#and I’ve been lore writing and scripting but

[chasani]

all I want is a decent animation software for free is that too much to ask

[plat3uau]

I honestly do not know where to begin or how to even write a decent looking introduction, so allow me to just drop this and leave…🤣😭

Okay, but jokes aside, since I’ve been getting really into visual storytelling lately, I just thought “Huh, why not test it out with Jingluo, and capture their dynamic while trying to add a fairytale-like elements to it?”

Also, I genuinely want to become even more expressive through my art, overall… and I guess it’s also an excuse to draw even more stuff related to the two (shhhh, and excuse me for the repetition.😫😫)

Notes on the title (that I think might be needed): I know the matter of language isn’t relevant to the game’s plot at all, but for some reason I’ve developed the headcanon that Luocha is good at picking up languages, as he travels a lot. (I see him just… being very quick at adapting and blending in with the locals’ way of doing things, in that kind of sense. <3)

We don’t really know much about him as for now (still waiting for that lore drop, though!!), but judging from his appearance and aesthetics (so please take this with a grain of salt), he looks like (at least to me) a character from a place based off Europe or the West… So because of that, I had the view that Luocha might have had a harder time actually writing down/learning by heart the Chinese characters (or at least the writing system there) commonly used by the people in the Luofu, when he first set foot there (I mean, I thought of that as it’s a region very much inspired by Chinese culture), since most European languages use the Latin script as for their writing system.

So hopefully this explains why there are two inscriptions: the one on the left side of the canvas is actually written by Luocha, and the other one being the translated version of the title!🥰

(P.S. I tried to translate the title in Chinese to make the Luocha’s writing seem… how to say, more believable? More real? Anyways, I ended up with “我在你身边”, which translates into “I will stand beside you”, so not super faithful to the original title, but I believed that the essence of the general meaning of the original one was still there, so I decided to go along with it.

I’m no native speaker here nor a translator, just a person who studied some Mandarin for a while. T - T❤️)

(P.S.S. I’ll try to keep you updated! My creative process is usually quite slow, so I was thinking that maybe I could share some of the wips with you all. Or you know, just to document some of my thoughts, that kind of stuff. ^_^

Alright!!! I wrote too much, and honestly, BLESS your heart for reading through my stream of consciousness, lmao. But I genuinely appreciate it, I really REALLY mean this.🥺❤️

Thank you so much for taking your time to do so. To whoever reached this point. <3)

[odileeclipse]

hii I just recently read your work

“A Scholar's Indifference”

And I really loved it (the anon who rq it is smart) do you think you’ll be doing a part 2?? I kinda want to see how and what will happen to their relationship

not forcing tho it’s completely up to ur choice!

A Scholar's Indifference Pt 2

A/N Well initially I didn't plan on it but since it's been requested, I'll just write a bit more on it <3 btw all the lore is made up

It started with a name you did not recognize. A scholar draped in navy and silver, with ink-stained fingers and a voice that dripped with the cadence of someone who knew too much. He arrived at the Grand Archives on an evening like any other, appearing at your desk with a quiet, measured presence, as though he had every right to be there. “I’ve been meaning to meet you for quite some time,” he mused, setting down a worn, leather-bound tome. “Your research on arcane philosophy is… impressive, to say the least.” You glanced up from your notes, eyes flicking over him in a brief assessment. He was not one of the scholars you recognized, not from the Vanilla Kingdom, nor any neighboring academies. Yet, the way he spoke was precise. The weight of his words carried the grace of an intellectual.

He had done his homework. Still, you remained unbothered, simply tapping your quill against your parchment. “And you are?” “A fellow scholar.” He smiled, placing a hand over his chest in a modest bow. “I go by Noctis.” Noctis. A name as shadowed as the night itself. How… poetic. You gave him a slow nod, gesturing for him to continue. He took a seat across from you, intertwining his fingers as he leaned forward ever so slightly, his eyes glinting with something unreadable. “I must say,” he continued smoothly, “your recent thesis on ancient magical constructs was particularly fascinating. I found your insights on the correlation between early arcane inscriptions and the forbidden arts rather… thought-provoking.” Ah. So he had really done his research. You hummed, tilting your head. “Most scholars avoid discussing the forbidden arts.” “That they do,” he agreed, a knowing smile playing on his lips. “But true knowledge should not be feared, should it? After all, history is written by those who dare to seek the truths others wish to forget.”

An interesting choice of words. You allowed yourself to feign mild intrigue, resting your chin on your hand. “So, you’re suggesting that we should pursue knowledge, no matter the cost?” Noctis chuckled, the sound warm, too warm. “I would not be so bold as to suggest such reckless abandon,” he mused. “But I do believe wisdom comes not from caution, but from understanding.” He reached into his bag, withdrawing an aged manuscript. It was covered in glyphs you did not immediately recognize, and yet… some of them stirred something in the back of your mind. Something forgotten. Something lost. You leaned forward slightly, studying the text. “This script… it doesn’t match any recorded dialects.” He smiled, as if pleased. “Because it predates them.” Interesting. Very interesting. Your fingers traced one of the symbols absentmindedly. “Where did you find this?” “A remnant of the past,” he said airily. “A glimpse into the knowledge of those who came before.” You let his words settle. Let them sink into the silence between you. And then, softly, you asked: “…You speak as though you were there.” His smile froze. Just barely. Just enough. But you noticed. You leaned back in your seat, tapping your quill against the parchment once more. “It’s funny,” you mused. “You reference the first drafts of the Lexicon of the Soul, and yet… those drafts were never recovered. Only mentioned in passing by scholars who disappeared soon after. It’s almost as if…” You tilted your head. “You’ve read them yourself.”

Silence. Then aughter. Low and indulgent, curling through the candlelight like the whisper of something long-forgotten. Ink bled into shadow. Soft, well-worn robes unraveled into a harlequin’s silken finery. And standing before you, grinning as if you had just performed the world’s most delightful trick, was Shadow Milk Cookie. "Ah," he sighed, running a hand through his dual-toned hair, "you truly do take the fun out of things, starlight." You didn’t even blink. "You say that as if this was ever going to work on me." Shadow Milk Cookie hummed, twirling his staff idly between his fingers. "I had hopes," he admitted, a touch too dramatically. "But you are always so… unmoved." He sighed again, heavier this time. "It’s dreadfully boring, you know. How unaffected you are."

"Then stop wasting your time," you said bluntly, returning your attention to your notes. "Now, now," he chided, resting his elbow on the edge of your desk, propping his chin on one hand. "You’ve uncovered my little ruse, so what’ll you do with this revelation?" You gave him a bored look. "Nothing." Shadow Milk Cookie blinked. For the first time since he had revealed himself, he looked genuinely caught off guard. "…Nothing?" You exhaled, rubbing your temple. "What exactly am I supposed to do? Report you? Alert the kingdom?" You waved a hand vaguely. "You and I both know that won’t amount to much. And frankly, I don't care enough to try." He studied you. And then he smiled. Slow. Amused. Intrigued. "Oho… how fascinating." You ignored him, picking up your quill again. "So," you said flatly, "what’s the deal?" Shadow Milk Cookie tilted his head, feigning innocence. "Whatever do you mean?" You gave him a look. "The grand deception, the illusions, the masquerade. Surely you had some greater purpose in mind besides watching me sigh in exasperation." He laughed.

"Must I have a reason?" he mused, eyes glinting. "Perhaps I simply wanted to see if I could weave a tale even you would believe." You didn’t react. He leaned in, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Or," he purred, "perhaps I simply wanted to see that spark in your eyes when you thought you had found something truly lost." You held his gaze. Unmoved. Unshaken. Then, with the same dry tone as before, you replied "How tragic for you, then, that all you got was mild irritation." Shadow Milk Cookie stilled. And he burst into laughter. Rich, full-bodied, genuine. "Oh, you truly are delightful," he breathed between chuckles. "Absolutely, marvelously delightful." You exhaled sharply through your nose, unimpressed. "Are we done here?" His laughter tapered off into a quiet chuckle, a knowing smile curling at his lips. "For now," he conceded, pushing himself up from your desk. "But do take care, dear scholar one of these days, I might just truly surprise you." "Unlikely," you muttered, already returning to your work. Shadow Milk Cookie merely chuckled again, melting back into the shadows, his presence fading like an unfinished story. And yet. You did not miss the way he lingered just a moment longer. Watching. Waiting. Perhaps, just perhaps, a little envious of the way you were always two steps ahead.

