#Tron: ‘Now dig on this’

[what-bot]

Beck with the one ring the orange powerup disc weapon reminds me a lot of Peter Parker with the Symbiote so I keep picturing him acting like this the whole time complete with emo hair

Also Tron seems to know a lot about the ‘new’ weapon… HMMM mayhaps they tried something like this before? And Tron tested it out and became a major asshole for a week?

Beck uncovers footage of Tron doing the Emo Peter dance and laughs at him for hours. When he catches himself doing the same dance he’s like ‘shit this is really bad’

When Pavel has the weapon nobody notices because he’s already like that

Wait does this make Pavel Venom

[tmntfixationxreader]

"Hello author! I've read some of your other works and I thought they were great, so I have a request for you.

Would you be willing to write a Rise Raph x reader where they're having a sleepover? Raph is nervous about wearing his retainer around them but doesn't realize that the reader also has a retainer until they put theirs on, fluff ensues.❤️🙏🙏🙏"

Sure thing! Thanks for the request :)

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♡Self conscious sleepover♡

~During a sleepover, Raph gets worried about wearing his retainer~

Warnings: None, just fluff :)

Word count: 933

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You had just had an amazing, long night with the gang.

Raph had invited you over for a sleepover, so you could hang out with him and his brothers, watch movies, play games, and chill.

It was getting late now though, even for them. Mikey was already passed out on the couch you all had been watching movies on. Leo was sitting in front of the couch watching Jupiter Jim intently, and Donnie was typing something on his wrist watch, as he was ‘definitely too busy to watch the Atomic Lass special’.

Raph yawned once, displaying his fang and teeth before stretching his back as he sat forward. He noticed how sleepy you were looking, and decided it was probably time for the two of you to head to bed.

“Y/n, you ready to head to Raphs’ room?” Raph asked, looking sleepy himself.

You yawned as well and nodded. “Yeah, probably…”

Raph nodded, definitely ready for bed; But he was the older brother, and had to make sure his younger siblings would go to bed too.

“Leo, last movie. Seriously, you won’t get any sleep. Same for you too Donnie, and no lab work past midnight.”

“Yes yes dear brother, I know the rules,” Donnie said, dismissing it with a wave of his hand before typing more stuff onto his wrist watch.

“Don’t worry Hermanos, I’ll make sure Don Tron goes to bed…. Aaaand I won’t stay up past midnight either…” Leo said, giving Raph a smile before turning his attention fully back to the screen.

Raph sighed, content with their answer. “You two will sleep… Trust me, I’ll know if you didn’t.” He tucked Mikey in with a blanket before getting up from the couch.

“Ready Y/n?”

You nodded happily and sleepily, telling the twins goodnight before getting up from the couch yourself.

Raph’s bedroom was nice. It was large, decently organized, and decorated with a few scattered posters. You noticed the small (some larger) scratch marks on the walls from his spikes. He had a large bed, big enough for the two of you to sleep on. Actually, you guessed that it was a king sized bed and a twin mattress pushed together to make one large bed.

“I like your room,” You smiled, setting your bag down. You had already gotten changed into your pj's, brushed your teeth and hair, ready for bed. One last thing was needed, though, to complete your routine. You squatted down next to your bag, digging through its contents to find your retainer.

“Thanks,” Raph smiled, and sat down on his bed, having already finished his nightly routine… But, he needed his retainer, too. It was sitting on his mostly bare nightstand, next to a small lamp. He didn’t keep much on it, more than once he had knocked the contents off during the night.

He was nervous to get it out, looking over at it more than once as the two of you talked.

“It kind of reminds me of my own room… I especially like your squishmallows collection,” You smiled at him over your shoulder, still digging around in your bed.

Raph smiled a toothy smile. “Thanks! I like to collect them… Kind of hard to do that without spending a lot of money, though… Most of them are ones my brothers have given me over the years”

You nodded. “Cool! Seems like your brothers knew just what to get you then.”

Raph looked over at the small box on his nightstand. He was nervous about wearing it in front of you. He had only ever worn it in front of his brothers, and he was worried of what you would think of it… Especially because it was shaped around his fang and looked a little strange.

Finally your fingers found the container your retainer was kept in.

You pulled it out of your bag, opening the small plastic container with a click

Raph blinked. “You… Wear a retainer?” He asked as you put it on, fitting it inside your mouth.

After a short moment of muscle memory, you closed the container and put it back in your bag with a nod and a smile. “Yep, I wear a retainer.”

You glanced at Raph to see his reaction, and was pleasantly surprised when Raph’s face lit up into a smile.

“Really? I wear one too!” He said, grabbing his container from his nightstand. “Raph was a little nervous about wearing it in front of you…”

You raised your eyebrows. “Nervous? Why?” You smiled. “There’s nothing wrong with it.”

Raph nodded, feeling a little better. “I don’t know… I was just self conscious.”

You shake your head. “Don’t be! I would never make fun of you for it or anything, even if I didn’t wear one myself.”

Raph smiles, and you zip up your bag. He opened the small plastic container, putting the plastic retainer over his teeth.

You smile at him, and he smiles back, clearly relieved.

“Thanks Y/n,” He smiled, and scooted so you could take half of the bed. You sat down next to him with a smile, patting his shoulder.

“No problem… Seriously, don’t stress about it…. No one should ever make fun of you for it,” You say, laying down next to him on your half of the bed, pulling the blankets up over yourself. It was getting really late, and you could immediately tell how tired you were.

Raph smiled and nodded, pulling the gigantic blanket over half of himself too.

“Good to know…Thanks,” He said, sleepiness settling into his eyes and muscles.

“Anytime Raphie…”

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Hope you like it! I'm really busy working on some personal and long requests, so I took a break to do some shorter ones :)

Bye bye butterflies!

[dorenarox]

Just saw someone else's Mine-r-tron miner say "Did you hear the one with the miner from Arah? He liked digging up Orr."

I am now convinced I shall get all the tron gathering tools.

[fights4users]

The MCP | Power, corruption and what Freedom means in a computer system

This is a combination of what was initially two separate essays. The first part is going to be diving into how programs see freedom and the second part is going to go into the absolutely terrifying implications of the MCP from a in-system perspective. He’s a lot darker than what’s on the surface and it’s a shame this gets overlooked along with most of the movie because it’s a tad more optimistic in tone.

Freedom in subservience-

Programs exist to serve their function. They “just keep doin' what it looks like what you're supposed to be doin', no matter how crazy it seems.” Living, working, communicating for the users in a way that we as humans would see as Subservient or cruel. To a program being used, being useful is Freedom. To not work is to die. If you were created for the soul purpose of a task and then one day couldn’t do it anymore the blow would be devastating. The way Ram speaks with so much pride about his work and how much he misses it. The way it breaks Crom In the novelization when the guards don’t believe in the users.

