind of in a messy order bc i'm spewing ideas and it's a little late and i'm feeling BLEGH!! (physically) (premenstrual symptoms are god's cruelest weapon)

WARNINGS FOR: shenanigans, a little angst, body horror, burning (briefly mentioned), broken bones (briefly mentioned), gore, torture (briefly mentioned), cannibalism (briefly mentioned), decapitation.

general fings...

gene, as well as sasha and vylad, were zenix's mission escorts to kill malik. shad assigned higher ranking knights bc 1) zenix seemed volatile straight out the gate and 2) bc shad couldn't help but be reminded of his daughter due to zenix's young age so he didn't want him to get freaking boxed on his first outing.

zenix reminds gene of dante. a lot of people remind gene of dante, such is his curse, but zenix especially. for this and the aforementioned reason, gene didn't torture zenix as much and would even intercept punishments. he comes to regret this.

because of zenix's unpredictable and exceptionally turbulent nature, gene took on training him. good for zenix because it was superb training; bad for gene because zenix comes to know his style very well.

gene severely manipulated zenix's memories. zenix knows, but he doesn't care enough to try and root through what's a real memory and what's been tampered with. to him, it makes no difference.

(however, this changes because, in season 1, after zenix's attempted murder of eurydice and subsequent failure, he ends up subdued in the nether and gene once again uses his magik on him, this time changing memories with garroth... zenix can recognize gene's magik trace and it makes him so fucking angry that it pushes him to cannibalizing knights and eventually joining the rebellion.)

zenix learns spanish profanities from gene. some of them are also NOT profanities, but zenix doesn't know that.

zenix feels very little for gene. the bastard is a chaos junkie, so it doesn't really bother him who ends up wounded in the collateral as long as he's amused (the only person he is REMOTELY hesitant to hurt is garroth, and OCASSIONALY eurydice, only because he's aware of how much she means to garroth). sometimes, though, if he's left to his thoughts too long, he thinks he remembers the feeling of rough palms wiping soot and gore from his face; arms carrying him out of fire and away from smoke and laying him on soft grass, staring up at the moon.

he reckons it's just another one of gene's tricks.

(he'll never be sure, though.)

soccer

there's a handful of shadow knights who (almost) never wear their helmets—gene is among them. he claims he'd be robbing the people if he hid his face so he only wears his helm when he wants to be a dramatic fuck. this means his head is exposed nearly all the time.

now, i'm thinking that shadow knights are vulnerable to their first death. to explain via examples: sasha is EXTREMELY flammable, not only for a shadow knight but for a human; vylad's neck is very fragile and easy to snap. basically, it's non-fatal but super inconvenient.

for gene, his head comes off very easily.

not really a huge issue. when you've got a reputation like he does, people usually don't want to draw your attention, especially not by snapping your skull off your neck.

UNLESS. you're a little red-haired shithead that hates authority and loves pissing people off.

generally, because zenix is smaller and quick, he hits gene with an attack-combo and then once there's an opening (usually a stagger on gene's end), he literally roundhouse kicks him. the kick itself is enough to tear his head from his body, but it also ends up getting cut by his armor so it comes off EXTRA easy.

then it's essentially a game of keep-away. zenix is such a brat about it lmao. like he's doing all sorts of tricks, hitting gene's head off his knees and then over his shoulder and kicking it back up into the air with his heel.

(he's been bitten before.)

if other knights are present, it becomes more like hot potato—zenix kicking gene's howling head at some poor lower-ranking knight and watching them scramble while gene's towering, decapitated body staggers towards them.

when he's done playing, depending on where they are, he punts gene's head down a fortress hall or deep into a forest and then runs because gene has to prioritize getting his head back.

once, he flung the head into a lava lake, about 70% sure gene would jump in after it.

that DID NOT HAPPEN. the following process was actually disgusting and it's one of the few things that have disturbed zenix since becoming a shadow knight.

also i love the idea of him making a makeshift goal bc yes i can totally see zenix doing that during the fucking rebellion era 💀💀 laurance will beg this mfer to please take this seriously and not fuck around but zenix has already created a whole ass course to run gene's head through.

(in gene's honor, zenix does not get away with this scott-free forever. gene IS an exalted knight and that IS significant, but i still need to develop his evilness so just trust me when i say zenix isn't having a great time.)

i hope this was amusing 🙏

[sonkitty]

I'm trying to clean up a lot of my files for Good Omens 2 since I'm restless and lacking focus at the moment.

