#No news of an offline version so far...

[mariogirl369]

...I am in shambles...

[emersonfreepress]

help i'm alive

So! Long time, no see. 2023 was a whole goddamn lot lol

I don't have a demo update to share yet, but that's because I had to scrap nearly everything I managed to write during a very, very, very bad stint of writer's block last year. I hadn't even realized it had been a block like that until I went over my work so far last month and realized it was bad -- like, trust me; a slog to read that didn't even sound like me. It's been extremely frustrating but I've finally broken free of that and it's been easy and actually fun to write again for the first time in actual years. I just hate giving updates that have no actual news in them. And I really had nothing to share other than: I deleted thousands of words and feel so much better now 😅

Anyway, little about my demo plans have changed: I'm still putting out the Chapter 3 demos in Choicescript/on Dashingdon and then will be going dark to move things over to Twine. Where I am in the process right now is... feeling like 35% done with the overhauled version of this chapter and 50% done for the next demo update.

As far as asks, I'm... not really sure what to do?? I believe I've read them all (I love you guys), but so much time has passed since getting most of them that I'm not sure if it's, like... still pertinent??? To go back and answer them?? I suppose some of them like character asks could be, but all the nice messages of support -- that feels weird since I've practically ghosted this blog since August! Idk. Y'all tell me what to do with 'em and I'll do it. Maybe I should make a poll.

Uh... that's really all there is to say regarding the game! I've added some personal stuff after the cut, but if you're done here: Thanks for reading and sticking around. It means the world, for real.

So what has occupied my time all this time? Doctor, therapy, money, and friends. And improv! But especially the first two. There was a lot of non-writing related stuff fucking up my ability to focus and write, so hopefully with my mind and body both feeling a lot better, I can get back to being present and active with the game. I didn't realize how physically unwell I was until last year and it's been like... life-long issues I've been treating. It turns out it's not normal to feel exhausted enough to sleep at any given time, at all times, for your whole life! wow!!

I also uninstalled Tumblr from my phone back in February, so you could say I'm sort of generally focused on offline life. (And what an interesting coincidence that my writer's block dissipated shortly after that...) I also just moved!! The last two weekends have been so expensive and stressful -_- But I can't even compare the old place to the new. We're basically paying the same price for idek how much more space. The cats are so happy; which means the house humans get to be happy.

My schedule is finally freed up from constant medical shit (there was a 3-month stretch this winter with multiple doctor appointments literally every fucking week 🙃🙃🙃). My mental health is doing a lot better -- literally incomparably better compared to where I was this time last year. There's live comedy now (which I dabble in, to be clear lol), but I've finally found myself able to like... balance it all. The physical and creative energy that goes into it all, anyway. The lovely thing about improv is that you kinda just show up and do your thing -- it doesn't cut into my writing time so much as it costs energy. Unless I end up in this comedy debate show thing next month, which I am very excited to give up writing time for

So like... Life is life-ing and I'm just vibing. Or something? I'll be around.

Thank you all again so much for your interest, support, patience, and readership <3

[palms-upturned]

PSA

Hello friends, I’m sorry for being mostly offline for a little while, I’ve been struggling a bit. Please rest assured that I’m going to try to get everything running again ASAP, but here’s a short version of what’s going on.

At the moment, I’m unemployed due to my disability and trying to get a lot of things sorted out in the bursts of time when I feel well enough. I am fairly certain that my pain and fatigue is being caused by sciatic endometriosis that was made worse by a covid infection, but it’s going to take me a while to get diagnosed and (hopefully) treated. In the meantime, my pain flareups are unfortunately getting worse and more frequent. What this means is that unfortunately I have stretches of time where I have a hard time talking to people or even thinking straight. Some of the medicines I take for my pain also make me drowsy which makes things even harder on top of it all.

I’m going to continue promoting fundraisers, but I feel very bad that these periods of time are becoming longer and more frequent because every day of fundraising is critically important. So what I’d like to ask is whether any of my friends/mutuals here would be interested in helping me run @vetted-gaza-funds so that even when I’m not well, at least that blog can stay up to date. There are currently over 100 fundraisers posted there, and as more get added, the more time it takes me to update the master list, update urls for users who were forced to remake their blogs, and work through the inbox for new campaigns. Trying to push through on days when I don’t feel well has already resulted in some really stupid mistakes like accidentally deleting the original master list post, and I really don’t want to do something like that again.

One friend of mine has already volunteered to help, which I’m very thankful for, but if I could find maybe five more people, then that would mean one mod for every day of the week, which would hopefully mean that it wouldn’t be too large a commitment for anyone. The more the merrier, basically.

So to break things down, here’s what I would be doing:

Creating a discord server for the blog mods

Looking through the inbox each day for new campaigns to add

Cross referencing those campaigns on master lists/spreadsheets to see which ones are already verified and can be shared

Adding the campaign links, usernames, and other relevant information to a cryptpad document for people to plug into a post/add to the master list

Here’s what I would need help doing:

Making the actual posts on the blog (there is a template in the drafts that I use to make them)

Updating the fund amounts/progress in the master list, ideally every day

If comfortable, briefly answering direct messages to let people know when their campaigns have been added to the blog

Also, so far the blog has just been full of fundraisers for people who have contacted me directly, but if anyone helping with the blog has verified fundraisers that they themselves would like to add, of course that would be great as well!

If you’re interested in helping me out, please dm me or reply to this post! (I’d prefer not to talk via asks because when I answer asks privately I don’t have any record of our conversation and I can be forgetful 😅)

Thank you all 🙏 today I’m unfortunately still not feeling well so I may be slow to respond but I will try to answer messages and get everything set up asap!

[petermorwood]

Mushrooms in Cream Sauce...

...or Pilze in Sahnesoße.

This is for @killerblackberrypie, who went looking for the version on our "European Cusines" site and found the site gone.

@dduane had taken it down for maintenance, a new theme and to take some new photos, but while the site was down it web-provider went belly-up. These things happen.

"European Cuisines" Will Return - just not quite yet.

Our recipe was, ironically, one of the recipes slated for new pics, so while this text is from the site's offline backup (with a couple of tweaks from me, because why not?) photos are sourced from the web.

There are many, many other recipes online; they're mostly in German, but Google Translate handles Rezeptedeutch well enough. I've linked to a couple, which is only fair since I'm using their pix.

You'll also see the French word "champignons" in German recipes as often as German "Pilze"; I don't know whether this indicates a French origin for the recipe, or refers to a specific mushroom, or makes the dish sound more classy.

Here's one: Champignons in Sahnesauce mit Spätzle.

And here's ours...

*****

Pilze in Sahnesoße from European Cuisines.

Contrary to popular belief, Germany is not a vegetable-free zone.