“All programs have a desire to be useful, but in moments you will no longer seek communication with eachother or your superpfolus users…”

The MCP says it outright that they’re basically hardwired to want to be useful and do their best. And within the religious system they don’t see Users as these cruel gods but more of a partnership. They aren’t aware we dont know their alive, their communication with us is far more complex and symbolic than our communication with them. In the real world there’s a few words in a screen but in theirs they’ll get a detailed talk with their user, even if it’s a bit one sided. (Example being how trons ecstatic to talk with Alan and is all ‘im here yippee!’ But Alan never responds to anything he says). It’s a complex society with a social structure and religious system and customs! Dumont’s speech and how Tron and Yori bow their heads as he gives it. There’s so much good- just religious allegory and system stuff in general that I’d love to dig into if there was time and it’s such a shame it’s not in more Tron media post 82’.

“This code disc means freedom”

Let’s return to “to not work is to die” shall we? This is a civilization built around communication with the users and each other. A society built around fulfilling your purpose. What’s that look like when it’s taken away? This is a system where all functions are stripped from everyday programs and now are preformed by the MCP now what? If you aren’t dead you’re apart of the red elite severed from the users where your only real task is to protect it and eliminate believers— sure there’s power but that’s not very fulfilling once nothing else is left, is it?

Superior life form/ MCP’s lesser spoken on crimes-

Have you ever taken a second and really thought about the end goal of the master control program? He wants absolute power and his way of getting that is by being the only Program/AI- becoming a User within itself. It absorbs or eliminates. Ram explained it perfectly but no one listened “If he thinks you’re useful he takes over all your functions so he gets bigger, and if he can’t use you he sends you down here to the game grid to get the bits blasted out of you.” The  identity discs are a great control method but also useful- they don’t need a body just the disc. In the end he gets your functions regardless. It doesn’t matter if you hold onto your beliefs or not, you will become a part of him in the end.

Here’s just a collection of things the MCP has done that make it absolutely terrifying and all the more pressing why Tron had to win:

The super computer hivemind end goal. Seriously absorbing programs and picking them apart for what’s “useful” is fucked up.

Religious persecution/severing people from pivotal aspect of their existence but shutting down communication.

Mass Kidnapping

Military sabotage/attempted world domination

Systematic execution -> let’s be real the MCP had enough power and programs behind him at this point he likely could’ve just derezzed or absorbed user believers but this is more fun and efficient.

Identity discs (see above)

Implied restriction on circuitry. The Red v blue, there’s a Implication there colors were changed to make both groups easier to identify as well as a restriction on how one looks regardless. Like forced uniform v true form thing

Canonical lack of privacy, street and air patrolling , no doors

Draining cities of energy, cutting them off to die. This is where Yori was found one of the cities that will eventually just- derezz or be taken over. They’re running on fumes and down to base functions (automation, no life/personality speaking in numbers etc.)

Keeping select few around as zombies to run things it can’t yet. This would also play into the hivemind thing where the end goal is to run it on his own or take them over puppet style.

Keeping a few chosen warriors that you know he’s going to get rid of the moment he wins. That deception and turning on your own people all for power and safety that it let them believe in that was never there

Having his lead officer addicted and souly reliant on the excess power given to him. The only reason he doesn’t immediently derez after Tron’s hit is because of how much is pumped into him.

[ideas-on-paper]

Thoughts on Tron: Identity (quick review)

Finally, I closed the biggest gap in my Tron education: I played Tron: Identity at last!

And let me say, it was an amazing experience - short, but amazing.

I really love that the game digs into the "spiritual" themes of Tron, like the Users being akin to gods for the programs. At the same time, it's kind of funny since all of the programs on the Arq server are ISOs, so none of them were written by any Users - technically, they don't have any gods at all, since they spawned out of nowhere. Still, despite having no higher-ordained function, they're looking for purpose by organizing themselves, and some of them - like Prinz - even turn to the Users for guidance. (I guess programs are not too dissimilar from Users in that regard…)

Also, I really enjoyed the inclusion of the Automata - I love the idea of a faction of programs wanting to evolve beyond the predetermined parameters of the Users, and who place greater value on finding their own path and information being free to access for everyone. (I'm a big fan of AIs valuing their otherness, if you can't tell. xD)

Nevertheless, I think that the theme of control of information/information as power present in the game is very relevant, probably more so now than ever. In the age of the internet, the value of information and data will only increase, and whoever holds them will have control over pretty much everything - and wherever there is power, you can count on someone being there to abuse it.

Aside from this, Tron: Identity also has some pretty existentialist themes, like dealing with the realization that God has abandoned you and that knowledge is sometimes more of a burden than a boon. I can relate to both of these very well, and I love the way they implemented this little bit of philosophy into the game.

From a gameplay perspective, Tron: Identity was my first visual novel, and I have to say I quite enjoyed it - due to the nature of the story, I found myself thinking really hard about some decisions, and to my own surprise, I actually really liked the puzzle minigames intermingled in between. (I'm usually not that big on puzzle games; I think that's because most of the time, there's only one correct way to solve the puzzles, so I'm glad that the minigames in Identity allow for multiple approaches.)

[Spoilers from this point onwards!]

Still, I somehow feel like I got the worst ending possible - Proxy took off with Prinz, Ada turned to voxels from Cass's explosion, and Grish was royally pissed at me. xD In the end, I didn't have much of a choice but to derezz Grish - I considered handing over Cass to him just to keep both of them alive, but I couldn't bring myself to betray Cass. Sorry, Grish, but I had to protect my precious baby. xD

However, from what I've read in some guides, it could've gone much, much worse - if you try to stop Proxy from taking Prinz, you will accidentally hit Prinz with your disc. I was considering to defend Prinz, but I was worried about him being in the line of fire, so I didn't take that choice. (Good call on that one, I guess... ^^')

I suppose 3/5 survivors isn't the worst you can do (since Sierra can't die anyway), but maybe I'll do another run in the future to see some of the other outcomes.

Either way, Tron: Identity is a fantastic addition to the Tron franchise, and you can really tell that Mike Bithell put a lot of love, effort, and care into the story. I just hope we'll get a sequel to it soon, and that your decisions from the first game will have an impact on the second. (When I freed Sierra, I was kinda hoping he would help you out as an ally later, so that's something I'd really like to see.)

