#it's funny not having many thoughts on terry

[necrotic-nephilim]

any pairings for terry mcginnis?

oh good question!

to be honest, not a *ton*. i think the Batman Beyond universe is a decent show for background noise, but i don't really think about it a ton when it comes to fandom. honestly i don't really consider Terry to be a Batfam member, nor do i think he should be. i'm of the opinion Terry shouldn't be the successor of the mantle in the main timeline bc he doesn't work in the main timeline. he works well in his own world, but the idea that fo *all* the Batfam, the person to take up the mantle is a random kid who happens upon the Batcave to me, is unsatisfying. so i tend not to think of him in relation to the other characters, but as his own sequestered person. i know there are comics with him, but i haven't read them and tbh, am not interested in doing so.

that said, i am a sucker for Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker and all the Joker Junior potential, so. i have had the idea for a fic for a while where Terry ends up in the past for an indefinite amount of time, while Tim is still Robin and/or Red Robin. and Terry knows what will happen to Tim and under Bruce's orders of not fucking up the future too much, isn't allowed to say shit. but a tragic romance happens where they sort of fall in love, all while Tim knows *something* happens to him that's making Terry so flighty about the future. like a tragic fic where there's no happy ending, but bc of that, i do ship them. i think it's so fun for Terry to know what will happen and be unable to stop it, yet fall in love with Tim anyway. delightfully fucked up ship, imo.

also a fan of Damian/Terry. i despise the whole thing with Terry being Bruce's biological child bc to me, it ruins a lot of the themes of Terry's character, but honestly idc if they're biologically related. it's sort of more fun if they are. Damian being so convinced he's going to inherit the mantle he was born for, and then being replaced with a *random* kid who he can beat in a fight and he knows it is *infuriating*. even more infuriating if Terry is Bruce's son and there's a biological element to it, bc Terry was Right but Damian was Wrong for no explained reason. of what i know about Damian in the Future's End comics, i do enjoy the role he has, leading the League and taking Ra's' places. i think it makes Damian and Terry mirrors of each other and they really deserve to fuck about it. there's a lot of good complex fodder there.

also think Terry and Jason could be neat. i don't have many thoughts on that one, bc i know very little about Jason in Future's End, but i do think Jason would be predictably weird and unhinged over the new fresh Batman. there's potential there. i just need to think about it, but i know it's there.

also Terry and his canon girlfriend are pretty cute. she put up with too much shit from him, but she was cute and i liked her. i wish i had more thoughts, but Terry does tend to fall outside of my wheelhouse, hope this still satisfies you tho, anon!

[neil-gaiman]

Hiya Mr Gaiman!

It's probably unlikely that you'll see this, since ofc you're probably busy rn, but incase you do see this in your inbox but don't have time to answer due to other stuff, i just wanna let you know that i still appreciate you somehow having time to read this lil ask I've sent you! Again, thank you Mr Gaiman!

Anyway, so this would probably sound *kinda* weird in terms of the ask i'm writing to you, but do bear with me!

Ok, so uhh Mr Gaiman, if you were to have the ability to time travel to alternative dimensions/universes, would you go to an alternative universe where Monty Python member Graham Chapman never got throat cancer and was still alive and well and happy in his 80s and living his best life in said alternative universe? If so, why? If not, why?

Again, sorry if it sounds a bit out of league and sorta philosophical in terms of the question for you to answer, Mr Gaiman, but I've been thinking about this for quite a while now and it does make me both happy and emotional to think about if Graham Chapman was still alive today, and if he was still alive today, what kinda projects he would've been in, both in terms of writing and acting? Would Graham still be in contact with the other Pythons? Would Graham probably also have a Tumblr account? (ok that's a bit of a stretch but it's a bit funny to imagine imo).

I certainly think that, if Graham was still alive today, he would've been absolutely happy that same-sex marriage was finally made legal plus many other achievements for LGBTQ+ rights, and that he would've probably gotten legally married to his partner David Sherlock, with the other Pythons being the guests of honour for the wedding ceremony!

I also wonder that, if Graham's adopted son John Tomiczek (who unfortunately died from a heart attack in 1992) were to also live, would've Graham finally become a grandpa/great-grandpa?

Idk, it's just some thoughts that I've been thinking about. Thoughts about the many upon many possibilities of Graham doing lots of stuff today if he were still alive. Things he *would've* and *could've* have had the opportunity to do......that is.....if the universe didn't decide to be a dickhead one day and give Graham throat cancer for no absolute reason, and to make it hurt even more, have him pass away on the eve before the 20th Anniversary of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" airing on the 5th October, 1989.....

Again, I understand if you can't be able to answer rn due to other stuff, but I thought I'd ask you this rather hypothetical (rather philosophical of sorts) question cuz I have been thinking about it for quite a while now, and I wanted to hear your personal thoughts on this hypothetical AU situation!

Thanks Mr Neil Gaiman ❤️

It's a lovely idea. I never knew Graham (although I've met most of the other Pythons, and am friends with Terry Gilliam). I like thinking of worlds in which wonderful people didn't die.

[goldenocie]

Some canon info on the kids!!!

They are all genetically Ocies, as a bit of backplot on Ocies abilities is as she gets more in tune with being the ocean, she can shift her body. There are some constraints and if she’s adding mass she needs water and any mass shed becomes water but this why she has organs. Because she, for the entirety of fable, found herself as wanting to be more human.

Pre fable when she felt herself as nothing more than the ocean and a monster, if you cut off her arm it might’ve just disintegrated into salt water. During fable you’d have an arm laying on the ground. Post fable it depends on how much mental capacity she has on herself. Neutrally you get the arm on the ground, with some thought and willpower you get the water.

Adding on- as Ocie felt herself more human- she was able to have kids! She didn’t entirely do this on purpose, just thought “man I wish I could have kids” and suddenly- baby. ✨

Callie looks a lot like Centross. Like a lot. She has a bit of Ocies curls and fins ofc but her eyes, face, and hair color all look like centross. Her fins are even purple! He is in denial about this, he swears she looks like Ocie

Callie is a lover of history and mythology. She loves hearing about the old gods and her favorite old god from each court is: Rakai, Len/Soul, Casus, and Soraza. Talks of Fable are banned in the castle. Enderian is also a…touchy subject. She can only hear about these two from Oscar who finds it funny to scare her with some of the stories

Argo is named after Vorago! Just with some letters moved around. He looks the most like Ocie and wears a child sized chest plate that once was Oscar’s. He *never* takes it off. Getting him to bed each night is a struggle because Ocie knows he will not sleep well with it on. He does not care. Someone once pointed out that he acts a lot like Oscar did at this age and all the color drained from Ocies face.

The Chest plate once saved him when a political enemy of seaside flung a knife at him! Argo still has the knife and adores it. Ocie dealt with the intruder. Quickly.

Terry is named after- well Terry! He’s just a toddler as of the time period they’re all depicted and is very clingy to all of him family. He is usually found koala’d onto Ocie, Jerry, or Centross and is very fussy when put down.

All three children have met terry in Elysium. All three children did so with Jerry in the group. All three children were suddenly very confused on why there were two Jerry’s suddenly. Callie hid behind Ocie during her meeting, Argo tried to find out which one was the “fake one”, and Terry kept clinging to one before crying and wanting to be held by the other and repeating this process over and over again.

Oscar doesn’t do well with new babies as he was used to being the center of attention. Hell even when Veah was brought into the picture he told wolf to “return her”. Despite this- Oscar is the cooler older brother of all of the new seaside children and is constantly hounded by them to take them places and tell them stories. Despite being annoyed by them occasionally- Oscar loves his siblings and cousin a lot. He’s made a silent oath to protect all four of them with his friends and they do so as secretly as possible.

Oscar is about a teenager around this point and has to cope with centross being able to teleport in through a rift at a moments notice. The other guards don’t invite him to many parties as they know the fucking king will swoop in and crash it

[authenticaussie]

Alright so I just finished Batman:TAS recently and started watching Superman:TAS and it delights me that the first episode is literally just: superman??? Who dat. This is aliens :)) (even if Brainiac does say "human error, Jor-el"). So obviously I do now have aus. Obviously <3 shout-out to @midnightluck for the Justice League, @cer-rata for Terry and @suzukiblu for Jordan + putting up with the initial ramble

So anyway Brianiac's satellite upload gets fucked up by Jor-el either in petty revenge or as an accident, and a part of Brainiac ends up on Clark's ship. The vague explanation I have is that Brainiac is the AI for everything and in TAS, Jor-el also does not realise he is "evil" and thus still uses his help as a navigator for Clark's ship while he is initially building it. The ship, however, is offline to prevent the Kryptoninan council from finding out about it, and thus, that section of Brainiac does not get taken back into the satellite upload.

As it is BARELY the 90's when the Kents find Clark after the crash, Brainiac is summarily useless thanks to the current lack of wifi, but manages to mostly teach himself English and Kal kryptonian, and decides that. >:( since they're BOTH there, they can BOTH be vestibules of kryptonian knowledge. And also Kal can get him more earth knowledge. The vibes entirely are: "Weird aspects of kryptonian culture taught by an unbodied dickhead historian" and while the argument is "but brainiac is evil!" Main brainiac is. But this is a subsection of Brainiac :) he learnt more stuff + Clark loves him soooo much.

