#...I think Mortimer is the one who came out better.

[lidensword]

Just a little test...

[etirabys]

some years ago I bought Mortimer J Adler's "How to Read a Book" because I was bad at reading books. I read a bit, dropped off, and persisted for years in thinking that I would be better at reading if only I could summon the will to finish the book. Well I finally came back to it and it wasn't very helpful. Thank god. The tracery of neuronal connections that were devoted to feeling bad about it can be repurposed for a new fetish or something. Anyway, it seems important to record what I did get from it, because I am a bad reader and it's good to crystallize the tasks or principles that can move me forward.

the fast first pass

Adler distinguishes between "analytical reading" and "inspectional reading". Analytical reading is complete reading, thorough reading. Inspectional reading is to skim systematically, with the aim of determining what a book or passage is about and how it is structured. Reading the table of contents carefully is part of this, as is skipping to the chapters that seem most load-bearing and looking at the summary statements at the beginning or end to see what the core arguments are. Adler convinced me to always do this with nonfiction – it is good not to be surprised by the structure of something you've decided to commit hours of your life to.

[Readers who did not even read the table of contents] are thus faced with the task of achieving a superficial knowledge of the book at the same time that they are trying to understand it. That compounds the difficulty.

He's also a fan of fast first passes of a difficult book. Don't stop to ponder shit. Don't look up words. It's okay to be superficial. Race through it, and it will prepare you to read it well the second time.

The tremendous pleasure that can come from reading Shakespeare, for instance, was spoiled for generations of high school students who were forced to go through Julius Caesar, As You Like It, or Hamlet, scene by scene, looking up all the strange words in a glossary and studying all the scholarly footnotes. As a result, they never really read a Shakespearean play. By the time they reached the end, they had forgotten the beginning and lost sight of the whole. Instead of being forced to take this pedantic approach, they should have been encouraged to read the play at one sitting and discuss what they got out of that first quick reading. Only then would they have been ready to study the play carefully and closely because then they would have understood enough of it to learn more.

reading speed

The correct reading speed differs per passage even in the same book, and my problem is that I usually know what it is but go faster than it. It's a terrible habit that impedes my understanding and my enjoyment. Adler suggests using your finger across a line of type and following it with your eye. (Actually, he suggests this for the purpose of learning how to read faster – by moving your finger slightly faster than your comfortable reading speed, you will be forced to keep up. But it seems that it should work equally well for slowing down.)

ask yourself questions

To read actively in an analytical reading pass, you should ask yourself questions. (When I hired @eka-mark as tutor a few years ago and talked about how difficult I found it to learn from textbooks, they gave me the same advice – have a question in mind that you're trying to answer as you read – it'll focus your mind.) I frankly don't like Adler's questions*, so for myself I'll say: whatever questions naturally bubble up for me on the first pass, I will try to answer on the second. *what is the book about as a whole, what is being said and how, is the book true, how does it matter to you as a reader)

with fiction specifically

"Read it quickly and with total immersion, if possible in one sitting, so that the unity of the plot does not escape you."

my addition

I believe this but seem to be bad at acting on it:

I can read about 500-2000 books in the years I have remaining of life. Read Kindle samples first and give up aggressively. (If I read more than 30% of the books I sample, I'm probably doing something wrong.) Make the first pass, and don't bother doing the second if the first showed the book to be unexceptional. The complement of reading well is to choose good books to read.

[drchenquill]

Foliè ~ Chapter 1

Warning: mentioning of cannibalism.

The Beginning

No one knew when it had started. No one knew when the world had decided to destroy itself. Everyone knew, however, that it was no longer safe. The air as everyone had known it was poisoned, but not by pollution, no, what was poisoning our air was what we called “The Madness”. No scientist had figured out where these gases came from, all that was known was that once inhaled, the mind was poisoned. You became “insane” and over time lost your grip on reality. It started small. First came filterless words, then, for example, running naked in the street, then it escalated. Suddenly you stabbed someone or blew up your own house. There were also worse cases that were better not mentioned out loud, cases like old Mortimer who first dismembered his wife, then little Tim and then ate them. You could hear him singing all the way down the street. When I heard it, it didn't sound like singing. It seemed like wailing to me. When the police arrived, Mortimer had already washed the dishes. When they tried in vain to question him, he kept repeating the same answer. “The woman told me.” Apparently, hearing a woman's voice was the first symptom of madness. She seemed to expose your darkest desires and cravings and push you until you lost your mind to her. No one knew where she came from or if she even existed, all we knew was what we learned from her victims before they were disposed of, because death was the only salvation.

Years passed and the madness became part of us. You had to go through life wearing gas masks, because every breath could be your last. In such a catastrophe, humans did what they did best. Divide themselves. Extremists roamed the streets tearing off gas masks because the madness was a sign from God that our time had come and we had to welcome it with open arms. Then there were the conspiracy theorists who blamed the state and claimed that power-hungry people were pumping this poison through our streets. Lastly, we had the poor bastards who were just trying to go through this life without dying, staying away from everything and carrying on as before, as if they were living in a long nightmare, hoping to wake up at some point.

To put an end to the theories of frightened and angry people, scientists managed to create a machine that purified the air, keeping the madness at bay. Since the machine was up and running, a new world of opportunities had opened up, because these machines could save our lives, but they had to be watched and operated manually. These were still the first versions of the machine, so maintenance was a daily occurrence. And because it was gigantic, several people were able to land a new job. Like me.

