#is there anything that isn't a Magnus reference???

[blue-supercow]

god now dnd is gonna be a tma/tmagp reference too

[heabitfruity]

Silly Hobbies: Primarch Edition

Apparently I wrote too much according to tumblr, so I'm sorry if it's choppy :[

Lion El'Johnson - He actually really loves analyzing "literature"; but not normal literature like Shakespeare or Kafka. He likes analyzing things like The U.S Constitution and The Treaty of Versailles. He does this because he thinks it will help him diplomatically (it doesn't, nobody gets why he does it otherwise, not even his sons).

Fulgrim - This man knows how to dance to every K-Pop song known to man. He can throw it back to "Baby Got Back" and has tried to teach Sanguinius and Ferrus Manus how (It didn't go well, Ferrus threw his back out ). This man knows the exact choreography to "Womanizer", "Nude" and so many other songs.

Perturabo - He likes making useless contraptions; like infomercial level sort of inventions. He has invented bread-dogs, a time-machine to go back exactly two seconds for each use, a voice-recording recorder, etc. He uses Dorn to test it out, despite their... feelings for one another. He knows that Dorn will give him a blunt answer; even if he is told that the invention is "stupid".

Jaghatai Khan - He's really good at acrobatics, specifically everything with the asymmetrical bars; this man could easily escape a pack of dogs with a pen in his pocket (If anyone gets this reference I will be so proud). He attempted to teach Angron how to do the basics, but it didn't go that well; the man is just simply not flexible enough yet.

Leman Russ - This is a secret that he will take to his grave because he suffers from major internal misogyny. He knows how to knit, and he's REALLY good. He grew up on a planet that is 75% of the time below zero, of course the second he got ahold of yarn and wool he got to making warm things for his marine-sons! However, he plays it off as things like: "the citizens of Fenris have donated these for our cause".

Rogal Dorn - He likes making massive forts, societies and various massive structures in Minecraft, with Legos, Lincoln Logs, and those small, ceramic Christmas towns. They're usually quite extensive, but not extravagant. He will pester Perturabo and Magnus to look at them, and this often leads to debates about how these civilizations would function.

Konrad Curze - He teaches cooking classes; however, they are not pleasant. At the end of meal prep, all students are covered in blood due to Konrad butchering whatever protein they had prepared. The food actually tastes amazing, however the process of making it is certainly a battle within itself. Sevatar is his sous chef, which means he frequently has to do most of the work that isn't butchering.

Sanguinius - Honestly, animal rehabilitation. I know this sounds absolutely odd, but due to him having wings, he has to know how to keep a healthy batch of feathers! He's excellent at bird handling, and actually really enjoys it. He's saved at least 54 birds (he doesn't get to find many, his sons typically try to steer him away).

Ferrus Manus - Dude actually makes some really mean jewelry; like the man makes the permanent ankle chains, ring engravements, earrings (with the help of Fulgrim). He's made a lot for his brothers like Leman, Fulgrim, Magnus, and the Khan. They're all very appreciative (though Ferrus has to make Leman a special mixture so he doesn't chew through it by accident).

Angron - He does extreme sports! It helps focus on something that doesn't direct his anger at things that he doesn't need to focus on. It's somewhat funny to think of him riding a BMX, but his absolute favorite is bungee-jumping! He has forced demanded that his sons and brothers try it to "toughen them up". However, nobody except Konrad wanted to. (They both had a great time! One of the few times they've actually bonded over anything.)

Guilliman - He enjoys grading papers... He enjoys signing up to grade the essays of AP classes on Terra and does it every year if he has the time. He takes the pleasure of learning things about literary merit from other people's perspectives, and every time it makes him consider becoming a professor (even though it would be highly impractical).

Mortarion - He enjoys escape rooms, especially with Konrad and Horus. They actually usually have a great time, though sometimes they have to stop Konrad from digging into the walls. He actually commissioned Perturabo to make an elaborate escape room with hatches and secret pathways all around a set of shipping containers. It was so fun that he actually decided to keep it. (He still discovers new routes and puzzles in it every time he goes in.)

Magnus the Red - He plays Dungeons and Dragons with Khan, Guilliman, Perturabo and Alpharius and Omegon. He ALWAYS is the Dungeon Master, no matter what. This is not because he is selfish and possessive (he is a little), but because nobody in the group can seem to maintain a regular gaming schedule. They have simply resorted to Magnus being the godly controller of their games.

Horus Lupercal - This man fishes. I'm sorry, he does the straight, white man fishing and poses. He takes pictures of the fish with the awkward raised arm but genuine smile. He sometimes gives the fish to Konrad, however, less so after finding out from his students what happens during his classes.

Lorgar Aurelian - He writes fanfiction. He likes to show Magnus and Horus his angsty stuff. This stuff is even enough to make Magnus cry a little. Lorgar, however, also writes smut. I believe that this man has never had the intimate touch of any person. Not because he's celibate, but because he's a bitch. The smut's written like in the early days of Wattpad. It's disastrously bad (Think "his meat-cicle entered her mound"). Leman found it one time, he tormented Lorgar for weeks with it.

Vulkan - He bakes! He has learned all the favorite sweets of all of his brothers, making sure to surprise them occasionally whenever they haven't spoken in a while. He loves it whenever there are big events, gives him a chance to see all of his brothers and see them enjoy his work. (There have been some small altercations due to people hoarding food)

Corvus - He likes fashion; but not in a New York fashion week way, more of an Edna from The Incredibles way. He uses the help of Ferrus and Leman to help sew cloaks, shape up boots, and they use Sanguinius and Fulgrim to model it to make sure it looks good and it works.

Alpharius Omegon - They like mimicking their brothers as much as possible; in a "try to look exactly like them" way. It is actually really impressive, even going past the uncanny valley vibe. This led to Mortarion walking in on two versions of himself standing at his bedroom door and it made him piss his pants; and nobody believed him when he told the rest of them.

[razzamatazz13]

Okay I don't usually post anything but I have to say something because Needles is a red herring and I can't just sit and watch everyone fall for it!!

Like his need to cause fear is clearly outlined and made blaringly explicit, and magnus archives/protocol as a story thinks more highly of its listeners than that- things tend to be more subtle than that, especially so early on. It's a clearly outlined reference to tma in a way that is obviously purposeful, it can't be anything other than a red herring. Needles is desperatttte for fear, from the getgo he reminded me of someone trying to act creepy or edgy but not doing a very good job- like a joker wannabe, or a bad creepypasta. He gets self conscious when the cop on the call isn't scared. Either he's some leftover avatar from the TMA world pulled into this one, trying to be scary after losing connection to a fear entity, or he's just some guy. Even returning to the theme of desires- if he is paranormal- he very much WANTS to be scary, more so maybe then he actually is.

