#tumblr/two Terrances

[galleryyuhself]

Galleryyuhself - The Tale of Two Terrances this week in Trinidad and Tobago.

[wi55iams]

Worship (noun):

1. the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.

2. great admiration or devotion shown towards a person or principle.

I have a lot of thoughts about Carlos Sainz Jr and it's about time i shared them. I'm trying to write a fanfic but i'm finding it difficult to articulate my ideas, this was is test run of sorts to see if I can communicate a message in a way that makes sense. Enjoy. Credits under the cut.

‘Hope is the biggest of our foolish things’ -Alfred de Vingy // Mark Thompson for Getty Images // Carlos Sainz believes he deserves F1 seat // ‘To wish was to hope and to hope was to expect’ -Jane Austen // Carlos Sainz’s last race with Toro Rosso // ‘Expectations were like fine pottery. The harder you held them, the more likely they were to crack’ -Brandon Sanderson // Sky Sports // Marina And The Diamonds, Oh No! // It's like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story’ -Patrick Rothfuss // Medium // An ode to my father, the matador // ‘Maybe if you sleep where another person sleeps and do what that person does, then eventually you’ll start turning into that person’ -Jack Cheng // Ferrari, one name two destinies // Jos and Carlos Sr on their sons’ rookie seasons // ‘Christianity is a religion built around a father who does not rescue his son. It is the story of a son whose father is a ghost’ -Terrance Hayes // Carlos Sainz poses with his father // Jos and Carlos Sr on their sons’ rookie seasons // ‘Perhaps it’s impossible to wear an identity without becoming what you pretend to be’ -Orson Scott Card // Sky Sports // Junior status; Sharing dad’s name a mixed bag // ‘Who did I think we were. Who did I think I could make you. This is the oldest mistake, to confuse wanting with magic.’ -Marty McConnell Emily Kagan Trenchard // Sainz thrilled with first podium after Hamilton penalty // The Crane Wives, The Moon Will Sing // ‘If you spent your life concentrating on what everyone else thought of you, would you forget who you really were? What if the face you showed the world turned out to be a mask... with nothing beneath it?’ -Jodi Picoult // Top Gear // Carlos Sainz: the boy who became a man // Motorsport.com // Mikky Ekko, Who Are You Really? // ‘Sometimes we want what we want even if we know it’s going to kill us’ -Donna Tartt // RacingNews365 // Max Verstappen tells Carlos Sainz ‘I felt sorry for you’ // Racefans // Carlos Sainz has openly discussed his contract regulations // CNN // Sainz wins thrilling Singapore GP // ‘Who wouldn’t want you? Whose most demonic appetite could you possibly fail to answer?’ -Louise Glück // Sky Sports // Carlos Sainz Sr Wikipedia // 'Do you still believe myths can save you? Foolish creature. Let me be clear: every version of the story ends with you being slaughtered' -Tory Adkisson // Sydney Morning Herald // Planet F1 // Luvbug, Icarus // ‘Sometimes I prayed so hard for God to materialize at the foot of my bed it would start to happen; then I’d beg it to stop, and it would.’ -Marie Howe, // ‘Click here to be saved’, unable to find original author // ‘God’s favorite follower’ by Tumblr user quiet-plaything // ‘God is fucking with my oblivion. If he wants forgiveness, he shouldn’t have given us memory’ -Vi Khi Nao //  ‘What you have to understand, is your father was your model for God’ -Chcuk Palahniuk // John Mayer, In The Blood // ScuderiaFans //

[heckinhacker]

hi so i was wondering if u could do one like “Eric Cartman x Reader - South Park's days are OVER.” but with kyle, like they are the same and everything, idk if u have already done it

Kyle Broflovski x Reader - South Park might be saved, after all??

Which means we get the version where Kyle meets someone similiar to himself! It's like a 'sequel', (but not really, more like an alternative version with same trope) to “Eric Cartman x Reader - South Park's days are OVER.”

Remember that when I write for South Park, they're teenagers at less(16 y/o minimum), adults at most! it's silly i write it every south park post but better safe than sorry~

I gave Kyle green color for easier reading experience in dialogues!

note: color code might be broken because lately tumblr on pc is being silly goofy

Kyle had a great grasp of how fucked up situations in south park are having occurances

Aaand he's pretty aware there will be noone else who understands him.

Or so he thought.

There is a new student announced to be in his class while you all were in 4th grade or so?

And you seemed not too quiet, nor too shy, but surely smart enough not to push yourself into any weird situations.

Teacher sat you both together and Kyle tries to talk you up-

"Hey! I'm Kyle, it's refreshing to have a new face around. Want to play with us on long break?"

It's nice to have a new group to play with, so you agree.

Ah, kids and their not complicated feelings, right? <3

You tag along, and you grew really quickly to dislike Cartman-

It's not hard to hate him he's UNBEARABLE,

Kyle wants to let out his signature "Shut up, fatass!"

but you beat him to it-

"Shut up, fatso, mama did not taught you to behave, or was she absent in your life like yo papa?"

You had NO idea he's fatherless and it made other guys go "OOOHHHH--"

you made yourself an enemy in Cartman,

but an ally in Kyle.

You seemed to have similiar nerdy interests,

From playing Stick of Truth and heroes,

to DnD (that he played online, because not with his group-- but he invited you into his new online session!!)

Beside Terrance and Philip, Kyle also liked that vampire/werewolf series called "Under Devil's grasp" that seemed mostly for girls or boring, yet he liked it in secret and once he caught you watching first episodes, just...because,

and then joined you, for his own re-watch and your first watch, he liked seeing how you reacted

"HOW COULD YOU?" you asked out of sudden once, in a call,

"How could I what?" Kyle asks, having you on speaker while he does his homework.

" YOU KNEW ALL THE TIME THAT BARRY WILL BE KILLED AND YOU DID NOTHING TO WARN ME, I GREW TO LOVE HIM AND NOW HE'S GONE."

"Well, you said no spoilers?"

"KYLE."

He giggles, "Plus he had death flags since always so-"

He's playing, it turns out Barry barely lived and hid for like season and a half to return in dramatical moment that he watched with you and you SCREAMED.

And he has a blast with your reactions <3

And so on, you bond over similiarities,

Over years you put many blood, sweat and tears into your friendship, and you're glued by hip. Kyle won't ever pick between you and Stan who is his closer friend, it would be even cruel to ask.

You two got along decently, good, not badly, but it always seemed you're more closer with Kyle than Stan.

You grew beside each other and your families became one, big family because of how close you've gotten between each other and made them grow closer. (Or not if your relation with them is bad)

No matter your family (or your own) relligion, you spend Hanukkah with Kyle and it's almost a norm of you being around.

Listen, Ike? Absolutely adores you. Kyle sometimes has a laugh your'e more of an older sibling than he is.

(Absolute bull, we all know Ike loves Kyle the most <3)

Kyle's family wanted to make little ride to nearest amusement park

Of course they suggested you go too! You're a part of the family already <3

You have the fun of your lives, all of you. Kyle's parents mostly chill around but you, Kyle and Ike are using all the activities possible while you can, stuffing yourselves with snacks and sweets.

Bad idea, if you'd ask me

You went to roller coaster and none of you paid no mind in that choice,

but Kyle's stomach DID pay a mind

Especially in a middle where he felt like throwing out

And hell, he did! But he took out his hat and puked int oit so noone got blessed with mix of dinner and snacks.

He was almost carried out of the roller coaster by you--

You decided to go to ferris wheel and call it after a day.

They were two-people cabin on the wheel, so Ike let you two have one while he went with some other random kid.

Ike is your biggest wingman, he did that on purpose of course. Little guy <3

When you're up high, alone, with Kyle, having option to look at all the view, you can't help but to look at little buildings under you, and then to take a peak at Kyle.

Oh boy, were you surprised when you met his gaze-

He blushed furiously and muttered "Sorry- Uh- did not mean to stare."

Of course - you did not mind, but that was SURPRISING.

You did not bother him about it though. Whatever he had in mind - nothing, or something, he will come around.

But you might've realised that you DO have feelings towards your childhood best friend. For sure.

You remember how I mentioned your shared liked series with Kyle, "Under Devil's grasp" ? Soo...

Imagine it was near end, and studio decided to make finale into movie, two and half hour long one.

It's a series you two follow since you were kids, OF COURSE you have to be there in the cinema.

You ride with Kyle to big city, with his freshly acquired driver license and shitty car of his.

You enjoy your WHOLE drive there, time spent in bigger city, it all was just amazing.

Series, even though it was mostly about vampires and werewolves, was called "Under Devil's grasp" and it's very questionable, for years there were just theories, yet the movie after all those years of content literally ended with said title as last words.

Y'all were crying already enough but it was such a HIT in the face

When you walked out of cinema you whipped your tears out of your eyes, so did Kyle, as you giggled and gushed about the ending of your beloved series.

Ride home was mixed, going from peaceful to chaotic, just atosphere was...magical. Lights of highway, music blasting loudly and Kyle jamming to it, while you take a glance with full adoration at him.

You sing a little, then you rest and sooner than later end up in South Park.

Kyle drives to your house first to drop you off, walks out of car to walk you to your door, and gazes at you.

"Thank you...for today. I had fun! I hope you did too."

"I did, you kidding me? Thanks for even offering. I...really appreciate it."

Kyle seems to hesitate, and then sighs deeply.

"...I love you."

" Yeah, good night to you too man- oh wait what the fuck-??"

"I...wanted to say so, and today's spent time with you made me realise I'd hate you to spend the day out of South Park with someone else. I'd hate for you to have late-night drives with somebody else, I'd hate to see you happy with somebody else because...well, I wish you stayed with me. Of course I mean- have fun with others, I just...I wish you'd keep your heart on my hands. It's fine if you'd prefer to stay friends, I hope it doesn't break our friendship. But I uh...I wanted to let you know."