[goldensunset]

hi there i wrote a short little thing about my keykid dalia and brain to cope with khml being cancelled

for those who don’t know dalia (full lore post here) the basic gist is that this is a version of the khux player who essentially was already aware of how the entire story was going to happen in advance. like she watched every scene of her own life long before it happened (because i watched khux in its entirety before even creating her. you see i like getting meta with it) and she quietly accepted her fate

but now she’s in a new life and confused about everything (because they never released khml! so we have no idea how it’s supposed to play out!) and uh oh the unwritten unforeseen future is terrifying! OH and also. unlike canon player2 she remembers her past life. or you could imagine it like after she gets her memories back idk

anyway. this is a conversation i imagine between her and brain on the balcony one night. written only as dialogue bc it was supposed to be a comic script and i don’t know how to actually write anything other than dialogue so forgive the weird format as i try to get back into this art form! i'm formatting it with mobile in mind btw

anyway i hope all 5 dalia enjoyers appreciate this bc as i said this is my way of coping with both khux’s ending and khml’s cancellation

.

I’m not sure how to feel.

About what?

About anything. This new world, this new life… I have no idea what I should be doing…

Does anybody, really?

… Brain… Do you remember what I told you once, in my past life… how I had foreseen the fate of our world long in advance?

I recall.

It’s just… For as long as I’ve ever known, from my earliest memories, I knew where fate would carry me and everyone I would ever meet. I watched it all happen in my childhood dreams, like a movie.  

…

I never understood where this knowledge came from, but I accepted it. I followed what fate had set for me, because I couldn’t see anything else. It was easier that way… But now… Since I woke up on that beach, I haven’t been able to see a thing. For the first time, I have no idea what the future holds for me.

...You’re a new heart. It makes sense you wouldn’t have the exact same experiences and abilities as last time.

But I have the same memories. I feel the same. Like I only went to sleep for a while… What I’m trying to say is… I’m worried. Maybe the reason I can’t see any future here for me- for us- is because there is none.

…

You yourself said- you had heard from the founders- that the Book of Prophecies had nothing to say about this era.

That’s true, but… A lack of anything written in advance doesn’t mean nothing exists. The World clearly has a future after this. Time will keep flowing, one way or another. The city will thrive and transform.

But what about us?

What about us?

What are we supposed to do, here and now, to ensure that future comes to pass? What if we mess up? Or what if… we aren’t meant to be a part of it at all… What if we…

Disappear? Have some more faith in us than that!

How can I have faith in anything I can’t see for myself? Without any knowledge of my future… I feel lost.

…You know what I think we’re supposed to do here and now, Dalia?

…What?

Simply, live our lives. Follow our hearts.

What?!

What else are we supposed to do?

But-

You find it terrifying to tread into unknown territory, to live without a script. Me? I find it liberating.

…Of course you’d say that. You never really cared what the Book had to say either, did you?

Not really. Where’s the fun in that?

You think flying in the face of fate is fun?

Life is supposed to be fun, Dalia. Even if it doesn’t always go our way. …We’re here and alive because existence is a good thing in and of itself. We might as well make it our own.

…

We couldn’t save the day last time, as hard as we tried. What we see here in this city is all there is now… Whether that was truly the design of fate or free will- ours or someone else's- has yet to be seen.

But the Masters said-

I know. But I’ve been thinking, and... I believe they were wrong.

Brain!

If they want to get mad about that, they can come back from wherever they disappeared to and strike me down right here.

Haha!

See what I mean?

What?

You laughed. Life can be fun when you live off-script.

…Whatever you say, Brain.

Exactly!

That's not what I- Oh, you... ... Maybe… Maybe I have to convince myself fate is real so that… I don’t have to live with the reality that I didn’t try to fight it.

Dalia, you can’t blame yourself for everything. Future sight or not, you’ve only ever been a single, human person.

…

Besides, you saved the day. You sacrificed yourself to seal away Darkness.

…But did I do it because I wanted to, or because I thought I ought to…?

Does it matter? Those sound pretty similar to me.

…I guess you're right there. I’m just so unsure of myself now. Whether I deserve anything I have now. Friends, gratitude, a second life….

... Well, as for me…I’m glad you’re here in this world, Dalia. ...It was terrifying for me to be so alone. When I woke up, I never would have dreamed I’d ever see anyone I knew again.

…I’m glad too, Brain. I’m sorry I never got to know you better before now.  I was so focused on my own imminent death… I never really made the most of my life. Had I known we’d end up in the same future…

Don’t worry about a thing. It just means we get to be friends now.

Heh… That’s true.

We have to stick together, you know. We’re all that remains of our past.

… … …Well… Us and that good-looking guy in the center of the fountain.

And his entire crazy extended family tree.

Haha! Oop-…You think the founders are going to come after us for disrespecting his legacy?

Let them come. We’re his friends! We’re better qualified to talk about him than anyone here, as far as I’m concerned.

You know what? You’re right! The Ephemer I knew wouldn’t be so stuffy.

He’d probably tell his great-great-great-whatever grandkids to knock it off!

He’d encourage us to ignore our missions and do who knows what. All in pursuit of a greater good!

In fact, he’d be out there doing silly stuff in front of his own statue.

Right! …And… He… He’d want us to live our own lives. He’d want us to…

…Take advantage of every moment we have. And take care of our friends…

… Dalia… It’s up to us now to carve our own destiny.

Yeah…

I don’t know what this world has in store… but if we stick together, we can make it a better place. Whether we’re “supposed” to or not.

…Thanks, Brain. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the idea of all this… Free will is terrifying. But… I think you’re right. If nobody will write our future for us… That just means we have to write it ourselves.

fin

[superstarzzzzz]

Please make more hcs of my boy(the tv man), I need them I beg

Y’all ready to fw some MORE Mr. Puzzles headcanons?

Cause I got some.

Mr Puzzles collects vintage items and trinkets. However, he keeps them as organized as possible. Clutter stresses him out.

He probably loved those I Spy books and it’s half of the reason why he loves trinkets

Father issues to the max. A part of what he does is fuelled by the determination to prove his dad wrong and that he does have “creative vision.”

That’s what he tells himself, at least. In reality, he wants approval from his dad. Approval that never came.

How messed up would it be if his dad passed when Puzzles made his first short film? So excited to show it to his family and finally get the approval he so deserved, only for his father to shoot him down immediately, causing a fight between them. A few months after this, his father passed. I feel like smth like this would kick off Puzzles’ technical replacements.

Puzzles studied business and engineering, partially due to his mother’s request. He did take some film courses and tried to get a film degree as well, but his teachers found his work to be lacklustre and mediocre. This caused one hell of a freakout in class which caused Puzzles to get kicked out of the course. His father had to convince the dean not to remove him from the school. This would end up being more fuel for their fight later on.

Okay I think I’m just writing bullshit lore cause idk what else to write lol.

Thanks to his technical enhancements, he can connect to anything (yeah duh we’ve seen him do this already). However, this process is incredibly painful and tiring, causing him major fatigue after. That headache he gets when transferring tvs is another major side effect. He gets similar headaches when he’s been inside his own head for too long, and ibuprofen is one of the few things he misses during these moments.

Also can he really just straight up teleport? Does he channel-surf in his head and chose one to pop out of? Does that always destroy the original tv?

And he has regeneration powers, since his screen just… Regrows…

Well whatever demonic power is connected to the keyboard SMG4 uses in IGTBP, he’s probably directly tied to it. Now, I feel like this is also tied to whatever was going on with Axol but since I haven’t properly watched that arc yet I have no idea what that is or if it’s actually connected to anything. However, I don’t think he’s the direct cause of this demonic stuff, just connected to it enough to utilize it.

