#including angel and darwin

[monaetheworldsdestroyer]

x-men crackfic where they're all alt queer mutant gen z teenagers who hate capitalism so they randomly decide to rob a billionaire robin hood style

[haveyouheardthisband]

obscure bands and where to listen to them, part 2

Follow-up to [this post].

Here I'll go over five artists whose polls got an extremely low amount of "yes" votes, plug where you can listen to them, etc.

If you're a fan of one of these artists and I got anything wrong or you have anything to add, please send an ask!

Long post ahead.

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PALMSY

Genres: Indie Pop, Jangle Pop, Bedroom Pop 10 out of 2,375 voters have listened to them. (0.4%)

Self-described as such: "Bedroom songs from the Netherlands. Feel-good sunny energy, jangly indie pop and the breezy energy of pop-punk." Their website (in Dutch) says they're influenced by artists such as Bombay Bicycle Club, Darwin Deez, Little Comets, and The Wombats. Released one EP in 2017 and seems to have been inactive since, but two members went on to form the band Banji.

Apple Music Soundcloud Spotify YouTube (official) YouTube (auto-generated)

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Clay J Gladstone

Genres: Pop Punk, Punk Rock 12 out of 2,495 voters have listened to them. (0.5%)

Australian. "Emo punk outfit Clay J Gladstone was formed in 2020, comprised of current and former members of powerhouses Resist the Thought, Caulfield, and Buried in Verona." Released one album and some singles in 2021-2022, but they're still active and playing shows! Apparently one of their guitarists got his equipment stolen recently but they were able to fundraise enough money to replace it so yay :)

Apple Music Bandcamp Soundcloud Spotify YouTube (official) YouTube (auto-generated)

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Radiation 4

Genres: Avant-Garde Metal, Mathcore 10 out of 2,314 voters have listened to them. (0.4%)

Los Angeles-based experimental metal band that dressed in lab coats and glasses for their live performances. Their MySpace listed their influences as "Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Tom Waits, Mr Bungle, Botch..the list goes on." (IMO, the vocals especially are VERY Mike Patton-ish.) Released an EP in 2001 and an album in 2003, then went on hiatus in 2007 (though the vocalist uploaded some of their stuff to Bandcamp in 2022-2023?) Here's a fairly recent interview with the vocalist.

Bandcamp Here are unofficial YouTube uploads of Radiation 4 (2001 EP) and Wonderland (2003 album), which aren't on the Bandcamp, or anywhere else that I can find. ...Also, I finally found a copy of the album art for Wonderland that isn't JPEG'd into oblivion.

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LightGuides

Genres: Pop Rock, Indie Rock, Math Rock 4 out of 2,158 voters have listened to them. (0.2%)

Self-proclaimed "Glaswegian pop-punk samba legends" (they aren't really samba though...) previously known as We Hung Your Leader. According to their old website, their influences included Jimmy Eat World, Alexisonfire, Brand New, and The Get Up Kids. Released two "mini-albums" between 2010 and 2011, and ceased posting on social media around 2017. Here's an interview (from shortly before the release of their second album) if you want to know more!

Apple Music Soundcloud Spotify YouTube (official) YouTube (auto-generated)

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Tribraco

Genres: Jazz-Rock, Avant-Prog, Progressive Rock 12 out of 2,534 voters have listened to them. (0.5%)

Italian instrumental jazz-rock band, formed in Rome in 2004 initially as a trio but then grew to a quartet. Their MySpace listed such influences as John Zorn, Frank Zappa, Igor Stravinsky, and Fred Frith. Released two albums, one in 2008 and one in 2010. (...there's not much else I could find about them!)

Apple Music Spotify YouTube (official) YouTube (auto-generated)

[panfroggy]

Cherik Apocalypse AU

The time can never stop me from yelling about old gay men

Smallest lil CW for like mutantphobia related violence, death, general zombie things. No gore dw

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OKAY SO. Zombies in this au operate in an evolving and hivemind based infection (Not Fungus). HOWEVER the infection originated with a mutant ability in the world that got out of hand. So in the few remaining survivors, mutants are getting killed on sight or thrown out of survivor camps.

So. The Cast of this au in my head.

Charles (30). Getting his PhD in Genetics when the infection broke out. Currently traveling with Raven and trying to find mutant survivors. (BTW he can walk, No Erik = No Bullet)

Erik (33). Okay idrk what he was doing b4 the infection. Probably working mutant liberation. However! After infection he went through a lot to get his kids (Wanda and Peter). In this he discovers that Wanda is imune to the infection.

Raven (27). Living with Charles and working as a model before in infection in this AU. Now just wants to find and help as many mutants as possible.

Wanda (11). Preteen girl who lived w/ Magda before the infection came and Erik saved her. Imune to the virus. Wants to get the the research centers down south.

Peter (11). Preteen boy same as Wanda. He is theoretically immune to the infection, being twins and all, except they dont know what exactly makes Wanda immune and they aren't keen on testing it. He is frustrated with everything and wants normal back.

Alex (21) Fresh out of jail, fun side effect of a zombie apocalypse is all the prison guards go home. Immediately got Scott and set out. Trying to keep himself and his brother safe.

Scott (14) Happy to have his big brother back! Confused but going with it. Quite the trooper, probably the most well behaved of the kids but also the oldest so yeah.

Logan (???). Girl it's wolverine this is only the third weirdest thing to happen to him. However, he actually cares about living right now because he's somehow managed caring for Jubilee and Kitty. He wants to get them safe, so he's headed south and just hoping.

Kurt (24). Logan's traveling buddy. Was still working in circuses before the infection. Instantly agreed to pack a bag and get moving when first word broke. Now helping in their task to get the girls safe.

Jubilee (5) and Kitty (7). Lumping them together so this post isnt so insane. These two kids were cast out of a survivors group for being mutant and picked up by Logan.

Jean (15). Traveling Alone. PLOT TWIST: Mutant expirimentation on her caused her to freak out and alter someones brain to badly that (mixed with some fucked up biochemistry) created the zombie virus. She's desperately trying to find someone who will help her fix this but is worried that telling anyone will get her killed.

Thats Main Gang TM in my mind. The ones doing all the traveling and eventually crossing paths. Some other group

The Southern Research Facility. Moira and Hank + random scientists. Not important til like the end of all this with the dramas and all that.

First Class. Angel, Darwin and Sean + Other mutants. A small traveling group making camp somwhere around like, Kansas ish. Act as the converging point for the groups as they are a known mutant friendly outpost that is small but open to trade and help.

The Brotherhood. Emma, Azazel, and Toad among others. A group that is Pro Infection and thinks that it will kill all humans so mutants can reign supreme. AFTER the child they hear is a cure.

Okay now for what actually happens. RQ. Alex+Scott originate from like Michigan or Wisconsin. Charles and Raven from New York. Erik and Co. from Washington and Logan and Co. from Canada.

Charles and Raven pretty quickly pick up Alex and Scott when everything starts going down and they become a merry little band that will also pick up Jean. their journey includes a lot more encounters with outside forces and struggles with other survivor groups.

Logan and Kurt stumble into Erik near the begining too and after a quick fight they reluctantly agree to work together. Their journey is dealing with other survivors but also a lot of wrangling four children who are not even teenagers yet.

They converge in Kansas! Meeting up with FC who give them directions to the research base. This is the actual start of Cherik (making yall wait for it IK). Alex and Scott stay with FC but Scott makes Jean promise to come back. The journey there together is mostly personal conflicts and the whole 'Jean caused the Apocalypse btw + we are being actively hunted by a teleporter and a mind reader' thing.

During the traveling they deal with a rly bad swarm and Raven sacrafices herself for them to get out of it. Depression arc! Much hurt/comfort here. Big Cherik leaps made.

When they Get to the facility they are like 'oh yeah Wanda would be super helpful can we cut her skull open?' and Erik gets reasonably angry.

No fear, PETER IS HERE. As a twin he has the same DNA mostly besides mutation. (They arent identical but work w/ me here). He agrees to let the doctors look at him without Erik knowing. Erik gets reasonably angry. Peter ends up not providing anything helpful but they are able to look at his DNA WITHOUT cutting anyone open and find the dyscrepency between the not-exactly identical twins

This is how we discover that the thing that makes them both immune is a genetic glitch carried by the X gene Wanda posesses. Through the amazing world of BioTech they are able to make a serum that will alter peoples genetics to contain the glitch.