Unfortunately. That is His baby now. He is not impressed with his baby. His baby bought him a growing chick the other day, with big sad eyes, and said the kryptonian word for fluffy!!! in such a mournful tone that Brainiac resigned himself to teaching kal about how growing up worked and that the chicken needed feathers to fly. This explanation ends with Clark collecting feathers and trying to jump off the barn roof, and he thus resolves to extend further co-parenting issues to the Kents. For his own personal convenience, of course.

It does of course ALSO mean that Brainiac, who has a loose definition of the words "surveillance state" absolutely gets in at the ground floor when the internet first starts up. Clark's influence relegates him to the background, but he is good at hiding ! So they don't realise they have an AI in the wifi! But ohhhh boy does brainiac scare a few people at first. Potentially tries to do his "i am helpful" schtick before realising he is not useful in this because he's basically just. Seems completely like a troll? He's some random person who's invaded the internet!!

However he is also the inspiration for google 😂 and calls it his younger, stupider sibling. It is also funny to me to think about earth compsci engineers having NO idea why sometimes the internet acts SO DAMN WEIRD <- brainiac's fault.

As a result though, when Clark starts up as Superman, Brainiac does NOT let the Kr project off the ground. Files are misdirected and blackmail is gathered. Until one day Kal says something sad about how he'll never be able to have a great romance, because he's terrified of telling anyone the alien thing, and that he's always thought about kids but he's kinda terrified because what if he hurts someone- and Brainiac is like ah yes wait. I shall fix this for my Only Kryptonian.

TWO kids for the price of one?!? he finds, after he goes searching, and then further prodding finds THIRTEEN children, extraordinary. Not all of them are viable because the earth scientists truly are incapable but Brainiac can fix the issues with their technology to ensure Kal has the children he wants.

"How many children did you think of, kal-el?" he asks, and Clark laughs at how kindly his friend/uncle/grandfather figure treats his silly selfishness.

"Oh, man, sometimes I think: as many as I can carry! But then- I don't want Superman to get in the way of being a good dad. Too many and I won't be there for them like I should, you know? I worry about that, I guess."

"As many as you can carry is a significant amount," Brainiac says dubiously, already imagining teaching these numerous children kryptonian culture and Also that they are Not chickens. "I do not think that can be fulfilled effectively."

Five minutes later Clark has five children and has realised his matchbox apartment and budding romance with Lois Lane are both complicated things he will now have to resolve. He's basically commuting daily to the Daily Planet from Smallville, thank god for superspeed and his endlessly patient parents, jfc

(Children I was thinking of: the destablised kon!clone from SB94/The Ravers, Kon, Match, Bizarro, and Mia. Alternatively they went old-school with Biz so Brainiac didn't get a chance to help him/he's older than the other kids when Clark finally mentions wanting kids, to Brainiac, and thus Biz ends up like. The kids' uncle. There ARE technically twelve clones before Kon. I could've given you thirteen-fifteen kids, Clark.)

Anyway this does mean that either a) when Lois finds out Kal is superman this is not his biggest secret, b) Kon rocks up as Superboy and Lois, once she finds out Clark is Superman, immediately goes: WAIT BUT SUPERBOY'S YOUR KID. ARE YOU MARRIED??? or c) everyone at the Daily Planet thinks Clark just. Got really unlucky with different people he slept with and someone in the world's wildest stroke of luck they all ended up pregnant. Because Clark Does Not mention a partner when it is eventually revealed he has kids.

He probably does keep them a secret for a while though. A) He doesn't want them to have to try and be "normal" since they're only just out of the pod and B) I feel like, weirdly, Clark is somehow that co-worker that people like. barely know anything about. You like them and they're so helpful! and good-natured! and then you get him in the office secret santa and realise you're not even 100% what his favourite colour is or if he has a pet.

Anyway, Lois: he is NOT expecting Lois to get pregnant and they have to have a Long talk about it because Brainiac is. :) Being an asshole about species compatibility and the fact that it is "not natural" for Kryptonians to be created biologically rather than properly, in a pod, and also: Clark already has five freaking kids. That's a lot of kids! Are they going to be okay having a brother that much (at least five-ten years I'm thinking, depending on if we go: Brainiac gives him multiple children of multiple ages, or multiple young children of the same age,) younger than them??? And then there's Chris, too, who rocked up just after Clark and Lois started dating, and is still pretty high needs because he only mostly speaks Kryptonian (and is lowkey terrified of Brainiac, so Clark's main babysitter is out) (also please please imagine how freaking cute the subplot of "chris realises this brainiac is not the nightmare his stories told him about; watching his new siblings do things that Brainiac would have killed them for, terrified for them because he heard the stories of how long Brainiac bided his time--)

But this is also: how many kids can we give clark, the fic, and thus they have Jon, and then Jon exhibits so many kryptonian characteristics and Lois doesn't mean to but she's a little wine drunk and says, "i love them, you know, they're all perfect, Jon's perfect, I was just- I'm terrified for him. If we raise him right he's gonna be just like his dad…and you know what? I was wanting my own little Lane. Someone to follow my footsteps. I'm feeling a bit outnumbered here, haha!"

Brainiac: hm. I will amend this. (Makes and artificially grows human!Jordan so he displays more human genetic characteristics As Lois Wants)

Brainiac: I have created Jon-el's twin for you, Lane. You are welcome.

Lois: um what

Clark: honey no you can't talk about children with Brainiac he will make more

Lois: WHAT.

Lois: OUR CO-WORKERS KNOW I DIDN'T HAVE TWINS, KENT.

Clark: …. you're gonna have to be one of those weird "I didn't know I was still pregnant" stories…. 😂

Lois: 😭 Clark you know those are only funny when they are NOT HAPPENING TO ME

Clark: you didn't know you were pregnant….. literally

Lois must engage in the gaslighting of all of her coworkers <3 What do you mean you didn't realise she had twins she's shown you both of them? Of course they look the same they're babies. Of course she always had twins. She carried them. Did you carry her babies? Of course she would know. Isn't that right, Clark? …. isn't that right, Clark?

Clark: "Where else would she'a gotten a baby from, guys? An alien?"

Brainiac: hello i have delivered the child. Where is my thanks? It has still not been conveyed? I am doing the Literal Best as the Literal Best AI ever? Excuse me? You ignore Brainiac?

Brainiac: death for one thousand humans-!!!

Martha: 🥰 Brainiac I'm so proud of you for always making sure these kids are taken care of. Giving us Jordan! Oh, you marvellous robot

Brainiac: …. acceptable, Matriarch Kent

either that or Lois shoots herself in the foot and everyone thinks Clark is STILL the man with the world's worst luck and the strongest genetics ever:

"Lois, honey…how are Jon and Jordan so close in age? If they're not twins?"

"Uh- Jordan is adopted!"

Everyone: looks at Jordan, who is Jon's splitting image

Everyone: …..okay

Anyway because this AU is wildly cliche, very obviously the Bit of Brainiac that helped Clark grow up re-integrates with Brainiac prime during a Big Dramatic Battle where all of the Superfam are getting hurt, and manages to stop/halt Brainiac prime from hurting Clark and the Kryptokids at the cost of his existence.

Jordan gets to punch it in the circuits cause he's the only one not affected by kryptonite but still has the general invulnerability. (And then Jon and/or Kon and meeting the LoSH and they realise their grandfather Brainiac has very much been continued in Brainiac 5's code :3 for an open-ish happy ending of "hey good exists forever and always regardless of heritage")

GRANDPA LEARNS LOVE AND AFFECTION.

GRANDPA CHANGES FROM GENERAL SELF SERVICE AND SELFISHNESS AND REALISES HE LOVES KAL AND THE KENTS AND HE WILL PROTECT THEM

GRANDPA ALSO WANTS ACCESS TO THE INTERNET. There is a constant battle and it does work for a while because he is elected babysitter of the kryptokids and he is only a small part of Brainiac, five kids does stretch the circuits he developed from Clark's pod, but it's a constant cycle.

"Kal-el, son of house of el, I demand google, I have not finished investigating the 'man of Bats'. Why are there two variations of his name?"

"You mean Dark Knight?"

"THERE ARE THREE? KAL-EL, PROVIDE ME WITH THE WIFI IMMEDIATELY--"

Also when Brainiac finds out that Clark's birthday falls on a human holiday he. He tries. He tries to do pranks. Most of them are vaguely and accidentally evil (Chris cries when Brainiac takes over the internet for the day and makes every search engine answer questions wrong), but he tries. He knows Clark likes pranks! He is trying to participate! It's family bonding!!!

Braniac: It is your 33rd April fool's day.

Clark: Yep!

Braniac: I have finally decided to assist you with a prank.

Clark:...oh?