We went in groups, a different one every day, because it was exhausting and dangerous. We had to go into the core of the machine, a giant metal curved shell that sucked in the air, “eliminated” the madness by stuffing it into vessels, and then pumped it out clean. That was all. I was part of today's group. We were given gas masks, a special can of clean air and a prayer, as if that ever helped. Silently we entered our metallic salvation. Not a word was exchanged. We were at work, but for us it was our grave not yet dug. Everything was routine, every step, every breath. We worked like a well-oiled machine, nobody got in each other's way and everyone knew their job. I went to my post without thinking and started the maintenance. There were levers and buttons in front of me. I had to make sure that the right levers were operated and the right buttons lit up. The work paid well, as it could lead to death if done wrong, but it was terribly boring. My eyes wandered to a lever connected to huge claws that held the giant shell upright. This lever was never switched as it would lead to disaster. It was only used to repair the shell itself, which fortunately happened rarely enough. It was a tricky lever. If you switched it all the way, the shell-like structure came crashing down, but if you took it slowly, it was brought down gently. I stood there and looked at everything, every button, every lever, while I fought against the terrible boredom. Suddenly I heard a whistle that became so loud it drowned out the sounds around me. I winced and pressed my hands over my ears. Then I heard her. “Switch the lever.”

~~~~ This is the first chapter of maybe 7 (I can't decide on the number yet). This is my first story where I try to plan out the numbers of chapters. It's going to be a rather short story, but a little challenge for me~

Tag list 🥰: @theink-stainedfolk

[misscloudiedays]

Well if you can i would ask for both, but if you can't i would ask for Treasure island ones for sure!! (I just reallyyy like the island toons)

I’ll try! Some toons I haven’t really thought to much of? Or some toons who don’t really think or do much

So yeah this for my interpretation so some characters are different from canon lol

[FNATI]

Photo negative Mickey -

Photo is one of Mothers favorite, mostly due to how well behaved he is.. he’s a “blank slate” compared to toons like Oswald and the Face, her view on him is.. tainted by the whole “hourglass” incident

Oswald -

Mother pity’s Oswald, his calls for “God” are saddening, she doesn’t try and baby him since he values his independence. But she’s WILL take action when Oswald is pushing himself too hard

Disembodied (Donald) -

Mother reasonably can find his Presence annoying, but when he’s not screaming his head off, he’s just a polite lil guy who um- sometimes claws around on the walls

The Face (Mickey) -

Mother tries to be nice to him, but the mouse makes it very hard. he has said hateful things to mother, mother brushes them off.

Impurity (Minnie) -

Mother likes impurity! She’s a sweet girl- has a odd obsession with teeth but it’s no real concern to mother. Mother comforts impurity when she’s questions her beauty

acephalous (Goofy) -

Ace is.. a simple guy, follows other toons around and doesn’t cause much of a fuss. It’s hard to read him due to the lack of a head, but he’s well behaved

Pluto -

he’s a dog, he’s a bit slow but it’s still Pluto, Mother appreciates his company, other toons seem to aswell

Willy -

Mother also finds Willy endearing, he’s very child like and doesn’t let his “past life” hold him down, he’s happy it happened. And happy where he is now

Mortimer -

Mortimer is a sorrowful mouse, a fuzzy mind filled with horrid thoughts. Mother does her best to aid mortimer but he tends to retreat to a place mother cannot reach.

The Forgotton one -

He’s irresponsible and reckless, he has uncontained power and uses it for party tricks! Hides his heart with a big smile. He’s letting himself be Forgotten.

[ Oblitus Casa ]

(Any character who have already been spoken about won’t be recapped)

In this canon Willy and “Willie” are the same

Belial -

Belial is a odd toon, she is unseen unless given a physical form through a drawing on a note book, mother will carry around Belial and keep track of her note book, Belial cannot speak words but her happy chirps are enough Reassessment to mother that she is Happy.

Daisy -

Daisy is around the same lines of Disembodied, she’s better at being quiet, and is much faster then Disembodied.

Photo negative Minnie -

PN Minnie is also a bit of a blank slate, she remembers some things and cares for PN Mickey. she has horrible anxiety around her self image despite her beauty, her face and her heart are beautiful.

Pete -

Pete tends to Antagonize other toons epically Willy (who now, tends to combat Pete’s words in his own goofy way.) Pete is a old soul due to his source. Mother can have decent conversation with him but he’s has some odd views.

Dippy -

Dippy is also a older soul, his constant wheezing while speaking is proof enough, but he’s much kinder compared to Pete

MickMick (who is a separate being from mother) -

MickMick is to be kept on the island, she deserves better then what the SSA had planned, she is mine

The Corruptus -

The Corruptus is new, and unpredictable, mother tries to her best to guide him in the right direction. His mind is not truly his own… yet

Purple ( Forgottens brother in the au) -

Purple seemingly came out of no where, but his purpose is very clear, she will care for this child

Dezz & Nutz (yes, there here too) -

How did they get here, I don’t know, they keep using slang terms

( if there’s anyone I didn’t mention that your curious about just ask 👍)

[bread-lady]

It's 1:10am and I have this idea of scout being on the show, this sis separate from my au but just an idea

Scout being rileys "little sister"

Introduction: a charater riley writes to often an outta town family member (maybe she off at private school or somthin) signed off as scout (well was planned to) in one of the letters the rest being just -S or your little sister keeping the fans on edge

Their personalities, like in game. are similar, but they are still opposites, of course! And she's not very well liked by riley. with riley calling her "more annoying then nick nack could ever!" That's saying somthing but of course riley adores her shes family after all

Cancled charater left to letters: scout was to appear in an episode called "shara ann and the sistrophe" whole episode of sibling bonding where scout would show up then become a reoccurring charater popping in for visits or events in town there beef being worse then ever but they get along slightly better by the end with scout surcuring some friendships with the groups and charaters of the show sadly this never came to plan and scout was never finished

Brought to life: midnight show happens as usual with scout being finished truly named scout and givin her task of destroying them and being called a weapon (shes not very good at her job btw) but when she appears due to already having charater in owens mind rileys little sister was born and given face to name! Scout is still scout obv and annoys rikey more then anything teaming up with nick every jow and then to inconvenience riley

If she wasn't cancled: if scout was given a name and face as planned she would be brought to life and givin her room like the rest (she controls a small portion of studio some mess up puppets listen to her so she keeps them) her task would be materiel collecting (she likes writing hinted in many letters she is one in this au to make the languageof the puppets so she and nick could write still shes better at host now) pens ink quilt paper and paring them correctly her mini game would be asking about different host world curiositys or writing her door having a letter and pen on it and looking it's been doodled on

Main game typical midnight show run where she's brought at the end: still somewhat the same she translates more and more of the writing found even if her eyes arnt very good (this is harpers fault sorta) she annoys rikey way more and points out and lack of rhyme during nicks room when she goes nick nack likes music she sjust followes it up with "but writing the music is way more fun when....nevermind" cause ehehehe angst

It's 1:31 am ill add when I have more ideas

It's 12:01pm and I figured out how scout letters would appear! during fire side chats I seems they get letters and scouts letters would appear during fan mail segments every now and then a bright blue envelope that seemed to have doodled over labeled to riley the teased scout letter would be where the the handeemen going over mail and letters received find one folded up out of its envelope someone finding it and wondering what's it about only the one who signed that shown riley snatching the letter labeled scout

