#Also. Same. Me when Ennui

[whattheheckisatazelwurm]

Gifed this because I never noticed this small moment before, until I saw art of it 🥺

[bigskydreaming]

Imagine looking at a character whose entire premise is that in every stage of his life, he's made every version of himself into someone that inspires people to such a degree that EVERY SINGLE VERSION OF HIM has people wanting to literally follow in his footsteps in some way or another.....

And coming to the conclusion that like.....the most important things about him are the sum of all his trappings. His entirely homemade developed from scratch could not exist if not for what he already was and brought with him BEFORE crafting this newest version of himself trappings, with his greatest trait throughout all of it being his adaptability; his ability and willingness to roll with the punches and not try to simply weather any opposition or changes to his life but instead reshape himself as needed to better fit INTO whatever new shape his life and the world around him takes. All while managing to carry the most innate, fundamental and necessary aspects of himself from one version to the next. Thus every single version of himself is different but simultaneously every single version of himself is also undeniably the same person.

The strength of this character, to me, will always be that he can be so many versions of himself, he can become so many things, all without ever actually losing or discarding any of the aspects of himself he considers most essential, the things he's not willing to lose or give up just to keep going. Finding that road not taken by most, usually because most never even think to look for it as an option. But one that he's always able to find because the one trick he's mastered in his tumultuous life is threading that needle of not just digging in his heels in an unproductive way but rather being selective about when and where he makes a stand and decides "this is not a thing I'm willing to compromise about" but here are places and ways I can and will change and evolve and adapt in order to make it possible for me to hold onto these parts and keep them as they are.

And that's why its always so mind-boggling to me that so many writers can't seem to think of anything else to do with Dick Grayson other than invent some new reason for him to just....not be that person, or to like just take the character whose most basic fundamental trait he's NOT about to compromise on is willingly giving up his spot in the driver's seat of his own life.....and make him just a passenger in his own life and stories.

Dick Grayson at age nine....at age nineteen...at age twenty nine....the one core thread running through all versions of him is the only way he's standing back and letting you call the shots for him or putting him on the sidelines in some way is over his dead body.

HOW he goes about that, what that looks like, who he becomes and what aspects of himself he plays up at some times and what traits he lets fall by the wayside at other times when they offer less in service to his primary goal here....that changes constantly. He changes constantly.

But those changes are almost always (or at least they used to be/should be IN MY OPINION) made with the intention of keeping certain things about him or his life as consistent as possible.

That's the duality of Dick Grayson that I'm here for. The inherent contradiction of him that COULD allow for endless conflict and breaking new narrative ground in all sorts of ways if mined properly:

His eternal willingness to compromise....but only ever in pursuit of doubling down on the ways he's not willing to compromise.

Forever walking that tightrope in ways that only a kid born and raised in a circus could ever hope to.

[critterbitter]

I'm wheezing over Ingo and Litwick's dynamic jgjbjjxjsjwkfiisiq and TYNAMO FITTING INTO EMMET'S SCARF IS SOOO CUTE!! Love how you draw the little sbubby bois, their conductor themed outfits are soo freaking cute!!!

I have so many thoughts when it comes to them it’s insane. Glad you like the characterizations!

Here’s a quick one shot under the cut, as a treat for making it this far.

Emmet finds Tynamo three months before Ingo meets Litwick. Ingo has some thoughts.

Ingo and Emmet are part of a pair.

If Emmet is the fuck around and find out, then Ingo’s been relegated amused damage control. This has always been the case, right up until Emmet found tynamo. Then suddenly, it’s “wow emmet, you’re so responsible!” “Golly gee Emmet, what do you mean you don’t want to go exploring the cave systems after dark?” “Gee whizz, what do you mean curfew for your eel puppy?” “Why in Reshiram do you get to have a whole pokemon three months before we agreed to get starters, and i don’t?”

Ingo doesn’t say the last part. He’s a bitter world-weary twelve year old languishing about the unfairness of the pokestray distribution system, but he also loves his brother. Emmet found an injured tynamo in chargestone cave and decided to help— tynamo decided to stay. It’s every child’s film plot. Ingo being a grouchy gengar makes him objectively a terrible friend.

Oh dragons, is Ingo a bad brother?

“Ingo!”

Speak of the cold, and he shall enter. Ingo swings his whole body around to better brace for the flying tackle.

“Emmet!”

“I am emmet! You are sulking.”

Ingo clicks his mouth closed and tries not to sulk harder. He fails.

“You are not being verrrry convincing, brother dearest.”

“I do not have any idea what you are going on about,” Ingo’s traitorous mouth blurts. “Be convinced I love you and am not planning dastardly plots.”

Do not think about getting a ground typed starter. Do not think about getting a ground typed starter.

Emmet shoots him a judgemental look from under the brim of his hat. Ingo glowers back, and slowly starts leaning forward, smooshing Emmet under his weight.

“Ttttell me why you look like a crushed joltik.”

“Keep this up and you are going to be the crushed joltik.”

Anyways, Emmet is becoming more bold by the day and even actively discussing electric types with the new girl in elementary prep, Elesa. Ingo thinks she’s cool, but she flinched when he blurted a once again too loud greeting so he’s… letting that cool off. They definitely don’t have anything to talk about beyond pokemon, and Emmet and her already have pokemon. Ingo feels a bit left out.

Caught in the ennui of not having a blitzle or tynamo, Ingo slips as Emmet rolls out from under him. The two go down in an ungraceful tangle of limbs.

“Tell. Me. What’s. Wrong.” Emmet gently slaps Ingo’s face like a ripe oran berry. “You want to tell me sooo badly. Ooh.”

“Emmet- aurgh. Gerroff’”

“I don’t speak denial.”