[mcbitchtits]

the most horrifying part of alien romulus is the fucking facial cgi (as always)

pretty fantastic movie otherwise though, excellent horror. more in line with the original alien than any of its sequels, although it does feel like a lot of the beats are also like "DO YOU REMEMBER ALIEN (1986)??? see what we did there?!"

the writing starts off strong with what felt to me personally like a very interesting approach to, you know, the horrors of capitalism and mining (poverty, dead parents, teen pregnancies, trapped by the remoteness of the environment, company towns and company stores), and it does a fair number of interesting things contrasting that to the parts in orbit (gravity fields, etc.) and, frankly, some absolutely fantastic horror visuals that make you feel like they are really innovating with both creature design as well as like they maybe used to work in halloween haunt mazes? very... personal shots? which i appreciate because i feel like covenant et al were more cinematic, which was fine, but also less horrifying in some ways. the acting was pretty good.

however the facial cgi for [spoiler character] was fucking terrible! this has been my #1 complaint about cgi for going on decades now and i have to be honest, this was some of the ugliest finished work i have ever seen. textures not mapping cleanly, form distention with animation, just real shit work. dunno if it's lack of budget or a bad art/animation director or the ever-present crunch because SFX is ununionized, but jesus fucking christ i hate this shit. it was bad in I, Robot and it was slightly less bad in Tron Legacy and it sucked all over again in Rogue One and The Mandalorian and Dial of Destiny! learn some fucking lessons from animators and rediscover the uncanny valley!!! watch jaws and spend a metric asston of time considering why we see so little of the shark! APPLY THE LESSON

(or, like, you've already got a half-destroyed character, just lean into it and make their mouth mechanics destroyed by acid or something. or make it look even more unnatural on purpose! it's a horror film! there are a lot of solutions and bad cgi is the worst one always!)

anyway i just really DO appreciate any time the alien sequels really dig into the birth/body horror. it's good! more of them should be better at it! fuck off james cameron! (sorry had to get that dig in there) (also, i mean, specifically, all the growth and rupturing and body-breaking, and to a lesser extent all the giger-styled vulvas etc; the actual uh babies and so forth are less interesting to me from a horror perspective. definitely weird and unsettling but also a little slenderman-was-born-on-the-something-awful-forums, you know?)

also effective use of treating the facehuggers like spiders or tarantulas. underrated approach to reinterpreting their horror. (unfortunate time to have a fur gremlin running around the house.) what i liked most about this movie is it managed to take a lot of the existing horror elements of the alien franchise and make them feel fresh and new and horrifying in completely new ways. real good shit.

also i see you weyland-yutani "W" podships, i see you AD and props. go prod team

love the score also. felt almost williams-ish and kinda raidersesqe (in the ark horror sense) and i vibed with it severely

[sithwitch13]

AEW Dynamite 8/3/24

Watching about 20 minutes delayed on account of getting delicious tortas for dinner with my parents

MJF: *villainous singing*

Danny is being extra bratty tonight, huh

Garcia wants to be Swerve when he grows up

I honestly dig stories that are like "I'm saving you by putting you out of comission." Hope they do jt well.

CONGLOMERATION TIME

KYLE OMG

I think I can only really understand half of what Mark Briscoe says but his vibes are impeccable

OKADA VS KYLE FLETCHER YES

Don Callis I am going to throw you in a washing machine and turn it on the heavy duty cycle

ORANGE VS BRYAN KEITH AND LANCE ARCHER VS MARK BRISCOE ON FRIDAT AAAA

Kyle getting the Rainmaker zoomout lol

Dang, that was great

TAKESHITA

Aaaaa Takeshita vs Mortos on Friday!

I was so happy for Swerve buying that house and now I'm so worried lol

JAIME HAYTER!!!

Yay Robyn Renegade getting TV time!

MARINA AND MOX

Lol Mox thinks Jack is a sweet kid (and he's right)

Oooh the old (like five year old lol) Death Rider tron and music are back

Well, at least Renee, Big Bill, and Bryan Keith are on my TV.

Ortiz flailing around un the "orange juice" still lives rent free in my mind

"Tell Chris Jericho" LOL HE'S RIGHT THERE

NYLA VS MARIAH TIME

I love the faces Mariah is making during this. She's sadistic and that sheer delight is making me so happy.

Her shrieks when she hits Nyla are reminding me of my patrents' chihuahua though

Deonna vs Shida on Friday aaaaaa

Love Mercedes' makeup here

The Holy Shida chant, my heart 💜

"Sayonara, bitch." Shida, I will love you forever

Ooh, Jack Perry has words. I love how confident he's grown.

Happy Dragon!

I love everyone this match so much

I know Bastard Combat Club is gonna win and I'm good with that, but aaaa Ospreay palling around with the Conglomeration is adorable

PAC NEEDS TO DO THE HAPPY CRAB DANCE, I DEMAND IT

Aaaaaa Orange and Yuta meeting up again I'm gonna die

Pac and Ospreay!!! I need to see them do more together IMMEDIATELY

Lol Orange climbing down the ropes

Ayyy Chikara shout out

Excalibur and Bryan talk about economics together, good to know

Orange and Pac again!

I just need Pac against all three of these guys

Actually any configuration of Bastard Combat Club vs any of the Conglomeration + Ospreay is needed

CLAUDIO BE CAREFUL WITH ORANGE PLEASE

Lol Claudio trying to knock Kyle off like my little sister when our cat latched onto her shoulder when we were kids

...I'm gonna need Yuta vs Jack soon

BRYAN SAID FUCK!!!!

Oooh backstage shenanigans

HANGMAN VS SWERVE CONTRACT TIME

Ooooh Hangman isn't coming out...

AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

Hangman smiling for the first time in months (because of arson)

[transwitchsammy]

THE MISADVENTURES OF TRON BONNE: THROWING EVERYTHING AT THE WALL OUT NOW!!! Been working on this one for a minute and happy with how it came out in the end! Hope ya'll dig what I've been cooking and happy new year!

[chunkytron]

You've enabled more....

Meg's hungry, and Sound/wave has a ribbon tied around his belly (and not just around the torso—no. Just the belly itself, lengthways from left to right in his perspective)

His belly is just soft and flab since he's yet to consume anything. The ribbon is tried a bit firm but not right on the belly right now

But Sound/wave gives him one cube, two, three, four, watching his belly expand as everything goes down the hatch

The belly rises and gets bigger, rounder, harder as it gets fuller, conflicting with the ribbon as the bondage presses into his mesh and begins to pinch, tuning tight and a bit painful when the fifth cube gets empty

Sound/wave encourages him to keep drinking and rubs along the ribbon to try and sooth the pain. Megs feels worried but even he knows this isn't as far as he can go and no way he lets a ribbon win against him

He takes the cube in gulps and leans back while his free servo rubs along his aching middle, leaning onto Sound/wave who's moved to support his partner. The mech uses his full palms and spread digits to rub circular on the belly as the ribbon pulls taut and begins to tear

It rips apart in seconds and the belly expands to full capacity. Mega/tron sighs and finishes the cube, asking for another as he massages as much of his belly as he can. He begins to purr as the seventh cube enters his servo, and he begins sipping. Behind him he can feel Sound/wave nuzzling against his back to show his pride in Mega/tron's determination

(Had to look up the definition of taut cus I wasn't sure i was spelling right @_@)

HRJSKSKBANAK👀👀👀👀👀👀

I LOVE THIS!!!🩷🩷🩷 Sound/wave encouraging Mega/tron to keep eating even tho the ribbon is digging into his tummy and just SW soothing the pain of it is just so 😤🤌🩷🩷✨

I’m such a massive whore for Sound/wave being touchy-feely with Megs- Also Megs purring 😍🥰

Rip ribbon

[radiantlyrey]

Thoughts on Uprising Ep8 “The Reward”

- (pre-viewing note: is this the episode where a program nearly gets drawn and quartered?? I remember this vividly from 10 years ago but it hasn’t popped up yet…..) (note from later: APPARENTLY IT IS!!! OKAY THEN.)