[evilweasel]

Locked Tomb Necro-Cav Dynamics

I'm probably either reaching or stating something really obvious, but - if the necro/cavalier partnership is supposed to be a metaphor for marriage under patriarchy (in being that it was created by a guy who seemed to have taken bullet points from the previous society and its power dynamics, in which one party holds all the power and the other is supposed to submit and serve blindly), then a lot of the necro/cav pairings we see in Canaan House reflect a lot of marriage tropes from Earth.

Judith and Marta

They seem to reflect a "stereotypical" necro-cavaliership, akin to a stereotypical marriage. Judith and Marta appear to have known each other in school ("I have studied energy transferral aptitude with Lt. Dyas since our school days." [GtN: P.456]) and were sworn to each other not long after school , not dissimilar to how a lot of very "traditional" marriages begin in high school and are quickly consummated after. They are also very professional and close with each other, and through Cohort military training are the pinnacle of everything a necro and cav should be, even down to Judith having to watch her cavalier die for her lol.

Ianthe, Coronabeth, and Naberius

Necro-cavalier bonds are typically partnerships, HOWEVER in this case Ianthe makes a third, and so she and her twin have to share a cavalier, which is very much frowned upon. My initial thought is this is a metaphor for polyamory, despite Ianthe and Corona being twins. But also them being twins hasn't stopped them from being very... attached to each other, to the point where several characters in the novels make references to their incestous-bordering relationship. (Palamedes comments about it to Nona I can't find the exact quote rn it's very late). So maybe it's not that far fetched.

Isaac and Jeannemary

The "arranged child marriage" trope, as they are the youngest necro/cav pair, having been sworn to each other at age 9/10, and Jeannemary being modelled into Isaac's cavalier from birth ("Intended to be Isaac's cavalier from birth, swore the oath with him and gained the title at age nine." [GtN: P. 460]). This is not unlike a lot of marriages between throughout the ages as families betrothe their young/unborn to strengthen ties and forge alliances.

Magnus and Abigail

Magnus and Abigail are a weird one again, because I'm saying the necro/cav relationship are a metaphor for marriage, and yet Abigail and Magnus, who ARE married, are reviled for it. The metaphor isn't perfect, and I'm willing to be wrong about this. Honestly just read this post by @katakaluptastrophy because honestly it was this that got me thinking in the first place.

Silas and Colum

Silas and Colum are a play on many marriages being incestuous; it's not unheard of for medieval marriages to be between uncles and nieces or aunts and nephews, especially to keep blood purity in noble families, which is very much a mindset of the Eighth and their need to "breed batteries". (Source)

Harrowhark and Gideon

Honestly, for these two I'm... not sure which part would be the metaphor. The sham nature of their necro/cav partnership? The power dynamics of an indentured servant being boosted up to the partner of a figurehead? All of it?

And from here I can't think of other marriage tropes that fit the others. The two left are the Sixth and Seventh but as we don't know anything about the relationship between Dulcinea and Protesilaus (since both are a bit... out the picture during GtN), it's hard to comment on. Unless, that's the commentry? Cam and Pal also don't fit anything that immediately comes to mind, apart from maybe mild incest again? But then, we have the Eighth to fit that trope already,,,

Let me know if you think this idea has any merit!! It's 4am, I'm tired, and I'll go back and fix sourcing issues at another point lol.

[lets-try-some-writing]

Hi! Longtime lurker here, I adore your writing and all the oneshots you publish. Do you have any cute headcanons about Optimus and Elita’s relationship (for instance, how they met, deciding to become Conjuxed, and other miscellaneous stuff)?

That I do! I love them very much your honor, so let me specify based on continuity. For now, lets stick to G1. I've had longer to think about them.

G1

Orion and Ariel met in a barfight. Orion decked someone for making nasty comments about Ariel and she in turn decked Orion thinking he was the one being gross.

They made up afterwards with a drink and proceeded to dance the night away, promptly exchanging communication lines.

Once Orion figured out where Ariel worked and after they had been talking for a while, he marched across Iacon in order to sign on at her depot.

Dion thought he was nuts but came along because he enjoyed the drama.

Orion made it a point to be a gentlemech even while working at the docks. He would carry anything heavier than a cat for Ariel's and would go out of his way to get her energon for her so she didn't have to stand in line for rations.

They began courting after Orion got into yet another fist fight in Ariel's defense. He got his face busted in, and while Ariel helped him get patched up, Orion blurted out that he couldn't just let other mechs touch her.

Ariel took that personally and proceeded to become just as devoted as Orion. This earned the duo many gags and amusing reactions from their fellows who referred to them as the "lovebirds".

Ariel and Orion never actually managed to be Conjunxed as dock workers. That came later when they met under the light of Luna 1 before the Exodus late into the war. Optimus brought Elita-One the last crystal rose he could find and asked her to be his Conjunx right there.

She agreed and they spent a mere three cycles together before having to go their separate ways. But Elita wore a simple pendant with contained a petal of that single rose. Optimus for his part carried the piece of Elita's antennae that had been torn off in combat.

During the war, when they were able, Optimus and Elita would call each other by their old names and dance under the stars, singing wild songs from the docks while playing music that didn't match the mood in the slightest.

When the war ended, Elita wept for Optimus during his many moments of death. But after each miraculous return, they would always reaffirm their oaths to each other. Usually with a few soft touches.

Post war, Elita and Optimus are the most sappy couple to have ever become a thing. They are constantly calling each other nicknames like "honey", "Sweetspark", "pooch" (that one is elita's and only for when she's feeling mischievous), "My forever", and Optimus's favorite, "My rose." (For obvious reasons).

They openly wear very obvious marks of their conjunxing now that they aren't being attacked left, right, and center. Elita keeps her pendant but also loves to have a little engraving of Optimus's pet name for her on her neck guard. Slightly scandalous, but she enjoys it, especially because Optimus has "pooch" written on his inner thigh where only she and the very observant can see.

They are also very good at being quiet about their activities as a couple. But when they feel like shooing mecha away, they love to get sappy and gross everyone out of the room.

They are also notoriously dramatic when the situation isn't serious. Put them in a war room and neither will so much as smile. But give them a minor issue, and they can and will make fun of those who are enduring some slight embarrassment.

