#headphonecablesandkittenscars

[cardinalfang]

2 and 4 for the long rqg asks? :D

Thank you for asking! These are fun!

2 - What’s your biggest ‘I would’ve played that so differently’ moment, and how would things have panned out if they’d done it your way?

I've honestly never thought about this all that much. I fall hard into the "the text is the text" camp, even with a medium as loose and improvisational as ttrpg.

Just because I'm still in denial about Sasha, though, I don't think Grizzop needed to open his eyes as they fled the Hades dimension. When the players talk about that situation in retrospect, they act as if Grizzop doing that was an inevitability of his character, but I honestly just... don't agree.

Like, yes, that was in character for him. Absolutely. But he also just traveled with Eldarion, opened his eyes, nearly fell, regretted it, closed his eyes, and managed to return to the others in one piece. I think it would have been reasonable for him to recognize the gravity of the situation, remember how much it sucked last time he didn't listen to that exact piece of advice, and closed his eyes.

I don't think that would have necessarily even made the story better or anything, but we wouldn't have lost Sasha that way. And I do believe Grizzop has the good sense to follow a rule once he has tested it and come to the conclusion that it's there for a reason.

4 - Pick a moment from the show that you think would have to change dramatically if it was a fluid story rather than TTRPG. How would it be different?

Specifically if it was a fluid story penned by Alex, Zolf would be so different. I don't think Alex ever anticipated his crisis of faith to spiral out into a full-on split with Poseidon, especially not that soon in the story.

In that version of the story, Zolf comes out of the Mister Ceiling encounter just as miserable, but takes his dreams from Poseidon (and the water legs) as a sign that their actions were just. He swings in the opposite direction as in canon: instead of giving up his god, this leads to a renewal of faith and purpose for him.

On the airship, he learns about his family's past with the Meritocrats and uses that to propel him forward, too. When things come to a head between him and Bertie, the two of them agree to stop traveling together. However, Zolf doesn't give over his leadership role, and basically tells Hamid and Sasha that they can go with whoever they want -- he's pushing forward with their quest no matter what, he just refuses to have Bertie on board.

Things would get pretty wildly different from there, of course. Personally, I'm glad we have the version of Zolf we do! The idea of Zolf as Alex's puppet the way Grizzop has twice become is a tad bit disturbing.

[icebluecyanide]

1 for the rqg asks! :D

1. RQG characters are now the characters in another podcast you love. Whose places do they take, and how does this change the narrative?

Oh gosh this is a hard one because I've listened to like... 3 podcasts and one of those is RQG, and another is the History of Rome and while it would be interesting to speculate on an Ancient Rome sidequest cross over with actual Roman history, I think I should probably stick with TMA lol.

I'm bad with AUs so I'm kind of struggling to put the main party in the Archives, so this will probably just be me rambling on about whatever I can think of:

I'm pretty sure Mr Ceiling would be connected with the Eye/Beholding, but it probably wouldn't take the place of Elias/Jonah because Jonah seemed more intentional? I hesitate to say pro-active because a lot of what Elias did was also very reactionary, but Mr Ceiling was just sort of going along organising traffic and international banking and aside from the brains and the mind wiping only got overtly evil/'I want to overthrow the world' at the end there, and for different reasons than Jonah.

Zolf would probably be affiliated with the lonely, and I could see him becoming an avatar in the sense that he really wants people to leave him alone sometimes, I suppose? I would picture it as being similar to Martin's descent into the lonely in s4--the withdrawing and isolating himself seems to fit quite well.

Actually, thinking about it, I can picture Sasha in the archives, she's curious about a lot of stuff, maybe she would work in the artefacts storage part where she could appraise the objects and probably ends up having a few close calls because she's too curious for her own good and too cavalier about danger.

Hamid could join from the academic side of things, maybe he gets affiliated with the desolation somehow as a way to mirror the dragon stuff.

The party tends to be a bit more active than the institute staff are really meant to be because TMI is mostly research, so maybe they get hired to bring back an artefact? Maybe they stumble upon something clearly supernatural?

None of this has even gone into the whole narrative part because yeah I'm bad at coming up with an AU like this lol.

But anyway, Brutor is the dog that gets into the archive because Bertie brings him in despite it being against the rules.

[starlightthroughbrokenglass]

8, 15 and 18 for the rqg ask meme?

Thank you for the ask! 💕

8. Who is your favorite NPC in general?

I'd probably have to say Wilde. I've loved him from the moment we meet him in Hamid's flat and then my love only grew over time. My heart broke for him in Damascus and then when we meet him again in Japan. And then of course the airship and the crash. And oh my, I love him being a powerful illusionist. Just yeah, I love him and have a lot of feelings about him.