In fact, unless you find yourself buried in some tiny backwater in the Black Forest or someplace similar, Germany is much kinder to both vegetable-lover and vegetarian than a lot of other places. It will be rare to find a menu that doesn't have at least a few vegetarian or at least mostly-vegetable options on it, often far more creative than you might expect.

But leaving aside for the moment the issue of vegetarianism per se, Germans really do like more vegetables than potatoes and cabbage, especially seasonal ones in their prime. Asparagus season, for instance, has its own name: Spargelzeit - "asparagus time".

And mushrooms (all right, not as true veggies, but at least as fungi) turn up as stars in many entreés, especially in dishes meant to be served in the autumn, "Pilzsaison", mushroom season, when the good little creatures are coming up all over in the woods and the supermarkets.

This recipe calls for the mushrooms to be sautéed with onions in bacon fat (the bacon is added later). The pan is then deglazed with white wine, and various spices are added, one of them being paprika, which instantly suggests that this recipe probably sneaked over the border from Austro-Hungary, possibly via the Czech Republic.

Finally the cream and bacon go in.

The result is substantial, surprisingly elegant, and yummy.

This is definitely a recipe for a high-end Hobbit menu: an entrée for anyone who doesn't want their mushrooms upstaged by overly large amounts of meat.

The bacon-fat and bacon CAN be left out completely, making the dish meat-free. Use more butter along with more mushrooms and a red pepper diced small, and add 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika.

*****

INGREDIENTS

NB, we work in metric so that's "correct"; Imperial is converted and "approximate", though it won't make much difference. Just don't combine them or your mushrooms might crash into Mars...

1 kg / 2 lb fresh mushrooms, domesticated or a mixture of wild types to taste

125g / 1/4 pound bacon, diced

60gr 1/4 cup butter or margarine

2 large onions, diced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

60ml / 1/4 cup (or more if needed to deglaze) white wine, preferably a medium or medium-dry one

A pinch of nutmeg

A pinch of mace

250ml / 1 cup heavy cream

The juice of half a medium-sized lemon, strained

2 sprigs of fresh parsley

METHOD

Clean the mushrooms with a soft brush or dry cloth. (Never wash mushrooms.) If they're big, cut them in half.

Fry the bacon in a wok or large pan until lightly browned. Remove the bacon from the pan and set it aside.

Add the butter to the pan drippings. Add the onions; sauté until lightly browned.

Add the mushrooms; cook them until they're tender, stirring often.

When they're tender, raise the heat slightly and stir in the wine, salt, pepper, paprika, nutmeg, and mace. Cover the pan and cook over low heat for 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat. Add the cooked bacon, cream and lemon juice. Reheat until just warm. Do NOT let this mixture boil!!!

Garnish with parsley and serve with noodles, dumplings, mashed potatoes, whole potatoes... And some crusty bread to chase the last of the sauce.

*****

Our original photo used Spätzle, as in the first pic. Ribbon tagliatelle works just fine as well, while here is Saure Pilz-Sahnesoße served alongside Bohemian Dumplings, a long bread dumpling boiled in water or stock then cut into thick slices.

From the same site, here's a simple potato treatment, Pilz-Sahnesoße mit Kartoffeln:

As far as we've been able to make out, the main difference between mushrooms in cream sauce as a main dish, and creamy mushroom sauce for use with something else, is the proportion of mushrooms to everything else, and often the size of pieces into which they're cut. Really small bits are one more ingredient, large generous chunks are much more front and centre.

Ours is definitely a main course, and though we haven't made it for a while, the memory of that last time still makes my Mind Palate go...

Soon. Soon...

[blueikeproductions]

So some updates in what appears to be coming next post EarthSpark, and might be coming sooner than we think.

User JtPrime17 on TFW2005 has reported on the matter, reinforcing ProtoMan’s earlier comments.

The next show, & evidently its toyline too, is already in the works, no more EarthSpark after S2. The new thing however is 2025 might be when we’re gonna see it. Much sooner than I honestly expected. When in 2025 is not clear as of typing as we still haven’t heard of if/when the next batch of ES S2 will premier yet either. The toys for the new show are, either way, solicited to retailers for 2025.

The other leak is also intriguing, and maybe a sign Hasbro is loosening the leash. JtPrime17 also reports that the cast for the Decepticons LACKS Megs, Screamer & the Waves whatsoever. He can’t say more for understandable reasons, but this is quite a shake up, as Cyberverse, IDW, IDW2, EarthSpark, One & Skybound have all featured the Frag’d Four in some major capacity.

Perhaps this is a return to RiD15 style Decepticons? Not so much the beast theme, but the idea of using all new characters (Steeljaw, Clampdown, Underbite & so forth) or existing characters that don’t get used much like Cyclonus & the Stunticons.

Now RiD15 did eventually use Screamer & Soundwave as major villains, but curiously avoided Shockwave & never used Megatron (The Fallen doesn’t count). Skybound is following a similar approach with Shockwave as the current major villain, Soundwave having taken over leadership from Starscream (who may or may not be offline) & Megatron having escaped Cobra-La but having sustained major damage.

Perhaps Hasbro is realizing selling the same versions of the Frag’d Four with little variation (ES Shockwave is just the Cyberverse mold with Action Master colors, not matching the show at all) or not offering better size classes for kids & collectors (ES Bomber Soundwave is so far stuck as a One Step Changer and he shelfwarms horribly my way) doesn’t work.

The Terran toys that seem to do the best my way are Jawbreaker & Thrash, since I rarely see them stocked, where as Nightshade & Twitch are mostly shelf warmers. So new characters at least can work, & I hope to see some new ones or at least obscure ones getting a chance to shine like Finback, Bugly, Iguanus, Lugnut, Thunderblast & the like. It does appear Airachnid has new relevance once more via TFONE, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see her included in the next thing.

On that note, the new show doesn’t appear to be a One continuation (I feel like Protoman & JtPrime17 would’ve eluded to it), as the lack of Megatron in particular doesn’t make sense in that context. It’s also not a Skybound adaption either since the Decepticon cast is mostly G1 cartoon S1-S2 characters thus far.

No Autobot cast was teased yet to my knowledge though until told otherwise I’m gonna assume it’s Marvel G1, RiD15, Energon, RotB logic: Optimus and/or Bumblebee as the main Autobots again, a mix & match team of old & new Autobots vs a new Decepticon or Terrorcon faction with a new leader for the time being. Steeljaw, Scorponok, Bludgeon, RatBat, Alpha Q, Scourge, and Shatter are what we got before, so I’m eager to see who we get next.

[snuffysbox]

I use CSP (EX) and I was wondering if you've upgraded at all recently to 2.0 and if you'd recommend it? I'm still using Version 1.3.2 and held off on upgrading because I've heard a lot of really wacky things about 2.0 so I've held off for the time being. But I was interested in hearing your take as a CSP user.