Woohoo! Right? EXCEPT the Brotherhood is still totally after Wanda and Jean by this point so they've gotta start schmoving again.

Logan, Kurt and their girls stay back at the research center, not wanting the children to be in more danger. The remainder of the group starts trecking back towards FC when they are intercepted by the brotherhood. Confrontation, Fighting, and Charles getting REALLY MAD happens and the gays come out on top. Cherik love CONFIRMED. The story ending with them walking off into the sunset together, the kids running ahead as FC comes back into view.

UH YEAH! I know the science is actual BS but so it mutants in general so shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. For this just note that Kurt and Raven are #NOTRELATED cuz I ain't justifying their ages.

This would be so fun to write but I'd want it to be so detailed so it'd take FOREVER. Want the dynamics of everyone to be fleshed out. Cherik being THEM. Kurt and Logan being lovers who have stood the test of A LOT leading up to this. Alex being a protective older sibling. Jeans panic, Wanda and Peters closeness and fear of the world, and the girls being patches of joy in a bleak world. not even gonna get into characterization and stuff this is long enough.

I rly hope I explained this half decently. I wrote it at 1 am! Hope you like mayhaps. Maybe I'll write this if enough people are interested. Wanna hear more? Maybe later its bed time

UPDATE: Uh there’s more about this more check it out here👍 and even more here

UPDATE 2: THE FIC IS OUT!!

[star-lights-up]

X MEN TIKTOK AU MASTERPOST

SECTIONS: Fics - Links and summaries Pinterest Board - Link Tumblr Posts - Art, Asks, and Textposts, with links Regularly updated as things are posted

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☆ HEAR ME OUT (Original, Multichapter, Complete, 23 Chapters ✅)

Nineteen-year-old Charles Xavier and his friends have been posting their group hijinks on TikTok for two years – though when it started, they never expected to go viral, or to end up making a steady living as content creators. It’s something that comes with a lot of surprises, like when Charles puts a picture of his celebrity crush, the mutants rights activist Erik Lehnsherr on a hear me out cake… and he responds. In which everyone thinks Charles and Raven are crazy, the first class kids are TikTokkers, Erik lehnsherr is bad at human interaction, there are many misunderstandings from talking online, and Hank is slowly loosing his marbles. Actually, everyone else is stealing them. Raven and Alex in particular.

☆ LIKE A PROMISE (Sequel, Multichapter, WIP)

Life has never been kind to Erik Lehnsherr. That’s why he knows that the past five months, the five months he’s spent beside Charles, the happiest five months of his life, can’t last. That’s why he’s not surprised when they don’t. In which the Mutant Registration Act passes and makes everyone’s life a living hell, Sharon Xavier waltzes back into Charles and Raven’s lives at the worst possible time, Erik can’t tell if he’s angry or just incredibly tired, Emma falls for a baseline (and is incredibly annoyed), Darwin is the most mentally stable, and pretty much everyone makes very stupid decisions at one point or another.

☆ A MARVELOUS TIME (Prequel, Ficlet Collection, WIP)

A series of ficlets about Edie Lehnsherr’s life before the events of Hear Me Out and Like A Promise.

☆ TIS THE SEASON (Prequel, Oneshot, Complete ✅)

How the Xavier siblings spend Christmas, through the years.

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☆ PINTEREST

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ART: Charles's TikTok profile

ART: Angel and Raven's TikTok profile

ART: Sean's TikTok profile

ART: Doodles + Character headcanons for this AU

ART: Moira (with an Emma cameo) + Poll about strawberry milshakes

ART: General doodles (Characters: Charles, Raven, Angel, Erik, Moira, Emma)

ART: General doodles not specifically for this AU, but including two little sketches of Charles from this AU. Also has James Mcavoy's Cyrano and Erik as Astrid from HTTYD.

ART: Charles whump sketches (with an Erik cameo)

ART: Charles and Erik laying on the couch together being sleepy

ART: General doodles (Characters: Charles, Raven, Angel, Sean, Erik, Edie)

ART: Correction about some wording, and a doodle of Charles and Raven!

ART: Scar/Anatomy study with Charles and Erik + a little kiss doodle

TEXTPOST: Headcanons for Darwin

TEXTPOST: Just a silly shitpost about starting a sequel to Hear Me Out. Includes a picture of james mcavoy in glasses.

TEXTPOST: The post that inspired this AU.

TEXTPOST: Me trying to find the post that inspired this AU (feat a very nice person helping me out)

TEXTPOST: Me knowing nothing about tiktok or how it works and feeling very underqualified.

TEXTPOST: Me celebrating the fact that I finally finished a fic!!! My first multichapter, finished!!!!

ASK: About TikTok trends they participate in

ASK: About the fact I included someone yelling "cleor, noar" in Like A Promise to pay homage to my childhood brainrot.

ASK: About my Edie Lehnsherr ficlet collection!

ASK: A compliment 🥺

ASK: someone being nice

ASK: From me, to the person who made the post who inspired this AU!

ASK: SOMEONE BOUND HEAR ME OUT!!!!!!!

ASK: Correction about some wording, and a doodle of Charles and Raven! (Also linked above in art)

✂ - - - ♥

Other Cherik AUs (storage post/masterlist)

[eliaswoodt]

The Name List

Organized from A-Z (yes I will add more names whenever I find more I like, probably in reblogs)

I currently have 1035 names (and that’s only including the first names. I have a list of last names, too.)

Angel, Atticus, Atlas, Apollo, Ares, Athena, Achilles, Artemis, Adonis, Avery, Aubrey, Aubry, Aceline, Ashlynn, Aislinn, Anjanette, Arthur, Archer, Addison, Arrietty, Amity, Autumn, Alastor, Alastair, Alasdair, Alistair, Alison, Arren, Arin, Astra, Aoife, Adalyn, Adeleine, Astoria, Agnes, Angus, Abigail, Ann, Anne, Ambrose, Adeline, Avarsel, Agatha, Ari, Azariah, Aniyah, Armani, Anastasia, Annabelle, Adah, Adelaide, Avis, Amelia, August, Axel, Adelina, Amir, Amin, Ayala, Arne, Averett, Adil, Astro, Ava, Anti, Ailun, Akemi, Asahi, Akari, Asako, Atsuko, Azumi, Aka, Aren, Akko

Blossom, Bambi, Babs, Bo, Bella, Blair, Bea, Bonnabel, Badeea, Betty, Bailey, Boris, Bee, Bugs, Blaise, Benjamin, Bog, Buford, Beatrice, Bryce, Bryan, Bazil, Brutus, Bellamy, Brigitte, Bailee, Bailey, Bao, Belladona, Belladonna, Bell, Bill, Bishop, Bones, Boneothy, Benno, Behemoth, Barry, Bellynn, Bowie, Bunki

Clover, Canyon, Cleo, Cameron, Celestial, Celestino, Ciro, Camilo, Cain, Charlotte, Clara, Corey, Cin, Charlie, Cassidy, Chiara, Callista, Cisco, Cynthia, Casper Clinton, Celestina, Clement, Christopher, Cornelius, Clifford, Claudius, Carey, Carrie, Coatl, Cyrus, Cyril, Cecil, Caisus, Castiel, Calla, Cosmos, Cherry, Cheryl, Crowley, Crow, Cassius, Cliodna, Clíodhna, Cliona, Conan, Cordelia, Calypso, Cas, Cillian, Chiyo, Chiaki, Chihiro, Calcifer

Danny, Darlene, Dex, Dot, Diana, Daphne, Demeter, Daedalus, Daeddel, Darphel, Dawn, Derrick, Derek, Dravan, Dravid, Drae, Dallas, Dimas, Dominic, Damien, Drew, Delilah, Dakota, Darian, Darius, Darwin, Devan, Darla, Dagmar, Daelyn, Dale, Dae, Dacey, Desmond, Dabria, Daniel, Daniela, Danialla, David, Davis, Donnel, Dennis, Demitrius, Delaney, Daiki, Daiyu