...that was...a lot. Wow."

He thinks it's a rejection, but...

It's not, really

You grab his cheeks and kiss him before he can get into tangent of self-doubt.

Then smile at him,

and say:

"Information saved. Let's grab something to eat tommorow together too, alright, boyfriend?"

You smile and wave him away goodnight and closed your door.

...

"...boyfriend?"

He's so giddy pls <3

Other's reactions:

Ike:

FUCKING FINALLY 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALO.

My little dude was waiting for the moment you hold hands and kiss each other already for TOO LONG

I mean, don't kiss too much in front of him he'd gag, it's still his older brother we're talking about

but at least Kyle pinning over you days are OVER.

He congratulates you and gives you gift cards of "congratulations on marriage!" drew with crayons and pencils

My man Ike is an anime fan, he made you badass gift card <3

Stan:

Not surprised but surprised at the same time.

He's second biggest fan, first being Ike

He learned the news from Kyle himself the same night you became a thing, later Ike hit him up because he was excited BSHSH

He hears Kyle out and congratulates him A LOT

Kenny:

He kind off knew? everyone kind off knew but he was sure you were already dating so...

news were shocking because

"Weren't you dating already? damn-"

he was sure you're married and expecting a kid/j

he doesn't have strong reaction because, as I said, it's not much of a news for him not going to lie

Cartman:

He always tried taking away whatever Kyle loved the most

So he's salty he failed this time

He always makes you both miserable, with slightest show of affection he is making big clown show out of it

Enough that just guys ask you to STOP with PDA because Cartman is being fucking annoying

He's just that salty single friend man for sure <3

Lemme be honest, it's not one of my best works, but I have (I am in a middle of...) 9 days streak of work straight, I am exhausted beyond human belief, but maybe because my ability to hold my ground is shitty, thanks depreshon--

So yes, It's not my best piece, but it was pretty much expected, so :>

I wanted to tag @bath1lda because of "kyle kyle" spam ask hehe- I hope you, and everyone else who read it, a nice "have a good read" :>

[douglysium]

Episode 8 TMP Quick Thoughts

Housekeeping and Prologue

Hello, this is Douglysium and you might not know me as that guy who wrote over 100 pages of analysis on the Eye (which can be read on Tumblr here (https://douglysium.tumblr.com/post/735599414228484097/the-relationships-between-the-dread-powers-the) or Google Docs here (The Relationships Between the Dread Powers: The Eye- Knowledge is Fear and Ignorance is Bliss)) or as that guy who wrote an article on the Extinction (which can be read on Tumblr here(https://douglysium.tumblr.com/post/717929126195003392/what-would-avatars-of-the-extinction-be-like-a) and Google Docs here(​What would Avatars of the Extinction be like?: A TMA Speculation)). Suffice to say I might be a bit of a TMA fan. Also, spoilers for TMP up until episode 8. You can read my ramblings on the last episode here (TMP Quick Thoughts 7).

However, Protocol offers a very unique opportunity and experience for me because I didn’t actually get into TMA until after it was over and I binged all of it. So this is my first time experiencing something even remotely similar to what the original TMA fans probably experienced when waiting for each episode week by week and slowly having to put everything together with the limited information they had. So I decided to throw my hat into the ring since this might be my only chance to do something similar. However, I’m working on some longer form TMA content so I can’t spend as much time on these articles giving a bunch of super detailed thoughts. I will try to keep these short and that inevitably might mean some could have questions about why I think or predict certain things and in those cases I would probably recommend you read at least some of the two articles I mentioned above to get a better idea of where I’m coming from. This also means I won’t be giving you a play-by-play of every single thing that happens in the episode so I encourage you to listen to or read them yourselves and feel free to comment if you feel something is important.

These reviews are probably going to end up focusing mostly on the Entities and their manifestations as they are what I have thought about the most and spent the most time interpreting and there’s been a lot of… interesting theories floating around about how the Entities are manifesting that I want to go over.

Finally, I’m just going to say it right now, spoiler warning for all of The Magnus Archives. I know that Jon and co said one could start with Protocol and be fine, and while that’s probably true, media like this tends to be made in conversation with or take into consideration what came before it in the irl chronology in order to connect them. While I’m sure you could skip The Magnus Archives, I don't really see the point of skipping over it when we are already getting characters from TMA showing up in TMP in Protocol. So to me it’s pretty clear that if we want to understand the full picture of TMP and all the things it is trying to say then we can’t just try to pretend TMA doesn’t exist or scrub it away. Just because you could understand what’s happening without the context in broad strokes doesn’t mean you're getting all the nuances.

These articles are meant to be quick and short so sorry if there’s typos and if I don’t address every possible question or possibility. I don’t want to repeat myself too much in this series outside of the prologue so be sure to skim some of my other articles.

Episode 8 “Running on Empty”

This time we dive directly into a statement that NORRIS is giving which means the intro is a bit faster than usual. This statement takes the form of a paper being submitted by Terrance Stevens to Joseph Peterson. In the end Terrance is stuck with a failing grade but the teacher left a note of “see me” and in the assignment itself Terrance does try to explain the late submission and extenuating circumstances. Which seem to be acknowledged by the teacher with “Extenuating circumstances: Serious Medical Condition, Trauma, Miscellaneous.”

Terrance decided to do their assignment on “Forton’s Brutal Liminality, a case study of architecturally induced psychological stressors as a result of prolonged exposure to liminal spaces in the Brutalist mode as exhibited by Forton Service Station.” They elaborate with “This paper will present a comprehensive analysis of Forton Services as a key site of study for the intersection between Brutalism and Liminal space design with a secondary focus on the psychological stresses such sites can cause.”

Later in the statement Terrance gives us the definitions of Brutalism and Liminal that they are working with (which is extremely helpful because upon looking it up I got 3-4 common definitions for Liminal). “Brutalism, originating from the French 'béton brut' - raw concrete, is an architectural movement that focuses on utilitarian purpose. This often results in exposed raw materials, stark forms, repetitive geometric shapes and monolithic structures. This can often lead endusers to feel overwhelmed or oppressed. (Zumthor, P. 2006)”. “'Liminal' spaces, derived from the Latin 'limen', meaning 'threshold' are transitional spaces normally inhabited for short periods. They have been shown to have marked effects upon the psychology of those exposed to them and long-term exposure has been found to illicit anxiety responses (Augé, M. 1995), (Bachelard, G. 1994) and feelings of the uncanny (Trigg, D. 2012).” In case the second definition is a bit confusing, what Terrance is referring to when they say “transitional spaces normally inhabited for short periods” are things like hallways. Places that exist almost entirely for people to pass through from one area to another.

Terrance’s report seems extremely focused on architecture and the psychological effects they can have. Within TMA Smirke’s architecture could actually interact with and influence the Entities in various ways and they were noted to have a higher likelihood of hauntings and supernatural events occurring within them being reported than other buildings do. Plus, the Entities themselves can manifest as physical places. This is seen with not just the Domains but also how people can be physically thrown into the Entities (for example, someone can physically enter The Buried or Lonely. Various people have been taken by the Entities to other unknown locations and there’s a non-zero chance that at least some of these people ended up within Entities so their fear could be fed on). Terrance also says “My hypothesis is that that Forton services, as a site of intersection between these two psychologically significant elements can be considered a site of what I have termed “Brutal Liminalism” and this is why it has a profound effect upon those exposed to it in the long term as testified by my own experiences. Specifically, it creates an effect of absence despite presence, an “architectural hunger" of a sort.”

I also have to wonder if architecture will be as important in TMP as it was in TMA and if so how? Did this universe’s Smirke somehow meet the Entities or is some of the architecture in TMP just coincidentally reacting with the Entities? Maybe it has nothing to do with Smirke and someone else has connected the dots in regards to architecture and the supernatural?

Terrance goes on to explain that areas such as Forton were originally conceived as locations one would actually stay at for prolonged periods of time but the increasing popularity of cars and similar vehicles along with the overdevelopment of the road infrastructure in the UK led to Forton becoming a place people merely pass through overtime. A liminal space if you will. Basically Forton went from being sort of like a metaphorical “room” one would actually stay in to a “hallway” that people just pass through. This also meant that more people would be traveling through Forton and “This increase in travelers, far beyond older design parameters, has led to an ephemeral flux of people transitioning through service stations at all hours, leaving only trash in their wake. Not only this, there are perceived time distortions associated with such spaces exacerbated by the deliberate absence of clocks (to encourage longer stays) and 24 hour opening times with rolling opening, closing, cleaning and restocking routines.” In case you aren’t aware, ephemeral means “lasting for a very short time.” So among other things, Terrance is saying that there is a spike of people in Forton but they are not permanent or consistent residents. It’s a bunch of people flowing in and out of it constantly.

“I propose that because these spaces are devoid of persistent humanity and consistent time perception, they have thus become dislocated from humanity’s shared mindscape and there are unique health risks to people who are over-exposed to this phenomenon. In essence, I believe the “architectural hunger” of a space that resents its own transitional nature can be dangerous and I have a unique personal insight into this phenomenon.” The term “humanity’s shared mindscape” gives me pause but I suppose the Entities could be considered a shared mindscape? They are explicitly born from and maintained by the collective fear of animals, and while this can be the fear of any animal it is noted that most of the Entities tend to lean towards feeding off of humans specifically, with the exception of The Hunt and The Flesh, because their fears tends to be more “nuanced.” So you could describe most of the Entities as mindscapes that tend to revolve around humans even if not completely. Not to mention, that despite the Entities being very metaphysical in many ways you can still physically enter them, and they do like to mold themselves out of specific fears in order to best terrify the person within them. So they are kind of like mindscapes born of fear.

