#with all the marmalisation elements on it

[victorluvsalice]

-->And then it was down to the barn for the grand awakening of Smiler’s Servo! Because, obviously, I had to get that done for the party. I managed to get everyone in there and looking in the right direction for one good picture, but by the time Smiler actually ACTIVATED the Servo, Alice had managed to slip my leash and gone outside to shower in the rain. *sigh* Why isn't the creation of a Servo something Sims are compelled to watch? I think it's a pretty big deal! *shakehead* Anyway, Smiler pulled the big lever, and after a bright flash, the Servo came to life, stumbling off its creation station –

Already terrified of the NEW thunderstorm revving up outside. *sigh* Oh, and without any eyes on its faceplate for some reason (possibly the “Scared” emotion doesn’t show correctly? Or my game was just glitching out a little, which is entirely possible...) Somewhat concerned, I made a note to have Alice change the weather to clear skies once she was done showering, then started working on customizing the Servo (vaguely noticing Victor running off into the rain to clean up some puddles as I did). I gave him (as I'd initialized him as male) the name Marm L. Iser (geddit? :p), then checked the traits he'd had been initialized with. For some reason, his starting aspiration was the one from Home Chef Hustle about mastering small appliances (I had Alice switch to that recently off one of the Wellness ones, and thanks to her running off to shower in the rain again I’d clicked on her right before Marm woke up, so maybe that had something to do with it?), so he had the Essence of Flavor trait from starting with one of the Culinary aspirations –

And his other three traits were Lazy, Loyal, and Loner. XD Oh cripes, what a combination! Especially since I made this thing to try and help out with the chores and the store… To my annoyance, though, Marm had also spawned with a dislike of Funny Sims (how?? Your creator is SMILER), so I decided to try and change that in CAS –

Only to discover I couldn’t. Because the game WILL NOT LET YOU. Probably because you’re not supposed to be able to change a Servo’s traits in CAS, and the likes/dislikes thing is linked to that. *huffs* Well, that sucks! And makes me a little nervous about how I'm going to customize any Wheatley servo I may make/download for any future Tiny Town challenge saves...

-->Anyway – with no way to change Marm’s likes and dislikes on my own (I tried seeing if having him reprogram his own traits would do the trick, but that’s literally just traits, not likes/dislikes), I settled for making him gold so he’d be the right color for a Smiler-related Servo, then breathed a sigh of relief as his mood changed to happy and his eyes finally properly appeared on his faceplate. Hooray! I set about having him and Smiler get to know each other while Alice got on changing the weather before the party and Victor started running back to the barn to join the conversation at my direction –

ONLY TO GET STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. O.O Not fatally, the first time’s always free in The Sims 4, but that was a frankly terrifying moment! D: The poor guy ended up heavily scorched and dazed –

And immediately went “I deserve a cupcake after that” and headed to the greenhouse mini-fridge to get one. XD Which I happily let him do, because he DID deserve a cupcake after that. Damn. Only do that if you’re gonna give him the cool lighting powers, game!

[cablestwisted]

A collection of Festival of Thrills images! More coming over the course of this month. The lore surrounding this event is Phenomenal and I'm having a fantastic time!

[writinggremlin]

OOO!!! As a roller coaster nerd, I can confirm that they have a point!! Though The Smiler feels a little more spooky than Corporate Retreat to me. Maybe it's something more akin to like... Corporate Retreat meets WTNV Desert Bluffs, in a roller coaster form.

I'm pretty sure there's a sign at the ride that explains the different elements that are supposed to make the riders smile, but I'm struggling to find it right now lol.

Update: *crawling out of the void, covered in blood* I FOUND IT!!!! There's actually 2 versions apparently. The original had The Inoculator as a injection drug (the image for it was a syringe), and the new one is--... idk. The Inoculator, I guess lmao. Here's the two for comparison! (Old is on the left, new/current is on the right. Alt text has a transcription of the board if it's hard to read. I know how Tumblr is with image compression.)

Together, those 5 elements make up The Marmaliser; a spider-like contraption with 5 legs that sits in the middle of the track. Riders make their way around each of the legs, gradually getting brainwashed in the process.

On a technical note, this coaster is an absolute marvel of engineering. Seriously. They fit over 1,000 meters of track into such a small compact area, it's insane. It's also the world record holder for the most inversions on a single roller coaster (14!!!)! I'm pretty sure Alton Towers (the park this coaster is located at) is the park that doesn't let coasters go above the tree line either. Could be wrong on that one-- some European park does it iirc. Pretty sure it was primarily to do with not ruining the aesthetics.