Whenever Optimus takes on a new apprentice (adopts a child-), Elita has been known to mother them relentlessly in her own way. Some get beat around in training, others get homemade goodies. Others still may end up getting actually adopted.

Rodimus still has no idea that technically he's Optimus and Elita's on paper. Only Kup and Ultra Magnus know. Both think its hilarious and have no intention of telling poor Rodimus anytime soon.

[bonzos-number-1-fan]

TMAGP 19 Thoughts: Bad Scientist

Another really strong episode, and one with a lot to get into. Probably the densest episode yet in terms of historical context, lore content, and mystery clues. So a lot to get into and no point in any more preamble.

Spoilers for episode 19 below the cut.

Sam and Celia's chat is somewhat interesting. She's now looking into alchemy. It looks like she's looking into the exact stuff Sam was, because she's also looking into the Magnus Institute now. Darrien 2 did a world hop and the Magnus Institute scooped him up so that lead makes sense to follow. Although it's curious that she hadn't done that yet. She's continuing to push Sam to keep up that research too. Celia is pretty much always trying to pull people's strings like that. It being such a consistent character trait does bring into question how sincere any of her actions really are with the rest of the office.

Before I get into the incident proper, this is going to be a bit of a weird one. There is a lot of historical context and alchemic terminology in this one. As such I'll be quoting the show more than usual to explain and explaining who people are, what they're doing, why it's relevant, etc. Like I said, it's very dense. There are also a couple of points of interesting grammar to mention as well which would be missed without the transcripts.

The incident's format is a letter from Robert Hook to Robert Boyle who are both Fellows of the Royal Society. Which is a lot of context off the bat. So, Robert Hook was a 17th century polymath who's most well know these days for his work in microscopy with a microscope of his own design, and for his work in helping rebuild London after the Great Fire (which we'll get to). He also did a lot of work on gravity and planetary rotations which ended up being quite foundational to Newton's law of universal gravitation. He wasn't, however, an alchemist. Boyle on the other hand very much was. Widely regarded as the first modern chemist and he's most famous for The Sceptical Chymist, a work that would be hard to overstate the importance of for the field. Hook, Boyle, and Newton all overlapped a lot in a lot of ways outside of these things too, especially in fields like optics and colour theory.

They were all also Fellows of the Royal Society at this stage too. Which to give it its full name is The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge. It's general goal is to promote science, offer support to scientists, and helping shape policy. It was only founded in 1660 and so hasn't been around for a very long time at the time of this incident. The Royal Society is also what's being referred to with the numerous mentions of "Good Science". In short, it's about using science for the public good and to aid in further the endeavours of other scientists to that end. So the Royal Society is probably not up to anything nefarious here. Despite the fact that Newton ends up becoming its president later in life.

Another big thing mentioned here and repeated throughout is the "Protocol". Capital P in the transcripts. So, yes, they said the thing. It's not the first time it's come up but both times it's come up it has been standalone. I don't know if I mentioned it in last time but I have a feeling that the "Magnus Protocol" isn't really a thing. There is just the Protocol and it was used against the Magnus Institute. For its full title to be the "Magnus Protocol" it'd likely have to be named after Albertus Magnus, who is a noted alchemist himself, but I think it's more likely that the Magnus Institute is named after him than the Protocol itself. The most interesting detail we get about it though is that whatever the Protocol is it was enacted against London to burn out a plague. Which would mean in this setting the Great Fire of London was deliberately set to combat the Great Plague of London.

So now we're at Newton himself. The gravity guy. But also the laws of motion guy, the calculus guy, the optics guy, and a lot of other guys guy. Of note here is that Newton was a very noted alchemist and theologian. Both fields were large parts of his full body of works. I think Newton is well known enough that I don't need to get into that though. Besides it's not the first time I've talked about him. As a quick reminder of that though Newton was Warden and Master of the Royal Mint. At the time he served in those roles the Royal Mint had moved out of the Tower of London to Royal Mint Court. Which is where the OIAR is currently located.

Okay for our first quote we have this:

It was only through the Protocol that we were spared from that Dread emission and I fear that such an act is once again required

The capitalisation there is how it appears in the transcript. Protocol we've talked about but "Dread emission" is very interesting. The capital implies that it's the name of something. Which I would wager is either one of, or the whole of, forces Lena mentioned that need to be kept in check.

Then we get to Newton's work proper with this:

he had finally perfected the work of Wilhelm Homberg to produce what he termed the Arbor Philosophorum Perfecta.

Which is very interesting for a number of reasons. Arbor Philosophorum, the Philosopher's Tree, or Diana's tree is a real thing. It's a dendritic amalgam of silver and mercury. Basically meaning it's a metal who's crystalline structure grows to resemble a tree. Wilhelm Homberg is German natural philosopher that wrote a fairly simple recipe for this process and while it's not known if Newton ever attempted it we do know he had a recipe for this. Although it's actually George Starkey's recipe which is a gold mercury amalgam instead. What's more important is that Diana's tree was thought to be a precursor to the philosopher's stone itself. So Newton has basically perfected something of similar nature to it. With some fairly fucked up results, as we'll see.

Out next quote is Latin:

de ligno autem scientiae boni et mali ne comedas in quocumque enim die comederis ex eo morte morieris

Which is Genesis 2:17, and in English (NET) it reads:

but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die.

Because, as noted, Newton was a theologian too. People probably think of him as a rational scientist atheist type but back then there wasn't as much conflict between the two. He was a devout, if not exactly orthodox, Christian.

Christian or not he's playing God a little. We get to see what the fruit of his labours are and it's not looking like good science at all.

such a creature must by all natural law lack that essential and ephemeral anima that is required for such awful knowledge I tell you here Robert, it saw me and it knew me.

So this is an interesting thing to say. Anima in this context isn't the Jungian syzygy but something more akin to "spirit". The anima has a lot of overlap with the tria prima. Which I've spoken about a fair bit before but is an alchemical concept that sulfur, mercury, and salt embody three fundamental principals, but also defined human personality. Mercury is spirit and is related to concepts like morality, imagination, but most importantly for us higher reasoning. A lot of emphasis is placed on the dog's knowledge and Diana's tree, the catalyst for this transformation, is a silver mercury amalgam. So it looks like Newton found a way impart spirit onto something.

There is also this:

I propose that we enact the Protocol but limit it only to his laboratory, destroying his research and correspondence

Fun fact: the dog Newton is experimenting on is likely Diamond. Diamond has a lot of stories about him. The most important one is that he burned about 20 years worth of Newton's manuscripts.

