#also I couldn't think of how to include this in the post but Sam looks like Dog Man

[upslapmeal]

Notes from the Taskmaster 16x10 recording

The last two episode recordings I went to, I meant to make comprehensive notes when I got home afterwards that I would be able to look back at and post when the episode aired. I did not, in fact, end up doing that. So this time I was determined to have lots of notes, and made them on the go in the breaks in recording. However. They were made in a rush and I never went back through them to pad them out (you'd really think I would have learned by now). So instead of just having to rely on my memory, I ended up with an almost coded list of words and phrases that it's taken me pretty much 2 weeks to sit down and decipher lol. So with that said:

the pre-episode Greg-Alex entertainment was Greg getting Alex to sing a song about a recent news story to the tune of a song suggested by the audience - in this case it was Trump's lawsuit (the one in May 2023 since there are...a few) to the tune of Wuthering Heights

Alex really went for the whole live thing, and was constantly referring to it throughout the episode

when the contestants came onstage, I obviously first saw Sam in his bright colours and blond hair

we were right on the back balcony and my first impression from that distance was that he kinda looked like Jamie Laing lol

Greg made a passing comment about how he's been dressing in grey but I was completely taken by surprise when the vt rolled and he looked completely different!

I had assumed he'd actually buzzed his hair and didn't realise it was a wig until the ep aired

Sue made comments throughout the episode about how Sam looked like Dahmer

Lucy's prize task story, unsurprisingly, went on for ages and included a whole story about the holiday they went on that I tragically cannot remember

I was so glad they didn't cut 'untaffled' because I looked through my notes before again before watching the episode and couldn't for the life of me remember what she'd said

Greg's said that his immediate response to naked Alex in the prize task was that he was 'smooth like an eel'

After Julian's prize task there was a discussion about how people wanted to be buried, and at one point (I wish I could remember the conversation leading up to this) either Greg or Alex said they would be buried 'together forever in the Victoria monument'

There was a whole long debate about whether Sam intended to use nature as part of his doughnut task, and whether the bird toppling Ms Doughnut to her death should be counted

Greg told Sam to 'convince me to give you 3 points'

Sam went on talking about how amazing nature is and how we're all connected and at one point said 'consider the statistics.....3000' (I'm 99% sure this is what he said and I didn't just forget the rest of the quote)

Julian's exercise name was absolutely not a one-off, to the point they started running a 'cunt count' for the episode

Sue talked about how she had recently had an ADHD diagnosis, and that she kept viewing tasks holistically rather than paying attention to the details. This was specifically in relation to the exercise where she just did the same thing 4 times

I'm not sure if we saw the full extended version of Hotel Taskmaster, but we definitely saw a cut that included more than the aired version (though tbh I think they do that for most tasks and I just noticed this one bc we got the extended version)

We got an 'I put it to you' from Greg that Alex-as-Qrs looked genuinely cool

Lucy described Alex as having 'tight metallic buns' which Greg later referred to as his 'robot arse'

I cannot stress how much of a breakdown Susan had in the studio about the forks and marbles - you get a glimpse in the episode but that was nothing!

Susan also took AGES to do her throw in the live task - she kept on being about to throw before being interrupted, or saying her arms were too short, or that she needed a wee, or having a fit of giggles, and the longer it went the worse it got lol

Greg and Alex also had a go at it, and Sue wanted another go without the pressure. Greg and Sue got the ball in but Alex didn't

Don't ask me to remember the context, but at one point during the record, Greg told a story about someone he knew (whose name he said he would tell the others backstage) who would have sex in a cow mask and would demand 'LOOK AT ME!!!'. Anyway that was referred back to a few times in the ep

When Sam was given the trophy he just stood near-motionless with it for what felt like ages before we got to the hugs and everything

And now we enter the magical world of ~what on earth was this note referring to~ where I just hope someone else who was there (@politicalprocrastinator how's your memory?) sees this and can fill me in on what I've forgotten:

At some point around the prize / first task I wrote 'correct dog guess'. Whose dog? What was being guessed? Absolutely no idea

At some point there was a joke about the 'former Prime Minister', I think the idea being that by the time the episode aired we'd inevitably have a new PM? but I honestly can't remember

Someone called someone else submissive in a way notable enough for me to have written 'submissive' as a one-word bullet point, but not notable enough for me to actually remember

And now three bullet points which I will present in their original form:

Birthday

Bum hole in back

Get in bath

[vintagelacerosette]

Tag game 🩷🎀

Hosted by the wonderful Jess @jrooc

Sorry for the lateness!! I was tagged by these twinkling starlights Kaka @stocious Dosho @doshiart Kat @mybrainismelted Pie @gallapiech Ice @spookygingerr Michelle @mmmichyyy Willow @ian-galagher Jen @wehangout Georgia @iansw0rld Cyn @ms-moonlight-inn Evie @ energievie Gigi @guinguin1984 Becki @francesroserecs Michelle @michellemisfit

Thaaankss 🥰

Name and A03 handle:

Shermyn/Myn & Dynastyria (no written works yet!💕)

Current Location:

On the lounge couch

Favourite picrew (don’t have one? you can skip this or do this one)?

So many to choose from!!!

Picrew 1 (I am obsessed with cardcaptors) , Picrew 2 (Willow made of usss & I treasure itttt 😍) Picrew 3 & Picrew 4 (bc who doesn't love a good bread bowl)

What’s one thing you want in a picrew?

I think more body size inclusively 🙌🏻

Favourite thing you’ve created (or seen created) for the fandom?

Tie between Molly's draw this in your style/Gallacrafts & 2024 gallavich valentine's!

Why is it your favourite?

It's the first time a drawing really looked how I thought it did in my head & I impressed myself. Also, I'm obssessed with the pastels in the gallavalentine. 🩷🩵💜

Did it come easily or was it hard to create? 

Hard bc I find body poses hard, then I start to procrastinate bc of that, but then I've got the deadline so it makes me stressed haha

Last ao3 fic you commented on?

from way up there (you and I, you and I) by the amazing @sam-loves-seb It was the cutest I couldn't even!!!

Biggest WIP heartache you’ve ever experienced? 

Where the Feigned Wind Falls by the very talented & missed Jenna @ianrightsonly

Thank you for sharing your story & I hope one day you'll come back 🥰

Favourite trope or head canon you like included in a fanfic?

Ohhh gotta be lust at first sight, then we fuck our way into true tender feelings!! I'm a sucker for it!! Notable writers of this are Jane @captainjowl & Kay @goodkwuestion & they are so damn good at it

Least favourite?

I haven't seen with gallavich thankfully but turning one character in a gay ship into the opposite gender to make them het!!

Secret or surprising kink or trope?

Omg it's gotta be uniform kink bc of Ray @whatthebodygraspsnot Kinktober 2022. It awoke something in me & I was like I finally get it ahaha

Describe how you feel after you’ve created something new?