15. Which villain do you hate the most?

This is hard... Because from a story point of view I think they're all really good characters. But as a person? Probably Barret.

18. Which location is your favorite?

The zoscar shipper in me wants to say the inn in Japan, but I think that's mostly due to all the amazing fics that are set there. From what actually happens in the podcast I'd say the air ship? Both arcs set on it have amazing moments with Harrison Campbell and the body swap.

[e-6000]

uuuuu hello i'd like a tma picrew thingie please!

Hello there! *waves*

Tbh I'm just really enjoying this hat tonight XD

I don't think I've ever come across a blog that radiates the buried as much as yours does. But in a chill way, like "I'm gonna take a nap in this hole, the earth is my weighted blanket I am at peace" you know?

[magnus-archives-playlist-project]

a sky full of stars by coldplay is such a simon song. also black hole sun by soundgarden is a people's church of the divine host/maxwell rayner song. my history will be the death of me by michael malarkey has big big trevor herbert vibes

Asdfasdsjfalsdf ok Sky Full of Stars very much does work for Simon and that is delightful to me.

I don't care, go on and tear me apart I don't care if you do, ooh 'Cause in a sky, 'cause in a sky full of stars I think I saw you

I have this excellent mental image of Manuela Dominguez just blasting Black Hole Sun on repeat on the Daedalus while she works on the Dark Sun. Important to get the Vibes right.

Neath the black, the sky looks dead Call my name Through the cream And I'll hear you scream again

That pretty much sums up the People’s Church right there.

My History Will Be the Death of Me definitely fits for Trevor.

I got the fight of the lion in me And I clench my teeth when I can't speak and I can't breathe Because there's no words for this inability to see the Decency in these people around me

Especially works with the Hunt shifting him from someone who fights monsters to one of the monsters himself.

[suzie-bee]

Rhydon? Rhydon is my favorite Pokemon. It's my precious baby.

drew them together^^ hope thats okay

[colourblue]

My fav song right now is Exit to Exit by Ryan Cabrera (I don't really get the era thing cause I don't listen to either of 'em, but arctic monkeys sounds cooler ig?) Congrats on reaching 1k!!!💛💛

thank you so much! 

sky: stars • moon • sun

decade: 50s • 60s • 70s • 80s • 90s • 00s • 10s

season: summer • autumn • winter • spring

music genre: pop • alternative • rock • metal • country

flowers: rose • carnation • tulip • daisy • sunflower • iris • lilac • lily of the valley

particular aesthetic: driving on an abandoned road through a mountain range, admiring the fog covering the tops of the trees around you • sitting in an empty diner at 3am with the jukebox playing a faint song that was present in your childhood • exploring the old wooden house at the end of your street with some close friends on a grey, cloudy afternoon on a day what feels like the end of the world • sitting on a desolate beach one evening and not being able to tell where the grey of the water stops and turns into the sea mist on the horizon

taylor swift eras🍸: debut • fearless • speak now • red • 1989 • reputation

arctic monkeys eras🥂: wpsiatwin • favourite worst nightmare • humbug • suck it and see • AM • tbhc

help me celebrate 1k?

[princessmalpractice]

Tagged by: @headphonecablesandkittenscars

Rules: Tag nine people you want to know better

Three ships: Ack... eugh. No thanks.

Last song: Everything Everything by Good Kid, it's a good song for imagining those wee little animations with my OC's in my head.

Last movie: Like... 1/3 of the Two Towers, I don't watch TV often either.

Currently reading: Nothing, but I'm probably gonna pick up the habit when school starts up soon.

Currently watching: I have some episodes of the Owl House to watch with my siblings but other than that I'm not big on TV.

Currently consuming: Hibiscus tea

Currently craving: Rice? My bed. A cozy sweater.

Tagging: Uhhhhh gosh I'll just tag a bunch of mutuals I've never talked to, you're under no obligation to do this.

@bothrops-atrox @chai-ky @kikinom @pathos-logical @im-birdboy @springheeledjackisdead

And that's all I've got, I'm not very sociable,

[thouroghly-inconsequential]

@2-many-fandoms-to-chose-from and @headphonecablesandkittenscars thank you for both sending this!! I love positivity :D imma just post it here tho because I’m a lazy bean XD 💛

I give great hugs

I’m calm in a crisis

I have a pretty good taste in friends

I’m empathetic

Apparently my eyes are pretty so that’s cool

@not-so-innocent-bi-sander @a-bucketful-of-sugar @hermione-is-not-hedwig @northerndownyee-fromyesterday @kue-the-way-for-the-panicked-gay @kurlyfryz @im-god-now-fight-me and anyone else who wants to do it! Luv y’all 💛💛💛

[galaxyacerodoesart]

AND IT’S FINALLY DONE. The most cursed thing i’ve done and am so proud of.