With that being said, a lot of his abilities was from painful experimentation and random chance. It also hurts him immensely to connect and disconnect to things. As a part of the didney worl engine and controlling the entire theme park, he probably feels like his entire body is being stretched out like those medieval torture devices. Judging by how he looks in the wotfi teaser, his organs are practically falling out.

If they do keep him alive, I would love to see an episode where SMG4 takes Puzzles on as a meme apprentice to study real creativity and makes him a co-director for a video. As they film memes n stuff, Puzzles gives unwanted opinions like “oh, you’re framing everything wrong! And WHAT is this FILTH for writing? Here, I’ve taken the liberty to fix the script for you, since we’re friends and all!” As he strains the word ‘friends.’ The entire episode is the gang tired of his shit and arguing with him, causing him to get sad and walk away. However, someone reviews the changes and re-evaluates how to film it (this could be meggy, smg4, or mario even), and they go back to finalize the script with him. At the end, when they publish the episode, Bob starts a bet to see how much it’s gonna suck but it actually does decent. Smg4 gives Puzzles credit which causes him to start bawling.

This is wishful thinking ofc bro’s gonna die lol

Another idea if they keep him alive is to try and help Tari with the Clutch situation. I don’t think that’s been dealt with correctly, and it would be interesting to have dialogue with each other.

I’d also love a convo between him and Smg4 about their similarities. Actually, I have a theory that a part of wotfi will be a reflection of IGTBP with Smg4 seeing himself through Puzzles and wanting to help him.

Another theory is that something with happen to leggy, whether she wants Puzzles to stop hurting everyone or she gets hurt, and Puzzles will stop, causing him to shut down, whether that means being defeated or having to deactivate himself.

And to end this off on a positive note, Puzzles and Leggy definitely play dress-up, trying on a bunch of different hats before settling on the tophat. Goofy walks in half-way, stunned at the door while Puzzles and Leggy are mid-tea party break, ending with Puzzles threatening him to leave. Leggy gets a good laugh out of it.

These aren’t as neat or coherent as I would’ve liked but I’m too tired to edit the right now lol. I can’t think of any more right now but I’ll hopefully think of some after wotfi (literally praying they keep Mr.Puzzles alive rn like there’s so much potential).

Also if you guys have any prompts or requests please let me know! Depending on midterms and school work, I might come up with a few halloween ones. Til then, thanks for reading and have a great day!

[hueberryjam]

Aight I got a few questions because I love SNEO so much and don't wanna flood your inbox! (Also I have found another angst lover :])

What would happen if I ask SNEO about Mike or do/say anything related to Mike? Does SNEO remember him?

How did Spamton feel after the first few days he was tangled up, and then the first few months?

Did He scream at all? I'm assuming if you're down in a basement tied in your own 'veins' you'd be screaming for help. And I feel like with his giant form at least *someone* would hear him.

What would SNEO do if Kris returned somehow? Perhaps by messing with game files

Can Spamton learn to write?

You said that Spamton just wanted to nap all the time after he was free. Why couldn't he sleep when he was tangled? Was it the hysteria or smth?

(And random fluff question for some reason!! :D) Who is his favorite Addison? If he had the ability to speak to them somehow what would he say?

So sorry for all the questions 🙇‍♀️ I just l9ve your au SO MUCH

Hoo-whee! You sure sent in a lot of questions! (This isn’t even all of them!) Been mentally preparing myself to answer these since I’ve been so burnt out with school, buuuut I really appreciate how much you care about my silly little AU!! Thank you for all your love and support!!

BUCKLE IN! THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG ONE FOLKS!

1. What would happen if I ask SNEO about Mike or do/say anything related to Mike?

Of course, Spamton has some pretty strong emotions tied to Mike, as we can clearly tell from canon Spamton. But, since Mike’s in-game influence on Spamton has been left fairly vague, I can’t fully expand on this as of now, at least not as much as I’d like to. I will have to wait for the future chapters of Deltarune to release so I can piece together their dynamic, and include it into my AU’s lore.

However, I can say this for sure, he wouldn’t initially react strongly. If he can’t fully recognize the Addisons, his own brothers, even when they’re right in front of him, then simply mentioning Mike’s name or talking about him likely wouldn’t trigger much at first.

That being said, his reactions are always situational. Depending on his current state of mind, level of lucidity, and the way Mike is brought up, there could be different signs of recognition. This could range from the twitch of an eye, a frustrated grumble, or a full on meltdown.

Though, as far as we know in canon Deltarune, the Addisons probably don’t even know who Mike is. The chances of this ever occurring are low, but something similar definitely could… 📞

2. How did Spamton feel after the first few days he was tangled up, and then the first few months?

As you already know, at first he was in a complete, blind panic. This abrupt vanishing of Kris, of their SOUL, of his last chance at FREEDOM. There was ugly thrashing, frantic screams, this sudden abandonment had shattered something deep inside of him that he could never explain, or even begin to comprehend. He was off-script, and he could sense how wrong this current reality was deep in his code. Yet, despite the cold, inexplicable dread he felt, he never became fully aware of the script’s existence, and in a way, his ignorance to the diverted script was a mercy to his sanity. Of course, he’s not exactly the spitting image of well adjusted in the present, but at least he’s not… Jevil.

As the weeks he spent bound down there dragged into months, the deafening silence, the isolation, the cramped aching in his synthetic but oh-too real limbs, it all became maddening. Dull. Repetitive. And so, completely and utterly desperate, he somehow managed to alter his code, de-spawning his armor and wings in a final attempt to snap off the strings that clung to their rigid edges. But, unfortunately… this only made things so much worse.

Sure, a few of the wires snapped, but the remaining strings were now in direct contact with his synthetic skin, his body no longer protected by his armor. So, of course, when he struggled and tried to slip out, to pull himself loose from the strings’ relentless hold, they only tightened to a new extent, this time constricting and digging into his skin. The wires compressed his throat, damaging his vocal cords and causing partial paralysis. This resulted in his persistent drooling due to impaired swallowing reflexes and made speech both difficult and painful.

So… that’s what happened, but how did he feel? Well, definitely frustrated in the beginning. As far as he knew, this was just another cruel joke fate was playing on him. But, as the months went on, and on, and on, well… not taking his mental corruption into account (as that’s a whole ‘nother can of worms), I’m sure Spamton felt pretty fucking hopeless.

3. Did he scream? Did anyone hear him?

As I mentioned before, he screamed a whole lot. If the wires hadn’t taken out his vocal cords a few months in, I’m sure all his screaming would’ve eventually done the job. Though, your other question about others hearing him wasn’t something I considered. As I see it, the Basement and SNEO within it exist in an entirely different plane of reality. When the error originally occurred, it started in the Basement when the player logged off moments before the SNEO boss fight. That’s why only the Basement got softlocked, because the script altering error began in that room. That room doesn’t exist to the rest of the Cyber World until the Basement door is unlocked with a KeyGen, but it still exists to Spamton in the meantime. Meaning the sounds within it, and the frantic screams echoing through it, cannot be heard until that door is opened.

Though, the stuff about his wires being his ‘veins’… geez that’s pretty messed up!! And you guys say that I’m the sick one! Though, jokes aside, that’s an interesting take on what the wires are! And… probably not even that unlikely to be canon now that I’m really thinking about it…

4. What would SNEO do if Kris returned?

Not a hell of a lot, or maybe he’d kill them. I dunno, roll a dice!

5. Could Spamton learn to write?

Well, I’m fairly sure I posted a crappy little doodle on here ages ago of Mac trying to teach SNEO sign language, though come to think of it… how does Mac even know sign language?? Maybe he’s learning it too for him, and also trying to teach it? That’d be sweet I think? ANYWAY I’m getting off topic…

The answer is, yes! You better hope you have gigantic pencils though, and an even bigger patience… SNEO isn’t only… slower… because of trauma (though that’d probably be understandable at this point), but due to the corruption in his body from malnutrition and the error itself. He’s incredibly glitchy, and prone to some pretty severe headaches. His handwriting would probably be… illegible, but hey- maybe let him try draw something instead?

