#third war of armageddon

[tastytoastz]

POV: Makari being revived during Ghazghkull's second war on Armageddon

[noneorother]

I went dumpster diving into the posters for Good Omens Season 2 and found a few pearls.

I found it odd that this season had SO MANY official posters. Hours and hours of work and real dollars from Amazon went into the production of these things. This one won a freakin Clio award. I know Neil confirmed he didn't have a lot of control of what went into these 21 (Or 22 depending on whether or not you count the umbrella piece that was made before season 2 shooting began. Personally I don't!) pieces, but I will leave no stone unturned, so here we go. I combed through every single season 2 poster I could find so you don't have to. Here's everything I've found so far:

1. The allegiances poster

After having watched season 2, knowing what we know now, this poster seems very much to me like a Game of Thrones style family at war image. We have a perfect mirror down the center, with Aziraphale/Angels/Nina&Maggie on Aziraphale's traditional left side, and Crowley with Beelzebub & Jim as reflections of Maggie/Nina, and Shax and Michael(?) as reflections of the three angels on the other side of the mirror. It seems unbalanced, unless you count the floating white head (conveniently watching in the background) as The Metatron...

Which means Michael is... not on the same side as Uriel and Saraqael? She's also grouped in with the Metatron and Shax, on the side of the demons. How very odd. Gabriel & Nina also have a mirror in that they've both turned their backs to the crowd. Gabriel is willing to go live with Beelzebub in hell, and shut down Michael's plan and the Metatron's scheming for a second Armageddon, so that literal turn towards Beez and away from everyone else makes sense to me. The Nina one however? Not so much from what we've seen. Why is she turning her back on the angels & demons? 2. The individual posters

Interestingly, the individual posters all line up pretty much exactly with the all the allegiances this season. You just have to look at the way the characters are slanted vs. how the backgrounds behind them are slanted. All 3 bookshop posters and all 3 street posters are slanting left, with their characters also slanting left. They are who they say they are, and they're on the same side.

Michael and Uriel have right slanting backgrounds, so odds are heaven is supposed to slant right. Uriel is following the rules and slanting right, but of all the characters on the posters, Michael is the only one really betraying the background slant, and is slanting left against her background. Something's up with Micahel. They're not on the same side as they claim to be. Saraqael is more mysterious, as the only one sitting straight, and the only angel to have a left slanting background. Shax seems to be slanting left with a left slanting background, which puts her in the same pose as Uriel, but mirrored. While Beelzebub is weirdly slanting right with a right slanting background, making them a bit of a traitor, like Michael. Shax, Saraqael and Michael have some explaining to do. Lastly, and I think mostly obviously, there's clearly a missing poster in the set. Why doesn't hell have a third green poster? Is it supposed to be the Metatron, and they didn't want to spoil the surprise? Furfur maybe? Why wouldn't poor old Furfur get a poster when he has more screen time than Uriel? I don't think this is very important other than it's funny : everyone single person is holding something in their right hand, except for Shax and Crowley, who are holding things in their left hands, and Muriel, who's holding fucking NOTHING. Poor baby Muriel lolsob. One thing I do think might be important is that there are 21 posters in total + 1 missing one. So maybe 22 posters for season 2? How appropriate. 3. The triple phone box

In both the Nina street poster and the group street poster, there's are a set of 3 red phone boxes down the street. We never see phone boxes in series 2. Seriously, not once. Every other detail in these ones is from Whickeber street footage: gumball machine, post box, newspapers, coffee sign, puddle, walking extras... The only thing out of place is those blasted phone boxes. As far as I can tell it's literally the only thing in all 21 posters that never appears in the show in some form, and this background plate is used for all the street posters, so the phone boxes are in quite a few of them.

4. Crowley is showing his good side, Aziraphale is always facing away from Crowley.

Crowley is always shown with his head tilted to his right this season, body tilted towards Aziraphale and always with long sideburns. Even in the illustrated poster his default is head to the right, sideburns long.

EXCEPT for this poster. This is the only time he's looking away from Aziraphale, and his snake tattoo is visible. And his sideburns are short. Either nobody noticed this or they refused to fix it. There's also the matter of Aziraphale facing his body away from Crowley in every single image except the allegiances poster, where they face each other. So cute.

5. The sneaky details posters

This one has: 1. Pride & Prejudice 2. Treasure Island 3. A tale of two cities 4. The Crow Road 5. Catch-22 9.

AND whatever the hell this photoshop artifact/invisible thing coming out of the scroll on Aziraphale's desk. I checked every version I could find of this poster and it's always there. It looks like someone tried to edit out something that was there and sort of got it mostly right. Which is completely ludicrous given the amazing amount of flawless photoshopping and collaging going on in this image. These are the magicians linking rings from the 1941 magic shop. Mystery solved!

This one has the yellow book on the bookstand, the record, and : 1. Only one clock hand on the grandfather clock, facing 6. 2. A feather duster on the floor (but weirdly it's grey not yellow). 3. The dark horse statue with Crowley's old sunglasses on it. 4. Aziraphale's bowtie ON THE FLOOR. What. Why. I can only conclude that in this poster either A) Aziraphale and Crowley have left these things behind (meaning no more bowtie for Aziraphale in season 3) B) They are currently not wearing these items somewhere else in the bookshop....

_____________________________________ I ran out of images. So the dome poster will have to be it's own post!

[aziraphales-library]

Hi! Thanks so much for running this blog!! I was wondering if you guys knew of any good arranged marriage fics between them? Preferably with some initial angst that’s later resolved? No worries if not! Thanks so much!

Hey. We have an #arranged marriage tag, so check that out. Here are more to add...

Wicked dance by pirripipi (T)

The kingdom of Heaven and the kingdom of Hell have been at war with each other more times than all of the rest of the lands combined. Mostly due to the fact they hate each other. Therefore when the wedding of the century is announced. An union meant to bring peace. An arranged marriage between Crowley, the youngest heir of Hell, and Aziraphale, the youngest prince of Heaven… they know something is just not right.

Someone by Diminua (M)

This was a kinkmeme prompt and as usual I can't do better than to paraphrase the OP : Aziraphale is a frumpy, middle aged man, who's closing in on 50 : he's spent his entire life alone, mistreated by his family, and living like a modern times hermit in his familiar, reassuring bookshop. He thinks it's too late for passion. But he hopes that, maybe, he could find a companion for his latter days. Crowley has spent his entire life having a wild time: parties, sex, rock n roll, all that jazz. He flew through the 80s, the 90s, the new millennium like a car on fire. He thought he had time, thought he'd be young and surrounded by people forever, thought with fling after fling after fling, someone would find him. Someone would look at him and choose him. But no one ever did. To paraphrase (again) - they turn to an arranged marriage company. And they fit..

third law of thermodynamics by astrhae (M)

“As you may know,” Muriel started, “as a human police officer, I can unobtrusively monitor your marriage without raising suspicion.” Yes. What? Aziraphale stared. “Marriage?” “On whether it’s being,” Muriel hesitated, eyes cast up as they searched for the right word, “consummated properly.” ------------- Or, after the Antichrist cancels Armageddon, Heaven and Hell come up with a peace treaty. Traditionally, treaties involve a marriage between representatives of each side. It goes about as well as you might expect.

Match Made on Earth by ineffable_snowman (M)

The archangels receive a divine message that an angel and a demon must marry on Earth. No one really wants to do it. So why not send the angel who was responsible for the flaming sword fiasco?

Duty and Desire by Purple_Rose_Writes (M)

A Regency-Era GO Omegaverse Human AU Aziraphale Heavens has resisted taking a mate, but when the family hits hard times, he has no choice. His fears about being mated to an alpha he's never met are only heightened when Alpha Anthony Crowley is rather non-traditional. Is he doomed to a life of abuse and mistreatment? Or is there more to Crowley than meets the eye?