Ingo gives up. His entire body deflates. Emmet, not expecting the sudden loss of spinal infrastructure, slides sideways and knees Ingo’s lungs.

Ingo wheezes. “I’m sulking because you were crushing my spine.”

“Tell me the truth.”

Uh oh. Ingo studies Emmet’s face. It’s the same one he looks into the mirror with, but marred with concern and self consciousness. Ingo made Emmet worry. He’s not just a bad twin. He’s the worst.

“You are Emmet.”

“I am Emmet.”

“You have Tynamo.”

“Tynamo’s charging at home.”

Smart ass! Emmet knows what Ingo means. And by Emmet’s smug grin, Emmet knows too.

Ingo struggles to explain that Emmet has Tynamo, and Elesa, and… that’s only two other individuals. He is truly the worst twin in all the land. Emmet gets two new friends and Ingo’s being an infant about it.

One day, Ingo will have his own pokemon partner and team— but right now, Ingo only gets to have Emmet.

Ingo feels this is an unfair trade equivalent, but he does not want to say it in a way that sounds rude, so he stalls.

Emmet has no such prefunctures. He squints at Ingo, who avoids eye contact and squirms. “You are… jealous?” He tilts his head in visible confusion. “What?”

Ingo covers his face with his hands, defeated.

“You arrrre jealous!” Emmet cries, bewildered. “Why??”

Ingo lets out an unintelligible wheeze. Emmet remembers he still has a knee on Ingo’s chest, and hastily sits back.

“I don’t want to be jealous,” Ingo finally bursts. “I am very happy for you Emmet! You and Tynamo are a winning combination!” His voice cracks embarrassingly. Emmet doesn’t flinch at the volume, even muffled under Ingo’s palms. “I don’t want to be a bad brother being jealous.”

“You aren’t a bad brother, Ingo.”

“I am. I am angry that you found your starter and I haven’t. I’m sad I interrupted your schedule with my inane demands. I have made you feel like you did something wrong. I apologize.”

Peeking between Ingo’s fingers, Emmet’s face falls. Ingo wants to be struck by a giga impact rather than face this. He would rather be a dusty imprint. Where is Uncle Drayden’s Haxorous when you need her?

“Ingo, Ingo listen to me.” Emmet’s hands dart forward to settle Ingo’s shoulders. The pressure is grounding. Real. This is where Emmet tells Ingo he’s being stupid.

He hears Emmet exhale.

“I’m sorry.”

Wait, that doesn’t sound right. “Pardon?”

“I wanted to train Tynamo as my conductor, and I left our two-car train unmaintained.”

“Pardon??”

Emmet looks uncomfortable and sad. It makes Ingo uncomfortable and sad. “Yesterday night. When you wanted to go to the caves. For our weekly charting. I said I’d rather help Tynamo.”

Oh. Yeah, Ingo remembers that. It had stung. “You are not obligated to say yes,” he protests. “In fact, you should say no more. You always say yes.”

“Yes.”

“What did I just say.”

“No. You’re my brother. I left you out.”

Ingo slowly puts down his hands. His face still feels warm, but he feels less scared. Now he just feels embarrassed. He can’t help but let out a meek plea slip. “Don’t go where I can’t follow, Emmet. Please.”

“I would never! We are going on our pokemon journey together, yep yep. You, me, tynamo, and whoever your starter will be!”

The two sit there on the side of the dirt road. Emmet’s declaration sounds like a dangerous promise. Ingo realizes at that moment he would do anything for his brother, who’s his best friend and confidant and world, starter or no starter. He opens his mouth to tell Emmet that.

“Wwwwwait. You are trying to go back to the caves. Ingo! Are you trying to find a starter by yourself!?”

Never mind. Emmet’s gone for his soft underbelly, and Ingo’s in pain. “Emphasis on trying,” he mutters instead. The joltik are not interested in him. The local tynamo swarm fled. A curious drilbur had sniffed him once, turned up its nose, and then trundled into the wall.

“…ah.”

Nothing had felt right for Ingo— too scared, too judgemental, or too uninterested. He’s starting to accept that maybe none of the pokemon in this town area match his truth or ideals.

Emmet was quiet for a long time. He had his thinking face on, so Ingo did not interrupt. He took the time instead to look up at the sky, watching the giant puff of clouds drift by. A plume of swabloo lazily inches their way across the horizon.

A shadow falls over Ingo. Emmet dusts himself off, and helps drag his twin to his feet. The two sway, clasping hands.

“We’ll ask Uncle Drayden,” Emmet decides, and Ingo is enthralled by the sheer truth of that statement. “He’ll let us use the subway! And you can look elsewhere, for a starter who is ideal for you. Wwwwith me and Tynamo, instead of by yourself.”

“Truly?” Uncle Drayden is a scary man.

Emmet nods. It’s easy to talk to Emmet— he just says words that Ingo would spend hours ruminating on. “I am verrrry persuasive.”

“You mean staring at him from the corner until he cracks?”

“Brother, you know me so well!”

Ingo cant help but laugh. He still feels guilty and bad for feeling envious, but a world with emmet by his side is significantly less hostile. Emmet’s hand is warm in his.“Thank you!” He cheers, startling himself with his volume. “Bravo,” he tried in a quieter tone.

“Bravo!!” Emmet replies, pointedly louder. Ingo squawks as Emmet pulls him off balance. “You are my brother! We’re going to find you a starter!”

Ingo tugs back just as fiercely. “Bravo!! We are going to harass Uncle Drayden into letting us board the train!”

Emmet leans with his whole body, dragging Ingo into the fulcrum of his centrifuge. “BRAVO! YOU ARE GOING TO HELP ME WITH TYNAMO’S TRAINING!”

Ingo digs his heels in, and then stumbles. “BRAVO, I, what?”