I feel relief & feeling proud. Then I stress about when's a good time to post for most of ya'll to see bc of timezones 😅

Top hype man you have that always helps you get across the finish line:

My loves Benja @svltburn & Vey @look-i-love-u

I run to Ben in my art WIP bc like a kid showing art to an adult & Vey's given me amazing advice with writing that sparked inspiration 🥰

I'm in the headspace of desperately telling ppl about my fic ideas & wanting it to be a surprise so idk i may reach out for more hype men haha

It’s been a bad day, you turn to the fandom and you _____

Like Evie I mass reblog fandom works to spread love 🩷

I'm tagging these sparkling rainbow darlings if they wanna play & for anyone else consider yourself tagged 🌈

@ burninface @deedala @jademickian @sgtmickeyslaughter

@darthvaders-wife @matt404b @gallavichsbitch

@deathclassic @look-i-love-u @celestialmickey

@takeyourpillsbitchh @sickness-health-all-that-shit

@whaticameherefor @heymrspatel @gallawitchxx

@psychicskulldamage @sleepyfacetoughguy @doodlevich

@awa444 @suzy-queued @crossmydna @iandarling

@y0itsbri @michellemisfit @mikhailoisbaby @samantitheos

@pookiebearmick @reganmian @firecrxtch

@howlinchickhowl

[trans-jon-rights]

What is the Magnus Protocol ?

(And how does it tie in with the Magnus Institute ?)

With MAGP 19 being the bombshell it was, I think we might have enough information to at least draft up the beginning of a theory.

So what could it be ?

I suppose it might be just that, a Protocol of containment. To contain Newton's creation and whatever happened in London*. Still enacted to this day by the government, the O.I.A.R and Starkwall**. And maybe it is the reason why the Institute burned.

*I suspect what happened in London to be the Great Fire of London, which did help stop a plague and happened 18 years before the letter was written.

**As mentioned in MAGP 4

So with that we have the more concrete stuff set up, I think we can go into the slightly more crack theory, because I've had too much coffee and my brain is going to explode.

Albertus Magnus was a German alchemist from the 13th century. He was very interested in stones, and believed they held power, as stated in his work 'De Mineralibus'. There were also numerous rumours that he achieved immortality using the philosopher's stone, which was a huge achievement in alchemy (basically the ultimate goal).

His work inspired numerous others, including :

Metals and Materials

The Secrets of Chemistry

The Origin of Metals

The Origins of Compounds

Doesn't this remind you of something ?

The case also refers to Wilhelm Homberg, though I couldn't find much on him other than he was an alchemist, and that he looked to create the philosopher's stone as well (which confirms that whatever Newton found, it was about that).

Anyway.

Let's consider this. Sam confirmed in the latest episode that it at least somewhat related to alchemy. And look at this from MAGP 9 :

They were looking for catalysts. Even better, they had an entire department dedicated to them ! Maybe I'm totally wrong, but the direct synonym of it in my native language (un catalyste) is something that was used in alchemy, at least to my knowledge.

So yeah, we know it has to do with alchemy. I've yet to found it again, but I recall tumblr user @misfitmagpie did this very extensive post about alchemical symbols on the logo of the show, and others on more alchemical stuff if you are interested.

But it is very obvious the Institute studied alchemy, looking for something. I do have a theory as to why they studied it, but its not about the Protocol, so we'll hold that thought for slightly later.

To me, the Protocol is something meant to regulate things, and was enabled by the government. But the government might have at some point considered the Institute dangerous, much like Robert Hooke did with Newton's experiment, and decided to destroy it. Usually the destructions involve fire. Newton's lab did burn down, and the mentionned previous iteration was likely to be the Great Fire of London in 1666.

(It is also notable that, although irrelevant to the current theory, the charity shop in MAGP 7 did burn down as well, which would further strengthen the idea that Starkwall is the current enabler of the Protocol for the government)

What else burned ? The Magnus Institute.

The very same Institute that was invested in alchemy, and that I am uninclined to believe was well intentioned.

And here I'd like to introduce you to something. The Franciscans.

Those guys held the belief that the Antichrist was coming and that the philosopher's stone was essential to stop it.

There's also a concept of balance (something something Robert Smirke something something) involved which dictates that for an Antichrist there needs to be a Christ.

And the Institute did research on children, measuring their development, empathy and compliance. Whether they were looking for the Christ or the Antichrist is unsure, (though seeing that high empathy level children were rejected speaks for itself) but they were looking for something.

So here, I could conclude. Say that the Institute was looking for the philosopher's stone, and the Antichrist, and that the Protocol was used to destroy them. But there's more.

Do you remember MAG 140 ? In this episode, Basira says this about Maxwell Rayner :

And here I have a fun fact for you. Did you know that Albertus Magnus wasn't originally named like this ? His name was Albertus the Great, and he became 'Magnus' after his death (Magnus meaning 'The Great' in Latin).

So what if ?

What if Jonah discovered Albertus' old works, and decided to follow them, resulting in an imperfect immortality like in TMA, and founding his Institute to further his research it and access a perfect one ?

And maybe he succeeded, and then decided that he wanted more, and tried to find the Antichrist. Finding use for the child would be easy, and he could hold it as a Damocles sword up everyone's head.

Then, he almost found them, and the Protocol was executed. That would give us a potential identity for [ERROR], being either Jonah or the child that yhey couldn't destroy. If it is Jonah, that would explain why he was following Alice, if she was indeed Connor Dyer (and Alex confirmed that she was trans mtf, so the possibility is more than likely). But also, considering [ERROR] I voiced by a woman, I rather think it might be the child.

I don't believe Albertus to be Jonah, mostly because if he already had access to immortality that early, why wait so long to look for the child. Though Jonah being a relative would explain the origin of his last name and how he found Albertus' old works.

In short, I believe the Magnus Protocol to be a Protocol of containment/destruction of knowledge by fire, related but not only limited to alchemy. It was used in 1999 to stop the researches conducted at the Magnus Institute. These researches were looking for an Antichrist, and conducted by the maybe immortal Jonah Magnus, who had discovered the secret to eternal life and the philosopher's stone exploiting the work of Albertus Magnus.

I am going insane.

Please send opinions and corrections ! I am far from an expert, I'm just a sleep deprived guy who did some research so don't hesitate to correct me ! You won't come out as rude and I won't be offended I promise.

[2sw]

🖤Understanding Season 4&5 Sam🖤

long post, 30 gifs

sorry I don't care if my english sucks or not anymore. I live with the urge to defend Sam 24/7, that's what it's about.

this post looks weird on pc… recommend you to read on the app

Supernatural S1E01 Pilot // S1E06 Skin S3E08 A Very Supernatural Christmas S4E19 Jump the Shark

Do you see the parallels here? This is why I think people who say season 4 Sam was annoying also hate every other character in this show, they just don't realize that. It was not a big deal when other characters treated Sam the way they did, but when Sam started to mirror them you suddenly find it annoying? That's absurd. I know almost every filmmaking choice of this show is unfair to Sam and I hate that too, but still we audiences can see things from various angles and think for ourselves. And sometimes you need to see the story as a story, not something to take sides.