Married at First Sight by Aracloptia (T)

“Well, that was a thing,” Crowley said once they were out of earshot. Without talking about it, they were both heading down the field, towards the lake where the photographer (and likely a few more people from the TV crew) was waiting. “That was a wedding,” Aziraphale replied, surprised at his own annoyance that somebody called a wedding a ‘thing’. “Yeah, obviously, didn’t miss that part,” Crowley said with a shrug, and waved abruptly in Aziraphale’s general direction. “Neither did you, from the looks of it, since you’re dressed like a wedding bride and everything.” “Excuse me, I am a—“ Aziraphale stopped himself, and started over. In which Aziraphale ends up marrying a rude stranger who wears sunglasses.

- Mod D

[niqhtlord01]

The Great Git Hunt Part 1: The Death of a Legend

During the turning of the 42nd millennia the universe was to see many upheavals of a galactic nature.

 The 13th Black Crusade finally shattered Cadia and opened the great rift, sundering the universe in two and unleashing innumerable demonic incursions into real space. Tyranid Hive Fleets began appearing more frequently along the entire eastern fringe devouring innumerable worlds and forcing the Imperium to fight tooth and nail for every world to slow the tide of chitin.The Tau launched the Fifth Sphere Expansion while the Imperium’s attention elsewhere and sought to steal several dozen worlds from Imperial control and integrate their populations in the name of the greater good.

Yet the most perplexing, if not confounding, event was to pit two of the greatest warhosts against each other all over the death of one elderly man.

That man was Commissar Sebastian Yarrick.

Dying at the age of roughly 153, the energetic Commissar Yarrick made a name for himself by leading the Imperial resistance against Ork Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka on the world of Armageddon. Taking for himself the severed arm of an ork warchief he slew in combat to replace the arm he lost, Yarrick would become a nay mythical figure amongst Ork culture and the primary rival of Ghazghkull himself. It was said that the warboss only ever cursed Yarrick; an honor amongst orks for sure. Their rivalry would span nearly a century as the two would fight again during the third war for Armageddon and then far afterwards as Yarrick chased the warboss half way across the universe seeking to end the green threat once and for all.

Many would be safe to assume that with a rivalry so deep between two titans of their peoples that their stories would end with a climatic clash of arms where one would lay dead at the others feet. Yet fate sought to intervene in the cruelest of manners.

While pursuing his eternal foe with a fleet of Black Templar space marines, Imperial Guard, and several warships of the Imperial Navy; Commissar Yarrick was set upon by the newly reformed World Eaters chaos space marines legion led by their demonic primarch Angron.

With the opening of the great rift Angron emerged from the Eye of Terror at the head of the largest force of Khorne worshipers the universe had seen since the Horus Heresy. Angron was not content to follow Abaddon and his mongrels, so set out on his own to leave a path of devastation and slaughter spanning several sectors. Each world his followers set foot upon they would leave in fire with nothing but the hollow skulls of its former inhabitants piled in mile high mounds to watch over them. It was in fact the most recent slaughter on the planet Mori that reverberated throughout the warp so strongly it incapacitated the navigators of Yarrick’s fleet and pulled them out of the warp.

Angron was surprised at the sudden appearance of an Imperial war fleet, but welcomed the new challengers with great relish. The Khorne warships descended upon the imperial fleet like carrion fiends and began pulling it apart piece by piece. The navy fought back with great ferocity but the troop transports were left to fend for themselves as hordes of boarding craft were launched at them, each packed with world eater space marines churning for the coming bloodbath.

With their escape routes blocked and the transport ships in danger, Yarrick ordered the ground forces to land on Mori. It was only on the surface of the planet could the imperial force bring to bear their full might. The landing was hounded the entire way by the ever pressing chaos war fleet with many ships never making the journey, but by the grace of the emperor several made it to the surface and disembarked their forces.

Never one to back down from a massacre, Angron landed on the planet once more and led his legion against the now dug-in imperial forces. Under the leadership of Yarrick, the guard and space marine forces held the unending horde back for seven days and seven nights. Yet by the dawn of the 8th day only Yarrick and a handful of guardsman remained. Angron himself took to the field for the final slaughter and slew the guardsman with ease until only Yarrick stood against him.

Power claw met demonic axe as the elderly commissar matched blow for blow. So assured of his victory, the inability to shatter the crude ork weapon infuriated Angron and his rage furthered him to unleash a flurry of blows. One snuck past Yarrick’s guard and violently severed the commissar’s right arm at the shoulder.

As the arm and power claw fell to the ground Yarrick staggered backwards. His remaining hand tightened around his bolt pistol as blood began flowing from the wound. He looked up and saw the demon primarch looking down at him; mangled and jagged teeth grinning as Angron looked down at him. No doubt the monster expected him to beg for his life, but Yarrick would not.

Spitting out a glob of blood at the traitor, Yarrick brought up his bolt pistol and roared “FOR THE EMPEROR!” one final time and pulled the trigger. A single bolt left the weapon before Angron swung his axe and decapitated the commissar. The bolt struck home against one of the skulls hanging from the primarch’s neck and shattered it; a prized treasure as it had belonged to one of his close comrades back when the primarch had been mortal and a slave in the fighting pits of his homeworld. The primarch took up the severed head of Yarrick and put it in its place around his neck; a sign of honor for a great warrior while the rest of the skulls of the dead imperials were collected and offered to Khorne.

News of this massacre did not reach the wider galaxy for several months until a passing merchant ship picked up the distress signals of the imperial navy that still echoed in the warp. They soon found the lifeless husks of imperial ships floating above the planet of Mori and when they descended to the surface found the remains of the imperial’s last stand as well as a lone ork power claw still stained with demonic blood.

When the merchant ship reported their findings to nearby Imperial authorities an investigation force was dispatched by inquisitorial agents which further discovered the truth of the situation and the death of Yarrick.

Initially, there was hesitance with releasing the information regarding Yarrick. In a time of such chaos, the death of such a notable figure if reported to the wider imperium could trigger further outbreaks of panic. In a rare show of defiance however, the Astra Militarum insisted that it be made public and a large scale military funeral be held and broadcasted imperium wide to turn Yarrick into a martyr and potentially Imperial Saint stating that he chose to die fighting the forces of chaos then be cowed into submission.

Had the Astra Militarum made such demands a few generations earlier the Inquisition would have purged their ranks for such brazen defiance; but since the great rift’s opening they found their position had weakened and they needed the legions of Imperial Guard standing with them than against them. So, the Inquisition relented and the military funeral was held on Yarrick’s homeworld. Despite the great dangers of warp travel, several high lords of Terra made the journey to pay their respects as well as countless Imperial Guard regiments, space marine contingents, mechanicus forces, and even a rare Imperial Class Titan joined the funeral procession.

It was during this period of mourning as news of Yarrick’s death was spread throughout the imperium that it also trickled into the hands of the Imperium’s enemies as well.

Ork freebooters hijacking Imperial ships learned of the news while having fun with their human prisoners. There wasn’t an ork alive that didn’t know of the legend of “Old Bale Eye” and the impressive ork body count he had amassed over the century of fighting. News of his death spread even faster amongst orks than it had with imperials until finally words reached the green prophet himself, Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka.

At first, Ghazghkull refused to believe that anyone but him could have done in his oldest rival. He had fought Yarrick too long and knew that the wily hummie wouldn’t go down so easily. But when a squad of his handpicked Kommandos came back from Mori and presented him with Yarrick’s severed power claw, the green prophet flew into a rage.

The roar let out was so powerful that it reverberated in the warp, silencing nearby warp storms and sending countless ships of all affiliations from the astral tides of the warp back into real space. Not since the war of the beast was an ork roar heard so strongly in the warp from so far away that even the navigators on holy terra itself could hear the anger of Ghazghkull.