So, I found a much, much older draft of sideburns notes when I was exploring the puzzle. If you're not familiar with my theories, I have come to the conclusion, with a great deal of confidence, that the sideburns are determined by how a given space reads Crowley (The Sideburns Scheme).

Getting back to this draft of notes, along the way, here's the closest I got in some notes I was listing out for possibilities:

4. Crowley is doing it on purpose. They are like breadcrumbs to himself of what was going on or who was around as he replays what happened to him during the entire season. It is not based on mood. He can sort of pull in a reflection of how he is remembered. By that, I mean Jim/Gabriel knew Crowley as an angel (theoretically), so Jim/Gabriel's memory reflects that version of Crowley.

I wanted to share it given the later value I found in reflections themselves with other parts of the puzzles, such as The Window Trick and the Tied Hands.

I don't quite look at it with that wording anymore, but I like to look back on it.

...

In a completely different draft I'm remembering right now, here's another approach I've never shared:

(5) Somehow, the angel with the memory wipe is like his ward. That's why they show up around Gabriel and later Muriel. As a likely former first order archangel, they are under his protection or rank or whatever. They are his charge or he is in charge, however you want to see it. That's why he can tell Gabriel to jump out a window, and Gabriel will do it without question. That's why he can kick Muriel out of the bookshop. I mean, sure, they could just trust or believe him, but when I lay out all of the above...I'm just...shaken, I guess. I think I figured it out, and it might also be why he says, "I think I understand a whole lot better than you do". He's already stuck in a position like that in the bookshop!

I don't really approach the puzzle with this "ward" idea anymore either, but again, I like to look back on the idea. I think the main reason I dropped it is because Crowley intentionally lengthens his sideburns to longest-length at the end of episode 6. Gabriel is gone, and Muriel's not on screen as further clues that the longest-length is from Crowley in particular, given how precise he is in his position with the car.

...

I really like seeing the progression of my play because I never really believed I would solve the puzzle, let alone find a game comprised of multiple solvable puzzles. It was mainly an excuse to direct my obsessive energy with how much I love David Tennant as Crowley.

[mobius-m-mobius]

Thank you so much for replying to my anon ask! And please don't apologize for your long reply. I LOVE IT!

Sylvie has every right to build and explore the kind of love she wants, but I think she lacks self-awareness in her "call-out" of Mobius, which is why Loki calls /her/ out in the next scene, reminding her that the only reason she's at the TVA is because she couldn't kill Victor, not because she actually wanted to /help/.

I sent an ask to @bebx that I hope you don't mind that I copy/paste here, because that blow up about pie sets up Mobius narratively in the next 2 episodes.

Let's talk about the TVA seal. If Loki was the original founder of the TVA before HWR takes over and performs a memory-wipe, the dagger represents Loki, the hourglass/Mobius strip represents Mobius, the shield looks like it might actually be a mask, which can represent Sylvie, who has a gift for enchantments. All 3 of them need to be on the same page to succeed.

Speaking of Sylvie, a word on the pie scene: from a plot perspective, this was Mobius's lowest point. He must feel worthless and good for nothing. This is actually critical for c when Loki finds him: I think Mobius might decline going back, not necessarily because his life before TVA was any better, but because he will likely think he will cause more harm then good, and that the only thing he's good at is selling jet skis, which can't possibly harm anyone.

Loki, because he didn't say anything during the confrontation with Sylvie, will be compelled to tell him that's absolutely not true. Loki will tell Mobius that his kindness and his believing in him changed everything. Perhaps, if we're lucky, we'll get some kind of love confession. Loki might say he can't save the timeline alone and he /wants/ Mobius at his side. Thus, Loki believing in Mobius causes Mobius to believe in Loki. When his memories get wiped in the future by HWR, his love Loki (romantic or platonic) will be an echo of his love for jet skis. He won't remember why he loves Loki, he just knows he dies because he did before. Thus closing the loop and fulfilling the snake eating its own tail. Who saved who?

Lastly, For All Time, Always had been presented as an ominous slogan. I believe this is actually a pact Loki, Mobius and Sylvie make among themselves to protect all timelines and free will. When HWR invades the TVA and perfoms the memory wipe, the slogan becomes perverse. I bet the pruning sticks, magic dampeners, collars, and torture devices were brought into the TVA by him. He is an inventor, after all.