I currently use CSP EX as well, only it's a version 1.3.2 license that I was gifted by a friend after complaining to them a lot about 2.0 lol

I honestly would REALLY NOT recommend upgrading to 2.0 at this point. Celsys claimed that upgrading would be reversible, but that was not the case for me. Sure, I could technically revert back to my Pro version 1.3.2, but it still retained the framework of 2.0's new license checking system. At first it would check your license every 24 hours (meaning that if you went offline for any reason within that timespan, you'd be locked out of your license and only allowed to use a trial version in which you cannot save your work). Celsys did a bit of course correction and now the license checks happen every 2 weeks, as far as I know.

In my mind that means that 2.0 is no longer perpetual. A product that requires an internet connection and can be rendered unusable if Celsys' servers were to crash or something, is in my mind not perpetual. It's Adobe business practice bad, and it sucks. The perks of 2.0 (most of which are 3D updates) do not make up for this, imo.

My biggest issue with the whole 2.0 is that Celsys refused to be transparent about anything (they would not disclose the amount of time you could remain offline) and when I reached out to them for a refund of 2.0, I got no answer. And I wasn't the only one, they screwed over a number of people on this front.

I'll continue using CSP EX 1.3.2 as long as I can, because it's a stellar program. I just cannot endorse the company anymore.

[lulu2992]

Exploration of the now-offline Far Cry 5 official websites

Part 10: Joseph Seed

Recovered content

At first (archive from July 13th, 2017), Joseph didn’t have a description on the American website. He was just called The Father.

THE FATHER JOSEPH SEED Check back soon to learn more about The Father.

On or before February 9th, 2018, the website changed and more information was added about him:

FATHER Joseph has been spoken to by God who has tasked him with saving as many souls as he can from the end of the world. But rather than choosing to harvest these souls through peace, The Father chose the most vicious forms of manipulation possible. Backed by his siblings, The Heralds, and an army of fanatics, The Father is quickly cultivating lost souls and preparing them for The Collapse. And leaving a lot of blood and bodies in his wake.

The video was the Story Trailer:

Further down on the page, there was another information box dedicated to Joseph:

LEADER OF THE PROJECT AT EDEN’S GATE JOSEPH SEED Joseph came from a small town in the deep south of Georgia. His life was listless until one morning when he heard a Voice whisper to him, telling him that the world was headed for a Great Collapse. The voice gave Joseph a single directive: “Save as many as you can. Whether they wish to be saved or not.” Joseph welcomed the poor, the disenfranchised, the wayward souls who had been left behind by society and formed The Project at Eden’s Gate and after a time, migrated from the south to Hope County to create their “New Eden”. Joseph is driven only by The Voice and the knowledge that he alone is humanity’s savior.

Finally, on or before March 27th, 2018, a trailer about him was added.

Here is the video in question:

The page existed at least until February 7th, 2020.

On the European website, there was no description or biography, only a quote: “I am your Father. And you are my Children.”

Commentary

We saw (in previous posts) that the Father used to be described as a “maniacal leader” who was “merciless and manipulative” in 2017. In 2018, the Voice, Its message, and Joseph’s commitment to It were finally mentioned, turning the predator who would terrorize and abuse everyone he apparently was in an early version of the story into the character he became in Far Cry 5: a man who believes he is on a mission and will stop at nothing to accomplish it. That doesn’t change or excuse the fact that Eden’s Gate’s methods are more than questionable, and the website still rightly says the harvesting of souls (so the Reaping) is a “vicious”, bloody, and not at all peaceful process, but at least their motivations are now clearly explained. In my opinion, aside from making him more human, mentioning his absolute certainty that he is on the right path also makes him seem even more dangerous as an antagonist. Over time, Joseph became a more compelling character, and I like that the archives of the website highlight this evolution.

Under the cut are all the available source files, saved directly from the website, of the images you see in the screenshots:

[justyouraveragealternanfuzzball]

Old Animal Crossing Pocket Camp drawing to commemorate the announcement of it's closure.

This hurts. I've been playing the game for years, and no matter what happens it's always there. But come this November, only a lonely offline version of it will be. It's far from the worst outcome, we're actually really lucky, but so much of the game will change. For example, I won't be able to visit my best friend's campsite anymore, and we've played this game together since the beginning. It's what introduced us both to animal crossing in the first place, and because of Pocket Camp we now have a Switch each and Animal Crossing New Horizons. It really is the end of an era, and I don't know if I'll be able to handle it, especially because after Grand Festival, Splatoon 3 will stop receiving most of it's support.

I guess the only thing left to do is spend all my Leaf Tickets 🥲

[suvidrache]

SFW Alphabet - Uryu Ishida

age in bio when interacting. minors do not interact.

Word Count: 1,246 / Read it on AO3 | Offline Version

A: Affection - How affectionate are they? How do they show it?

In private, he's a very affectionate man. A hand on you in some way. Even just holding hands. Unless that makes you uncomfortable, he wouldn't want to cause you discomfort. In the beginning, he would reach a shaky hand over to you slowly. Not wanting to be noticed, his eyes may shift over to look at you, but if you looked at him. He would quickly drop his hand and fix his glasses, while his cheeks remained pink. Over time, he would become more confident in his actions and less afraid. In public, he wouldn't do much other than maybe holding hands, but nothing further.

B: Best Friend - What would they be like? How did it start?

He would care very deeply about how you think and feel about him, as he does with all of his friends. It could start either by you working in the same hospital as him or being in a coffee shop with him. 

C: Cuddles - Do they like it? How would they do it?

Yes, he loves affection. He would typically be the bigger spoon, feeling as if he needs to protect you. He wouldn't want you to get hurt in any way. Despite the fact that you were both inside a locked house and it was unlikely anyone was to break in…

D: Domestic - Do they want to settle? Cooking, cleaning?

Yes, at least one child. He enjoys things like sewing and making new clothes for people. He would have no problem cooking and cleaning as long as he had help from time to time.

E: Ending - How would they end things, if they had to?

He didn't think things would go far when he had developed a liking for you. It had surprised him when you liked him back. He didn't express his feelings towards you, so you would have been the one to ask him out. Now, to end things. He never expected that to happen. He didn't want it to happen. He tried working it out in any way that he could. He even had dreams of marrying you one day. He wouldn't be the one to end things unless absolutely necessary. Slowly, he would distance himself before walking away without looking back. It tore him apart. He cried, but he knew he couldn't stay. 

F: Fiance - Do they want to marry/when?

Yes, anywhere from a year to two years.

G: Gentle - How gentle are they physically and emotionally?

He is a very gentle person. He does what he can to please others and try to keep everybody happy. He is a sensitive person.