I feel theletter would be visiting thing or somthing along those lines playing with the off at private school probably during a school break and request to stay with riley during her visit

Just to reappear every now and then for big events or during typical school breaks before fully joining the crew I feel scouts full name would be scout ruckus scribbles

Or scout scribbles ruckus since the handeemen with the mortimer exception all have there names start with the same letters as there last but I think this is gonna be a little side thing from my unnamed au

[harmonyckrs]

Day 21 of Twisted Pleasantview: The Worst Guy You Know is Gone

THE PREVIOUS DAY

NAME: JULIET CAPP

LIFE STAGE: TEEN

STATUS: ALIVE, FUNCTIONAL

SPECIAL NOTES: Not taking Tybalt's death very well. It feels as though his ghost possessed her...

---

Dear Diary,

After Rosaline and I went through the remainder of the videos, we came to a couple of conclusions:

Lazlo and the fairies are being controlled by a woman named Crystal, who seems to want revenge for some reason

Lazlo used to be friends with all three of the fairies before their memories were erased by Crystal, and there were a couple of moments where he tried to jog their memories but they all failed

There is a robot posing as a teenage girl named Meadow that Crystal and Lazlo built together who's responsible for some of the disappearances and deaths

People in Strangetown are being used to abduct some of the other members, and sometimes this includes other people from Strangetown because the programming is ass

The thing that's being used to control the people of Strangetown can be deactivated by figthing them

I'm not sure what we can do about the information, because I don't really want to take on grown adults and there's no way I can hurt Ripp. I guess Tank is there, but he's buff as hell and also still missing so I can't really do that and tbh I don't really want to either.

Juliet came by once we were done compiling and asked us what we were doing, but we decided to just lie and say we were watching music videos online. She seemed confused but then just walked off fuming about Mercutio and how she was happy he was gone. I hope she gets a therapist soon.

Also Don has gone missing, which has caused a lot of mixed reactions. Mortimer claimed that he got in a fight with Ripp, who successfully knocked him out and fled with his body. But why didn't Mortimer fucking do anything about it, though? Like that's your son-in-law. Yeah he's a piece of shit but still! At least pretend that you give a shit and make some effort to stop him, you know?

Also speaking of Ripp, I decided to invite him over before school so we could talk about it, and he seemed to have no memory of what happened. He claimed that he blacked out and woke up back in his house. I told him about what Rosaline and I discovered, making sure to refer to Lazlo as "Laz" to prevent the trigger from happening again, and he seemed really surprised about it. Apparently this was fresh news to him, but he mentioned that he could probably figure out a way to remove it. I'm not sure what he's referring to but I'll trust his judgement

Obviously I didn't want to hurt him, so I paid Angela to fight him instead:

Once Angela successfully beat him in a fight (it only took one try because again Ripp is not an athletic person and not really much of a fighter either), he mentioned that his mind felt unusually clear. I recited Lazlo's name to him, and nothing happened. I guess that means he's free? I'm not entirely sure how this works. Also Angela kept apologizing about the fight and we kept having to reassure her that it was okay

Also Ripp mentioned that Ophelia was moving in to "help him take care of Buck" but he said that she was secretly trying to escape from her family and also wanted to be closer to Cyd for some reason. When I asked why, Ripp mentioned that Cyd had discovered a way to resurrect another person as a result of Nina telling Ms. Broke about Vidcund resurrecting her, which had resulted in her telling Cyd. Since there were three fairies and only two had seemingly granted a wish so far, Ophelia had claimed that there's still a chance for one more wish.

I don't think this is how fairy wishes work but if it makes her feel better about her dead husband then whatever. Event hough it seems unlikely it would be pretty cool to get the chance to meet him. From what I heard about him from Ripp and Tank, he seemed cool as hell.

Maybe I'll finally get the chance to talk to Ophelia. Hopefully she's not as morally questionable as the rest of her family.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

''i don't have anyone anymore.'' ''you have me.'' With chef saltbaker please. Like after his bakery comes down and he is first starting off with his community service

"A-Am I free to leave? I polished all of your Winter Whale’s teeth..j-just as you requested.” Saltbaker’s teeth were chattering as he looked up at the grinning purple wizard, hoping for at least an ounce of pity from him.

“Now hold on a minute.” Mortimer hummed in thought, stroking his snowy beard. “You’re a chef, right? You can make desserts?”

“Yes, I-I can.”

“Well, my golem needs some new popsicle friends. So that’ll be your next task!” He clapped his hands together with a cackle. “Go to the parlor. [Y/n] will be waiting for you there. Help them make..let’s say..a batch of one hundred popsicles.”

Saltbaker felt his glass heart plummet. But honestly he didn’t know what he expected, though he was grateful that he’ll have help with this next chore.

After word got out that he sent the cups to steal the heavily-guarded ingredients from the guardians, he was now forced to do difficult labor as part of his punishment. The first was Mortimer, the mean wizard humbling him at every opportunity and making him work to the bone in freezing conditions. He was especially petty about the sentient ice sugar cube that came from this very place.

The same cube who the disgraced chef mercilessly shattered over and over again.

Honestly, he deserved worse for what he did to that poor fella. Knowing this cult, he was surprised Mortimer didn’t freeze him to death on the spot, so maybe this was him at his most merciful.

Not wanting to complain, he nodded obediently and searched the snowy realm for the parlor. Once inside, he wandered into the kitchen and saw you taking a batch of popsicles out and using some magic to bring them to life, smiling as your creations sprouted bat wings and eyes.

You didn’t seem bothered by the cold whatsoever. Lucky you.

Soon you noticed the glass man in prison scrubs and smiled, closing the case. “Hello. You must be Saltbaker I presume?”

“Y-Yes. I am.” He shivered, wrapping his arms around himself as he saw the popsicles glaring at him, flanking you on all sides in a defensive manner. Then he closed his eyes so he didn’t have to look at them anymore. 

In that moment, he felt like disappearing into a pile of salt.

“Don’t stare. It’s okay. He’s welcomed here.” He heard you whisper to them, but he didn’t understand why you were being nice.

Maybe you were just being polite as part of your job.

“You must be freezing. Here you go.”

Suddenly, Saltbaker opened his eyes as he felt the warmth of a coat wrapped around him. And he saw you still smiling at him--no looks of fear, disgust, or judgement.

‘Why? Don’t you know what I have done? I don’t deserve this.’

“Better?” You asked him in a sweet voice.

He just swallowed thickly, holding back the tears as he nodded. “Yes, thank you. So..shall we begin?”

............

Making dozens of popsicle batches was easy for you, but grueling for Saltbaker--considering the ones that came to life were hissing at him and intentionally whacking him in the face with their wings. They gave him quite a few scratches over the past few hours.

The way they swooped at him to attack made him think back to those pepper shakers. Back when he turned himself into a greedy, evil giant that could rival Glumstone.

Everything and everyone kept reminding him of that day. Nobody would make him forget what he did.

Yet you were the only one in the cult who was friendly. You didn’t mistreat him or even make a single remark about his crimes. Instead you just talked to him about the weather (even though it was always the same--being a winter wonderland 24/7) and the cult members that have become your family.

Saltbaker would just nod and listen with a polite smile, though when you asked about his friends and family, it was quick to falter as he just couldn’t take it anymore.

“Miss Chalice was one such friend. She was sweet..all she wanted was to be in the world of the living again. And I was helping her find a way but...then I-I betrayed her, her friends...everyone.” His hands shook as he set down the metal tray, leaning over the counter. With a sniffle he covered his eyes to hide the welling tears. “Now I’m all alone. I’m getting what I deserve. I don’t have anyone anymore.”