But yeah, it's genuinely impressive. Gerstlauer (the company who made The Smiler) is actually one of my favorite coaster companies, and though I haven't ridden many coasters (the main amusement park in my state only recently started building more coasters), they've built my favorite one: The Monster. First coaster with inversions I've ever ridden too.

Anygay-- sorry for the infodump-- I just saw this and the hyperfixation was triggered lmao. I hope to ride The Smiler one day, all of those inversions alone would be enough to get me smiling lmao. (Also now I'm inspired. Hypnotic amusement park rides, anyone? 👀)

Corporate Retreat really reminds me of The Smiler :)

I looked this up, apparently a roller coaster with a brainwashing theme? I'm not a big roller coaster person but I might make an exception...

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday: Smiler's Otherland -- Weapons!

We've done the domains -- time to cover Smiler's marmalising arsenal! Well, if you can call it that, given these weapons are all nonlethal unless Smiler's in their version of Hysteria Mode... These admittedly got covered pretty well in the original post, but I wanted to expand a little bit upon what each one does (both in normal and Hysteria modes) and what their upgrade paths might look like --

Vorpal Spoon: As previously indicated, this came about because I needed an equivalent to Alice's famous Vorpal Blade, and since Victor got the Vorpal Fork thanks to his big fight scene in Corpse Bride involving him using a barbecue fork...well, I guess Smiler wanted to complete the cutlery set. XD

Look -- An oversized silver spoon with a black handle grip (with little yellow spirals painted on it, natch) and a twisted slatted "neck" (the part that actually connects the handle and the bowl) -- it's supposed to look like a heartline roll, which is the first inversion on the Smiler coaster. The bowl itself is a bit oversized, and would probably be engraved either with spirals, or the full-on swirly-eyed Smiler logo.

Effect -- Not having any sharp bits like the Blade or Fork, the Spoon is instead a stunning weapon -- Smiler bops enemies on the head with it, and they freeze for a few seconds, unable to move, while swirls go around their heads. Perfect for giving Victor or Alice the chance to get in close with a more lethal weapon! The Hysteria Mode version would still stun the enemy, but also cause damage as Smiler hits harder.

Upgrade Path -- Like the Vorpal Blade and the Vorpal Fork, the look of this weapon doesn't change as you upgrade it -- instead, the trail it leaves as Smiler swings it and the spirals that appear around bopped enemies changes. I'm thinking we start with simple black spirals, then move to purple, yellow, and finally a whole rainbow of spirals.

The Inoculator: One of the elements of the Marmaliser, and probably one of the most famous, since -- well. Big needle full of mind-control juice! That grabs people's interest! This is the equivalent of Alice's Pepper Grinder or Victor's Wedding Wine, functioning much like the latter.

Look -- A big old syringe (about the size of the Pepper Grinder) with a copper needle and plunger and a glass barrel full of yellow liquid (Joy Serum). The serum drains as Smiler presses the plunger, and will need a few seconds to refill -- longer if Smiler empties it completely.

Effect -- Smiler can depress the plunger to squirt out the serum onto enemies -- any enemy hit by the stuff ends up covered in dripping yellow liquid for a short time, and during that time, is friendly to Smiler (and Victor and Alice, if they are present). The enemy will also attack other enemies if they are present. The Hysteria Mode version is a full on "needle jab" attack, where Smiler gets in close and actually injects an enemy with Joy Serum -- this causes the enemy to take some damage from getting stuck, but also turns them completely yellow and makes them fight at Smiler's side for longer.

Upgrade Path -- The needle and plunger go from copper, to silver, to gold, to black; the barrel gradually gains some minor decoration in the form of swirly engravings, and the Joy Serum inside gets more and more excited, going from just plain liquid, to bubbling a bit, to actively fizzing, to occasionally having the Smiler logo fade in and out of it.

The Tickler: Another Marmaliser element, big fuzzy rollers designed to tickle people -- though I wouldn't be surprised if most people looked at them and thought "car wash." :p This is the equivalent of Alice's Hobby Horse or Victor's Grim Scythe.

Look -- The ride Tickler is made up of big car wash brushes; mine is a paint roller. XD Specifically, it's a long black pole with a large fuzzy yellow roller mounted on the end. Just -- picture a paint roller, yeah.