And that's that. Quite a lot to break down as I said. But we're not quite done.

Sam talks to Alice about the computers listening to them. Which isn't the first time he's had that thought but it's nice to see him bringing it up. Alice is very Alice about it but Sam is at least trying to figure things out.

Lena and Gwen have a Lena and Gwen conversation about Lena sending Gwen to her probable doom. But Starkwall is mention again. Nothing too interesting to say on it though.

We finally get more of Colin. It's been too long. He obviously know's Freddy is listening in at this stage but what I want to focus on is the last two sentences here:

No, what I need is to not be seen. He sees too much already. Doing mummy and daddy Stasi proud, I’m sure. Not that anyone cares as long as it all balances, right? Not too much mercury or the world ends, not too much sulfur or we all go mad…

So as I was just talking about the tria prima, here it is again. Sulfur is the soul which is emotions and desires. Which lines up fairly well with how Colin describes what too much of it would do. But this whole thing seems to tie into Lena's talk about balancing forces. Which makes a great deal of sense as the alchemical symbols for the tria prima, along with the philosopher's stone, all appear in the OIAR's logo. How Newton ties into that remains to be seen but there is a very large link there. The mention of the Stasi is also sort of interesting here. For those that don't know the Stasi are the East German secret police. Germany has come up a few times before with Freddy having German source code, Klaus being a German, and most relevant to this in the ARG the largest body of text was a usenet group about people leaving East Germany. Which then ties back into Colin as one of its member hacked the OIAR, and also seemed to be helping out jmj.

Okay, all done. Now it's time for more of the same but nerdier and unhinged.

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

Incident/CAT#R#DPHW Master Sheet and Terminology Sheet

DPHW Theory: 1137 is very reasonable. Just a Weird thing that was very weird and had a little bit of mental manipulation to it which looks to be Helplessness' purview. It's also more weight on my idea that 1 is the floor with 0 being the ceiling and counting as 10. There was nothing in the supernatural element of this one that had any strong resonance with Death or Pain as concepts or themes. If 0 was the floor I'd expect to see it for this one.

CAT# Theory: CAT13 is a great a CAT#. It's exactly the sort of thing I was talking about in the essay on why it's not Person/Place/Object. The supernatural "person" here is either Newton performing the magic, or the dog that's the subject of the magic. The object is the crystal that induces the transformation. Which is a virtually identical setup to the tattoo incidents but those aren't CAT13. They're CAT3, CAT23, and CAT1. It's continuing that trend of data that you can explain in isolation but becomes incongruous when taken as a whole.

Anyone that's read most of these rambles will have heard me mention the notion of CAT# being related to the tria prima. It's something I talked about when the first couple of eps came out. Colin mentioning sulfur and mercury is a fairly overt reference to it, and Diana's tree is a silver mercury amalgam. In relation to CAT# it's always been something that felt right. What tria prima describes and how CAT# works would go hand in hand for this sort of thing. Now, I'd be a hypocrite if I clung to the idea just because it felt good. So I quickly discarded it because episodes didn't line up will with it pretty early on but it might warrant a fresh look. I might have been right but with too little data to see the pattern.

The way Colin talks about it also ties in with another idea I've floated that CAT# is about the domains of either three entities, a triple deity, three purviews multiple entities share, or that each combination is an entity that's a portion of a whole. Lena's comment about the OIAR balancing forces would obviously tie into that notion too.

R# Theory: Rank BC is about what I expected on this one. It's not something you'd think happened but it's at least backed up by a historical account of someone well known. So more weight behind it than a letter about a mass hysteria event, but still in the realms of "yeah, nah".

Header talk: Transformation (canine) -/- growth (Crystalline) is bonkers. Transformation (Canine) you would think is a Transformation that is somehow canine in nature. Transformation (Eyes) isn't just your eyes. So, if this is correctly filed, dogs have their own subsection that encompasses all of transformations that occur to dogs. Any transformation, regardless of what it does, so long as it transforms a dog would be Transformation (Canine)? Growth is fine. It grew root-like things/Diana's tree is grown. So it makes sense. Although I'm not sure it's the most compelling crosslink when it was doing the whole "know the nature of you" thing. Crystalline on the other hand is madness. Sure, Diana's tree is a crystal but it's formatted like the subsection of a crosslink. Or a sub-crosslink, I suppose. Which hasn't been implied to be possible thus far and if it is possible why don't they all include it? Surely this helps with the problem in specificity that was mentioned in the very first episode? This one feels the most like a misfile so far. No format again either.

[msflora-lynn]

Let's talk about... Neurodivergency in the primarch?

Just some questions that's been going around in my head, but after reading some of Magnus's books, it kinda struck me that he might be somewhat around the spectrum? It's probably nothing new for the community, but his strong hyper fixations to his special interests (to the point he's lowkey kinda ignoring the great crusade + Leman's order to join his group to look into some ancient civilization ruins) is activating the auti-radar inside me (since I'm also on a spectrum LOL).

This is referring to his loyalist-era btw. Daemon Mag is a bit of a scattered mind and isn't that reliable.

I unfortunately don't have access to more of his books for now :( So this is all I can gather! Please fill me in/correct me if I get anything wrong.

Or maybe you guys can fill me in if your favorite characters are somewhat giving off that vibe too?

[catschimericalcreationsmisc]

Tales from the Gas Station, the Magnus Archives and the Anglerfish

TMA and TFTGS absolutely exist in the same universe

Nikola finds Jack absolutely delightful, in much the same way as she found Sebastian Skinner hilarious. She tries to get Jude to follow his blog, but Jude thinks anything related to the internet is for sweaty nerds, as if a constantly melting candle that knows about the stock market isn't the sweatiest nerd of them all.

(during the Jerry's head in a box / Benjamimics saga, Nikola messages the Avatar group chat with "RIP Jude Perry, you would have loved TFTGS Volume 3". Jude leaves her on read)

The Anglerfish tries to lure Jerry into the forest in order to steal his skin. Somehow Jerry ends up walking out of there completely unharmed and with multiple taxidermied human hides under his arm. The Anglerfish doesn't want to talk about it.

Breekon and Hope find the Twins too boring for words. Nikola thinks the four of them should be the best of friends. Breekon and Hope think that is kind of a hurtful stereotype. Not all giant menacing clown monsters are the same, c'mon man.

Michael / the Spiral sporadically pops in to the Gas Station via the various mysteriously appearing doors. He doesn't bother much with Jack (he found the whole Lydia Halligan situation depressing enough that it turned him off insomniacs) but he fucks with Tony and the Brick Roscoes on the reg.