Supernatural S3E16 No Rest for the Wicked Supernatural S4E04 Metamorphosis

Sam lost his entire family at the end of season 3. He was full of remorse, and to make up for that he was literally following his family's footsteps. Sam became obsessed with revenge like John did after Mary died. Season 4 was about that vicious cycle, the tragedy of it. Dean sold his soul for Sam just like John did for him. Sam tried to be more like his dad and big brother and did what they taught him. And Sam's relapse was a part of the addiction cycle. But Dean locking up Sam in the panic room changed nothing, the final seal was broken after all. So Lucifer gets out, and the oldest family drama is about to start all over again. It wasn't about who was right or wrong. It was about the circle, a never ending story. The next season was about restoring trust in each other and seeking redemption, and Sam eventually broke the chain by sacrificing himself. That's what makes Swan Song the tragic ending of all time. (though it all comes back as the show keeps going on... but what is spn without The Codependency™)

So, yeah, it's beyond me how some people can't see the reason behind Sam's choices in this season cause the context was SO clear. If you watch the show, you can see how much Sam and Dean affect each other and how much both are affected by John in different ways. And it's natural because they are family. We are who we are because of everyone and everything that has happened in our lives, and same goes for every fictional character, including Sam. It's just as simple as that. Sam was just trying to live by his brother's will while battling with grief and loss. He had to keep on fighting without Dean. And the reason why Dean wasn't with him was because Dean sold his soul to save Sam and went to hell for it. It not only made Sam the sole survivor of the family but also made the very being of him their entire legacy. Starting with Mary making a deal with Azazel, every choice ever made in this family is what brought him there. As I said earlier, it's the cycle. And a consequence. In short, if it is a sin, I think it’s everyone’s.

Supernatural S4E04 Metamorphosis

Sam and Dean's fate to be vessels? Their destiny? It doesn't matter in the end. This show was always about fate AND free will. Free will was always there. You always have choices. Sam was the one who believed that most desperately so he became the one who broke the cycle. Even though it was only the last page, he ripped out the written fate anyway and wrote the ending himself. YES HE IS THE MAIN CHARACTER. And after everything he did for the world, the story made him suffer eternal agony with the Devil because he is also a tragic hero figure. (SIGH literally the character of all time)

You can see this all only as an observer, as an audience. For Sam, the only thing he could do at the moment was just find the person to blame―in this case, it's a demon named Lilith― and get revenge. And he was lost somewhere along the road, he became an addict because he couldn't do anything about his loved ones dying, but when he drinks the demon blood it gives him power and a sense of control. (aaaaaand I still don't get why writers wrote this as some kind of diabolical desire in 4x18. I get it sammy what the fuck would chuck know about helplessness)

You can say you wouldn't suck up the demon blood, that's fine, but this story was written in this way, and if Sam didn't do that, the story couldn't go forward. Why? Because he is the main character. (It always had to be you, Sammy!) And reminds you that if you want to watch a show with multiple seasons, you have to remember what happened before to understand what’s going on now. So please don't make up things in your head, just go back to where it all started. There are contexts in everything. Everyone is a consequence of each other, but we don't have to be bound to that fact. We have choices: to change, to make things better. That's why we should be kind to each other, and for that, I love and respect Sam so much cause he didn't let his traumas define him and always tried to be a better person. ♡

I'm not done yet!!! see also this:

Supernatural S3E04 Sin City Supernatural S4E04 Metamorphosis

Dean worried when Sam killed a demon with the Colt to save him cause it also killed a person who was being possessed, and it was 'cold'. But then when he finds out about the demon blood, he is so mad that he doesn't even care about the fact Sam was saving possession victims and just screaming in Sam's face "Use the knife!". It's so??? What is the logic here? This just proves it's always been about his feelings, not really about saving people. Is that an evil thing? No, I don’t think so. Dean is just a human, he can’t control what he feels. But if you use this to beat up Sam, I'll go feral then. Cause Sam is a human too.

And look at Ruby's masterful manipulation skill. Makes Sam feel guilty about everything, and comes back with what he needs when no one's left around him. She really was the best of those sons of bitches.

Supernatural S4E04 Metamorphosis

Seriously, what was Sam supposed to do? Everyone on this show didn't even bother to understand Sam and just decided everything he ever did was fundamentally wrong. Sam was using his own body to change the things outside of him, cause there is nothing he can do about the fact of his body, the blood in it. In life, there are things we can change and we can't. We have to live with that non-negotiable fact for our whole life. Sam learned this most painful way... And one thing about Sam is that he never let the unchangeable things make him give up the things he can change. It's not always a good thing though, cause Sam in s4 was very self-destructive. He was obsessive, and that is one of his problems. Sam is so stubborn and doesn't give up on anything easily. Actually this problem could be solved after s7 cause he tried to move on, but s8 happened… so it got worse, kept getting worse, and look what happened in s10. The most heartbreaking domino effect, I'd say...

Supernatural S5E03 Free to Be You and Me Supernatural S5E06 I Believe the Children Are Our Future

Anyways, back to the point. Unfortunately, Sam started the apocalypse. And what did he do after that? When the whole world tried to hunt him down, the devil wanted to crawl inside him, and an angel called him an abomination? He didn't give up there to remain that abomination. He didn’t surrender. Instead, Sam begged for a second chance. He wanted to atone, wanted redemption. He still believed in others even though he lost trust in himself. He believed there was still something he could do about it. Even when he was possessed by Lucifer, he fought till the end to save his brother and the world. And he did it. He was a fucking hero at that moment, sadly a tragic one too. But the important thing is: Sam Winchester represents hope. (I think Swan Song was a perfect ending as a tragedy. This show got weaker and weaker after s5 which kinda ruined the perfection, but I'm also so glad the show continued cause this message fits more hopefully in Carry On. I needed to see Sam rewarded with something better than eternal agony after all those additional tortures of 10 more seasons.)

One last thing, you know what's funny about Metamorphosis? Dean had nothing to say about the fact Sam saved more people than when they were hunting together, so he just went "That what Ruby wants you to think?" Dude what was going on in your mind. like that was what Ruby intended, he was right about that only by chance, but I still find it funny that Dean said that at this exact moment. And he does this a lot, attacking the messenger when he can't refute the message. He didn't have any rational reasons like Sam, he just didn't like it and that's all(and honestly I think this can be an actual reason too cause there's a history behind it which I talked about it here. I wish Dean had just talked to Sam and had a real conversation. but he never talks about his feelings, that's what Dean Winchester does. so… yep not gonna happen. also, if the brothers have a healthy relationship, that is not supernatural lol), so he brought up Angels and evoked Sam's religious guilt. And the Angels in question also turned out to be manipulative assholes later. Everyone makes mistakes, but somehow Sam is always the one who gets most condemned and blamed. Dean, On the other hand, is justified by the narrative so many times even when it is actually his fault. As I said, unfair. This is not even a Dean crit post, I'm just mad at unreasonable people and the way this show works in general.