- I haven’t mentioned this yet, but the recaps before each episode are a fucking delight. it’s like a full-on course in double meaning and irony and the delivery is just *chef’s kiss* I know there’s a button to skip the recaps but they’re so fun I usually watch them anyway…….

- cold open: it’s pretty obvious from early on that this is a dream, and I did not realize/remember that programs dreamed! this is useful information for fic-writing, thank you show. the content of the dream itself is a little disturbing, mostly from the way the Renegade is just ragdolling around while Tesler ineffectively tries to fight him. it’s honestly a great way to display Tesler’s insecurities, and very effective at that.

- Tesler has got a good point—they’re wasting too many resources on tracking down the Renegade; they might as well outsource the bulk of the work. his speech in the arena is very effective; Henriksen is a great VA for him, and honestly Tesler is pretty effectively terrifying as the main villain of the series. (nitpick: the “RENEGADE FREE ARGON” sign during Tesler’s speech needs a fricking hyphen after “Renegade.” Though in a delicious twist of irony, the Renegade is trying to free Argon, so without the hyphen there’s a delightful double meaning in there.)

- related to the speech, Tesler wishes the programs of Argon “Happy Hunting” which made me think of Janelle Monae’s song “Violet Stars Happy Hunting!!!” from her first Metropolis album. It is a banger of a song, and it also got me to thinking about whether there are bounty hunters on the Grid at all?? Like, given the Renegade issue in Argon alone, there must be other enemies of the state that Clu wants eliminated, right? (but then that digs into the whole issue of currency on the Grid, which there is no mention of AT ALL and argh) but that’s just my brain running away from me……

- semi B plot with Paige and Pavel (tho I’ll be honest, this ep is all A plot): Paige is doing her job, Pavel is being paranoid, though his paranoia may be slightly justified. also we got Bartik and Hopper hanging around again, and these guys still baffle the fuck out of me, especially Bartik??? But I’ve gone over that like three times now, so I’ll let it lie for now. and it’s absolutely no surprise that Pavel’s being sneaky about things… ugh.

- also the whole neighbor turning on neighbor thing that we see here is… a little disturbing, for a Y7 show??? maybe not, I don’t have a good gauge for these things. it just seems a little reminiscent of some parts of history, to me? I don’t know. (mind you, with the Scars episodes up next, I’ll have plenty to talk about in re: appropriateness for 7 year olds……) (don’t remember much about Scars, but I do remember the fucking TORTURE SCENES)

- meanwhile, it’s nice to see Beck actually hanging out with his friends for once (and also nice that Zed calls him on the fact that he has not been hanging with them very much recently) (ya gotta get a better work-work-life balance there, kiddo) it is nice that Tron deferred to his judgement on what they needed to do about the hunt for the Renegade (and I loved Beck’s “finally he listens to me” reaction….) tho it kind of sucks that their favorite club has turned into an army hangout….

- and then we have a one-scene, one-minute character in Gorn! who fascinates me to no end. apparently memory modifications are possible, but it’s a specialized task that takes a steady hand and a good deal of patience. which Pavel of course lacks. anyway, what a fascinating one-off character; kind of hoping she pops up again at some point…..

- I love that Beck and Paige are approaching this whole “Hopper’s the Renegade!” thing from two completely different angles, both arriving at the same truth (albeit for very different reasons…) Beck’s smooth moves getting in with Link are hilarious, for one, and Paige actually like…. listening to people is cool of her, and another indicator of her complex character.

- and then MARA FUCKS UP REAL BAD HOLY SHIT GIRLLLLLL. Mind you, Tesler’s already in a prickly mood, so it’s no surprise (also considering what he did to Paige’s friends way back when) that he decides to execute Zed and Mara as sympathizers… tho I find it hilarious because literally the previous episode Zed was complaining about how the Renegade is a menace to society, etc. I also like that Mara and Zed are trying to do the right thing even though neither of them like Hopper very much. good on them.

- further notes on the public execution: okay, so it’s more drawing and thirding than drawing and quartering, but nonetheless. (also file under things I’m surprised they got away with putting in a Y7 show…..) love that Beck has a growing history of grand theft auto, what with stealing the roadster from Link to save his friends (and Hopper). the sequence where Beck swoops in to save everyone is really neat, too. that missile gun of Pavel’s was kind of terrifying tho….

- also it is kinda tragic that Beck got to spend time with his friends… but also not. poor kid.

- and re: Zed/Mara - this crush thing between the two of them is going to KILL ME, I swear!!!!!!!! USE YOUR WORDS, KIDS. IT AIN’T THAT HARD!!!!

- all in all: pretty fun episode, though not necessarily a lighter one…..

I may or may not get to Scars (both parts) tonight, we’ll just have to see………….

[solar-siren]

Angstpril Day Twenty-Six: Storm

The scan is blinding in its intensity, grating and invasive. Tron flinches away as if it’s something physical he could ward off. Even that small movement causes a bright flare of pain. 

“Easy,” Cyrus says, gentle, as if  he’s  the beta. “Try to keep still.”

For a moment Tron has the clarity to wish he’d derezzed. This is mortifying. He’s not supposed to be broken, and if he is he’s not supposed to let others  see . Especially not a program he barely knows, clad in enemy orange. 

The scan blinks out, leaving Tron in blessed isolation once more. 

Cyrus goes quiet. He sits back against the wall, processing the results of the scan. After a micro or so, he says, “I need to see your disc.”

“No.�� 

Not again. Never again. The mere suggestion is enough to bring back sensations of  Dyson  rooting through his code, planting that wretched  virus—

But Cyrus is without a trace of that malice. “I need to patch you if we’re going to get out of here. I promise I won’t touch anything else. You have my word.” 

And who are  you?

“How do you know? How to patch?” Tron grates out. 

The beta shrugs, barely visible. “I’m good at fixing things.” 

And breaking them, Tron thinks. He still doesn’t know how the kid took down a recognizer by himself. Apparently he’s full of surprises. 

What are the odds that all of them are good? 

Then again, as far as odds are concerned, his options are either to trust this program or die. And if he’s honest with himself, he’s probably going to die either way. 

The notion is far more frightening than it should be.

[Before I change my mind,] he pings. He can’t bring himself to say it out loud. 

Tron raises up as much as he can muster, then collapses scant nanos later. It’s just enough time for Cyrus to unlock his disc. He thinks the kid says something, but he can’t be sure. 

His audio inputs ring with agony. He can barely breathe. That was a mistake. A horrible mistake. All the energy he has left goes into trying not to derezz. Half hysterical, he wonders if he can hold himself together through sheer force of will. 

(‘If anyone could, it would be you,’ he practically hears in Yori’s voice, and that is worse than the pain.) 

“—still with me? Tron?”

A grunt is the only acknowledgment he can afford this time. Cyrus takes it. 

Tron screws his eyes shut as he scrolls through his code.  Don’t flinch. Don’t react. Don’t scream —

“Just patching,” Cyrus says absently. He could take advantage, could dig through Tron’s memories of Flynn, of the ENCOM system. But he doesn’t. 