Effect -- This is another weapon designed to stun -- Smiler hits enemies with it and rolls the roller over them, and they get incapacitated for a short time with laughter, as shown by little yellow "ha ha ha"s coming out of their bodies. It's got better reach and stuns for longer than the Vorpal Spoon, but Smiler can't swing it as fast, or move as fast while they're using it. Like the Vorpal Spoon, the Hysteria Mode version of the attack has Smiler hit harder and more aggressively, actually causing damage while also stunning the enemy for a bit longer.

Upgrade Path -- The pole goes from plain black, to black-and-white-striped, to black-and-yellow-striped, to black-white-and-yellow-striped. The roller, meanwhile, goes from plain yellow, to yellow-and-black-striped (like it's presented in The Smiler Game), to black-white-and-yellow-striped, to black-white-yellow-and-purple-striped.

The Flasher: Another Marmaliser element, and the one that most people I think would be fine skipping, as it does involve being flashed with bright light. This is what makes The Smiler fandom not great for anyone who doesn't like or can't view flashing images! This functions much like Alice's Clockwork Bomb or Victor's Altar Candle.

Look -- A medium-sized yellow box covered on all four sides and the top with light bulbs -- a set of six to a side. The bulbs blink on and off occasionally.

Effect -- Smiler puts this down on the ground, holding a small black switch in their hand as they then move about freely. The Flasher will remain where it is placed, with bulbs blinking on and off randomly to attract enemies. After thirty seconds, or when Smiler presses the switch, the box will let off a brilliant flash using all its bulbs at once, then explode, stunning all nearby enemies briefly. It can also be used to hold down switches temporarily. In Hysteria Mode, the explosion is accompanied by flying glass from the bulbs and thus actually causes damage. (I know the Clockbomb Bomb doesn't really have a "Hysteria Mode" equivalent like the main weapons, but I still like this idea.)

Upgrade Path -- N/A -- as the Clockwork Bomb has no upgrades, neither does this. (Given it can literally blind enemies from the start, does it really need them?)

The Giggler: Another Marmaliser element, this one being tanks full of laughing gas sprayed at riders as they pass. This one doesn't get a lot of love -- I think most people are more into the Inoculator's Joy Serum -- but I like it as it's fun and, from what I can see, the gas itself is the ride's explicit purple element. :) It's the equivalent of Alice's Teapot Cannon or Victor's Quill Bow.

Look -- A small tank about the size of the Teapot Cannon, with a black top and bottom over a clear glass middle, showing the purple Giggler gas. A black handle with a trigger is attached to one side, and a black nozzle on a short flexible black hose is attached to the other. Smiler holds it by gripping the handle in one hand and holding the nozzle with the other.

Effect -- Smiler can depress the trigger in the handle to release clouds of gas from the nozzle, which then drift toward nearby enemies -- the longer they hold the trigger, the bigger the resultant cloud, and the faster it moves. Any enemies hit by the cloud end up tinted purple with a purple "ha ha ha" over their heads, and, like with the Inoculator, end up friendly to Smiler and will attack other enemies for them. The clouds have better reach than the Inoculator and can go through barriers, but the tank empties faster than the syringe and takes longer to refill -- it's best used with large groups of enemies, as the clouds can affect multiple enemies at once. The Hysteria Mode version would have Smiler getting up closer to give enemies a bigger dose of gas straight in the kisser, causing damage from lack of oxygen but also making the enemies brighter purple and keeping them loyal for longer.

Upgrade Path -- The top, bottom, and handle of the tank go from black, to white, to yellow, to yellow-and-black-striped; the actual tank gets engraved swirly decorations, then an engraved Smiler Logo with a hazardous X on the bottom, like can be seen in the front in this Tower Times picture; and the nozzle and hose go from plain black, to black-and-white-striped, to black-and-yellow-striped, to black-white-and-yellow-striped.

The Hypnotiser: The final element on the Marmaliser, and probably the other most famous/liked one of the lot, basically just a lot of spinning spirals and other patterns designed to, well, hypnotize. This would be the equivalent of Alice's Umbrella or Victor's Sketchbook.

Look -- A large disc on a black pole, printed with concentric white, yellow, and black spirals (much like the eyes in the logo), which spins at a steady rate.