Everest, Emery, Ember, Elliott, Elliot, Earlana, Eliseo, Ezequiel, Emie, Evan, Eloise, Eric, Emmet, Elizabeth, Eugene, Ethan, Eret, Ester, Elias, Eos, Ellis, Edwin, Ebony, Elijah, Eliza, Enzo, Elissa, Edward, Eddalyn, Esther, Eda, Edalyn, Edalynn, Edison, Eddison, Estervan, Emma, Eden, Erfan, Eun-hae, Erytheia, Egan, Errol, Eiichi, Eiji, Eriko, Etsu, Etsuko, Eiichiro, Ezume

Flint, Finn, Fae, Fred, Fritz, Fang, Frankie, Frank, Fermin, Freddie, Freddy, Finley, Freya, Fai, Felix, Freda, Faolan, Frey, Feylynn, Faelynn, Failynn, Felipa, Febby, Febbie, Febie, Feby, Flynn, Fuji, Feiyu, Fukiko, Fumitaka, Fumito, Fuyuko

Griffin, Garnet, Gothi, Gertrude, Gabe, Grant, Giovanni, George, Gage, Gregory, Gabriel, Gabrielle, Guy, Gilbert, Guadalupe, Gerry, Grey, Gray, Gia, Grace, Gracian, Gracis, Gracie, Gretel, Gideon, Griffilow, Ghost, Ghazaleh, Gavin, Gryphon, Griffith, Goliath, Grayson, Greyson

Harmony, Hannah, Harlei, Harlie, Haritha, Haris, Harry, Harlan, Harvey, Hadrian, Harley, Hari, Harlow, Howl, Hank, Harper, Herbert, Humphrey, Hestia, Helios, Hephaestus, Hollis, Hunter, Hero, Henry, Helda, Hajar, Hasta, Hadis, Howard, Howie, Hannan, Haoyu, Hisako, Hachi, Hiroto, Hoshiko, Honoka, Hiroshi, Hiro, Haitao, Hamako, Haruhi, Harue, Hayate, Hide, Hideyo, Hidetaka, Hisaye, Hisayo, Heiji, Higari

Ivy, Ivey, Ivo, Ida, Iris, Ilyssa, Illy, Irene, Iren, Isaiah, Ira, Idelle, Ivan, Illaoi, Isabel, Isabell, Isabelle, Isobell, Isabella, Ismelda, Io, Ismael, Isolt, Icarus, izuru, Isamu, Itona, Ichiro, Ichiko, Ichigo, Isoko, Ishiko, Isaye, Inari, Ikuko, Itsuki, Itsuko, Inosuke

Juniper, Jupiter, Jinx, Jamie, Javier, Josiah, Joan, Jake, Julia, Jamil, Jamila, Jesse, Jessie, Jess, Jasper, Janus, Jordan, Joshua, Julian, Juilliard, Julius, Juliana, Jeremiah, Jace, June, Junebug, Jazzy, Jackson, Jackie, Jackalynn, Jodie, Johnnie, Jan, Jaime, Jason, Jorge, Justin, Justice, John, Jay, Janelle, James, Jennifer, Jillion, Jill, Jana, Jonah, Jaycee, Jaxen, Junpei, Jona, Jun, Jin

Kenneth, Kat, Kas, Kris, Keith, Kingston, Kaeton, Kingsley, Kent, Katherine, Kyle, Knox, Kristen, Kristin, Kristeen, Kylie, Kaylee, Kamila, Kehlani, Kendall, Kerry, Kry, Kenny, Kath, Kathleen, Krow, Kix, Kedrick, Kennon, Klaus, Killian, Korallia, Krank, Kaz, Kaede, Kirara, Katsuhiko, Keisuke, Kanako, Kenji, Kaemon, Kamin, Katsu, Kaki, Kazane, Kazuyuki, Kazushige, Kenta, Kei, Kimi, Kin, Kohako, Koichi, Kota, Koji, Koharu, Kosuke, Kuma, Kumi, Kuniko, Kuniyuki, Kideko, Kazuko

Lullaby, Lotte, Lapin, Lorelei, Loralai, Lorelai, Luna, Lily, Lucy, Lee, Liana, Lola, Lethe, Lance, Laurence, Luther, Luca, Lennon, Logan, Lennox, Ilias, Liu, Lui, Luis, Lefu, Liam, Lyall, Lowell, Luella, Leona, Leonie, Leon, Lev, Lincoln, Lin, Link, Laverna, Lazarus, Lewis, Louis, Louise, Levi, Leslie, Lesley, Leilana

Marley, Marlai, Mei, May, Mae, Marceline, Marshall, Marshalee, Millie, Mallorie, Marcela, Melanie, Maddison, Mary, Mirabel, Marsh, Murphy, Montgomery, Mildred, Memphis, Molly, Maverick, Maurice, Muiris, Morgen, Max, Moses, Marion, Merrill, Monroe, Melanthios, Maxwell, Matias, Melissa, Maëlle, Marlene, Meredith, Maybelle, Margaret, Maeve, Moss, Mara, Maria, Myrtle, Mona, Mark, Markus, Michael, Micheal, Michelle, Mahsa, Minoo, Mehdi, Mohammad, Matin, Morpheus, Marlowe, Monica, Marilia, Magnus, Malachi, Malachy, Maggie, Makoto, Megumi, Mio, Maemo, Maemi, Masa, Masaaki, Masashi, Michi, Midori, Michinori, Momo, Motoko

Natasha, Noelle, Noni, Neville, Nixon, Neda, Natalio, Ned, Nausicaä, Noxis, Nova, Nathen, Newt, Noah, Nash, Nox, Nathara, Nathaira, Nathair, Nyoka, Nagisa, Nathan, Nate, Nik, Nick, Naohiro, Naoko, Nara, Natsu, Naoya, Nishi, Nobuko, Nori

Olindo, Ollie, Oliver, Ophelia, Odysseus, Orion, Osono, Oxen, Onyx, Otto, Ottoline, Otitile, Ottavia, Octavio, Olivia-Marie, Oakley, Omar, Olivia, Oscar, Octavian, Octavia, Oz, Octavius, Otta, Oisin, Orson, Orlos, Osiris, Owen, Odalis, Odell, Ozuru

Penelope, Patton, Paddy, Percy, Paulie, Page, Pazu, Phoebe, Phebe, Prairie, Porter, Parlay, Pally, Piper, Parker, Payton, Phil, Paul, Philip, Pyre, Piers, Phylis, Patricia, Payne, Payneton, Pip

Quinn, Quincy, Quil, Quinley, Quinstin, Quinlan, Quillen, Quavon, Quaylon, Quensley, Qing, Qrow, Quilla, Quianna, Quita, Qiao, Quinella, Queenie, Qaylah, Qailah, Qitarah, Quenby, Qadira, Qudsiyah, Quan, Qian, Quinby, Quella

Roseline, Raul, Rahul, Rafael, Roque, Rogelio, Remmy, Rei, Rey, Ray, Robin, Ro, Reika, Rowen, Rowan, Rose, Rosie, Ralsei, Riley, Remus, Rosalyn, Rosalin, Rosaline, Renata, Ron, Rat, Ratt, Reef, Roxy, River, Reed, Rufus, Robbie, Renee, Rivia, Ross, Rex, Ruth, Rosemary, Rosabe, Rosabee, Rosabell, Rosabelle, Rosabel, Rai, Rain, Rosella, Rosalie, Rhody, Robert, Raelinn, Rebane, Ren, Rollin, Ralph, Roxanne, Rox, Roderick, Reginald, Reggie, Rio, Ryu, Ryo, Ryoji, Rinmaru

Sage, Sam, Syd, Selkie, Storig, Sal, Sirius, Summer, Susie, Scott, Sunni, Sosuke, Sophie, Satsuki, Sheeta, San, Sulley, Sully, Savannah, Sappho, Selene, Shaw, Sean, Seán, Shaun, Sawyer, Sabrina, Sebastian, Shane, Stan, Socks, Snom, Stolas, Spencer, Sammie, Stevie, Samus, Sarff, Sullivan, Seth, Susiebell, Susiebelle, Sadreddin, Shellaine, Sverre, Saoirse, Sylvania, Sanae, Silas, Sumi, Shiori, Shinzu, Sile