It’s also interesting that Terrance says “architectural hunger.” The term hunger seems to be appearing a lot which has led to much speculation. I’m still a bit on the fence about this but even in TMA there were at least some references to hunger. How Entities and Avatars gathered fear was often portrayed using food metaphors. If an Avatar could not gather enough fear over a period of time they would “starve” and feel extremely weak if not die for example. When Jude Perry is describing how being an Avatar works to Jon she says “Feed it, fearlessly and without hesitation, or it will feed on you.” In MAG 200, when describing how the Entities came to be, we get “But fear was here and true and was itself, and it hungered. It wished to know more. It wished to feel more. It wished to be more.”, “And something else began to happen. Some minds did not simply recoil from them and feed them. Some seemed almost to call them, to court them, to hunger for them in return.”, and “And with this newfound power came greed. The hunger for more, the unformed, unfocused, but impossibly huge desire to exist. To join the minds that gave them shape and purpose, and finally drink their fill ‘til they were one and the same. They had no concept of how, or when, or even why, but they needed it. They needed it.” So the Entities have always sort of been described as “hungering” or “feeding” in my opinion even if it’s being pushed more now.

Terrance details how they took a job as a janitor at Forton Services after a divorce and it “cost me the majority of my friendships. The ensuing stress episode led me to quit my job as a deputy fiduciary services administrator. I thus applied and successfully interviewed for a low stress Janitor role despite my overqualifications. At the same time I successfully applied for the Architecture Program at Lancashire University as a mature, 51 year old student.” The fact that this seems to take place recently after a divorce and that the divorce led to the loss of many of Forton’s relationships could point to themes of The Lonely. It wouldn’t be the first time someone got dragged into The Lonely after a relationship goes sour (as seen in MAG 150 (Cul-De-Sac)).

Terrance says that they believe Forton to be “an ideal example of “Brutal Liminalism” given its status as both a popular motorway service station and a landmark of brutalist architecture.” and they specifically note the tower as being the primary reason for this place being an ideal example of brutalist architecture. The tower is noted as being closed to the public despite being listed in 2012. I wonder if this tower specifically has something going on with it. Maybe the architecture is similar to Smirke’s or there is some other type of architecture that could elicit increased supernatural reactions and / or maybe even encourage different manifestations. It wouldn’t be completely unreasonable to assume that there is potentially more than one way to build something that reacts strongly with the Entities, even if such an idea is unfounded at this point.

Terrance describes the site by saying “The site is seventeen point seven acres featuring an eastern picnic site and facilities on both sides of the M6 motorway with seating for 700 people, 101 toilets and 403 parking spaces. The top of the tower once held a fine dining restaurant with a roof-level sun terrace both of which featured unmatched panoramic views of the surrounding rural countryside on all sides.” While the tower used to be open at one point, Terrance explains “Unfortunately, the effects of Brutal Liminality soon took effect with a 1978 government review describing the site as “a soulless fairground” and the restaurant became a trucking lounge before being closed to the public in 1989. No-one has eaten there in decades. There were later failed attempts to repurpose the space but in 2017, the two pentagonal lifts in the center of 

the Tower shaft were replaced leaving the higher floors derelict and inaccessible. The tower still stands overlooking the surrounding countryside, the only access via the Brutally Liminal Forton Services below, but the entrance is sealed and this is perhaps for the best.” 

But while Terrance was unable to enter the tower itself they claim to have started undergoing “a psychological shift” nevertheless. They describe this supposed shift as “subtle,” so much so that they didn’t even originally notice it and assumed there to be a more rational explanation. “Put simply, there were less and less people every night. At first, I assumed it was some seasonal change I hadn’t accounted for but every day it grew more pronounced until finally, one night, I realized that I had not seen a single person.” Terrance says that this is impossible and they even went to verify their log. They would go on to check the parking lot but didn’t see a single car. Once again, this parallels a lot of the themes and manifestations of The Lonely for obvious reasons tied to being isolated both physically and emotionally. Terrance then notices something in the parking lot. Something that they describe as “...streaks of light lingering in the air. There was a nebulous haze across the entire car park, a mélange of muted colors punctuated with more vivid reds, whites and yellows but even more curiously I realized it primarily hovered above the asphalt. The Greenery and walkways were mostly clear. The effect was curiously familiar but I couldn’t quite place it. I have since been unable to determine if this effect was psychological, physiological, or atmospheric in nature but I maintain that the phenomena was accompanied by a disquieting sense of absence. Of hunger.” Once again, a reference to hunger.

While most of the statement up until this point has been pretty heavy on potentially Lonely themes, this leans a bit more Spiral-like with the kind of strange lights being seen. Terrance does also describe the lights being seen as chaotic. Despite this it’s not like all The Lonely type stuff suddenly stops. Terrance says that they managed to make out details “...in those long, waving, iridescent strips” and they “...could trace denser routes through the chaos leading through the main doors to the facilities and as I watched a memory of my ex-wife’s photography leapt unbidden to mind, my favorite shot that she’d given me on our seventh anniversary: “A study of traffic.” So what could be happening here is that an Entity is attempting to remind Terrance of their ex-wife as well as some of the pictures she had taken in an attempt to amplify certain emotions or feelings (such as loneliness). Terrance even goes on to say “That’s when I realized why this all felt so familiar. Timelapse. If I could have walked into that photo, this must be what it would have felt like. It would have been beautiful if it weren’t so unsettling.” So Terrance might have literally walked into a place modeled after a photo taken by their ex-wife. Additionally, when they were married Terrance would have had way more friends. So this memory could also call back to a time when they felt less alone this heightening there current feelings of isolation.

The haze’s connection to the asphalt is probably due to the fact that the picture Terrance’s wife had taken was “A study of traffic.” So highlighting the asphalt would help remind Terrance of the photo due to streets, sidewalks, cars and all that. However, you could also make an argument for themes relating to The Extinction if you were so inclined. In MAG 134, “Time of Revelation,” Adelard Dekker says this in regards to his theory about the Power “But now the fear is not of a rapture or a revelation. It is of catastrophic change. Mankind will warp the world so much it kills us all, and leaves only a thousand years of plastic behind. Technology will strip us of what it means to be human, and leave us something alien and cold. We will press a button that in a moment will destroy everything we have ever been. Animals are witnessing the end of their entire species within a single generation.” So you card argue that highlighting concrete as opposed to potentially more naturalistic landmarks like greenery could point to urbanization and a less natural future. Terrance does also mention in his theory that a major factor as to why the architecture has become a negative force is because overtime Forton has changed to a more liminalist space due to urbanization and an increase on the reliance of cars (which can also be tied to some fears that The Extinction might often correspond to (such as climate change and being rendered obsolete)).

However, you could still make a very solid argument for the influence of something like The Spiral as Terrance also says “In retrospect I was clearly having some kind of severe hallucinatory episode brought on by long-term exposure to the space.” So there is a potential awareness and fear that Terrance might be mistaken or their senses are wrong. Terrance feels like they should try to avoid the glowing mist and even feel the instinct to hide “ to find somewhere, anywhere that I might be free of that overwhelming miasma sloshing back and forth within the foyer threatening to wash me away with it.” (A foyer means “an entrance hall or other open area in a building used by the public, especially a hotel or theater.”) While it’s not impossible that another Entity might be manifesting as mist or fog I think it’s interesting Terrance notes the presence of glowing mist since we know that Entities such as The Lonely tend to manifest as it a lot. This is probably to heighten the sense of isolation because of the fact that fog and mist not only obscure vision but also tend to muffle sound. These qualities can make it harder to tell if there are others around you, which might make you feel alone. Fog and mist can also be associated with melancholy. It could also make it potentially ironic that Terrance’s first instinct is to hide and thus potentially further isolate himself.

However, rather ironically, there are ways fog and mist could hypothetically relate to The Spiral. Some other definitions of fog include “something that obscures and confuses a situation or someone's thought processes” and “bewilder or puzzle (someone).” Both of which could point to the idea of fog or mist manifesting as a metaphor made literal in order to confuse someone.

Terrance also refers to the mist as a miasma. A word that can mean “a highly unpleasant or unhealthy smell or vapor” or “an oppressive or unpleasant atmosphere which surrounds or emanates from something.” I would assume that the second definition is more applicable here even if the mist could smell terrible. Terrance starts trying to get out of dodge by moving away from the main entrance and “away from the densest areas of the kaleidoscope in the hopes of finding somewhere less overwhelmingly saturated.” A strange kaleidoscope of colors could once again point to The Spiral.

Things get a bit weirder when Terrance says “And that was when I saw the woman. She was tall, young, and thin, almost to the point of malnourishment, dressed similarly to a stewardess with a tightly fitting blue waistcoat buttoned over a sensible looking grey skirt. She was beaming, holding open the door to the lift and inviting me inside. There was a small brass badge on her waistcoat, but instead of a name it simply read “You are here”.” The sight of this woman causes Terrance to hesitate and “before I could consider her strangeness a particularly high tide of color swept down the corridor toward me. I panicked, and before I realized what I was doing I had darted inside the lift and slammed the close-door button.” It quickly becomes apparent that Terrance is in the elevator with the woman as they say “Thank you!” and “She didn’t seem to notice and instead continued to smile warmly at me as she reached across and pushed the button for the penultimate floor marked “Restaurant”. A button I knew was disabled. The lift started to climb.” 

I wonder if the colors Terrance was running from are a metaphorical representation of their past. Maybe if the colors caught them they would have found themselves trapped in a world modelled after their wife’s phot of the past. We also know that The Lonely has manifested as weird colors. In MAG 186 (Quiet) Martin’s Domain is mentioned as being monochrome in color. So I wonder if the vibrant colors chasing Terrance would mean everything else outside of it seems more drab and less colorful in comparison? Then again there’s still argument for The Spiral with the dizzying array of colors.