Soooo yeah. Sanders Sides as trolls. This was way too much fun to do than I thought ksadlkjfdalflak I tried my best to imitate the official Hiveswap troll call style, but still, it’s been ages since I drew lineless art or homestuck related stuff SOOOOO ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But it was fun, seeing how it is HOMESTUCK, I was able to do stuff a little more...free, design-wise. which meant I definitely was going to give Deceit a creepy mouth like that.  Yeah. This sure was a fun experiment to do :’v OH! BUT AN IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER... I really didn’t thought of blood colors or anything to either of them while doing this, and mainly did the color based on the sides main colors and stuff, BUT i did do some quick poor edits of the blood colors I thought would fit each of them under read more if anyone wants to check, soooo :u   And Patton is the only one to keep the last name as “Sander” because I figured if one of the sides should keep it, iiiit probably should be him :’v

But yeah. Hope this was worth the wait, and anyone who wants to come and end my life is more than welcome.

TAGGING LIST: (Please do inform me if you wish to be added or removed from the tag list! :o )

@isaysolanumlycopersicum​  @witch19​  @virgil-angsty-sanders​  @bekkyboo2003​  @headphonecablesandkittenscars​  @crofters-jelli​  @thelighthousewatcher​  @akiratrebound​

Alternate blood colors I thought of, mainly I did based on the cast descriptions on HERE.  So yeah...I did some little research before picking most of them, and if you guys have questions about it, just read the description of each cast, i guess. pfft

Indigo Blood Patton

Teal Blood Logan

Violet Blood Roman  ------ Rust Blood Roman

Bronze Blood Virgil ------ Purple Blood Virgil  (definitely not into the Juggalo culture, only make-up he wears is eyeshadow and eyeliner.)

Cerulean/Blue Blood creepy mouth and eye guy Deceit

Olive Blood Remy  ----- Rust Blood Remy Remy was complicated because...it’s not like we KNOW much about the guy soooo...I guess it went a little based on my own idea for the guy :’) 

[big-urchin-energy]

@headphonecablesandkittenscars hello i needed to rb and preserve these tags bc you are so incredibly correct thank you this is a perfect take

once again manifesting ~rqg fans remembering that zolf and wilde's relationship is canonically Not Romantic~

[cardinalfang]

7, 9 & 12 for the rqg asks?

7 - what’s your favorite piece of erasing the line worldbuilding?

I've already talked about Other London, magitech, and the Meritocracy!

Wild magic is another favorite, though. Any sort of radiation analogue is enough to get me vibrating in excitement, and combined with the Aurora Borealis? Oh, hell yeah. I also love the way it's tied into the world as a whole, from teiflings and other magic-warped people to the way it enables the lies of the Meritocrats.

9 - which character do you think is most like yourself?

I think I have some similarities with Cel.

This is a hard one. Maybe Skraak? I'm pretty suspicious of people and take a while to really warm up, I like to think I'm pretty driven, and I can definitely relate to his urge to push random buttons.

12 - do you have a particular comfort episode, arc, or special?

Space Pals and the Dover arc!

Also the Storyjam special and Thanes of Beowulf! I love the more comedic specials.

[icebluecyanide]

3, 9 & 14 for the rqg asks? :D

Thanks for asking! :D

3. who is your favourite character to draw/write/daydream about? why?

I have tentatively started writing Zolf & Sasha fic because I love their relationship so I guess that might count? This is hard question, but I do spend a lot of time thinking about Hamid lol.

9. which character do you think is most like yourself?

I think I relate to Sasha on some level with the awkwardness, but I also see a lot of myself in Hamid when it comes to his relationship with his family. I guess maybe Azu?? none of the PCs are really like me but I see parts of myself in the, I guess

14. offer a fic rec!

ahsdlfhsd okay so I have to confess that I have read like 2 rqg fics, Bryn's and your Barrett & Sasha fic lol. Oh and the fics that were part of the zine, I suppose, those were really good! I have a bunch of Rome related fics marked for later on ao3 but I've been too scared to actually read them because just the titles/synopsis has my heart aching.

I know just from the reading fic summaries tho that this fandom has some excellent fics tho and I hope to read them one day!