Emmet looked distinctly patrat-esque. “We’re in this together, Ingo. No backing out now.”

Ingo thought about it long and hard. He gets to see his brother get electrocuted. But he will, also, most likely, get electrocuted.

(Tynamo is Emmet’s starter. But maybe, it can also be Ingo’s friend.)

But brother say brother do, and Ingo’s probably obligated to run damage control if Emmet decides to, say, shove a fork into an outlet for Tynamo to snack on.

(Emmet fucks around. Ingo finds out. Even two steps apart with new people between, this is the way of their world.)

“Alright,” he crumbles. When they step this time, they step in sync. “We do this. Together.” (Enjoy this? Here's the link to the rest of my rat crimes.)

[lau219]

How are the boys with a partner who's very cuddly and affectionate? Who lets their partner drape herself all over him and cling like a koala?

Cillian: He would enjoy it very much in private, giving you the same attention, but he’d ask you to keep it to a minimum whenever you two are out in public, so as not to call even more attention to yourselves than you already get.

Emmett: Would hands down love it and be just as affectionate back. In fact, there have been multiple occasions where the two of you have had sex in a public place because the affection you were showing each other got a little too…inspiring.

Leonard: Also enjoys it very much in private, and even a decent amount of PDA is A-ok with him. But he draws the line at you clinging to him in a whiny or childish way. He loves giving you attention but still wants you to behave tastefully and maturely, especially if you’re at a work function with him.

Neil: He actually insists that you “cling to him like a koala.” If you two are together, then you’re constantly touching and being affectionate.

Robert: It would take some getting used to for him, as he’s not familiar with a lot of affection. He does crave it, though, and so once he got used to it, he’d absolutely love it and he’d definitely reciprocate it. Does also ask you to keep it tasteful/mature in public, though.

Tommy: He alternates between craving your affection and wanting space, and you’ve learned how to read what kind of mood he’s in. When he’s in the mood, feel free to be his koala bear. When he’s not in the mood, a simple kiss on the cheek or a gentle hand on his shoulder is all he’ll want.

Raymond: He very much resists it at first and will only be affectionate with you during sex. He’s not used to being touchy-feely or expressing much beyond seriousness, and he also doesn’t like to appear sappy or weak. But eventually, he’s showing you more affection, even outside the bedroom, but he still likes to keep it mostly behind closed doors.

Jonathan: Is actually quite a big fan of affection and PDA, but in a more subtle way. A hand on your waist or back, leaning in close to graze his lips over your neck, kisses on your forehead. He keeps it pretty subtle in public, but in private, you two are affectionate freaks. But he likes to keep that as a special secret just between the two of you.

Jackson: He only allows you to get clingy and super affectionate with him when he’s in the mood for it. Otherwise, he’s telling you to get the fuck off him.

@ennui-whimsy-and-me @breakthestereo @newbarrel

[so-i-did-this-thing]

Hey so, maybe an odd question, but did you feel like a different person when you started T? I’m a trans guy and am trying to figure out weather I want to do hormones. A lot of the physical effects sound really great, but I’m kind of scared of what it might do to me mentally. A friend of mine has to take it for medical purposes and he absolutely HATES it. He feels like it turns him into an entirely different person that he hates being and completely destroys his capacity for creativity or emotions of any kind. This can’t be everybody’s experience right?

Heya! Answering this on public for folks to chime in with their own personal anecdotes. (Including bad emotional effects - let's be respectful that not everyone has a great HRT experience. I'd imagine each of us struggles with something we don't like about T.)

Testosterone took the edges off my negative emotions. I stopped frustration crying nearly overnight and got a lot less irritable. My explosive temper went down to a low simmer. I suddenly felt like I had patience for the first time in my life. I don't have as many autistic meltdowns now, and when they do happen, it's more me pacing in circles than breaking something.

I still feel emotions like sadness, but it's harder to physically cry. I haven't noticed any changes to my creativity. I feel happier, but that has more to do with not being closeted anymore.

I'm definitely hornier on T, and that sometimes converts into irritability, something I can control with mindful behavior.

What can shock some trans folks is that HRT won't solve all your mental problems. Testosterone has not helped my Depression that's unrelated to gender dysphoria, so I still battle with cycles of wretched ennui. It also hasn't helped my ADHD, and I sometimes wonder if it's even made me a bit more forgetful. That said, HRT removed a ton of background radiation in my life to where I am now better equipped to deal with my mental illnesses.

Even though my experience has been overwhelmingly positive, I have had a few trans masc folks tell me that they felt like T deadened their emotions in an unpleasant way. The odds are in your favor, but it sucks if you're the one who gets bad results. But I would imagine that your emotions would recalibrate once you'd stop HRT.

But overall, I felt like I was trapped in teenage-level emotional turmoil well into my 30s (when I transitioned), and T makes me feel like an even-keeled adult. I am the same person as before, but a better version of that person.

I hope that helps. When considering HRT, it's important to remember that you can just try it out and stop if you don't like it. There will be tradeoffs, both permanent and reversible, so learning about those will definitely help in your decision here. But you have a lot of control here, especially when you jump in aware.

If you go for it, keep a mood journal and make it a topic to discuss with a therapist or other trans folks. Wishing you all the best!

[tea-plantz]

ahoy🗣️

can I request an anxiety/reader where reader represents the Love emotion?

like we're a little extroverted and flirty (and kinda serve tbh) but we are gentler around her and help her calm down when she's about to have an attack?

(I'm normal about her I swear💪)

Ahoy to you too! Yess I finally got a request for my girl!! She’s so cute, I swear-

Anyway, that’s an awesome request, I love the concept of the reader being a Love emotion!