H: Hugs

He would wrap his arms around you and hold you close. Not too hard, but not soft either. If you were upset, he would be quick to notice and his hug would be firmer than normal.

I: I Love You

He would say it after you do. From there, he would say it before leaving for work and before one of you goes to sleep.

J: Jealousy - How jealous are they? What do they do?

He's not jealous unless it's obvious. Like you're holding hands with your "friend" and maybe even just kissing them. He would be gutted. How could you do this y/n? He loves you, but surely it was just a misunderstanding for him. You aren't cheating or anything, are you? He would simply say what he saw you were doing. An attempt at getting you to explain yourself. If you didn't get the hint, he would ask why you were doing what you were doing. He would explain that "friends" don't do things like that. His voice changed various notes as he spoke. The pain was clear in his voice and the fact that he avoided looking at you.

K: Kisses - What are they like? Where do they kiss? 

His kisses would be as if it is the last time he'll ever get to kiss you. Always. He always kisses your lips unless it is during an intimate time and his lips may meet various areas of the body. Especially the neck.

L: Little Ones - How are they around children?

He is both a child and an adult. He would enjoy running around with them on their adventures, but someone has to parent them, otherwise chaos may happen. A happy medium between the two.

M: Mornings - How are mornings with them?

He is ready to go as soon as his alarm goes off or sometimes, he wakes up before the alarm. He would get his cup of coffee and breakfast before showering, doing his skincare routine, and then getting dressed and going to work. If he's running late, he'll do everything without the coffee and grab one from a local restaurant. 

N: Nights - How are nights with them?

He's tired from working all morning, so at times, he may only be halfway there. Before bed, he'll do a nightly routine before putting on and wearing silk pajamas and going to sleep.

O: Open - When would they reveal things? How open are they?

He's a pretty open person about basic things, things other friends typically know about one another. As for his past and the things he went through, it would be a few years before he opened up about it.

P: Patience - How easily angered are they?

He's a pretty patient person. It would be shocking too, for once, to see him angry. 

Q: Quizzes - How much do they remember about you?

He remembers everything, including that one time you mentioned you liked something. It was brief. He was probably asleep, but you were wrong. He surprised you with it.

R: Remember - Favorite moment with you?

His favorite memory would be the time he made you the happiest he had ever seen you.

S: Security - How protective are they of you?

He is very protective of his friends and women. So, he wouldn't hesitate to defend you in whatever is going on.

T: Try - How hard do they try with dates, etc?

He tries very hard to impress you. Flowers, candy, a stuffed animal, anything that makes you happy.

U: Ugly - Bad habits of theirs?

A bad habit of his would be when he avoids looking at you when he's nervous and upset. The difference between his nerves and being upset would be when he's nervous. His hands tremble. When he's upset, his voice changes. He doesn't want to shout at you. However, it would crack from the pain that he's in. It isn't often he's upset. 

V: Vanity - How concerned with their looks are they? 

He is very concerned. He has a skincare routine and sleeps in and with silk. 

W: Whole - Would they feel incomplete without you?

He would feel very incomplete. It's not the same without you being around. 

X: Xtra - A random headcanon about them?

He would notice when one of your clothes is starting to tear and would clean it (if it hasn't been yet), patch it, and hang it up as if nothing had happened. A surprise for you to find.

Y: Yuck - What are some things they dislike?

People who can't be honest, tell him how you really feel. Buttons. The word, 'haphazard.' Procrastinating.

Z: ZZZ - A sleep habit of theirs?

He keeps the blankets, he insists that he doesn't. You should probably start sleeping with your own blanket. Otherwise, it will be a battle with him.

Tag List: @stygianoir, @eli-chris, @thevoidwriting / Join My Tag List Here!

© SUVIDRACHE — do not copy, translate, modify, or plagiarize my work. reblogs are appreciated!

[erenspussy420]

I NEED A PART 6 OF THE ANDROID AU

Well I do have part of it here. Been trying to get back into writing again

EDIT: Below I added in a new addition. This is a separate piece of the Android Au but still same Manager Unit but stuck in the NRC we all know and play

.

.

Crowley looks around, a hand raised to his lips as his teeth nibble at his gloved fingertips. “Oh dear! Oh dear oh dear!” He flits back and forth, torn between calling the young promising buyer back to the hall where he could at the very least keep them busy. Or risking the Lilia Unit slipping by. Alas he is too late, the buyer is far too engrossed to pull away, so he does his best option. His failsafe that never falters in times where her master will graciously take a supporting hand.

He raises his hand— and pinches the air, dragging it down until a mirror scrolls down. He clears his throat, he casts his spell.” Mira, Mira, connect to the Scarabia Chambers.” A dial tone rang, and there he connected.

.

.

.

Manager Unit slumped over where she was left behind. Her back no doubt would be aching if she had been a real human, but thankfully she is spared such a fate. Her eyes were shut, as if she was finally taking a nap from her never ending chores so graciously written up by her beloved charming yet humble—

Oh, her offline radar spikes as the shudder of noise scratches the walls.

His voice booms over the intercom: Manager Unit! Manager Unit, please wake up! We have a situation in the Diasomnia Chambers! A batty type!

However he has yet to say his secret phrase. A very silly phrase known by his fellow Raven Works employees in such times. His reliable Manager Unit stays asleep on her feet.

“Oh Sevens! Meaty Meat Lovers Delight!”

A faint click, followed by several melodic beats, as a burst of glitter and a bibitty bobbity boo— awakens the sleeping android. Tawny eyes, and dark lashes flutter, silicone skin that creases as she awakens. Manager Unit eyes clench before fluttering open. Memory reboots as she takes in her surroundings. She blinks once, twice, and then begins sprinting for the magical mirror.

“Oh not again! Lilia!” She shrieks running out, skirts rustling.

EDIT: Here is another spin off version of it, Manager Unit gets to go to NRC and our Crowley has a new maid

On the day new students arrived at the esteemed Night Raven College, Crowley found a delightful surprise awaiting him. Laying right there in the middle of his office, tied off with a largely comical red bow it sat there—- menacingly. “How? He utters, the feathers of his cape ruffle as he looks over it, cane held in a tight grip. It was one thing if his upper class students liked to play jokes for newcomers. Some in good laughs others lacking the refinery but the spirit is there!

It was another thing entirely how they managed to sneak into his office lugging a gate from the designated area! Oh, those cheeky little boys! 

However! A very big however, mind you, no student should have been able to move this gate from the chambers. No matter how clever, wicked or even foolishly lucky— this is no practical joke. Somehow, someone had managed to bypass all his security, the ghost patrol and even the looming eyes of the Seven who guard his office.

“Did you see who it was?” He asked out, his talons drum again the same wood they had used for their own gates. The wood felt warm, a light rumbling trembled its spot—his feathers stayed in place. There was the foggy glass, smoking and turning him away.