Braniac: Behold! (Small boy with dark hair, blue eyes and a square jaw walks in, dressed in a decent little suit.)

Clark: Braniac you CANNOT keep making...Wait. No. No you didn't--

Braniac: A prank to share with your closest friend!

Braniac: I have been calling him "Bruce" for my records, but you may want to pick something else for clarity.

Clark: 😦😳😬💀

(And thus we have Terry)

Also, while Clark is pretty secretive about his kids, when/if any of them go out with a Superfam name, and/or after he gets closer with the Justice League, there are little slip ups. He does really love his kids!!! And at the point where he's joined the JL he's been with Lois for a few years now and is used to mentioning them every now and then at the Daily Planet/trauma sure does bond you together :) and he trusts the core members of the JL pretty well. Someone makes fun of Bruce for his "hoard" of children and his "adoption problem" and Clark snorts and then chokes. Bruce has barely adopted Tim and/or has only just gotten Cass. Four? Please, Clark's almost at double digits.

Or Hal is talking about the fact that he doesn't know what to get his niece for her birthday; Clark asks how old she is, and goes "Seven? Oh, yeah. Go for Monster High, it's really big right now. The dolls are pretty cool."

"Lol why do you know so much about dolls, you have a secret collection-"

"What? No, my daughter likes them."

Hal:

Barry complains about how many birthdays he has to go to and Clark laughs. "Oh, tell me about it! Mia, Mark ((Match)), Chris and Mara all had birthday parties for their school friends in the same week - thank god for superspeed, right?"

Barry, who was talking about volunteering to visit kids' birthday parties at different orphanages in Central: Clark what are you talking about.

Also, Clark's an idiot and decides to introduce Brainiac's "prank" to Bruce on the watchtower because hey! It's neutral ground! And none of his kids can hear into space, thank fuck.

Clark: so....Bruce....you know how you were complaining about being an empty nester. Now that Damian's gone to college. Well. Hm. (pulls Terry from behind him) Surprise!

Bruce: .......You have a new child.

Clark: er. Well. sort of!

Terry, staring at Bruce like the autism creature: O_O

Bruce: .....I have a new child.

(also probably terry's backstory then includes some amanda waller induced kidnapping and potentially a bit of amnesia and adoption by another family but hey, he finds bruce again eventually!)

(also match does try and be the badboy of the family and does hang out with thad, when thad comes up to kill Bart, but. they both just. accidentally vaguely rehabilitate each other? They're not good, but they don't murder, at least. It's a low, low bar. When Clark tries to disappointed-face him, Match just says he's following in Grandpa Brainiac's footsteps and does Clark REALLY expect him to disregard a family legacy-- and you can give him some suicide squad angst or whatever, but the fam is still. there for him.)

(Mia and Kara get into a fist fight when they first meet; then they are best friends. Mia's not great at 'being Kryptonian', especially because she was one of the first attempts, and as per canon is technically a human who they tried to overwrite with Kryptonian DNA, and thus doesn't entirely understand Kara's connection to their 'home', but as a result she also ends up being Kara's confidant in it, because unlike Kal she does understand being taken away from your home and not being able to go back to it, and yet does not have...the same connection the way the other members of the Superfam do, and the disconnect allows Kara to actually talk about Kyrpton instead of mourn)

(Kon does try and grab the spotlight; Clark is trying to let him have freedom, after both Mia and Match went a bit....bitey at his attempts to keep them safe until they were older, but he's still the more naive of his siblings. Thankfully for Clark, he does get to introduce Kon to Robin, and while they don't hit it off, it is enough to mitigate the worst of the fallout of Rex's sleazy bs and Knockout's crimes ): When he joins YJ Clark is both proud of his heroism and a little scared that one of his kids is actually deciding to follow in his footsteps.)

(Mara is Kon's destabilised clone, from when he learns about paul westfield. We did not have enough girls in this family and thus part of their journey of self-identity was the fact that in a family of loud personalities they weren't great at speaking up; it takes a while for them to admit they want a new name and to use she/they pronouns, but by the time Jon and Jordan are five everyone's used to the change. Mara and Kon are closest, even though Kon and Mark/Match are technically sort-of twins; they clash waaay too much in temperament and personality. Kon was much better at playing protector to his little sibling, especially after they came out, and Mara shares "Supergirl" with Kara - she's only a backup member of the titans, though, and has the compassion and strength for heroism but sometimes too much empathy. Does a lot of relief work and peaceful outreach programs. They love a lot.)

(Chris?? no self sacrifice here!!! He has a bunch of fucking siblings with TTK, he is NOT going into that portal)

(There are two Nightwings; every now and then they debate who should switch to Flamebird, jokingly, and yet both of them have perfectly valid arguments - it's kryptonian! / I look good in blue! - and thus it never comes to fruition. When Mia and takes on Flamebird they give it up entirely; it helps that Chris ends up doing a lot of intergalactic work, so there isn't much confusion on earth with the call sign.)

When Jon is old enough to want to switch from Superboy he 100% puppydog eyes Chris into giving him the Nightwing handle so he can give it to Dami, and snags Flamebird from Mia. Dick decides he can live with that and is trying to take care of his own kid so is semi-retired (and can snag it back from Dami if he ever gets too bored).

For a bit there are def still two Flamebirds, but then Mia and Chris decide to team up for intergalactic stuff and to bully Mara into more fistfights, so then they're Trio and just go by Mar-El, Lor-Zod, and Mi-El. I know that is not how female names work on Krypron but I also think Lois Lane, who kept her name and also gave both Jon and Jordan her last name, hyphenated, heard of that shit and went "absolutely not". Either that or Mara decides to keep her Kryptonian name as Mar-El and Mia is Mia Kal-el, or copies her mom and is like naw Fuck This, especially considering her.....lack of general connection to Krypton? Could be fun for any :3 (Or maybe in space she just goes by Lane; time for her semi-mom to get recognition. Mara is already showcasing the house of El, Chris is rehabilitating the house of Zod, she's gonna kick butt for the house of Lois.)

....Though this does potentially mean i have accidentally called Match "Mat-el" and the Barbie jokes from that. Would be. Iconic.

Anyway that's the Grandpa Brainy au! Tune in next week when I force Cerata to watch Arthur and the Invisibles with me and start talking about bug-prince Kon-el and Lois' adventure to save her husband from a tiny evil overlord.

[gingiekittycat]

I miss the narrator

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I miss the narrator from Good Omens season 1.

I will admit, when I first watched the show it threw me a bit. Sure, the narrator's jokes were funny, but I thought that as a story-telling device it was distracting. There was just so much of it all the time, and it often felt out of place. And when I went to look up reviews online, it seemed a lot of people agreed: if there ever was a season 2, the narrator had to go.

But THEN.

THEN.

Then I read the book.

And I realized: the narrator is the footnotes. It's the little jokes in between the plot. In descriptions, in metaphors, in transitions. The narrator is what makes the magic of the novel.

The narrator is the authors.

More specifically, the narrator is Terry.

Terry's influence on the novel, on the story; Terry's influence in the way he and Neil wrote the book. Neil has said before somewhere (I will find the source eventually and add it) that he was writing in Terry's style when he co-wrote the novel. And it shows; to me, when I read Good Omens, I was reading a Terry Pratchett novel. At the time, I had no previous experience with reading Terry's work, and the only novel I'd read of Neil's was American Gods. And in my opinion, Good Omens reads nothing like American Gods.

In subsequently reading more of Terry's work, it became even clearer to me that the narrator in the show was Neil's way of keeping Terry in the story. And maybe it WAS clunky in a visual medium, maybe it WAS distracting, jarring. But it was also hilarious, and whimsical, and playful, and fun. And I don't see how Neil could have done without it and still stayed so true to the novel. The jokes, the metaphors, the descriptions, the footnotes; this is what makes Good Omens what it is.

There was no narrator in season 2.

I will say up front that, overall, I enjoyed season 2. It had so many funny moments, and so many thought-provoking, poignant moments too. It used some dialog from the first book (looking at you Resurrectionists minisode) to remind us why Good Omens is not just a romp between an angel and demon, but also a philosophical, thought-provoking piece of media. It had a lot of Pratchett-esque moments; the Job minisode stood out to me here. The end was, of course, emotional and gutting, but I like emotional and gutting (anyone who has read my fics knows this). But... I found myself missing the narrator. 

I missed Terry.

And maybe that was a good thing. Maybe it was even on purpose. Maybe the lack of narrator really is illustrating the fact that, when Terry died, he left a hole in the world that can never be filled. You can't make the same show you would have made had Terry been alive. You can't even try. You can make your own thing, you can make it amazing in its own right, but you can't make it the same. And, all said and done, I think that's a very important commentary on grief. When you lose something, or someone, you're not the same as you were before; and it hurts, but you change, you adapt, you grow. Eventually, you make something new.

So... do I want there to be a narrator in season 3?