I swear I was normal before watching this season. Sam's demon blood arc was what made me insanely fall in love with him, so when I found out all those hate for Sam… that really could be my villain origin story but instead I chose to be on tumblr, so yeah I believe love wins<3 ha what a way to end a post. sorry guys

[ineffabildaddy]

Hi sam! since the new year is approaching rapidly, i wanted to ask my favorite creators (that includes you! your fics and your posts delight me) how they look back on their 2023 tumblr year and which blogs made them happy to be here. i am very happy to follow you and hope you'll have a great 2024! 💘

hi!!! thank you so so much for this, a few months ago i couldn't even imagine being so active in the tumblr community again, let alone anyone's favourite anything!!!!

i've been very fortunate to receive the warmest of welcomes back to tumblr after a 7-year absence, and i've received so much support for my writing (and my shitposts lol) that this whole experience of finally joining the good omens fandom has genuinely given me a newfound confidence in my creative self, and in myself as a whole💙

in terms of the blogs that make me happy to be here... they are many!!! i shall put the rest of this post under the cut

@raining-stars-somewhere-else thank you for being my first go friend and now one of my closest buddies!!! i can't wait for us to finally write that fic together (lol) and for us to get up to some irl london shenanigans at some point✨ ur hilarious and kind and so correct about literally everything and i love u. literally everyone needs to read ur posts bc they're so well-thought out and unique. also your fics are really moving and human (even though they're about crowley and aziraphalekldfjgjl) and i adore them

@sad-chaos-goblin we literally just Get Each Other, same brain and all, and i absolutely love it!!! i couldn't ask for a better horny consultant bc after all it is Our Pornography™. you're also just an extremely understanding, open and lovely person, not to mention very fun and exciting to be friends with hehe. ur headcanons are so fucking interesting (and sometimes sad, how dare u do this to me) and i'm looking forward to hearing more when u eventually get round to writing all those fics you've got ideas for<3

@foolishlovers i'm really really happy we've got to know each other better over the past couple weeks!!!!! your xmas fic is one of my absolute favourite fics ever and i'm in awe with your skill and craft, i hope to write something as well-rounded and enjoyable as that someday<3 also you're one of my favourite posters, so fucking funny and u just make points left right and centre. i hope we can share our writing and our thoughts about life in general more in 2024!!!

@crowleyslvt i'm very happy i barged my way into your dms to be horny on main bc i definitely wouldn't've explored half the things i've explored in my writing if not for our discussions and your encouragement!!! i absolutely love talking writing and sexy headcanons with you, but above that i love that i'm now mates with such a talented, considerate, hilarious kiwi lad. i am honoured to be one of the little guys in ur phone who gets to hype up u as an exceedingly great porn writer but also as a legend in general

@voluptatiscausa no one understands my feralness for michael sheen like you do. i can go batshit insane in the dms over ms and dt with u and that space is important to me dlgkljdgldfjgl. i'm really glad i started reading ur writing this year bc it's very enjoyable, but it's also healing for me as a person who's [whispers] a traumatised and cripplingly shy person in terms of sex lmao. thank you for bestowing it upon ao3, and by extension, upon me!!!! also tho, you're a really nurturing and interesting friend to have, not to mention a Very Cool one so continue to be that pls and thanks

@bowtiepastabitch i've felt very honoured to hear about parts of your life as you share them with me - Knowing The Lore is so important to me and i'm humbled that you've trusted me with some of the stuff that's been happening in your world<3 on another note, your fanart may be quick but it's never shitty, it's always so expressive and fun and gets my brain Thinking Thoughts. i can't express how wonderful it was when you made a wee bit of fanart for one of my fics, and i hope i continue to see ur creativity shine✨

thank you to my favourite blogs for Existing Throughout 2023 (some of whom i know i can call friends, and the rest of whom i'd like to call friends in the future!!!) @sabotage-on-mercury @crowleys-bentley-and-plants @ineffableigh @celestialcrowley @queer-reader-07 @crowleyraejepsens @teddybearbutchh @crowleyholmes @ineffable-rohese @createserenity @quoththemaiden @procrastiel @sentientsky @genderqueer-hippie @beelzzzebub @lineffability @fellshish @greenthena @brainwormcity @opscuritas @tangerine-ginger @iammyownproblematicfave @crikey01 @crawley-fell @vroomvroomwee @bildads-shoes @shoemakerobstetrician @romansmartini @wraithee

i know i'll have forgotten people so i'll add em as i remember em hehehehe

[nocreativityfornames]

Hello! Um, I don't know how welcome you are to asks but I kinda wanted to bring up this little headcanon I have of Michael that you may or may not find interesting? Iv posted about it somewhere on my blog, but to summarize it, here

Consider the potential of a Teenage Michael!

Hear me out! I just think there is a lot of potential, not only angst wise but also narrative wise.

I just love the idea of the head angel of the celetial relm being this scrawny teenage boy with issues.

Not only is he a teenager with the responsibility of being the mature older brother to the other angels, therefore, having to step up more in the absence of lucifer, but also having a lowkey abusive father who burdens him with religious trauma.

And I just loove the trope where it's like:

The younger siblings stays behind with abusive parents left to take care of the rest of their family because their older sibling left to live a healthier life. And resentment builds because they think their older sibling abomdoned them.

Also considering how I don't think the devs will make him a villian, I think it would make Michael look way more sympathetic if he was on the younger side.

Is this accurate to what the game has established Michael to be? Not really but they've retconned things before. Not that I'd ever think they'd go along with a concept like this.

Anyways I'm writing this at like 11pm so exuse the spelling errors, I'm so tired 🥲.

Ps. I really like your content :D

I actually REALLY like that, and the angst oh boy :")

I mean, looking back to NB S1 (spoilers!!!) with this in mind makes everything so much sadder. Like how he disguised himself as Raphael just to visit the others in the Devildom because he missed them and didn't know how to interact with them as himself. And also him giving Lucifer that ultimatum to either come back or make the Devildom an enemy of the Celestial Realm as a last attempt to bring his older brother and brothers back (even though deep down he knew they'd refuse) because he was struggling to step up and handle things on his own after he left, especially since the trauma of the war was still fresh for everyone (including himself) and he had to look after the traumatized part of the family that stayed, like you said.

Which is... heartbreaking.

Funny thing though: I always thought Michael to be the oldest one (or them being twins) and your ask made me start thinking about how that would play out in this scenario with the og game stuff in mind.

So like, the older sibling carrying resentment while also being happy for the youngest because they got tired of the abuse and had the courage to stand up to their parent and leave to have a happier life when he couldn't because he still feels tied to that parent and that it's his responsibility and duty to stay with them no matter what (think of Dean and Sam from SPN, who have this exact dynamic and a very complicated relationship with their father).

And then there's the whole thing about Michael being the one to cast out Lucifer and his brothers from the Celestial Realm, which only adds to this. It's like: the younger brother stood up to his father and was met with rage, so the oldest stepped up and to avoid something even worse from happening kicked him out of the house himself.

(@luckykittysshowerthoughts has an amazing post about this that has never left my mind ever since I read it and I recommend everyone reading it)

So we fast-forward to years and years later where the oldest is still living with their parents looking after the siblings who didn't leave while missing his younger brother, worrying for him, and wanting to know how he's doing. So he tries his best to stay in contact and know what's happening but since their relationship has been strained ever since what happened (because from the youngest's POV his older brother betrayed him by not taking his side and kicking him out of the house, which I think was how Lucifer felt for a long time before he saw the bigger picture as he got older) the youngest rejects his attempts at trying to contact him and the oldest's only way to know how he's doing is by sending his other siblings to check up on him or contact the people close to him.

Does he do it to the point where it gets annoying? Yes. Is his constant need to know how his brother is doing making said brother feel even more frustrated with him and only driving him further away? Yes. Would it have been better if he had left the brother alone and waited for him to reach out on his own? Yes. But he can't find it in himself to do that because he'd worry too much and miss him even more.