For a long moment, you were quiet. But you walked away from your work and stood beside him, feeling sympathetic. “You have me. I could be your friend.”

Blinking away his tears, he looked at you in astonishment. “Really? I thought..this cult despised outsiders.”

“Only if they’re brainwashed into hating outsiders. I’m just a volunteer here. Mortimer values my desserts so I still have free will. I had to strike a deal with him.” You chuckled, watching him growing bashful at his mistake.

“I see..”

“He’s not a totally bad guy..and neither are you.”

Saltbaker’s heart sunk. He shook his head. “No, I’m..far worse than he is-”

“Maybe you think so, but you’re not evil. I know you feel bad about what you did.” With a kind smile, you tugged the lapels of his coat so it covered his shoulders more. “Give it time, and this isle will forgive you. I’m sure of it. And with time you’ll learn to forgive yourself.”

Saltbaker sniffled lightly, returning the smile in a shaky manner. It was all he could do, as he didn’t wanna say anything more in fear of completely breaking down in front of you.

He had doubts the other guardians and their minions will be as kind as you were. But he knew he needed to pay up for sending those cups after them due to his own selfishness.

For your sake, he'll be on his best behavior.

[abittersweetraisin]

I’ve finished Dragonwatch!

This post is about my thoughts on the final book of the series so if you haven’t finished it, then do not keep reading.

First of all I’ve got to say how glad I am that Seth neither died nor became an undeath. I had thought he was gone for good. Another thing that I had feared is that someone was gonna use the Unforgiving Blade to chop off at least one of his wings. I’m so happy that he got to keep them! 😁

Personally I prefer a story that surprises me, where I don’t know where the author is taking us, where I think the story will go in one direction but then it takes a different one.

There was a moment when I thought they were going to use the Wizenstone to create a pocket dimension for dragons to live in. A place where they would be free without the risk of them wanting to attack the rest of the world. 

I like the canon solution better because a pocket dimension could had ended up seen as just a bigger sanctuary. A bigger prison in the eyes of the dragons.

About Ronodin. The way they defeated him made sense, but it felt a bit too quick for me. Then again, the series was about dragons so it follows Mr. Mull didn’t want to spend more time on the dark unicorn. 

A part of me would had wanted redemption for Ronodin. When Lizelle told Kendra about Ronodin’s story, it seems as if in the beginning his only sin was being different, thinking different. And that itself isn’t bad. The bad came when he started making evil decisions. As he said back in book… 2?  He liked seeing light being turned to darkness. I guess that alone makes it hard for him to be worthy of redemption. *sigh*

Still, I do have a weakness for characters that behave all evil but in reality have good deep inside of them. And I love reading/seeing that kind of characters going good. Healing that part of them that made them bad. And… maybe this is a bit weird in me, but I love them more if they become good but retain a bit of “evil” attitude. Sortof like Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent. 

Knox. Oh, Knox. 🙈 I really deeply disliked this character. I think he has some little bits in common with Seth here and there. Like for example, back in Fablehaven, Seth too had a period where he wanted gold. But Seth grew out of that and matured. But Knox… He hurt Newel but it was like he got no remorse about it at all. Till the end he still wanted to get a sword. Ok, his personality was being worsened by the Giant Queen’s crown when he hurt Newel, but after he took the crown off he should had understood that swords are not toys. I know there’s people in real life who are like that, who never learn, but that fact hasn’t helped me in disliking him less. 

And his bragging, “The Underking asked for my opinion back when I was Giant King”. 🙈🙈🙈 Please, somebody do something. Go get Mortimer Folchart and throw… I don’t know. Medusa in Knox’s way. 

Oh, and his rubbing on Seth’s face that it was Seth’s fault the fall of Wyrmroost and the start of the dragon war. Come on, that was very not nice and very unfair. Seth didn’t have his memories, Ronodin convinced him that he was doing something good. If he hadn’t gotten kidnapped the fall of Wyrmroost would had been different. And whose fault was it that Ronodin got the barrel which enabled Seth’s kidnapping?? How easily Knox forgot that. 

By the way, I had really believed that the Somber Knight was going to actually be Konrad,… I didn’t read Fablehaven again when I started Dragonwatch, so, maybe there was something written there that could had helped me throw away that theory, but,…. well, it was nice to play detective. 😅

To finish this… I don’t know you, but the ending left me wanting to read more about this world. Not another war. I’d like something different. Like maybe Kendra, Bracken and Seth dealing with the difficulties of their daily lives mixed with their new powers. Kendra got some incredible powers that I wish we had gotten the chance to see! I don’t know, maybe reading them doing good around them while hiding their powers/secrets from their friends. 

I can see Seth rapidly sneaking back into an empty classroom. Hiding his wings just in time before his friends enter the room and saw them. 

- “Wha- Seth, where did you come from?!”   -  “What do you mean? I’ve been here all along?” 

And before anyone has a chance to say anything else a white feather slowly floats its way down in front of Seth. All eyes tracking the descend till it reaches the floor. Their eyes jumping back to Seth who just smiles awkwardly. 

[sarilolla]

Giving a smartphone to puppets from the 1980s is a good idea, right?

This one-shot was requested by psuedonymousrex on Ao3. They wanted the puppets stealing/discovering a phone, so here, enjoy :)

Request - 970 words

No needed TW (as far as I can tell)

Summary:  The Handeemen discovers something far beyond their age and knowledge of technology. Is it stealing if the person who owned it is now a braindead zombie?

---

“What's that?” Nick pointed to the small box in Riley's hand. The scientist eyed him suspiciously, having stolen the thing in her hand from his new host, something she hoped he wasn't aware of.

“I don't know,” she fiddled with it, turning it from one side to the other, almost dropping it as one side suddenly erupted with light.

“What the hell-”

“Language, Riley!”

Daisy had entered the room, as if she knew Riley was about to swear.

“Daisy, look, this… I still don't know what it is, but I am certain I will know with a quick analysis.”

The scientist showed the box that now had gone dark again to the baker.

“Well, get it to light up again! You got scared then.”

“Shut your face, Nick,” Riley said, finding a button on the flat side that she pressed.

“I don't mean to clown, sweetie, but I think you're holding it upside down.”

The thing had lightened up again as she pressed the button, showing a picture of two guys smiling, but as Daisy had pointed out, it was upside down. They turned it, seeing numbers on the screen right above the heads of the guys, before it once again turned dark.

“Damn, this thing can't stay on for more than a few seconds.”

“Give it to me, and I'll find its secrets, you'll see.”

Nick lunged out, snatching the thing from Riley's hands.

“Wha- Hey! Nick, I swear-”

“What's going on in here?”

“Mortimer! I was just trying to do some research on this thing, you see it made this weird noise, like a “ding”. I have yet to find out what it does, however, so the others apparently joined me on this endeavor.”

The magic man himself stood there, eyeing the thing now in Nick's hand carefully.

“Any sign it might be dangerous to us? Or else I don't see why it would cause a fuss.”

“No signs yet, but-”

“Aha, I got it to work! And I'll tell you how, if Riley quits being a jerk,” Nick shouted triumphantly, avoiding the death glare Riley sent him.

“What do you mean by “work”, Nick? Is this a trick?”

Mortimer came up close, watching what Nick made his host do on the thing.

“Well, I simply got my host to try and do something instead as it didn't react to my wooden hands, it worked better than Riley's plans.”

“May I look?”

Nick handed the thing to Mortimer, “Of course, here you are.”

“I was researching that…” Riley pouted, Daisy giving her a light pat on the shoulder, “Don't worry, Riles. You'll get it back in a hurry.”

The two guys were now hunched over the thing, watching as Mortimer's host's hand swiped back and forth on it, and the girls joined them.