Effect -- Smiler can pull this out and use the disc to reflect back projectiles or as a defensive shield. It also has a chance of distracting enemies so they don't attack, leaving them open to another weapon. The Hysteria Mode attack would be -- hmmm. Maybe if Smiler pulls it out, it can frenzy enemies into attacking whoever or whatever is closest? (Again, I know the Umbrella doesn't have an Hysteria Mode attack, but come on, it's fun.)

Upgrade Path -- N/A again, as the Umbrella never gets upgraded. (Though if it did have one, I'd imagine the spirals would get more complex -- maybe it would start with just black and white spirals and gradually add the yellow?)

Whew -- I think that covers all their current weapons pretty thoroughly! Once again I count myself lucky that the ride's various "Marmaliser" elements could be so easily converted to weapons. :p Next time in Smiler Otherland news, we'll talk outfits! At least, those outfits I've managed to figure out...

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday: Smiler’s Otherland!

This feels like an appropriate post to make today, given it is both Alice’s birthday and the tail end of the Smiler Takeover at Alton Towers. And frankly, it’s one that I probably should have done long before, given how enthusiastically I designed an Otherland for Victor back when I was deep in the Forgotten Vows Verse! I blame Wonderland-related thoughts for Smiler being in short supply on my main AUs with them being the type that don’t lend themselves well to Alice magically getting in their head for Wonderland-style shenanigans -- basically, it just hasn’t really come up before now! And I still haven’t gotten too deep into the subject -- certainly not as deep as I did with Victor. But here are my current thoughts, for your entertainment:

Domains --

-->Obviously, the main portion of Smiler’s Otherland would have to be a theme park of some kind. XD Though, of course, how elaborate that theme park is would depend on the AU -- a Smiler in the modern day would of course have modern roller coasters and such, while a Victorian Smiler might have something more akin to Alice’s mine cart ride and little parks with stages and suchlike. The basic vibe I’m going for with this area is a combination of Smiler Takeover X-Sector in Alton Towers and that amusement park area from Nier: Automata (hey, if I can borrow the forest stuff for Victor’s Living Dead Forest. . .).

-->However, we can’t neglect the creepy part of the coaster’s lore and theme, and thus I have one other domain in mind for Smiler, accessed via some sort of basement entrance or portal from the main park. . .a horrible, underground medical facility with crumbling walls, big white cells, nurses and doctors with bloodstained uniforms, and patients with smiles carved right into their faces. Basically if you know anything about the old Sanctuary scaremaze from 2012 and 2013, think that -- if not, just go with A:MR’s Rutledge section combined with a little Silent Hill 2 action and you should get the right vibe. This is, of course, where Smiler’s deepest, darkest fears reside -- particularly hurting the ones they love and, where applicable, of ending up like Kelman. My Smiler is NOT interested in becoming anything like THAT asshole! They try to bury it down, hence why it’s in the basement (well, that and the old Smiler AR game suggested that’s where the Ministry was hiding), but -- yeah. If you want a fight, this is where you’re most likely to get one.

Weapons --

-->Smiler’s Wonderland weapons proved to be very easy once I started thinking about what they would need in a “standard A:MR” set -- specifically, they’re all the different elements of the roller coaster’s Marmaliser! Here’s what I’ve come up with:

The Inoculator: The equivalent of Alice’s Pepper Grinder or Victor’s Wedding Wine, this is a giant syringe full of glowing yellow serum that can be squirted at enemies. Like Victor’s Wine, it has limited capacity, and once it’s empty, it needs a moment to refill. Good range, though!

The Tickler: The equivalent of Alice’s Hobby Horse or Victor’s Grim Scythe, this is -- essentially a large fuzzy paint roller on an extra-long stick. It’s a bit unwieldy to swing, but has great reach!

The Flasher: The equivalent of Alice’s Clockwork Bomb or Victor’s Altar Candle, this is a little mechanical box covered in light bulbs that, when prepped and set down, goes off with a massive FLASH of bright white light after a few seconds. VERY good for stunning enemies!

The Giggler: The equivalent of Alice’s Teapot Cannon or Victor’s Quill Bow, this is a large canister of purple gas with a nozzle that Smiler can use to kind of spray/blast out clouds of the stuff. The longer they “charge” a shot by squeezing the nozzle, the bigger the resultant Giggler cloud!

The Hypnotizer: The equivalent of Alice’s Umbrella or Victor’s Sketchbook, this is a large disc with a black-white-and-yellow spiral on it, like the logo, which can be used to both deflect incoming projectiles or distract enemies. Think a bit like the disc the old Sims 2 psychiatrist guy used to fly in when Sims had a total aspiration failure!