Tbh, I can see both of these scenarios being true together. So younger Michael right after the fall is still bitter and doesn't want to admit that he misses Lucifer and his brothers (he didn't seem to like to hear that Luke thought he missed them when talking to him as Raphael) and later accepting that and leaving a lot of that resentment behind to just be happy for them and miss them, wanting to know how they're doing often, etc.

So I definitely don't see him as evil either, but more of a broken younger/older sibling who wants to reconnect with his family and whose intentions are good but don't translate very well in his method of doing things.

Sorry for going on my own rambling here, lol

And I'm more than fine with asks, I love discussing stuff about the game and the characters <3

[omegastation]

If you could implement anything you desire into the next ME game, what would it be? Could be narrative, gameplay, controls, etc.

Ah!!!!

Honestly the first thing that comes to mind is letting Shepard rest. That would be my main concern. I also think they would make Shepard come back for the wrong reasons, to make the franchise as popular as it was, and I wouldn't like it.

I would also like some kind of shift in the way power is distributed post Reaper Wars, and I want it to make sense. I want the writers to worldbuild as best as they can and come up with something believable because the same old same old just wouldn't work after everything that happened. If there's still a Council, how does it work? I would love for every race to have a representative on it, and if not, they better explain why because the wars changed the dynamics. Prejudices must still exist but I don't think it makes sense to still have the regular old talk of "lesser species".

What kind of other shifts can we think of? If Spectres still exist, do they still have that much power? Are the Volus still having all the financial power? Is there a new seat of power? How does it reflect the multiples races of the galaxy? Would the next version of Avina still look like an asari or would it look completely different?

And really, the krogan are my fav so I might be biased, but I really want them to no longer have to prove they're not how people perceive them to be. I want them living their best lives, full of hope. And hope also means seeing more children and female aliens. Bioware needs to do better with that.

I've liked Mass Effect Andromeda so I do hope there's a follow-up there as well:

WHO WAS THE BENEFACTOR?????!!!!!!

Angara mixing with all alien races in the Milky Way and Andromeda

But after that, since you said anything!!!, I would always love more lore: - If we're talking about "rectifying" stuff, I would say some kind of explanation about Ardat-Yakshi because they didn't have a good handle of that lore. It's way too contradictory. - I would also like a resolution to the dark energy storyline, even if it's just one mission. - More AIs such as EDI or SAM explored. Everything about the way EDI aked questions and chose to prioritize certains things in her life made sense to me, but we can go one step further. Couldn't she design her platform? What about a being like SAM? Wouldn't SAM want their own platform? What does it mean for an AI to have design preferences? Can aesthetics relate to their identity and sense of self? And what does it mean to process things so fast? How do you love in those conditions? And how do the geth will evolve? Would we see new designs for the geth? Will we see more individual geths (from a "we" to a "I") or will we see the opposite? And why do we believe one is better than the other when it's just a different system and way of living and thinking? - More languages lore and especially an explanation about the trade language. Just release a complete guide to your writing system Bioware!!!! It's all over the trilogy so it must mean something. I would also love the same for Khelish - Quarian and geth lore, because those two races always manage to bring something new and interesting and honestly just really poignant. - More homeworld or settled worlds/colonies that we can explore. I think Kahje especially must be something

As far as relationships/friendships/LIs:

more aliens as squad or crew members (including volus, drell, batarians)

a krogan LI would be wonderful

a female drell as squadmate is a special wish for sure

more romance options in general

no hints of an "official" romance because that always backfires. Not only do players resent the hints that they should romance a character, but even the character gets judged for it.

Speaking of a character that gets judged, if Liara is present, I'd love for her to be there but not take center stage. I also don't want a Shepard-obsessed Liara. I want her to be fulfilled and curious and happy.

Regarding the Shadow Broker, I don't think the old version that has terrorized the galaxy so much and spied on its every corner can survive the Reaper Wars unscathed. But it can be replaced by worse things, so who knows?

Thank you for the ask !!!! <3 (and sorry for the long answer, I got way too excited)

Would love to have your own answer anon, or anyone who wants to answer the same question! I'm sure there are many things I forgot.

[bladeweaver-if]

Devlog (23/03/24)

I've been writing out the Sam hangout scenes, with about 2k done today. Progress is slow because I'm making an effort to make them fun but not too silly, I suppose? It's a strange thing to try and avoid when writing childhood scenes, I know, but I think there's a balance to be struck.

I don't want child MC and Sam at this age to just feel like caricatures of children, if that makes any sense. I want their behaviours and characteristics here to be emblematic of the people they'll eventually grow up into, whoever that may be (especially so in MC's case haha), as well as give some more story context/deepen their dynamic. As mentioned before, all of this can be skipped if you don't wish to spend more time with him, and will get you a 1-to-1 scene with one of your mentors, that'll be slightly different in content than if you played through the Sam route to the end of the update. The update will end at this scene either way, however.

I also did a bit of tweaking to the intro post, something I've been doing in little bits over the past few months. Just things like tweaking character descriptions, the synopsis of the story etc. I updated the cover image to include 'Book 1' as well! This is pretty much me committing to a two-game situation I guess lol.

Super duper exciting. I'm already thinking of how Book 2's title will look haha, I know I shouldn't but 😅

Anyway, that's all for now. I'm optimistic about having an update for next week, though it's still a pity I couldn't get something out yesterday.

Goodbye!

[mzannthropy]

I've posted, more than once, about Sam Claflin being very down to earth, but I've not yet talked about how I experienced this first hand. It's just a personal anecdote, you may say, but I still think it speaks well of him. This was at Dream It convention in London, in September 2022. More under the cut:

I had a VIP ticket for Sam, which included a photoshoot, an autograph and a front seat at the panel. I'm not getting into how nerve-racking the whole trip to London was for me, who had not travelled more than an hour and a half away from Manchester (where I live) in the previous seven years, and the first omg he's real omg he's looking at me sight of Sam, now, that's an inspirational Ted Talk worthy tale for another day. It's about what happened later.

If you ask me how I got the idea, I'd have to answer: I don't know, bc I truly don't remember, but it must have come to me in a matter of microseconds; there was simply no more time, for anything. The convention took place at the Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square, they have this big room that can be used for events and that connects on one side to a corridor leading to rooms that were converted into a photography studio and an autograph room. So I stood at one end of the big room and though I had a companion, whom I met at the convention--another Sam VIP ticket holder--I was alone just then. That's when I saw Sam enter the big room through one door and it was clear he would pass by me. I knew I had to act quick. Now, in an email I had received from the convention prior to the event, they specifically instructed us not to approach any celeb if we see them walking around, understandably; you can talk to them in the time allocated for this. But I thought, what the hell, I already had my picture and autograph safely in my backpack, so if they'd kick me out, I had already got what I wanted. (I still had a ticket for Ben Barnes's autograph, but it would not have been that big of a deal for me had I missed out on it.) I also remembered the story about that woman who was rude to Lena Headey at some convention, and she seemingly got away with it. So with that in mind, I positioned myself advantageously for when Sam would pass me by with his chaperones (one was in front of him, one behind, one of them I think is his manager or publicist). And as he did pass by, I said: "Hi, Sam." Just that. Nothing more.