Tron grits his teeth as the first patch blooms into place. It hurts when they compile, but he slowly begins to feel less and less like he’s going to fall apart. Physically, at least. 

Exhaustion is starting to catch up to him. He feels himself slipping into standby, his systems deciding he’s safe enough for now. (He  must  be damaged to even have such a thought.) 

He’s not sure how long it lasts. He’s half dead to the world when light splits the darkness of the cave. The ground shakes. 

Searchlights. Another recognizer. He can’t fight, can’t even stand—

“You’re safe,” Cyrus mumbles, not looking up from his work. “It’s just a storm.

“...You can rest,” he adds. “I’ll keep watch.” 

Tron believes him—trusts him far too easily.

[what-bot]

I just had the world’s WORST idea

The “Do the butts match” situation but with the Renegade

I think what would happen is Hopper or someone would do it as a joke, not realising they accidentally guessed correctly. Also people are now digging through old images of Tron to figure out if he matches with the Renegade (he doesn’t)

When Tron finds out about this he does the absolute longest sigh and adds some ‘improvements’ to Beck’s disguise so his cover’s not blown

Edit: I’ve made a fic

It started with a NetWeb post.

‘That loser can’t hide the truth! The butts match! The facts don’t lie!’

Someone had posted two images on the public forum. One was of Beck chatting to a group of programs in the Argon garage. The other was the Renegade turning into a poorly-lit alleyway.

Both were taken from behind, with red outlining the butts in question.

Now, given most people on the Grid wore form-fitting suits, this was actually a problem. Especially given who was now reading the post.

“Why are you showing me this drivel?” Tesler grumbled.

“I think they’re accusing this program of being the Renegade. Funny way of doing it, though,” Pavel sneered.

“We can’t identify the civilian from the photo, but we do know the garage it was taken at. I suppose we should investigate.”

Tesler grumbled and fumed.

“We are not doing…butt checks. This is ridiculous.”

Paige looked closer at the image.

“Him? No, I know that program. He’s harmless! Soft. He can’t possibly be the Renegade.”

“Nobody’s harmless! Seize him!!!” Pavel screeched.

“Pavel, I am not in the mood. I don’t want to hear another word about this tripe, is that clear? Drop it,” Tesler snarled.

Pavel deflated sullenly, and stalked off.

“Yes, sir.”

*****

Zed caught Beck at the lockers.

“Dude, have you seen that thing that’s been going around? Someone totally thinks you’re the Renegade. I mean, it could never be true, right? You’re not THAT dumb.”

“Gee, thanks. Wait, what? Who thinks I’m the what?”

Beck tried to sound casual.

Zed pulled it up on his datapad.

“There’s this post that’s been going around, comparing you and the Renegade. Honestly, I don’t see it.”

Beck stared silently for a couple seconds. Just react normally. As much as such a thing was possible.

“Okay, I was not expecting that. That’s super weird.”

“This is gonna get so stupid. Now everyone’s trying to get photos of Renegade butt. And for what? No offense, but there’s no way you’re the Renegade. I mean, that’d just be ridiculous.”

“Yeah, that’s crazy…”

*****

On the drive to the mountain, Beck fretted about how he was going to raise this with Tron.

He needn’t have bothered.

Instead of spying on Argon like he normally was, Tron was waiting for him at the door.

“Oh, hi.”

Tron motioned at the screen behind him.

There they were. The two shots of Beck’s ass plastered on the screen.

On spotting them, Beck flinched away, and rethought his whole runtime leading up to this point.

“Care to explain?”

“I…have no idea where this came from.”

It was true. Why was he embarrassed? It wasn’t like he did this to himself.

“Someone called Hopper posted it.”

Beck groaned.

“Not that guy! He’s had it out for me since he first joined the garage.”

“He must suspect something.”

“Nah, I’m pretty sure he was just putting me on blast because we got in a fight the other day. Probably has no idea how right he is.”

Tron headed over to the screen and began going through the comments. New ones were coming in every second.

“This could pose a problem.”

“Because they match?”

“I was going to say it’s drawing attention to you.

If you’re standing still in public long enough for people to examine your butt, you’re going to get sniped.”

“They got photos, though!”

“Nobody is looking at the Renegade’s butt.”

“Paige might be,” he mumbled.

“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Not if it gets me killed! Can you get rid of it?”

“Sadly, no. I can track who’s opened it.”

He wormed his way into some background admin view that showed hundreds of program IDs. Annoyingly, they didn’t have names next to them. Tron seemed to be gleaning something from it, but he didn’t explain what.

“Oh, good.”

“What about this could possibly be good?!”

“Tesler has blocked Bartik.”

Beck smirked thinking about the grouchy despot being confronted with this. He probably insisted he never see it again.

“Pavel and Paige have saved the post.”

“Damn. Wait, Paige saved it? Did she comment anything?”

“Even if she did, no good would come of it.”

“Come on, let’s find out. I’m living on crumbs here.”

“Ok, fine.”

Tron went back to scrolling comments. The butts loomed ominously above the feed.

Beck steadfastly refused to perceive them.

Suddenly Tron stopped.

Beck craned his neck to see.

It was not Paige. It was some random from Purgos asking ‘Anyone got any shots of Tron from behind?’

Tron let out the most tired sigh.

“You cannot be serious.”

Beck snickered. Not so calm about this now, was he? “It says here ‘for scientific purposes only.’”

“That’s a lie.”

Below was an image of Tron striding down the street, turning towards a gathered crowd.

Further comments read:

‘Doesn’t seem to match the Renegade.’

‘He’s turning, we can’t be sure.’

“Oh, no, there’s another one.”

‘Snagged this gem in 1986.’

This one was of Tron and a couple other security programs standing in formation, ready for battle. Tron had his disc in one hand, baton in the other, and was packing some serious voxels in the back.

Tron apparently knew the poster, because he exclaimed “Seamus… why? In the middle of a bug attack? What is wrong with you?”

The comments seemed to agree.

‘Isn’t that a gridbug wave in front of them? Why weren’t you running?’

Seamus’ reply: ‘Just look at it’

‘Not a bad sight to die to.’

‘Leave him alone, he’s dead’

Beck’s eyes stopped on one of the replies that mentioned him.

‘No way the Renegade is Tron. He’s got a pancake butt.’

“Hey! I don’t have a pancake butt! Do I?”

“Why would I know?!”

Beck did a quick spin near one of the many reflective surfaces in the lair.

He’d bulked up a bit since becoming the Renegade. Objectively not a pancake butt. However, it didn’t measure up to Tron in that photo.

‘@RenegadeProgram what happened? Why the shrinkage?’

‘Maybe he lost it in the war’

“I nearly die for these people how many times, and this is what they choose to discuss about me!” Tron grumbled.

It didn’t bode well. Already they had differences in their build, but Hopper had apparently hit on something notable, completely by accident.

Very notable. It had to be the angle. Surely it didn’t look that way in real life. Did it?

Beck couldn’t believe he was doing this.

He took a couple steps behind Tron and sneakily glanced down.

“Oh, wow.”