Also, in rebuilding the TVA's facilities (which will take some powerful magic, magic that would create a place that would impress a post-NY Loki), Mobius might request Loki and Sylvie for a pie automat and hot chocolate dispenser. Because stress. Sylvie might use her magic to grant his wish as a peace offering.

Oh hi! Lovely to meet you and of course, such a pleasure to read and reply to 😊

Really wish there was more thought put into Sylvie's direction this season because at this rate there hasn't been any depth into the time she's been spending at the McDonald's branch which she seemed to be enjoying building a routine at, in comparison to suddenly going back to trying to chase He Who Remains variants while constantly telling everyone at the TVA they're dragging her back in while *she's* following them around?

Her not knowing what to do with herself makes sense considering her life had been dedicated to revenge until now but I just can't connect in any way when her one firm goal has been protecting all timelines enough to give the people there chances to live full lives and no matter the terrible history she has with the TVA, they're the only entity capable of ensuring that. Would never expect her to like the place or anyone there but they've already proven they're now working to preserve and she has no other plan to offer than burning everything to the ground which isn't an option while the loom's at such a critical level so her repeatedly ignoring what's right in front of her is feeling more than a little pointless.

(here we go again haha, adding a read more for everyone's sake!)

Don't mind at all and completely agree about the narrative being set specifically to explore the mindset Mobius has been in all season as well as his perspective on finding out his past. Still debating on whether he has any awareness of the TVA when we see him again and am leaning heavily toward him being the original version of himself with no knowledge of Loki or anything else that's happened so I'd love to see how Loki convinces him or if there's any kind of inherent connection or understanding lingering between them anyway?? But if he does have access to his memories I really do think he'd want to take a step back after watching Loki go after Sylvie after the pie situation.

Which would therefore lead to Loki going into detail about the conversation he had with Sylvie defending Mobius and all he's done for not just everyone on the branches but himself as well and I really do think there's going to be a mutual confession regarding how they've changed each other for the better whether it's during the process of Loki getting Mobius' memories back or afterwards when they're (hopefully) fully back to the versions we've gotten to know and love.

I noticed the detail of the TVA seal when it got cracked and couldn't believe it didn't hit me earlier, lol! A dagger and a Möbius strip, how poetic 🥺 As for the third member making up the timekeepers I'm open to however it goes but can't help rooting for B-15 to have the position simply because she's such a strong person with true faith in what the TVA and be and accomplish and I think she's earned the spot but I could see Sylvie reluctantly coming around to the goals of a reformed TVA enough to lend her magic to certain elements of the design and do like to think every Loki can't help but have a soft spot for every Mobius so you may very well be right as to how so many sweets ended up in the TVA 😂

Still confusing me is how and when exactly HWR eventually enters the picture and takes control, and where Loki or Sylvie are at that point since Mobius, B-15, and Casey have clearly still been working there but think you're absolutely right about HWR having invented and introduced the more dangerous and controlling elements of the place.

Finally I just have to say I think we'll absolutely get a "For All Time, Always" exchanged between Loki and Mobius right before the series ends and you have no idea how here for it I am, really just want the two of them accepting how much good they can do at the TVA and when they're together so can't wait to see where the series eventually takes us!

[musingsofmaisie]

The Magic Trick You Didn't See

@ariaste I just finished reading your analysis. Interesting. Not sure I'm completely on board with your primary hypothesis, but you raise some very interesting points. Kudos for doing it.

Link to @ariaste piece here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/193IXS11XN46lziHRb6eUpM17yK0BQkRqke1Wh64A_e0/edit

I do have a few places where my thinking diverges from yours though.

First, on Aziraphale and Angel now-Crowley's meeting in Before the Beginning: I think the primary purpose of this scene was to establish that Crowley still possesses a Tool of Creation (that in S1 we assumed was merely a part of his exploded Bentley) and that this will be important in the denouement. He KISSES it, for goodness' sake. That, and of course that Angel now-Crowley was a joyful and precious innocent who didn't deserve his fate.