I imagined that he'd maybe give me a nod, or perhaps even say hi back. Not only did he say hi back--and it was a long "hiiiiii!", not just plain "hi" if you know what I mean--he followed it with: "how are you, are you alright?" He looked like... genuinely pleased, like he was happy to see me (imagine a situation where you haven't seen someone for a while and then unexpectedly bump into them at a supermarket, a similar energy--it's got to be someone you like, not someone you dislike, obvs lol), and he kept the eye contact with me until he reached the door to the corridor. Keep in mind that he was looking backwards. I know that he was at a event for meeting fans, he had his best public image face on, but still, he didn't have to go all this way to respond to my greeting. At least, IMO. He couldn't have known I was going to do that.

Then later, when I was waiting outside the autograph room, in line for Ben Barnes's autograph, I just so happened to be at the top of the queue at the door, when Sam also came into the autograph room for his autograph session (the room was made up for two celebs to sign autographs). As he was entering the room, he saw me standing there and SMILED at me again!

So yeah, that is it, that's the story. All of it couldn't have taken more than 10 seconds, which just proves how short those unforgettable moments in life can be.

[rosiesramblings]

Ted Lasso Tickle HC's

Ok, fine. I wasn't in the mood to write a whole fic so here are some headcannons I spent an embarrassing amount of time on lol. Let me know what you think/if you have any headcannons I didn't include

Spoilers for the show Ted Lasso. Not too many I don't think but enough for me to put a warning. Sorry for the formatting I couldn't figure out how to do bullet points on only part of the post.

Jamie Tartt

Such a fucking lee it's not even funny

My touch-starved baby

Always after attention, no matter what kind

Dr. Sharon helps him unpack this and channel his need for attention into more positive behaviors like making people laugh, doing small kind things for others, etc

The team accepts Jamie back as a teammate after the Dubai Air protest. But they start actually liking him as a friend once they figure out how ticklish he is. 

In the later seasons, winds Roy up on purpose cause he knows it will end with him howling on the floor with Roy spidering over his ribs mercilessly

Whenever Jamie’s being a prick without getting the signal first, someone on the team will trap him in a bear hug and claw at his tummy

It’s really hard to be mad at Jamie when he’s being held up by a teammate, cackling after his legs gave out after a few pokes

The only one brave enough to poke the bear that is Roy Kent (other than Keeley)

It never ends well for him

Or does it?

Worst spots are ribs and hips

Light bicep tickles als get him really bad, but really only Keeley knows this

Roy Kent

Holy shit

Do NOT piss this man off, he will wreck you

Early in their relationship he would try and tickle Keeley. That stopped pretty quick when he realized Keeley dished it out ten times worse

The only people who know how ticklish he is are Keeley, Jamie, Phoebe, Phoebe’s mom (does she have a name in cannon? Idk) and, oddly, Coach Beard

And he has threatened all of them in order to make sure it stays that way

Roy has no idea how Beard knows and that scares the shit out of him

Beard says that Roy just looks ticklish. Really he was in the office late one night when Keeley came to pick Roy up and saw him jump a foot in the air when she dug a finger into his armpit

Knows that Jamie sometimes riles him up. He lets him because somewhere he knows that Jamie needs this. Also it is quite satisfying. Even better than taking a swing at him to be honest.

Worst spots are under his arms, his neck, and light tickles behind his knees on good days

Keeley Jones

Queen of the lers

Her nails should be classified as weapons

Roy and Jamie both know this

They also know the other one probably knows this. They never talk about it.

She’s the one who let Jamie’s ticklishness slip to Roy

Will let Roy or Jamie get a few pokes in but quickly turns the tables

Rebecca is the only one who knows about the spot being her ears

Colin Hughes

Will absolutely shout, “For Wales!” before pouncing on someone, regardless of whether or not the preceding conversation had anything to do with Wales

His shoulder blades are a death spot

Anything lighter than a firm pat on the back will make his shoulders shoot up to his ears

One of the only people who is allowed to tickle Isaac with few to no repercussions

Generally prefers being the ler, he got enough experience being a lee when he was growing up

Dani Rojas

Sunshine golden retriever man

Loves making people laugh

Will coo at his teammates in Spanish while he tickles them

That’s actually how they find out that Jamie’s been trying to learn Spanish for Dani to make him less homesick. Dani teases him lightly while spidering over his sides, and Jamie BLUSHES hard cause he can actually understand ¾ of what Dani’s saying. Dani tickles him more often after that as a thank you

Sam Obisanya

Ticklish just about everywhere

Doesn’t mind being tickled

Very persuasive - will easily convince people that a certain player needs to be tickled

That makes him dangerous

Excellent reader of people - was the first person to realize that Jamie likes being tickled

Isaac McAdo

Quite a tickle monster in the early seasons

After he becomes captain, is more reserved and conscious that the other guys look up to him

If he ever gets too in his head, Colin is more than happy to bring him back to earth

Also sometimes resorts to tickles to keep the other guys in line

Will sneak in neck and ear tickles to each guy’s haircut every season

Jan Maas

The absolute best at teasing but only because he’s so naturally blunt and honest

“This spot is much worse than your sides.”

“You are very ticklish. Does it ever become a problem?”

“Are we supposed to pretend that we don’t know you are enjoying this?”

“You squirm as if you want to get away, but you do not push away my hands.”

“You are a professional footballer, it would be very easy for you to get away.”

He strikes me as someone who just isn’t ticklish, which Jamie whines is unfair

Coach Beard

Knows where everyone is ticklish and is super scary about it

Rarely actually tickles people. Its bad enough that they know that he could. The one exception is Ted, who he tickles all the time when they’re alone/don’t have an audience, with a completely straight face

[amaranthhiding]

Sam and Lily Sunder in 12x10

I honestly never paid all that much attention to this scene in my previous rewatches of this episode, because the episode itself has such a strong focus on Cas, so that's where my attention was the other times.

But since this time my focus for this episode is on Sam (for... so far undisclosed reasons *coughs*), this scene is driving me completely up-the-wall insane. I'm not even sure I can adequately put into words all the layers of why.

Sam is really there, having a bonding moment with the red-haired, centuries-old woman who knows levels of advanced magic that lie beyond anything Sam has been able to do alone so far, while he's relating to her in a very personal way over past trauma.

The mind-blowing thing about this is that all of this sounds 100% like I'm talking about Rowena, but I'm not.

And you can see, you can actually see, how fascinated and tempted he is by the prospect of this magic.

That the only thing holding him back is the memory of himself going dark with the demon blood powers years ago.

(Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

And how he drops that restraint the moment he finds out that Lily is not talking about any dark powers, but about angelic, divine ones.

I mean, look at how interested he suddenly is.

This is just an assumption on my part, but I think his posture and facial expression mean he is so willing to pay the price?

He even puts the angel blade away he'd been fiddling with up to this point.

He's willing to pay the price until he finds out that this price also includes going back to one of his other deepest regrets—the time he was soulless and completely unhinged and without any remorse.

Which gives them yet another thing to bond over? Something nobody else would truly understand.

Listen, I'm not actually shipping Sam/Lily. I'm honestly not even completely sure what my point for this post is. But I'm just intrigued, you know?

They somehow put Sam's dark past with the demon blood powers and the soulless era and the desperate hunt for revenge for the deaths of Mary and Jess all into one conversation?

That and magic!