~Anxiety x Love emotion reader hcs~

Anxiety wasn’t really interested in romance, partly because she figured she didn’t have a shot at it anyway, and because she thought it seemed way too stressful. That was until a new emotion appeared in the HQ, the Love emotion.

You were so sweet, kind, pretty and even flirtatious, causing the small orange emotion to quickly become smitten.

She would feel her heartbeat speed up x100 whenever you were around.

The poor girl constantly stressed about making a good impression on you, seeming interesting, and wanting to know more about you, but she couldn’t let you know that she’s excited, or else she would seem too intense, and so on.

Since you represented the emotion of love, your job would be to control Riley’s crushes, feelings of love, horniness, and all that. Anxiety would love to watch you work, observing as your hands glided over the console, making it light up with a soft, pink color. She swoons over everything you do

Anxiety sometimes even slightly envied you. Your job was to make Riley feel all these positive and exciting feelings, whilst hers was to worry her and make her anxious. She knew it was all to protect their girl, but she didn’t wanna feel like a burden. On top of that, you were also so extrovert and outgoing, speaking so easily with all of the emotions, even Ennui, which was something she admired and slightly envied as well. She would overthink it, feeling like she wasn’t a good enough conversationalist, and fearing that she came off as boring to you.

The fact that you where so flirty towards all the emotions, but more gentle around her would leave her with sleepless nights filled with overthinking.

“They act so flirtatiously towards everybody, but somehow different towards me! I mean, they’re still flirting, but it still feels different! Does that mean they like me less?! Oh no no no, that would be so bad! But what if they do..? And then they’ll slowly stop talking to me, because they secretly hate me, then they’ll stop looking at me, or even being in the same room as me, and I’ll die alone! Ah!!”

She always thinks so negatively about every single situation, not concerning that it could be because you liked her.

It was only after you helped her calm down when she was about to have an anxiety attack that she realized that maybe her feelings were mutual. The way you had gently hugged her, rubbed soothing circles on her back,y kissed her head and whispered sweet nothings into her ear made her absolutely melt. She knew she needed to confess, or else it would drive her insane!

Anxiety spend many many nights, filling out countless notebooks with her frantic writing, trying to figure out the perfect way to confess. She knew you loved romance, so she wanted to be romantic and sweep you off your feet. One problem though, she was very bad at romance… like… really bad. After the made the perfect plan she practiced again and again before she actually mustered up the courage to confess.

She wrote a whole ass 5 page long script on what to say, and a backup script for when if you rejected her. She didn’t hope that would happen, of course not, but she thought you would, always preparing for the worst case scenarios.

Assuming you said yes to her cheesy little confession, Anxiety would be thrilled! You, the glamorous, lovely, super pretty, sweet and confident emotion that you were, wanted to date little ol’ her!! She almost couldn’t believe it!

She definitely cried

It would take the poor girl a long time to settle into the relationship, but with you showering her with love, affection and kisses, not to mention words of reassurance, everyday, she would quickly feel safe and relaxed in the new relationship.

You two would give off major Jessica and Roger Rabbit vibes.

Even though you might be kind of opposites, you both fit really well together. She appreciates you and all of your affection so much, it always helps with calming her down whenever she can’t sleep, or starts stressing out too much.

Anxiety loves it when you flirt with her, but would quickly become overwhelmed if you where too seductive, leaving her brain completely fried and her hands jittery.

She also loves it when you declare your love to her, but she would become way too anxious or overstimulated if you preformed some kind of grand gesture. Instead, she would much rather prefer if you did smaller stuff, like send her love letters, surprise her with hugs and kisses, cuddle with her or enjoy a cozy stay at home date<3

[novashelby]

Join Me in Celebrating WLW this June

For the month of June, I want to celebrate love and the beautiful women of our most loved franchise. I spent some time thinking about not only how I could do it, but how I can encourage others to join me. For the month of June, I will be posting a short something daily celebrating WLW love. In addition, I invite you to take part in a fun collaboration project. I would like to make a book(masterlist) of beautful WLW stories, drabbles, and edits of Peaky Blinders women and their lovers(xreader/OC).

How it will work:

I want to make a book which will look like a master list. You will write a one shot, drabble, or create a moodboard, and post it on June 25th. For any writing, I want it to truly celebrate love and affection. So, I would ask that you stick to fluff oriented themes. You are more than welcome to write smut, but definitely focus and tune in on the emotional aspect. Same for Moodboards.

The work will be entirely yours and 100% credited to you. I will simply link it to an index, properly crediting you. I only ask that you clearly state that it was part of a collaboration and tag me. One, for I can find it and two, for we can really zoom into the fact that this was a community effort. I, however, take no ownership of your work.

To join, just DM me and let me know. I will remind you June 15th. I also ask that you please, please do not blow me off. At least message me that you are unable to commit. I won't be mad.

Specifics:

All work, visual and written, cannot be AI generated. They all also need to be created separate from any multi-chapter/on going series. Please no previously written entries as well. I would really love this to be disconnected from anything previous.

For one shots, they do not have to be long. I consider one-shots anything 750 words and above. Drabbles, I consider 100-749. I know those are not the traditional 'rules', but that is what I go by.

For Moodboards, feel free to use any template you'd like! You can find many on Canva. You can also create your own.

You can use any Peaky lady below~

Lastly, I ask that you kindly proofread. I am not fussed about a typo or anything, I just have a personal pet peeve when people disclaim that they didn't proof read.

Aside from that:

Please properly tag, use proper warnings, and if it's not a whole lot to ask, please add a gif or edit for a header/banner. <3

Other than that, I am not fussed.