Now, you may notice a lack of Vorpal Blade/Vorpal Fork equivalent up there -- this is because while trying to figure that out, I thought the words “Vorpal Spoon” to complete the cutlery set and couldn’t let it go. XD Smlier seemed to like the silliness factor too! But I have found a way to tie that to the coaster as well -- specifically, by giving the spoon a twisted corkscrew handle that looks at least something like The Smiler’s actual track! And maybe the logo can be engraved on the bowl. XD

-->You may ALSO notice that none of these weapons actually seem particularly dangerous. Well -- you’re right. Smiler’s weapon set is in fact pretty much entirely non-lethal. The effects of their weapons are either to stun -- 

Or to turn the creature they’re fighting FRIENDLY, at least for a short time. Because the coaster’s theme isn’t violence, it’s conversion. By using their weapons on their enemies, they make those enemies their friends, or at least not a threat anymore for a time. I thought this was a nice change from Victor and Alice’s more violent stuff!

-->That being said, I also imagine Smiler having a “Hysteria Mode” equivalent, using the version of hysteria that we’re most familiar with these days -- that is, being overcome with laughter. Smiler’s would have them literally laughing their way through a rampage, and it would be the only time that their weapons are actually capable of harm. I don’t know if they’d have a bloodstained look like Victor and Alice or something a little different. . .ooh, maybe the same sort of “bloodstained” vibe, only the “blood” is bright yellow and/or purple. . .

Creatures --

-->Haven’t thought too much about this, but beyond the Sanctuary/Ministry of Joy staff, I know there should also be some sort of creature based on the Marmaliser itself. Just trying to decide if it should be friendly or hostile. . .or maybe there’s two different variants depending on where you are in the Otherland? Hmmm. . . Also believe there should be lots of robotic or techy stuff, just because that’s kind of The Smiler’s whole deal.

Clothing --

-->Again, one I haven’t considered much yet, but Smiler’s outfits across the various Wonderland/Otherland domains would definitely have a strong yellow-black theme, with white and purple highlights and occasional other colors or rainbow patterns where appropriate. Honestly, that yellow-and-black Beetlejuice suit I have for their vampiric “dark form” in Sims 4 might be a good starting place. XD Alice and Victor would also go yellow-and-black to match their domains -- in fact, thinking about it, the outfits of the wandering Advocates from The Smiler Takeover might work for Victor: black suit, yellow shirt, black-and-white-striped tie. . .it’s a start, at any rate!

-->Oh, and just for fun, I’ve decided that, in a Valicer situation, Victor’s own Otherland outfits -- like his Classic Blue Alice-style suit -- update to have a black-white-and-yellow spiral-patterned tie. :) I’d kind of like to maybe add a similar touch to Alice’s outfits -- maybe a black-and-yellow-checked border on her aprons? More thought is required.

[cablestwisted]

Ministry of Joy Theories & Headcanons - The Masterpost

This will be updated as canon develops and as my headcanons develop, and will be supplied with links, etc, where necessary. Consider this a living post. Hopefully eventually, I'll organise all info and posts I have to do with my headcanons into this post.

Without further ado -

Concise Lore summary, useful links, etcetera

Actual canonical information [outdated, but here for archive purposes]

Getting into Alton Towers Lore, and why everything here is a biased opinion

Smiler Announcements Transcript

-------

Proposed History

How long they've been interested in the Towers

Number patterns

The Facility Underneath X-Sector - Theming Evidence

X-Sector rides and the Ministry of Joy

Government controlled Ministry

Funding and open houses

Eyecon Security [linked to the funding ramble above]

Chelsea Smiles, Joy Serum, and Giggler Gas

Regarding Morals

Festival of Thrills - The Smiler is Sentient and Disagrees with the Ministry's Idea of Happiness

The 2023 Fireworks - Ministry of Joy Retrospective

The Lord of Darkness

Oblivion lore and the potential retcon/cover up

Security, Surveillance, "Experiment Status", Manual Marmalisation, the Council, Advocates Who Can't Leave, and more on Non-Euclidian Effects of the Oblivion portal

The Sanctuary Staff’s Opinion of The Smiler

Submission and Enterprise (generator Oblivion theory)

The Power of the Towers

The Power of the Towers - when they were created, ride connections, and more from the 2021 Fireworks

Mardi Gras theming - DNA as an X-Sector motif

Rivalries; the Beornen vs the Ministry (mainly if the Wickerman or the Marmaliser would win in a fight)

Supercomputer Marmaliser theory - a ramble on processing power

Supercomputer Marmaliser theory - AMENDMENT/ADDITION to the above ramble on processing power

The Marmaliser - Data storage and host theory

Sentient Marmaliser theory - voicelines, videos, used and unused

Sentient Marmaliser theory - what happens if it disobeys the Ministry?