Go back to S1E5 when he mentions Alpha Centauri and "I worked on that." We are also given the distinct impression that Crowley was an angel of considerable rank and power. Seeing Crowley in Heaven with Muriel and the way he was treated by the leadership-can I get a "deferentially" here?-is a setup for the reveal of his identity. There are files! Aziraphale can request them! Aziraphale finding out the truth is to me the macguffin that will 1) make him realize that heaven is not the place of "truth, light and good" and 2) catalyze whatever action that brings the tale to its conclusion.

When Crowley interrogates Jim-the "It hurts!" "I KNOW! Do it anyway!" and "Yeah, like the places where the furniture used to be" both strongly indicated to me that Crowley was speaking from experience-that he had had his memory wiped when he Fell-and has recovered some, but not all of it. Hence the offer of a hot chocolate. Empathy. (I think this what he meant by "Ask him properly.")

Later, when he tries to explain Gravity to Jim, I got the feeling that that was one of the places where the furniture used to be. (And also not remembering Saraquiel and Furfur).

Second, in the story of Job, it's being told directly from Aziraphale's point of view, that's why I assumed, in his recollection, that Crowley Bildad the Shuhite was wearing cool shades. And this is also where Aziraphale makes reference that he knew the angel Crowley used to be. Before the Garden of Eden. And Crowley says "the angel you knew is not me". Rather harshly, I thought.

Currently rereading "the Crow Road" and annotating it. There do seem to be some compelling parallels so far. Makes me wonder when Muriel will get to Aziraphale's journals. Like you, I suspect that's where we're going next. I can't figure out the timeline, though. It seems like the next scene has to take place many years from now.

This is getting too long so I'll wrap up by saying that I'm convinced that NG would not foist on us a plot device that wraps up S3 like Bobby "It was all a dream" Ewing from the last season of Dallas. It would be a violation of his own writing ethos and his commitment to doing something that would make Terry proud. The Metatron is literally a Deus ex Machina, but I don't think that NG would rely solely on him-or that technique-to conclude the story.

We all want our heroes to get their happy ending. But knowing Neil's knack for the twist in the storyline, I' don't think I'm not sure that it will look like what we think it will.

Cheers,

Maisie

[kelkilou]

Hi!!! I adore your TMNT stuff!! It’s so well drawn and nicely detailed!!! 😁 I bought some of your merch on your shop and I’m so stoked for them!!!

My question is, how long have you been into the TMNT? And if you had a favorite/ least favorite character, who would you pick?

Thank you and have a great day!! 😁

Aaaah thank you so much!! That's so kind of you ;o; I will get them to you asap, I hope you enjoy them! ❤ Oh man, my history with TMNT is honestly very hazy - It feels like one day I was just..*into it* y'know? XD So get ready for a ramble... But my earliest memories of it are when the 2003 show was airing - very scattered mind you - in the UK, I don't think I really caught it on tv until around season 4 so I had no clue what was happening - then after that they just showed the final 2 seasons on repeat seemingly for years. ToT) Even then I still fell in love with the characters and crushed HARD on Donatello. And vaguely concieved my OC, Vye. This was probably around 2007-8? Not really sure, I just remember being in High school and that's it? But I revisited the show and watched it properly from start to finish maybe around 2010-11 and just fell completely in love with it. Fell out of it again as I do with fandoms, and then during Covid I fell right back in again - BIG TIME. As for favourite/least fave characters...oh man, that's so tough!! Donatello is still probably my ultimate fave, but how I feel about the characters often fluctuates because they're all so loveable and I enjoy them for many differing reasons! Least fave...uh...Garbageman?

Like seriously, just wipe your mouth dude.

Fun fact though: When I first got into TMNT, since I only saw Season 4, with 0 context, my least fave was actually Leo! I hated him so much pfff XD (Obviously now I have full context I feel totally different and he is my best sword boi.)

I hope you have a great day too! (Sorry for the ramble, I can gush about these things til the cows come home aaah)

[mischief-lies-and-stories]

Loki Series Theories 7/? (We're Back, Y'all)

You are reading this on Monday (or some other day after that), but I'm writing this less than 24 hours after the premiere of Loki season 2. It took me less than 24 hours to come up with a theory. I have a problem. Let's crack into it.

Theory: OB Knows ALL.

This just started as a fun little stream of consciousness theory that OB is such a cool character. He seems to only really disclose things if he's asked directly about it.