That's a good question. I think I would accept both outcomes. However, knowing that season 3 is supposed to be the sequel Neil and Terry plotted, I think it would be appropriate to have a narrator this time around. True, we have no novel to base it off of; we don't have any of Terry's footnotes, his metaphors, his jokes. But we have Neil, whom Terry influenced while writing the original novel; we have Neil writing in Terry's style, putting himself in Terry's shoes for a moment (his hat, his scarf). We have Neil, who loved Terry, who has in part made this show as a labor of love, because he promised Terry he would, and he's going to keep that promise. We have Neil to remind us why we love Good Omens in the first place.

And I think having a narrator in season 3 would be a wonderful way to illustrate that. 

[radioactivesweet]

Hello!!~ May I pretty pls, get more headcanons about Nyx!s/o?; Ares, Beelzebub, Loki and Tesla with a Nyx! s/o?~

(Just imagine Loki using his s/o to scare Zeus, I can’t— 💀✨)

Also, feel free to add other characters if you want ^ - ^

Ngl I'm enjoying this Nyx!s/o requests! Nyx is such a cool goddess! And yeah- Loki is definitely using her in his favour hahahah I won't add anymore character tho otherwise I'll end up posting this much much later

Ares, knowing your name and reputation - alongside the fact that his father himself was scared of you - thought you'd be as scary as you were described. Whenever your name was brought up in a conversation - which happened quite rarely - people who'd grow pale and start shivering, which scared Ares immensly, despite trying not to show it. You became a sort of boogeyman in his mind, the kind of creature you'd talk about to children to have them got to sleep. So when he actually met you and discovered you didn't appear to be that frightnening, he immediately warmed up to you, being the himbo he is. When you get close to each other, whenever he sees you, he lights up - which is kinda ironic if you think about it. Ares has his perks and self-preservation doesn't appear to be one of them. How he has become devoid of any fear towards you and instead showers you with affection is a mystery to you, but it's much appreciated. All the rumours surrounding you weren't enough to scare him away after all and he surely is one funny god to have around. Family dinner are quite funny too for you. Zeus tries to avoid them whenever he can and you can have the time of your life by frightening Zeus himself.

Beelzebub recognises how similar you two are from the first moment he met you. Both of you feared and isolated deities, whose name alone makes the earth tremble, associated with darkness and ruin, whose presence is dreadful and nightmarish. Frightnening and unpleasant, he knew he'd get along well with you. To each other though, you're both kinda warmer, despite keeping a certain level of detachement between you two. You know about Beelzebub's curse - and have seen many curses during your long life - and try to look for a solution to it, despite his resistance. Being an ancient deity gave you much more experience than his, yet helping someone who doesn't want to be helped is a difficult job. Despite everything, when you two are together, you have the certainty that nobody will ever dare disturbing you. On your own you are both terrying, together you are Heaven's worst nightmare.

Loki isn't scared of you, what he's scared of is Odin finally punishing him for one of his many pranks. You are actually the one who could save him from his miserable fate! Not even Odin would dare to punish him if it meant crossing your path. You silently checking on him is more than enough for Loki to do whatever he want without having to deal with the consequences - unless he angers you, at that rate he'd probably be annihilated, but he doesn't want to reach that point. He is mischievous, not stupid, and doesn't want to die either. At first, he has to admit it, Loki was a little put off by you. You were intimidating to say the least, but he already had his good share of frightnening deities to deal with. You can be sure he will never and ever pull a prank on you, even though he'd like to try once. It may be his last prank though.

Nikola is the child of light; you are the goddess of night. The bright scientist and the gloomy deity. Complete opposites, yet he is enchanted by you. Nikola, believing in the power of science instead of gods' doesn't really understand why you seem to be feared by others. He can see how you can appear a little intimidating but aside from that, he finds your presence quite pleasant! Nikola believes that thanks to you he may also progress with his experiments - he is quite interested in your powers too. He doesn't want you to feel like a guinea pig though, because he doesn't absolutely see you that way. You are someone he knows will be of help in his researchs and sees you as a beacon who could make humanity itself evolve. You are his partner and Nikola values a lot your opinions and beliefs. The fact that you are an incredibly powerful deity is a bonus he doesn't dislike though. Thanks to his light and your darkness, he knows you'll be able to achieve great things together.

[rcmclachlan]

screaming: alien invasion!!!!!!!!

slightly quieter but no less enthusiastic: pre-lawsuit alt meeting?

:)

Okay, so, I started a story around the alien invasion idea and then I thought, wouldn't it be funny if that's how they top the S8 premiere? Legit fucking alien invasion.

So I decided to write it as an actual spec script instead. I wrote treatments for the three episodes and have just started on the teleplays. For the season 9 alien invasion 3-part premiere event. Which will never be made. You know, like a completely normal person.

Here's the gist:

Episode 1:

The lead-up to the invasion! The episode opens with Los Angeles ARTCC, which has been dealing with odd radio interference all morning. They get a call from a pilot (guess who) who reports oddly behaving air traffic in his vicinity that isn't showing up on any radar. The scene builds until the call suddenly drops out. The rest of the episode is split between three subplots:

The 118 dealing with a weird call in which a no-nonsense bank executive is believed to be having a psychotic episode when he makes a scene about seeing some kind of spaceship in the sky.

Bobby and Athena having a discussion about the possibility of life elsewhere. Bobby's surprised that Athena is so adamant that aliens are real; he has a monologue about how the concept of aliens is in conflict with everything he's been taught about God.

Maddie, Sue, and Josh—who, thanks to the radio wave issues, hear the second half of Tommy's call to ARTCC when it glitches in to a 911 call that Maddie's working—evading some shadowy military figures. Terry gives them the call on a thumb drive, they end up meeting with Buck (who's going out of his mind because he's been unable to reach Tommy) and playing him the call (it's very sad).

The last scene involves Buck, Maddie, and everyone else convening at the 118 where they're met by the military people who've been chasing Maddie, Sue, and Josh all day. Just as a disheveled woman in her mid to late 50s shows up and claims to know Tommy, the spaceship materializes above LA. The episode ends as it begins charging up and Bobby shouts for everyone to get inside the station.

Episode 2:

This episode is entirely focused on Tommy. It begins with him taking his helicopter up for an early-morning joyride and then making the call to ARTCC (same dialogue as the first episode, but now from his POV) when he sees some kind of flying craft moving non-ballistically. He gets caught in a strange light that freezes his helicopter in midair and then pulls it into the atmosphere. Believing he's about to die, he asks the controllers to locate Evan Buckley at the LAFD 118 and tell him that Tommy loves him. Everything goes white.

Tommy has a very Fire in the Sky abduction experience, and he also meets some fellow abductees—including Dev, the woman at the end of episode one, who's with the Air Force out of Edwards AFB.

The subplots include:

Everyone getting to know each other. Tommy talks about Buck and how he was planning to propose the day he was abducted.

Tommy undergoing a harrowing experimentation scene in which he loses his left eye.

The group escaping once they determine it's been a week and the invasion is underway. They realize they're not the only species being held captive and free as many as they can. At one point, it becomes apparent that someone will need to stay behind to act as a decoy. It's Tommy, natch.

Tommy barely evading capture a second time and stumbling upon the ship's hangar.

The episode ends with him in one of the ship's fighter crafts, falling in line with a squadron as they make their way into LA airspace.

Episode 3:

The episode opens in Buck's kitchen, where Tommy and Buck are making dinner. Tommy tells Buck to cancel all his plans for his 48 because Tommy's calling dibs. The music playing on Tommy's phone switches to something slow and Buck laments about never getting to dance with him at Maddie's wedding. They end up slow dancing. Tommy puts his mouth to Buck's ear, but instead of whispering sweet nothings, it's Tommy's final words from his ARTCC call.

Buck is shaken awake by a soot-covered, exhausted Hen, who tells them their shift is about to start. Buck, equally filthy with cuts and bruises all over his body, allows himself a moment to visibly grieve, then gets up. They make their way out of the hollowed-out station, where the others are waiting.

The 118 (plus Athena) venture out into LA, which is in ruins. Ever since they dug themselves out of the rubble, they've been trying to find and help any survivors.

Subplots include:

Coming across people trapped in a collapsed restaurant. They're able to save two of the five. All the while, the last gasp of the military is taking on alien fighters in the sky.

Bobby having a major crisis of faith and nearly giving up entirely. He tells his team he doesn't know how much more he has to give. Hen tells him they can only do their best for as long as they're able (and it's implied it won't be for much longer).

A wave of alien fighters descending upon LA, which makes the 118 think it's finally the end for them. But one fighter breaks from the others and starts shooting them down. Eddie recognizes the flight techniques as American military and Buck is certain it's Tommy. Thanks to Karen's makeshift radio out of Athena's police cruiser, they're able to alert everyone nearby that someone on their side is fighting in an enemy ship and needs support. They watch the military join the fray and start taking down the other alien ships.

Buck and a battered but very alive Tommy are reunited.

The episode ends with everyone watching as various non-enemy alien ships, including ones recognizable from episode 2 (implying the some of the aliens Tommy helped escape have joined the fight) descend from the atmosphere. The tide turns.