Toby, Tobias, Teddy, Ted, Tomas, Thomas, Tomothy, Tyche, Taiga, Tundra, Tracy, Timothy, Troy, Tatum, Tommie, Tommy, Theia, Tae, Trix, Trixy, Thanathos, Tod, Todd, Toddy, Tora, Torie, Theodore, Theo, Theophania, Talos, Thanatos, Teddy, Tomohito, Tazu, Tanjirou, Touya

Ulysses, Urijah, Uriyah, Urina, Ukiah, Ulnar, Ursula, Ulric

Virgil, Vanessa, Vito, Venacio, Vylad, Veronica, Valentina, Violet, Velma, Venus, Verna, Veld, Victoria, Victorie, Vinyl, Vincent, Vasuki, Vex, Valor, Valentine, Valerie, Valeria, Valerius, Vitoria, Vic, Victor, Vik, Vikktor, Viktor, Vick, Vicky, Vicke, Vickie, Vidya

Wynn, Willow, Warren, Wilbur, Wylie, Will, Walle, Whisp, Wade, Wendell, Wendy, Willard, Wes, Wallace, Wilber, Wyatt, Wybie, Wynnie, Wennie, Winnie, Wynnston, Wynston, Wynsten, Wiles

Xenophon, Xuan, Xio, Xori, Xanthos, Xander, Xavier

Yen, Yukio, Yae, Yoko, Yume, Yaeko, Yui, Yuzuki

Zane, Zana, Zion, Zachary, Zach, Zachariah, Zander, Ziana, Zoe, Zula, Zenix, Zenith, Zaharia, Zaria, Zack, Zakaeia, Zara, Zakaria, Zev, Zaira, Zanata

[yourdarlingness]

Genderfriends　✦　a gender system is related to having [X] and [Y] as friends; sees [X] and [Y] as friends; feel like [X] and [Y] could be friends; where you are (a/an/the) [X] while your friend is (a/an/the) [Y] or vice versa; where you are (a/an/the) [X] and wanted a friend who is (a/an/the) [Y]; similar vibes as [X] and [Y] being friends; etc.

　✱　:　Separate layers　...　link

　✱　:　Flag ID template　...　link

　✱　:　It doesn't have to be strictly two different motifs, it could be the same motifs, example: vampfriends (vampire + vampire)

　✱　:　Motifs can include animals, mythical creatures, characters, even plants.

PLEASE see my to-do list in the "keep reading"

　✱　:　To ~ do list for this flag

reaghostfriends (grim reaper + ghost)

deangelfriends (demon + angel)

seanjellyfriends (sea angel + jellyfish)

dogcatfriends (dog + cat)

zombonefriends (zombie + skeleton)

suincufriends (succubus + incubus)

vampfriends (vampire + vampire)

gumwifriends (gumball + darwin)

[deeplyunfunny]

Fanfic idea

Charles & Erik are secretly dating (i'd say that they're really not. Just that they don't advertise it & no one has either connected the dots or just asked them). It's 5 times where the X-Men find Charles / Erik looking at eachother lovingly (or w/ desire) & +1 where they're making out.

1- The X-Men & the Brotherhood team up temporarily (& quite spontaneously) to break out some experimented on mutant children from a facility (for some reason Charles had to go, perhaps it was their first official mission & was there as back up?) & the X-Men find Charles staring at Erik while he's bending some metal.

A lot of the Brotherhood (including Erik) & X-Men end up hurt. Charles convines Erik into letting them stay at the mansion to heal.

2- A few days after the mission Charles is giving a speech / assembly to the students (Abt the Brotherhood perhaps?) & they catch Erik staring intensly at Charles w/ a loving gaze.

3- The X-men enter a kitchen & encounter a delicious smell - Erik is cooking. Erik & Charles are talking with eachother abt smth. Erik is giving his back at charles & using his powers manuver the cooking utensiles. Charles is staring the way his muscles move while he does so.

4- Charles is teaching a class outside - one of using mental powers as they all are somewhat similar (this is a hc of mine, that all powers that are of controling smth function similarly). Erik is looking as he teaches, not paying much focus on the actual lesson / the children but more so just looking at Charles, from not very far away. Most of the children dismiss his attendance as for safety purpuses (bc he can stop any dangers from escalating) they still notice tho.

5- The X-men have something to request from Charles late at night. They go into his office & find Charles & Erik locked in a game of chess. They linger at the door before making their existance known, watching 2 or more turns of their game. They see how while Charles is in his turn - looking at the board & thinking - Erik is staring at him (or his lips). They watch Erik glance down as Charles makes his move & the roles are now switched: Erik is thinking of a next move while Charles observes Erik's face (lips). Eventually they make their presence known & the game is stopped temporarily

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+1- Another day (also late at night) the X-Men need Charles' presence for something trivial (I'm thinking of them needing him to break off a discusion abt a board game?). Expecting their professor & Erik to be just playing chess (as they normally do at an hour like this) they barge into his office & instead of them playing chess they're making out, a forgotten game of chess on the table.

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Personally I've thought of this fic w/ a movieverse AU (w/o Apocalypse & Dark Phoenix tho) in which everything has been somewhat maintained the same with some tweaks:

1) Raven & Charles treated each other's mutations much better in general - Charles encouraged Raven to use her own skin & she let him stay in her mind w/o overstepping, forming a close thelepathic bond.

2) They didn't end in such bad terms after beach divorce (all of them). They stayed for Charles' recovery but ended up still parting ways (the same mutants as in first class went w the same person they did)

3) No Darwin death & he stayed w/ Charles after beach divorce

4) Angel didn't leave w/ Shaw at the CIA but eventually did w/ Erik to the Brotherhood. The Shaw attack still happened & them going to mansion too (but w Angel)

5) The school wasn't shut down & Charles didn't fall into such a bad depression (the loosing his legs still affected him tho & he still struggled w his alcoholism).

6) Logan still came from the future to convince Raven to not kill Trask but it was much easier. Charles & Erik mended their relationship during this & here is when they begun to date. Erik continued w/ the Brotherood & Charles w/ the school not rlly supporting Erik's ways but they reached a compromise (They didn't). Publicly they still are portrayed as enemies & very much are still somewhat so - even if they're together.

(Erik was still at the pentagon for 10 years. Reason why Charles didn't rescue him sooner was that bc of the school & the Brotherhood the contact between Charles & Raven was practially lost & w/ Erik it was practically non-existant so when eventually they stopped talking he didn't think much of it)

7) [edit] no offsreen character deaths either

-

However I do think this idea fits different canons / AUs. If you do actually want to write this idea feel free to ignore anything abt it that you don't like & change the canon it's in (i have however only watched the moveies & X-Men '97).

Personally I'd think it'd be hilarious if the X-men dont really catch on & kinda dislike Erik. So they're really surprised that they're together (this is my fave in cherik fics it's so sad it's not written more tbh).

Myb eventually I'll write this fic myself but rn I don't have the time nor motivation to do so propertly. So I can only hope that someone capable of doing so can get inspired by this post & do it themselves.

---

If you've read this far thank you for hearing my idea out, I hope it brings others as much joy as this little idea does to me.

[wolfy-star1401]

Hello! :D Little Rob HCS from tawog please? :3

Sure 👍

Agere/ Little! Rob {from TAWOG} Headcanons

{takes place somewhere in the middle or after season 7}

He regress around 1 - 3 years old

The poor dear regress due to trauma of his time spent at the void

His therapist advised him to use this to help

His caregivers are Mr. Small {his main cg} & Larry {his secondary cg}

He has a box for his Agere gear in his room & a agere bag in case he regress when he’s outdoors

He still enjoys video games but he also likes games that are nostalgic to him

He has a lot of plushies {like a collection} his main plushies is a teddy with fluffy patches & two different colored eyes. He doesn’t go anywhere without it

He‘s suffers from nightmares or nightmares terrors, he really needs to be calmed down & a hug included

Mr. Small convinced him to wear diapers to avoid accidents, he’s a bit shy about this but he has to admit that it helps him {stay} regress

He use pacifier to help soothe his anxiety

When he’s scared or angry he bites, that’s why his Caregivers & babysitter have tethers on them

He has separation anxiety & Autophobia/monophobia, when he’s alone more than long minutes or hours he’s going to have a panic breakdown

He likes some of the old Disney movies & Studio Ghibli movies.