From that moment on the greatest warboss of orks the universe had ever seen had a new mission. He would take every ship in his fleet, every gargant and war machine his boy’z made, and every ork boi in his waaagh and he would not stop until he had the head of the one who done in Old Bale Eye and mounted it to the front of his flagship.

The Great Git Hunt, had begun.  

[fangirlylady]

What is your headcanons on shangblade?

Sorry for the late reply, but OML, my first question & it's about my 2nd fav MK crackship! These'll cover 5 of my general HCs, then ones I think of in the different eras of MK!

My ShangBlade Headcanons

General:

Shang Tsung first spotted Sonya during one of her missions in Earthrealm. He was simply doing his shady sorcerer business for Shao Kahn before he spotted her fighting an enemy. He was not only attracted to her beauty, but her strength and will.

Sonya wouldn't be attracted to Shang's looks - not because she thinks he's ugly! But she would be attracted to his stubbornness, wit, and resilience (kinda like how I imagine she'd be attracted to Johnny). She'd also really like how knowledgable he is about battle & war tactics.

They'd have a lot in common than either of them realize (similarities will depend on the timeline). Whether it's the fact that they both serve their realms with pride, they're both constantly underestimated by friends & foes alike, or that they're craftier than they appear, they'll both be surprised at how similar they actually are.

Shang Tsung is possessive of Sonya. That's been shown well-enough in the '95 film. If they were to be together, he'd be a lot more yandere-like. He'd treat her like the world, but if anyone so much as look her a certain way (in his eyes), they'll be a part of his experiments without hesitation.

The two wouldn't have a very long relationship with one another...not without one changing their allegiance. Therefore, if Sonya turns into a villain due to Shang Tsung's influence, they would be a happy villain couple. On the flip side, if Shang Tsung becomes a good guy due to Sonya's influence, they would be a happy heroic couple!

1995 Movie

Sonya didn't let Shang Tsung kidnap her, as the film showed. Instead, I like to think that he tried to catch her by surprise when she was trying to reach Johnny during his fight against Goro. But, because she's an experienced soldier, she managed to surprise him instead & put up a good fight.

Speaking of said fight, it's very one-sided, with Shang Tsung at the defense while Sonya kept throwing punches & kicks. Though she was good, he was better (unfortunately).

Then he gives her an ultimatum while he's got her in a hold (nothing spicy, I swear). If she admits defeat & lets him take her to Outworld, he won't call the tournament & have Shao Kahn invade Earthrealm. If she doesn't, then he'll have to defeat her & take her "strong, sweet, beautiful" soul into his collection (and also win the tournament & let Shao Kahn invade).

As confident as this Special Forces soldier was about her kombat, she's not stupid. She knew that unfortunately, she's been outmatched by this conniving sorcerer. Thinking about her friends & their kombat though...she agrees.

And that's how she was kidnapped near the end of the film.

Also, I'd like to think that despite Shang Tsung saying that Sonya was going to be offered to Shao as a bride...

The First Timeline (MK1 - Armageddon)

Shang Tsung was smitten with Sonya when he saw her beat up his guards. When he forced her to participate in the tournament, he fully intended to kidnap her & keep her for himself (after ridding of Shao Kahn before he could touch her), no matter if she won or lost the tournament.

Sonya was treated with surprising grace from the sorcerer at first, as opposed to Kano. They've even had talks (see my third general HC), but even with his revitalized appearance & good manners, she never fell for his charms. That's why she's seen chained up in Shao Kahn's kolosseum, though Shang never wanted to put her in that position.

After she escaped, it was on sight whenever she saw him ever since. But instead of feeling bad, he always appreciates seeing & fighting her every time they've met. He's still in love with her as he was before, not matter how she felt about him.

The Second Timeline (MK9 - MK11)

Like the first timeline, Shang fell for Sonya when she & Jax came to his island battling his guards. BUT, he's a lot more subtle about his attraction towards her, because like her, he was focused on his job.

Even so, this attraction did play a role on how lenient he is when it came to her during the first tournament. "You allowed them to escape," Raiden said. 🤭

But, of course, after Liu Kang's win & the invasion afterwards, Shang Tsung kidnaps Sonya anyway and tries to make her see the dark side. He saw how relentless she was as a fighter, so-

She has no time for his bullshit...and that just makes him more attracted to her.

He still tries to hang out with her, despite her being a prisoner, and she hates it every time. Though with their talks, she did come to secretly appreciate his cunning and intelligence...as a foe!

After Sonya's freed, she now has knowledge she could use to help her friends gain an advantage over Shang Tsung...as well as a few other kombatants.

Even after the events of MK9, the sorcerer still lingers in the soldier's mind. Not particularly in a romantic way, but in a way to never underestimate her enemies and what they're capable of when interested in her.

After killing Fire God Liu Kang in his ending, Shang Tsung would create his own timeline & have Sonya be his strong, loyal wife (akin to retcon-Sindel). She was his muscle with weapons enchanted by his magic, he was her sorcery in case her strength & weapons weren't enough.

Now, I COULD also bring forth my new era HCs concerning ShangBlade, but I'll withhold them...until the time is right!

[soulbrothershow]

Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain:” A Journey Into the Depths of the Soul

Few pieces of music can truly be described as transcendent, but Funkadelic’s "Maggot Brain" is more than just a song—it is an experience, a lament, a revelation. Released in 1971 as the title track of Funkadelic’s third album, "Maggot Brain" is an instrumental odyssey that defies categorization. It is psychedelic and sorrowful, meditative and electrifying, a singular moment in time where music becomes a portal to something greater.

But what is "Maggot Brain?" What does it mean? The song, the album, and even the very phrase “maggot brain” itself carry layers of meaning—spiritual, psychological, and existential. To understand "Maggot Brain" is to confront the pain of being human, the cycles of destruction and rebirth, and the strange beauty that arises when we surrender to the unknown.

The Album Cover: A Silent Scream in the Void

Before a single note is played, "Maggot Brain" makes its presence felt through its haunting album cover. A woman’s head—eyes shut, mouth wide open in an eternal scream—emerges from cracked, lifeless earth, her afro blending seamlessly with the soil. The image is both terrifying and mesmerizing, a perfect visual metaphor for the themes the album explores.

The woman on the cover, model Barbara Cheeseborough, is frozen in a moment of agony, yet there is also a sense of transformation. Is she being consumed by the earth, or is she rising from it? Is this the final cry of someone losing their grip on reality, or the first breath of someone awakening to something new? The stark contrast between her expression and the barren ground suggests struggle—perhaps the struggle to break free, to transcend, to survive.

Much like the title track, the cover forces the viewer to confront discomfort, to engage with emotions that exist beyond words. It is raw, unfiltered humanity—pain, ecstasy, and rebirth wrapped into one.

The Birth of a Masterpiece

The legend behind "Maggot Brain" is as haunting as the music itself. George Clinton, the mastermind behind Funkadelic, reportedly told guitarist Eddie Hazel to play as if he had just received the news that his mother had died, only to find out moments later that she was alive. What followed was one of the most gut-wrenching and deeply felt guitar solos ever recorded—ten minutes of pure emotion channeled through sound.

Hazel’s guitar wails, moans, and weeps. His notes bend and stretch like a soul in anguish, and his phrasing seems almost conversational, as if he is speaking in a language beyond words. The rawness of his playing is unfiltered pain and beauty in equal measure. It is not simply a guitar solo—it is an exorcism, an out-of-body experience, a spiritual transmission.

The Meaning of “Maggot Brain”

The phrase "Maggot Brain" is cryptic, but it speaks to something deeply psychological. George Clinton once described it as a state of mind, a metaphor for a corrupted, dying consciousness. The maggot, a creature born from decay, represents transformation—life emerging from death, the endless cycle of destruction and rebirth.