ROLL CREDITS, BITCHES

[sebastianravkin]

A FUNERAL FOR NEIL-GAIMAN

My hyper fixated autistic mind keeps running the Neil-Gaiman allegations around and around in my head and I need to find a way to move past the hero in my mind. Even though I believed Neil-Gaiman when he said ‘you never want to meet your heroes’, even though I am old enough to know better, even though I assumed Neil-Gaiman probably had issues and hangups that didn’t come through in his friendly and wise public persona, I have still been hit hard by the extent that I was wrong. I need ritual, closure, a way to move on. So I WILL BE HOLDING A PRIVATE FUNERAL FOR MY HEAD-CANON NEIL-GAIMAN. Maybe others want to hold their own funerals, maybe it will help, and so I put this out there for you to consider.    

To be clear - and many may disagree and I am fine with that - I do not care in theory if Neil slept with younger women, I slept with older men and think of myself as better for it. I do not care that Neil practices BDSM as long as it is safe and consensual. I do not care if Neil had an open marriage if it was agreed upon by both parties. I believe Neil is autistic, and that can make intimate (or really any) communication difficult sometimes, but I do not think that is an excuse. I believe Neil suffers depression and suicidal ideation, but I do not think that gives him a pass for treating others poorly. 

I care that Neil took advantage of women who were at a disadvantage - financially, professionally, mentally, emotionally. I care that he was proposing sex with women after being married to his first wife for only a year and who was probably obliviously at home with their new baby. I care that Neil is no where near the man I thought he was, I hoped he was, I believed he was and that made the world a slightly better place. 

So, I will be holding a funeral for Neil-Gaiman. For the man who spoke of his own heroes - Terry Pratchett and Gene Wolfe - as polite and kind and wise and (I made the mistake of assuming) as role-models for his own behavior. For the man who appeared to be so kind and funny, with no ulterior motives, on Tumblr to so many fans. For the man who has written the books that I have read and reread to get through various crises in my life and so I assumed he had a deeper wisdom than I about life. For the man that I had a serious crush on since the 1990s. For the man who inspired various aspects of my own writing about, and understanding of, humanity. This man is fictionally dead, because this man was a fiction. His art lives on, and I will continue to love the art because I can not simply turn that off. 

What will this funeral be like? Probably some candles. Probably some tears. Probably burning a photo or two, but never never a book. Comfort food, definitely. Sad music. Maybe watch my favorite moments in Good Omens. Or read my favorite short story in Trigger Warnings. Or maybe just work my way through The Sandman again. I will grieve him like I grieve the end of a good book, or the death of a favorite character in a story, or the loss of a favorite place on the landscape.

The fact that there is some other dude out there that looks like Neil-Gaiman, who I think of as just Neil (because every ‘Neil’ I have known was an ass, which should have been a red flag really), is too bad. Maybe Neil is self-destructive, maybe Neil harms others to harm himself, maybe Neil will find help, find a way back from the depths he has thrown himself into. Or maybe Neil is just a dick; always has been, always will be. You can be autistic and self-loathing and depressive and suicidal and still be kind. But you can also be all of those things, and also just be a dick.

R.I.P. Neil-Gaiman.  I am done. I have no more to say on this.

[differenteagletragedy]

Baxter sat in his car for a long while, thinking. Drumming his fingers against the steering wheel, leaning back against the headrest, absentmindedly fiddling with the radio -- anything to slow his mind down.

He was in the parking lot of a dance studio. A dance studio where he'd signed up for lessons. Lessons that were set to begin in just a few minutes.

Everything had happened so quickly -- the month before, he'd reconnected with his old flame from the summer he spent in Sunset Bird five years ago, and in doing so, he'd suddenly found himself thrust into a friend group. His former fling had ended up with an old friend, Derek, who he got along with swimmingly. Cove had warmed up to him, Terry was, as always, easy to get along with, and Miranda was getting more comfortable around him. Xavier, his own professional connection, had also turned into someone he could call a friend. It was an incredible shock to the system, but a nice one.

During the painful process of opening himself back up to things he'd thought he'd never have, Baxter began realizing just how much he'd closed himself off. His life had become a series of routines with no real joy in them, and he'd pushed away everything that could have possibly made him happy because he believed he didn't deserve it. A big thing, of course, was dancing -- it had once meant so much to him, but he'd let it go, along with everything else.

Now, he wanted it back.

It was funny how fast things could change, but still, he couldn't undo all the emotional bindings that had taken him years to put on himself overnight. He glanced at the clock, seeing it was just a few minutes until the lesson was supposed to begin, and began thinking of reasons not to go inside. He'd almost convinced himself when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

When he pulled it out, he saw a text from Xavier: "You can do it! Proud of you!"

They could have been being cheeky, he wasn't sure, but still, it felt good. He couldn't remember the last time someone had been proud of him, if they ever had been, and Xavier was right -- he could do it. He could do this.

Before he could change his mind, he pulled his keys out of the ignition and stepped out of the car.

Baxter made it inside with just a little time to spare, and he took a moment to take in his classmates. He'd signed up for the first lesson that worked with his schedule, a beginners ballroom class. He wasn't a beginner, of course, but he wanted to dance, and he knew his skills would be rusty.

There were several older people, many of them talking in groups. Some younger couples were there, and he saw a few shiny engagement rings -- he could spot soon-to-be-married couples a mile away at this point.

And then there was you.

You were the only other person there without a partner, so he made his way over to you -- of course you'd be paired together, so, ever the gentleman, he wanted to introduce himself.

There wasn't much of a chance to chat before the instructor began the class, but he learned a few things about you then. One, that you were, in fact, there alone -- you'd recently moved to the city and you didn't know anyone. Two, that you had no dancing experience whatsoever. And three, that you were completely and utterly charming.

If Baxter had been paired with anyone else, there's a chance he may have regretted taking the beginners class. The first order of business was mastering a simple box step, something he could almost literally do in his sleep. But as you put your hand in his, only meeting his eyes briefly so that you could watch your feet instead, he didn't have any regrets.

By the end of the class, he'd lost count of how many times you'd stepped on his toes, and his palm was damp with the sweat from yours. But his hand had gotten comfortable in its place on your back, and your laughter rang sweetly in his ears.

He was happy.

The instructor ended things far too soon for his liking -- after mastering the box step, or attempting to master it, the class moved on to the basics of the foxtrot, and after a few songs, class was dismissed.

"Thanks for dancing with me," you told him, stepping back from him and giving him a grin. "And sorry about your feet."

"It's quite all right," he said, matching your smile. "I've been hurt far worse."

"Still, maybe I should give you my number? In case you need to bill me for any medical expenses."

His breath hitched, and he felt his cheeks getting warm. It wasn't an unusual occurrence for someone to flirt with him, far from it, but what was unusual was that he liked it. He liked it very much.

"That would be smart," he responded, pulling out his phone. He handed it to you, and as you were adding yourself to his list of contacts, he added, "Perhaps it would also be prudent to meet again, just to discuss what's happened so that we could avoid any legal action?"

"Legal action?!" you exclaimed. He didn't know you that well, not yet, but it seemed like you were biting back a smirk. "Surely we can come to an agreement before it gets that far."

"We could discuss it over dinner. Are you free tonight?" he asked.

The joke was over, but you were still smiling, and so was he. You stood like that for a moment, not paying any mind to your classmates trickling out of the studio until you were alone together.

"I am," you told him, your voice a bit softer.

"It's a date then."

After making the plans, you finally parted ways. He went back to his car, a bounce in his step that wasn't there earlier. When he got in, he pulled out his phone again, scrolling through his contacts. It had gotten so much fuller than it had been just a few months ago. It was a good feeling.

He looked at your name, knowing that it was too soon to text you but finding himself wanting to talk to you again anyway. Instead, he pulled up his texts with Xavier and typed out a quick message:

"I did it."

[macksartblock]

do you have any specific headcanons for the teens??

I don’t really have too many headcanons for the teens. Most of them tend to draw from my own or my friends experiences/habits bc I find it funny so —

Taylor: has fibromyalgia and once texted the group chat something along the lines of “do you guys ever sleep so hard you wake up to a dislocated hip? I’m so good at sleeping” Scary was the only one who thought it was funny.

Normal: washes his hair in the sink more often than one should. He also wouldn’t have time to blow dry it before he’d put on the Teenie costume so his hair would end up crimped and half wet for the entirety of the day.

Additional HC that’s more family aligned: Before Hero and Normal were born, Sparrow painted a tree mural in each of their rooms. Hero eventually repainted her room when she was 12 but Normal’s tree is still visible :)

Hermie: is double jointed at the elbow and shoulder in his left arm. He can do this weird trick involving moving his clasped hands from behind his back, over his head, to his front. It’s weirdly bendy and uncomfortable to witness.

Lincoln: when he was around 8-9 yrs old, he attempted to convince his dads to help him make a sign that said “Tricks for Kisses (hershey kind)” around Halloween. He explained he was gonna do soccer tricks for kisses but did NOT explain he meant the chocolate kind. They did not make the sign.