Can the Marmaliser be Marmalised?

The Correctional Process as carried out on the Smiler - order of elements and explanation

The Modern Correctional Process

Advocate Recruitment - the Process, and Potential Marmaliser Involvement

How they hire people

The Smiler and Memories

Regaining Memories and Deprogramming from Correction

What happens to Advocates who slip through the cracks?

The Oblivion Generator

The Smiler - Seperate from the Marmaliser? With discussion of the sixth and seventh Correctional elements

Christmas at the Ministry of Joy

Why it's "You Belong To The Smiler" not "You Belong To the Ministry"

The facility underneath X-Sector - personal headcanons, advocates, and living conditions

Brief ramble about the Marmaliser from my personal headcanon verse

The Smiler Room - Signage

A Minister of Joy?

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

[cablestwisted]

im going to alton towers for my birthday in march and will be spending moat of my time in x sector, is there anything i should look for lore wise??

OOOH have fun!! I really hope you have a fantastic day out!

Something I always tell people to look out for is the vents - there are vents all over X-Sector, indicating the underground facility - the main thing, though, which I always tell people to check out is the door round the back of Oblivion's drop! There's a large door which is quite little known but a very fun addition. I talk about this more here!

There's plenty of themed signage, too, thats quite commonly overlooked - the majority of signage in the area is very themed, even the signs for the toilets, and the phone charging station in X-Cite. It's always fun to keep an eye out for anything new to do with that. Also, don't forget to read the signage at the entrance to X-Sector - it was damaged last year with one of them actually being cracked by someone likely jumping up and grabbing the top of it, so we may see new signage there this season!

If you take the main queues for rides - keep an eye out in the queuelines. There's a lot of very interesting things in the queues, including the various optical illusions in Smiler's queueline, the cables going into the floor on the Marmaliser which are implied to be actually going into the underground facility, and the machinery in Oblivion's queueline. Check out the screens in the area, and listen closely - there's various ambience played around X-Sector and especially around Oblivion that's easy to miss, but obvious once you realise it's not part of the soundtracks!

Also one of the warning lights in Oblivion's queueline spins faster than the others <3 speedy light my beloved. One day we will meet again. If ever I take the main queue. Which has not happened in 2 years as I'm a RAP pass user for various reasons, but you never know!!

You can find the remnants of old signage in various places, and Submission's queueline is still in place - iirc, it was used for Mixtape last year, though I don't know how much of it was used!

Enterprise uses the old music for the Black Hole, which is just, my favourite thing. Enterprise has a bunch of interesting stuff around it and I've no doubt there's stuff in the queue, but, again, I don't take main queue for any rides anymore and have never actually used the main queue for Enterprise, even before I was a RAP pass holder. So if you get a moment to check out Enterprise and you're using the main queue... Please lemme know if there's anything cool in there XD

Also, keep an eye out for anything to do with the Festival of Thrills - any set pieces or general preparation for that etc. The event begins on the 4th of April so you may see some ads for it or the beginning of stage construction in late March.

The shows on the lawn often have elements of lore to them - Sir Algernon's Time Travelling Starship last year was an excellent example of this, being the precursor for the 2021 Fireworks.

[cablestwisted]

Marmaliser neat facts?

Oh boy here we go

So

The designers gave us a canonical order of correction that actually makes really good logical sense. One day I'll photograph all the signs that give the proper order as it's hidden on area signs, but I'm not sure when I'm next going to Towers. I'll have to get the bus up there next week or something so bear with me on confirming images.

There is an easy way to see the order - the board by the entrance to X-Sector states the elements in vague order.

Worth noting; the Inoculator syringe in the graphic has been replaced with just a simple Smiler logo as of late because whoever remade that sign is a coward of the removal of medical theming from signage etcetera post-2015.