The other Avatars refer to Roger as Annabelle's "creepy wooden son". To Annabelle, he's more like the embarrassing cousin who should be chained to a radiator in the attic and hidden away at parties. She keeps trying to manipulate Nikola into claiming him for the Stranger. Nikola gleefully tells her she would never dream of separating a mother from her baby.

Hithergreen Dissenters and the People's Church of the Divine Hope have both reached out to Shhhh. It did not go well. There may have been jerk-off gestures. From all six pairs of arms.

[an-actual-attack-helicopter]

HI IM BACK JUST TO POINT OUT THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES REFERENCES IN THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS

MY REASONING:

THE TMA THEME LITERALLY STRAIGHT UP PLAYS HERE LOL. I CANT MAKE THIS UP SEE FOR YOURSELF

2. BOOM TMA LOGO LOLLL

3. THE VOICE ACTOR SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE JON

BTW IM WRITING THIS AS IM WATCHING IT AND I HAVENT EVEN CHECKED IF ANYONE ELSE HAS POINTED THIS OUT LOL AND I HAVENT FINISHED IT SO THERE MAY BE MORE REFERENCES COMING

oh also there is no way this whole episode isn't an allegory for mental health. especially with kingers lil speech. oh and not to mention the obvious trans (and agender imo) coded zooble. not finding anything that fits you is fucking real

[wyntercherrii]

whoop si e doo

I should start using this app again,,, I never fell out of love with MCSM I love it sm still and especially Magnus,,,the silly lil guy,,, older drawing but it's like one of the ones I like the most I think

It's him with the cat on the picture frame in his wall in the temple!

I dunno if it's a reference to something (literally like the one thing about Magnus I don't know 💔 I've met Corey Feldman TWICE and I wanted to ask if he knew anything about it, probably not because he's just the VA but the fact he remembers Magnus himself and was happy to talk about him both times I've seen him was good) ANYWAYS!!!! I made it a small HC that it's Magnus' cat that he used to own before going back to Boomtown when the old order separated (he didn't want his poor cat to get blown up, so he released it into the wild so it can be wild, yeahhhh Magnus isn't too bright but we love our dumb king HAHA)

I wish there was an actual explanation to the cat portrait though, I find it silly in a good way that it's just there on his wall, and his in particular (definitely not complaining though)

[bookishjules]

wait i just realized that izzy won’t be anyone’s suggenes :(((( jace needs to do some charity work and pick her to be his

izzy is close to everyone in the gang (except maybe magnus) but everyone has someone they’re closer to :( she’s the heart of the group fr

gosh.. i mean it's one thing to not be any of her best friends'/siblings' suggenes, but the implication of that?? ouch :( like obviously simon is exempt from the "everyone has someone they're closer to" because she and clary are on pretty equal footing in that regard, but he's literally the one she'll be marrying. like.. gosh i wish i could reference my own fics without feeling conceited.. but basically there's this thought i've explored before about izzy comparing her marriage to what it must feel like to have a parabatai. just bc she's never had someone THAT close.

i think that's something (among many) that the show really didn't understand. having clary ask izzy to be her parabatai is kinda counterintuitive to izzy's whole role in the story. a character who acts as glue the way izzy's does isn't usually meant to be anyone's best friend. and it's important that the character whose needs she's sometimes the only one to put first is the one most commonly and repeatedly viewed as an outcast.

she really is placed so much at the center of their little gang. it's amazing how much her role in the narrative is defined by her heart. everyone else has demons and enemies and expectations, but izzy is positioned at the heart, battling it out with the things that make them human more than anything (in the shape of the narrative i mean). grief and forgiveness and anxiety and love. not that everyone else isn't dealing with these things, but they play out prominently for her, tying all the rest of the gang together with that heart ..i don't think i'm saying this right. but i really think i could write a whole essay on this topic and i don't want it to get to long-winded

(also as an aside, i do think izzy is close with magnus. i think there's an ease about the way they interact and talk about and to one another that implies that. they have some things in common that go beyond their mutual love for alec, and add that to mutual respect.. i mean she's definitely not at the top of the list for him, but there is something to be said about that bil/sil relationship imo)

[akaikali]

TMAGP EP 30 SEASON FINALE REACTION (SPOILERS)

OH MY GOD IM IN CLASS OK HERE WE GO READING THE TRANSCRIPT I'LL LISTEN LATER

i hate the episode name btw

SAM YOU FUCKING IDIOT SHE'S NOT ANGRY YOU'RE IN DANGER YOU STUPID MOTHERFUCKER AAAAAAAA YOU'RE GONNA GET YOURSELF KILLED (also the transcript saying he sounds "ill" i don't like that)

"alice means well but she doesnt really understand" oi celia what do you mean she doesn't understand she got attacked by the same thing sam did

"my head is killing me" i dont think this is a normal headache ALSO IM SO SUSPICIOUS DONT TAKE THE PILLS SAMAMA KHALID COME ON

"all goes to plan" WHAT CELIA WHAT (they say like they're surprised that she's sus)

"ticket officer, not paid enough for this" NONE OF US ARE BUDDY

oh jesus christ colin is gonna end up dead isnt he. and possibly teddy too. both of them acted the same way based on alice saying she was busy

waiy. colin is in the office, but lena and gwen are in the office too?? also lena is gonna end up dead and gwen is gonna feel guilty isn't she

OH NEVER MIND. GWEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO GET FUCKED. I REALLY HOPE LENA GETS TO GO HOME TO HER SPOUSE AND GOES "yeah fuck THAT I'm glad I'm out of there"

wait they KNOW it was one the train??? wtf???? and why is celia so calm about this

"what unit did you say it was?" "Seventeen-" SEVENTEEN RIGHT HERE-sorry I'm coping with jeonghan's enlistment date okay

CELIA WHAT THE FUCK WHAT DO YOU MEAN CALL IT A HUNCH. GIRL ARE YOU SERVING THE EYE?????