Scary: when she was very little, like 4-5ish, Veronica signed her up for ballet classes. She did enjoy them until it was time for her first recital where, before even going on stage, she burst into tears and her teacher had to run out to collect Veronica from the audience. She was then signed up for soccer and was far more interested in that. Veronica still has the picture of Scary in her recital outfit in her wallet bc Scary couldn’t stand the idea of it hanging up in the house around Terry Jr.

[panelshowsource]

I'm from Australia and grew up with BBC and British TV, but there are still references that take me by surprise. For example, you would believe the "Mitchell Brothers" were real celebrities and ran the entire UK with how many references are made to them, especially across panel shows. Do you experience this? I often /understand/ why certain references, like popular soaps, are, indeed, popular, but I'm still surprised by just how much they're talked about!

omg this is HILARIOUS and YES!!!

i think this will be very funny for any of my uk & ireland followers to read? hahaha

i get asked all the time whether i understand the cultural references on panel shows and in standup (i do!) — but no one has ever asked me if i'm surprised by them! but YES. the best example i can think of is i swear to gawd there was a period of the late 2000s/early 2010s (?) when it felt like you couldn't watch a single episode of any panel show and not hear a noel edmonds joke. noel edmonds. noel edmonds. do you understand how absolutely meaningless that name is to an american like me? but omg i've heard 10000000000000 noel edmonds jokes/references in my day — and it DID surprise me just how much he was on people's minds! and, like you, i get it: he's super famous and he's a good punchline. but still! him and omg fuckin mick hucknall. why. why. why. why is the british light entertainment industry so obsessed with mick hucknall and making jokes about mick hucknall and references to mick hucknall. again, a name that means nothing to americans. so yes very funny to me, as a foreigner, how of all the very very famous people to reference and joke about these are some of the ones that get it the most!

so without further ado i tried to list the british cultural references that i hear the most + that also have a tinge of that "every comedian in britain thinking about pat sharp at all times and has a joke about him at the ready" feeling hahaha

series: coronation street, eastenders, springwatch, crimewatch, doctor who, blue peter, only fools and horses, mrs brown's boys

music: mick hucknall/simply red, the pretenders (it's always "you look like both of the pretenders"), noddy holder/slade, ronan keating, robbie williams/take that, blue, JLS, (there are obv groups like five and s club 7 but they’re not referenced nearly as much,) chesney hawkes

people: the chuckle brothers, eamonn holmes, terry wogan, janet street-porter, moira stuart, jeremy clarkson, noel edmonds, pat sharp (i thought pat sharp was a character on eastenders for about 10 years but that's pat butcher, who is also referenced constantly), john leslie, parky

there are obvious plenty more culturally specific people, places, and things that are referenced and discussed, and it's worth mentioning a lot of this is coming from middle-aged white people, but sheeeeesh... noel edmonds!!! maybe i just notice them now? bc i'm still kinda surprised i'm hearing janet street-porter jokes in 2023?

but i love it! i hope this post makes sense hahaha

[rosie-tyler]

Can't stop thinking about this idea I've had in my mind for a while

What if Terry Silver was a Twist villain?

Disclaimer: I'm not saying it would be better this way or smth (in fact, we wouldn't get many scenes from the first half of the movie which is not cool) but this is such a funny idea for me and I haven't seen any posts abt this so bear with me

The main reason why I find this idea interesting is because we as an audience experience everything from Daniel's POV.

Daniel's first meeting with Silver is also the first scene where we meet him.

We have no reason not to trust this guy. He apologised to Mr. Miyagi and Daniel!

He wants to help Daniel!

Our poor Daniel is getting beaten up again, where's Mr. Miyagi-

Oh wait today we have this guy as a knight in shining armour for Daniel! *holding out for a hero starts playing in the background*

Look at their smiles! They're having fun! Daniel is having fun!

Even if at the beginning of the movie we could have some doubts about Silver "Who is this guy? Why is he here? Kreese had a good friend, really?" after this scene we want to believe Silver is Daniel's cool new friend.

And then Daniel starts training with him and everything obviously goes downhill.

What kind of training is that???

Personal space? Didn't hear of it.

Constant unnecessary touching?

Okay, there's something fundamentally wrong with this guy. What are his motives? He used to be Kreese's friend, is he avenging him? (like Zira avenging Scar in Lion King 2 my first thought idk).

He's mentally ill and Daniel had the misfortune to become his obsession! (we know from the previous movies that everyone wants a piece of our little guy).

And then we get to that scene™ and experience almost the same shock and betrayal as Daniel does.

Silver's connected to Barnes! Kreese is alive!

He has never been a friend, even here!

Basically this is just me rambling about these two and why I find them a little tragic and this way we could feel Daniel's betrayal.

Daniel wanted Silver to be his friend! He considered him his friend, he trusted him! Just like we did!

All of them - Johnny, Chozen, Mike - hurt him but he was never betrayed by them as he never considered them his friends, he always saw them as rivals, always knew he should be beware of them.

Unlike Silver. That's why I believe Daniel refused to give him a second chance (apart from other awful things he did, obviously, I'm not forgetting these) when Silver, this time genuinely (quoting Mr. Griffith himself), wanted to be his friend. (Oh, the turntables!).

He betrayed him, hurt him in a way others didn't. Even if he forgave him, it would be *much* more difficult for him to learn to trust him, and even more so to consider him his friend as Silver wanted.

Silver called Daniel "a hothead" when he's basically the same, acting actually betrayed (look at him!) as if he didn't see it coming, as if he didn't realise that simple "sorry" wouldn't be enough.

But then again, he knew that if he couldn't become his friend, he could always be Daniel's personal nightmare, the one that Daniel will never forget.

[oh-hootsifer]

hi haven’t made a post in a while. but just watched tdp season 6, and OH MY GOD I have things to talk about!!!

first, I can’t believe the ship didn’t burn!!! SO SO HAPPY that they’re back together and made up and Rayla is Callums literal light that fills his darkness

So my friends and I were mostly talking about the possibility of more than seven seasons (specifically 8, maybe more!).

One of the things that could prove it, besides this image with phase 3 is the pillars with the staves on top of the Starscraper (which as of now I haven’t seen any posts about it.

It seems to me that there is: purple, green, dark blue, red, yellow, empty (the one that K’ppar had and gave to Viren), green, and light-blue green.

Assuming that each represent an arcanum, it doesn’t totally make sense. These are just strange, and don’t match up. It might just be a perception or an angle error on my part, but to me it seems like some of them change. I already looked at the all the scenes with the pillars multiple times, but if anyone want to help me out I’d appreciate it!

But if I’m right about the colors, then the arcanum’s don’t correspond. If the empty is dark, the purple is stars, the dark blue is ocean, the red or yellow is sun, the light green-blue is moon (or sky I guess), and one of the green is earth… that’s still not eight pillars. And there is definitely eight.

And, there are too many green staves. Even if one of them is supposed to be bluer, there’s also the possibility that if sun is yellow, what is the red one? And vice versa.

Dunno if I’m totally off on a limb here, but it’s quite interesting. We also never get a shot with all the colors.

In conclusion, my friends and I think there’s going to be an eighth arcanum, and an eighth season (solely based off these pillars). It’s most likely green. But we thought the magic could be Time or Blood or something. Not sure. But this season was so good!!!

Glad Karims plan didn’t work, surprised about how Terry and Claudia’s relationship went, I thought Terry was going to actually leave her or betray her or something. Her haircut isn’t the greatest. They fixed the cello playing problem. Damian!!! JANAYAS WEDDING!! Loved Stella and Sneezles: the ultimate Rayllum shippers. The Lord of the Rings reference was funny The mushpals were super cute, we got SO much Rayllum content and that’s amazing. Virens sacrifice was a very good thing for him to do (was scared that he was going to use Soren’s heart)… And Leola and Aaravos’ story was a needed addition. We know why he’s fucked up now. So much love and family this season! I feel like I missed something, but oh well.

[dantomasik]

What Makes the BTAS Joker Different (Better?) Than Other Versions

Definitely not the first one to take a crack at this, but had a little revelation this morning that cracked what makes the Joker we know from Batman: The Animated Series (also Justice League, Justice League: Unlimited, and Batman Beyond) different from other versions of the Joker. Furthermore, I think this might be what makes him so many people's favorite version of the Joker, because I don't know any other versions that do this with him.

The Joker can't take a joke.

We all saw in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker that Terry tore the clown apart when he started laughing at him, but it goes further than that. In the original animated series, we had episodes where the Joker, on the receiving end of a joke, not only can't play along, but often gets unequivocably furious. One episode featured a nervous, anxiety-ridden guy named Charlie who accidentally rear-ends the Joker, and ends up being coerced into helping with his next crime. The episode ends with Charlie threatening to blow both himself AND the Joker up, letting his legacy be death to a nobody. Joker fully panics and runs to Batman for help, only for Charlie to reveal it was a prank. Batman laughs, the Joker gets grumbly like someone's pissy grandpa at a progressive comedy show. In a crossover episode with Static Shock, after being defeated by the duo, the Joker plays possum and pulls out his Ol' Joy Buzzer gag, thinking he's gotten the Dark Knight for one last prank. Then comes the priceless moment when he realizes he's holding Static's electrified hand, who responds, "That was fun. Let me try!" That is one of the few times we've seen the Joker in a cold sweat as he gets a taste of his own medicine. That expression fully conveys a person discovering their joke isn't as funny as they thought.