To have "Maggot Brain" is to see the rot within ourselves, within society, within the world. It is the moment of awakening when you realize how much of reality is an illusion, how much of what we hold onto is fleeting. It is the crumbling of the ego, the death of false identities, the stripping away of everything until only the essence remains. It is pain, but it is also liberation.

The entire Maggot Brain album reflects this idea of deconstruction and revelation. Songs like “Hit It and Quit It” and “Super Stupid” speak to the self-destructive cycles of human behavior, while “Wars of Armageddon” descends into chaos, mirroring the apocalyptic undertones of the early 1970s—Vietnam, racial unrest, political corruption. The album is a mirror, reflecting back the insanity of the world but also offering a way through it.

"Maggot Brain" as a Spiritual Experience

There is something almost shamanic about "Maggot Brain". Eddie Hazel’s guitar becomes a channel, a bridge between dimensions. The way the song builds, peaks, and fades into silence mimics a transcendental journey—it begins with clarity, moves through suffering, reaches ecstasy, and then dissolves into the void.

For those who have ever experienced an altered state of consciousness—whether through meditation, psychedelic substances, or even the natural highs of deep emotional release—"Maggot Brain" feels like a sonic representation of those moments. It is the ego death. It is the breaking open of the mind. It is the confrontation with the void and the understanding that even in destruction, something eternal remains.

It is no coincidence that Funkadelic, like Sun Ra before them and Alice Coltrane in parallel, tapped into the cosmic, the metaphysical, the beyond. They were not just making music; they were unlocking doors, showing us glimpses of other realities.

The Eternal Resonance of Maggot Brain

More than 50 years after its release, "Maggot Brain" remains as powerful as ever. It is the kind of music that one does not simply listen to—it listens to you. It meets you where you are, whether in pain, in contemplation, or in search of something deeper. It strips away pretense and demands vulnerability.

In a world that often feels like it is crumbling under the weight of its own contradictions, "Maggot Brain" is a reminder that from decay comes new life. It is a meditation on suffering, but also on resilience. It is proof that even in our darkest moments, something beautiful can be born.

Perhaps that is the true message of "Maggot Brain:" surrender to the transformation. Let the old self die. Embrace the unknown. And in the silence that follows, listen for the music that remains.

[prozac]

In a timeline perpendicular to our own, magic and science exist as a co-binding force of the Universe.

On Earth, with a history which crosses through Ours for a few hundred years, an influx of magiactive material has reigned havoc on the magical ecosystem of the planet. With this material powerful countries have begun to make nuclear weapons, using the cover of technological & magical progress as excuse. The Soviet Union & The United States of America are in a tense and quiet standoff wherein tensions have begun to bloom a flower of magiactive Armageddon.

Four games follow this timeline...

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i MURDERS OF SAN FRANCISCO

The first game takes place in the midst of the standoff – 1983, San Francisco. A detective named Maximillian Talon gets him, his unwanted partner (Sophi Sophie), and his secretary (Fair Jackson) fired for looking into a serial murderer plaguing the area and targeting “Spellbound” (those who practice spellcasting - witches, wizards, sorcerers, etc) communities, their magical items stolen. Talon and his 2 associates continue to look into the murders as the wealthy daughter of one of the victims pays them handsomely – though they have to keep their operation as under wraps as possible.

⠀

ii DAYO FLAVIEN’S OFF DAYS

Just a couple years after the war had ruined both The Soviet Union, the USA, and the rest of the world, the small town of Newgull, Wyoming has found itself relatively unbothered – for the most part. The summer of 1993 is when Dayo Flavien, his fellow student tutor (Delilah), and her best friend (Vanni) decide to look into the unsolved case from earlier that year in which one of their very boring teachers suddenly went missing. They end up breaking into his house and discovering a chip of a “Ghost Rock” , a stone that is made of the pure hardened Soul. Before they all head off to college after the summer ends, they want to figure out what a powerful magical artifact is doing here, and who could be after it.

⠀

iii GHOSTIES!

As the world continues to recover, Tai’s little brother goes missing in the year of 2002. In 2003, their parents decide to move houses. An aspiring paranormal investigator themself, they decide to do a small “investigation” into the house their parents are buying; to their surprise, they discover a rip in reality made by a stuck Soul. Both them and the Soul fall into The Below (the supposed Afterlife). Now stuck away from Earth, Tai and their new ghost friends (Payton & Niall) decide to help them get back to Earth, and maybe even get back themselves – but in order to do this they have to avoid hungry Souls who would love to become living again.

⠀

SUNRISE (HIGH) AND THE EXPERIMENT 203

In 2013, an Unknown Person wakes up in the historical museum and library known as The Sunrise, in the infirmary wing. They do not know who they are and where they are from. Not too long after their wake, they are accepted into a large friendgroup that revolves around two troublemakers and Archivists-In-Training, Seymour and Scotty. Their appearance at the museum begins a chain of events that will rewrite the nature of reality as we, and they, know it.

⠀

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...After the third and final Failure.

[wanderersrest]

An Abbreviated History of Mecha Part 2: AWAKEN! SUPER ROBOT!!! (1970-1979)

(Read in the voice of Tessho Genda) ITS NAME IS.... MAZINGER.... Z!!!!!!!!!

Welcome back to An Abbreviated History of Mecha. Last time, we covered the origins of mecha by highlighting some of the major works of the time including Godzilla and Ultraman, which are not really mecha but are just as influential to the genre as the other shows mentioned.

Today, we will be moving on to the 70's. Here we will see three extremely iconic entries to the canon make their grand entrances, known to Super Robot Wars fans as the Holy Trinity. We'll also see a lot of the classic mecha tropes become codified with a lot of these entries. So, let's MAZIIIN GO!

Kamen Rider (1971)

Kamen Rider is the second iconic series created by mangaka Shotaro Ishinomori and would be part of the reason why henshin heroes (that is, heroes who transform) would become so popular. More importantly, Kamen Rider would give us one of the most homaged attacks of all time: the Rider Kick! And in case you're wondering, yes, Ishinomori still has one more series worth mentioning.

Kamen Rider, alongside Godzilla and Ultraman, got a 2023 retelling in the form of Shin Kamen Rider, courtesy of Hideaki Anno.

Mazinger Z (1973)

Mazinger Z is one of the many iconic series created by legendary mangaka Go Nagai. If Tetsujin 28 was the original "super robot", Mazinger Z would be the series that would introduce a lot of the tropes now commonly associated with a lot of giant robot anime, including but not limited to:

A robot that has to be piloted from the inside

A chest blaster

Laser eyes

Hot-blooded pilots

The term "super robot"

And most important of all, the rocket punch

Let's just say that there's a good reason why Mazinger Z (and this is just Mazinger Z) is the first of the three pillars of the Holy Trinity. Mazinger also has, in terms of sequels and adaptations:

Great Mazinger

UFO Robot Grendizer

Mazinkaiser

Shin Mazinger Z/Mazinger Edition Z: The Impact

Mazinger Z Infinity

Getter Robo (1974)

Created by Ken Ishikawa with help from Go Nagai, Getter Robo would be the second pillar of the Holy Trinity alongside Mazinger Z. Getter Robo would be important for introducing concepts such as a robot piloted by multiple people and, more importantly, Getter Robo would also introduce us to the combining robot, which is why it requires multiple pilots to man.

Getter Robo would get multiple sequels and spinoffs including, but not limited to:

Getter Robo G

Getter Robo Go

Shin Getter Robo Armageddon!

Shin Getter Robo vs Getter Robo Go

New Getter Robo (not to be confused with Shin Getter Robo)

Getter Robo Devolution

Eventually Ken Ishikawa would pass away before he could wrap up the series with Getter Robo Arc. I will come back to Getter Robo at some point in this series though, but to give you a hint: the series does get a conclusion.

I think I'd also be mistaken not to link to Cheese GX's excellent video retrospective on Getter Robo.