Stage 1: the Inoculator - An initial dosage of joy to ensure the subject is more pliable. This is practically impossible to avoid unlike the other elements which could feasibly be somewhat avoided by simply closing your eyes or holding your breath, and the nature of joy serum is presumably such that it'll make the other elements incredibly hard to resist.

Stage 2: the Tickler - A distraction from the sharp jab of the inoculator which forcibly makes the subject laugh, arguably distracting them from closing their eyes before the flasher as well. A difficult to avoid element that undoubtedly catches the subject off guard.

Stage 3: the Flasher - A blinding, flashing light that disorientates the subject. This also ensures that the subject cannot see the Giggler coming up next so can't intentionally hold their breath to avoid the Giggler Gas.

Stage 4: the Giggler - Introduction of laughing gas, apparently, (though it displays some differential properties such as in the advert and other media being a bright purple colouration) which relaxes and disorientates the subject to make them more able to be hypnotised and less likely, especially at this stage in the process, to be able to resist the final stage of correction.

Stage 5: the Hypnotiser - The final stage of the process. Solidifies correction through induction of trance via rotating discs with spirals, which are at this stage largely impossible to avoid due to how malleable and disorientated the subject is.

This is by no means the entire process of Correction, there are some preliminary procedures such as the Optical procedures in the Projection Room (the Observatory, Paradox, Phoropter, and Beginning of the End respectively although there is debate as to whether these are seperate elements of a single process or processes in and out themselves) as well as the track being a key component (called the Disorientor - although I can't find any solid lore source to actually suggest this. I will be attempting to find a source for this in the game once I manage to get a working copy for Android). There's significant evidence for a memory scanning and/or editing/wiping process in the screen videos which presumably aids in the Correctional process as well.

OH YEAH it's also worth noting that the 5 stage process is not in that order on the ride itself because it just didn't work out like that.

Also at one point the Marmaliser was almost called the Spyder which imo is kind of adorable in a strange way.

[cablestwisted]

Who would win in a fight; The Marmalizer or The Wickerman?

i have been asked this so many times and i love discussing this dgjdghsgdhd

So I'll start off by saying this is a fight which could probably happen in canon. I'm not even kidding. The Beornen and Advocates are unofficial rivals on park, with staff on Wickerman often going "Why are the advocates here?" or "You're on the wrong ride" when you show up in full Smiler merch, and Smile Assistants often jokingly going "Ahh, nope, not allowed on wearing that" if you show up with Wickerman merch. We've had Wickerman staff only allow us to ride upon putting a Wickerman sticker on us and telling us that's our pass to ride. And it makes sense! The Beornen are all about going back to nature, and the Ministry are all about technology, and about mind control.

So there's clearly a rivalry there, and I imagine it's something like this... (gun warning, bad language, violence)

The first thing I do when writing debates on who would win in a fight is list basics about each candidate so I'll go right ahead and do that.

Flashing images TW for all linked videos for both -

First up; Wickerman.

- Fire deity

- Known to accept human sacrifices

- Worshipped by a cult who don't like modern technology

- Probably can control fire

- Currently only seen through a wicker effigy however probably has some other form

- Very spicy lad (fire)

Then, the Marmaliser

- The Ministry's mind control machine

- Stompy hooves that can canonically move

- Full backing of the Ministry

- Big syringes & various mind control mechanisms

- A lot of advocates under its control most likely

- Giant enemy spider

Both pretty highly powered ngl. Both able to hold their own; so what would happen if they were to fight each other?

Well first off... The Marmaliser is probably a bit flammable, ngl. The Wickerman's fire would be able to singe the tickler brushes, boil joy serum, and probably melt cables if they were exposed for long enough. Any plastic components would experience significant warping if hit with a good deal of fire. So the Marmaliser is at an unfortunate disadvantage here due to the lack of fire resistance. Also I'm not sure of the composition of Giggler gas, but there's a good chance it could be flammable..

However; the thing about the Marmaliser is that its a machine specifically made to brainwash people.

Here's where things get interesting.

Can the Wickerman be marmalised?

..Short answer, I don't know. We don't know if the Wickerman would react to correction. Theres no biological form there, only a wicker structure - so no giggler gas, joy serum, or tickler brushes would work. So we're down to two elements here, the hypnotiser and the flasher. Significant disadvantage right there. The only hope on this front from the Marmaliser's PoV is the the Beornen can be corrected (which they probably can be) and manipulated into attacking the Wickerman through their own ways and means; which could theoretically work but then again, fire.