“No,” The great mage of Agrabah pressed into the canvas as far he could to peek,” It became dark, as if all the light in the world had flickered. And then this little…precious thing came to be.”

“Quite the show boating,” The portrait of the great faerie Queen remarks with a huff,” Can you not sense it? The magic within?”

 His magic spirals, sneaking around the gate for a sense of magic or something. Whatever gave way to what’s inside. A part of him thinks it might be a silly prank, the other part felt more concern. Within the student population, were children of prominent backgrounds with much attention paid to them by their own fellow students— and those outside of the college's protection. Due to such important figures, and of course in general concern of their students, the magical barrier would immediately kick out anyone not affiliated with the college.

[renaultphile]

Hi, Im a new Renault reader and Ill be very grateful if you maybe told me where can I find her books. English is not my firts language so im sorry if my meessage is not well written.

Well hello there, wonderful to hear from you, new Renault fan 😊 You are in luck - as far as I am aware, all of her books are available on the open library at the Internet Archive

You can set up an account for free if you haven't already got one, it is very easy. Some books can be downloaded, others have to be 'borrowed' online, often for an hour at a time, and I think this is the case with the Renault ones. You just 're-borrow' when your time is up and I've never had a problem with availability. You can also usually cache quite a few pages to read if you are going to be offline.

I hope you will join the Renault fans community on Tumblr - you can message @nurseadriansbrother for an invite. And if you want the 1953 version of TC in PDF form, feel free to message me!

Here's wishing you many happy hours of reading! By the way, have you read any of the novels yet, and if not do you know where you are going to start?

[rei-does-stuff]

HAII !!! wanted 2 know if u could help me find the official sub of rgu (the one on yt) for download because I have LOOKED far and wide and tried my best 2 rip it myself but it won't work and I can't find it ANYWHEREE ,,,, I need it so I can watch rgu on my 3ds offline and without lag :'3 the only 2 full subbed copies I could find didn't work (one crashed every time I tried 2 play it and the other would speed up and unsync the audio n subs for some reason ???) If u have anything that's amazing but if not that's SOSOSO cool too dw Abt it oh god this is so long sorry

Here you go!!!!

For downloading it specifically I’m not sure since it’s not on any homebrew sites, you could record it on your 3ds camera and watch it, thirdtube might let you download, haven’t tried it yet tho!

You can also try converting the videos yourself and use this to play em (only for new 3ds tho!)

I haven’t tried either of these tho so yk

[averageclawcodeenjoyer]

Alright so as far as introductions go, I guess I should probably make one before I get too far into this.

HERES MY ABOUT ME POST!

My name's Leonardo, and you can call me any version of that that you want (Leo, Leon, Leonard, Nardo[my favorite], either way, it's all the same to me.) My pronouns are He/Him. I am an artist, author, animator, and a DEDICATED CLAWCODE ENTHUSIST (Hence the name)

I am also VERY autistic and don't get tone a lot, so tone tags are very important to me, especially when there's joking or sarcasm involved.

Ahem.

I know the Spiderverse Fandom isn't particularly alive (SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP) but I will try to post often, even if it's just a shitpost here and there. I really want to help feed into the ClawCode brain rot since the content for these two is SEVERELY FUCKING LACKING. So. If you have requests for things, I will probably end up doing them! My asks are always open, and I'd love to hear from anybody. I don't have any friends that love them the way that I do 😔😔

I have not had Tumblr before! Which is a little insane, so I'm new to all of this and learning how everything works. Please forgive me if I don't know the proper etiquette on this app lmao. My friend has been guiding me through all of this and told me to make an About Me post, so that's what I'm doing.

Here are some tags that will frequent my posts!

Yapping Hour - Will either be used for headcanons, or short stories/ideas/other ClawCode related crap. It's just going to be a general tag that will probably go on most of my posts from here on out.

Slur Gallery - Will be of the art I post of them, be it ship art or other :3 because everybody deserves a gallery of slurs to look at. AND JUST LOOK AT THEM!

Earworm - Is the tag I'll use when there's music involved, like songs that remind me of them (and the heavy analysis that goes with it **COMING SOON**), or animatics that I'm working on, or just anything that has to do with a song. Edits, artworks, the whole shebang.

Talkaholic - This will ALSO be used for mini stories/facfics, but more often than the yapping hour. So if you wanna read my writing of them that's what you can find it under.

Offline - will be under posts like these, where it isn't directly related to anything, just random blocks of text or other art that I feel like posting.

Oil And Water - THIS tag will be about the fanfic I am currently (excruciatingly slowly) writing! It doesn't have a happy ending and is meant to be a HEAVY angst story, like hurt/no comfort or very little comfort. I have one chapter out currently but will be working on more soon (and will make a separate post about it! But I will link it here as well. MOTIVATE ME TO WRITE IT /HJ)

Prowler Party - Is what I'll put on ALL of my posts as an extra way to help find me if one so desires d=(^o^)=b

OOC - On the chance that I might make something intentionally out of character, I will put this beneath it. I know a lot of people don't like mischaracterization, or incorrect portrayal of a character, but sometimes it's really fun to write, so I will be including that was well.

I think that's all that I can think of right now (I'm running off of an hour and 40 minutes sleep), but things may change or be edited in the future. But for now, I'll be signing off.

Shipwrecked - THIS WILL BE ABOUT MY SELKIE/SIREN AU BECAUSE IM ACTUALLY NOT OKAY ABOUT IT AND NEED TO SHARE MY INSANITY

HELLO AND THANK YOU TO THE WARM WELCOME I'VE RECIEVED!!

MORE COMIGN SOON

[thedemonscrawler]

gonna procrastinate on writing by talking about writing woo

So, fun fact! Permission Slip is usually being written on two different documents at once, which should be but are not actually identical? And neither of them match the actual AO3 version you guys read?

1st Draft

The first draft is written with a combination of OpenOffice and Google Docs.

(I'll get to why that says Mobile Copy in a sec)

The OpenOffice document is meant to be the Master Draft of the fic. It's the entire story so far-- outline, notes, all the chapters written and the bits of chapters we haven't gotten to yet.

Yeah, it's lengthy. The reason it says 'Active Version' is starting around Chapter 5, I began saving a copy of the document up to the most recent chapter finished.

This is because of how I write scenes out of order, and having an older draft lets me go back for things that got rewritten. It's also really neat to see how various ideas evolved over the story, or how old some of the scenes are.

OpenOffice has the Master Draft, not just because it can handle it, but so I can put my laptop into airplane mode and write offline if I really need to focus. But the story doesn't stay there!

If you've seen the snippets I've shared, you know that sometimes they're highlighted in grey, like this:

(yeah you enjoy that snippet from Chapter 15)

The grey highlights are a system to tell myself 'this is a section that needs to be copied over to the other document', almost always a section I have just written that session. Feels good to have a whole page in grey.