Super Sentai (1975)

Because Shotaro Ishinomori wasn't content with creating two iconic series, he went ahead and made a third: Super Sentai. That's right: Ishinomori created the two most iconic versions of the henshin hero. Super Sentai is worth mentioning here due to the fact that the series would eventually start adding giant robots into the mix. This series would also eventually attract the attention of one Haim Saban, but that's a story for another day.

Microman/Microbots (1974)

Microman (the toy, not the wrestler) was a line of, and I'm not joking when I say this, "Tiny Little Guys" released in 1975 by the toy company Takara. I'm not super familiar with Microman, but I feel it is important to mention Microman here to understand that one of the biggest names in mecha is descended from this line of toys, as it would start out as a spinoff of microman. Something about transforming vehicles the micromen could pilot. Who could know?

Also fun fact, there's a wrestler named Microman.

Brave Raideen (1975)

(We'll have to settle with this clip from Super Robot Wars)

Brave Raideen is a series created by Studio Sunrise and is one of the first giant robots that is considered to be supernatural in origin. Raideen is important in the history of mecha as it is where two important figures would come into play: Yoshiyuki Tomino and Tadao Nagahama. While it is largely overshadowed by other bigger series, Raideen is still important due to it being the first stepping stone for those two directors alone.

Space Battleship Yamato/Star Blazers (1975)

Up next is Leiji Matsumoto's legendary Space Battleship Yamato. This series would be one of those watershed moments in anime history as Yamato would prove that there was, in fact, an audience who wanted more serious war stories. To say that this series isn't that influential would be a mistake, as we will soon see.

Space Battleship Yamato would eventually receive multiple adaptations, including a live-action film and an anime reboot in the new millennium. The success of Yamato would also help pave the way for other Leiji Matsumoto works like Space Pirate Captain Harlock and the Galaxy Railway 999.

The Robot Romance Trilogy (1976-1979)

(Pictured above: Voltes V)

The Robot Romance Trilogy is a thematic trilogy created by Toei and directed by Tadao Nagahama. These series would include:

Super Electromagnetic Robot Combattler V (V as in the letter)

Super Electromagnetic Robot Voltes V (V as in the number)

Fighting General Daimos

The Robot Romance Trilogy is known for building off of the innovations of its peers. Whereas Getter Robo combined by smashing three jets together (and thus was hard to translate into a toy), Combattler V was designed in a way where the parts of the robots actually made sense when combining to form the robot. This also doesn't even touch on the fact this trilogy would also help to popularize things like the five man band (alongside Super Sentai), mecha shows having more serious storylines with melodrama, and funnily enough, the motion capture mecha (specifically Daimos).

Voltes V is also extremely popular in the Philippines. While this isn't unheard of at this time, Voltes V was different in that it was banned from airing on television by the Marcos regime. Speculation behind its ban may be that its themes were similar to the plight of the Filipino people under Marcos, so you could say that Voltes V in particular is a symbol of rebellion in the Philippines. Heck, it was so popular that there now exists a live action Voltes V series filmed in the Philippines.

Zambot 3 & Daitarn 3 (1977 & 1978)

(Pictured above: Zambot 3)

Meanwhile, Yoshiyuki Tomino would continue to push boundaries as he got more into the groove of directing. On top of producing Voltes V (according to Wikipedia), Tomino would work on a few more series before the end of this decade. The first two would help to establish a pattern with Tomino's works, where he would follow up a more serious and depressing series with something more lighthearted and silly. Zambot 3 would help Tomino earn his nickname "Kill 'Em All Tomino," while Daitarn 3 would also show that he knew how to relax when working on a series. Both Zambot 3 and Daitarn 3 were big hits, but the next series would forever cement Tomino as a legendary figure in the world of anime and manga.

Mobile Suit Gundam (1979)

Mobile Suit Gundam, the final pillar of the Holy Trinity, is arguably Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise's single most important series date. Arguably the single most famous mecha of all time, Gundam would be the first giant robot to be treated less as a hero and more as a tool of war, and it would be Gundam who would kick off a new generation of mecha stories that focused more on things like war and how it affects the lives of the characters in these stories. Which is funny, because Gundam was initially a flop at first. Over time, the series would eventually become a hit thanks to its compilation movies as well as the sale of its models and, most important of all, its female fans.

Mobile Suit Gundam would also be a watershed moment in animation history, as it would be the introduction to a lot of people who would also become famous thanks in part to this series. This includes people who worked on the show like Yasuhiko Yoshikazu (the character designer), Kunio Okawara (mechanical designer, and arguably the first credited mechanical designer), and Ichiro Itano (animator, the same man who Itano Circus is named after). Gundam would also be a direct inspiration for one Ryousuke Takahashi, who would begin to really push the boundary for what one could do with military mecha shows.

Conclusion

I hope this was an enjoyable read. Next time, we'll be getting into the 80's, where we will begin to see a lot of series pop up as Japan's economy grows at an exponential rate. We'll also see how these giant machines will come to influence people outside of Japan on top of how they build off of the themes present in the first Gundam.

Will you survive?

[inbarfink]

So just after episode 5 and 6 came out I made a post noting the apparent continuity error between Simon Petrikov first identifying himself as studying to be an antiquarian

But in all other cases as just being an antiquarian

Not because I was trying, like, to call-out a minor flub in the internal timeline of Simon's character - but because every in-universe explanation you can use to justify this discrepancy is just both plausibly in-character enough that I can buy it and absolutely hilarious.

Either Simon Petrikov has managed to finish his degree after the Curse of the Magic Crown had started to tear away at his sanity - or he's just causally smoothing over the details that he never finished his degree, cause like, who could ever fact-check him?

(Or my personal favorite, a combination of the two. Simon was powering through finishing his degree despite the Crown eating away at his sanity and his life falling apart and then like five days before he was done - the whole University blew up in thermo-nuclear-magical-Armageddon. So now he's like "screw it!! I did my goddam best, I'm giving myself a degree!!")

But, weeeelll, then the episode 'Jerry' came out and pretty undeniably established that Simon Petrikov does have a Phd.

Like, I don't think Simon is willing or capable of getting away with Academic Fraud in this pre-war university as he does in the Land of Ooo.

So... on one hand you can keep these same previous theories going if you just assume Simon is the kind of guy so reluctant to leave Academia he just keeps... collecting degrees, and 'studying to be an antiquarian' is Over-Achiever Nerd Code for 'going for my third doctorate' or something.

Or on the other hand you can go with something on a similar vain to the fandom's go-to explanation to the other Holly Jolly Secrets Discrepancy with later-establish Simon and Betty stuff

Was one of the first serious mental effects of the Magic Crown's Curse and Madness over Simon's mind is that it made him forget that he already graduated?

[the-vampire-queer]

The Vampires Digital Media Poll: Round 1, Bracket 8

Please reblog for a bigger sample size.

Results get posted on December 10th. at 5PM CST.

<- Previous poll |

If you wish to learn more about your options, either as a refresher or an introduction, press the "Keep reading" button.

What is Buffy the Vampire Slayer about?

Summary: "Sarah Michelle Gellar takes on the role of Buffy Summers in this TV version of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," based on the film of the same title, which starred Kristy Swanson. Buffy is a Slayer, one in a long line of young women chosen for a specific mission: to seek out and destroy vampires, demons and other forces of darkness. Unlike her predecessors, Buffy establishes a group of supportive friends who aids her in her battles with evil, including Willow, Xander and Cordelia. Her battles with evil are frequent, since Sunnydale, where Buffy and friends live, sits atop a gateway to the realm of the demons." Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Source: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Cast:

Sarah Michelle Gellar - Buffy Summers

Nicholas Brendon - Xander Harris

Alyson Hannigan - Willow Rosenberg

Anthony Head - Rupert Giles

Additional information: Before the show, there was a movie of the same name that takes place before it. There is a spin-off series titled Angel based on a character from the show by the same name.