6. Why does Spamton nap all the time now that he is free? Why couldn’t he sleep while he was tangled?

Spamton definitely slept while he was tangled in the Basement, more so during the later years of his confinement. Who would want to stay awake for 3 years of nothing?

He still naps a lot for many reasons. For example, he’s not exactly in great shape. He’s malnourished, despite Darkners not needing to eat in my AU to live, they still suffer consequences when they don’t. His limbs and muscles atrophied from disuse, and aren’t very helpful for doing more than feeding himself, and engaging occasionally in whatever activity the Addisons want of him. He’s giant, sure, but unfortunately he’s also quite frail. Most of the time he naps to conserve his energy, hold himself together, so to speak.

Though sometimes, he just sleeps to avoid processing his current reality.

7. Who’s his favourite Addison, and if he had the ability to speak to them, what would he say?

His favorite Addison? Definitely Mac. Mac and him were always pals back when they were younger, despite Link being closer to him in age. Sure, Mac wasn’t there for him emotionally like Reen was, not when Spamton was feeling low or depressed, but he was always there when Spamton needed something to cheer him up. Whether that was a video game, a new hand-sewn garment, or just a few laughs, Mac was the relief he always seemed to need.

If he could say something to him? Well, that would mean he’d have to remember him! So, if he did remember him, he’d probably say:

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry you have to see me like this.”

But then again, he’d probably say that to all four of them. Good thing he doesn’t have a great grasp on who they are yet!

[jelloshifts]

hogwarts band dr lore drop: except it’s just that half my band’s discography comes from me crashing out weekly over my two boyfriends (when they aren’t my boyfriends yet)

Like seriously— George, Ginny, and Fred are gonna hate to see me coming to band practice like “hey guys I’ve been writing this new song—“ and it’s just me being down bad and insane.

But holy hell do we come up with some bangers. Just three gingers and my neapolitan dyed hair ass in the room of requirement using my absolutely diabolical feelings to create masterpieces— and also their stuff too like Ginny’s shitty exes and George’s constant ability to find himself in a situationship.

God I love my silly little band and our silly little songs.

I totally intend to post our albums and stuff because yes I have stolen every song from this reality and that’s okay— I’m sure we’ll write our own stuff too. But I’ve scripted so much I’be basically planned two eps and six albums 😳

[snaccpopstudios]

Long time, no see, Tumblr!

Hello Everyone! It’s been a while, and we’re so sorry about the silence on our blog! But we have some big, important updates to share with you all. The entire team has been extremely busy with both personal, real-life responsibilities and with game production! On top of this, we have also had a big change in management and production, so we’ve been getting a handle on that at the same time.

I’ll start this by stating that I’m Tobias (he/him), the new social media and community manager, and I’ll be bringing this update to you all! And, all Patreon links provided (minus the ones near the end) are public posts, so you don’t need to be subscribed to a tier to view them, but you still need to be 18+! Now, this goes a bit back, so get a warm drink and get comfy to read this big post because if you haven’t been on the Twitter or Patreon, you’ve missed quite a lot (which is on us entirely! We’re sorry again!) In September 2023, we released a few screenshots on our Patreon showing off some script revisions for the demo of “Something’s Wrong with Sunny Day Jack.” (read them + the update more in detail here!: https://www.patreon.com/posts/sunny-day-jack-90099502) As stated in that post, “A lot of grammatical errors, run-on sentences, etc.. are also being combed out in favor of: - Content that foreshadows future events in the game - Content that is easier to read - And content that more clearly portrays the rules, lore, and restrictions of the supernatural/horror elements in this world

Additionally, more content in general, will be added. Not a substantial amount, but enough to flesh out scenes and make things make more sense now that the world/game has been almost completely outlined.” This post was met with a lot of confusion, as SDJ fans mentioned that they feared the game was being toned down from its original concept. And while our re-writes do actively remove dialogue that unintentionally may be perceived as dubious consent or pressuring the player into sexual/romantic choices, there are no intentions to remove yandere/horror content! We cleared this all up in another Patreon post; a small QnA (here’s that one, again, more in detail!: https://www.patreon.com/posts/q-yandere-is-to-91034309). 

You may be saying “But Tobias! On the Kickstarter, it said there was soft, dubious consent!” And yes, that is true. However, as stated in the 2nd link provided, Our publisher at the time, Project Enso, originally put that warning up. Sauce (they/them) was not happy with that, but PE properly explained that people who were uncomfortable with the infamous "No Route" hadn't had that warning, and thus felt surprised.

This twitter post was the beginning of Sauce’s quest to remove that warning. (https://x.com/SunnyDayJack/status/1560782320533118976?s=20)

[Disclaimer: PE had nothing to do with the writing of the content. They just had to do what was safest!]

Now, you may have noticed that at the beginning of this post, I mentioned a big change in management. In a post made on Patreon in late October 2023, we got introduced to our new Director, Biscuit (she/her)! She’s previously made devlogs on the Patreon, but she’s since been made the Head of Operations for SnaccPop! These are big and important posts, so I really recommend reading them (as well as the previous posts I’ve linked) in their entirety on the Patreon! - Status Update: New leadership, steps moving forward, future of SnaccPop: https://www.patreon.com/posts/status-update-of-91558879 - Q&A: Project Enso departure, AphroDesia, Deadlines and more: https://www.patreon.com/posts/q-project-enso-91850042

But the main points of these two posts above are, 

Sauce will no longer be taking a management role at SnaccPop anymore. Instead, they will take a much necessary backstep to focus solely on creating art and supporting the studio through their continuous work.

The studio has Biscuit as its front-facing figure, but she will be helped out by Perrie (she/her, our current Voice Acting director), Nana (she/her, our current Art director), and other individuals who are key to keeping the content going smoothly at a decent pace. 

SWWSDJ is no longer being released as a full game in November 2024, and is now having Episodic Releases! (Acts 1, 2, 3, and 4)

The Patreon rewards will remain entirely the same. Sauce, as it has been said before, will keep working with us all the way!

Some of you may be wondering what happened with Project Enso and why we parted ways with them, you can read their parting message here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/official-from-92484578

We want to say thank you to Project Enso for all the great work they did for us, however, we believe this decision is the best next step forward to make Sunny Day Jack as best of a game as it can be.

Now, onto some fun stuff! Speed round!

An AphroDesia Game?! The customer is always right! But that doesn't mean that they're necessarily pleasant to deal with…   Available to our $10+ Patreon supporters, you can play a demo of the upcoming mini dating-sim featuring our beloved cutie-pie, TMon, called “ConciUrges.” Featuring 4 endings, two of which are NSFW!

Bachelor of the Month is back! We’re introducing our new icy, and first plus-sized bachelor for the month of December, Jacob Frost (who’s voice has yet to be revealed, but his look has been!) He’s draped out in front of a cozy fireplace, waiting for you to get to know him for $5+~

Another SDJ Demo? You betcha! We understand that there's been lots and lots of content for Sunny Day Jack, and that includes multiple demos that we've released in the past. However, we want to release one last demo. One that includes our new artstyle and script changes that reflect our ideology much more clearly so there aren't any doubts as we move into the future. The release date is TBD!

WE'RE HIRING!! Are you an 18+ NSFW writer and/or an audio engineer? Then you're the person(s) for us! Apply for the position(s) on the Patreon post or the Twitter post!  THE POSISTION IS ONLY FOR THOSE 18+. PROOF OF AGE WILL BE REQUIRED.

Project: DramaBoy As stated in the above linked posts in #5 (more in detail on the Patreon link!) We’re starting up a new project, Project: DramaBoy! As an explanation to non-paying patrons who may have missed our upload of our first teaser (Impish BF Surprises You on Christmas),  we'll be looking to release (hopefully) weekly NSFW and SFW POV Boyfriend audios! Sometimes they'll include characters you know and love-- such as Jambee or Sunny Day Jack. However-- sometimes, they'll include interesting beta concepts voiced by the same VAs from our mainstay projects! Read all about it and see the SLIVER of the list of BFs we’re planning to bring you at https://www.patreon.com/posts/project-dramaboy-94652067 (available to read for free!)