However, probably the biggest red flag for this behavior comes to us in the form of Harley Quinn. Harley is devoted to the Joker, always happy to play along with his pranks & schemes, but when she tries going off-script, he never laughs. When Harley tries doing schemes of her own, or when she helps fix one of the Joker's schemes, that is when we see the ugly side of him. That is when we see the Joker not as some gifted comedic performer, but as a controlling & extremely insecure @$$hole who not only has to get the last laugh, but the only laughs. The Joker sees Harley not as his co-star, she is his supporting act. Like an egotistical diva, Joker always has to be the center of attention, his jokes have to be the ones that land, and he loses his sh*t when other people step in his spotlight.

The fact that this aspect of the character only seems to appear in the animated series might have something to do with the fact the show was aimed for kids. In most of the comics and live action films (and even a large portion of grown-up animated films), the Joker always has to be more serious, more sociopathic, more disturbing and deranged. He has to feel like a real threat, a real murdering killer, not just a prankster with a twisted sense of humor. The stakes always have to feel important, and thus resolving them with a laugh feels inappropriate. Furthermore, Batman usually also has to be considerably more serious, much less likely to crack jokes, and almost certainly never settling for defeating the Joker by playing his own game. The Joker always laughs because it always leaves an opening for a surprising return or one last prank later on down the line. He's always gotta be a madman in control. Even when he dies, he usually dies laughing, or at the very least smiling, because that's how he wins. He takes all of the consequences for his mayhem with a toothy grin like he's laughing at a joke only he gets.

That's why his death in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker felt so final (even as we'd already seen him back in action). Regardless of version, the Joker didn't die with a smile or a laugh. He was caught off-guard, and in keeping with his established character, once things went off-script he couldn't improvise a funny line to save his life. His last words were simply: "That's not funny. That's not…." It's also why Terry's climactic takedown of him is so iconic. He finally realizes what no one else never took advantage of; the Joker can dish it out, but he can't take it. There's a meme that went around the web about how the Joker could never beat Spiderman because he'd do exactly what Terry did to him. Still, it took me this long to realize that the heart of that confrontation was never about Terry belittling the Joker for not understanding that Bruce just doesn't have a sense of humor. Terry figured out that, like many egomaniacs, the Joker was hiding a ridiculous amount of insecurity behind smiles, laughs, and stupid pranks. When you're the only comedy villain act in town, it gives this sense of standing atop the mountain, even if it's only in your head. The moment someone calls you out for standing on top of a cardboard mountain, you're nothing. The Joker may call himself the "Clown Prince of Crime", but he would never acknowledge a "Clown King of Crime", or even a "Clown Squire of Crime". As much as the Joker tells everyone they should laugh more, what he really means is they should laugh when he wants them to, and only then.

Adding that aspect to the character makes him stand out among all the various versions & iterations that have been made. Others have tried upping the gore factor, shocking us with more disturbing acts of violence, or cranking up the trauma factor of his deeds to 11. But none of those really make us feel like we know the Joker better. If anything, they just make him more alien. He stops being a character and just becomes a plot device for inflicting maximum psychological damage. Showing us hints at the insecurity inside make him so much more interesting, because we finally get to see what it looks like when someone gets under his skin.

And truthfully, what could be a better twist for a comedy villain than being unable to laugh at themselves?

[theonlymadmanonmars]

Random Dndads Headcanons for all the main characters and as many side characters as I can think of!

Ron: Ron does not know what a Kiss is and thinks people are talking about the little chocolates. (Just like hugs he has been kissed he just doesn't know what tits called)

Dayrl: Daryl wears those "Free dad hugs" Shirts when he goes to pride with Grant. He always gets hugged multiple times and is just happy he looks approachable.

Henry: Henry gave Lark and Sparrow little Bear plushies to hold if they missed Him after the forgotten realms.

Glenn: Flirts with literally everyone but when he's around people he's interested in turns into a stuttering mess (IE Morgan)

Jodie: Has WILDLY inaccurate memories of his roll and the police force in general because none of the omega dads actually knew how the police force worked and couldn't be bothered to research it.

Walter: He does wheelies in his wheelchair to make Paden laugh.

Samantha: She adores amusement parks and always Drags Ron and Terry to them. They both just watch and eat Cotton Candy because they don't like the rides. This was incredibly awkward Before the forgotten realms but after became incredibly sweet bonding time for the family.

Carol: She once paid over four hundred dollars to an Internet scam Promising to get her signed posters from the cast of primer. What arrived in the mail was a picture of Scam likely doing a peace sign That was signed "Signed posters from the cast of Primer" with a little heart.

Mercedes: She does commissions for paintings and has drawn worse than the most freaky stuff you can imagine. This singlehandedly bought the house they live in.

Morgan: She has Tattoos of skulls and various bones (Teeth, Jagged broken bones, Ect) On her collar bone because she thought it was funny. Jodie wasn't a huge fan but Glenn LOVES them.

Erin O'Neil: She really liked all of the kids even if she didn't show it. Sparrow and Grant where he favorites. Also she likes metal music Glenn introduced her to it.

Scam Likely: Post season 1 he helped out with some doodler stuff and Continuously randomly Blasts clown music while the dads are fighting. He also called Jodie his boyfriend long before they started dating.

Mark Likely: The most flirty cunty bitch you'll ever meet. I have no proof I just know. She likes parties and her and Glenn get along so so well.

Autumn Oak: Does not like knitting. She just desperately needed to stab something and that's not super possible in Oakvale. She takes up Taekwondo in the human realm and loves it.

Paden: Regularly got into Brawls with Lark and Sparrow when left alone with them. Always lost.

Terry Jr (S1): The most Goth kid to ever goth. Another parallel to Scary and he was great at eyeliner.

Grant (S1): Was the only kid nervous to come out to His parents. Was incredibly surprised when both of them immediately and loudly supported him.

Lark (S1): Hates birds. He has a very one sided rivalry with Birds Especially Larks because there can only be one.

Sparrow (S1): Henry taught them acoustic guitar from a young age and they are really good at it.

Nick Close (S1): Started playing guitar hero To impress Glenn. It became one of their favorite games to play together.

Nicholas Foster (S1): Buys hard into copaganda. His favorite show growing up is Brooklyn 99.

Willy Stampler: His hatred of cats carries over into adulthood. Hes killed a few druids because they were wild shaped into cats.

Barry Oak: He loves to be physically above other people. he sits on Large flowers above people's heads so they have to look up at him.

Bill Close: When he's sober (rare) he really hates Barry and Willy. Because of this Barry does everything in his power to keep him drugged up and manipulatable.

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Scary: She and Link share clothes. She likes her Garfield T-shirts and sweatpants, Link likes Her Skirts and Old Sundresses. This is aided by Scary's magic because Neither of them fit each other's clothes.

Link: She has a Garfield Pillow that's twice her size. Scary is slightly jealous of it.

Normal: He made all of his friends matching teeny the teen figurines. Except Customized for the individuals. Scary's is Goth, Hermie's is Joker themed, Taylor's is in anime figure style, and Link's is a soccer player.

Taylor: Cosplayer! He cosplays! He cosplays any gender from any anime. He spends an ungodly amount of Cassandra's money on it but she's more than happy to accommodate.

Hermie: Can and Will perform every part of Holy Musical Batm@n! Normal is enthralled every time.

Terry Jr (S2): Does all the accounting and analytical stuff for daddies because he like reading and numbers.

Grant (S2): Firmly believes that he's not good enough for Marco and Link. So Marco texts him and calls him all the time with pictures of him and Link saying how much they love him.

Lark (S2): Has gotten scared by his own shadow multiple times and shoots it every time.

Sparrow (S2): Says I love you at the end of phone calls no matter who they're talking to. This has lead to many awkward conversations.

Nicky (S2): Has a cut here tattoo on his missing arm That Glenn did the day after it healed. It was the first thing to make Nicky smile after his arm got cut off.

Mae Hales: She doesn't actually do anything at the office but get coffee. Ron was the one that hired her and he called her Doug for years she never corrected him.

Veronica: She was goth at Scariest age. Her and Terry met at a concert.

Marco: He is the sweetest guy you'll ever meet. He's also an amazing cook. Which makes up for Grant being an awful cook.

Rebecca: She is a little delulu. She believes her family is perfectly healthy and they all get along and love each other.

Cassandra: A bad bitch with horrible taste in men. She has dated three other men after Nicky and before Willy. None of them ever met Taylor. He would've hurt them to the best of his ability.

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Trudy: Can obviously read and write but pretends not to be able to at home for her husband's sake.

Kelsey: Had an Italian student once and her teacher heart was very conflicted. Also she's really bad at baking but loves pie and spends way too much money on it.