What is Blade (1998-2004 movies) about?

Summary of first movie: "A half-mortal, half-immortal is out to avenge his mother's death and rid the world of vampires. The modern-day technologically advanced vampires he is going after are in search of his special blood type needed to summon an evil god who plays a key role in their plan to execute the human race." Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Summary of second movie: "Exploding from the pages of Marvel Comics comes the thrilling follow-up to the blockbuster "Blade." Half Man ... half vampire, and consumed by a desire to avenge the curse of his birth and save the human race from a blood-drenched Armageddon. In this newest action-packed adventure, Blade (Wesley Snipes) is forced to team up with the very vampires he hates in order to overcome a new type of monster which threatens to eradicate both races." Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Summary of third movie: "The war between humans and vampires continues, but the humans' best hope, human-vampire hybrid warrior Blade (Wesley Snipes), has been framed for countless murders, turning popular sentiment against him. The vampire leader responsible for Blade's bad publicity is Danica Talos (Parker Posey), who's determined to finally lead her bloodthirsty compatriots to victory. Now Blade must team up with a band of rogue vampire hunters (Ryan Reynolds, Jessica Biel) to save humanity." Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Source: Blade

Cast:

Wesley Snipes - Blade

Stephan Dorff - Deacon Frost

Kris Kristofferson - Abraham Whistler

Additional information: These movies are based on the Marvel comics of the same name. There will be a continuation coming out in 2025.

[teaveetamer]

While I'm here can I just say how fucking funny people's logic for justifying Edelgard's aggressive conquest of two sovereign nations is?

"A lot of people can definitely die right now, or some people can maybe hypothetically die slowly over the course of the future. So clearly the best option is to definitely kill a bunch of people now!"

Like it never even crosses their mind that there could be a third option, which is don't kill a bunch of people right now and also implement fixes that would stop those hypothetical people from maybe dying in the future.

There's not even any guarantee that people will actually die if you do "nothing"! It's like saying "Either you shoot these ten people right now or twenty people will maybe perhaps die sometime in the future for some reason I guess" like? How is this even a question of what you should do? Why would you definitely slaughter 10 people right now because 20 people might maybe eventually at some undetermined point in the future be in danger?

It's like saying "the wealth gap is a huge problem in North America, therefore our solution should be to invade Canada and Mexico and get a bunch of poor people killed because if we don't then poor people will die!" like... huh????? Some fucking loser logic right there.

And like this is why it's so funny when people treat me like I don't understand why they think the war in this game is a good thing.

No I understand your logic perfectly. You think it's worth getting a bunch of people definitely slaughtered right now for the sake of some hypothetical people that maybe might die in the future.

I don't disagree because I don't understand. I disagree because I think that's a fucking stupid reason to definitely get a bunch of people killed! If you told me that she started the war because TWSITD directly told her that if she didn't start a war they were definitely for sure going to rain down nuclear Armageddon on the entire continent then yeah I'd probably be on board with the war thing, because that would actually involve sacrificing a few for the sake of the many, but TWSITD are too fucking stupid to do that and it didn't happen in canon so ya know. Hypothetical is hypothetical.

[halfbakedspuds]

Alright, I see other writing blogs doing this, so here's my writeblr intro. Still needs some work but this'll do for now.

Hi! I'm Logan (Yes, like Wolverine), I'm 19 years old, use He/him pronouns, and I'm from South Africa. My main interests are writing, philosophy, history, binge-reading entire series' at a time and any kind of experimental artistic media. All my characters' sexualities and gender identities are up for interpretation unless explicitly stated.

Despite being an English language writer, English is not actually my first language and thus I do still have my fair share of idiot moments in it. If you notice that I used a word wrong, or if my grammar or a phrase seems little bit off, don't hesitate to let me know.

Below are my current WIP's:

Children of the Stars

Perspective: third person limitted.

Genre: Science fiction political drama and mystery.

Tropes: Slowburn lovers, enemies to friends to lovers (more like mutual annoyances to friends to lovers), a stranger in a stranger land, found family.

Status: Currently being worked on.

First chapter

Lyanni has been condemned and incarcerated, charged with witchcraft under the paranoid reign of her home kingdom. Under the laws of her people, she is offered up to their patron Angel as a gift of thanks for ending a long and bloody war, and to her horror: he accepts.

Soon, however, she learns the shocking truth of the universe. Her people's angels are members of an Alien organisation in service to the Empire of Earth, charged with working from the shadows to foster the upliftment of her people in order to free up the human garrison for the front lines of a star-spanning war, and the same is happening on a thousand other worlds.

This Angel, however- who calls himself Adrian- is about as happy about their new living arrangement as she is, which is to say not at all.

When a ship carrying an experimental superweapon crashes on her world, the two must begrudgingly work together in a desperate race against time to find it, while also holding back the tide of forces that threaten to plunge her world into armageddon.

Children of the Wolves

Perspective: First person limitted

Genre: Sci-fi political drama and heist story with some pulp western and cyberpunk elements.

Tropes: found family, heists, honour among thieves, glorious bastards, a lot of gay, high-tech Low-lifes, class divide, redemption arc.

Status: Scheduled to be written sometime after Children of the Stars.

Four years after Children of the Stars, Adrian Castellan returns to Callisto to make amends with his family and tie up the final loose ends of his early life.

Accompanied by Lyanni Sverik and Wilhelm Freedman, he links up with his siblings: Isabelle and Marcus Castellan, and while the trio catch up and scheme to finally exact vengeance for the deaths of their mother and friends at the hands of a rival clan's lord, Lyanni learns the story of why Adrian left his homeworld in the first place.

Seven years before Adrian became an IUC praetor, he was a member of the Volnur, a gang of six young but promising Callistoan gunslingers who acted as the enforcers of clan Castellan.

After a slightly botched trade negotiation with a rival clan forces them to scatter and regroup at home base, Adrian bumps into a mysterious offworlder running from both civil security and the Solar homeguard themselves, and offers to bring him to his clan's holdings for safety.

With supplies running low and the botching of the deal that was meant to save them, the six gunslingers and their new offworlder tagalong begin plotting to rob a Civil Security supply train.

Yet other forces move in the shadows, snapping at their people and waiting for their eventual fall, and with a young Adrian's ambition growing constantly, fostered by his mother's guidance as the Lady of clan Castellan, he will eventually come to match wits with some of the most powerful people not only on Callisto, but throughout the entirety of the Jupiter Prefecture, he will come to question who can be trusted, and whether his own well-founded ambition has given way to a fatal hubris.

The Tempest prince

Perspective: multiple pov first person.

Genre: YA contemporary fantasy with some elements of eldritch horror.

Tropes: Stranger in a strange land, finding identity, causality loop, found family (to an extent), recruiting teenagers with an attitude.

Status: On the back-burner til I gain a little more experience with certain writing skills that'll be necessary to write a 21 book series.

"Congratulations. You are now dead"

Those were the last words he heard before his normal life came to an end.

It was just a another day in February, the scorching, vampiric heat of the sun beating down on the brothers as they slogged through just another school day. At least it was just another day, at least until they stumbled into another dimension and accidentally brought something back with them.

From then on, Jason and Alex Haliday found themselves caught up in a hidden world, one where Jaegers -a race of magic-capable supersoldiers- contain and hunt that which shouldn't be; where ancient gods and forgotten horrors seep through every crack and crevice right under humanity's collective nose. When the brothers show abilities that no-one -Human or Jaeger- ever have, they are offered a job.

Of course, the pair first need to survive two years of training. Noone wants to send a pair of untrained teens into the longest battle of human history, after all. But between a school rivalry, a bloodsport tournament, and a looming ancient threat, it quickly becomes apparent that even while surrounded the extraordinary, their lives still refuse to fall within the established 'normal'.