“Oh, tap on that thing.”

Tapping on one of the small squares, the thing being green and the face on it kinda looked like an owl.

It filled the screen, showing a green owl.

“Now what is this?”

Tapping on one of the things on the screen, they all jumped as the thing started speaking in a different language.

“Hei, hvordan går det?”

“Oh shit-” “Language, Riley.” “What was that?”

“Norwegian, I believe,” Daisy got her host to tap more on the screen, and the weird voice said more stuff in both English and Norwegian.

“A language learning device then,” Riley concluded, watching Nick tap the screen to stop the language thing.

“What’s this?” He clicked on a black one with a green circle.

Tapping a bit more, a song started playing on it, and Riley flinched back a bit at the sudden noise.

“What the world needs is people like me, to keep the world spinning around.”

“Ah, a musical song. This host had exquisite taste.”

“Debatable.”

The two rivals sent each other a glare, and Mortimer found himself rolling his eyes, tapping the thing to stop the song.

“So not just a translation device, which can be nice. It plays music too, so I wonder what we’ll see next in the queue.”

The next thing he tapped on was green, with a white telephone symbol on it.

“I’m starting to think this is some sort of phone. It’s just weird with everything that has been shown.”

“Are we gonna call anyone?”

“No.”

They left the phone thing as well, opening another one.

Whoever held the phone almost shucked it once again as another loud noise rang from the box.

Swiping up by accident, they saw short video after video, many of them having the same audio in the background, or some game with a mechanical voice telling stories over it.

They were lost in the videos, and then the screen turned black.

“What? Turn it back on.”

They pressed all the buttons, but it didn’t work no matter what they tried.

“Looks like it needs new batteries, although I doubt we have any needed here. Shame.”

Mortimer gave the phone(?) to Riley again, who was trying to hide her pout, and both he and Nick left the room.

“I never get to do my own research in peace.”

“There, there, Riles. Do not shed a tear. How about joining me in the kitchen for a bit? I have some new recipes that I am sure some of your leftover hosts will be a fit.”

She nodded quietly, putting the phone thing away, cursing herself on the fact she had let Nick into her lab and let him see the thing, even if she had stolen it from his host.

Well, it was nice at least, it wasn’t always that they managed to be quiet and enjoy something together. So, all in all, maybe this experiment was a success. Just not the success she had expected.

So she followed Daisy, calling for Rosco on the way, leaving the device on her workbench.

---

My first request :) The apps the puppets discover are Duolingo, Spotify, the Phone app, and TikTok Translation for the Norwegian: "Hei, hvordan går det?" = "Hey, how are you?" (I choose Norwegian cuz I am Norwegian lol) The song is "What the world needs" from Ride the Cyclone the musical

[sl33pyfr0gt33th]

So I had this one really wonky oc idea tucked away at the back of my mind because I really wanted to experiment with more "random" looking characters-!

I have yet to figure out how to draw the normal Mortimer but I do have a Au variant of him drawn-!

Mortimer in regular TADC is a Ai designed by Caine to fix issues with a character’s appearance wether it be repairing glitches, or just patching up any wounds they may have Mortimer is more then likely to get it done quickly!

Yet in the carnival au he would be a human stuck in the game!

I’m not sure if I got the back story of the game right when it came to making his backstory so It’s a bit of just a beta version of it so I’ll just put a basic explanation under the cut-

Mortimer is a French man who came from a big family, he would always help out around the house and with cooking

out of his family he was a lot more level headed and collected then them but even despite that he was still on good terms with them all, things however had been getting tense due to some of his sisters moving out and his youngest sister who had been staying with their parents because she was struggling to apply for colleges was getting rather stressed out, he wanted to cheer her up and remembered that video games always helped her calm down and went out to buy one for her to take her mind off the stress, when he got back home a massive arguments ended up breaking out between the two when Mortimer said that she may be overworking herself, she moved out the next day never giving Mortimer a chance to rekindle their relationship

When he got stuck in the game he’s beyond confused, being dazed and unable to recall anything from him past besides his family really did a number on his mental state, he felt beyond lonely and almost isolated, wanting to get rid of the feeling as soon as possible he went from room to room checking for one that would budge but none did that wasn’t until a room happened to open a little earlier then it should’ve via a bug in the system, and with that he made it into gangles room earlier then he was meant to

Eventually time passes and he slowly begins to forget more and more about his life before this due to the hectic nature of all the games in the circus and begins to view gangle as a little sister due to how many roles he had to play in her shows where he was a older brother, when gangle hears about this she happily encourages it, it does make Mortimer’s performances a lot better anyways and they do look kinda alike due to the masks that are in his mane, so what harm could it do?

Eventually Mortimer recalls his actual family and begins to feel rather homesick, not leaving the spare dressing room behind gangles stage and isolating himself as he tries to think of a way to escape gangle visits him and tries to get him out and talking to others again, to which he usually is forced to comply via ribbons dragging him out of there.

maybe if he completes all the games he’ll be allowed out of the game? he decides to try to finish the games saving gangles for last because he wanted to say good bye and thank her for not giving up on him before he left, he makes it rather far but through slip of the tongue gangle finds out he’s planning on leaving, and gangle doesn’t want to lose her "brother" and decides to take matters into her own hands, wrapping one of her ribbons permanently around his neck like a mock collar like the rest to of them have she makes sure that Mortimer doesn’t leave,

(Concept idea of how the ribbon would look-!)

Around the time Caine enters Mortimer is already lost, genuinely forgetting he’s a human and believing he’s just a unfinished Ai, sure he doesn’t have a room but the spare costume closet behind stage works well enough, after all who doesn’t love a nice dress up game? Plus he also gets to sew new costumes for gangles many plays! So it’s not that bad really!

I feel like Caine wouldn’t notice he’s not a Ai until much later on, after all the only person who still recalls that Mortimer isn’t a Ai is Jax who’s still rather disappointed that Mortimer doesn’t really run away when he attacks anymore

SORRY IF ITS NOT THAT GOOD MY BRAINS BEEN COMPLETELY FRIED-

[emilythezeldafan]

Waiting In The Wings [Hello Puppets]

Warnings: abuse alluded to, feeling overshadowed, I got kinda lazy LMAO, ignoring the fact puppets kinda need human hosts to get around and do this shit. Might delete this and redo it later honestly smh.

@graceandtheidiotsquad

@ anyone

"BELLA!" The Ballerina Marionette was distracted from her thoughts by the rather loud voice of the resident artist who she happened to share a room with. Great. She really didn't know if she wanted to see him right now - not that she had anything against him, no, she loved him like a brother - albeit a slightly annoying one - she just...didn't feel her best today. And getting near deafened wasn't exactly helping. Using a hand to push back her curtain, she greeted Nick with a tilt of the head. "...Hello, Nick."

"Is something wrong?" Of course, he would notice something wrong when she didn't want him to. "There's nothing wrong." The reply came out shorter and more impatient than she intended it to, she could try leaving, retreating back behind her curtain as she usually did when faced with confrontation, but Nick was a persistent one, when he wanted to be. "Are you su-"

"I'M FINE, NICHOLAS!" The Ballerina yelled, immediately feeling guilty - she knew how Nick could get when someone raised their voice at him, although she had yet to discover why. "...If you're really determined to find out what's the matter with me, I suppose it's your right to know. I don't know how to say this...so I'll just have to do it your way." The Marionette inhaled, and started to...sing?

