#the conundrum

[glossymint]

learning the lore

[shallowseeker]

Cas did not mean to imply this, but oh ohhhhh it would kill him to know:

"You're not yourself" connects directly to "I"m me again."

//

ON-SCREEN -> CAS, sputtering: To-to go out there alone? Jack, you have been on the radar of every angel and demon and power broker in creation since the day you were born and I’m sorry, but you’re not exactly yourself.

14x02

//////////////////////

"I'm me again."

14x14

(scripts via @spnscripthunt-inactive)

///

It is so painful when you hurt the things you love the most, the things you'd give your life for, and you realize too late that, "We don't love you because you're part of some grand design. We love you because you're you."

[x-files-polls]

All remaining characters in the losers' bracket have been sorted into three polls. This is the first of them. The ten characters with the most votes across all three polls will be added back to the main bracket to create a perfect bracket of 16 entrants. There will be no more second chances thereafter.

Who's the better one-off character? (Loser's Bracket Finals)

Phoebe Green (played by Amanda Pays in "Fire")

Invisigoth (played by Kristin Lehman in "Kill Switch")

The Conundrum (played by The Enigma in "Humbug")

Dr. Blockhead (played by Jim Rose in "Humbug")

Ronnie Strickland (played by Patrick Renna in "Bad Blood")

Carla Stonecypher/Michael Kinsley (JC Wendel/Scott Burkholder in "Detour")

Triangle-verse!Skinner

Mr. Nutt (played by Michael J. Anderson in "Humbug")

Flukeman (played by Darin Morgan in "The Host")

The Eves (played by Harriet Harris & Erika/Sabrina Krievins)

Voting ended onDec 9, 2025

Propaganda:

Phoebe Green: I can kinda admire how hateable she was with so little screentime

Invisigoth/Esther Nairn: she has a doctorate and a truckload of eyeliner. what more do you need?

The Conundrum: He ate.

Dr. Blockhead: I don't think that man has a medical degree

BLOCKHEAD: I don't answer any questions until I talk to my lawyer. MULDER: Who's your lawyer? BLOCKHEAD: I represent myself.

SCULLY: Well, his body possesses some anatomical discrepancies... some offshoots of the esophagus and trachea that almost seem umbilical in nature and... I've never seen anything like it. BLOCKHEAD: And you never will again. Twenty-first century genetic engineering will not only eradicate the siamese twins and the alligator-skinned people, but you're going to be hard-pressed to find, uh, a slight overbite or a not-so-high cheek bone. You see, I've seen the future and the future looks just like him. (He points at Mulder, who is standing in front of a trailer in a classic model pose. Hands on his hips, one foot up on the step, looking off into the distance.) Imagine going through your whole life looking like that. That's why it's left up to the self-made freaks like me and the Conundrum to remind people.

Ronnie Strickland: Honestly, if being an actual [episode spoilers] vampire turned out to be super lame, I would also put in fake fangs and do all the stereotypical stuff for funsies

Carla Stonecypher/Michael Kinsley : Teamwork makes the dreamwork 😎 #stonecypher is a badass name

Triangle-verse!Skinner: [MILD EPISODE SPOILERS] undercover wwii resistance woo

Mr. Nutt: Michael J. Anderson was born on Halloween and has worked for both David Lynch (Twin Peaks!) and Nasa. And he plays a hilarious hotel manager here!

Flukeman: Iconique! Darin Morgan's first time working on the show

The Eves: Such a cool concept. So terrifying.

"You and you. You have 46 chromosomes. The Adams and the Eves ... we have 56. We have extra chromosomes. Number 4, 5, 12, 16, and 22. This replication of chromosomes also produces additional genes. Heightened strength. Heightened intelligence." "Heightened psychosis."

I paid too much attention to a guard. Bit into his eyeball. I meant it as a sign of affection. Are you going to give me an IQ test by any chance? I think I can top 265. We're very bright, we Eves. It runs in the family.

[flesheatermike]

The Conundrum Stimboard

Art and character belong to my really goated boyfriend @edchemyy

[displayheartcode]

I’m laid up with awful cramps and I think a low level migraine. Meanwhile my CHILDHOOD FRIEND is TORMENTING me through the NYT crossplay app.

[sparklyandhaunted]

I liked Victoria from Netflix's Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

It felt like she cared too much, and it wasn't valued there. Not sure what the reason was, either she wasn't able to show it, or they put emphasis on different things.

It was slightly disappointing to see her making a commitment to come back, especially after both boss ladies said that they couldn't see her as a leader. I didn't like how her need to prove herself forced her to agree to staying at the place that hurt her.

Oh! The end! She hangs up shackle-pompoms! Good for her!

Strangely, I am a bit wary of Reece, her dancing is exceptional, but her interviews make me wonder how she manages to be so nice, and I am left with an impression of a cold-blooded killer*

Speaking of women that are killing it, it's the management; not many could elevate the team to the heights where hoards apply to work as the second job, full of impossibly high demands, earning only ginger cents**

There was also a lot of talk about Jesus, and a lot of talk about proving yourself, and a lot of hours put into the work.

* <it's kind of amazing, this mystery>

** <are cents ginger (up to 10) in US???>

[boxofbadaddiction]

I don't date because if I did, that'd be another person taking up space in my bed, and in that case, where are my dogs and cats going to sleep?

[tbh-entp]

I'm starting to realize that my Ne-Fe loop turns on when I'm too social. I start going out, get a little addicted to being charming and how people respond, and then I forget myself and my Ti, and drain myself on saying the right (or hilariously wrong) things at the right moments, and I'm so aware of how people respond to me but idk how I'm responding to myself or how I even relate to what I'm saying-- only that it's clever and well timed and wow I feel terrible. I need to go home and find my Ti.