Tony: Sells dating advice at his dealership for the teenagers. His advice is only ever vaguely sexual innuendos as he is the world's worst flirt.

Francis: Has the highest grades in his school despite being held back. He is an incredibly book smart kid and has the street smarts of a toddler.

BB: Her parents died in an alleyway like batman. Her one true goal as a detective is to find her parents killer. This is why they're never on screen and no one mentioned them when she got kidnapped.

Tyrus: He has a crush on Tony. Them threatening each other is a very poor attempt at flirting. Also in my mind He's a Blasian business owner in the fifties so like good for him.

Timmy: This child is trans. He's a trans dark academia kid in the 50's. None of these things are supported by his parents.

Kamonwan: She is very into Studying the World Wars. Especially the mass atrocities committed in America against Japanese citizens.

Sticky Rick: He is into show tunes. His all time favorite is Damn Yankees because it makes him feel like he's into sports. Which he is not.

Carly: When she has to double straw malts she pretends to be a walrus it's incredibly dorky and Francis loves it.

That's it because this post is way too long. Hope you enjoyed <3 (I couldn't tag everyone lol)

[llendrinall]

Dear Endrina

I am once again finding myself reading the secret language of plants, and I was wondering.

Are you still writing? Fanfiction, original fiction or others?

I would love to check out other things you are writing (if not already in ao3).

Is there any fanfiction authors your were inspired by for your work? I haven't really found anybody who writes just like you managed to do.

I am a big fan of your work and it always cheers me up reading your stories 😊 thanks for sharing with us all ❤️

Hello, dear.

I am writing, but I am not posting. There are many reasons why: less time, less energy, less fandoms that pique my interest, etc. I won’t detail them all reasons here. I dislike the idea of posting unfinished works so I have nothing to show. I will say that I am working on a collection of (fandom) stories and when I got your ask, I stole a couple of hours to other tasks and wrote 900 words. Nice! Although what started as 7 stories has grown to 16 so I don’t know when they will be ready.

As for other works or authors, funnily enough I had been meaning to write a couple of posts about books, so I will just do it here.

Endrina’s list of very nice books

Quality is subjective so the main criteria here is whether I have re-read these books, whether they had something to drawn me back.

Original fiction

Terry Pratchett.

Every Pratchett fan easily admits that his first books are not very good and that there is no good point to start reading. You simply pick a book, plunge into Discworld, and figure things as you go. Pratchett’s turn of phrase if excellent. Pratchett’s examination of morals is even better. Because it’s fantasy, Pratchett has not been taken seriously. He is too juvenile, too funny, too unserious. But he is also a master at making readers grow a political conscience.

The post I was meaning to write was a comparison between Pratchett’s witches (Weyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad, etc.) and some other author’s witches. Ok, it’s JKR, but I didn’t want it to be a direct attack on her or her character. It’s just a comparison of the content.

In Harry Potter the wizarding world is hidden. The reason given is that muggles would be demanding favors nonstop. Later I think it is implied that muggles may be dangerous to wizards. In Discworld, however, magic is perfectly public. People do demand favors from witches (and wizards, but less so) and people are a threat to magical folk. One of the Tiffany Aching’s books (aimed to younger readers, but still excellent) opens with an imprisoned witch about to be executed (she frees herself, of course, by magical and mundane means).

The thought came to me regarding anesthesia use during labor. I am sure that in Harry Potter witches don’t experience pain giving birth, but they don’t share that gift with muggles.

In Harry Potter, magic folk let non-magic folk suffer.

In Discworld, magic folk understand magic as a duty, while accepting that there won’t be thanks or appreciation. If you have the ability to save a sheep, to remove someone’s pain, to make their passing easier, you must do it.

It’s surprising that school libraries would ban Harry Potter and not Pratchett, because he is the one with potential to bring people to the left.

Naomi Novik

How to describe the Temeraire series? They are very good, they have dragons, they are populated by people who feel very real.

The first book is dedicated to building a fantasy world. So cool. So exciting. It would look so nice as an HBO MAX show! They would blunder the second season, but the first season would be excellent.

The next eight books ruthlessly deconstruct the first one. Much like Pratchett, Novik takes an idea and asks, “but how can this work?” and, often, the answer is “by the suffering and exploitation of poor people”. And she (like Pratchett) will drag the answer to the light.

The third book, Gunpowder war, is my favorite because the structure is crisp and neat. Three places, thee different environments, three challenges. You go from movement to arrest and back to movement and afterwards you feel like having completed a videogame.

Agatha Christie

She, like Pratchett, is not considered a “proper” author. I suspect it’s because she is a woman and because her books are accessible. There is this bias against books and stories that many people can enjoy.

Being a British woman born in 1890, her writing does have some ideas that seem outdated, especially regarding foreigners and Jews. But it’s ameliorated by the fact that all her characters are individuals. Each one of them is a distinct person rather than a stand-in for a whole group. So when in Lord Edgware Dies a Jewish woman is described as greedy an ambitious, she is still given enough personality that it seems like a “her” problem rather than a group trait. I don’t want to completely excuse or handwave it. Occasionally there are racist undertones. But they are still way less obvious that many modern works.

For a long time, every October/November I would read one of her novels to get in the Autumn mood, but lately I have found myself reading her “out of season” and wondering why her call was growing stronger. I realized recently it’s because in her books people don’t enjoy killing. Oh, someone is going to die. Perhaps more than one person. But the murderer kills because a) they expect to inherit, b) they are guarding a secret, c) they are in love, d) a variation of the three. They don’t enjoy killing, is my point. They don’t do it for pleasure. There are no elaborate and inventive ways to torture someone and desecrate a corpse. I find that I am very tired of recent trends in which a psycho killer tortures young women and taunts the police.

Also, Christie is very compassionate towards women. Some women are good, some are evil, some are adulteress, some have relations with married men, some get pregnant while single. In the latter case, the tone is more of “it happens” rather than “what a slut”. It is no ideal, it means trouble and social exclusion for the woman, but it happens so Christie doesn’t moralize about it. (And in Hallowe’en Party there is a single mother who is treated as perfectly normal).

I said earlier her characters are distinct individuals. Christie’s strength lies in voicing varied psychological profiles. Her two main detectives (Poirot and Marple) read as asexual (no matter the forced heteronormative that TV/movie adaptations try to push). Poirot also is a clear case of OCD and… it’s fine. That’s how he is. There are also some great ADHD characters. There is whatever was going on Ms MacGinty is dead. The main suspect is clinically depressed or something, I don’t remember well.

People are varied and allowed to be weird, and I love it.

(Occasionally, a couple of lesbians will pop. Sadly, because these are murder mysteries, one of them may die. But it doesn’t read like a Bury Your Gays trope)

Miguel de Cervantes

This one is not like the others because there is a lot of scholarly work about Cervantes. So much so that he is taken as a Very Serious author when, in fact, he is Pretty Funny. Think lines like “thus came a man riding a donkey, although it may had been a mule, there is no consensus regarding the animal, except it was probably grey of coat. The man was carrying a basin on his head.”

Having some political and cultural context helps to enjoy Don Quixote, but it is not a sine qua non requisite. For English, I like Grossman’s translation.

(Also, this is almost never mentioned: Miguel de Cervantes and his brother were suspected in the murder of a high class nobleborn who was a known sexual harasser. And it shows. There is a chapter in DQ that could very well be titled: Incel Culture, let’s not).

Fanfiction

Astolat

Astolat’s stories follow the pattern of the Common Man falling for the Enlightened Man. This tickles something deep in my brain and I love it.

The Common Man may not be so common. He may be a renowned warrior. He may be a hero. He is only common when opposed to the Enlightened Man (who may be a woman, like Brienne of Tarth, fantastic). The latter is someone with their third, fourth and fifth eye open. Someone who understands magic and, what’s even more difficult, morality. Someone who knows. What they know may vary, but the knowledge is there and with it a certain sense of being removed, of not fitting in the world. So they are surprised to attract the desperate interest of the Common Man.

Other things to like: clever construction of plot, deep and surrounding worldbuilding with just a couple of strokes.

Owlet

Her Bucky (MCU) series is fantastic, but the first work, This, you protect is particularly good. It is funny, it is healing, and it’s an interesting example of how to enthrall people. Most fanfics have sex, it is almost a requisite. Some readers will reject a story if the promise of hot scenes isn’t there. Well, This, you protect doesn’t have sex. It has coffee concoctions and grilled cheese sandwiches, and they are so satisfying that you won’t even notice there is no sex.

Scaramouche

I haven’t read her latest works (I am bit tired of the MCU and Steve/Tony doesn’t work for me) but I have read her previous work, specially the Supernatural fics, and enjoyed them thoroughly. The setting of her stories is imaginative yet familiar. No matter how alternative the AU is, it always feels natural and real, as if she had been a long time there and knew every place and every aspect.

The hoyden

Her DP9 and XMen fics read like silk. I don’t have another word. They are delicate and soft and they flow. They feel luxurious.