That's all for this update! We know it's lengthy and long overdue, so thank you for your continued support and for taking the time to read! ^_^

[vespidclan]

just got here so I'm foggy at best on the lore, but here's some (more generic) questions you might like anyway? Asking a few so that, hopefully, one or two hasn't been asked yet - you of course don't have to answer all (or any) if you don't want to. :)!

What inspired you to do this story?

2. How do you warm up before starting drawing, if you do at all?

3. How do you warm up before storyboarding/writing scripts, etc; if you do at all?

4. When designing a character, what steps do you take? (Pinterest, google search "cat"?)

5. Do you have a favorite, least favorite?

6. What's your VespidClan music, if you listen to music? Any songs that scream your characters? The lore in general?

6a. ^ If you do listen to music, are there any songs that are completely unrelated to your characters that you associate with them anyway?

Bonus: Unrelated to your clan at all, but do you have a song you just hate? (Can you tell I like music?)

That's all I can think of for now. Hope this might spark joy among the... state of your inbox :)

I got inspired by a lot of other clangen blogs I was reading at the time. It sounds very generic but just seeing how many people in the clangen fandom (and warriors fandom for that matter) take the time to write stories simply out of a simulation game made me think “hey I can do that too!” so I just… started writing! Other stories that were big inspirations for Vespidclan were IHNMAIMS and The Mandela Catalogue to name a few. I’m a big fan of things with dread and scariness, I’d totally check these out of you haven’t already.

I usually look at cat references and the way other people draw poses for cats before drawing. Believe it or not I’m not very used to drawing quadrupeds, but at least Vespidclan helped me improved with that?

You all know I do the script/dialogue before I start drawing comics. I base off the script from what event happened during the moon and start off there, sometimes writing several scripts for a scene and figuring out which would be best (there was an alternate ending for The Frame-Up!)

Pinterest is a big help lol, but I try to figure it out on my own. Since they’re from clangen, the design is already there, I just give em shapes to work with and stuff! I really want every cat in Vespidclan to be distinct and unique (there will be a LOT of characters to work with), the sisters were a good starting point for that. Iciclestar is lean and spiky, Heartflicker is long and droopy, and Snakevalley is round yet sharp. Sizes also help differentiate the cats, which reminds me I really should make a size chart for them hehe

Webspeckle and Sparkbreak are my favorite designs, but Heartflicker is my favorite to draw. It’s not that I hate her design but Iciclestar can be such a pill to draw, I made the mistake of giving her cool eyes and head shape that I can’t ever get right!

Secret is out! I DID have a Vespidclan song list on Spotify! I say I did because I have to remake it since I made whipped it up while I was just figuring out the story and I think it doesn’t really fit it much currently. Maybe I’ll fix it someday………….But there is a 404 playlist you can listen to. 404 is a very compelling character to write about, she still is! I thought making a personal playlist for her would help with that.

I’ve somewhat mentioned it before but Shut Eye by Stealing Sheep fits Heartflicker, and Who Can It Be Now? by Men At Work suits Stonepaw, maybe there will be more later on!

Don’t start me now—I despise every and all songs from The Beatles. I get angry when I hear it. It isn’t anything bad, it’s just a personal vendetta that I acquired in the 4th grade that would be too long to elaborate on. Like I ain’t even joking, I’m really not a spiteful person… but hearing The Beatles ruins my mood (one song especially, but that’s a story for another day)

[kats-other-stuff]

you know

ive pretty much only been saying positive things about LoS the entire time ive been here

Time to flip the script on its head.

Despite how much enjoyment I seem to get out of this series for some strange reason, it is genuinely so poorly written. You can absolutely tell that the writer is an amateur. And before the ACNH lore, this story was just the most generic early 2010s edgy backstory ever. Dead dad? Check. Evil twin? Check. None of the characters are well fleshed out. Most of them are basically just glorified set pieces with zero personality, and the whole thing with the dragons made zero sense. Shouldn’t it have been obvious to Wincar that the dragons were trying to manipulate him? And why was *one* burst of power from the dragon enough to turn him to the dark side?

The dialogue is so ass. It reeks of cliche in some spots- like with the whole “no, it can’t be” reaction from c!Failboat when LoS 1 starts. Don’t the dragons do that thing where they mention that they’re brothers at the end of every sentence? I get it. You’re brothers. I’m not five. And the stupid laugh Wincar does- you know what I’m talking about, there’s no way in hell you’re making me type that out. I forgot the rest of the dialogue because it’s too mid to be worth space in my brain.

Nothing about the Power of the Scythe or Failboat’s family is EVER explained. What the hell is it? What are its capabilities? Oh wait, it’s a poorly disguised plot device. It has no limitations. Where the hell did it even come from? Why aren’t more people trying to take it? What’s up with the scythes, by the way? If Failwhale has the stone scythe, WHY IS THERE ANOTHER ONE ON THE ALTAR???? How special are these weapons really, if there can apparently be two copies of them at once? Do they just have a storage room full of scythes hidden somewhere?

This series is undoubtedly the worst bit of the Failboat lore, and it isn’t even close. I’ve said this before in brief moments of sudden clarity, and I’ll say it again- LoS is a tumor on the lore, the channel, and the community. This whole thing is like if someone dug up some short story you wrote when you were six or something and became strangely obsessed with it. Like, cool for them, but you’re probably not proud of that writing anymore. What even is the point? Why do I want LoS 5 to happen, again? There’s no saving this dumpster fire of a series, no matter how much headcanon glue I use to try to fill in the gaps. It’s not a Silksong or Deltarune situation where waiting was absolutely warranted, I’m just a fucking clown.

[fromdove]

im so curious abt ur shifting experience! can u just like.. talk about it. like have you ever succeeded, is ur script all cute. anything, i wanna know.

OH my god i’m so glad you asked this, anon… you beautiful invisible angel… you glorious mystery being… i’m literally releasing a cloud of doves in your anonymous honour as we speak. they’re circling the sky. flapping dramatically. cooing your name. it’s a whole thing 🕊️🕊️🕊️💌

anyway. uh. anti-shifters? can you like. not. ☹️ go drink water or stare at the sun or something idk. just don’t be weird. if ur mean i will... block you...like instantly. no discussion. no appeals. bonk. banned. this is not a democracy. you do not have freedom of speech here. im the dictator and manager here. sorri ok bye <3

disclaimer warning sirens etc: i hate using the terms “cr” and “dr” 😭 they make my brain itch. but like. what else am i supposed to call them. also i dont know how to use some terms now.....because recently ive been reading so much on non dualism and stuff now im just like....confusion. i tried. i gave up. if i said anything wrong then correct me coz guys....im new to non dualism ok .... frown face. language is fake

OKAY so basically… i used to be completely unwell about scripting. fully. obsessed. i had an entire system. made my own CR script template too—super cute, all baby pinks and blues and beach-summer ahahahah. if anyone wants it lmk bc she’s still tucked safely away in the notion vault mwahaha

BUT nowadays??? i truly do not gaf. not writing all that. there are too many realities i wanna visit. too many ideas. too many lives calling my name. and honestly, my consciousness already knows what i want. i don’t need to give it a 47-page doc. i have stuff to do. like.... shift. LMAO

like YES i know you don’t have to script that much, but i love detail ok......? i love making it pretty and organized and and and. but the list of realities i wanna shift to is so long it’s laughable. it’s soul-deep. i can’t be writing a mini-biography for every version of me out there. it’s too much.

recent update: i’ve been moving away from full-on LOA (law of assumption) and into non-dualism, but i still dabble in LOA stuff. i’m not married to any one framework rn, just learning, testing things out. exploring. walk with me.