Then Lily's "You don't trust me, I understand" is like a throwback to one of the first things Sam said to Rowena: "I don't trust you, and I never will."

And then Lily, as if she already knew Sam in and out from the short time they've spent with each other, brings up the one thing that actually has the potential to make him go down that soulless road again.

Dean's death.

We know it's possible.

Just like Dean's fate was what made Sam drop all his restraints to team up with Rowena, it could do the same thing again, couldn't it?

If Ishim had managed to kill Dean and Cas that night, Sam would have wanted Ishim dead with very little regard for whatever personal sacrifices Sam would have had to make for that. Even if, for some reason, that would have been an eye?

We know that.

Lily knows that.

And Sam knows it, too.

(Also, she promises to wait for him because she really wants him as her student for Enochian magic, apparently? Just, what is happening here?)

[falloutstasis]

so uh it's already past october and im no longer going to put it in read more for spoilers BUT im gonna put it in read more because this post is gonna be hella long

so here's what my reaction was about the UC

ARE THESE PEOPLE INSANE

they let a freaking WAR CRIMINAL (francois sanon) live, kept boxed up in a nice little room just because the previous higher ups in the UC were like 'ah yes this man is useful to us let him live hehe'

instead of you know, EXCICUTING HIM LIKE THEY WERE SUPPOSE TO the UC faked francois's death

later on the in missions: he flat out admits to the terrormorphs attack on new atlantis and tau ceti. i fucking wonder why the cabinet (the group of people in charge btw) was so freaking nervous on the attacks that he put in the first place

i got my player character to stick to their guns and told everything to the cabinet instead of keeping it a secret like he wanted

francois: 'the attacks...were a correction. when i discovered the plant, i did consider handing over what i'd found. but we were at war, and i couldn't risk information that dangerous falling into the wrong hands. so i ordered the bombing of the londinion spaceport, fixing two problems at once- halting the spread of the city's terrormorph outbreak...and sealing away knowledge of the plant's potential.

pc: please. no secret is so dangerous that you can justify condemning so many lives.

francois: simple to say now. but with the outbreak raging from a barely understood source, the moment demanded a quick action. so i did what was required. i removed a dangerous variable from an already catastrophic war. but then as the war ended - my trial, my execution - i made a decision. after all, i'd given everything for the colonies, my life as i knew it included. and what i did i get in return? was there any effort by the uc to protect my legacy? my daughter' legacy? no. we were sacrificed when all we did was serve. so i kept what i'd learned and arranged the attacks to set things right again. my daughter, she becomes a hero.

and he did this to get revenge on the UC and to point the player character and hadrian as the heroes. he set this all up, had this plan figured out, just so hadrian's legacy can look good (when she didn't even know he was alive to begin with btw)

god the more he talked the more he pissed me off LOL he's like 'there are no heroes without a villian'

as much as i hate this man i really wanted to grab the UC by the throat and shake them violently for letting this man live

also side note: keeping sam with me alongside these missions was really awesome because of how much he can relate to hadrian

i REALLY liked the uc missions, i think it was way more fun than the freestar ranger ones, but damn dude these missions made me hate the uc more LOL

[alltimefail-sims]

random question but erwin gives Lana stan vibes and same lolz but then i wondered what music your characters from strangerville story all listen to?

First off I am so happy to answer this question for you!! Thank you for asking! I love love love music and love this question!

That being said, before I begin I want you to know that I'm so sorry to burst a personal headcanon you've made about my version of Erwin Pries...but he has probably never heard a Lana Del Rey song in his entire life lmfao (I'm assuming that's who you're talking about). But Erwin is an EA premade, so if your Erwin is a Lana Del Rey stan I love that for you and that's valid!!! My Erwin just isn't haha (but his sister Maggie would like her music!) Anyway!!!

Very long response below the cut! ↓

Erwin mostly listens to older music: he loves music from the 60s, 70s, and 80s and listens to everything on vinyl or cassette (he is very passionate about the preservation of physical media, he is the Paranoid ass king after all). His favorites are Fleetwood Mac, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Queen, David Bowie, Abba, Neil Diamond, Jim Croce, Billy Joel, John Denver, James Taylor, Elton John, The Mamas and Papas, Johnny Cash, and so on. He also has a not-so-secret love for musicals and claims that the Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack is one of the best pieces of composition to ever exist (he also likes Godspell, Rent, Xanadu, and many more) Get him drunk enough and he will talk about how Mamma Mia is "Literally a transcendent work of art with whimsy and heartbreak and joy and a tender ass storyline at the heart that quite literally fucks so hard. Fucking Meryl Streep. Fuck!" Direct quote. That man hardly listens to anything post-1990, with the exception of "Queen Florence Welch" (Florence and the Machine).

Zoe appreciates all kinds of music, but has a deep love for the soul music that she heard around the house growing up. She likes music with feeling and depth, and the lyrics are most important to her but if the song isn't deep, it better have a good beat that she can dance to! Her personal favorite artists include Otis Reading, Stevie Wonder, Sam Cooke, Dionne Warwick, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Rhianna, Lauryn Hill, The Temptations, Roberta Flack, Janelle Monáe, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and so on!

Beckett's looks deceive him because he loves pop music. He is listening to the current hits, think Billboard 100s exclusively lol. He might have listened to a few rock or rap songs to get "pumped up" back in his football days, but for the most part he is always listening to pop - he even likes boybands, but won't willingly admit that lmao. He's a Swiftie through and through, and he will fight for her honor on any Twitter thread or in-person discussion. He also has a love for 90s and early 2000s country artists like Shania Twain, Alison Krauss, Lee Ann Womack, and The Dixie Chicks (now The Chicks) because of cleanin' and cookin' Sundays with his momma <3

Junia doesn't care about music that much! She doesn't have any favorite artists, she's never even bought a CD and probably couldn't tell you 5 bands or artists off the top of her head. She's one of those people who will listen to anything that "has a good beat" while she's working out, and it doesn't even have to have words. She's listening to music more for background noise as opposed to being passionate about it or seeking it out.

Anwar listens to alternative music mostly! Bands like the 1975, The Strokes, Paramore, The Clash, Fall Out Boy, Arctic Monkeys, The Black Keys, The Neighborhood, and so on. He definitely went through a pop-punk, Hot Topic, combo of emo and scene phase in his teen years in the 2000s. (Iykyk, if you don't... look it up lmao. It was a time to be alive.) If they could play at Warped Tour, he listens to them lmao. But he's cool with most pop or radio music, he's not like a music snob or anything.