His comfort characters are "Honest John & Gideon" from "Disney‘s Pinocchio", "Professor Rarigan" from "Disney’s the great mouse detective"

Has play dates with Gumball & Darwin

He calls Mr. Small "papa" & Larry "dada"

His nicknames are little one, baby, sweetheart, love/cuddle bug, kiddo, angel, jellybean, baby boy & duckling/ froggie

He does have angry fits, not in a bratty way more in a needs to let it out of his system

The only punishment he gets are time outs or lay down for a nap but not out of sight of his Caregivers after that they’re talking with him about that

His fav shows are Bluey, adventure time, the amazing digital circus, the bear in the big blue house & the {baby} looney tunes

His favorite food are yogurt, Mac n cheese, cookies, watermelons & cheesecake

He‘s not allowed to drink coffee while regressed so he replaced this with chocolate milk

He drinks from a sippy cup with a straw in it {he likes to feel like a big boy}

His favorite game it pretends to be a hero undercovered as a villain & building his hide out {a pillow front}

When he has trouble sleeping alone he‘ll sleep with his caregivers in their bed

Some of the HCs

@i-ate-your-children @i-love-the-little-things @h3ll0everybby1 @dragon-queen21 @babyspace-sfw

[scotianostra]

10th December 1824 saw the birth in Huntly of George MacDonald, the church minister, writer and poet.

His father, a farmer, was one of the MacDonalds of Glen Coe and a direct descendant of one of the families that suffered in the massacre of 1692. He grew up in household that embraced education, one of his uncles was a notable Celtic scholar, editor of the Gaelic Highland Dictionary and collector of fairy tales and Celtic poetry. Both his parents were readers, his father had likings for Newton, Burns, Cowper, Chalmers, Coleridge, and Darwin, to quote a few, while his mother had received a classical education which included multiple languages.

Known particularly for his poignant fairy tales and fantasy novels, George MacDonald inspired many authors, such as W.H. Audent, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, E. Nesbit and Madeleine L'Engle. It was C.S. Lewis who wrote that he regarded MacDonald as his “master”: “Picking up a copy of Phantastes one day at a train-station bookstall, I began to read. A few hours later,” said Lewis, “I knew that I had crossed a great frontier.” G.K. Chesterton cited The Princess and the Goblin as a book that had “made a difference to my whole existence.”

Elizabeth Yates wrote of Sir Gibbie, “It moved me the way books did when, as a child, the great gates of literature began to open and first encounters with noble thoughts and utterances were unspeakably thrilling.”

Even Mark Twain, who initially disliked MacDonald, became friends with him, and there is some evidence that Twain was influenced by MacDonald.

Since we are on the run up to Christmas it is only right to post this poem by MacDonald.

A Song For Christmas.

I.

Hark, in the steeple the dull bell swinging Over the furrows ill ploughed by Death! Hark the bird-babble, the loud lark singing! Hark, from the sky, what the prophet saith!

Hark, in the pines, the free Wind, complaining— Moaning, and murmuring, "Life is bare!" Hark, in the organ, the caught Wind, outstraining, Jubilant rise in a soaring prayer!

Toll for the burying, sexton tolling! Sing for the second birth, angel Lark! Moan, ye poor Pines, with the Past condoling! Burst out, brave Organ, and kill the Dark!

II.

Sit on the ground, and immure thy sorrow; I will give freedom to mine in song! Haunt thou the tomb, and deny the morrow; I will go watch in the dawning long!

For I shall see them, and know their faces— Tenderer, sweeter, and shining more; Clasp the old self in the new embraces; Gaze through their eyes' wide open door.

Loved ones, I come to you: see my sadness; I am ashamed—but you pardon wrong! Smile the old smile, and my soul's new gladness Straight will arise in sorrow and song!

With so many admirers it is only natural that George MacDonald has his own web page, where you can read loads more of him and his work.

[postsforposting]

watching xmen first class. i've seen a lot of objections to the scene where darwin dies.

alex can't control his rings. darwin's power covers himself only, not other people. even if he could merge like he did in the comics, that does not cover a whole group of people. it could also be that his mutation in the movies is external, like luke cage's is external and doesn't save him from anything internal. you don't need the power of nukes if you can breach even the most perfect defenses. shaw literally had nuclear power, but was taken down by someone getting into his head--getting inside where there are no defenses.

i think darwin wanted to save his friends. he swallowed it to save them. that's why he didn't allow the rings out. he probably could have survived, but he can't direct the rings, and neither can anyone else. he pretended to jump ship to shaw in order to save everyone else, to try to take shaw down. he even tried to save angel, who betrayed them.

the point of angel joining shaw's team is that treating people badly turns them against you. this includes infighting and othering each other among your own people. it includes claiming that some people aren't "good enough" to count, whether outsiders or within your own group. like the cia continuing to treat angel as a stripper, who by their rules wasn't ever going to deserve respect--be human enough to count. like alex summers treated beast, before he turned blue enough to "count" as cool. like xavier expected raven to hide. like he would later call logan an animal, even though he doesn't say that to literal beast.

it's selectivism: choosing who counts. the point is everyone does it.

the idea that if darwin was white his death would have been "better" is a rather yikes thing to say on its own, but it also completely misses the point of the character: you should not have to be infinitely adaptable--to change who you are--in order to survive. doing so kills you inside....like darwin was literally killed from the inside. i think the point of him being black was to say that he was exactly what the anti-mutants demanded, but even he never would have been accepted. same for mystique and beast who are explicitly racially coded: they could do anything but still couldn't trust anyone to accept them. it's a blatant commentary on racism and "othering" people.

calling a theme of othering "racist" is laughably backward.

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

Shudder Before The Beautiful • Weak Fantasy • Élan • Yours Is An Empty Hope • Our Decades In The Sun • My Walden • Endless Forms Most Beautiful • Edema Ruh • Alpenglow • The Eyes Of Sharbat Gula • The Greatest Show On Earth (i. Four Point Six, ii. Life, iii. The Toolmaker, iv. The Understanding, v. Sear-Worn Driftwood)

Spotify ♪ YouTube

Submitter's note included under the break due to length.

This album is the first album made with their current and third singer and first without their previous drummer who had to retire due to severe insomnia and is themed around science and reason to constrast the previous album about fantasy. The latter part of the album quotes passages from Charles Darwin and Richard Dawkins. One of their live shows even had Richard Dawkins as a guest and he read live for their insane 21 minute track 'The Greatest Show On Earth' which is a song about evolutionary history. The album is intended by the songwriter Toumas Holopainen to be listened to beginning to end like a movie. The band camped out in an isolated cabin to write this album. They also got a crab "Tanidromites nightwishorum" AND a prehistoric rockshelter (Alpenglow Rockshelter) named after them/their songs for this album.

The band: Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band that started in 1996 that has had three different lead singers over its run, with the first (Tarja Turunen) parting ways with the band in a very public and emotionally fraught friend breakup in 2005 that to this day causes divisive fights in the fanbase about the decision between the really old fans and the newer ones. Their current lead singer and the one for this album is Floor Jensen, a classically trained dutch singer who joined in 2015 and has incredible range. They are one of the most successful Finnish bands. Their songs contain repeating themes of wonder at the natural world and wanting to return to innocence/childhood, but may broach a variety of topics.

Songs not on this album you might know them from: End of All Hope - Song used a lot in amvs on youtube. Wish I Had An Angel - biggest US hit single Amaranth - got very popular in Europe as a single Ghost Love Score - The live version with Floor instead of the album version with Anette (the second singer) is fairly popular on youtube. This is a song that most fans start with as its a good introduction to Nightwish's current style without being too isoteric. Interesting song notes: In 'Yours Is an Empty Hope' that is indeed Floor doing the super low death growls. Marco is the one singing clean. Yes really. Alpenglow is considered the "ultimate Nightwish song" by Holopainen.