soooo i have this concept of a waiting room—like a base i’ll shift to. haven’t scripted it, (lol, theme of the day), because like i said, miss pure consciousness will do it for me because i dont care. buttttt i’ve got a clear-ish version in my head. a rough copy of it in my mind. it’s a central hub that links to all my drs. each reality has its own (huge cutesy) room. i walk through a door, im in the room, theres a portal, if i wanna go that reality i will enter the portal and boom: reality shift. clean. easy. the portal thing is kinda extra but i think its cute

the whole thing’s in this techy-modern disney princess castle. holograms and sparkle. very futuristic. in each room i’ll be able to see all my dr info—faceclaims, lore, backstory, whatever—floating around like glowing holographic tabs. and i can update them whenever i want....prob wont need to tho

some of these realities will be based on existing media, but a lot won’t. some will be entirely original, made by my consciousness from scratch. whole new lives, new people, new vibes. like made from scratch nara smith style (see why i said i cant script for all of them......like some dont even exist in any media here) . i honestly love that kind of freedom.

in the waiting room, i’ll always be 15 (bc i love this age + i am 15 rn), but in the DRs i’ll grow and age normally. the waiting room’s kind of like my “cr” if we must call it that (we mustn’t. but we do). it’s where i come back to.

and it’s not plain either. ofc its not. hello do u know me. it’s a castle. like a CASTLE castle. modern. big, cozy, cinematic. massive bedroom. cinema room. walls of books. every streaming service. and whenever i crave something to eat it just. shows up. logic doesn’t apply. doesnt exist. comfort does !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so yeah. that’s kind of the rough idea for now. my consciousness will handle the rest tbh. i trust her. anyway. hope this made sense. bye. i’m gonna go eat now <3

[knuckleslove]

The Alcove, and the Ambry

“The wall face itself was plain—unremarkable and unadorned, but inside… the inside was beautifully carved—every inch of it covered in intricate runes and symbols, and painted in bright beautiful hues that had barely succumbed to time.

Knuckles turned to face the alcove, and what he knew lay sheltered within.

The full reality of it dawned on him then—that he hadn’t set foot on this ledge in YEARS. No

He’d… not entered it again since… that time—that lifetime ago, so so long ago. A separate lifetime almost, where the world had yet been so small, and he something different within it.

Knuckles untethered himself from Mighty’s grasp, waved away the unspoken offer for more assistance, and limped the last few steps into the alcove, and the ambry nestled within. He had to brace himself against it to stand firm. For several seconds he just stared.

Five tomes rested unbothered on the ambry’s shelf.

They appeared magnificently ancient as ever—unchanged from how he remembered them, but…

Unbidden, he reached out a bandaged hand toward the tomes, into a space coated heavily with dust. His fingers left a pronounced streak across the smooth stone surface, and when he held them up to inspect, they revealed a coat of grime.

It was empty… that space—between the fourth and what should have been the SIXTH tome on the shelf.
He reached back down, and with great care picked up the forth, off the shelf. He turned it in his grasp, braced over his inner forearm so the cover rested facing him. With his right he brushed fingers across the leather, over the deeply embossed glyphs and script, reading the name more through touch than sight.

The moment seized, and stole his breath, and before he knew it thick tears spilled over his cheeks—he couldn’t have done anything to quell them. He pulled the tome tightly into his chest, folded over it, and sank heavily to his knees—an action not without physical pain, but that felt secondary, almost insignificant to the burning, aching, soul crushing despair in his chest. 

Knuckles collapsed over the tome, and he wept.”

—Ch. 11 Turbulent, Fractured Frequency

[language/symbol details below the cut]

Look at that. I final drew some art for a character I’ve actually completed. (I have like 5 more of these just collecting dust till the writing catches up.)

Le sigh…

If you’re interest in that language stuff, and what the symbols say, see the pic below. Mind you, if you are reading the story, don’t read too much into what it says. I was more playing around with the language elements I’ve made so far, and the visual aesthetic, than writing any secret spoilery stuff for the story.

It’s just stuff that COULD be written on the walls somewhere, but not necessarily even what I would imagine is in the alcove. Especially the part on the right. That’s more like the kind of lore we’d all wish to find on Angel Island but clearly wouldn’t be there because it’s info Knuckles doesn’t have. Anyway…Shoves my brain rot at you. Enjoy.

[foxes-that-run]

Something Great

Something Great is a less known One Direction song, but one with good Haylor Lore. Let's's start with the Spotify Visual, I love the Harry focus for a song he wrote with collaborators outside the band.

When was it written

Something Great was written with Jacknife Lee, Gary Lightbody and Harry, no other One Direction collaborators. There are 2 times it was worked on, both in 2012. The first was around 20 May 2012. In 2018 to Hotpress Jacknife Lee said, while talking about Taylor and The Last Time:

“She [Taylor] was seeing Harry Styles at the time, so he came to Topanga on her recommendation… It was the same thing – quick. But this time it was more directed by the management and label. They were after something specific. I wanted more acoustic and gentle, almost Americana, and they wanted bombast. They got what they wanted, and that was the extent of my foray into teen-pop territory. It was fun,”

Something Great is the only song Harry and Jacknife wrote on together and that quote says they did not again.

Though Gary Lightbody tweeted 16 November 2012 (x) that they spend the day yesterday with Harry writing a great song. While the first writing session (the Americana version Jacknife liked) would have been an option for Take Me Home this session is just after TMH was released and maybe this was reengineering it to fit onto midnight memories.

Harry did write more with Gary Lightbody, to the Sun, in mid-2013 he said, commenting they still had not come out (it is on Midnight Memories, a year after it was worked on with Jacknife Lee.

“We wrote with Harry. It was a lot of fun. He’s a real dude actually. We’ve no idea if those songs will make it yet, though. It’s a long process. It’s great to work with other people – it’s good to flex the muscle,”

Lyrics

Verse 1

One day you’ll come into my world and say it all / You’ll say we’ll be together even when you’re lost

Harry imagines a future where the person they love finally steps fully into their life and says everything they’ve wanted to hear. The hope is for unconditional commitment—even through confusion or emotional turbulence. "The use of “one day” sets a wistful, yearning tone. "One Day" is a recurring Haylor theme, along with forever and waiting.

As a bonus, I also think of Something Great as related to Death By A Thousand Cuts. Taylor said she wrote DBATC after watching the film Someone Great. However the sto#haylor#midnight memories#Youtube#one direction#one direction haylor#song analysis#Lyric analysis#Happily#Savan Kotechary of DBATC is more similar to the song than that film.

Verse 2

One day you’ll say these words I’ve thought but never said / You’ll say we’re better off together in our bed

This verse is wishing the other person to express what the speaker has only dared to think. The mention of “our bed” really expresses the longing. This strongly reminds me of:

I Wish You Would: 'Cause you still don't know what I never said

Chorus

I want you here with me / Like how I pictured it / So I don’t have to keep imagining Come on jump out at me / Come on bring everything / Is it too much to ask for something great

I love how kinetic “Jump out at me” is, Harry is hoping the dream could just come true, suddenly and completely. “Something great” isn’t defined—but you feel it: a real, consuming love. There’s a quiet desperation in “Is it too much to ask…”

Verse 3

The script was written and I could not change a thing / I want to rip it all to shreds and start again

This introduces a sense of fate—or at least resignation. It’s like the speaker’s role in this relationship (or non-relationship) has been predetermined. The desire to “rip it all to shreds” is about reclaiming control, rewriting the story, and maybe finally being seen.

This is quite similar to the lack of agency in The Last Time, but the opposite of it, like there was a miscommunication.

Verse 4

One day I’ll come into your world and get it right / I’ll say we’re better off together here tonight

There’s a shift here—the speaker isn’t just waiting. They’re imagining taking the step themselves, entering the other person’s world with clarity and certainty. “Here tonight” emphasizes the present—the real possibility of action rather than fantasy.

Refrain (Repeated Chorus)

I want you here with me / Like how I pictured it...

The repetition mimics the obsessive loop of longing. The speaker can’t stop envisioning the perfect version of this love. It builds with intensity each time.

Outro

You’re all I want / So much it's hurting

The last lines are raw. The desire has reached a painful point—what was once beautiful and hopeful now hurts. There’s no hiding or poetic language anymore; just the stripped-down truth of unrequited or unreachable love.