So from OpenOffice, the grey sections are copied over to GoogleDocs, and become the 2nd Draft.

2nd Draft

..okay, so there are actually TWO GoogleDoc copies of Permission Slip. One of them is a 'master' version, just like the Open Office file. The other is the Mobile version. The master version has all of the chapters and outline and stuff, while the Mobile copy only goes back one or two chapters prior to the current one. Why?

Cos it turns out that when a document gets to be around 110 pages long, Docs starts being a little bitch and lags real bad on mobile, or starts crashing. So the mobile version was made so I could type on my phone. Same deal, new sections are highlighted in grey and copied back to the OpenOffice version when I'm on the laptop again.

Since the GoogleDocs version can be worked on from multiple locations, it's the one that gets the most edits. If there are substantial changes made they'll be copied back to the OpenOffice document, but minor edits aren't as crucial, and there are some sections that are pretty different between the two now.

From the GoogleDocs version on to the final(ish) version:

3rd Draft

The AO3 version should match the GoogleDocs version, and for the most part it does-- but not always. That last minute readthrough to catch all the spaces added after italics is also a time for minor edits. Missing words, dialogue rewrites, etc. There's one chapter that had a chunk written in the editor, but unfortunately I can't remember which one it is now 8'D only that it's between chapters 9 and 12. Naturally the AO3 version is the one you guys get to see.

Uuuuh yeah so. Overcomplicated system, go!

Also if you want a word processor for free, I recommend LibreOffice! Its based on the same open source software as OpenOffice, only it's actually still being updated and stuff (I still use OO just cos it's what I have 8'D).

Unfortunately I have yet to find a word processing app with cloud-based storage that can be edited from multiple devices, so I can't replace GoogleDocs with something better.

[scumbag-monthly]

The Young Ones Were: A Final Word from Scumbag Monthly’s Editor 🖕💚

I was going to post this on 7th March – the birthday of the pan global phenomenon himself – but I think the emotion will be stronger tonight. Either way, I’ve chosen this post to say my last farewells to Scumbag Monthly and thank the people who helped make it what it was.

It was my decision as editor to end SM at Issue #25 and it was a difficult one to make. Although SM has come with both pros and cons, it’s something I’ve enjoyed creating and is something I’m very proud of. In a way, it would have been easier to carry on – sticking with the familiar is always easier – but I didn’t want our fanzine to drift off into nothingness. I thought twenty-five was a good number to end it at. Three years; twenty-five issues; three Rik specials; a zine for the fortieth anniversary – I think we’ve done alright, all things considered. More than alright! I’m so happy that we were able to add to the fandom in some small way.

I have a head for dates, so I can tell you with 99% certainty that I took on the reins of editorship at SM on 14th May 2020. It’s weird that that time feels both close and far away – international pandemics will do that to you. I’ve seen engagement and interest in this zine ebb and flow over the years. We’ve never really received enough submissions to keep us afloat long term. I used to ask my mutuals if I could add old art of theirs to zines to keep the Drawing Room full, and the amount of my fic that made its way into SM was not the result of an overinflated ego (I promise!), more the result of fic submissions falling even lower than art submissions. We’re a small fandom; that’s always been a problem for SM. While I’ve continually emphasised the importance of submissions to SM – how else would SM involve those not working behind the scenes? – the truth is that the end products simply wouldn’t have arrived on our website be it not for the so-called scumbag staff who dedicated their free time to making pages and content.

With a small fandom and ergo a small team, SM’s ambitions had to be realistic. We would all have loved to bring new segments out in every issue but, with a lot to do and limited time to get it done each time, this often wasn’t possible. I never wanted SM to become a burden to the people who made pages for it, as we all lead offline lives and SM was simply a passion project – we made this because we wanted to, because it was fun.

I won��t deny there have been points where SM burnt me out a tad. I think it was easy to lose sight of things during the lockdowns, or simply fall completely into one project. There are some zines where well over twenty of the pages were made by me because they had to be, and I’ve often feared that The People’s Poetry suffered because of this. I’m very pleased and grateful to point out that the page share became slightly less exaggerated after we found different people for each character, but (and I’m afraid I am going to have to be egotistical now XD) I’d be lying if I denied every zine since Issue #4 isn’t drenched in my blood, sweat, and improvised version of graphic design (not actually my passion, me being primarily a writer and all XD).

I hope this isn’t sounding too negative because SM really does mean a lot to me. I think it’s just that a mixed relationship is guaranteed with anything you give a lot of yourself to and I want to be honest here, at the end. It’s going to feel weird for me for a little while: no more new documents to set up, no more new pages to make, no more themes to discuss, no more Google Forms to collect. I will miss SM, but thanks to the internet it’ll actually still be here. We’ll be keeping the website up as an archive and the same with our Tumblr blog and Instagram (scumbag_monthly). For future runs of the Rik and Ade Fest, another blog has been set up (@rikandadefest). SM has also had a Redbubble on the down low for some time now and we’re planning on adding our designs of the lads there soon, if any of you fancy owning something with those on.

I realise this whole post comes at the risk of sounding pretentious and melodramatic… but sod it, you know? Here are the people I’d like to thank individually, on behalf of our fanzine.

@theevilesteviled -

First of all, the creator of SM: the reason you’re even reading this right now. During the period in which SM got going – that calm before the utter shitstorm of 2020 – we spoke nearly every day… though, living on different sides of the globe did limit our talk time to early mornings and late evenings. Ed is the reason SM ever launched. She did almost everything for the first few zines, often at the cost of her own sanity, and she inspired a passion for this fanzine within me.

In May 2020, when I found myself in lockdown limbo between college and university, Ed was struggling with the brunt of SM plus the new hell of online classes. When I took charge of Issue #4, I don’t think I realised the extent of what I was taking on – I certainly didn’t expect to still be editor nearly three years later! Even so, without Ed SM wouldn’t have gotten as far as Issue #4. I’ll admit when she initially proposed the idea for a The Young Ones fanzine, I didn’t assume it would ever actually happen. I agreed to take on Rick’s page, but never allowed myself to imagine we’d end up with a project that’d last three years. Surely, it was only other people who could pull off that kind of thing, right? Surely, a group of introverted young adults online weren’t really going to get anywhere with this, were we?

I’m not trying to make SM sound bigger than it is – I’m well aware how niche we are, have always been – but the point I’m trying to make is: thanks to Ed spearheading SM in the early days, I had the profound realisation that I can actually be creative and try new things and they’re not destined to fall completely flat on their faces. I think everyone involved with SM, be it through making pages or submitting their work, has experienced a version of this same realisation with the publication of each zine.

That’s thanks to Ed, so I’d like to formally express my gratitude. Thank you, ya bastard.