Can the Wickerman be weakened by destruction of the main Wickerman effigy?

Another thing we don't know - but we do know that the Marmaliser has big hooves. Hooves that are able to move. And if hooves are able to move they are able to stomp; thus it can stomp. The Marmaliser could theoretically destroy the main structure of the thing at the very least.

So as it stands, the Marmaliser's tactics will be have to be targeting and correcting the Beornen to turncoat to weaken the Wickerman and destroying the main structure of the Wickerman, however, this would probably destroy the Marmaliser in the process.

But, the Marmaliser is a machine; it can probably be ported over to a different device built with the explicit purpose of correcting or destroying the Wickerman and honestly I wouldn't put it past the Ministry to do that if the Wickerman destroyed the Smiler because that's a direct challenge to their authority and they like control a lot.

So the first battle, the Marmaliser would probably lose... But in the long run the Ministry would probably win the resulting war because picking a fight with the Ministry is like kicking a hornet's nest.

[cablestwisted]

I posted 10,387 times in 2021

438 posts created (4%)

9949 posts reblogged (96%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 22.7 posts.

I added 807 tags in 2021

#alton towers - 151 posts

#the smiler - 138 posts

#deltarune - 118 posts

#ministry of joy - 77 posts

#the ministry of joy - 71 posts

#ask to tag - 69 posts

#undertale - 68 posts

#asks - 43 posts

#gaster - 39 posts

#m4rm4l - 33 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#in 2ndary school in particular they used a name on the board system. my name was on the board a lot because i couldnt ever focus on anything

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

an observation

34 notes • Posted 2021-05-21 14:18:28 GMT

#4

reminder that the smiler has the nonbinary pride flag colour scheme

See the full post

35 notes • Posted 2021-05-22 14:29:11 GMT

#3

Me? Happy stimming over Alton Towers at literally 1:30am? ITS MORE LIKELY THAN YOU THINK man i love this park i love this park so much. If the park were a person I'd give it a hug and offer it a cup of tea

37 notes • Posted 2021-12-04 01:29:31 GMT

#2

Ministry of Joy Theories & Headcanons - The Masterpost

This will be updated as canon develops and as my headcanons develop, and will be supplied with links, etc, where necessary. Consider this a living post. Hopefully eventually, I'll organise all info and posts I have to do with my headcanons into this post.

Without further ado -

The Basics:

- Actual canonical information

- Proposed History

- The Facility Underneath X-Sector - Theming Evidence

- X-Sector rides and the Ministry of Joy

- Government controlled Ministry

- Regarding Morals

- The Lord of Darkness

- Security, Surveillance, "Experiment Status", Manual Marmalisation, the Council, Advocates Who Can't Leave, and more on Non-Euclidian Effects of the Oblivion portal

- Submission and Enterprise (generator Oblivion theory)

- The backstory as a decoy

- The Power of the Towers

- Mardi Gras theming - DNA as an X-Sector motif

- Rivalries; the Beornen vs the Ministry (mainly if the Wickerman or the Marmaliser would win in a fight)

- Supercomputer Marmaliser theory - a ramble on processing power

- The Marmaliser - Data storage and host theory

- Sentient Marmaliser theory - voicelines, videos, used and unused

- Sentient Marmaliser theory - what happens if it disobeys the Ministry?

- Can the Marmaliser be Marmalised?

- The Correctional Process as carried out on the Smiler - order of elements and explanation

- The Modern Correctional Process

- Advocate Recruitment - the Process, and Potential Marmaliser Involvement

- How they hire people

- The Smiler and Memories

- The Oblivion Generator

- The Smiler - Seperate from the Marmaliser? With discussion of the sixth and seventh Correctional elements

Click under the read more to see more information on my individual theory canons!

See the full post

48 notes • Posted 2021-07-10 13:22:57 GMT

#1

my speciality is always knowing just enough about hyper specific things to make people wonder what the fuck my backstory is

58 notes • Posted 2021-01-16 16:26:41 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[cablestwisted]

I might try and draw art of the Marmaliser at some point. Of course I already drew like... the elements that one time, but the shading on that is naff compared to my more recent pieces, plus its only the elements not the machine itself. I sketch it like.. All the time from memory and I drew part of an arm for my Advocates' Nightmare piece but I wanna do a proper drawing of the full thing one day XD I fucking love the Marmaliser

I'll also likely be doing some photography once the park opens as I plan to go as much as I can bribe people to take me to the park