As Terrance catches his breath the woman says ““Good Evening!” She exclaimed, “It’s my pleasure to welcome you! You are here! Stay awhile!”” Terrance tries to ask her some questions but she says nothing with a wide grin on her face. Eventually the doors Terrance are leaning on open and he tumbles into the tower. To which the woman only responds with “Stay awhile!” before the doors close. Terrance had actually seen the locked tower stairway, after being shown it by Molly on their first day, and the tower shouldn’t have anything in the room Terrance is in “apart from damp and broken furniture. At least, there shouldn’t have been.” Despite this impossibility, in front of Terrance now lay “...a restaurant, spotless and bright with retro 60s décor and the sweet smell of frying pork drifting towards me from the central kitchen. Chairs and tables lined the outside wall, each of which sported a large window which would have granted an impressive view of the landscape below if they weren’t all blacked out. This didn’t seem to concern the diners however, who were perfectly content eating whilst chatting amiably with one another.” This sight actually gives Terrance a moment of relief “...for as strange as the situation was, at least there were people. I was no longer trapped in that bizarre, solitary, aurora limbo downstairs. The feeling faded though, when I heard what they were saying, or rather what they weren’t saying.”

The seemingly starving woman was strange, but I think there are some things in this restaurant that could once again point to The Lonely. As I’ve mentioned before The Lonely has manifested as people before, most notably a faceless crown in MAG 48 (Lost in the Crowd). The Lonely has also manifested as languages that sound vaguely familiar but upon closer inspection sound like gibberish. In MAG 150 (Cul-de-Sac) we get “My hand drifted down and brushed the plastic remote control. Almost on instinct, I picked it up and turned the TV on. A cooking show. A woman I almost recognized fussing over a turkey. She was talking, or at least it sounded like she was, the cadence and the sounds were so much like English that it took me almost a full minute to realize that she wasn’t actually saying words.” I assume this is meant to emphasize a feeling of isolation and disconnect. The idea that you cannot understand others and others cannot understand you. Even if you aren’t alone physically you are alone in your experiences and people cannot relate to you while you have trouble relating to them. 

I think it’s also interesting that Terrance feels a moment of relief upon seeing other people. This may seem weird for something like The Lonely to do but in reality it wouldn’t be any different than say The End extending someone’s life. Entities such as The Lonely aren’t the embodiment of loneliness but a manifestation of the FEAR of it. Sometimes the Entities seem prone to give someone some sort of “protection” or “benefit” either temporarily or permanently that might seem to run counter to what the Powers crave at first but in reality it’s the Entity trying to harvest as much fear as possible by trying to give someone something and then threaten to (or actually) take it away. The End’s behavior in TMA makes a lot more sense when you remember that it isn’t literally death but the fear of it, and the longer certain people are alive the more they can fear losing their life. What I’m trying to get across is that just because Terrance feels a moment of relief that doesn’t mean that the feeling of loneliness isn’t a massive factor or aspect here. When Terrance describes their relief they even say “bizarre, solitary, aurora limbo downstairs.” Emphazing that one of the most concerning aspects of what was happening downstairs was the “solitary” part of it. Of course, it might be too early to say that’s exactly what’s going on here so let's keep looking through the statement.

“Looking around, the restaurant was near capacity with only one free table but when I tried to listen to any one conversation it was just… noise. A muffled murmur that sounded like speech but held no information. Their mouths were moving but all I could make out was a meaningless garble, just the impression of speech, nothing more.” Once again, more Lonely-esque gibberish. You could also argue The Spiral with how Terrance thinks he can understand what they are saying but upon listening he can’t or The Stranger in how he doesn’t know what they are saying or who they are. However, I would point out that it has become clear that this fake speech has seemingly caused a distancing effect with Terrance that’s making it harder for him to relate and connect to them as people. He even goes on to say “Similarly, as I looked closer at the diners themselves, I noticed oddly repeating elements to them. Three women were wearing the same blood-red heels. Two men, the same blue coats and worse, there were even recurring features iterating on different faces: the same green eyes on two women, identical moustaches on three men. These were as much an impression of people as the sound was an impression of speech. And they were all so horribly thin.” In essence, these aren’t people Terrance can talk to or connect with. You could also point to some themes of The Stranger since it is an Entity that loves to manifest as fake people or odd seemingly nonsensical and uncanny behaviors. 

The chef is also equally as weird and they are described as having  “the same smile on his face below a fourth version of a bushy moustache and an identical “You are here” name tag on his chest. He gestured from his place behind the counter to the only open table:“Good Evening!” He cried, “You are here! We hope you stay awhile!”” So basically everyone here looks like a bunch of npc characters that had had the same handful of physical traits copied and pasted over and over. Terrance is taken aback by the chef’s reaction and catches himself as he instinctively steps back towards the table. They note that as this happens “...everybody in the room seemed to lean ever so slightly forward in anticipation.” Terrance also feels a breeze which in turn causes them to realize that the windows are not in fact blacked out but that “They weren’t even windows. They were gaping square holes and beyond them was nothing at all. Any one of the diners could reach out if they had a mind to and plunge their hand outwards into the dark, foreboding and utterly featureless void. There was nothing. Nothing above, nothing below, nothing at all. Nothing, save the tower and the restaurant.” Terrance says “My whole body recoiled from that awful absence, and I retreated backwards towards the lift. That was when the gentle murmur of nonspeech abruptly ceased to be replaced with a complete and utter silence.”

You could easily point to the void as resembling The Dark (and that’s a fair comparison) but you could also relate it to The Lonely. The idea of a black lifeless void in which you sit utterly alone sounds similar to how some would describe the cold empty vacuum of space. The Lukas family was involved in the creation of the Daedalus space station and messed around with fears relating to The Lonely and space by torturing some poor sap in TMA. In MAG 57 (Personal Space) we get two lines that I think could relate to this theme. “But still the fact remained that where the Earth should have been, there was empty, dark space. I must have watched for hours waiting to see the sun. We were definitely still moving, and from what I could tell we still seemed to be moving in some sort of orbit, but without a planet below I have no idea why we kept the same pattern. Regardless, the sun should have been visible sooner or later.” and “Each time I painstakingly entered it with as much precision as I still had within me, and each time the password field read out what I had apparently typed in:“No one is coming” and the door remained closed. And that was it. I was trapped alone in a tiny room floating in space deserted empty space.”

Everyone in the room continues to smile and the chef once again says “Stay awhile.” but it is clear to Terrance that this is no longer a request. The diners create an echoing effect by repeating the chef’s words over and over like a chorus. Okay, this is where things veer away from standard Lonely, Spiral, or Stranger manifestations as the people in the restaurant begin to grab Terrance and then “a man with that same moustache leant down towards my leg, opened his mouth, and bit into me. Pain shot through my body, but my thrashing was in vain as one of the women buried her teeth in my shoulder, and I could feel hot blood flowing down my back as whilst at the same time the chef took off one of my fingers, the bone barely slowing his chiseled jaw.” Sam screams from the pain “...but the sound withered draining out the windows into nothing.” I think it’s interesting to note this vacuum like effect. The Lonely is often connected to silence (since if there’s no one nearby things are more likely to be quiet. Think of an abandon city or town and how quiet that would be). Also, connecting to the space metaphor is the idea “no one can hear you scream.” Well, in this case it’s more the idea that no one is coming to help Terrance. He is completely on his own with no allies.

Thanks to a rush of adrenaline Terrance manages to fight his way out of the crowd of brittle and emaciated bodies and “The lift had disappeared as if it had never been. And beyond the windows was of course nothing. “You are here”, I thought bitterly. and so when faced with the prospect of being eaten alive, or leaping out one of those windows into pure oblivion, it was no choice at all. I jumped.”

So obviously, potentially some themes of The Flesh in relation to the fear of being eaten or consumed might have come out of left field and made whatever is going on here a bit more confusing and vague. However, there are still some themes of The Lonely here. It’s important to remember that The Lonely isn’t just the fear of being physically alone but also mentally alone. It’s possible to be surrounded by tons of people everyday but still feel alone due to disconnect or the idea that no one would care if you’re gone. In this way you could interpret the other peoples’ odd behavior as an attempt to alienate Terrance. The description of the restaurant also paints it as extremely superficial and shallow. The people can’t really be connected with and there’s nothing outside of the windows. The people Terrance finds comfort in for a brief moment quickly turn to consume him, seeing him not as a person that can be related to but as something to be used up. In a way, Terrance is sort of objectified. Which is an idea that both The Flesh and The Lonely could overlap in. The idea of being but a resource to be harvested like meat and something no one cares about because people only see someone as an object.

However, like always, you can very easily argue some other Entities (something that I can’t spend too much time on because this article is already long enough as it is and I would be repeating myself). You could argue The Spiral with the confusing imagery and appeal to madness or faulty senses, The Stranger loves to manifest as people acting odd and uncanny (such as Breekon and Hope’s as well as the Anatomy Students’ odd behavior). Potentially, the entire scene is just meant to be uncanny and the people unknown strangers speaking and unknown language that Terrance cannot relate to. Of coursem The Flesh loves using the imagery of people being consumed. You could also point to themes of The Slaughter with how people are attacking Terrance and the violence involved.

The plunge out the window is of course what leads to Terrance’s injuries and acts as an explanation for why they submitted their assignment late and they write off the experience as “stress-induced psychotic episode” which could once again point to The Spiral in terms of theming. Terrance once again mentions “hungry architecture” when they say “This experience is proof of the intense mental pressure that such Brutal Liminalism can have upon a person who is overexposed to such “hungry architecture”.”