The Greatest Show on Earth is the longest song this band has recorded to date, includes quotes by Dawkins and Darwin, and includes homages to music history with excerpts from Dies Irae, Minuet in G major, Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 by Bach and Enter Sandman by Metallica. Holopainen considers this song their most ambitious song to date he says the song "is probably the culmination of everything that we've done together". Personal notes: AAAAUUHGHGHG This band makes me insane. They make a song an atmospheric experience. Most bands are not great live- they are better live. Somehow. They have incredible stage presence. This album is my favorite Nightwish album and probably my favorite album of all time.

[damiensrighttoenail]

𝓐𝓛𝓛 𝓐𝓑𝓞𝓤𝓣 𝓜𝓔!1!1!1!1!

🔽

Other Socials:

Tiktok: @f1.zz__

YouTube: @F1.ZZ__

Discord: brey_.3

Insta: hally._tall

Name: Brey/Ray/Rayleigh

Hyperfixation(s): Hazbin Hotel, Hellpark, Southpark, Helluva Boss

Pronouns: They/Them ONLY <3

Sexuality: Polyamorous, Lesbian

Gender: non-binary

Fandoms I'm in (I won't always draw them-): Tawog, Scott Pilgrim, South Park, Hellpark, Hazbin Hotel, Omori, & Tally Hall <33

Favourite Things: Mi friends (online included), food, fire (very pretty-), Caravan of Thieves, Art/Drawing/Etc,

Favourite Characters:

Hellpark; Thomas, Craig, Estella, Stan, Damien, Terrance, Pip, Leslie

Southpark; Cartman, Stan, Kyle, Craig, Leslie, Wendy, Tweek, Pip, Damien

Omori: Hero, Mari, Sunny, Basil

Tawog: Darwin, Gumball, Anais, and Carrie

Hazbin Hotel: Vaggie, Husk, Angel Dust (Anthony), Adam, Charlie, and Lucifer

Tally Hall: Rob Cantor, Joe Hawley, And Zubin (I don't remember his last name-)

Favourite Bands/Music Artists: Caravan of Thieves, Bear Ghost, Tally Hall, Miracle Musical, Billie Eilish, Ayesha Erotica, TV Girl, Lay Bankz, The Crane Wives, Hazbin Hotel Cast, Mother Mother, Baby Bugs, Penelope Scott, SO MUCH MORE HELP-

𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓽'𝓼 𝓐𝓵𝓵 <3

(Font App: Facemoji Keyboard-)

[rosiebaybie]

Ink Angel: Origins

Act 1, Scene 1

[Open on the cityscape of ToonTown, early morning. A rooster crowd in the background. Cut to a newspaper printing press printing the the latest edition of the town’s newspaper—the ToonTown Telltale—at high speeds, then fade Gumball and Darwin Watterson running through the streets with said paper.]

Gumball: Good news! Kathryn Doom, she’s dead!

[Various toons, upon hearing the word, start heading to the ToonTown square.]

Darwin: Come out; come out! She’s gone! 

Toon Chorus: Good news! She's dead! The daughter of Doom is dead! The wickedest woman one can find—the enemy of all toonkind is dead! Good news! Good news!

[Rosie flits down and lands in the middle of the crowd.]

Sally Swing: Look! It's Rosie! 

Rosie Stirling-Baybie: Let us be glad. Let us be grateful. Let us praise Heav’n above that goodness could subdue the wicked lineage of you-know-who. Isn't it nice to know that good will conquer evil? The truth we all believe'll by and by outlive a lie for you and-

Daffy Duck: No one mournth the wicked!

Popeye: No one cries, "They won't retoin!"

Toon Chorus: No one lays a lily on their grave!

Angel Gabby: The righteous scorn the wicked!

Toon Chorus: Through their lives, our children learn what we miss when we misbehave! Rosie: [To herself] But don’t they know the wicked's lives are lonely? Don’t they know the wicked cry alone? When the world deems you wicked, you're left only on your own.

[Rosie quietly and sadly leaves the festivities.]

Toon Chorus: And goodness knows the wicked's lives are worthless! Goodness knows, the wicked die alone! Nothing grows for the wicked! They reap only what they sow!

[Rosie walks into her house and slumps down on the couch. AEG Thomas and Bruno roll up to her, confused that she’s so sad amongst such great joy.]

AEG Thomas: What’s wrong, Mommy?

Bruno: Aren’t you going to join the others?

Rosie: Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them? After all, she had a family. She had a start in life, as many do. Though it was much earlier than mine.

[Fade to a drawing room at the Chouinard Art Institute, where Prof. Beverly Ball is watching over the shoulder of one of her students, a young woman named Judy McGowan, as she works on a new toon for her graduation project.]

Beverly: So far so good, Judy! Bruno: [Off-screen] You were made like all the other toons? Judy: How I hope there’s still time to complete her! Beverly: Just know that graduation’s tomorrow night! Judy: But you don’t worry ‘bout me. This’ll turn out alright! [Beverly leaves the room, with Judy leaving Fade to Judy sneaking into the room where the Ink Machine is being held in Joey Drew Studios. Her boyfriend, an employee named Andrew, meets with her there.] Rosie: [Off-screen] Not exactly like other toons…

Andrew: Don’t you worry ‘bout it, Judy baby! She’ll be guaranteed to be a star. Just simply leave the drawing in room here, and I’m sure that you’ll have nothing to fear. With a pumpin’ of the pipes, she’ll be the greatest one by far!

[Andrew turns on the Ink Machine and the two of them quickly leave the room, with Judy leaving her drawing in the room.]

Rosie: [Off-screen] But we would both be met with tragedies early in our lives.

[Mary-Anne’s scream is heard. Quick cut to a screen split-screen between the obstetrical room where Kathryn is being born and the Ink Machine room where Rosie Baybie has just been created.]

Rosie: [Off-screen] Tragedies that would define our fates.

Betty Boop: It's coming! 

Dr. Von Drake: Now?

Judy: She’s perfect 

Andrew: And how!

Betty Boop: I see a nose! 

Andrew: What gorgeous curls!

Betty Boop, Dr. Von Drake, Andrew & Judy: It's a healthy, perfect, lovely, little-

[Quick shot a full close-up shot of Mary-Anne’s hand going limp, then Rosie morphing into her ink form.]

Rosie: What’s happening?!

[Rosie is quickly subdued by other staff, including Wally the Janitor. She tries to reach out to the crowd for help.]

Wally: How can it be?

Andrew: What does it mean?

Judy: She’s just different!

Andrew: She’s obscene!

Andrew & Wally: Like a hellish, cursed creation, she’s a monster from the Ink Machine!

[After Rosie calms down and returns to her original form, she shakily stands up, terrified at what just happened. Andrew’s horror turns to anger as Rosie shakily runs to Judy.]

Andrew: Destroy her… [Judy fearfully shakes her head no, shielding her creation behind her.] Andrew: I said destroy her! [Andrew punches Judy out of the way—killing her in the process—and is about to go for Rosie when Wally chokeholds him, giving her a chance to escape.]

Rosie: [Offscreen] So you see, it wasn’t easy for either of us…

[Cut to Elias bursting through the door as he starts running back to his home holding his only daughter in his arms, tears of pure anger in his eyes.]

Toon Chorus: [Offscreen] No one mourns the wicked! Now at last, she's dead and gone! Now at last, there's joy throughout the land!

[Cut to Rosie tripping over a rock as she runs a way from the studio, quickly getting back up and running away as several onlookers stare at her.]

Toon Chorus: [Offscreen] And goodness knows we know what goodness is! Goodness knows the wicked die alone!

Rosie: [Offscreen] She died alone!

Toon Chorus: [Offscreen] Woe to those who spurn what goodness is! They are shown…

[Cut to a split screen of Elias—now Judge Doom—and Rosie solemnly walking up to the edge of a large cliff; Elias overlooking ToonTown while holding his infant daughter in one of his arms and Rosie overlooking the university.]

Toon Chorus: [Offscreen] No one mourns the wicked!