End thoughts:

On the 26th, I will create the "book" and properly tag everyone. You can feel free to ask me all and any questions. I will tag them #peakyblinderswlwcollab . The slots will look as such: One Shots(xReader): 15 slots available as of 05/25 Drabbles(xReader): 10 slots available as of 05/25 Moodboards(xReader): 10 slots available as of 05/25 One Shots (xOC): 7 slots available as of 05/25

You can feel free to submit up to 1 entry for each category.

Above all, I hope everyone feels excited and inspired, and will have fun taking part in this project. I know that I am pretty excited. :)

I want to stress that everyone and anyone is welcomed to join. We don't have to be mutuals or friends or anything. We don't even have to be following each other. This is open to everyone 18+.

Tagging some people that may be interested or wouldn't mind sharing the project. No pressure on either end.

@wonderlanddreamer @evita-shelby @zablife @vivianleighwishesshewasme @cillianmurphysdimples @cherrycilly @starklizzie @birdaquarius @brummiereader @ennui-whimsy-and-me @copinghex @lau219 @runnning-outof-time @rei-is-still-here @darklydeliciousdesires @rozmrazaradelfinow @theshelbyclan @fiercelittlemouse @mrsmalfoyshelby @thatcrazyblonde57 @bewitchedcryptic @kmc1989 @beastofburdenxo @darlingsfandom @pucktato @peakysgiri @murderousginger @mothhball @jvalentinesworld-cokes-hyna @toobusyshrimping @lavender-haze-01 @pacifymebby

[tanyafreemont]

as is customary for me now i made notes on the space baby talkback! obviously space baby spoilers below so read at your own risk. but once more i present:

NOTES FROM THE SPACE BABY LIVESTREAM

8th February 2025, 8pm (my time, GMT) / 3pm (ET) / 12pm (PT)

Section 1: Preshow

I only caught what I assume to be the end of the preshow as I joined about 5 minutes before the show began! But this is what I got from that.

Space Baby is learning about the world through episodes with themes - Jaime described this as being like Sesame Street.

Each creator based their minisode on a "show bible" given to them by Jaime, which included the tone, aesthetics, and prompt; the creators didn't see each other's minisodes, and this was their first time seeing the finished product too

The format is a singular episode made of many minisodes which all have the same theme. On youtube these minisodes will be released separately.

Section 2: Space Baby

no notes here i was too locked in watching it

Section 3: Talkback

Jaime described the theme song as "Duck Tales and Gummy Bear with farts", and went on to discuss the "baby liquid noises" in it

We are all Space Baby (learning about the world/seeing the episodes from his perspective, through his eyes)

Minisode 1: Missed Connections (discussed with James Tolbert and Matt Dahan)

This episode was a Plan B - the first idea was scrapped as it wasn't in keeping with the theme of ennui, but it will hopefully be used later

Concept: what do we do when we are without our phones? (Phones being seen as a solution to ennui, so what happens when we don’t have that.) Matt said “the connections we make when we allow ourselves”.

Music: starts off quite disjointed and disconnected much like the people on their phones, then as the phones are discarded the drums, shaker, guitar, etc are added (described as puzzle pieces fitting together). When the phones come back it reverts to the disjointedness.

Dance: each person ends their phrase where the next begins

Use of colour: only red when the phones are there, full range of colour can be seen when the people connect

Creating a dialogue without speaking

Network Notes (discussed with Leigh Lahav)

Concept: “a helpless, lonely creator who succumbs to the whims of people who don’t speak his language”

The voice could be anything – aliens, inner voice…

For the voice, a “unique but familiar” sound was used with the theremin. Associated with spooky 50s horror B-movies (also Severance incidentally)

Leigh noted the use of VHS rewind throughout the show – 90s feeling of eras being mashed together, using example of 1920s-30s Looney Tunes and 1950s Hanna Barbera cartoons on VHS tapes in an increasingly digital era. Influenced style of the minisode with the Hanna Barbera type style, VHS rewind, theremin, PNG background.

Song is a take on Sugar by the Archies

Theme for all the minisodes – “what would Jaime like?”

Ruthy at Bat (discussed with Curt Mega and Angela Parrish)

This was shot 4 times as they were unhappy with the first 3 versions

The song devolves from cheesy and positive to scary and creepy. “What are the grossest things I can think of?” - Angela (thus HAD to include 2 girls 1 cup reference)

Jaime talked about the ability to take the grotesque and make it palatable and friendy

The guy who invented the WWW is called Tim Berners-Lee and I did message someone about that during the minisode because I knew who they were on about. And now they’re confirming it. (not integral to the notes but I wrote it down so it’s going here)

We’re hopefully getting a soundtrack release!!! And maybe a less abrupt ending (though to this James said “this is what they deserve” so maybe that’s a no on the ending)

Hey Baby (discussed with Denise Donovan)

What makes Space Baby so beautiful is the range of effort. Denise shot her piece in about ten minutes

She loved dating shows as a child e.g. The Dating Game so this helped inspire it

The inspiration for her character, Celeste, came from an inside joke with Lauren Lopez where they both call each other Celeste and act as independently wealthy women from the 90s

Celeste is a divorced corporate woman. Her ex-husband, Tom, couldn’t hack it. She played team sports competitively in high school and “took everything she learned in team sports and now the board room is her court”.

She’s the kind of relaxed mother who would plan something if she had the kids that weekend, but wouldn’t feel guilty about having a little Pinot Grigio too

Despite Denise saying that she put very little effort into her part Celeste in fact has a very fleshed out backstory and we would love to explore this further.

Hey Baby came together as they wanted as many people as possible in one sketch, and this could be filmed all over the country. Jaime sent everyone a purple rose so there was a more unified design, and gave them all one minute to make a character for a dating video. The time limit and improv of it all made it more low stakes.

Only Jaime knew what everyone else had done – the coherency of it was purely coincidental (“my sausage…” “not very long though!”)