[magnus-archives-playlist-project]

now onto specific episode songs! comfort crowd by conan gray for #13 alone (more naomi and evan's relationship saving each other from the lonely than the statement itself), astronaut by simple plan for #57 personal space, coffeebar by the late night call for #67 burning desire (again more like before all the crazy shit happened) and cigarette daydreams by cage the elephant for #186 quiet (martin @ martin)

“soComfort crowd hits the theme of being anchored in the lonely by loved ones for sure.

We rot, thinkin' lots about nothing Yeah, I could spend a lifetime Sitting here talkin' And even if I cry all over your body You don't really mind Say you like your shirt soggy

Astronaut is almost too perfect, I gotta wonder if Jonny was listening to this while writing the episode like.

'Cause tonight I'm feeling like an astronaut Sending SOS from this tiny box And I lost all signal when I lifted off Now I'm stuck out here and the world forgot Can I please come down? 'Cause I'm tired of drifting 'round and 'round Can I please come down?

Sidenote, I genuinely adore the proud playlist tradition of finding a song that has strong metaphorical imagery and just going “no it’s literal now.” We’re right and we should say it.

Agnes just having herself a little coffee shop au of her own life, as a treat, is both so tragic and charming at the same time.

Every Friday after work I stand beside a Lovely little Coffee bar and See this girl reading In her black skirt I guess she smells Just like green clover One street away And every Friday I wanna pay Every tea she wants to take

Cigarette Daydreams definitely captures the atmosphere of that episode.

You sigh, look away I can see it clear as day Close your eyes, so afraid Hide behind that baby face

Also if “soft spot, with a mean streak” doesn’t describe Martin I don’t know what does.

[space-city-traffic]

y’all are really hiding all this in the tags???? you’re all so right. especially that last one, that’s EXACTLY what im talking about!!!!!! @headphonecablesandkittenscars i am living for your analysis of this

i think i love faulkner so much because... this kid is really, terribly messed up. not in a messed up (affectionate) way, just a holy shit he really is barely even holding himself together with a whole arsenal of horrible coping mechanisms kind of way, you know? put it this way:

faulkner was young. he was a kid. he needed affection, he needed a home, he needed his own identity instead of just being a younger shadow. so he created this whole annoying youngest child role for himself, out of self defense, as a kid who just needed to be smiled at and safe, you know?? it’s not that his neglect made him manipulative, it’s just that he became who he had to to survive.

and that need to not be neglected, that’s what drew him in to the trawler man. the idea that he could be good. that he could be special. that in itself should be heart breaking.

also!! his whole prophet thing (as many ppl have already rightfully pointed out) is SUCH a coping mechanism. he needs the story around himself to be told with a forgiving eye, he needs it to be meaningful, he needs it to make sense. because if he isn’t the main character, if he isn’t a prophet, then... fuck. he’s killed people. he killed his brother when he was just a kid. he is in way too deep for it to crumble under him now.

and it doesn’t matter whether he’s in “important prophet” mode or “incompetent youngest child mode,” either, because both of them are coping mechanisms. both of them are stories he tells, stories he creates for himself, in order to survive. it’s all survival for him. both halves of his identity were created out of neglect and necessity, and they’ve become a part of him, and they’ve become all he has.

so when they slip even for a moment and he’s left with nothing but fear? he has to believe that they won’t write about this part. they’ll write something better.

gosh im just Feeling So Much About This Boy All The Time

[icebluecyanide]

Tagged by: @mariekavanagh, thanks!

Rules: tag nine people you want to know better. 

Three ships: I have either too many ships or too few depending on how you define ‘ship’, but I feel like interpreting this question as ‘three dynamics I enjoy’, so we’ll say: the Archivist and Elias (TMA), Hamid and Cel (RQG), and Garp and Ace (One Piece). 

Last song: The Once and Future King by The Mechanisms

Last movie: (Re)watched the first half of Black Panther last night.

Currently reading: The Culture Map by Erin Meyer and a Dutch translation by Imme Dros of the Odyssey. Also, and I can’t believe I forgot this, currently rereading the One Piece (Just the Amazon Lily arc up to the timeskip because sadly I do not have time for a full reread atm).

Currently watching: Community, which I’d never really gotten around to before, but I’d heard it described as ‘a fundamentally kind show’ and that sounded quite nice.

Currently Consuming: Water, I suppose? Information? I don’t generally eat while writing a post on tumblr.

Currently Craving: Sleep, but also on some level ice cream or chocolate.

Tagging: @highgaarden, @livlepretre, @protoindoeuropean, @headphonecablesandkittenscars, @neverfeedthesarlacc, @ywhiterain , @alaynestone, @theloupgaroux, @ladyculebras