I wonder if Terrance is on to something with the architecture. While there is a precedent for architecture being connected to the supernatural in TMA I have to wonder if Terrance is simply mistaken about the source because they don’t have the full picture. I mean Terrance wouldn’t know that the TMA universe exists and that’s where the Entities might come from. Even the average person in TMA wouldn’t necessarily correctly identify the architecture as having any sort of impact on the supernatural. The whole thing with the tower could be a manifestation tied specifically to Terrance’s perception or specific encounter. But there is always the chance Terrance is on to something, and there is a precedent for some of what they say. It could be that the tower’s architecture might have something to do with what’s happening (even if it’s not in the way Terrance thinks). However, Entities do manifest as places people walk into all the time even without specific architecture coaxing them, so it’s hard for me to say.

We cut to the CCTV in the breakroom and see Gwen and Alice interacting. Gwen expresses annoyance that Alice didn’t refill the kettle but Alice claims that there’s still a bit of water in the kettle even though Gwen says “There’s not even a third of a cup in there!” However, Gwen makes an extremely interesting comment here when she says “It’s bad enough that you deliberately try to find talkers and leave them running just to mess with me-” I don’t think Alice is evil, annoying, or as mean as some fans think she is but this would paint Gwen and Alice’s relationship as even more antagonistic. It’s also interesting that Alice is constantly telling Sam to ignore the statements (presumably because of the mental toll they can have on people) and then proceeds to leave them running for Gwen. It could be that Alice expects Gwen to ignore them but I wonder if the statements are actually getting to her. In MAG 102 (Nesting Instinct) Jon seems concerned when Martin mentions that he’s been reading multiple statements. When Jon asks him about it Martin says “B-B… Yeah. I mean, i-it wasn’t fun, but… I mean, if it, if it helps then I –” so there is a precedent for statements similar to the ones in the OIAR having a negative psychological effect on various people.

Also, something that I continue to rant about is how The Eye isn’t just the fear of being watched but also of watching. Of seeing too much. The Eye is noted in MAG 200 to have been born from the fear of one’s eyes “showing them too much” and we see other allusions to this like Jonah’s ability to shove information into the heads of other people like Melanie and Martin (forcing them to know things they don’t want to). I’m not saying Alice is a secret Eye Avatar just because this idea happens to parallel someone hearing something they don’t want to but rather that Alice might have a personality The Eye might like more than one would think at first blush. Also, the OIAR or the computers could be tied to The Eye but I’m not sure if it would mean the workers are in the same way that the Archivist and the assistants in the Archives in The Magnus Institute were tied to The Beholding. Teddy was seemingly able to leave this job while Jon, Tim, etc. couldn’t just leave theirs without a heavy price. There is no mention of Tim going blind or losing a finger or anything either. 

So at the moment it does sort of seem like anyone can just leave the OIAR if they want to but maybe there’s a cost or condition we are not aware of. It might also depend on your status in the organization. Lower ranked people might be able to leave freely but people like Lena may be unable to. In TMA we know only the people working in the Archives were bound by the contract and presumably everyone working in all the other parts of the Institute could leave or quite whenever they wanted to (causing others to often see the Archives as weird).

Gwen and Alice also have a brief discussion about Gwen’s new position.

GWEN 

 “External Liaison”. 

ALICE 

“And of course, we both know what that means. Right? “

GWEN 

“I assume I’m going to be managing a bunch of contractors.”

ALICE 

“(Interested despite herself) Contractors for what?”

GWEN 

“I’ll be receiving a more comprehensive overview “shortly”.”

It is interesting that the transcripts clarify Alice is “Interested despite herself” which might point to her being more curious or nosy about certain things than she lets on. The mention of contractors is interesting. I wonder if potentially certain groups aligned with various Entities have some sort of deal with the government. That still doesn’t narrow it down that much since it wouldn’t automatically explain why the government would be involved. Maybe they view certain monsters and Avatars as being like weapons in their back pocket or maybe they are just trying to appease them to curb the number of victims / collateral damage? The police force in TMA did make use of Hunters so maybe something similar could be going on with other Entities in this universe. I could totally see a shady government official attempting to use the power of The Eye to set up a spy network or something. However, the Entities still don’t seem like common knowledge in this universe, so even if that was true I doubt the government is just sending entire armies of Slaughter enhanced soldiers running around or something. These are still spitballs though and I’m not completely sold on the government trying to use the Fears as some sort of weapon or resource. I just think that somehow parts of the government are involved.

We get news from Alice that Colin has been put on mental health leave (probably due to the fight between him and Sam over Sam’s phone, which led to the phone’s untimely destruction). When told this news Gwen says “always said he was unbalanced.” but Alice is more suspicious of this news and says “You say a lot of things, mostly crap. I dunno... Feels like something’s going on here” (which isn’t completely unfounded since we know Alice has had this job for a while now). Alice says Sam and Celia went out together and makes a sex joke that Gwen seems disgusted by.

We cut to Sam’s phone and bare witness to Sam and Celia interacting with Gerry (Gerard) and Gertrude. These aren’t THE Gerard and Gertrude from TMA (they are both dead anyway) but instead parallel versions. So this is a coffee shop AU (not literally a coffee shop since they mention being in an apartment) of Gerard and Gertrude (good for them). They seem more well adjusted and happier and Gerry still paints in this universe. Although, it seems he has a lot more paintings. It could be that he just didn’t have as much time to paint in TMA or we just never saw the rest of the paintings TMA Gerard made. Gerry gives Sam and Celia a painting called “Camden Epiphany” as a gift. An epiphany can refer to a moment of sudden revelation or insight but it can also mean “a manifestation of a divine or supernatural being.” So I wonder if the painting foreshadows something. In MAG 4 (Page Turner) one of TMA Gerard’s paintings are described as “an eye. Very detailed, and at first I almost would have said almost photorealistic, but the more I looked at it, the more I saw the patterns and symmetries that formed into a single image, until I was so focused on them that I started to have difficulty seeing the eye itself. Written below it were three lines, in fine green calligraphy: “Grant us the sight that we may not know. Grant us the scent that we may not catch. Grant us the sound that we may not call.”” Something that seems to relate to The Eye. Gerry later mentions he was a part of the Institute’s “gifted kids programs” at some point and I wonder if this is because the kids in question were really smart or had other traits the Institute was interested in. It’s also possible that the answer is as simple as “all the kids had encounters with the supernatural previously.”

Gertrude seems as suspicious as ever and acts as Gerry’s grandma. I don’t know if she is his adopted grandma or biological one. If she’s his biological grandma this could recontextualize the relationship between their TMA counterparts depending on how 1-to-1 you think some of these relationships are (but I’m not sure I buy that she’s biologically related in this way to Gerard in TMA since that would mean either Mary or Eric are her secret child or something). Gertrude being an adoptive grandma or something is still possible since there’s no guarantee that Mary Keay was any nicer of a person in this universe (whether or not she was obsessed with the Entities). It could also be that Mary and Eric just died in some other manner due to some divergence in the timeline when compared to TMA.

The fact that Gertude is here also vastly decreases the chances that Gertrude is not the one who burned down the Institute in this universe. Whether she did or didn’t, a lot of things went differently otherwise she would probably be blind from breaking out of the Institute’s contract (and I feel like someone would have noted if she was blind). Not to mention all the timeline stuff going on right now, since the Institute burned down way earlier in this universe. Sam asks Gerry about the Magnus Institute and it seems to immediately change the atmosphere in the room.

SAM 

“(cont.) I was on one of their gifted kids programs and -um- I got hold of a list of a few of the other kids and thought it might be nice if we could get in contact, swap stories and that.”

GERRY 

“Yeah I barely remember any of it.”

Beat. GERTRUDE disapproves. 

SAM 

“Oh, so you were a candidate?”

GERRY 

“Oh yeah but I was pretty young. I remember filling in a bunch of forms and questionnaires then some old men asking me questions about what books I liked to read, who did I look up to, that kind of thing. Then I left.”

SAM 

“(Disappointed) That’s all?” 

GERRY 

“Yea, afraid so. Other than just sitting around with a bunch of other kids in a room that smelled like old books.”

There’s not much to go on here but it does vaguely point to why Sam might be trying to look into the Institute. He may have had some sort of supernatural encounter at this “gifted kids programs.” All the stuff about forms, questions, and old books could point to The Eye and prodding questions as well as information or even leitners but there isn’t a whole lot to go off of.

I admit, it is a bit funny seeing Gerry so much less depressed but Gertrude is as suspicious and snarky as ever. Sam thanks Celia for coming with him even though they’ve only known each other for a few weeks which makes me wonder if Celia has any ulterior motives Especially, if she recognized Jon’s voice from last episode, she might somehow be familiar with Gerard and Gertrude but that still doesn’t make a lot of sense to me at the moment. It could also just be that she tagged along because she’s also interested in The Magnus Institute.

Celia then asks for a sort of favor- “I’m trying to look into… Weird physics stuff: time travel, other dimensions, teleportation, all that good stuff. Freddy doesn’t really do searches, so could you keep an eye out and let me know if any come up in your cases?” If you read my last Quick Thoughts or even just listened to the last TMP episode you may have noticed that there’s actually a lot that could point to Celia having traveled from TMA using the gap in reality. If you want to hear more thoughts on that you can read the first part of the previous Quick Thoughts.

Celia mentions she is doing a favor for Georgie and her podcast. In TMA Georgie Barker ran a podcast called “What The Ghost?” Sam says he did some research on Celia which would imply that this favor is for this universe’s Georgie but I wonder if Celia is somehow trying to maintain contact with or travel back to the TMA universe. I also wonder if someone like Georgie even tried to send her after the Entities. In MAG 200 we get-

BASIRA

"Yeah okay, you’ve made your point. [sigh] Would just be nice to know for sure."