The little PSA thing James did (did this have a name? I didn’t catch one) (discussed with James Tolbert)

Based on these shitty kids’ PSAs from the 90s with really famous celebrities, about how to be a better person.

The children in this (and Tim in Ruthy at Bat) were Curt’s students.

Pixie’s Playhouse (discussed with Tessa Netting)

Curt gave the overall vibe and Tessa ran with it

Took inspiration from Big Comfy Couch

Pixie is played very bubbly but also with a lot of sadness, lots of subtext. “Something is not right with Pixie” – Jaime

We need a Pixie deep dive a la Celeste!

Kim was not informed about Mann E Kim before its arrival. Curt did not tell Kim about it right away even when it was in their house. Mann E Kim was returned to Amazon.

Mann E Kim wears one of the Beautiful Blond Boys wigs from NMT2!

New Starkid merch needed: Starkid Skin Mask! (apparently it is VERY skinlike.)

“Do you think we killed him?” - Tessa, discussing David Lynch

Box (discussed with Sinead Persaud)

“Sean, who is here in spirit, much like David Lynch- EXCEPT SEAN IS ALIVE. GOD” – Jaime

I Saw The TV Glow / Zoom vibe

The idea for this came pre-Space Baby!

It’s about getting so lost in routine that you don’t see evils creeping up (usually evils from within, like mental health), and how things often have to be very upsetting/perilous for someone in order to be enjoyable to audiences

Jon arrived to the talkback and said that his partner studied mime, but he only showed the minisode to her after it was finished. He plays a mime

This was the second time Jon was cast as a mime in about four months, he says that these things come in threes so waiting for the next Jon mime

General talkback resumed! We all want to see more Celeste. Jon said “I yield my time to Celeste”

The next prompt may be decided by other people – maybe the audience? The chat seemed hooked on “whimsy”

James has secret projects. He mentioned also a musical miniseries based on Space Baby!!!

Space Baby is purple because this is Starkid’s unofficial colour.

Jon also has secret projects.

& this is where my notes end!

[t4tcr0chawkluvr]

t4t crochawk is so special to me. I've yapped about it on twitter before but i gotta bring that energy here too fr. I think a big part of crochawk's appeal is in their sameness

They're both loners with trust issues and a grudge against the World Government/Marines. Both of them have lost ambitions in some way (Mihawk having fallen into a state of ennui because he's already climbed to the top and hasn't been challenged by anyone he deems a truly worthy opponent since Shanks lost his arm. Crocodile wanted to become Pirate King until his defeat by Whitebeard, and later on was defeated by Luffy and became so depressed he didn't even care to escape Impel Down when he was given the opportunity)

They're both incredibly petty too because Mihawk hunted down Don Krieg's entire fleet just cuz they probably woke him up from a nap. And Crocodile escaped Impel Down JUST so he could try to kill Whitebeard and cause trouble for the Marines. THESE MEN ARE FULL OF SPITE!!!!

They already have so much solidarity to the point where I literally like. Cannot even fathom them not being t4t LMAO their level of understanding is just SUCH a t4t dynamic to me.... Also

Crocodile said this and I took that to HEART

[darkfictionjude]

For Crowny, I know there's the part on how no diagnosis has stuck (it's kinda hard when they have their normal million problems but also something very real and supernatural in their head that's the more direct issue) but in a more meta sense did you write them to be anything specific beyond that? I'm asking because to me, at least in my playthrough I have no idea how much variance there is, they seem very ASPD imo, more than anything else. That fucking constant dissociated ennui is so familiar, paired with the constant struggle with empathy and such, it really clicked after I figured it out on my end (though I got complications well beyond that; no need to dump it in an ask, this is already oversharing honestly) and figured out the line between what's Crowny bullshit and Supernatural bullshit

I never had a set diagnosis for them. People have given their interpretation but to me it’s much more fun that you don’t know where crowny’s mental issues end and supernatural issues begin. Perhaps they’re one in the same since supernatural issues would affect the brain heavily

I will say that with the morality stats implemented. A low morality Crowny could have ASPD traits but I hesitate to say that is because ASPD is still very stigmatized as the “psychopath” disorder. In that path Crowny is more of a traditional psycho and I don’t want to give the notion that all people who have ASPD are that (even amongst my generation which is sad since it seems it’s very selective which disorders gen z have sympathy for)

So yeah it’s really up to your interpretation because even if the truth is revealed about the “voice” Crowny will still have with mental issues cause I don’t like the idea of a “cure” for mental health like that it makes me feel a bit icky

[deadreality404]

Light and Misa

On the topic of Light and Misa's relationship after L dies.

A part of me finds it funny how the two people in the entire cast of death note who would be the least likely to admit that they are miserable with their lives come to live together.

It's sad, yes, but it's also funny in the way sad things are sometimes.

Like you have Light, who is miserable because he has doomed himself to a life of boredom once again after killing L. Except this time it's worse because now he knows what it's like to not be in ennui. Now he knows what it's like to have someone that thinks on the same wavelength as him and to face off against them and he will never be able to experience that high ever again because the one who gave him that high is dead. L's grave has been dug - his body buried. He will never ever wake up again to play another game with Light.

On the other hand you have Misa who has not only sacrificed what is like 75% of her life (not that I think that she actually wanted that long of a life) but also the one being since her parents died that loved her dearly. Rem is dead and she has been sacrificed by Misa for the love of a man that is incapable of loving her. She spends her time desperately trying to find traces of love in her life with Light but she can't find them no matter how hard she tries and self-delusion can only take her so far. As a solution she tries to seduce Light which - do I even have to explain how poorly that works? Plus Misa's misogyny internal or otherwise and her self-destructive tendency to recklessly destroy her platonic relationships with others makes it hard for me to imagine her having a deep relationship with anyone in her life. So once again in her life, Misa is alone and loveless which is probably something she considers to be a fate worse than death.