"we want your teeth" JARED HOPWORTH??? IS THAT YOU????

now who the FUCK is this custodian hold on checking the VA list-ok nvm not breekon or hope i was wondering bc. yknow. custodian. maybe a reference

this custodian is so real he's like "yeah no this ain't any of my business you do you boo"

LMFAOOO THE TAXI DRIVER THINKING SAM IS CHEATING ON ALICE WITH CELIA AND THAT SHE'S GOING TO KILL THEM BOTH

THE CUSTODIAN JUST YELLING "SHUT UP" IS TAKING ME OUT OH MY GOD AND THE KNOCKING ACTUALLY STOPS

get archivisted bro

oooo okay so hilltop centre got a bloody history. but also who is this "he" that hired the custodian? also the fact that he refuses to come in the daytime is very interesting because usually people would find it less creepy at daytime but he seems to be more comfortable at night?? which is giving the dark but ok

poeple ARRIVED???? NO WAY THEY CONFIRMING THE CRACK AT HILLTOP ROAD CONNECTS HERE ALONG WITH MOST PROBABLY OTHER UNIVERSES

"why the outfit was so mismatched, why the clothes were been pinned in place" okay this is kind of reminded me of the stranger for no particular reason????

OH THE FUCKING OWNER DIED OKAY

SORRY AS HE TURNS TO CONCRETE?????? WHAT????

a precipice????? sorry is there a whole-ass different world??? also celia wtf do you mean "almost"??? yeah sam its about time you asked her more questions

Sam's headache is not comforting me i don't think its normal WOOOOOO CONFIRMATION THE UNIVERSE-JUMPER CELIA

ahhh there it is. she was using him as a balance because she hoped getting him close enough to the magnus institute would make him enough a balance.

IS THE ARCHIVIST STOPPING HER???? ALSO SAM WHAT THE FUCK WHY ARE YOU JUST TELLING HER TO DO IT????

god sam you fucking idiot i love you. she betrayed you and lied to you and yet you still fought the archivist for her. also alice coming here worries me because i think she has a close connection to the magnus institute too and she might get sacrificed

NOT AGAIN???? OH MY GOD DID HER PARENTS DIE IN HILLTOP ROAD?????

gwen you're gonna get yourself and everyone killed oh my god

...see i dont know if i trust that now. i know celia hesitated but who's to say she wouldn't take the opportunity to push sam? or even not done anything when she had the chance to save him? i mean...i guess she did say "even though..."

MAN. SAM. I KNEW YOU WERE PROBABLY GONNA DIE FIRST BUT DAMN. STUPID MAN. I LOVE YOU.

i dont think sam is dead i mean celia fell through the rift and lived, who's to say sam couldn't do the same? the question is, which universe did he fall into? and will celia tell alice the truth about what she was planning?

mainly, though, i need to know whats going on with colin because WHAT DID HE MEAN WITH FR3DD1 WHAT HAPPENED. AND WHAT IS GOING ON WITH TEDDY.

[paradimeart]

so I was scrolling through my dash and I found a post that is so especially true in the orbbabies AU that I just had to share-

Like. This is straight up how Optimus is when the repair crew first starts out. He’s trying his absolute Best with these Two Basically Infants even though he just got kicked out of highschool/college and is trying to balance his job with caring for Baby and this is hitting me with Emotions which I don’t know how to process

SO im assuming you're referring to this post and i am about to make it better and worse.

so the initial au that's called "the divorce baby au" is where ratchet winds up having to raise orbaby optimus (orbimus) until he's old enough to get shuffled into the great autobot machine and get a job and whatever (so like. robot six years old). the au of the au is where op doesn't end up leaving and stays w ratchet as he gets older, and through hijinks he and ratchet wind up with baby bulkhead and even babier bee. so he isn't kicked out of the academy because he never went. but. he is also equivalent to a teenager at this point, like, just a little older than canon bumblebee.

^ its easier to see the differences in a direct comparison of younger and older op. teeeechnically he's an "adult" by cybertron standards atp because there isn't really a concept of children or childhood or anything, just physical immaturity/maturity, so he isn't fully physically mature but there's no psychological distinction between him and a fully developed/mature cybertronian. at least that's what the textbooks say. immature/undeveloped protoforms are still relatively new in society and they don't really understand processor development. also the "divorce" part of the au name entirely refers megatron and ultra magnus's background alimony agreement (also known as the tyrest accords)

[theanxiousghostartist]

TMAGP 29 Spoilers (Theories and Reactions)

Ok, ok ok ok.. Holy shit I cannot wait for the finale!!

Celia and Sam:

Honestly, I'm glad Celia found Sam. While it would have been interesting to see one of the others find him, I like that Celia did, because we got more insight into her!

1) We know she cares about Sam. While we knew this from other episodes and their relationship, we can confirm that Celia deeply cares for Sam and isn't just manipulating him. The statements that Celia cares for Sam and Celia is manipulating Sam can co-exist.

2) Imo - Celia is the one most likely to survive. She knew the right questions to ask Sam to get to the important details about that Archivist (I'm going to try to call them, "that Archivist" so they won't be confused with TMA!Jarchivist), and why they attacked Sam. She also was reluctant to go to the Hilltop Centre, knowing that that Archivist was planning on heading there from Sam. Furthermore, she was planning on stopping Sam until he basically begged her to go.

3) Celia cares for Alice. While this episode had Sam/Celia interactions and no Alice/Celia interactions, we still saw Celia caring for Alice. Sam didn't want to tell Alice anything about his encounter with that Archivist. Celia was the one to force him to, and even then, Sam still blew her off when the train left the station. Celia understands that Alice cares for Sam and is very protective of him, and she understood that if Sam didn't tell her about that Archivist, it would devastate her, thus she made Sam call Alice.

So that Archivist is after The Magnus Institute and Hilltop Road. Interesting. While I initially thought they were feeding, I don't think that was the case. They wanted as much information as possible on the Institute and Hilltop Road, therefore, they went to the person that let them out. They were after Alice before, and on their way to find her, they found Sam instead. That's why Alice felt like she was being followed before, that Archivist was looking to get information out of the people who let them out. They initially followed Alice and found Sam instead; and they took advantage of that. Now they are on the way to the Hilltop Centre, perhaps they followed Sam there...

Gwen and Lena:

Ok, so Lena is proud of Gwen and Gwen dropped the act of being kinder to her, showing her true emotions. Interesting. I guess because Gwen gave her (and Augustus's/Jonah's (my theory lol)) information to Trevor, she assumes she will get the job anyhow. It makes sense for her characterization so far. I'm starting to wonder if Gwen is going to take a more Jonah-Magnus-approach to the job, if she gets it, and Lena is the one with the Gertrude-Robinson-approach.

Case: This case was very much a Buried case, with Viola even saying that she was afraid of drowning alone. It's interesting that she specified "alone" since Stan was with her. It reminds me of "Alone" in TMA Season 1, the statement of one of the Lukus's fiancée. So perhaps Lonely undertones as well? Maybe the Stranger or Spiral too, with the door/lock themes and the overall theme of unlocking yourself? Still, it's definitely related to the Buried.