Okay, not a good thing to say at that moment. But it was admittedly impressive in person.

It was big. And round. And Beck definitely did not measure up to that.

“Well, uh, they definitely don’t match.”

“Are you done?” Tron snapped.

“Yeah?”

Tron began to storm off, realised that wouldn’t help, and turned to face Beck.

“It had to be done,” Beck defended. “For the cause.

Look, it’s only weird if you make it weird. But in other news, we’re screwed.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“It is that bad! They’re gonna figure out I’m not you!”

Beck turned around. “Look!”

“No!”

“I looked at yours! It’s already weird! Might as well commit!”

Tron went quiet for a bit.

“…ok, they might.

If it makes you feel better, I will tweak the disguise.”

“Would that help, or make things worse?”

“I don’t know. It’s your ass on the line.”

*****

Beck decided not to go with the ‘enhancement’. His ass suddenly doubling in size would probably raise more questions than answers.

He just went on as normal, and hoped it wouldn’t cause trouble.

Unfortunately, next time Beck was in Renegade mode, he soon found himself cornered by a group of angry citizens.

“We know your true identity, Renegade.”

They brought up a datapad and there they were. The dreaded butts.

What the hell?! I thought Tesler ignored it.

Then he remembered that Pavel kept hold of it. He probably put out a reward for Beck or something.

Stall. Stall.

“Who’s that guy on the left?”

“That’s you, idiot! The facts don’t lie! We all knew you weren’t Tron. Your butt is way too small.”

The next words out of his mouth were “Yeah, I lost it in the war.”

“Wait, what?”

Did he really just say that?

Oh well, he couldn’t think of anything else. Might as well commit.

“My former ally, Dyson, mutilated me.

Out of jealousy, maybe. Who knows why that guy does anything.”

This was met with stunned silence.

“It’s not something I like to talk about. And frankly, it’s none of your business. Now get out of my way, I’ve got places to be.”

Beck couldn’t believe that actually worked.

He barged past the group and ducked around the corner before they could say anything else.

A few minutes later, Tron called him on intercom.

He made a few attempts to say something, before breaking off with a sigh.

“I don’t even know what to say.”

“I can’t believe I got out of that.”

“Me either. And it was actually a half-decent excuse. I didn’t think that was possible.”

“Maybe this butt nonsense will finally be over.”

“Unlikely. But at least we’ve got a story now. I’ll put some scars on. That’ll help.”

Tron had that voice he had when his mind was made up.

“That’s gonna look ridiculous.” Beck didn’t actually protest, he just stated the obvious. He knew he wasn’t getting out of this.

“Should’ve come up with something else, then.”

“Oh? And what’s your bright idea?”

Silence.

“That’s what I thought.”

[sleepy-achilles]

The Family of Destruction- Home

Part two of Leon's first death and yes I was listening to the song one of us from lion King whilst writing it. Bite me.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Mourning when your son has been on TV since birth is difficult. It's even more difficult when your son is the victim of a cult crime. The whole world thinks the house was old and faulty and just caught fire, which taker scoffed at when he saw the news as that's exactly what they said when his parents and baby brother were taken from him, only those there know the real cause.

John hasn't been the same since. Taker doesn't blame him, he held the boy he saw as a brother as he died. It also doesn't help the others using it to get a rise out of him during promos. John's angry and upset. And he's making sure everyone knows it.

Cassie, she's the only one taking it somewhat well. She's convinced herself he'll come back, claiming dad always does, so will Lee.

Taker can't bring himself to destroy the girl. She's 15, she has school and the fact she's still doing well since she began believing he'll come back taker can't do it. He'll pay for her therapy bills, hell he'll start sending her now.

Shawn? Shawn is a mess. He won't speak, he won't eat. He does his matches and then goes back to the hotel. Taker doesn't remember the last time he even looked at shawn.

Taker? Takers angry at himself. Hurt at the world. Its his fault this happened. But he never asked for this. None of them did. He's put his anger to rest by rebuilding their home. Again.

Unlike John, people don't dare to mention Leon's name to either taker or Shawn. Last time someone did they received a very hard sweet chin music.

It's been 4 months and Taker doesn't know if the pain will ever go away. Taking harder and riskier moves only helps so much.

-----

Taker leans against the ropes, keeping his head low as he catches his breathe back. He listens as a Leon chant begins. Something the fans have done a lot and taker does appreciate it, he does, it helps keep Leon alive, it just hurts him so damn much.

"Chant his name all you want! He is not one of us!" Paul calls. Takers head snaps up, his locking with the fat man on the stage. A man he hasn't seen since he brutally murdered his son. "You bastard" taker growls pushing off the rope. He stumbles slightly causing Steve to catch him. "Undertaker, do I have great news for you? The skeleton Prince is now the skeleton King!" Paul cheers. Takers eyes water at this, his head tilting slightly as his jaw clenches. He always knew Leon was different, he just didn't know he'd be cursed aswell. "No." Taker chokes. "Take a look at what I found" Paul smirks pointing to the tron. Taker lifts his gaze and his world changes.

The camera zooms onto Leon's grave as the dirt shifts and moves. A hand suddenly shoots out, startling the camera man. A bruised and bloody hand. "Help him!" Paul orders. Kanes hand appears, grabbing Leon's and pulling, digging at the dirt. Leon gasps as his face is freed. His face covered in his iconic skeleton paint. His hair blonde hair black and his streak white. His eyes keep flashing between fully white, fully purple and normal.

"Holy shit" Steve gasps. Taker can feel a panic build in him. Leon's alive? Leon's like him? "No" Taker whispers. "Taker what the fuck is going on?" Steve demands. "Hol-hold on" Taker chokes holding his hand out. Steve watches as takers eyes roll back, tears rolling down his face.

"....le......o....n?"

"...w........l....e.."

"Le...on?"

"Leon!"

Leon's eyes snap open at the sound of his father's voice. "Your alive and I don't know where to find you. Come home to us, please." Taker pleads. Leon's eyes scan the room he's tied up in. Hooded figures. No Paul. No kane. He looks down at the metal restraints holding his arms to the wall. "Hes awake" one states, except Leon instantly knows its not English, its Latin. His years of training and hearing his father and uncle speak it together have immediately translated it to English for him.

He'll thank them one day.

"Master said to leave him. The hexes will keep him weak." The other states. Leon lift his gaze to the hexes. He tilts his head slightly and watches as a invisible finger starts to slowly draw through the hexes, breaking them. The fools don't even notice. Leon? Leon can't help but smile at his new power.

He looks back down at the restraints and tests them. A sudden strength runs through him and he breaks them. The hooded figures stop and stare at him shocked. Leon just tilts his head. 'This will be child's play' he smirks before stepping forward.

--

"Shawn!" John gasps as he forces his way into shawns hotel room. Shawn doesn't move. He just stays laid in bed, staring out of the window. It's his day off, he'll spend it how he damn wants. "Shawn! It's Leon!" Shawn sits up immediately and looks at John. "Leon? What about him?" Shawn's voice is rough from lack of use. "Hes alive, They are showing it on Smackdown! We have to get to the arena now!" John tells him. "You drive." Is all Shawn says before dragging him out.