So the original theory was that he's asked to fix one of the devices that wipes/rewrites people's memories in the TVA. He's never been asked to fix one of them before, so he's curious about what it is and how it works and that's how he figures out the TVA wipes people's memories. So he reverse engineers it (I think that's the term) and builds a machine that restores his memories. He discovers he's a variant, and maybe remembers other moments in his time with the TVA, or maybe because he spends all of his time in the basement, he generally gets forgotten about when other people in the TVA get their memories wiped. So he never or almost never had his memory wiped aside from the initial abduction from the timeline.

He enjoys what he does in the TVA (and maybe his backstory isn't all that great), so he doesn't have a really negative reaction to finding out he's a variant. And it never comes up in conversation with anyone else, so he just doesn't think it's relevant and doesn't tell anyone what he's discovered. So he gets to go on remembering and everyone else goes on forgetting. (And I want to make clear that I don't think this is malicious on his part. I just don't think it occurs to him to tell anyone. Or he assumes everyone has figured it out or rationalizes it in some other way.)

I thought this was just a fun thought to go along with my other headcanons about OB as a character, but then I was rewatching the episode and I realized that Loki interacts with Mobius, Casey, and B-15 in their pasts (as well as a number of other unnamed characters, and maybe Sylvie, but I think she's a plant from the future). But they don't remember they have these interactions with him when he time-slips back into the present. But then there's the whole exchange with OB where he does. And OB also mentions he remembers Mobius coming to see him once, but Mobius doesn't remember that. It's possible that in the future Mobius somehow time travels in the TVA and visits him (or OB is lying, but he seems pretty genuine here), but I think it's more likely a past Mobius visited OB and then had his memory wiped.

So if nothing else, I think we're going to find out that OB has never had his memory wiped beyond the initial abduction. Given his role in the TVA and how technologically intelligent he is, I think it's entirely possible he got his hands on a device that reversed his memory loss and restored his past on the timeline years ago. If this is treated as a bombshell plot twist at some point, I'm going to laugh uproariously.

Also, if Casey has no idea what a fish is, how does OB know what spaghetti is? He doesn't have time to sleep, why would he ever have time to go the break room to eat?

[rzdhc]

Posted it to the wrong blog, oops lmao

..

Hello!!! Thank you so much for the ask!!! I actually got two of these so I'll just answer this one! All links included must need an ao3 account to view it.

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Right now, my favorite fic I've written (that's public) of all time has GOT to be

1. Where the river turns to streams ao3

Despite it being a ship fic of a lesser known pairing (Rosinante x Sakazuki) in one piece, I'm just in love with this story. Both the character development and relationship development between both Rosinante and Sakazuki has me rereading my own story. They're both side characters so in canon, they don't have much development, and this story slightly touches upon it, giving some depth into them. And it also touches upon a heated canon event that one of the characters had to partake it that makes them hated in the fandom without straight up removing their role in, and adds to the development of Rosinante in this story.

It's a lengthy one too, 13k words exactly!

2. In Life's Canon Universe ao3

This story is another favorite of mine because of all the ANGST, but also ends happily (kind of for one of them), which I like (I like crying my eyes out AND knowing it will be fine in the end, it's a weak spot of mine). It's a ship fic of Rosinante x Katakuri. Also another long one, but this is split into different chapters. (~17k+ words)

3. Time and Time Again ao3

Another ship fic, this time for Neal Caffrey and Matthew Keller from white collar. It's another favorite of mine because it's a story between two intelligent characters, one a criminal and other almost criminal. Each of the characters have a distinct way of talking and I personally think they mesh so well. Canon, Matthew Keller is a criminal too, but in this au, he isn't and the story also deals with the way his life and family would've been like if he hadn't been a criminal. It's a lesser popular pairing in the White Collar fandom but I wrote it awhile ago and I still love the way these two interacted in my story.

4. A Rundown of Impel Down Escapee ao3

I like this one because it's vastly different than every other story I've written. It's the first crack story I've written, and it's more of a not fic than anything. But it was fun to write and kind of just let go rigid guidelines I set for myself.