Viola and Stanely Locke, I wonder if this is a reference to John Locke of the Enlightenment.

From my memory, I took a lot of history classes: John Locke was a philosopher during the Enlightenment, advocating for so-called "natural rights" - life, liberty, and property - as well as theorizing on the "natural state" of humans, basically, what would we do if we did not have a government. He believed that humans have a "natural state" of kindness and helping each other, and that we exchange some of our rights for a government to organize and protect us, and because of this, if a government became tyrannical, we could take back our rights and rebuild the government. His ideas influenced a lot of people, including those involved in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions.

There might be a connection there but IDK. I'm in a similar situation with them and their last name to what I have been with Ink5oul and their last name of Wilde (possibly a reference to Oscar Wilde).

This case was so interesting, and I was devastated for Stan.

That old scruffy person who opened the door for the Locke's had to be an avatar. Maybe the case is more Spiral related as they opened the door into an illusion/another realm? Then again, the Buried's coffin worked in the same way...

Maybe they were this universe's Breekan or Hope? Possibly a Lukus? I wonder if they will show up again...

Teddy and Alice:

Teddy has insomnia. I wonder if it is from staying away from the OIAR? (sorta like how Tim got sick when he stayed away from the Archives for so long)

I like Teddy's and Alice's interactions, I hope the two can talk after whatever will happen in the finale!

Teddy needs to talk to Alice about something in regards to his job, something "serious." I wonder if he's been having problems since he left the OIAR? Maybe in a similar way to Sam pre-OIAR? Oooh, or maybe he's Becoming? Maybe he had a run in with an External during his new job and has started Becoming? Or maybe he had started Becoming when he got the OIAR job and Lena, and/or her higher-ups were able to prevent it? Maybe the food helps the OIAR crew build up a resistance to the Fears? Lena has been very insistent on the crew eating the OIAR food, so maybe she did something to it (maybe with alchemy) to help the crew resist the Fears, like how Sam was able to resist that Archivist in the beginning and survived them messing through his memories?

"It's on the train:"

Yay! Go Alice! Protect your friends/potential love interests! (please talk to Teddy afterwords though!)

I like how Alice keeps fighting to save Sam and Celia here.

Wait, so only Alice can see that Archivist? Oh, maybe because they are an avatar and the OIAR crew is being marked/already marked/aligned with the Fears so they can see it? Either way, this is definitely an interesting detail!

Predictions for the Finale:

Ok, predictions time! So, I think Celia is going to die or be at least severely injured. You may be thinking, "But didn't you say earlier that Celia is the most likely to survive, in your opinion?" Yes. Yes, I did. However, I think that she would be the most likely to survive, IF Sam did not involve her in this mission. Now, that is not to say this is Sam's fault at all! (although, if she were to die/get injured, he will probably blame himself) I think that Sam and Celia are going to get chased by that Archivist, and Celia will die so Sam (and possibly Alice) can get away. Before she does, she is going to expose her being from the TMA-verse by asking that Archivist about the stuff she saw. This would leave Georgie and Sam having to take care of Jack for one, and for two, it would leave a good cliffhanger to explore both worlds and possibly figure out more about FR3-D1 and that Archivist.

Someone is going to Become, or at least, start Becoming. I'm not sure who though, my best bet is Alice, probably for the Spiral or Dark. I'm still not quite sure for this one, so I don't have much else to say.

Lena is going to play a key role in the survival of the OIAR crew. Going based off the theory that she is taking a Gertrude role; she is going to be the key to surviving. My theory is that Lena is going to go hunt down that Archivist when she finds out that it was near the OIAR, they are not an external, therefore, her superiors don't know about them, and she has free reign. She is going to find Sam and Celia (and probably Alice), with that Archivist, and either witness Celia die or Sam holding Celia injured or dead. She will be the one to beat/kill that Archivist, probably take the crew to the OIAR or to a "Fear resistant room" and start explaining general things to them (basic, things, not even as much as Gerry told Jon). We will end off with them coming in battered and traumatized and learning why. If this happens, one of two things could happen in S2: 1) Lena's superiors find out about what she is doing. She is killed by them and Gwen, having proved her loyalty by giving Trevor the files, gets her job like she wanted.

2) Lena's superiors find out too late, and they are Protocolled. Lena leads the team in a sort of resistance-style movement against the fears (and possibly Gwen, who may have taken over for her), to destroy the fears and prevent the alchemy project that the Institute was working on.

Also, I think near the end of the episode or near the end of the Hilltop Road shenanigans, we are going to get a glimpse of Annabelle Cane. (I really want to hear her again, guys; I want her to be involved with this grand plan)

I really don't want anyone to die, especially Alice and Lena, since they are my favorites, but I have a feeling Lena is going to die )):

Anyway, I can't wait for the finale! I will most likely have a lot to say about it :D

[adamnablelittledevil]

Now that the first book fresh on your mind, would you say the characters are made worse in the show or better in terms of morality/as persons? Just in context of the first book since that's all they've adapted for now.

(Yeah odd question to ask about a gothic horror story and its monstrous cast but I'm curious)

Hey, thanks for the question. :)

EDITED: Just want to say that this based on what Lestat tells, keep in mind first-person narration can be unreliable, even for innocent reasons. :)

So, I still haven't read the first book, I've decided to start with the novels that haven't been covered yet and then go to Interview With the Vampire. I'm currently reading The Vampire Lestat since that's the next one they're adapting. I'm still on part II, when Lestat is becoming familiar with his powers and learning how to have a social life with humans, but a private, isolated one as a vampire. Out of the show characters, I have only met Lestat and Nicki so far.

Based on what I know from this specific book and the show, I'd say they're on the same level. As a human, Lestat was abused/neglected/isolated by his family, whenever he tried to run and make a better life for himself he was forcefully taken back home, so he reached a point where he would even think of killing them. He also felt conflicted about it, his conscience told him it was wrong and he never tried anything. In the past, when he was at the monastery, he was a disciplined student that rarely got and the few times it happened, he enjoyed it. He appreciated the fact people saw the good in him and thought he could grow into an even better person. Way later, when Magnus kidnaps and turns him into a vampire, he thinks a lot about morality, and specially religion, right and wrong, heaven and hell, God and the Devil, his own existence as a vampire etc. BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER his transformation. He didn't want to be a vampire, he fought the entire time and when he didn't it was because he was too frozen to react. Magnus tried to make him accept it, but even until the last moment Magnus had to drop his blood in his mouth because Lestat preferred to die than becoming a vampire. It's after he was turned that there was a shift.