@xgardensinspace -

The lovely Deya! Deya has always been a big part of SM, right from the beginning. The portraits of Vyvyan, Rick, Neil, Mike, Balowski, and P that appeared regularly in our zines were drawn by them, as well as the ten portraits of our staff on our website. That’s not even mentioning the five exemplary covers they’ve whizzed up for SM!

Not only is Deya an exceptionally talented artist, they’re also an enthusiastic team player. From Issue #11 onwards, they’ve been our resident Mike. As most of us agree, Mike is the most difficult young one to characterise – Deya rose to the challenge with full commitment. Alongside taking on Mike’s Moments, for a period of time in late 2021 Deya posted as Mike to SM’s Instagram every Thursday, providing all of us with funny insights into Mike’s sense of fashion. There have also been times when my SM workload proved too much and they stepped up to write Comic Strip reviews for our Strip Tease – in fact, one of my favourite reviews is the one of Five Go Mad on Mescalin we wrote together for Issue #18.

Deya has always been passionate about SM, even when it seemed there were only a few of us who were. They’ve been incredibly supportive and understanding, often one of the first to volunteer to make art or write pieces for specials. To put it lightly, SM would be left severely lacking without their endless contributions and help and for that reason I’m incredibly thankful to them.

Last spring, I was lucky enough to finally meet Deya, when they visited the UK on holiday, and they were just as lovely in person as they are online. Thank you ever so much for your work on SM, you really are a cool person.

@drinkysketch -

I felt it only right to single out Julia here. Fandom spaces are ever changing and the individuals who’ve contributed to SM are no different. Despite this, Julia has been a constant cover artist for SM – not only did she create our first ever cover art back when SM was completely unknown, she’s since provided us with five more pieces for our covers. As the clever trousers among you will have worked out, that’s six in total. Almost a quarter of our regular zines!

There’s something instantly likeable about Julia’s art style: the shapes, the bright colours, the insistence on always giving Vyvyan one eye bigger than the other. The cover of Issue #1 especially is representative of SM – it’s the establishing shot – and I couldn’t imagine a better piece of art than the one Julia provided us with. I’d like to thank her for always being so eager to make art for us, even as the world’s gotten crazier and crazier. True scumbag style!

@codrington-road -

It was April 2020 when Haley first emailed SM with a fanfic submission and an offer to make pages for Neil. These were the early days of SM – Ed and I were just about keeping up with the zine’s Rick and Vyv content but were seriously struggling where Mike and Neil were concerned. It’s thanks to Haley that Neil is the only young one I’ve never had to make a page for… well, aside from that time we switched characters for April Fool’s in Issue #14… and she’s been a constant, reliable presence at SM since Issue #4.

There probably aren’t many people who could come up again and again with hilarious horoscopes on purpose, and I don’t know for exactly how many Wednesdays Haley manned Neil’s entries to our Instagram stories, but it was a lot. 9th June 2021 fell on a Wednesday – a little daunting for anyone. Yet, I think it’s that entry from ‘Neil’, a touching piece about missing people who are no longer here while still carrying the warmth they gave us within us, that sticks out to me the most.

Haley has always brought the exact right levels of surrealism, humour, and bloody hippie moping to Neil. She is probably secretly Nigel Planer. She’s helped keep the excitement for SM alive in me when I’ve been at my wit’s end with it and is in fact the main reason this fanzine didn’t fold after Issue #19. Honestly, she’s great. Have you read the fanfic she’s submitted? Pure brilliance. Her reviews of Rik Mayall's Bedside Tales and GLC were sublime.

Thank you, Haley, for encouraging not just me but everyone behind the scenes of SM and for being our resident Neil for so long. I know you’re a girlie, but I hope the seed of your loin is fruitful in the belly of your woman. Ta very much!

@martian-martian-martian -

Part of SM since Issue #18, Wisely is a person who truly deserves so much love. I first spoke to Wisely on Tumblr when they signed up to write about Rick and Kevin in our second Rik zine, in 2021. Needless to say, the results of their endeavours were some of the most memorable pieces in that zine. Rick still hasn’t recovered.

After that, Wisely only became more and more involved in SM, until they’d taken on the enigmatic fifth housemate, that scumbag named Petyr, as a regular in our zine. They did this despite the graphic design element being out of their comfort zone and even came up with a whole new page idea to spearhead. Cliff ‘sHits – as well as having a perfectly Young Ones-esq name – is exactly the kind of thing I always hoped would start happening with SM: that staff would strike out with new page ideas when they had the time. Wisely has a talent for twisting well known verses to fit the scumbag agenda and we thank them for it.

A keen promoter of SM – they could frequently be found suggesting submitting to our fanzine in the comments of TYO fanart on Tumblr – they’ve even written fanfic to keep zines full of content. I’d like to thank them for joining the team and enhancing the zine in the process. SM is all the better for having them.

@the-tardis-in-221b-baker-street -

Zoe already has a name for herself in Rik Mayall circles outside the scumbags; what fan wouldn’t go absolutely crazy at the sheer time and dedication she puts into her many cosplays? Zoe has a knack for morphing into the bastards she portrays… physically, at least. I’ve always found her to be as friendly as Alan B’Stard is devious. XD

It was during SM’s hiatus, when the spot of resident Vyvyan fell vacant, that Zoe immediately jumped at the chance to help SM out. Since Issue #20, she’s provided the voice of the beloved punk as well as producing a page of her own design, Top of the Plops. Zoe has also been quick to help out where reviews of Filthy, Rich and Catflap and of the music in The Young Ones are concerned, for which I am very grateful. Despite being the newest staff member at SM, she’s thrown herself fully into it and offered much needed reassurance and submissions whenever necessary. Zoe has been an optimistic voice at the fanzine: always up for new ideas and competitions, always there with schemes to boost engagement. Her DnD stats for the lads in Issue #24 were incredible.

We’ve had many scumbags writing for Vyvyan at SM over the years – more than we’ve had for any other character – and I’m thrilled we got Zoe in for our final run. She even made the cover art for our last issue. Thank you!

@aspinecone -

Aspen is someone I’ve shared online fandom spaces with since 2017. We’re both fans of Red Dwarf, but it was our shared enjoyment of The Young Ones that finally got us talking to one another. Last autumn, we finally met in person when we went to see Ade in A Christmas Carol - a brilliant day with a great friend that I'll always remember.

Aspen has had a presence behind the scenes of SM since the beginning, often submitting fanart and the odd piece of fanfic, until they took on the role of resident Balowski at SM from Issue #16 onwards. Creating content for the character most out of the loop with the others isn’t as easy as you might think, but Aspen has always produced insane, amusing pages for him. Aspen was also the original cover artist pencilled in for Issue #21, but graciously stood aside when they realised offline commitments were going to need more of their time.