5. Wake Up ao3

This one is a bit controversial because it's an hermitcraft ship fic between Rendog and Docm77 (minecraft personas only), and while I don't ship mcyt people anymore, I'm still proud of the way this came out. It handles a very serious topic involving memory loss and fake memories. While the main premise of the story involves each world aka season, everyone's memories are wiped but this time, Rendog's memories aren't wiped. So the story deals with the aftermath of essentially losing everyone (everyone was forced into permanent sleep) and everyone suddenly being brought back only for no one to remember what happened. So Rendog has to deal with everyone believing he's gone crazy and has to battle whether or not what he's remembering is real or if everyone is right about him. But eventually, he finds comfort in the only person that believes, regardless of what's true or not, doc. There's just so much angst and hurt/comfort. And while it is a ship fic, romance takes a back seat to what rendog is feeling, and includes friendships and people making the wrong choices even IF they may have the best intentions.

The idea of this story is so good too, I'm in love with it, even IF I may not a shipper in that sense anymore. I was originally going to convert it to a platonic story so I could continue it with a prequel and sequel, but I wasn't able to find a way to do it.

It's another long one, ~19k words.

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Thank you again for sending this ask in!! It was fun to reflect on past stories.

[merlions]

I genuinely need to make a side blog for fan related things to keep this space decluttered cause I have done that w separate ones per fan thing in the past but abandoned them all to the annals of time. But my brain is totally detonated today from Symptoms Disorder and Problems Disease and I just chugged good omens season 2 and then a huge amount of Internet and Opinions relating to it so I'm read more ing a whole bunch of thoughts I cannot get out of my befogged brain. About the Situations

No but I mean like I Just Think.

Crowley's "I can't ever be forgiven" in s1 and aziraphale thinking his bitterness is because he actually does want to be forgiven.

And then aziraphale in s2, trying to tell him, "[I love you! I love you too! I want you to come with me, and be happy again. And since the power has literally just been given to me to do so, officially,] I forgive you. [You are forgiven, you don't have to be an outcast anymore! Don't you want this gift I'm trying to give you?]" [And maybe - "But we can't have a physical relationship in heaven, why are you trying to change our relationship after all this time and ruin this salvation we've been offered?"]

Also it has been driving me kinda crazy but -

I think it was so easy for Gabriel to be fine with being with beelzebub and cast down to hell cause like Crowley says, the sides are both trying to do the same thing. Like whether it's the demons killing people or the angels letting them, or war that sterilizes the earth from both sides, they don't care about people, they literally only care about the rules. So Gabriel being in hell means almost nothing to him; same shit, different master. No risk.

Aziraphale and Crowley don't feel safe getting caught cause if they do what they believe in, BOTH sides will be angry at them, theres no way to keep being good to people if they're caught. They're on the side of PEOPLE. And it sucks that Az is so convinced heaven is better, but also it's true that if he fell, he would have to listen to new rules he didn't know how to safely break yet; he would be kept under a close eye and forced to do things he didn't believe in or risk being erased from existence; and *there's a nonzero chance they'd take his memories too and he wouldn't even know Crowley or remember their 6000 year past.*

Crowley, as many have said, is not totally right either. They also can't leave everything behind like gabriel and beelzebub, cause ultimately crowley and aziraphale will never be happy just letting the powers that be torch the earth. The rest of the universe's destruction comes next, anyways, per the s2 opening; they won't even stay safe for long if they run, more than likely!

And in Az's defense, both of them going to hell as kinda underlings, if Az's cast from grace, is a very different situation than HIM being allowed DIRECTLY to appoint Crowley as an angel, be in control enough to know no one can wipe his memories during the process, and be given (what he thinks is) SO much control over what heaven does; to try to fix it from the inside cause there's literally nothing else he can see that will ACTUALLY let them live, together and free.

He just doesn't understand at first that becoming an angel is not an option for Crowley; that becoming an angel again, even as a simple strategy for safety, would fundamentally and irrevocably change who he is as a person, to the very core.

I don't think aziraphale is actually making any decision to reject crowley's confession, even with the "I forgive you". He's just overwhelmed with so much, so fast, that his reaction and processing time slows to an absolute crawl. I think he literally doesn't even really get what Crowley is saying, and isn't able to fully communicate what he means - that "I forgive you" to him means "we're saying the same thing, that we want to stay together and I, on behalf of heaven, officially forgive you, so you can stay with me."