-

Leon looks at the knocked out bodies on the floor. His gaze then turns to the skeleton blade placed on display like a trophy. Leon feels his scar itch even at the thought of what that blade did. And yet he still steps towards it, as if it calls for him.

He raises his hand and closes it around the bone handle.

"Return to us leon"

His eyes glow purple. 'Return home..' he thinks to himself. He scans the area one more time before it fades to black.

-

It doesn't take them long to get to the arena. It takes Leon even less time.

Taker opens his eyes as Paul rants and raves. That's when the lights turn out. "Taker?" Steve asks. "Not me.." Taker whispers. Hope fills taker. 'Hes received my call.'

The lights turn back on and that hope quickly turns to dread. Leon is stood behind Paul and whilst taker is glad he's alive, he sure as hell doesn't look it. His nornaly Ash like tan skin is a dead pale kind. He has deep black circles around his eyes. His hair is thin and wiry. He's thin, his bones visible. But taker knows this is his boy.

Leon tilts his head and that's when taker catches the blade in Leon's boney hands. "Leon! No!" Taker yells. Paul's eyes widen and he jerks forward and turns around. Taker doesn't hesitate to climb out of the ring. He stops at the bottom of the ramp when Paul moves to the side.

Shawns arms are wrapped around Leon. Leon is suddenly not the same person he saw five seconds ago. Leon is himself again. No longer dead looking. Zombie like. The blade falls from his hands as his eyes turn normal. He leans back against his Papa and closes his eyes. "My baby" Shawn whispers as he rests his cheeks against Leon's shoulder blades. "My baby is back to me" shawn whispers, tears escaping his eyes. Leon lowers his head, bringing a hand up rest against his papas.

"Home"

Shawn opens his eyes at the rough voice. He lifts his head slightly and watches as Taker rushes up the ramp, pulling both into a hug. "Welcome home" Taker whispers against Leon's once again full head of hair. "Welcome home." Taker repeats.

---------------------------------

Cassie smiles widely at her brother. "I told them you'd come back" she states. Leon just looks at her and nods. He hasn't spoken much since his return. Only the word home. "Dad's been working nonstop to rebuild the home. It looks amazing!" Cassie adds. Leon just smiles at her before turning his gaze to meet takers in the rear view mirror. Takers been keeping a close eye on him since he returned. He's not the only one who saw Leon in that state. The whole world did. The media believe wwe have just upped their special affects. Everyone at wwe have questions, but so does Taker. He doesn't know what to say to people. He doesn't even know what to ask Leon.

Shawn? Shawns completely ignoring anything that happened that day. He's just happy to have his family back.

Taker knows better than to push Shawn. Especially now.

He stops the car outside their rebuilt home. Charlie barks in the back seat. "Home" Leon whispers. All three glance at him. Taker wasn't sure how he'd react to seeing the house. But it was worth a shot. They climb out of the car, shawn last. Shawn hugs himself as he examines the house.

Flashes of it on fire shoot in his mind. But no. That's not where shawns trauma really lays. Unlike taker, he's not scared of the fire, just of those who set it. Those who use it to take the lives of others. Those who set the fire and then use a more cruel method to take a child's life.

Shawn turns his gaze too Leon who's staring at the house. Shawn steps closer and notices that Leon isn't staring, his eyes are rolled back. "Taker? Taker!" Shawn yells. Taker jerks forward and catches Leon as he falls back. Cassies eyes widen and Charlie growls, but not at them, at the woods. Taker looks towards the woods and his eyes immediately land on the shadow watching them. He looks away as a hand grabs his arm.

Taker looks to see Leon staring at him. "Leon?" Taker asks. "Sorry." Leon mutters standing on his own. "Im okay. I didn't mean to scare you lot. Its just been...a tough few months." Leon admits. "Its nice to hear you say more than home" cassie smiles. Leon nods and looks towards the woods. "He will cause no harm." Leon states. Shawn and cassie look at him confused. "Not to us. He's here to protect us. A little deal I made when I was down under." Leon adds. "I knew you'd goto hell. Hunter owes me 50" cassie states. "Of course he did." Shawn huffs. "The devil's a good guy. I understand the world differently now." Leon tells them.

Taker examines his sons. There's something different to it than a week ago when he rejoined them. "I understand." Leon tells him. "You shouldn't." Taker states. Leon just hums and looks back at the house. "I know. Now you and kane aren't alone. And now I'm home." Leon shrugs.

"Im glad your home and I'm glad we are all together again" Shawn states.

Taker glances at the shadow again as his family make their way inside. "Whats going to happen next?" He asks quietly.

[kynky]

I was thinking about those Ipod shuffle posts we all did back in the day..

It was easy enough to do when you had everything on iTunes or just one massive library but nowadays with streaming and physical it's not quite the same.

But using Spotifysy to scan my last.fm history (from physical listens and digital scrobbles) I've been able to get a decent enough fairly complete yearly record of my listening habits in one playlist.

I've made a playlist for 2008 through to 2014, given how many songs are on each it made sense to split them per year. I'll only be allowing 1 entry per artist, so duplicates will be skipped.

Shuffling 2008, the first 10 songs are:

Basement Jaxx - Do Your Thing

Lacuna Coil - Fragments Of Faith

Ladytron - Deep Blue

The Jam - Boy About Town

The Mock Turtles - Can You Dig It?

Nelly Furtado - Promiscuous

Finger Eleven - Change The World

Girl Talk - Warm It Up

Rage Against The Machine - People Of The Sun

Alphabeat - Touch Me Touching You

2008 was the final year I relied on iTunes as I signed up to Spotify the following year, I still used iTunes for bootlegs and tracks not licensed to Spotify, which was a lot back then.

For 2009:

Bizzy B - Jah Works

The Bloody Beetroots - Theolonius

Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip - Angles

Telepopmusik - Ghost Girl

Fun Lovin Criminals - Loco

Krust - Follow Da Vision

Atari Teenage Riot - Too Dead For Me

Rihanna - SOS

D.I.M. - Sysiphos

Nine Inch Nails - Right Where It Belongs

For 2010:

Jakwob - Scare The Snare

DJ Complex - Delicate State

Korpiklaani - Juodaan Viinaa

Calvin Harris - Neon Rocks

Michael Giacchino - End Credits Can Suck It!