When their home is attacked: their mother put into a coma and Alex kidnapped, Jason- accompanied by his new Demihuman friend Helga Ravenscar- goes on a manhunt to find his brother against the express orders of some of the most powerful people in the hunter cities. The pair must balance hiding such a dangerous endeavour with excelling in the taxing student life of a mage and a medical officer in training, while eldritch forces plot and scheme in the backdrop.

Echoes of Shadows

Perspective: multiple pov third person limitted.

Genre: Gritty Fantasy-noir detective story.

Tropes: Five man band, (Dunno what to call this but it's like the world is halfway through a transition that'll change every aspect of daily life. Will edit once I've figured it out)

Status: Scheduled to be the next project I finish. Probably.

First chapter

The city goes by many names: Novya Koroleva, Zuidpunkt, De Gat, but the local Ost-Rietlanders simply call it The Pit: the city that'll swallow you whole and spit out whatever bones may remain, a nature that has been exasperbated by the recent surge in mages, splitting the population almost evenly between regular people and the magic capable.

To Johan Suiderkloof and Anastasia Retvenko, the city offered a new start, free of the horrors of their pasts, and among it's verminous populace, they have carved out work for themselves as a private detective agency.

It's a stable job, with many opportunities to find work in the Sodom. By day: the pair investigate cartels, murders, infidelity, all the worst that society has to offer.

But late at night, when Zuurveldt, Ost-Rietland and the rest of the continent of Sumer sleep soundly, they stalk the shadows for leads, tracking down the fanatic followers of dark gods and puttinh an end to their machinations.

When mysterious murders with occult symbolism surrounding them begin to crop up throughout the city and surrounding countryside, the pair find their lot unceremoniously cast in with complete strangers, caught in the powerplay of cults and dead gods as they try to untangle a growing conspiracy that threatens their world as they know it.

The lonely god

Perspective: First person.

Genre: Science fiction.

Status: In the process of being finished up.

The lonely god is a short story I wrote more than a year ago (Originally titled "The last human) and am currently in the process of remastering. I'll be posting it here when I'm done with it.

Some sixteen millenia in the future, humanity finds itself forceably coalesced into a single, immortal being. This individual, born of a trillion infighting souls, is the last human, a species made into a god, and 'The lonely god' follows their story til the end of the universe and beyond as they seek out revenge for what was done to their people while slowly learning to let go of hate.

What does it mean to be alive when you'll outlive even the sand beneath your feet? How do you cherish or love when everything vanishes in but a blink of the eye? How can the product of trillions ever be an individual?

And when the score has been settled; When every trail has been blazed, and all knowledge learnt; When all that is left is to watch as the stars slowly whimper away: how will you find meaning?

[aziraphales-library]

Oh great library wizard- Do you have any fics about the Great War between heaven and hell? I'd love to see some angst, world building, or wartime star-crossed lovers stories.

You might be interested in checking out the fics on our #pre-fall, #aziraphale and crowley met before the fall, and #the fall tags, so check those out. Here are some around the war in heaven...

Obedience by Aethelflaed (T)

Before Eden, before the Fall, there was a War in Heaven. Somewhere, amongst the eternal fighting on the endless battlefield, one angel learns the consequences of disobeying an order.

Ingnition by EdosianOrchids901 (T)

Before the beginning, Aziraphale meets a nice angel who makes a star for him. But after the War starts, everything changes, including the nice angel he once knew. When he and Crawley meet again in Eden, will they still be able to enjoy each other’s company?

A Fair Test by takemetotheworld (T)

It took a moment to realize the angel had asked him a question. All coherent thoughts had fled Aziraphale’s mind the moment the other angel uttered the word idiocy in reference to the Great Plan, a level of audacity so staggering he didn’t know how it was possible for the sounds to have even passed the stranger’s lips. He forced himself to focus on the question itself. Surely he had misunderstood the rest of the angel’s comments. Or perhaps not. He wasn’t certain he wanted to know.

Aziraphale is intrigued by the excitable red-haired angel he watched speak a nebula into existence, but he finds himself increasingly in over his head as his new acquaintance starts publicly questioning the Great Plan.

The Devil’s Love by OneDapperCat (M)

Baraqiel has returned from launching a star system with the news of Armageddon. He wants to do what he can to convince God to change her mind about ending everything before it really begins. He crosses paths with Lucifer, who offers helps to the distraught angel. God has set Lucifer the task of designing and building Hell: a place where angels that don’t align themselves with her divine plan will go for punishment. She has offered him up to 1/3 of her ranks, should he find that many that are against her, but she didn’t expect him to set his sights on one of her three favorite angels. Aziraphale finds himself drawn to the star making angel he accidentally upset, but he can never seem to make him slow down enough to catch his name.

Outside of Time by PeniG (G)

God is infinite, her creations finite, and any concept small enough for a creation’s mind to hold is necessarily too small to approximate reality. Hence ineffability is born with Lucifer and language. One must speak imperfectly, or be silent. Gadreel was not/is not/will never be good at silence. Meanwhile, a happy little principality is having a tickety-boo time. Change is afoot, but how can Heaven change? Half of Heaven goes on strike. Gadreel gets depressed. God doesn’t seem to notice anything wrong. Lucifer tries to make Her notice. Aziraphale holds a door, and accidentally makes a flaming sword. Gadreel does not fight in the long night that will be known as The War. Aziraphale becomes a soldier. Because somebody has to. Gadreel becomes Crawly, Satan’s little pet snake; but how much of that is who he is, and how much is who he pretends to be? How long until he can no longer tell the difference, himself? The final pieces are placed. The Human Project goes live. Time begins.

The Truth Remains by WanderingAlice (M)

Raphael had been the third angel ever created, and he’d raised himself first with Michael’s clumsy help. Then he’d turned around and raised three more siblings, and loved them all so fiercely it hurt. He'd loved Aziraphale too, more than either of them really knew. And then, he fell. He lost everything. The bond he held with his siblings was ripped away, leaving an aching, empty void. And while he still has Aziraphale, the angel doesn't recognize the archangel who taught him how to care about the Earth. And Crowley refuses to tell him who he was, or how Aziraphale's voice is the one thing that can soothe the ache in his soul that wants, so badly, to feel a connection again. A story through the ages as an angel and a demon come to terms with their shared past.

- Mod D

[opbackgrounds]

I think it's been said before, but I really can't grasp how no one in the Marine actually questioned the fact a buster call had been ordered on Enies Lobby.

I understand you're supposed to obey your hierarchy without questions in the military, but come on, the symbol of the world government raw, brutal, power against the literal island of justice ? Would they send one against Marineford if the order was given ?

In that case, who in their right mind though it would be a good idea to give the possibility to annihilate a country/island to one admiral without further verification ? At least half of them (ancient/actual) could be manipulated into giving that freaking golden den-den to a third party, that's pretty much what happened with Aokiji and spandam...

That’s kind of the point, isn’t it? What the Government is doing stupid and short sighted, and when the rank and file marines question the order they get shot by their superiors. The extreme, militaristic pursuit of “justice” has poisoned large swaths of the upper command, because that’s the sort of mindset the people in power *want* to raise through the ranks. That attracts radicals like Akainu and lets cruel, power hungry idiots like Spamdam rise to the top. It’s the end point of 800 years of corruption and unchecked power on a global scale.

I mentioned it awhile back, but this isn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility. There were multiple times on both sides of the Cold War where nuclear Armageddon was almost sparked due to mistakes and assumptions. We were lucky that cooler heads prevailed in those circumstances, but there’s no guarantee that we’ll be so lucky in the future.

[sageappa]

Ok, so, hear me out, HEAR ME OUT. I promise this is good speculation for GO3.

Good Omens was renewed for a third and final season. (I have been screaming and crying out of joy since 15:05 of my time zone, the exact time when Good Omens Prime's X account posted the news. But that's not the point.)