I think he's scrambling, just crazy scrambling, trying to figure all of this out, through the elevator ride - the soft grin, then not, then frowning, back to soft grin, and repeat on loop - is him processing the fuckin rollercoaster of emotional turbulence, from utter relief of being given what he thinks is FINALLY a way for him and Crowley to live and be safe, and the utterly terrible breakup and rejection of his plan for them to be safe, and the utterly incredible revelation of crowley's feelings (and maybe his own?).

Like there are two most likely options for what that final, jubilant smile means, in my personal onion.

1. He drank the [coffee] Kool aid. He is baffled and hurt that Crowley abandoned him in this moment of triumph but it's just a symptom of Crowley poisoning him against heaven all these years with temptations and he is clear and finally realized his purpose: he will be the fuckin major general overlord over the armies of heaven, leading them to final victory against evil. Crowley will probs have to Fix him during s3 again, possibly to stop him from ending the world. yikes boy

Or, imo more likely,

2. He finally processed everything that happened, including that Crowley was confessing love, the kiss, all the shit that went down. And he's finally clear and realized his purpose: gonna tear that shit ALL the way apart. Crowley can be mad for a while, but he can trust Crowley to still be around when he comes back and to forgive him. But Az's gonna have to play the long con to make this work. And he'll have to do it solo, but by the end there won't be any power in the universe that can keep the two of them from spending eternity together, safe, humans safe again.

(A joking 3. He's like "oh ok wait. Theres no way Jesus won't be like hells of down to get me back with Crowley and defend us against this bs. That gay ass? That human lover? Please. Metatron doesn't know WHATS about to hit him")

And the last thought I wanna add here is the book shop thing, right at the end.

Aziraphale's "nothing lasts forever" means, in that moment, "I would rather lose the book shop than lose you."

He then realizes Crowley isn't coming with him, so to try to delay all this shit happening with Metatron, give himself more time to process, he uses it to try to stay with crowley without attracting too much attention: "but what about my book shop?"

I can't see any other real reason for that flip-flop, especially when the book shop is SUCH a recurring thing. Like not to be up star treks assed hole forever and always but I keep thinking of things that parallel the whole az/Crowley situation and especially I wanna reference here Jimothy "In this universe i love literally nothing more than the USS star ship enterprise" Kirk. Blowing up the USS star ship enterprise to be back with Spock. "His soul is my responsibility. [...] As surely as if it were my very own."

Feels to me exactly like the book shop for aziraphale. In both cases: "I would never ever do anything ever to lose this Home of mine, the representation of everything important to me in this universe. Unless it means losing you."

Anywayssss

[rebelrayne]

[⭐] = faves | Hamish is listed under Season 6

take a risk | henrik | teen | alternate universe [a gift for @/justtuesdays]

Isabel Romero had never taken a single risk in her entire life. But when she finds an incomplete bucket list, she's determined to prove that she can be adventurous and spontaneous. With the help of her best friends, Shannon and Henrik, she's ready to cross off the last three items, come castle or behind a waterfall.

we do but friends don't | bobby | teen | villa

“I don’t want to do this,” Jordyn said, her voice cracking with every syllable. She’d grown to be fond of all four of the people standing there, although she was most definitely closer with Lottie, Gary and Bobby. Truth be told, she liked the old Hannah better than the one standing in front of her. Hannah seemed less than genuine when she returned and it only angered Jordyn to see her with Bobby when he deserved the world.

[⭐] but lately... | seb | teen | villa

Seb isn't overly emotional. He's not a sticky sweet guy who loves a big romantic gesture, or someone who would pick up a bouquet of roses on the way home. But lately... There's something about Valerie.

ho ho ho or whatever | seb | teen | alternate universe [a gift for @/whatisreggieshortfor]

Inside the bustling, busy city of Liverpool, there comes a tale you certainly never learned in school. A record store sits on Paul Street in the heart of the town, and here, my dear reader, is where the start of our story is found. Ask any of the townsfolk, they’ll tell you the same: “There’s no place like home by the fire on Christmas Day!” All the windows of the stores are flocked with care, but there sat one store with its window display bare.