Tashia listens to pretty much everything, but she also loves metal music. Idk if you've seen the Pixar/Disney movie "Monster's University" but there's a scene in there where the mom of one of the main characters drops them off at Monsters Inc. and she's like "I'll just be listening to my tunes until you get back" in like the sweetest voice and then as she's rolling up the windows you can hear metal music blasting through the speakers and she's just like... calmly vibing like she's listening to elevator music or smooth jazz lmfao. It's very funny. That's how I imagine Tashia's music taste to be and it concerns everyone around her <3

[random-thought-depository]

I spent a while fruitlessly trying to find a post I encountered on this site a while ago that talks about how the "humanity" essence in Dark Souls works in-universe; I vaguely remember it being along the same lines as this, but it included an observation that in the Dark Souls setting the most human thing in the world is a big scary-looking creature that I'm guessing is one of the boss monsters you fight in one of the games (I dunno, I'm not a gamer). I think I might have seen it on @feotakahari's blog and it sounded like the sort of thing @onion-souls might have written but I couldn't find it. I was strongly reminded of it when I read Sam Kriss's essay on Santa Claus, specifically this part:

There are two named individuals known to live at the North Pole. The first is Baxbakwalanuxsiwae, He-Who-First-Ate-Man-At-The-North-End-Of-The-World. In the mythology of the Kwakiutl people of what’s now British Colombia, Baxbakwalanuxsiwae is a primordial cannibal. His skin is grey, and every inch of it is covered in ravenous, gnashing, blood-stained mouths with razor-sharp yellow teeth. When those mouths aren’t crushing human bones or tearing human flesh, they cry hāp! hāp! hāp! which means eat! eat! eat! He goes naked in the snow. He lives in a lodge at the furthest northern edge of the world, with blood-red smoke rising from its chimney. He shares this lodge with his wife, Qominaga, who dresses in strips of red-and-white cedar bark; the two of them sometimes take the form of monstrous black birds and fly south to steal people away and eat them. Aside from Qominaga, he has servants at his distant home, who all take the form of monstrous black birds more or less permanently. One is a terrible raven: when Baxbakwalanuxsiwae has finished eating a man, he will throw the carcass out of his lodge and the raven will peck out and consume the eyes. Another has a long neck and a sharp, stabbing beak: he smashes the victim’s skull and feasts on his brains. Baxbakwalanuxsiwae dances and sings, but all his songs contain only one word: hāp; eat. The Kwakiutl would imitate him in the hamatsa or cannibal dance during the Winter Ceremony, recounting the story of four brave hunters who visited Baxbakwalanuxsiwae to acquire his terrible magic. They hid in the gloom of the monster’s lodge as Baxbakwalanuxsiwae danced and thundered, but one of them dared to peek out at his dance, and the great cannibal spotted him. Three of the brothers were devoured; one made it home with the magical powers, but also with an insatiable hunger for human flesh. The hamatsa was part of a young man’s initiation into Kwakiutl society, and it would be performed with something like holy terror: the great cannibal was the most powerful and the most feared being in their cosmology. Another translation of his name is Ever-More-Perfect-Manifestation-Of-The-Essence-of-Humanity. You are not different from the man-eater who lives at the North Pole and whose body is covered in wailing mouths. He was there long before you. He is your ancestor, and you are just a lesser, weaker, corrupted version of him.

[genaleah]

Burning questions! (Mostly because of your CU hyperfixation): Are Sam & Max not even allowed to know about George & Harold (considering Max) or are they specifically chosen to take care of the prankster duo in case they go a bit too crazy with their hypnosis powers (considering their immunity to hypnosis)? Also, why are George and Harold crossed out on the Whispering Rock list? Did they get kicked out (honestly knowing them that’s very much possible)?

You either have a great memory, or you had to dig deep to find those posts about psychic George and Harold!

I feel like Sam and Max would be the most likely to interact with those kids - both because of that hypno-immunity that you mentioned, and because the brand of strange goings-on that seems to happen around them would be right up S&M's wheelhouse to handle. (Also, they're all comic characters! I feel like that might be another reason they feel like a good tonal match-up.)

As for the list of Whispering Rock campers, the only reason they were crossed out was because I try to not "cross the streams" too much into the wildcard au! It's already got 6 different stories crossing over, with little cameo appearances from the related game studios/animations/comics/etc....but I don't want to overload the "main plot" too much. The limits on accepted canons are mostly to give myself some parameters to stick to. I don't want to jam my wandering interests into it all the time, it'd get muddled. 😅

So while I'm still very into the idea of a Psychonauts/CU crossover, I don't "technically" consider it part off the Wildcard AU? It's like it's own lil thing.

[rockabye-rinzler]

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so, i wasn’t expecting so many to agree with me when i made that text post! wow! and just like i said in those tags, here’s the separate post explaining myself and my actions :3

First and foremost, I have nothing against any of the other characters this franchise has given us. Sam, Quorra, Alan, even Flynn and Dyson even though I would strangle them both with my bare hands. But when the franchise is called “Tron”, it sure would be nice for Tron to actually show up lmao. With that being said, lets get into it:

Overall I really think the movie should be about Tron overcoming/learning to live with his trauma (being Rinzler, betrayal all around, crisis of faith, all that jazz)

He emerges from the sea of simulation and throughout the movie he keeps flashing back and forth between memories from both Tron and Rinzler,

Naturally he’s horrified bc he’s the “hero of the grid” yet here he is having memories of doing some fucked up shit (aka show me what happened during his time as Rinzler)

Have the movie be about his journey back to Tron city, and his journey about returning to, not the hero he was, but the hero he wants to be

Give him more agency, give him c h o  i c e s

I want this movie to be heavy in terms of its subject matter. Show us a hero who lost everything, including their own mind and free will

OOOO let this be an opportunity to give me more of Tron with a temper.  Uprising gave us a lil t a s t e, but I want more, you feel me?

How did all this affect his view and relationship with the users? “I fight for the users”, and yet where were they when you needed them to fight for you? hm???

GIVE ME TRON MONOLOGUES (okay maybe not "monologues" but let me hear him talk about what's going through his head or s o m e t h i n g)

Speaking of Uprising, that and Betrayal are really the only time Tron gets any real characterization. And yet, not even the fucking comic book could make him the main character, smh

Anywho I want a Tron vs Rinzler fight, send tweet. end of post.

But seriously, I know they wouldn’t be able to physically fight bc obviously, but it’s still a fun thought

Throughout the movie he comes to realize and accept what happened, and this is a part of him that he has to live with

Give me like, a phantom Rinzler in Tron’s head. How he’s terrified that he’s going to become him again, especially when he gets angryyyy. Like his eyes and lights flash orange or some shit. v sexy

hm, i hate to say it but give me something similar to bucky barnes/winter soldier. those kinda vibes

Yet, while man vs. self is a fun conflict,,,let’s have a guest villain appearance by none other than Dyson! Wahoo!

So alongside Tron’s own internal conflict, someone is trying to gather what is left of Clu’s forces to become the new system admin. As Tron is figuring out himself, he’s gotta uncover who’s behind this dastardly plot! 

Lo and behold, it’s Dyson

“But Bec!” I hear you cry, “Why Dyson? I really like Dyson!”

In conclusion, while yes beating Tron with the trauma stick throughout this movie is a neat idea, I do overall want this movie to be about his growth. What it is he’s fighting for. What it means to be a hero. And not just for the grid, but also for himself 💖

Listen, listen. I thought about other “villains” like Cyrus, or maybe the return of another virus, or even Dillinger Jr, but Dyson feels like a much more interesting foil to Tron (this post is already long enough so i’ll spare the specifics)

They fight, they yell about what's become of them and the grid, they fight some more, Tron wins bc of course he does lmao (Dyson couldn't beat him in Uprising, sure as shit can't do it now)

Tron looks at his hands (similar to that ONE flashback in Legacy) to see himself holding his blue and orange discs. Realizes he's stronger now than he was before 😌

(I forgot to mention he has 2 discs this whole time still, whoops)