"Guess we all are born with parts to play

Some of us are stars, and some are just in the way

I know I was meant for glory

But that's never what my story brings

And yet I keep on waiting..."

She took a breath, not that she even needed to breathe, and continued.

"When you have the passion and the drive

You expect your moment center stage to arrive

I show up with heart ablazing

Ready to achieve amazing things

But I'm left waiting in the wings...."

"....Is this how you really feel?" Nick was...shocked to say the least, he'd had no idea what Bella was feeling this whole time.

"I hear my cue, and yet I'm kept there waiting

Know what to do, and still I stand there waiting

It's always someone else who sings

While I'm left waiting in the wings

And so I keep on keeping on....

My chances come and then I blink and they're gone

Always overlooked unfairly

While pretending that it barely stings

But it stings, yes, it stings....!

And I'll shed no tears, I'll only keep on waiting

If no one cheers, well, I can keep on waiting

Who cares how loud the silence rings

You'll find me waiting in the wings..."

"I was never meant to be a star. I mean, look at me- you're the showman, the one who catches everyones' stare. ...I'm just there." Bella sighed, turning to go back behind her curtain, but Nick grabbed hold of her arm. "....For once, I don't know what to say. I had no idea you felt this way. I never meant to make you feel second rate. Without you, this place would probably be torn apart by hate." Truthfully, he felt guilty. Sure, he knew he was amazing he hated himself, even though Mortimer didn't seem to think so, but he never meant to make anyone feel like they were inferior! That wouldn't be very nice of him at all.

"....If you start self-blaming, I'll slap you." She weakly chuckled, breath still shuddering slightly - feeling at least a little better - enough to notice something. "...What happened to your face? I'm pretty sure that wasn't there before." ...There was a crack on his face. Not unlike the ones running across her body, and something about it being there made her feel slightly sick.

"Nothing." The answer came quickly. A little too quickly. "...I'm going to find out one way or another." An overdramatic sigh.

"...It was Mortimer."

[doubledash7]

The Sims 2: Uberhood Playthrough - Round 1 (Goth)

The beginning of my new (and hopefully last) Uberhood! This neighbourhood includes all six game neighbourhoods, along with Downtown and Bluewater Village. I have started a new one so many times now and I want this to be my last one, that I play as long as possible. I hope you enjoy my narration. I imagine my rounds starting in 2004, the same year the game came out. I play seven day rounds, each round is a season, and we are starting with Summer. Each sim day, also equals one year, so the sims age seven years per round.

We start with the Goth's of Pleasantview.

Mortimer and Bella met through Bella's brother, Michael. Mortimer and Michael were best friends, and it wasn't until Bella was older that Mortimer really took notice. Despite their age difference, the two fell in love and were married very quickly.

Soon little Cassandra was born and their family felt complete. With funding from his parents, Mortimer was able to pursue his dream as a scientist. He wanted to make a difference in the world for the better. A world his daughter would grow up in.

Both Mortimer and Bella were surprised when Alexander came along and made them a family of four! A little boy to carry on the Goth name and legacy. Things could only get better...right?

Four years later, the disappearance of Bella made headlines around the country. Many theories plagued her disappearance and conspiracy theories arose. Not many Sims stopped to think of the effect this had on the Goth's themselves. Mortimer buried himself in his work, Cassandra became a mother to little Alexander, who grew up knowing more about his mother through the news than anywhere else.

With her mother gone, her father distracted and helping raise her younger brother while juggling university, Cassandra was easily taken by the suave Don Lothario. Cassandra felt a closeness to him since her mother was last seen at his condo by a neighbour. Don claimed he had no idea what happened to Bella. One minute she was there, the next she was gone. This never sat well with Mortimer, and he was always suspicious that his daughter would succumb to the same fate as her mother.

Unfortunately for Cassandra, Mortimer was right about Don. He ended up leaving her at the altar. What followed for the Goth's was a big year, including Bella's return! Where had she been? Why'd she disappear? So many questions! It turns out that one of the conspiracy theories was true: Bella was abducted by aliens! It was all part of a plot by a criminal organisation to get Bella out of the way and get one of their own operatives (a certain blonde bombshell...) close to Mortimer to steal his scientific secrets! Luckily, their plan fell apart, and Bella was able to return home! Here are Bella and Mortimer enjoying some quality time together.

It has been a year since Don left her at the altar and he has moved on, and on, and on....Cassandra has been supported by her family, and in particular, Darren Dreamer. Could more than friendship be in the air?

Here is Alexander on his way to school. The perfect student! He is set to follow in his father's footsteps, although he is destined to be come a Fortune sim!

After some time to adjust to her life again, Bella returned to work as Concert Pianist. Music is her passion (when she is not playing golf or miniature golf that is).

With the rest of the family at work or school, Mortimer had the mansion to himself. One thing he really wanted to do was to finally replace the dusty, old telescope on the roof. It hadn't seen much use since Bella's disappearance. Time for an upgrade.

Alexander gleefully announces his report card to his proud dad. Mortimer found it very hard to connect with his son after Bella disappeared, however, he has seen the error of his ways and now that he is retired, he has more time to take an interest in Alexander's upbringing.

Despite her shy trait, Cassandra wasted no time telling Darren how she felt, greeting him with a kiss. Then she gets all shy again! Luckily Darren is understanding and reciprocates her feelings! Cassandra follows this up by inviting Darren to stay for dinner.

Well that escalated quickly! I've always seen Cassandra as being very focused on what she wants, especially when it comes to getting married and starting a family, and I think she has realised she had the perfect guy under her nose the whole time! Cassandra took the lead and proposed marriage to Darren, who happily accepted!

Now this is the first time I have had ACR (Autonomous Casual Romance) in my game, and boy, it did not disappoint. Cassandra and Darren decided to celebrate their new engagement with a woohoo!

Mortimer rolled a want to sell a great novel. Mortimer is getting into his late 60's, and what a life he has led. Mortimer decides to write his biography: Work, money, aliens, crime and peace!

Cassandra moved out early in the round to go live with the Darren. We will see them get married in their round.

As mentioned earlier, Mortimer has really stepped up with raising Alexander. Mortimer has high hopes for Alexander and hopes he will follow in his footsteps.

Well this was unexpected! A magic lamp! Bella quickly pocketed the lamp. What will she wish for?

We reached Thursday, so it was time for a ROS (Random Occurrence Scenario) roll. Bella was the only Sim who qualified, and she was not working until the Friday. I decided to wait until Bella was at work to roll for the outcome. There are more important things going on today, but more on that soon!

Eureka! Bella masters the creativity skill! Her performances at work should be magnificent now! Unfortunately Bella has not been working on her mechanical skill, so she is not due for a promotion anytime soon.

Even though the Goth's have a butler, a gardener was also necessary given the family graveyard. Some of you may remember Mortimer's uncle, Erik Darling, who met an untimely end by drowning. Now his ghost likes to leave puddles everywhere, which the weeds love!

Luckily the gardener was able to remove all the weeds in time for Alexander's birthday party! Bella's friends, PT9 and Jenny Smith from Strangetown made the trip for the occasion. PT9 and Jenny looked after Bella after her abduction, considering their experience with aliens in Strangetown. Bella experienced memory loss and they were able to help her regain her memory, along with Jenny's scientist brothers. I wonder how Daniel and Mary-Sue Pleasant will deal with this less than normal encounter??

While the guests were gathered inside, Vita Alto decided to stroll by and steal their newspaper!