[⭐] 11:59 pm | tom | teen | post-villa [a gift for @/0shewrites0]

He starts to walk over, his heart rate racing faster with every step closer. He pulls his phone out and peeks at the time. 11:59 pm. It’s almost time. He had a speech prepared, but it’s since been wiped from his memory. He cannot remember even one syllable of that speech.

hey sweetheart | oliver | teen | post-villa [a gift for @/queen-of-boops]

When Oliver sends Maeve on a scavenger hunt on her birthday, she's led by familiar faces and letters Oliver wrote to his future wife.

model santa | youcef | teen | alternate universe [a gift for @/whatisreggieshortfor]

Santa isn't real, right? But if that's the case, why is he claiming to be Youcef's father?

part of our world | tom | teen | alternate (disney) universe

The town of Villa Rosa, North Carolina seems like a normal place. The people live ordinary lives, the kids go to school like anywhere else, but the truth? It’s the most evil, vile place in the world. The Disney characters were ripped from their stories and sent to the one place where they no longer had their happy endings: our world.

someone better suited | dylan | teen | villa/post-villa

Dallas Holt is down on his luck but when he has the opportunity to enter the Love Island Villa in exchange for $20,000? He’d be stupid not to take it. The only catch? He’s not entering as himself; he’s entering as “Dylan.”

sterling mckenzie, inc. | valentina | teen | alternate universe

Welcome to Sterling McKenzie, Inc. Paper Company, where career dreams go to die! But at least the boss is cool, right?

the other side | james | teen | alternate universe

Was it really happening? He had to have been dreaming. He wasn’t big, rugged and buff like Hazeem. He couldn’t be cool and collected like Kobi. He’d never be as handsome as Dylan. There’s no way he could ever be charming or suave like Youcef… He was just… him?

define: falling | hamish | mature | alternate universe [a gift for thesepromises]

falling /ˈfôliNG/ verb 1 : to descend freely by the force of gravity. 2 : to come by chance. 3 : to pass suddenly and passively into a state of body or mind. Serena Wallace hates Hamish Kent… Or maybe she’s falling in love with him.

end game | elliot | mature | villa [a gift for @/mrsbsmooth]

For those of you following along at home, this is the part of the story where the female love interest rejects the male protagonist so harshly, he should recoil and retire to a life of loneliness and solitude. But lucky for us… Elliot is two things: one, he can’t take a hint when slapped in the face with it, and two, he hates to lose when he doesn’t understand what went wrong.

[⭐] fast car | hamish| teen | villa [finale night rewrite]

Acacia had the opportunity through his television screen to make him fall harder and harder without lifting a finger. He watched her look across the lawn and twist her face into the most hideous expressions– nose scrunched, tongue poked out, eyes crossed– but Andy didn’t laugh. The time she ran onto the challenge platform and did a clumsy cartwheel only to fall flat on her bum as she fell into a fit of giggles– Andy didn’t laugh. How she would create a different facial expression on pancakes every morning, hoping for even a faint tug at his lips– Andy didn’t laugh... But Hamish did.

[⭐] holidate | hamish | mature | alternate universe [a gift for @/caitkaminski]

When Cece Singh gets the idea from her Aunt Priya to bring a Holidate to all of their holidays, she knows just the right guy for the job. The only rules? 1) You'll be one another's plus one as long as you're single. 2) Leave no Holidate behind. 3) No catching feelings.

let's play | elliot | mature | alternate universe [a gift for @/whatisreggieshortfor]

Elliot lifts his head slowly, his Adam's apple bobbing as if he was swallowing every inch of his fears. Flipping a switch, his expression quickly turns mischievous – a crooked smirk she’s never seen on his face and that bloody dimple on the left that she’s always wanted to press her lips to. “Well, I’m not one to back out of a game.” His voice is smooth as velvet, another first in hearing his tone sound so alluring. He quirks a brow, hand cupping her face as he leans in close enough for his scent to surround her in a dizziness that could only be cured by his lips on hers. “I do quite like to win, as long as you want to play?”

sinderella | hamish | explicit | alternate universe

He tugs her into the cloakroom, quickly pressing her back to the closed door. His fingertips delicately trace her jawline as his lips pull into a wicked smile. It should be a crime how intoxicating the scent of lemon and bergamot is on his skin. Leaning in, he dips his head, kissing her neck and sending a shiver down her spine. Greedy hands grip into her waist and yank her into him as he whispers into her ear, “So does Cinderella have a name?”

[⭐️] the checklist | ivy | mature | post-villa

When Ivy gets dumped from Love Island, Nicky and Seb invite her on Doom & Gloom to explain her checklist and where each of the criteria came from.