During SM’s run, I’ve sometimes had hairbrained schemes such as making the badges several scumbags will be receiving very, very soon. I’m no design whiz – Ed and I always made SM out of Word Documents – and Aspen helpfully volunteered to remove the backgrounds from designs and clean them up. Like I’ve always said, producing SM has been a team effort. I’d like to thank Aspen for always being in my corner.

@cloubdustings -

Ava, the mad meme machine! If I recall correctly, Ava first popped up in scumbag circles in late 2020. She surprised SM with cover art for Issue #10 and kindly took on the role of resident Vyvyan from that same issue until Issue #19. 2021 was not a fun year – in fact, I’d argue it was worse than 2020 in some respects – so having Ava on the SM team to handle all Vyvyan content was a great help.

Ava has a very distinct sense of humour and you can usually tell which British comedian she’s most recently become obsessed with by checking her Instagram. XD Even with changing tastes, she’s still making content about Mr Mayall and her brand of whackiness is most definitely beloved by the fandom. Thank you for sharing it with SM!

@lumivarjo -

Lumi was around at the very beginning of SM and is actually responsible for the piece of grey tape bearing the zine’s name that became our logo. He was our original resident P, producing pages for us during the autumn of 2020. Lumi has always been more behind the scenes than at the forefront of SM, but has nonetheless also always been supportive. Being an artistic sod, Lumi is to thank for many of the key headers SM used, which were all vital pieces of the SM brand… if we want to get really pretentious. Thank you for being there for the zine!

@serenpop -

Pol was also around when Ed was proposing this insane new idea of a fanzine for The Young Ones and was our first resident Neil. Offline commitments saw them have to drop the role, but they reappeared again to help us out when we needed cover art at a pinch for Issue #9. A lot of SM’s Drawing Rooms have featured art from Pol, so I’d like to thank them for brightening up our pages!

Additionally, I'd like to thank the other scumbags who’ve made cover art for us: @frankenbolt (who made three(!) beautifully chaotic covers, including everybody’s favourite Modern AU); @whatacompletebastard (for the fab Breakfast Club parody that’s always been popular with the scumbags); @heinzpilsnerbloody (another talented artist who drew me a whole bunch of cool stuff in an exchange and kindly helped SM out); @colourshot-draws (our first anniversary zine cover artist and a genuinely lovely person); @postpunkpontypandyphantomthief (a massive Rik Mayall fan and integral part of the fandom); thedinodoodles (for being ahead of the curve and bringing us pirates before the Tumblr obsession); @rikhead (for the sheer dedication to detail on her cover and for her legendary skills in Rik Pic Hunting™); and @smashingblouses (for providing us with the brilliant TYO 40th anniversary zine cover art). I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: SM couldn’t have functioned without its cover artists. Thank you all. Big respec.

There are a few final scumbags I wish to mention and thank - SM's cheerleaders, if you will. These people have brightened up my day on various occasions and their enthusiasm helped make the zine what it was: @anglophobias, @my-blood-is-maple-syrup, @friedhofcreative, @shotsofnovacaine, @5gogh2, @mariigoldmayall, and @fourstarsandahamster.

Finally, of course, I’d like to say a quick thank you to the people who inspired this fanzine in the first place. Without the canon, there would be no fanon. They’re never going to read this thank Cliff but without the brilliance of Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Nigel Planer, Christopher Ryan, Alexei Sayle, Ben Elton, Lise Mayer, and all the recurring comic guest stars of The Young Ones, SM would have quite literally never existed.

We need comedy in hard times – to call out the shits in power, to keep us grounded, to simply make us laugh. I count myself incredibly lucky to have stumbled across fans of this anarchic ‘80s sitcom on Tumblr. Despite the time gone by between 1982 and 2023 and the changes in society and sensibilities, I think it’s an incredibly good thing that this comedy still connects with us. Most of the people I’ve spoken to on here, like me, weren’t alive during TYO’s initial run. It’s often assumed by certain bastards who shall remain nameless that the youth are trying to kill comedy, that we take offence too easily, that comedy classics are a thing of the past. To them I say: UP YOURS, UGLY! As long as there are people, there will be laughter; and among those of us laughing, there will be the young ones.

So thank you, scumbag reader, for downloading our zines and supporting our bastardly endeavours.

Signing off from Scumbag Monthly for the last time,

- R / @neil-neil-orange-peel <3

"This is it! It's really happening! Who needs qualifications? Who cares about Thatcher and unemployment?! We can do just exactly whatever we want to do! And you know why? Because we're Young Ones. Bachelor boys! Crazy, mad, wild-eyed, big-bottomed anarchists!!" - The People's Poet, 1984

[mmriesoftvat]

as i sit writing this post, reflecting on this past year, i can't really think of too many positives. the majority of 2023 was a blur of depression, anxiety, self doubt, and friends lost. i can't even begin to get into the many shitstorms i was dragged into or that happened under my nose. i have so many regrets about a lot of things, and i can't say i'm sorry to see this year finally end.

that said, the things that did make this year tolerable are my friends. they are the people that managed to keep me from drowning completely, gave me a hand and pulled me ashore. i do not say that lightly, either. i know i made mistakes on my end, and fed into some lies and drama on other ends, but if not for my friends to guide me and support me in my lowest of lows, i don't know if i'd be the same person i was before. my friends are my rock. i owe so much to them. from them listening to me sob and bawl over vc and vent my frustrations, to them pointing out where i slipped up and helping me fix it. my friends have done SO MUCH for me this past year. i was able to repair friendships and make amends with other people because of this support system, and it's with these people, that i can flip the middle finger to 2023 and enter 2024 with my head held high.

i am not a perfect person by any means. and this past year really highlighted what i need to fix about myself, but it also showed me how strong i can be when it feels like all odds are against me. i'm still learning a lot about myself along the way, which is why i'm excited to make 2024 an even better version of me. i want to be kinder, more patient, and understand things from all perspectives before i make a decision, and i want to pour even more of my love and heart into my writing. my goal for the new year is to even finally get started on the fanfictions i've been talking about all year!

but my ultimate goal overall, is to let the people i care about exactly how much they mean to me. i wouldn't still be on tumblr if not for them, and i know past experiences have taught me the most valuable lessons in that you CAN'T take friendships for granted. online friendships are just as valuable and real as friends you know offline. we may not see each other in person, but that bond is still so strong and unshakable, it's real, and it matters so much to people. it means so much to me.

i love this community, i love the people in it. we all have different goals and hobbies and even writing habits, but we're all here on the same website, forming bonds with people and having a blast with the same game. i can't imagine being anywhere else (and i've tried!). here's to 2024, and here's to a new year, new start, and hopefully something far more welcoming and warm for all of us to enjoy.

happy new year my friends!