But will these two part way and try to find joy in their lives?

No. No they will not.

They will just keep lying to themselves and pretending that they are fine even when the bright pink dungeon of hopelessness that they call an apartment is on metaphorical fire.

[pointyhatspointyears]

Then & Now: OCs & Gposing

Tagged by @sparrowsong-7 @l3ylines & @lynxden (thank you <3)

This'll be long and all over the place because I took a very different direction with gposing this years and it's been very uh educational. Learned to use posing tools less than a year ago and it's really given our characters more life and made a world of difference. Old embarrassing screenshots incoming.. (but the point here is to show ~Growth~ and I hope it motivates you to keep improving too. and push through all the bugs and that existential ennui hit when your game crashes before youve taken a single screenshot ;-;)

-

Random sentimental observations first, going through old folders..

My gurl aged. But the older she got the happier we both were. We discovered ✨boundaries✨ together.

Her fem elezen Era of 2013-2014 had a bit of both Gabriel & Theneras in her. Nerdy elf and grumpy elf were always there. Never realized. (also apparently we've always had that annoying light/shadow shimmer effect and it's not just a post DT lighting thing)

Apparently I've been wearing the same outfit since 2018. Sometimes you just put on a hat and your character says Yup. That's me. Forever. You'll just have to find a way to squeeze under. (sorry for +6 years of clipping, sweetie, but it was your gift and I'm never taking it off)

Gabriel and @pocketyoukai's Yuusei were besties since 2016 before they were RP characters. and he'll always be a loving doting dad retainer to her sister.

2020- Goose & Amalthea were girlfriends before we realized they were girlfriends. The ship sailed itself.

2018: discovered GIF making. Tried to put it to good use..

…but I just kept making shitposts. which didn't last long thankfully.

..And I'm glad it was short-lived, because when I focused more on telling stories through gposing, especially this past year, it's like my brain got rewired to view this world differently, through the eyes of a little sprout again. If I was going to use screenshots only and no words, I had to take shots/gifs of different things to set my scene and experiment with angles I wouldn't otherwise have considered (and fail 50% of the time and try something else. timing is so tricky😭)

..not to mention, when you're thirsty and need to work around censorship you also get creative with angles and visual subtext

It's 10x more fun and rewarding, albeit challenging especially if you don't want to use any crime tools. But doable. And just as fun and rewarding. And I want to do more of this (and fail and keep experimenting) next year and see you tell more of your stories your way too. and be inspired by and fall in love with your characters.

..I was very much 100% vanilla, as in not even shaders, until early 2020. And started using posing tools about a year ago. When you say "your characters have more character!" (you know who you are) I know exactly what you mean now and that makes me very emotional ;-; it really wasn't the case until less than a year ago. a lil criminal activity goes a long way.

Also vanilla kisses were so hard to gpose and turned out so funny. Note to self never to /puckerup for kisses. ever. But we did our best and learned a lot. A ton more kissing next year for sure.

-

A little late so not sure who hasn't done this yet. Tagging my new favorite gpose storyteller @quiethealer , @squidzure (you've shown us Rhea's glow-up but where is Birdie's glow-up!), partner in storytelling & crime @pocketyoukai & @pumpkinmagekupo

and if you're seeing this and are happy with the growth you've done lately... doeet. Show me your embarrassing shots and the shots you're most proud of this year.

[vaguely-concerned]

"Good Lord, it all sounds so coarse. I imagine I might be hurting your feelings. God, I hope so. Right now, I find I hope so tremendously."

I feel like we don't talk about this line of augustine's enough. truly the words of a man about to become your exest-wife. bad news in the jod district: biggest enabler about to drive your cool car space station into a fucking river. after a ten thousand year long lifetime of laughing at his jokes and soothing his upsets for him even (especially) when he's in the wrong and telling him his eyes look cool actually fuck the haters (cough cough simp behaviour)... augustine finally, finally tells john 'no'. saint of patience mayhaps a bit too attached to living up to his own virtue there but hey! we got there, and with only billions dead!

(it also gets me because it speaks of a love that is still there, hopelessly and helplessly and idiotically, underneath all of it. even that desire to be able to hurt someone is a strange twisted longing for intimacy -- of being able to touch someone back, as much as they've touched and hurt you; it's the same thing that makes the most cutting (and most blatantly untrue lol) thing that harrow can tell gideon 'I don't even think about you most days', not 'I hate you'. augustine still wants that man he thought was there to be within john somewhere, even at this point, deep in the ashen ennui that's all that's left of his soul. enough at least of that man that augustine has any power at all to hurt him. the disappointment feels so... deeply interpersonal above anything else, which I think is what I'm trying to get at with how much it feels like he's handing john already signed and filled in divorce papers. and it takes seeing mercy be treated like she's nothing for him to really give it all up.)