Mr. Gaiman, about this renewal, said:

"Season One was all about averting Armageddon, dangerous prophecies, and the End of the World. Season Two was sweet and gentle, although it may have ended less joyfully than a certain Angel and Demon might have hoped. Now in Season Three, we will deal once more with the end of the world. The plans for Armageddon are going wrong. Only Crowley and Aziraphale working together can hope to put it right. And they aren't talking."

So if I read it correctly, and if my English as a non-native isn't failing me, it seems that this time Aziraphale and Crowley actually intend to make Armageddon happen.

The plans are going wrong. Together, they can hope to put it right.

So what on Earth could have made them change so drastically their idea? What changed? Did Metatron do something to Aziraphale? Did Crowley get so depressed without his Angel that he'd rather have the world get destroyed? Naaah. Nah, I don't think so. They're both too attached to Earth and earthly beings to change their minds so quickly.

No, my guess is Armageddon changed.

It should have been how the Bible says: the coming of the Antichrist, the Four Horsemen riding, the enormous battle, etc. But it wasn't. And the Antichrist (or former Antichrist, since he refused Satan's paternity) won't collaborate to make the world end. What to do then, if both Heaven and Hell wanted it so bad?

Well. If Hell didn't make it, Heaven could get their try. (And Crowley knew this. Crowley knew that they'd come to some similar solution. That's why "he understands it a lot better than Aziraphale does.")

At the very end of Season Two, we hear this conversation between Metatron and a very unhappy Angel:

METATRON: Well, I can't think of a better angel to wrap things up, and to set into motion the next step in the great plan.

AZIRAPHALE: Um, yes, you mentioned that. Can I know what it is?

METATRON: Well, it's something we need an angel of your talents to direct. An angel who is familiar with how they do things on Earth.

AZIRAPHALE: Ah.

METATRON: We call it the Second Coming.

So Heaven is going to make their move. And it will be with a Second Coming - another Christ, another son (or daughter?) of God. With Armageddon in their minds.

It's the Anti-Antichrist.

Aziraphale is now the Supreme Archangel and, as Gabriel did with the very first Annunciation, he will have to give the happy news to the mother of this baby. In a contemporary world. Where no one would believe that easily the "it's God's son!" story. Yeah, good luck Aziraphale, no wonder Heaven needed someone who spent six thousand years on Earth to do this job. (And if they're planning Armageddon, who cares if Aziraphale still is Supreme Archangel, there would be just heavenly sounds and no problems at all after Heaven wins the war. Right? Just let the dude with a lot of knowledge about human do the job and then whatever.)

But. Do you really think that Aziraphale would just do it and make Armageddon happen exactly as intended by Heaven? Do you really think that, after what happened, after the Armageddon't, after him having to say no to his beloved Demon and losing him - and even though all of this happened he was still ready to throw himself in Heaven, in that lions' pit made of angels that always bullied him! -, after the courage he showed and the hope to make a change and do good -- do you really think he would just say "yes" to this? (I know, I lost my English here, I'm sorry, I'm just super-hyped.)

Oh, no, come on. He's still enough of a bastard worth knowing.

He is the Supreme Archangel, and even if everyone would just want him to be a nice puppet and do what the others say to him, he won't throw away his shot, I can assure you that. (How fun would it be though to have a scene where Michael and Uriel are kind of arguing between themselves about who should "suggest" Aziraphale what to do? And then Saraquel having to intervene?) No, no, Aziraphale learned from Crowley that sometimes he has to make his voice a little louder and be more incisive, as shown when in the last episode of Season Two he takes the lead in the library - while Heaven and Hell discuss what to do with Gabriel and Beelzebub. And he will do that again. He will make everything he can. He sacrificed his own happiness with Crowley for that. He cannot fail... and he has to do it alone. It's scary. He'll be anxious, but he'll do it. For the world. For good. For Crowley too. And for sushi.

So Aziraphale will try to make Armageddon something different. It's not "the" Armageddon, it's "his" Armageddon. Or theirs. He would have loved it, to be theirs - his and Crowleys'.

Our beloved angel is spot on in finding all those little quibbles that allow him to not go openly against the rules but also not follow them strictly. Maybe he'd find something also for the Armageddon. Maybe he'd find an Armageddon that would involve only Heaven and Hell, leaving the world and humans be. Maybe the Armageddon will become a way to reinvent Heaven and Hell. Make them fight, have their war on some galaxy far away from Earth, "destroy themselves" (I'll get to this later) and then a new Heaven and a new Hell would rise from their ashes. You know, how they became toxic, and everything else Crowley always repeats? Maybe it is not possible to change them without them having their war. They won't stop until they'll have had it, so maybe the only way is to give them war.

Or at least, to make them believe it.

What if Aziraphale and Crowley would actually need to collaborate in order to trick Heaven and Hell into thinking they had/are having their war? What if this plan cannot be done just by an angel? What if this is their only chance to stop this madness, once and for all, even though it's not easy for neither of them to get in contact again so soon after what happened?

[brucewxnye]

Reading Order - DC Comics - Events / Crossovers

reading orders | comic masterlist | dc comics masterlist

Amazons Attack!

Aquaman: Death of a Prince

Armageddon 2001

Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying

Batman: Cataclysm

Batman: Contagion

Batman: Endgame

Batman: Face the Face

Batman: Judgement on Gotham

Batman: Legacy

Batman: No Man's Land

Batman: Officer Down

Batman: Prodigal

Batman: Troika

Batman: War Crimes

Batman: War Games

Batma: Year Zero

Battle for the Cowl

Behold! The Millennium Giants!

Black Diamond Probability

Blackest Night

Bloodlines

Brightest Day

Brotherhood of the Fist

Bruce Wayne: Fugitive

Bruce Wayne: Murderer?

City of Bane

Convergence

Countdown to Infinite Crisis

Crisis on Infinite Earths

The Culling

Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths

Dark Nights: Death Metal

Dark Nights: Metal

Darkseid War

Day of Judgement

DC One Million

DC Rebirth

DC Universe: Trinity

DC You

DCeased

Death of Superman

Death of the Family

Drowned Earth

Eclipso: The Darkness Within

Endless Winter

Event Leviathan

Fear State

Final Crisis

Final Days of Superman

Final Night

Flash: Dead Hear

Flashpoint

Forever Evil

Forever Evil: Blight

Funeral for a Friend

Future State

Genesis

Gothtopia

Grant Morrison's Batman

Green Lantern: Godhead

Green Lanter: Lights Out

Green Lantern: Uprising

Heroes in Crisis

Identity Crisis

The Infected

Infinite Crisis

Infinite Frontier

Injustice

Invasion!

Jack Kirby's Fourth World

Janus Directive

Joker's Last Laugh

Joker War

JSA: Black Reign

Justice League: Breakdowns

Justice League vs. Suicide Squad

Justice Society Returns

Knight Terrors

Knightfall Saga

Krypton Returns

Lazarus Contract

Lazarus Planet

Legends

Lightning Saga

Millennium

Multiversity

New 52

New 52: Futures End

Night of the Monster Men

Night of the Owls

Our Worlds at War

Panic in the Sky

Red Daughter of Krypton

Reign of Doomsday

Reign of the Supermen

Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul

Rise of the Third Army

Robin Rises

Robin War

Rotworld

Shadow War

Sinestro Corps War

Superman: Doom

Superman: Emperor Joker

Superman: Exile

Superman H'el on Earth

Superman: New Krypton

Superman Reborn

Superman: Savage Dawn

Superman: Up, Up, and Away!

Throne of Atlantis

Trial of Superman

Trial of the Amazons

Trinity War

Underworld Unleashed

War of the Gods

War of the Green Lanterns

World Without Young Justice

Worlds Collide

Warth of the First Lantern

Zatanna's Search

Zero Hour