[crooked-wasteland]

Hazbin Hotel Live Blog: Hello Rosie

I’ve realized that I spent a long time belaboring the accomplishments of other writers, but I don’t think I ever touched on Ariel Ladensohn. Responsible for the episodes Scrambled Eggs and Hello Rosie, she is credited for shows like Solar Opposites and Futurama, however she has only written a single episode for the Futurama reboot that I can find whereas she is a producer for the show otherwise. Meanwhile, she has minor, single episode writing credits for series like My Little Pony Friendship is magic in 2019 (A Horse Shoe-in), and Clifford the Big Red Dog. In fact, the most credit to her name is under Justin Roiland’s Solar Opposites where she started as a consistent script writer and eventually entered middle management as a story editor. She has a family history within show business through her mother Cybill Sheperd, a well-known celebrity and model of the previous generations. Based on Scrambled Eggs, I will say that episode feels like Justin Roiland fare, and I don’t expect much different from this episode.

Even the series seems self aware at times with Angel Dust proclaiming all of Charlie’s ideas thus so far being failures and Husk even pointing out that the more Charlie tries to do, the worse it gets for everyone else. Charlie lives in this place of protection because of Lucifer, supposedly. This idea that Lucifer is trying to protect her and it’s why she is never in danger during the exterminations isn’t one I’ve actually seen confirmed in the show in any way. It’s alluded to, but with how much of the show is unspoken and outright fabricated with deceit being framed in the last episode as “It’s a lie because otherwise nothing makes sense” when the world building as a whole doesn’t make any sense, I don’t trust the show. I don’t trust the show or writers to know what they are talking about and reluctant to give them any grace in that way. Seven episodes into an 8 episode series and all you’ve accomplished is confusing me. Has Charlie ever even been helpful? We still don’t know what progress is supposed to look like. And we are supposed to think Angel Dust in episode 4 sees Charlie as a friend he can protect while she’s still the Princess of Hell for one and, two, here we see him lamenting her meddling entirely. No one has faith in her but Vaggie, and even then, having faith in Charlie is her entire personality.

Side point, but Vaggie adding”In our room” didn’t sound or feel like she was sad. Rather, we just added that line for some reason? Am I supposed to get the vibe that Charlie and her are broken up in some way from the angel reveal? Or is this the dialogue stating out loud that it is their shared room and that they are in fact a couple because otherwise there is massive room for doubt due to how sanitized the lesbian relationship is in this series. I don’t know, I can’t tell, both can be true because there is so much and yet nothing at all in this series on every level.

If only the show actually showed that the Egg Bois were unreliable narrators at some point. Instead the few times we see them it is that they have difficulty following orders. Not that they actually are unreliable in everything.

So going back to this massive plot point of Angels only being harmed by Angelic weapons, like I said last post, this huge reveal fails to land or build any interest for numerous reasons. For one, Carmilla’s whole business is arms dealing with angelic weapons that Angels just leave behind. Like, a cornerstone of the lore of Hazbin is that angelic weapons are just dumped like litter into Hell every extermination, so one would think that if angelic weapons are the only thing capable or harming angels, Sera would have had a very tight rule about making sure all these weapons are returned to Heaven for their own safety. Even if you want to make the argument Adam and Lute don’t know this, Sera definitely would. And her entire hope for keeping Heaven safe is entirely negated because Adam’s goons are just supplying Hell with the only weapons that can kill angels every year. Second, as stated previously, Vaggie was injured by angelic weapons when Lute attacked her and carved out her eye. It makes no sense that she wouldn’t know the power of angelic weapons. Point three, Vaggie’s wings were torn off by Lute’s bare hands. I’m reminded of Dan Olsen’s video essay The Art of Editing and Suicide Squad where he talks about the use of the Unicorn plushy in the film and the way a narrative must reinforce an idea for these sort of plot points to be effective.

“Then, in the tower brawl, Captain Boomerang is wrestling with a tar monster who stabs him right in the heart. And for a second you go ‘oh no!’- but, Being a savvy and attentive viewer, you immediately go ‘ah wait, the unicorn!’ And you pat yourself in the back as Boomerang pulls out the knife stuck in a wad of money.”

This feels like the Suicide Squad Unicorn situation. There is so much going on and no one in the room was able to catch these contradictions in the production. By the narrative denaturing on such a foundational world building level, the weight of every reveal and plot point is about the equivalent of a paper ball. It fails to ground the world, abide by its own rules, and thus never succeeds as a show. It is a concept that never pounded out the impurities and results in a confusing waste of time.

Wait, did Charlie forget about Cannibalism Town? Episode one she made a point to declare it in the song and how everyone was bright and smiling. So it shows an understanding of what foreshadowing is as a concept, but because no one else remembers or knows anything about Cannibal Town, Ariel was forced to reintroduce the setting in such a way that feels like bad writing. My point is, Ariel is doing the best she can here, the issue lies with Medrano and how she drew attention to Cannibal Town when it wasn’t relevant but never reinforced the plot point. Again, the unicorn plush situation pops up. Because she failed to incorporate Cannibal Town throughout the series, we needed this whiplash redo of the setting to actually immerse the audience in a way that makes narrative sense. Ariel is doing the best she can and it should be noted that this was the best way to rush this plot point because Medrano did nothing she needed to do up to this moment. Cannibal Town needed to be explored a little every episode and incorporated in all of the plots for this to work. By just announcing it in the first episode to try and hint this was going to be important, and then go another 2 and a half hours of content with no reminders at all, Ariel’s only hope was making this a plot hole to try and smooth over the train wreck this whole aspect of the show turned into.

In fact, I just remembered Ariel did Scrambled Eggs, which would have been perfect to set up the reminder of Cannibal Town and its importance by focusing on Rosie. Instead, the episode focused on Zestial and having him and Alastor catch up when it very obviously should have been Rosie for this specific purpose. Was Kritzer more expensive than James? Why focus on this character so long when all he serves is as a vessel to Carmella confessing her involvement in the killing when Rosie is far more important a player? I’m not saying they should have cut him out entirely, but that time would have been better suited with giving Rosie more to do.

My nitpick of the episode is that Rosie’s voice and character bothers me and rips me out of any level of immersion I could have. The accent is noticeably fake to the point it is distracting and the dialogue and pacing is so paint by numbers Jewish mother stereotype that is actually feels too slow. If this makes sense, she isn’t delivering the lines fast enough for it not to feel like a blatant caricature. It’s a stereotype that feels like a stereotype because it hits just off the mark ever so slightly that it draws all the more attention to it. For a show with breakneck pacing, these scenes drag and it is due to the delivery entirely. And before someone does attempt to argue the actress, Leslie Kritzer, is in fact Jewish, yes, she is half Jewish on her father’s side with a Puerto Rican mother. Kritzer was raised Catholic and was not privy to the Jewish Mother character growing up, despite being ethnically half Jewish. That does matter.

The terrifying thing is how the whole negotiation scene with Rosie is so rushed. She says she likes Charlie’s moxie when all Charlie has done is have the prelude of a mental breakdown in front of her. She made it clear how everything is her fault, how everyone she cares for is in danger and pretty much doomed. The literal definition of Moxie is “Force of character or determination” when all Rosie has seen is Charlie actively caving under the weight of everything. That is, in fact, the opposite of moxie. Sure, we have seen her stand up to Sera and stand up for her beliefs, but Rosie has not. This is a common issue in Medrano’s writing where she fails to know which characters know what. They are ignorant when it is convenient and just as equally omnipotent when required. And, like I said, they also feel too slow. The delivery is just too slow and the scenes are too fast, too much happens when it makes no sense and everything just feels like a waste of time.