Rosie: [Offscreen] Good news!

Toon Chorus: [Offscreen] No one mourns the wicked!

Rosie: [Offscreen]  Good news!

Toon Chorus: [Offscreen] No one mourns…The wicked!

[Close up split shot of his daughter in his arms—a baby girl with pink skin bedecked with gold splotches, one red eye and one brown eye, and bright red hair with orange fade—and Rosie brushing the rain out of her eyes.]

Toon Chorus: [Offscreen] Wicked!

[Cut to Judge Doom’s and Rosie’s silhouettes as they both shake his fists, Judge Doom at ToonTown as Rosie at the human race below her.]

Toon Chorus & Rosie: [Offscreen] Wicked!

[Cue title card.]

So, this is sort of a rough draft for part of another fic featuring my s/i. I’m not sure how the rest will play out, but here’s what I got so far.

[theuniversitychallengereview]

Dopamining

Yesterday I listened to a podcast about dopamine and the other 'feel-good' brain hormones oxytocin, seratonin and endorphins. It feels kind of like cheating to include endorphins as a single thing when there are actually a bunch of different endorphins, but it means you get to use the cool acronym DOSE so I can't begrudge the neuroscientists too much for it. Or should it be the neuropsychologists? The brain people.

We all know that we are on our phones far too much, and yet we continue to be on our phones far too much.

The little dopmaine hit you get from reading a tweet or scrolling TikTok or watching a hundred Instagram reels is a lot easier to get than the satisfaction you get from reading a book or practicing guitar, and it staves off the boredom that arises if you just sit there with, god forbid, nothing to do but think.

But you are never satisfied when you stop watching the Instagram reels, or when you finish a session of playing 5-minute blitz chess matches while waiting for the bus. You always want more. If you've played five matches you want to play five more. If you've watched thirty reels you want to watch thirty more.

This feeling then carries over into the moments when we are not on our phones too, because we have crashed our supply of dopamine meaning that it is harder to achieve the non-phone-based things we want to do, like cooking dinner or building a spreadsheet. So we go back on our phone and order something from Deliveroo then play a few more games of chess while we're waiting for the food to arrive.

We started the day with the intention of planning a holiday and assembling a bookshelf, but after we woke up and spent twenty minutes on YouTube shorts there was no motivation left for anything else.

Why, then, am I telling you this when I have posted this article on Twitter with the intention of hijacking your attention for the brief fix of a University Challenge review?

Because I am part of the problem too.

I am trying to steal your dopamine for my own selfish social media ambitions, to steal your motivation and get you hooked on these reviews just like Facebook is. The only difference is that I haven't used your data to become a billionaire.

So if you've come to me from Twitter then get off here now - leave your phone and your headphones behind and go find the nearest tree. Stare at it, touch it if you like, then come back and tell me how you feel.

Ah, I forgot one step - subscribe to the blog so that you don't need to rely on Twitter's increasingly spiteful algorithm to find me. Instead I will arrive fully formed in your email inbox and you can read me at your leisure.

Sign up for The University Challenge Review

Next week we can deal with oxytocin, but for now, let's get on with the episode.

Darwin College, Cambridge vs Birkbeck.

This is Darwin's third appearance on the Challenge, losing a tight semi-final to St Edmund Hall on their debut in 2019. Birkbeck won the trophy in 2003, but didn't appear again until 2020, and they have made two quarter-finals since then

Here's your first starter for ten

Darwin captain Whitaker takes the opening points with Where Angels Fear To Tread, setting the tone for the rest of the match. His team is made up of three women, and the Birkbeck team also has two women, meaning that the men are numerically outnumbered, which is quite a rare occurrence.

The picture starter also goes to Whitaker. That's three for him - it's going to get more difficult to keep trackas the show goes on.

Van Onzenoort bounces back for Birkbeck with elasticity, and they mixed up their answers on glass-making processes, giving super-cooling twice rather than tempering and annealing. A second for Van Onzenoort wins Birkbeck a bonus set on Sicilian foods, including one on cakes which Skidmore isn't much help on because he's 'not that into cakes'.

Hamilton gives Whitaker his fourth starter of the night, and Max Factor (who was apparently a real person, after whom the makeup brand is named) continues his streak.

Evans takes the music starter with Frank Sinatra, but they can't maintain the momentum and Whitaker returns with David Hume.

Van Onzenoort keeps Birkbeck in it with Bayes, and Evans grabs the second picture starter to close the gap even further. When Moorthy takes her first points with All Quiet on the Western Front they are only 25-points behind.

Whitakeover

But it is at this stage that Whitaker takes complete control of the match for Darwin, with four starters back to back on a wide variety of subjects (Venus, Albanian refugees in Italy, Salisbury Cathedral and the 800s).

Have you been counting? I might have missed one out so I'll just tell you - he finished with eleven (11!) starters, which is the highest of the series so far.

He was also the only person on his team to get a starter, which might be a record of some sort. Look out for him in the next round!

Darwin 205 - 110 Birkbeck

I hadn't realised quite how impressive Whitaker was until I saw all of his plaudits on social media, but eleven starters is a stonking performance, and Birkbeck couldn't keep up with him at all.

In fact, his points from starters alone would have tied Birkbeck's total.

See you next week (by which time you'll all have subscribed so you don't have to crash your dopamine supplies on Twitter) for Durham vs Oriel, a rematch of the 2000 Grand Final.

[coffee-n-bagels-comic-universe]

Self-Indulgent Series December: Granite Hills

It's December, and that means I get to be self-indulgent and give myself gifts, mainly the gift of looking at actors I like.

I give you my series of self-indulgence, Granite Hills (1990):

~~💀💀~~

Set in 1980 in the fictional town of Mudslide, Wisconsin, mainly at the Granite Hills university. This cast will be a mix of actors who would and wouldn't be available at the time.

The Show's Cast Includes:

Alfred Molina as Angel Ramon Vega [Age: 24]

Anjelica Huston as Sandy Cherry Lawson [Age: 26]

Billy Connolly as Professor Darwin Derryl Rigby [Age: 40]

Billy Crystal as Jethro Mephisto Butcher [Age: 25]

Brendan Fraser as Dallas Nathaniel Gray [Age: 23]

Carrie Fisher as Veronica Beverly Chambers [Age: 21]

Cary Elwes as Easton Markos White [Age: 27]

Chris Barrie as Douglass Wilfred Bernard [Age: 20]

Christina Applegate as Storm Hekla Jóhannsson [Age: 18]

Christopher Walken as Professor Karl Cai Lowell [Age: 40]

Craig Charles as Chuck Vance Sheppard [Age: 21]

Dan Aykroyd as Cesar Clay Leon [Age: 23]

Danny John-Jules as Quentin Kingston Hollister [Age: 21]

Daryl Hannah as Bernadette Daphne Jordan [Age: 24]

Diane Lane as Saffron Elouise Mason [Age: 19]

Fran Drescher as Monique Joanne Curtis [Age: 22]

Geena Davis as Erin Kermit Cantrell [Age: 28]

Gunnar Hansen as Thor Hjörtur Jóhannsson [Age: 48]

Harold Ramis as Edmund Morgan Blackburn [Age: 29]

Jack Black as Odin Hrafn Jóhannsson [Age: 21]

Jeff Bridges as Professor Kennedy Troy Gill [Age: 40]

Joe Pesci as Professor Jeremiah Emmit Jekyll [Age: 40]

John Belushi as Julian Noel Hood [Age: 25]

John Candy as Dale Randall Newman [Age: 26]

John Cusack as Andrew Simon Garfield [Age: 23]

John Goodman as Cyrus Lars Nielsen [Age: 27]

John Leguizamo as Alijah Mrlon Cross [Age: 29}

Judd Nelson as Colton Kenelm Coy [Age: 19]

Katey Sagal as Ramona Adrienne Dunn [Age: 25]

Kevin Bacon as Brad Nathan Hardy [Age: 25]

Kiefer Sutherland as Trenton Homer Abbey [Age: 21]

Luis Guzmán as Jaxxon Garrett Flores [Age: 29]

Mandy Patinkin as Elishua Saul Zebedaios [Age: 28]