GEORGIE

"All we can do is hope."

Which could point to an interest in where the Entities have gone. Last article I mentioned that Celia could potentially be worshiping the Entities now, but I failed to consider that maybe she does still worship or look up to Georgie and / or Melanie and was either tasked with some mission or took it upon herself. This could also explain why she knows so much since someone like Georgie, Melanie or Basira could’ve just filled her in at some point after TMA or maybe someone tried to explain to Celia what was happening in the tunnels. This also could’ve been a mere accident or something else entirely. Maybe something even weirder is happening, like the Entities have jumped from more than one universe since we saw them in TMA so this Celia isn’t from the TMA universe (but that’s potentially a stretch with no information to go one).

Although, Celia’s comment about “Weird physics stuff: time travel, other dimensions, teleportation...” does potentially point to some of my original assertions that the Entities may not have immediately appeared in this universe within the same year / date they left the TMA universe because time can get a bit wibbly wobbly with interdimensional travel in the TMA multiverse. Not to mention that The Change also fucked with time, which could’ve thrown things off even more. Of course Sam saying “Uh, sounds a bit sci-fi compared to our usuals. What’s this for? You’re not doing research for that podcast you were on, are you?” seems like a jab at TMA and how the multiverse exists in relation to supernatural horrors of the podcast itself.

Conclusion

Overall, this episode is very weird. Even weirder than I remember when you start trying to sift for details and clues. The statement is weird and Celia is weird but I’m curious to see what happens next. What / who caused the Institute to burn down if not Gertrude and what does that mean for this universe? Also, what is the OIAR actually supposed to do? Are they merely reviewing supernatural encounters similar to the Institute or are they supposed to take a more active role?

[dalesramblingsblog]

On the subject of Chris and Roz ('cause I didn't want to hijack the other post more than was strictly necessary), I will say @st4rshiptr00per that it definitely takes them a little while for the writers to get to grips with them. Having gone back and re-read Sky Pirates! only recently, actually, what struck me is that, for all that Dave Stone's comparatively sidelining the duo in their own subplot stood out to me when I first read it back in 2021 (God I've been doing this thing for so long), he... kinda nails the dynamic and banter between the two of them.

I would say that the first truly great book with Roz and Chris in it that's great *because* of Roz and Chris (I like Head Games but it's a very broad and archetypal book; not that it misrepresents the characters, Steve Lyons captures them pretty well, but it's a book about the nature of storytelling so the characters don't really drive the plot as much as they would in a traditional Doctor Who story) is... well, predictably for Mr. Also People Stan, it's The Also People. Cannot stress enough how much I love that book, and Ben Aaronovitch is the first to *really* get Roz on a fundamental level, his portrait of her is sketched so damn vividly that it hurts and she gets a climactic monologue that is just utter perfection.

Past that, Shakedown is... well, it's Terrance Dicks, but throughout all of 1996 you generally have a pretty solid run of writers knowing how to write for Chris and Roz. Books like GodEngine or The Death of Art stand out a lot more for their poor handling of the duo - though admittedly part of that is that they don't even have Benny to fall back on at that point - than they would have a year earlier.

But yeah I love those two, they're definitely not always perfectly handled but the best books featuring them are very much engaged with the question of what it means to be a cop travelling in the TARDIS. I wrote a whole other post on the subject of the NAs, policing and Chris/Roz vs. Yaz back when I was finishing up the series (or at least the Doctorful instalments) with The Room With No Doors about a year ago when I first joined Tumblr, I think it was a pretty decent encapsulation of my thoughts (tho there's a mild spoiler for The Also People I suppose but eh it's a good enough book that it can withstand it.)

[yubel198]

Revival AU notes/Headcanons part 4

((Are we doing this again? yes we are!

Sorry it’s been awhile since the last one, my computer wouldn’t let Tumblr work anymore, broke my old iPad, opened up my other one, and just got a new computer all set up. My dad’s gonna be using my old Mac Mini until he can get a new one. I’m just glad to be back and writing headcanons for this crazy AU. especially after where I left off last time.

This’ll pick up after what happened in MAR10 Day btw))

** Regarding the stream, and Garcy’s whereabouts, Garcello hides in the park, away from everyone else from Saturday to Sunday, watching the stream

** despite what SMG4 said, Gar can’t keep away from making sure he’s okay, having a feeling he knows what’s he’s going through.

**Sunday night, Meggy finds him, worried out of her mind, as Axol begged her to help him find Garcello.

**the two hug and Meggy takes Gar back to her place to clean up, where Mario’s been staying.

** Mario shows Garcy what the main event was, which hurts to see.

** the others, minus SMG3, show up, see Gar, and hug, thankful he’s okay.

** Meggy, Mario, and the others find out that Garcello’s been keeping an eye on SMG4 via the stream, when Annie asked why, he tells them “I’m worried about him, I’ve seen this behavior before.”

** SMG3 stops by, sees Garcy, and they hug.

** after the upgrades to SMG3, SMG4, Boopkins, and Meggy, along with the takeover from the castle, Gar, Niles, and Axol help, along with Steven and Glitchy Red.

** Niles and Garcy get pulled into the castle with SMG3, Meggy, and Mario.

** During the moments upstairs, after SMG3 laments about how he knows how SMG4′s feeling regarding SMG4′s thoughts, Niles is reminded of what happened in Revelations, wanting the perfect universe, bringing him to tears.

**Three and Meggy comfort him.

** Garcello remembers what happened with Lucks and Sheridan, even himself once, regarding his smoking before he died. He however says nothing.

** During the final encounter with SMG4 while he’s under Winston’s control (I think everyone’s calling the TV Adware creature Winston so I will too) SMG3, Niles, Mario, and Meggy say their pieces, Garcello however tells him he’s been in his position, knowing he has people that care about him, which is more important than any video.

** SMG4 still breaks through in the end.

**Meggy, Niles and Mario escape the castle, Garcello runs back with SMG3 after Four.

** Gar helps the two finish the video

** *the three escape and cling to the side, with Three reminding Four they’re (boy)friends, saving the two.

** Garcello climbs up himself, with Three and Fours help, getting hugged by everyone else.

** In between “It’s Gotta Be Perfect” and “My Roommate Mario” Garcello lets SMG4 stay with him for a week.

** During that week, SMG4 is apologetic for what he said while crazy on MAR10 Day, and keeps trying to make up for it throughout the week. This includes doing the chores all over the house, making dinner, and kinda overworking himself again.

** Garcello does intervene and just hugs him, explaining he knows what he went through again.

** their interaction during this: SMG4: Gar, I... I hurt you... why don’t you hate me? Garcello: .... Four... I know you weren’t in the right state of mind. SMG4: .... I wish I could take it back... *clings to him* you’re my friend... *tears up* .... I’m glad to have you in my life Garcy... I’m so sorry! *SMG4′s crying and clinging to him* Garcello: *holds him, let’s him cry*

**Garcello does forgive SMG4, by the two having a rap battle. Four accepts.

** Fun times all around.

** The guys all settle in to the Showgrounds.

((now onto other important matters))

** as of March, SMG1 and SMG2 are now engaged to be married

** the other engaged couples know 3 and 4 are next.

** Terrance and Eggdog seem to cuddle with SMG3 while he sleeps, which he doesn’t mind.

** SMG4 often gets called Jelly Bean by Ruby, mostly because he can be a bean at times.

** much like with SMG1 calling SMG2 Gumdrop thanks to Garcello, SMG3 starts calling SMG4 Jelly Bean, thanks to Ruby.

** SMG1 does get a pet name from Two, that being Bubble Gum (if you think about it, SMG1 kinda looks like a piece of blue bubble gum)

** Because of his “spicy” attitude, SMG4 calls Three “Cinnamon” to be cute. It always makes Three all flustered.

** SMG3 is best Tsundere, change my mind.

** As of the Easter story, Garcello has reunited with Masa

** While Meggy isn’t the best cook, she does watch cooking shows with Garcello from time to time, same for Desti

** Desti can’t cook either, sadly.

** Kaizo and Mario are both scared of Annie’s Liquid form

** Steven can control his “Inner Madness” aka S!3v3n, but if he’s provoked, or someone says something that’s considered, “Too far” Steven will lose control and black out.

** Mario learned this the hard way once, and is scared of S!3v3n

** Unfortunately, so is Niles (Yellow gave me the idea in her Ask the Gang series)

** BF and GF reunited with Garcello, a rematch was held.

** Mario has a tendency to T-pose when spaghetti’s mentioned.

** Bob and Birdo are dating, Swag’s married to Sonic, meanwhile Mario still gets no bitches.

((that’s all I have right now, but more is to come later down the line guys. thank you!))

[rustbeltjessie]

Recent additions to my library. The top two—Modern Poetry by Diane Seuss and Watch Your Language by Terrance Hayes—were gifts from an anonymous Tumblr follower (thank you so much!). The bottom book—a gorgeously illustrated edition of (selections from) Pablo Neruda's Book of Questions, was one I bought for myself and my kiddos.

[asekx]

shadowhunters rp advert

hello!

my name is terrance (they/he) i've been writing an rping for seven years now and am looking for new partners to write with :)

i like to work with a combination of ocs and canon characters. in almost every project I have, I have a handful of ocs thrown into the mix and I encourage you to use yours too, if you'd like. I will write for just about any character when they are needed to be involved as well, and fully plan on playing a multitude of characters. if you'd like to see more about my ocs, please check here on my oc blog, @x-ceirios-x

my ocs are mostly based in the mortal instruments universe, though can be translated to the tv show if you prefer that. i haven't (yet) branched into the other series.

i only write in third person and prefer not to work with first person. i write semi lit to lit, leaning more heavily on the literate side, but I'm flexible. i will not work with using ** for actions; I prefer traditional prose.

i'm willing to rp on tumblr, discord, or amino where I'm also sometimes active. i prefer the former two.

i'm not interested in writing any kind of smut. suggestive content is okay, but I like a good fade-to-black moment.

i would prefer not to work with anyone younger than 15 or older than 25, just for my own comfort since I'm about in the middle of that. i also prefer not to share my age online, so I trust people respect my wishes.

please dm me if you're interested, or send an ask to my inbox!