So far, it isn't a big shift, he still has all of that in his mind, he still prayed multiple times, he entered a church and touched all those religious objects hoping something would happen and it never did, put them back just how they were so people wouldn't notice it before leaving, he was afraid of meeting Nicki and his family again so he kept his distance, but sent loads of money to everyone - including his father, siblings and the theater he had worked at etc. He literally says "for now I had done what I could for all those I loved, hadn't I?" referring to those actions for those people.

'The biggest change was the ability of draining and killing humans. At first, he doesn't want to do it. However, his senses and hunger get the best of him, so he just goes for it like a carnivorous animal. And ultimately, he enjoys and embraces it. He even has preferences on what kind of blood is his favorite and the pace he drains them, because he likes to savor it. And it isn't just satisfying your hunger, there's a sensual component to that too. Also, he tried to eat and drink human food, but said he couldn't stand the taste and even its smell. There is some shift in his conscience too, he didn't completely lose it, but he has naturally developed a distance between himself and humans. I'm not saying that's a permanent thing or if it oscillates, I'm too early to have an answer to this, but when he is hungry, he is able to look at them as food, as a meal he needs like living beings can. There is a lot of aspects mixed together, his human mind and heart, the biological needs of his body and the supernatural side of it, that makes vampires closer to a God than a person or an animal.'The biggest change was the ability of draining and killing humans. At first, he doesn't want to do it. However, his senses and hunger get the best of him, so he just goes for it like a carnivorous animal. And ultimately, he enjoys and embraces it. He even has preferences on what kind of blood is his favorite and the pace he drains them, because he likes to savor it. And it isn't just satisfying your hunger, there's a sensual component to that too. Also, he tried to eat and drink human food, but said he couldn't stand the taste and even its smell. There is some shift in his conscience too, he didn't completely lose it, but he has naturally developed a distance between himself and humans. I'm not saying that's a permanent thing or if it oscillates, I'm too early to have an answer to this, but when he is hungry, he is able to look at them as food, as a meal he needs like living beings can. There is a lot of aspects mixed together, his human mind and heart, the biological needs of his body and the supernatural side of it, that makes vampires closer to a God than a person or an animal.

And after Lestat was turned, it's heavily implied that his emotions and senses were heightened, which makes the whole killing and draining humans thing even more layered. Lestat is a character that has a history of trauma and traits common to people that have BPD, ADHD, depression and/or even more. And I'm not saying he has any of these diagnosis, let alone all of them, but it is possible and he is significantly coded that way, whether Anne did it on purpose or not. So, all of those are amplified once he is a vampire. To the point he vomits with certain smells, that he cries so loud that he is sick of his own tears and the sound of his own sobs etc, so trying to navigate all of that, specially as a freshly new vampire without any counseling, can and is a lot.

I guess the show has explored all of these well so far, I've already had all of these impressions based on the series and some interviews alone, but what I've read seems to corroborate it. I feel like we got most of that from Louis, though, but it's understandable considering they were covering his book. And Jacob did a phenomenal job. And even in Louis's, Claudia's and Armand's flashbacks (or fanfiction, lol), Sam managed to play Lestat as people remember/think of him and what the scene demanded from his performance, but also found opportunities to show sides of him that those three might not know. He made Lestat be a full character with many layers instead of just a plot device to serve the arc of other people. The biggest difference is that they haven't shown a lot of Lestat's vulnerability (he only cried once, but when he did, it was as intense as what I've read on the book) and his complex with his existence and religion. But again, I'm quite early and I don't know if this is a permanent part of the books. Still, permanent or temporary, it is a part of his arc and I believe they will explore it to some extent on season 3.

[thecorruption-thespiralsversion]

The following is an analysis of Gwendolyn Bouchard from The Magnus Protocol through the lense of the song Making Love to the Dead by BEGGINERS.

For context, Anusia Battersby, the voice actress to Gwen (as well as the other actors for their respective Characters) created a non Canon Playlist on Spotify for Gwen. This song was included in Gwen's playlist.

This is not an academic analysis of the character by any means. Just one interpretation. Of the more than anything.

Making Love to the Dead - BEGGINERS

Come round bring me down like the old days (This part sounds almost like a plead to go back to old times. The bring me down could reference Alice's teasing, Gwen's voice)

And it's sexy, oh, the color of the cocaine (in reference to her ambition being her addiction. Like Jon, she is not brave, but is stubborn)

Deep in five my desire and I took the bait(I have two possible interpretations here. "I've got five on it" is a phrase referencing one's willingness to contribute so a group can buy drugs, or five hits of cocaine. Point being that she gave into her ambition, blackmailed Lena, and well, took the bait. Got roped into something she wasn't fully aware of.)

I wanted go but I know that's too late (kinda see above, it would have to do with wanting out but know that out isn't an option)

Darling go, watch your head (The chorus almost sounds like it's in Lena's voice, but the larger point is that it sounds external to "Gwen's inner voice". A command and a warning)

Don't look down baby under the bed (I could twist this to be a conversation -Lena *don't look down*

- Gwen *where?*

- Lena *Baby, under the bed*

If so, it's the warning. Don't get too curious)

Let it show, what you read (reminds me of how Lena told her to scream. That she knew.)

Underground making love to the dead (she learned it there. A place of secrets and tempting death)

De, de, de, de, dead (🙌)

I read the crowd like a clown on the prominence (Gwen, you trying to make yourself the center of attention and work the crowd, only to make yourself the clown of your own show.)

Dripping wet with regret and some hot cake (This is the scene with the Mocha, Dripping wet with regret, and a mocha consolation price.)

Strip down back abound would you like a taste (it did strip her down, but she seems to not want to be and put up her walls right back up. That final bit, would you like a taste, signaling how much she liked the gesture. A call to share)

On the floor gimme more don't you hesitate (and she went back for more, we know more or less why.)

Darling go, watch your head(...)

Don't look down baby under the bed(...)

Let it show, what you read(...)

Underground making love to the dead(...)

De, de, de, de, dead(...)

Darling go, watch your head (the chorus repeats, like echos of those warning taunt her. A sort of "you did this to yourself")

Don't look down baby under the bed

Let it show, what you read

Underground making love to the dead

De, de, de, de, dead (I like how there isn't this 3rd body of lyrics, the chorus repeats through the bridge of the song. There is not 3rd times the charm. You don't get good at this job, you get used to it)

Of course a lot of this is mental gymnastics. But I had fun.