The party was a great time! Alexander grew up very handsome (thanks to some out-of-game fixing to his genetics). Alexander later decided on his Lifetime Want to become a Business Tycoon. Looks like he won't be following in Mortimer's footsteps, but creating his own path.

Bella returned from work the following day, and the result of the ROS roll was completed. Bella got a §1,000 reward for her heroics from the parents of the child! Ka-ching!

Uh-oh! Gordon King decided to pay a visit tonight, right after everyone went to sleep! Agnes Crumplebottom is too busy thinking about family, to actually try and protect them by scaring Gordon!

Luckily the Goth's do have an alarm system and the cops in Pleasantview arrive quick smart! Unfortunately, the cop was unsuccessful and Gordon got away empty handed.

Mortimer finished his novel and the sales were great! Mortimer does have a high creativity skill. Hopefully he will start to roll more skill based wants soon as his Lifetime Want is to master five skills.

Sometimes even butlers can make mistakes! Who would have thought that simple chicken and nuggets was so hard to make?

Bella is killing it with the piano! Now she is in the zone! Bella is letting the world know that she is back! This was the end of the Goth's for Round 1. Next time we will be moving onto the Pleasant's! Until then, happy simming!

[phantom-of-the-ruckus]

The Handee Nutcracker: The Snow King

Ah yes, the epic Return of Charles in this AU. I do still remember and do think of him, but I haven't thought how could I implement him XD

This one was a bit hard to make as I haven't drawn or redesign the poor bro in two years T.T

(I do consider him a himbo tbh)

A bit of a fun fact, Charles (or Charlie) actually featured in my Hello Sisterhood fanfic as Riley's future crush that later will become her best friend (as the two better worked as friends) So I am keeping the friend aspect of their relationship in the Nutcracker AU

As I mentioned in the Queen Angel thread, he is happily married to Angel herself. He rules over the land of snow (or the Frostbite kingdom.) He is quite jolly and has the energy of a golden retriever. He often helps Angel take care of her plants and love designing patters for ice

His design was a bit hard as I wanted to keep the elegant and royalty look the others have, but also avoid the whole Genderbend Elsa or Jack Frost, so I tried to give him a more relaxed type of outfit and a cool cape inspired by winter, with some ice-looking jewels

I think Charlie would be like the fun Uncle to Scout and the friend who adores helping people as he is very connected to many citizens of the Fantasy world, and was generous to give Riley a sled and a magical coat to her Rosco after taking care of him while he got lost

He also has a library that looks...frozen in time (bad pun and joke, i know), so this is like the sorta thing Riley could use to learn more about the fantasy world and find some clues about the roots of the darkness affecting the kingdom

He also has a magical staff that helps him unleash his winter-like powers, which he often uses to make snowmen or snowflakes for the kiddos as he is fond of kids and likes to make people smile. He is greatly afraid of Mortimer, but is nice enough and does invite him to balls. Mortimer refuses due to his paranoia and knowing his presence won't be too welcoming for the people, which does make Charlie a tad sad as he doesn't like people feeling left out. So, he was one of the people who came right away and support Riley in her idea to integrate Mortimer

Most likely, what inspired Owen to create him was some fond memory of Amy trying to catch snowflakes and a bit of her extroverted and sweet personality. I do think he placed something of her in the fantasy he created, as it was meant to be a coping mechanism after her death

[gaypleasantview]

A, F, I, L , P, V and Y (lmao so many but i'm curious)

TYSMMMMM

A: Favorite CC creator

Honestly its so hard to say bc i love so many 😭 naturally im a fan of creators that create or used to create something essential and super cool like platasp, jacky93sims, moni lisa sims, skittlessims, leto mills, linacheries, pooklet and azaya, mrs mquve, riekus13, rockethorse, applewatersugar, pforest, kestrelteens, vidcunds, sammy sundog, and probably a whole bunch of other creators that i forgot... if i had to pick someone i have a special love for it would be leaf-storm because im such a huge fan of their cc 😭 and naturally i got to mention you and dirk as my beloveds that im always so excited to see new stuff from 🙏🙏

F: Gameplay with or without cheats

Well im a legacy challenge kid, thats where i came from and thats i will forever be, and those require you to abstain from cheats so i got used to making money myself and its super fun, as a kid i would always abuse rosebud and motherlode and honestly when it comes to the first one its probably justified bc playing ts1 with cheap furniture is hell 😃 but with the other games its not the same! i gotta say i started building more recently so the basic building cheats are as necessary as ever but also i think i love testingcheats so much im just gonna have this mod tattooed on me literally bc its so scary and gives you too much power but the fun of it cant be described. i used to abuse it as a kid as well

I: Your Bella Goth theories

Honestly im a bit tired of all the bella business but i accept any theories, i havent decided on one myself but i lean towards thinking bella is in strangetown but is strangetown bella The bella? idk. i also dont like that bella from psp said she married for money and i dont believe her bc her and mortimer are the only true love in the universe it feels sometimes

L: Have your sims ever cheated?

As a kid i made Chester Gieke successful and he was my favorite sim, i also grew up with a lot of christian guilt but it looks like i played chester before that happened bc once i opened his save after a few years i was completely shocked betrayed and upset when i saw that he fucked four women two of which were his robots? i love that i had fun with it as a 8 or 9 yo bc later in life i cared for sims too much to make them cheat 😭 i do wanna play as a romance sim sometime bc i never truly experienced that but i still feel bad when my sims are sad so we'll see

P: Pose or play your sims?

I may not be super good at it but i loovvee posing sims with animations, everything else mostly just looks too basic to me bc once youve seen a pose a few times youre gonna recognize it everywhere and its not as fun anymore. but i still like them regardless! i just think im mostly better off using parts posers, animations or just literal gameplay so that people wont be annoyed with my pictures (honestly tho who cares. its my game) but in general gameplay is my favorite, even though ive always been a big fan of screenshotting, esp in ts3

V: How did you start playing the sims?

When i was about 5 yo we moved into a new place and we got a computer and my sister heard from her classmates about the sims, of course we had to go to our insanely-popular-at-the-time book market that had many many ill*gal game cds lol it was really hard to get a real copy back home bc ts2 wasnt localized in my language and ts1 wasnt even published in any nearby countries at all i think so people had to localize it themselves. we found a stand that had every ts1 expansion on display and we couldnt pick between makin magic and superstar i think. but superstar had xtina on the cover so of course we picked it, turned out it was superstar and literally everything that came before it (that is everything ts1 had except making magic). so that was my first sims game and i kind of dedicated my life to my love for it ever since. i dont remember how we started playing ts2 but i remember my first time playing it

Y: Favorite career

Paranormal probably 😭 bc i loved resurrecting sims. and idk maybe culinary and science? i love ghost hunters in ts3 🙏

[kennabeth]

as someone who's seen both the x files and read the inkheart series do you also see a similarity between mulder and mo??? both of them have someone disappear in their lives and seem to perpetually victimize themselves because of it. also hot headed and kind of rash and self righteous. just realized this myself

congrats on sending my absolute favorite ask i've ever received omg

i 500% see exactly what you mean--i've been thinking about this the past few days and there are so many examples i think of mo's mulder-esque rashness but when basta says he's going to start maiming meggie in inkheart to make mo read and mo doesn't even change his expression or say anything and just pitches the mug of boiling water at basta's head has GOT to be something mulder actually did in the show. has to be.