[daemion]

Hi! :)

I'm daemion (he/it 22) literally a cat in real life unfortunately sorry

trans (T💉since 3/21/23) and bi lol

I post art sometimes and make nonsense posts.

if i tag something with a name (ex. "david") its about one of my characters, not a fandom tag or a real person.

My interests/hobbies: Writing, drawing, comics/manga, and Video games (splatoon, balatro, slay the spire, minecraft, terraria, etc.).

dni: terfs, transphobes, etc. i block people !

My projects:

+: My main project. Currently on my tenth draft of it that makes pretty significant changes to the plot, structure, and characters. It's about a group of young adults trying to find out what happened to two of their friends who went missing.

I really like + and i enjoy talking about it more than any other project. I've been working on it since late 2015 so there are a lot of different versions of it. The most important drafts (ones I talk about the most) are draft 2, 7, 8, 9 and the most current one 10. Draft 6 is also relevant because it is the worst version that has written content. Drafts 1, 3, 4, and 5 most exist as notes and art, draft 1 is entirely physical comics I drew in 2015, so I don't have much to say about them.

If you're curious about any specifics about the project, please feel free to ask questions about it! I'm currently trying to motivate myself to write out comprehensive character information and make full designs for a lot of the characters.

When talking about specific aspects of + drafts I try to tag the draft (example: draft 9 +) and any characters discussed. This is mainly for me and a lot of them are contextualized fully because they're for me, but if you wanna look you can :)

Characters: David, Chris, Valentine, Eli, Clementine, Madi, Olive, Jay, Jaxson, Evan, Vincent, Vanessa, and a few more, but the main ones you'll be hearing about on my blog are the first 5 listed.

She Saw: My comic based on an old draft of +, draft 2. A 3 and half part long story about a lesbian who finds the dead body of one of her best friend's boyfriends and gets sucked into a conflict involving that, all the while experiencing high school and seeing horrific visions. What is complete of it is posted on tumblr and DA as well as a few other comic sites? I believe. If you're interested its @shesawcomic, I haven't worked on completing it since 2019.

If your curious about the + connection, every character in She Saw has a direct analog in draft 2 + character. The main character, who's name isn't revealed until the end of the current part, is Veronica (now Madi) from +, Faith is Valentine, the unnamed boy is Daemion (now David), Terrance is Chris (arguably also Eli, they are interchangeable in draft 2), Mary is Mary, Kate is Kathy. There was an additional character who was not revealed at the time I stopped writing, and was the only character without a + analog, though her situation could be based on a number of characters I've written before. Everything I write is derivative of itself.

Characters: Her (shesaw), him (shesaw), Terrance, Faith, Mary, Kate. (All of them got finished refs this summer :D)

WWW: New project. A comic based on an old draft of +, draft 2, 3, and 4. Unlike She Saw, which sought to recreate the high school segment of draft 2 (a, if I am remembering correctly, 16 page long section) WWW seeks to replicate and add on to the main plot of draft 2, taking into consideration traits added to the characters after that draft. The comic is about Cici who lives in the middle of nowhere on a dairy farm separated from the rest of society until a woman named Juliet comes and helps him escape. Juliet, a woman obsessed with obscure religious groups, practices, and magic, convinces Cici help her work towards her goal of achieving immortality. Unfortunately, when they do achieve something, it's not a glamorous as Juliet described it to be. - WWW is an abbreviation of a test/temporary name that might not stick.

Similar to She Saw, WWW characters also has connections to + characters, but they're really obvious in my mind so i'm just choosing to have that be a funny thing that people who know + characters would notice.

Characters: Cici, Juliet, Sammy.

Seagull: Another newer project. A comic/short story about a half wolf half human man who's sent to work and live on a "lighthouse" in the middle of the ocean to keep watch for "something in the water". He quickly discovers that his lighthouse has attracted a strange angel that resembles the seagulls.

Characters: Jupiter, Seagull (haven't named him yet), Coral

For the 3 projects that are not + listed above, I'm happy to answer any questions! WWW is my main focus aside from +, She Saw is in limbo, and Seagull is kind of a side project.

[tcs-selfship-paradise]

(Click the pictures in case Tumblr killed the Quality)

Here's a little comic that I did. This isn't me necessarily experimenting with a line less art style. I just got very sick of doing line art with my art style.

Since Scoop Scoop's is a shop/business, there are bound to be Addisons... These two Addisons are workers at Scoop Scoop's. The green one is Terry X. Terrance (Yes, his name is a joke about computer files), who writes the articles, and pink one is Perri D. Fuller (Again, computer file joke) who restocks/ carries newspapers.

They don't know who Spamton is, but Spamton doesn't know that... Plus, I think it's safe to say whatever happened with the Addisons that he did knew probably left a bad taste in his mouth about other Addisons...

[demonicintegrity]

Everyone’s pulling comic/manga artists and storyboarders so I can’t wait to bring out Dana Terrance and two tumblr artists no one else is gonna recognize lmao

“Put down three artists and some of their works into a ppt to explain what you like about them/what inspires you”

Me, too go gets 99% of their art from tumblr: 💦💦

[tysore]

No DS9 content (sorry because IK thats what most of my followers are here for) but Im going to do a good lot of AMS fanart because its that time of the year, spooky time!!

I put Terrance Zdunich in his halloween costume from last year with a heart bc of his character Mr Tender and the fact that his symbol is a heart.

I don’t know but please enjoy!!

[captainderyn]

A Simple Cup of Tea

It’s about time Terrance and Idan got the official “how they met” fic :’) 

Idan of course, belongs to the lovely @lumielles​

--

Read on AO3

   “It’s no trouble.” Satele’s tone most certainly suggested that it was in fact trouble, though whether it was Idan’s trouble or a different kind, he wasn’t sure. “You see, the Council made a last minute, unanimous decision.”

 From the way some of the other Jedi’s expressions twitched, they were having great fun with that decision. Suspicion rose like a grey cloud in Idan’s mind.

“We are granting you a padawan.” Satele’s words dropped like a cinder block between the Council and Idan.

  In fact, a weight seemed to fall across the room like a blanket, something heavy and loaded.

 He couldn’t seem to find the words that he wanted. There was hardly any way that he could be qualified to train anyone, let alone one of the young, impressionable minds of the Jedi. But he couldn’t simply deny the will of the Council. They stared at him expectantly, eyes boring into him, practically daring him to say no.

Under their expectant looks, he cleared his throat and said, “That is...such an honor. I don’t know where to begin. Who, may I ask, is my padawan?”

The doors to the Council chambers banged open, and Satele sighed, long and deep. “Ah...Terrance. How good of you to make a good first impression.”

The padawan that Idan had been watching earlier was practically being frog marched in by his Master. The red hue in the Master’s face had turned slightly purple, making his cybernetics stand out brilliantly. Had Terrance not suddenly tore himself away with a strong jolt of anger in the Force, Idan was convinced he would’ve gone limp and boneless rather than move another step.

[drakedoo]

Grave robber head canons

He is gender fluid pansexual(yeah ,screw you Terrance,I’m making  your self insert character a part of the LGBTQA+)

Him and Amber are officially dating (screw Grilo shippers, y’all be nasty🤮)

After Nathan and Mags dies, Graves takes Shilo in under his wing and becomes her guardian and moves into the Wallace house and they form a sibling type bond

He LOOOOVES rats and will bring them into the house all the time

Has a pet one named Finley

But he’s absolutely TERRIFIED of bugs.

Shilo takes advantage of that and Will try to freak him out anytime she can with her bugs

No joke this girl ,while they were outside, and he was collecting Zydrate in a graveyard, picks up a massive spider and says “Graves, look what I got”

He turns around and screams as high as his naturally low voice can go and jumps on top of a tombstone with absolute terror on his face. Of course Shi find it absolutely hilarious that he screams so high, he’s screaming to put it down and stop messing around. 

“ you can work with dead people but you’re terrified of bugs?!  you’re kidding right?😀”

“KID, I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU DON’T PUT IT DOWN RIGHT NOW!”

Or he could be in the kitchen making food, and all the sudden a massive spider or beetle, or centipede crawls on the floor near him and he screams in pure terror and jumps on top of the cabinets or the fridge

He’s a heavy sleeper and nothing wakes him up once he’s knocked out.

SNORES SO LOUD(I saw this head canon from another Tumblr post but I don’t remember who😅)

Has the nastiest hair mats and it irks Amber so much

Amber could just cutely be playing with his hair and all of a sudden her fingers get stuck

“ have you never heard of a brush?!”

“ too much work to brush it”

Amber basically hold him down and brushes every single mat,knot,and tangle,out of his hair and even braids it

Likes to have his nails painted

They could just a simple black polish, to nail polish matching the current hair highlights he has

But he constantly has to redo it because they get chipped often

Expresses his gender identity and sexuality through his hair

Like one day he comes home ,goes to the bathroom with a bag full of hair dye and comes out with pansexual or gender fluid colors in his hair(actually I think that would look really good can someone please do that🥹)

is a tall person even without his boots on

he’s maybe 5’11 without his boots on and 6’0-6’1 With his boots on

Even after repo men are no longer around and genecops aren’t searching for grave robbers anymore(I believe that when Amber takes over that she makes a new policy where there’s no more Organ repossession and that Grave robbing is legal) he still yells graves at the top of his lungs in a graveyard just for the hell of it

Sometimes Shilo wakes up in the middle of the night from night terrors, and he runs in the room and hold her close to soothe her,and he softly hums or sings a tune to calm her down and Soothe her back to sleep(I mean this in a sibling/platonic way! Not a ship/romantic way! I’m trying to make that very clear that I do not ship these two!)