God Is An Astronaut - Golden Sky

Nymfo - Proton Pack

The Cure - Lovecats

New Order - True Faith '94

Mampi Swift - Mr Elastic

For 2011:

Terrorvison - Tequila (Mint Royale Shot)

Rob Zombie - What? (Naughty Cheerleader Mix)

Joker - Tron

DLX - Operation Room

Pinch - One Blood, One Source (Distance Remix)

Toro y Moi - Intro/Chi Chi

Java - Yard Manz

Stratovarius - The Game Never Ends

Disonata - Bazooko's Circus

Badly Drawn Boy - Something To Talk About

For 2012:

Scuba - Cognitive Dissonance

Mansun - Wide Open Space (Perfecto Mix)

Clark - The Pining pt2

The Dresden Dolls - First Orgasm

Wonkap - Total Destruction

Super Power Club - Paparazzi

Rustie - Flash Back

Kissy Sell Out - Turn It On (Instrumental)

GRiZ - Wax City

Hulk - Watch Em Burn

For 2013:

Danny Byrd - Grit

Machinedrum - Jelly Jelly

Sub Focus - Out The Blue

Jagwar Ma - Come Save Me (Andrew Weatherall Remix)

Grim - Playground

Maduk - Feel Good

Celldweller - Hemlock Drone Attack

Mutated Forms - Wastegash (The Upbeats Remix)

Drop Goblin - The Gate

Tin Tin Out - All I Wanna Do

For 2014:

Maztek - Interlude

Bowsar - External Memory

The Algorithm - synthesiz3r

Trolley Snatcha - End Of The Earth

Michal Menert - So Alone

Felix Cartal - Who Even Am I

Ballkansky - Tomorrow

Jacob Plant - Radar

DJ Hype - Dreams

Hugo - 99 Problems

Only 1 artist was a duplicate (Girl Talk) and was skipped and only 1 appears in my Last.fm top 20 (Sub Focus).

I haven't made any other lists as of yet as I'm enjoying going back through these, a lot of the songs I've not heard in years, whilst some are dated and I'd probably not listen to now, there are a few I'd totally forgotten about.

Now I don't expect anyone to care about this at all, it was just something to kill an hour and now I've got a 70 track playlist to check out to keep me busy today

[fights4users]

Everyone who worked on Tron is stronger than me

Have you ever played a old arcade cabinet?! The shits addictive! It doesn’t matter what game- forget it- it has you- you’re gone! You belong to the machine now! They’d have to drag my ass onto set kicking and screaming - I would be fired so fast lmao. (I have lost so much of my life to the hypnotic power of dig dug)

Also I think it’s generally just really funny to have video games for the downtimes between filming a movie about video games- also playing it in costume is such an image. (How fucking tall is he? He’s the size of it���)

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

It's been a few days now since David Greenbaum was named head of Walt Disney Studios. We should be getting an idea of what his vision for the studio will be once something is greenlit, which may take a little while. There were properties and ideas that his predecessor, Sean Bailey, had toyed around with but didn't make a move on... He could put one of those into production (and there were *plenty*), maybe not. Maybe something never before announced?

TRON: ARES, the TRON-in-name-only movie being directed by Joachim Ronning and bringing back *nobody* from the first two films, is underway with a first look image out. This is the last of the Bailey-era greenlights, along with MOANA live-action, which is likely to vacate its June 27, 2025 release date. I wouldn't be surprised if ARES movie fills the slot after it sails away. MALEFICENT 3 apparently was in the works, too, but who knows if that goes forward following this leader change. The 2nd one kinda just did okay and existed for a bit.

I wonder how many projects Bailey wanted to do end up making it under Greenbaum's watch? Usually a change in leadership means a new start, and if you know me well, I'm not fond of Bailey's legacy: The remakes of Disney's animated features. The well has arguably run dry, too, and it makes me wonder what kind of promo muscle will be put into the upcoming LION KING prequel and next year's SNOW WHITE. And whether planned re-dos of stuff like THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME moves forward or not. BAMBI, HERCULES and LILO & STITCH, last I checked, are Disney+ originals. LILO & STITCH live-action is filming as of now, but I'm not sure if the other ones make it. Some theme park movies, too, like SPACE MOUNTAIN and JOURNEY INTO IMAGINATION... Wonder where those will go.

When watching the new Walt Disney Animation Studios show IWAJU last night, I noticed Byron Howard's name in the credits as "Executive Producer". Usually that's for one person, the leader of the studio. That's Jennifer Lee, who was named Chief Creative Officer of WDAS in June 2018 following John Lasseter's prolonged exit.

Howard - who directed on BOLT and TANGLED, and pitched and directed ZOOTOPIA and ENCANTO - was at one point thought to be Lasseter's successor, along with WRECK-IT RALPH director Rich Moore, who was ZOOTOPIA's other director. Lee got the gig, and many have been critical of the films being released under her 5-year watch. Most of which are Lasseter leftovers anyways. WISH and IWAJU are new, Lee-era greenlights, as well as - presumably - that fantasy movie set in the Middle East from director Suzi Yoonessi that apparently was supposed to come out this year but MOANA 2 took its place. All the Disney+ shows - BAYMAX!, ZOOTOPIA+, and TIANA - were hers, too. Per an old article in 2019, Josie Trinidad and Marc Smith could have feature films in the works.

We really don't have that much of an idea of what her WDAS really is, other than Disney+ shows and Lasseter greenlights. Her tenure has also, curiously, been marked by a lot of focus group interference. On a level I haven't seen before with these movies, and it's a very possible explanation for why STRANGE WORLD and WISH struggled, and the general sort-of blah reaction to their recent output. Maybe not. If we are to go by streaming metrics, regular people who aren't very online seemed to quite dig ENCANTO and RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON, STRANGE WORLD did good on Disney+, and I'm sure WISH will too. But getting people into the theater to see your $150-200m movie is quite the task, and making Disney Junior-caliber stuff ain't gonna cut it if you want a mass audience to show up.

Anyways, Byron Howard previously got an executive producer credit on FROZEN II, which I suppose happened because Lee was writer-director of that movie like she was on the first FROZEN. Someone had to run the studio while she was directing, right? You'll notice that the credits for RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET, which was in production during Lasseter's exit (that started with a "sabbatical leave" that began in November of 2017, and ended with his canning in June), there are three exec producers named: Lasseter, Lee, and Chris Williams. Again, needing someone to run the ship when there is no leader or their leader is directing. Pixar did the same for SOUL, which leader Pete Docter directed. Dan Scanlon and Kiri Hart were executive producers on that film.

But afterwards, no need for Howard to run things... Until IWAJU, curiously. I wonder why he's listed as executive producer on that particular project? Is it some kind of hint that he's next in line to run Walt Disney Animation Studios? Especially following the box office disasters of STRANGE WORLD and WISH? Or does it just... Mean nothing? After MOANA The Series was apparently coming along so well that it became MOANA The Movie Sequel, maybe not. Somebody was doing something right, and no matter how the movie turns out, it's sure to pocket an *easy* billion. Ditto ZOOTOPIA 2 and FROZEN III. But an original, post-COVID outbreak movie release, remains the hard nut to crack. In a no-COVID world, RAYA and ENCANTO would've done better at the box office. The studio hasn't had an original movie that covered its budget at the box office since... MOANA... All the way back in 2016/17...

Not that that means anything, but WISH and STRANGE WORLD did shockingly low for what they were. Even for post-COVID outbreak releases, they didn't enjoy the legs of pictures like cousin studio's ELEMENTAL, alongside MIGRATION, DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS, THE BAD GUYS, etc. Something's gotta change, I reckon.

I do not know, I'm not a fly on the wall in that building haha.