Matt Dillon as Dennis Waylon Marley [Age: 20]

Matthew Lillard as Alexander Buddy Jones [Age: 19]

Oliver Platt as Ruben Manuel Valdez [Age: 22]

O'Shea Jackson (Sr.) as Tyrese Jordan Maxwell [Age: 18]

Philip Seymour Hoffman as Parris Hayes Grant [Age: 19]

Raul Julia as Professor Marcel Gomez Agua [Age: 40]

Ray Winstone as Holden Montgomery Lynn [Age: 27]

River Phoenix as Kent Horace Woodward [Age: 18]

Robin Williams as Jaycee Aramis Ellis [Age: 26]

Sean Young as Maxine Jade Upton [Age: 26]

Stanley Tucci as Luke Robin Flynn [Age: 22]

Steve Buscemi as Hugh Chester Sweeney [Age: 25]

Tom Hanks as Mark Everett Shaw [Age: 20]

Tony Shalhoub as Orlando Jaime Guerrero [Age: 25]

Val Kilmer as Earl Blue Dior [Age: 29]

Wayne Knight as Osborne Finnegan Jarvis [Age: 28]

William Baldwin as Theodore Joshua Ball [Age: 20]

Willem Dafoe as Terry Roosevelt Jepson [Age: 27]

[ncisfranchise-source]

The Hollywood strikes may have wreaked havoc on the broadcast networks’ fall plans but it also paved the way for a Paramount+ Australia series to snag an unprecedented berth on CBS starting Nov. 14.

The creation of NCIS: Sydney marked the first time one of CBS Studios’ global drama franchises earned an international spinoff. Now, it’s giving CBS the opportunity to have original episodes of an NCIS show before the end of the year. The rest of CBS’ scripted series, including the NCIS mothership and NCIS: Hawaii, aren’t returning until February.

Here, creator Morgan O’Neill talks about the making of NCIS: Sydney, which follow a team of U.S. NCIS Agents and the Australian Federal Police (AFP), who are grafted into a multi-national taskforce to keep naval crimes in check in the most contested patch of ocean on the planet.

DEADLINE The first episode features some pretty impressive scenes of naval ships in the Sydney harbour.

MORGAN O’NEILL One of the really unique things about Sydney is that it’s one of the few big cities in the world with a naval headquarters, which basically controls the entire eastern seaboard of Australia. It’s right in the center of town. It commands the most spectacular views of the Sydney harbour and the Opera House and the harbour bridge. We have a terrific relationship with the Royal Navy, which allowed us access.

Was it a challenge, getting access to those ships?

O’NEILL I mean, you’re negotiating with the pointy end of the armed services. So there’s always a little bit of red tape to push through. But fortunately, we kept finding people who were massive NCIS fans, so they understand that the show has a really broad global reach. They want to be associated with that. It’s fun, it represents them really well. But secondly, there’s no harm in seeing the Australian Navy represented around the world in a really positive manner. So they came on board and they were massively helpful. In the opening episode, we have a Navy Seahawk helicopter flying above Sydney Harbour. That’s real, and it’s one of those things you can’t rent by the day. So either you get someone who has one who wants to play with you, or you just don’t do it. When I spoke to David Stapf at CBS Studios in the very early stages, I said,’ Look, my sense is that we should be swinging for the fences on this.’ And he said, ‘swing away.’ So we did. When we met met with a navy and asked for aircraft carriers, submarines, the entire base and Seahawk helicopters, we expected them to laugh us out of the room. But they just wrote it down and got back to us.

So is is there an NCIS office in Sydney?

O’NEILL There’s actually a few In Australia. There’s one in Perth, one in Darwin and the biggest one is in Sydney.

When you were tasked with adapting this format, did you get a bible of the franchise? Or did you simply watch old episodes?

O’NEILL When I got the green light to start working on this, I basically cleared my calendar for about a month, got on my comfy couch and watched hundreds and hundreds of episodes from all the different franchises to work out what that special sauce was that made the shows so successful. Ordinarily in my job, you’re coming up with stuff from scratch. I had 950 odd episodes to delve into. I realized there’s a shared DNA they have amongst all of the different franchises, which is that it’s actually a family drama. The members of NCIS, irrespective of whether they are in Washington or New Orleans or Hawaii or Los Angeles, it’s really a family drama set at work. It’s a combination of a workplace comedy and a family drama. You need to feel like the characters are bonding, which is not to say that they always get along. Sometimes they do. Hopefully they often do. But bonds will be tested and trust will be broken and repaired, relationships will fracture and they will get back together again. That’s what the show does well. What I also realized was that CBS Studios was very strategic in terms of how they built out that franchise because they never made the same show twice. So L.A. is markedly different to the mothership. New Orleans was markedly different from from Los Angeles and Hawaii is different again. What they were trying to do was make sure they expanded the universe without replicating it. It’s a police procedural with a wink. It’s kind of cheeky, and it has an underdog swagger to it. The location gave it a completely different flavor, iteration to iteration. And once I worked that out, it was really clear that Sydney could be its own very different show because we’re in a different hemisphere. We have different light, we have a very different cultural sensibility. We’re 9,000 miles from anywhere. Hopefully that comes across. For an audience in Australia, for instance, this should feel like an authentic Australian show. And then for an audience from around the world, it should feel like another NCIS expansion of the universe but a very different one.

Can you give an example of a story that wouldn’t work on any other NCIS show? Something that is unique to NCIS: Sydney?

O’NEILL One of the first things that you’ll notice is that it’s a blended family. The other iterations of the show are made up of Americans because they’re all set in America. In order for NCIS to operate in Australia, they have to partner with Australian law enforcement agencies in order to have jurisdiction. As soon as you turn on this show, you realize this is the first blended family in NCIS history where we have Australians and Americans working together. You also see them on day one. All the other iterations of the franchise drop into the show; the organization is already up and running, everyone knows each other and everyone’s working out each other’s foibles. We get to see this organization start from scratch. That offers a huge amount of fun because we’re building a team that doesn’t know one another. We also did a fair amount of anecdotal research in terms of how the world sees Australia. We could debunk a few things. Almost universally when people talk about Australia, particularly if you’ve not been here, the very first thing people say is, ‘how do you live? Everything can kill you.’ And it’s true. We we do have our fair share of things that will bite and nip and eventually put you in the grave. We have 20 of the 25 most deadly snakes in the world in Australia. I mean 80% of all venomous things on the planet live in Australia. We definitely lean into that.

Are the Australian actors you chose recognizable in Australia?

O’NEILL Very recognized. Especially Todd Lasance, who plays Australian Federal Police Sgt. JD Dempsey. He’s an Australian fellow from a little town of Gumly Gumly just outside of Wagga Wagga. I not making it up. I know it sounds like it but I’m not. He’s very recognizable to Australians and he also worked in America. William McInnes, who plays our curmudgeonly forensic pathologist, is one of Australia’s great television actors. He’s been the face of a couple of enormous shows out here. And it’s a very different role for him, which I’m really excited by because usually he’s kind of a warm lead.

There was some talk early on that former NCIS EP Shane Brennan would be involved in this. What happened with that?

O’NEILL Shane obviously has a massive pedigree with NCIS, being deeply involved with the original and then obviously with L.A. for many, many years. His involvement predates me, and I’m not sure how that eventually panned out. He’s a really beloved and a deeply involved member of the franchise internationally, and he’s now the head of our guild out here [in Australia]. He’s been enormously helpful. In terms of the last couple of years of running the guild, he’s injected a whole bunch of really interesting programs, and a lot of his own money to help fund young writing programs. I have huge respect for Shane.

So how did you find out that this would be airing on CBS?

O’NEILL We were actually at a publicity shoot. I think it was the day after we’d wrapped and I was watching everyone get dolled up. One of the executive producers walked in after getting off the phone with America. Execs looked at the first four or five episodes and apparently really flipped for them. Suddenly we were on CBS primetime. I believe we’re the first Australian show ever to do that. We’ve certainly had a conversation around how excited they are by the show. This is a big franchise. A show like NCIS isn’t really in the habit of just doing one season, you know. They want to expand the universe and keep expanding it.