[malicenjest]

oh the things i wouldn’t do to get richard’s full pov during book 7 because

because

what the Fuck— like. imagine his brain working overtime in florida, and then some, when seigi just shows up to throw a wrench into his plans. surely he had to have some inkling, no matter how minuscule, that seigi will (good-heartedly) crash through those plans somehow

when the man saves you from a den of vipers, what makes you think that the very same man won’t want to come in and save you, a person willing to walk into a lion’s cage

homeboy came to london looking for your ass when he was essentially broke and on the verge of ending it all. it sure as hell is gonna be light work for him to get to florida if he can do all that london hopping at the drop of a hat at the age of 20

and yeah i know getting ricky’s pov for this book would actually be pretty contrived if written, considering what happens in books 8-10, but bro

BRO

i want SOME indication of the possible turmoil brewing inside richard when he tells seigi, of all people, not to come rescue him. richard— you’re gonna look me in the eyes and tell me that you aren’t at all bothered by the fact you had to tell seigi to back down???? seigi, the man who would do literally anything for you to ensure your safety, even if it means getting fucking keelhauled off this luxury cruise ship in the middle of the ocean?????

i understand that it also serves as an exercise in restraint and some critical thinking for seigi but at this point of the series, please richard i beg of you to trust seigi just a little bit more. bro already admitted that he doesn’t care where you go, as long as you TELL HIM

im of the camp that richard Definitely had something for seigi since day one. it’s as serious for richard as it is for seigi. i just want to know what kind of twist he felt in his chest when he realizes what this could possibly do to someone like seigi

never mind that seigi was neck deep in ennui back in sri lanka. at least he wears it on his face and it’s not hard to intuit the struggle he’s facing by himself. not to mention seigi will always just end up spilling his guts the moment richard breathes. im just saying: richard please for the love of god throw the guy a bone

let me read your mind because i need to confirm the deep sense of dread you felt because you’re telling the man you love can’t come to help you when that’s all he wants to do

(this is all to say that im ranting and i fully understand richard’s take on this, but im also allowed to feel frustrated on seigi’s part bc i would feel that way too)

[lau219]

Headcanons for each of the boys' preferred pet names for their partner?

(and which ones they like for the partner to call them if you have any ideas?)

Oooo, I love this ask, as I LOVE when partners use pet names. 😊

I’m gonna start with the Good Boys. Answers are below the cut. The Bad Boys’ answers on the way later today.

*A reminder that if you’d like to be tagged when I answer asks, please let me know.

Cillian: I feel like he’d use the standard “honey” or “babe”, but then I can also see him having a pet name for you that originated from some experience or inside joke between the two of you. Maybe like a nonsense word you two came up with, or maybe one time you were baking muffins and burned them, so now he calls you “muffin”. Something cute like that with a backstory.

What you call him: Baby, babe, and Cilly. But then you also have a nonsense or inside joke name for him as well, which is an equivalent of your “muffin”, or whatever your name is. Again, it has a backstory, and he loves it. 😊😂

Emmett: He calls you “princess”, “baby”, and “sweetheart.” He says them often, but especially when he’s teasing you (in general) or when you two are getting busy (again, lots of teasing), then he’s calling you these names even more.

What you call him: Em, babe, sexy, and sweetie. There are also times — when you’re trying to get him riled up, or when you two are doing the deed — when you call him “Daddy”, and it drives him wild. You don’t say it too often, but whenever you do, it’s an instant boner-maker. 🔥🤣

Leonard: He calls you “doll” and “baby”, and uses each one of those terms pretty frequently. You love it, except when he’s being slightly condescending and saying it in an arrogant way. When he does, you mockingly call him the same thing back. “Ok, doll,” you’ll sarcastically reply. But most of the time, he’s saying it purely affectionately.

What you call him: Lenny* and baby. You also will call him “sweetie” or “honey”, but only occasionally, like when he’s sick or had a really bad day and you’re comforting him. That’s when he likes you to lay it on thick, hahaha!

*Just have to say that I find it funny that everyone in the fandom uses this shortened name for Leonard, and it’s also literally how he’s listed in the movie’s credits, yet he’s never once referred to this way or called this in the movie. 😂🤣

Robert: He adores you, and so your pet names from him reflect that. He calls you “angel” and “sweetheart”, and he loves calling you these names because it solidifies your connection and relationship.

What you call him: Robbie, baby, and sweetie pie. Needless to say, the adoration is mutual and you love giving him this verbal affirmation of your love for him. But when you’re teasing him or he’s having a moment of entitled behavior, then you jokingly call him “rich boy” to remind him he’s being a diva. 😂😆

@ennui-whimsy-and-me @breakthestereo @newbarrel

[jessaerys]

part of what didn't work for me in the shards that did in american psycho is that patrick bateman is clearly a satire, a character that is a concentrated distillation of a cultural moment in time; so when some humanity breaks through -when he has these brief moments of experiencing a real human emotion of connection and empathy that he ultimately can't grasp- it really hits, because there's a contrast, clearly delineated build ups and releases that communicate that the writer not only knows what he's doing but he is crafting exactly what he wants do be crafting. does that make sense... you sense this confident commanding of the page. whether there's an earnestness and un-selfawareness to the shards that i found embarrassing and i'm not sure why...... a lot of the shards reads like american psycho (everyone looks exactly the same and are all extremely drop dead gorgeous in an interchangeable kind of way; all the brand and celebrity name-droppings so you, the reader, know it is cool and chic; the tangents into mansplaining music and pop culture to you) except it dawns on you that the objective of the shards is not to highlight how ridiculous all of it is, but it is in fact being written straight and it's supposed to encapsulate the coolness of 80s cocaine chic rich kid LA. and to a certain degree it does, veering in and out of the kind of debauchery that on the surface seems to say "can you believe these guys?" but the depiction itself is glamourized to the nth degree and you can't help but think, wow, i wish i was popping valium in the ennui of my sick ass muholland drive mansion. it's clearly prose that is more about creating a mood, an aesthetic sensibility and an atmosphere than to convey a plot or meaning. cinematography in the written form; a glossy-edged frame from a film, which i really fuck with. it reminded me of maXXXine, both aesthetically speaking and in the ways in which it pays tribute to the lurid exploitation genre of the time.

but also it is less polished than american psycho and in it's unpolishedness, especially (let me check) oh GOD three decades later (ok this makes a lot of sense) it lets through an understanding of the writer's desires and interests and those desires and interests are very similar to what he satirized in previous works. but i haven't read his other novels so maybe this is just news to me