idk if you're familiar with the absolute funniest txf post on the entire internet ("ever heard of the knife alien") but the energy coming off of that is the exactly how it feels when mo tries to explain how the reading thing works.

person: "there's no way that person over there is a book character you brought to life. that's just ridiculous"

mortimer: "ever heard of fucking magic"

and resa as samantha?? i could spend Y E A R S thinking on what that says about her since we never find out what happened for sure to samantha and honestly get to decide which of the possible options we like best.. which is so in-theme with inkheart in general i want to weep. samantha's story is always told FOR her and she never got the chance to have any agency in it which. whew. is so exactly what resa was furious about in inkdeath (how the inkworld is a world for men but she will not stand by and let them tell her story for her yk!!). even before we find out in inkheart that resa is alive and well (well. not really) there's so much speculation about where she could be, why she would have left (from the people who don't know she got sucked into the book), what she's like now that i refuse to believe cornelia didn't watch the sht out of txf and internalize it even by accident. ain't no way.

detour over--mo and mulder both just. THRIVE on being the designated Sad Boy in the room. mulder does because he's an attention whore but i think it's the only way mo feels validated in a grief he can never fully explain to people for fear of looking like he believes bigfoot came from the fucking moon. he certainly doesn't have peers he confides in even in a casual, non-magic-related capacity (all of the folcharts being such crippling loners is kind of funny; someone remind me to come back to that one day) so he needs everyone he comes into contact with to acknowledge his pain without letting them actually know him. so he--for lack of a better term--acts out and gets himself into the dumbest possible situations. always tells stories like he's the only one affected by whatever happened (unless the other possible victims are resa or meggie ofc) (and this isn't rabid dustfinger-stan!kenna talking, i'm thinking about the lack of empathy for fenoglio's grandchildren being traumatized, the dismissive "wow that sucks" when strolling players were killed because of him (although maybe we can argue he just didn't feel like meggie needed to hear that idk)).

all that's up until inkdeath which is so obviously and magnificently his book. his rise above victimhood to become the avenging angel fenoglio thought he was casting as cosimo is so gorgeously written i feel like i should send cornelia $50 for rereading privileges. and that's where he and mulder finally diverge i think--and it's not quite fair to mulder because so much of his character was dependent on duchovny but mans really just took tf off on his gf and their tiny baby, had no contact with her, took no responsibility, lowkey becoming scully's samantha for a while lmao.

[cobycobsy2k]

Alternative, Season 2 Episode 8: "Inevitable"

In the new Goth Mansion (Credits to @eddysims​, thank you very much for this lot!)

Bella and Mortimer had had a new Mansion built in Pleasantview, because the old one was too small for them and they wanted to leave it to Cassandra. In addition, some soldiers had found out that Mortimer had the powerful Elixir of life.

Mortimer: I told you Darling, this new mansion is spectacular and perfect for the two of us!

Bella (looking at the garden): You're right Morty! This garden is too beautiful, besides, it reminds me of our old mansion in Old Town... What if we go inside to see what it's like inside?

The couple entered the mansion, which was too beautiful and elegant, which they loved, but suddenly they began to hear someone screaming, to which Mortimer peeked out to see; It was General Buzz Grunt and his recruits Matthew and Jessica Picasso

Buzz (angry): Mortimer Goth, I order you to come out right now and deliver the Elixir to us!!

Mortimer came out, he was prepared to hypnotize them

Mortimer (Waiting while he activated his powers): Good morning! How can I help you?

Buzz: You know perfectly well why we've come!!

Mortimer (Beginning to hypnotize the three): Listen very well, I think you've been confused, the Elixir has been stolen and now it's in Antarctica... Go back the way you came.

Matthew and Jessica (Mesmerized): We're leaving...

At Academy Le Tour

The boys were in their classroom talking, reading, or simply waiting for it to be lunch time.

Desiree: Hey Bianca, don't you think the day has gone by so fast?

Bianca: Yes haha, I want it to be time to leave, I just want to sleep!

At that moment Professor Fischer arrives, who is the History teacher, who, more than history, is dedicated to talking about celebrities and movies, making his classes fun and interesting.

Mr Fischer: Hello everyone guys!! It's nice to see you again!

All the boys: Good morning Mr. Fischer!

Mr Fischer (while sitting down): Wow, I see some of you have grown a lot and I also see some new faces! How about each of you introduce yourself so you can get to know each other better?

At that moment someone knocks on the door, to which the professor is going to open, turning out to be the Butler of the Capp family.

Butler: Good morning young students and Dear Professor, I come on behalf of the Capp family, which has given me these invitation cards to the 12th Birthday party of Young Kent Capp!

Monique (whispering): Who is Kent Capp?

Eddie (surprised and speaking in a low voice): Don't you know who Kent Capp is? Well, apparently you haven't seen the news... Kent Capp is the son of a millionaire banker named Consort Capp.

Priscilla and Bianca were a bit discouraged, because they wanted to go to the party but couldn't (Because their families are enemies of the Capps)

In the cafeteria

Most were eating, some were picking up their lunch, and some were talking. Priscilla, Renee, and Crystal had many ideas in mind.

Renee: Maybe it's just a boring party for rich kids... That's why I won't go...

Crystal (Hesitating): Although it sounds interesting, there will be paparazzi around and my uncle will easily find out that I'm here at Academie Le Tour...

Priscilla: An idea occurred to me! We should find a girl to go for us! And I already know who she could be.

In front of the three girls, Monique passed, who walked timidly.

Priscilla (With a smile towards Monique): Excuse me, could you sit with us, please?

the brown haired girl sat with the girls a bit confused.

Monique: Hi Girls...

Priscilla (introducing herself): Nice to meet you! My name is Priscilla Wilson and these two are my friends Rénee Aguilera and Crystal Vu

Monique: Nice to meet you girls hee... My name is Monique Dunnoff...

Rénee: Well Monique, my friend Priscilla wants to help you get ready for the party!

Monique (smiling): Really?

Priscilla: Sure!

Monique was excited since it would be the first time she would go to a birthday party in a very elegant place like Veronaville, the only place she had gone was a farm in Riverblossom Hills where the town parties were held.

Monique: Of Course!

Priscilla (after Whispering something to Rénee and Priscilla): It's okay Monique! We'll help you get ready for the party. It'll be fun! We'll pick you up at 4:00 PM at your residence.

Later

In a Garden Heights store

Priscilla, Renee, Crystal, Monique, Eddie and Simon were walking around and looking for some things for the party.

Crystal (whispering to Priscilla): I told you it was a bad idea to bring the peasant girl and her little friends with us!

Priscilla (whispering to Crystal): Crys, you never judge a book by its cover! Monique and her friends are asking for our help and we should be nice to them, we can even be friends with them.

Crystal was a little jealous, it had been a while since she had a friend like Priscilla and she was afraid of losing her, she felt a little envious of Renee and even of Monique.

Simon: Hey guys, Ed and I thought we'd see if there's something to eat around, we're coming!

Priscilla (Smiling): It's okay guys, be careful!

Once the boys left, the girls went through everything from shirts to dresses.

Renee: Are we ready yet?

Crystal (Leaving to look for a public phone): We just need to pay, I'll go back to make a call.

Monique: Thank you so much for asking me out Priscilla! You're too sweet!

Priscilla: You're welcome Monique! I love helping anyone who needs it, plus you need to know the main thing about a party, Rénee will take care of that, teaching you EVERYTHING about how a party is

In the distance came Jennifer Burb, who was buying clothes for her, her husband and her little daughter. When she saw the girls, especially Monique, she was shocked.

Jennifer (Surprised, while thinking): "I can't believe it! Every day she looks more like her mother... I think she should go say hello, better not... It looks like she's very busy with her friends"