When Shilo’s hair starts growing back her hair starts looking like a Q-tip, so that’s exactly what he calls her

“ what are you up to,Q-tip ”

“ so my nickname went from kid to Q-tip?”

“ you look like a Q-tip😁”

Him and Shilo always have playful sibling banters, or will just argue over the stupidest stuff

“ so you think the earth is flat? Graves are you an idiot”

“Well on old maps it’s flat sooooo🤷‍♀️”

Likes to get in peoples face for absolutely no reason, just to try to start shit

Amber could be doing work in her office and all of a sudden he gets in her face

“ Babe what the fuck are you doing“

*stares in silence still in her face*

Amber gets absolutely pissed and he start laughing. 

So yeah that’s all I could think of for now and let me know if you want me to do another fandom or even other repo characters

Update: oh wow I was not expecting so many people to like these especially since this was just me writing as they went along. But I really appreciate it and it’s really cool to see that repo! Tumblr is still alive❤️🥲

[elfboyeros]

The Importance of The Owl House {A Thesis (?) on Good LGBTQIA+ Representation in Media}

I don't think I have to talk the lot of you all on Tumblr that The Owl House has good LGBTQIA+ representation, this is a microblogging website for ✨the gays✨ but I have thoughts on the show and its representation, especially because this is "children's show" on the Disney Channel!

The Owl House came out in 202O and was created by the lovely Dana Terrace, who as I understand it worked on beloved Gravity Falls (2012, Alex Hirsch) back in the day, {*Gently Holds* THANK YOU DANA TERRACE, MY BELOVED} and is, as Wikipedia describes it, a Fantasy Horror Comedy.

The show is great! It ticks all the boxes for me, chief, which also means it has good LGBTQIA+ representation! As an Asexual and Nonbinary person, I feel seen!

And yes, other shows have the representation I am looking for. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) have queer representation thanks to Noelle Stevenson, and no matter how to feel about Steven Universe (2013) Rebecca Sugar moved a mountain in queer representation, so shows that wanted to include queer topics could thrive in a cable space! Although they don't do it like The Owl House!

First off, She-ra and the Princesses of Power is on Netflix, and despite the fact that She-ra target audience is children, a stream serves like Netflix can and does get away with "walking the line," plus beside a few references to two women being in a relationship and queer undertones, most of the queer representation happened in the final season.

Secondly, it is public knowledge that Rebecca Sugar at to twist the truth about what Steven Universe was about so Cartoon Network would consider putting it on the air, and dispute fighting for a lesbian wedding later in the series run, language like wife, and girlfriend are never use when talking about queer characters.

Compared to The Owl House, Danna Terrace was open and honest with those at Disney that Luz, The show's main character, would be Bisexual!

“In [development] I was very open about my intention to put queer kids in the main cast. I’m a horrible liar so sneaking it in would’ve been hard,” Terrace wrote. “When we were greenlit I was told by certain Disney leadership that I could not represent any form of bi or gay relationship on the channel.” (Variety) “I’m bi! I want to write a bi character, dammit!” Terrace tweeted. “Luckily my stubbornness paid off and now I am very supported by current Disney leadership.”

To add recent episodes have not to beat around the bush and showed the term "girlfriend" to reference the relationship that has now form between Luz and Amity!

THIS IS A SHOW ON THE DISNEY CHANNEL AND HAS BEEN MAKING HISTORY!

Alex Hirsch had to tell someone that works on Gravity Falls that they couldn't add an old lesbian couple in a few frames because Disney would not approve!

The language and the force are important for that watching! The young queer kids that are consuming the media and the cishet adults that are having to watch it alongside their children. Using the term Girlfriends with "extreme" force like in "Eclipse Lake" shows that these two young female-presenting characters are not "just friends". The use of Them/they pronouns in "Eda's Requiem" and other episodes not only refer to the character of Raine Whispers and other characters that we don't know the identity of, normalize the use of they/them pronouns to refer to a single person!

The Owl House is making history thanks to Dana Terrance's "studdorness", the queer fans that are starved for quality reperestation, and the progressing society that is allowing it to say on the air instead of setting it on fire because it is "abnormal".

Granted there are still people out there that wish The Owl House would not be a piece of Queer media, and are trying to do everything to kill it on sight, although let's enjoy the fact that we have made this far in the world of media and we have a beautiful show with amazing resperantation for LGBTQIA+ individuals!

-Eros/Cupid!

[pawmesan]

Due to the interest in the ship having grown thanks to the Pandemic Special and it always having it's comfy little place in my heart (which I should express more through art maybe lolol), let me compile a few important Stanman/Cartan scenes, which might serve as an explanation for that specific scene in the special too. Since I've noticed quite a few people questioned Cartman's action being in character, to which I say: Yes, it was. And that not only due to his relation to Stan, but I will focus on that part only in my unneccesarily long post. :'D (Honestly I personally love long over-analytical tumblr posts for South Park ships though lmao.)

Season 2, Episode 7: "City on the Edge of Forever"

This one isn't really deep or anything lol. The point is just that Stan had a wacky dream that Cartman dreamed about wacky stuff and ice cream and that was kinda cute.

Season 6, Episode 4: "Fun with Veal"

Now this episode is the biggest and earliest example of Cartman ditching his personal believes for Stan's well-being. Cartman couldn't care less about saving the baby cows and getting the support from the hippies later on, as well as initially not getting any food during the strike, just pissed him off more. Talking with the negotiator really just was for his personal fun, but the thing is he was successful with Stan's initial plan and quit the negotiation process early because he noticed Stan's health worsening. When they get to the hospital at the end and learned that Stan could have died from his totally realistic illness, you clearly see Cartman worried, as shown in the picture above. It might seem out of character on the surface, but consider that Cartman did get his personal fun with the negotiation. Additionally, the season before with the buttface people, we learned that Cartman does care about some people, but when he genuinely does so, he won't openly admit it.

Season 8, Episode 14: "Woodland Critter Christmas"

On the assumption that Cartman's depiction of his friends in this very.. special fanfic of his reflects his views on them, it is notable how Stan is not only pretty much in character, but also depicted very positively and is the hero of the story. Also he gets a really nice Christmas celebration at the end of it and actual Stan, alongside nearly all classmates, are very hooked with the story.

Season 9, Episode 8: "Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow"

Whether he is mainly picking on Kyle or not, Cartman clearly seems to enjoy his lone-time with Stan. And given Stan's reaction to the boat and all, that appears pretty much mutual. Moreover, Cartman making extra sure that Stan won't tell Kyle is probably both jealousy over Stan's trust towards Kyle as well as Cartman of course just not wanting Kyle to know of all people. I don't think it's exaggerating to say that overall, Cartman would really like to get closer to Stan and have Stan trust him more. As untrustworthy as Cartman unfortunately is though lol.

Season 13, Episode 14: "Pee"

It's really only the little moment seen above where at their reunion, Cartman ignores the others and runs over to Stan to hug him (who seems pretty unphased by that). And I thought that was kinda cute lol.

Season 18, Episode 6: "Freemium isn't Free"

Kyle, Kenny and Cartman are all pretty pissed off at Jimmy upon finding out that he spread the Terrance and Phillip freemium game despite knowing how addictive it can be. However it's just notable how pissed off Cartman is and how he specifically mentions Stan. So aside from just thinking freemium games are lame, he's also particularly pissed that Jimmy took advantage of Stan's addictive personality.

Season 21, Episode 5: "Hummels & Heroin"

Another very beloved moment by the 3.5 Stanman shippers (me included) out there. Stan is worried about the drug dealing business at the retirement home - and previous episodes have shown clearly that he cares about his grandpa quite a lot - and asks his friends for help to deal with that issue. They all are very much against getting involved, including Cartman initially, but he does come up with an idea. And upon Stan stating that he needs him, he decides to help (dragging the others with them). Whether it's just Cartman's enjoyment of getting involved in wacky stuff, him enjoying to be needed in general or it being an extra sweet flavour for him because it's Stan asking, it's just nice to know that he reaches out to help after all. And yes, that's very much unlike the whale wars episode and I'd say that's because the former had the hippie involvement, yet no Stan in immediate visible danger like in the veal episode.

With all of that summed up - and I probably left out several smaller moments -, the reason I wrote all this is literally just because I like this ship, know not many do so, but quite a few people have picked up interest due to the Pandemic Special and probably just as many (I'm assuming people not as overly invested in the show as I am LOL) saw Cartman's reaction as really out of character. Although I would argue that Kyle comforting Stan right there would have been much more out of character, but that's another topic entirely and I don't wanna ruin anyone's fun on shipping Style.

But yeah. Thing is, Cartman has shown empathy for people before. Cartman has specifically shown empathy for Stan before. He won't speak it out loud when he genuinely cares about someone, so he didn't here either. Kyle of course is baffled by Cartman's reaction, given their relationship. And lastly Cartman deep down would like normality back just like Stan, so he can rip on Kyle and have fun going out like usual and all. But it's Eric Cartman, of course he'll deny that.

Stupid funfact on the side: In S20 I think, when they're regretting having destroyed Cartman's devices, Stan looks at Snapchat pictures of Cartman's butt lol and I think that's just beautiful.

Dude have I really written a whole essay about why I like shipping these paper eggs lmao