I just realized why this scene feels like such a waste of time: it lacks tension. The sequence where Rosie walks up to Alastor is such a wide shot, her asking about his plan bears no weight. This is genuinely some of the worst scene composition. This is an expensive shot with Charlie, Rosie and Alastor as well as the need to use filler background characters in the corner to make the space feel lived-in. But this whole issue would have been resolved by utilizing he exact scene direction that follows. Have Rosie close the distance between her and Alastor and have it cut to a 1/3rd body shot of the two. Have Charlie cut from the scene as neither are even acknowledging her in this moment and it shows how Alastor and Rosie see her as a child, ignoring her despite being the princess of Hell. Have Rosie’s approach be an over-shoulder closeup from Alastor’s side, and instead of cutting off Rosie’s face, have the characters get closer together as the camera zooms in. Make the connection between Alastor and Rosie stronger so her words feel slightly ominous when she says “Alastor has never done me wrong before”. Where you wonder if you can trust Rosie, or if maybe Rosie doesn’t really trust Alastor and is giving a subtle warning. The utter lack of nonverbal storytelling sucks all depth and nuance out of the episode.

Carmella is a top tier character in a woefully subpar story. She is everything its clear Medrano’s wishes Alastor was. She is intimidating and intelligent. It tips a bit too far into ludicrous levels of knowledge that, if thought about, feels like it is the writer cheating. And it is. This absolutely is cheating, because the characters who should know Vaggie is an angel, for example, don’t. Alastor, Charlie, and Lucifer are either totally ignorant of Vaggie being an angel or are playing stupid. The reason Carmella has made is that it benefits her to not draw attention to herself, but Alastor should be able to make the same level of inference on Vaggie and doesn’t. To say he does but says nothing makes no sense because he could have been playing puppet master this whole time by using Vaggie’s angel status to control her and/or Charlie in any number of ways. And if anyone would know about Vaggie, it should be Lucifer. And Lucifer should be distrusting of Vaggie at the least. So Carmella is a cool character, but if we really think about it, it’s obvious that she’s just OP to serve a purpose in the plot.

I love Carmella’s long hair design, but the hair just is down in a microsecond of a scene. It was a change in a single frame that went by faster than a blink. It needed to have more emphasis for the reason to be understood: Vaggie is making excuses. It doesn’t translate clearly that Carmella is trying to pull the “equal footing” trope because there was no weight to her letting her hair down. It needed to at least be given a second to focus, not even a verbal acknowledgment, but just have Carmella let down her hair and make eye contact for a second before beating Vaggie up further.

I feel the need to have a small personal rant here, I have ballroom experience, I am also a Latino. The scene and song were ideally set to have a partner-based dance influence. I mainly dance waltz, but I feel a tango was ideal for this sort of song. The beat is too slow for a salsa. There are many different types of Latin dances to choose from (cha cha, salsa, tango, samba). The lack of appropriate Latin influences for a Latina coded character who is also heavily inspired by dancers, and yet none of the proper dance influences were taken advantage of. This entire character concept was fumbled hard. On top of it all, by not selecting a coherent dance style, the fight-dance choreography doesn’t make use of each person’s different strengths. Carmella uses her legs as her weapons while Vaggie has her spear in her arms. So Vaggie mirroring Carmella does nothing to improve her understanding of combat.

Steven Universe focused its use of music to individual instruments. Garnet was a synth bass instrument which heavily influenced her entire character design. Synth Basses are the backbone for many contemporary music genres, especially hip-hop. And Garnet’s character design from being black-coded to her dance style being Waacking, a form of street dance associated with the gay disco clubs of 1970s LA, specifically credited to black choreographer Tyrone Proctor. This is how you utilize ethnic coding in an animated musical. Instead, Carmella is Latina-coded with a Spanish guitar as her musical motif, with very specific native latin American motifs to her movements like maracas and a jaguar with a ballet style dance. This is a cacophony of influence with no understanding of any of them being forced together in a Frankenstein amalgamation of disappointment. Especially the minor use of maracas in Carmella’s character as they are very unique and important to Mexican and Latin culture.

Charlie’s feelings about Vaggie comes off extremely selfish. Vaggie was an exorcist which is hinted at to be a human soul, which means her neglecting to tell Charlie she was an exorcist wasn’t a lie. She was a fallen soul by that point, just like any other person in Hell. She has a history like the rest of them, but her time in heaven would be just a relevant as her time alive, which the show has made clear doesn’t matter to anyone in the series. So having Charlie need this sort of pep talk shows why her hotel is a failure more than anything: she doesn’t really believe in anything she is saying. As a concept, sure, but in practice, her sense of redemption has never previously required confession. Only when she feels entitled to another person does it suddenly matter. She doesn’t care about who Angel Dust or Sir Pentious were before coming to the hotel. Them killing other sinners doesn’t affect her at all. It is only when it’s someone she feels personally entitled to, or a sense of ownership over, that suddenly someone’s past matters. And that’s hypocritical. In fact, it goes deeper still in how Charlie is only interested in who Vaggie was before and no one else, but that comes from a sense of owning Vaggie. Everyone else, Charlie rejects on a fundamental value. Angel Dust’s hypersexuality is uncomfortable for her and she wishes he wasn’t that way. Nifty’s sadistic weirdness is uncomfortable for her and she wants that to change too. Husk’s aloof alcoholism is also a problem for her. Even with the Cannibals, she demands them to change (tone it down) to fit her sensibilities even as she is asking them to possibly die for her. I have seen people claim that the whole criticism of Heaven is hypocricy, I’ve said before it isn’t. I’ll assert it again: Heaven isn’t the hypocrite, Charlie is.

The first thing I said upon finishing this episode was “I would have rather seen the episode of Angel, Pent, Nifty, and Husk resolving to stick together despite thinking they had been abandoned. The character drama and the conclusion of them really coming together would have been far more intimate and cathartic than seeing Charlie and Vaggie “make up” by talking with complete strangers.

3/10

[freedelusionshere]

The new Superman trailer, it just does nothing for me. But there is some lazy writing and setup going on here which makes me feel like the rest of the movie will be made up of similar choices.

Dogs can sense when you are hurt and won’t try to play with you (especially when you are near death and literally bleeding). I would assume even more so for dogs with super senses! Krypto is obviously smart and trained so this makes no sense, even if near-invincible Superman has never been hurt before. The dog that plays Krypto is cute, though, and has the most charisma of anyone in all the trailers I’ve seen so far.

It’s just working in Gunn’s brand of humor and using characters as convenient props to deliver a bad joke and set up stuff (I’m sure animal violence will follow). But more problematic stuff:

In Superman lore, Kryptonians are a dead culture whose collapse is tied directly to ignoring impending ecological disaster and their own fascination with technology and eugenics (they’re basically El0n’s dream Mars colony). They also employ AI servants, the most famous being Braniac, a key Superman villain, who eventually turned on them. The general idea here is that Kal-El/Clark was better off landing in Smallville USA to be raised by humble farmers (I’d probably make the Kents Amish at this point, but that’s just me).

So Superman having a bunch of robot servants at his fortress where he holes up all his Kryptonian tech is actually kinda creepy. It gets worse because these robots, who the script let us know right away are definitely not slaves up front because they tell us “we are just automatons with no conscience we are here to serve” even though for some reason they have gendered voices and are making new robots and just made a female one. Hmm. I smell plot set up!

A feature of Gunn’s work is also that he is obsessed with gendered humor and it makes its way somehow into 90% of his jokes, including gay jokes.

Gunn is also obsessed with creepy robots, though, like his recent creation G.I. Robot, whose only purpose is to kill Nazis and their allies. The running joke is that G.I. Robot (another gendered robot) is always bummed there aren’t more Nazis to kill in 2025. Hmm. Okay. I see what you did there, Gunn.

[doc-davey]

Conflicted king

I had a very random burst of motivation to try out a scene from the Book of Saul in this format. It only took me a day because I was so hyperfixated on this lmao, but I’ve been experimenting a lot lately, if you can tell…

For some context, I guess this is supposed to take place after Saul had that convo with Jonathan about David, with Jonathan convincing him to not hurt him, (but I might change this scene in the book, idk yet). But Saul is very conflicted now, leading him to have this vision, and this is basically part one of the scene I guess. I was mostly experimenting here lol, but I did write out a script for the whole thing where in this particular vision he meets some interesting specimens within his subconscious world fabricated mostly by Ze’ev. SO… we shall see what Ze’ev has for Saul…

Also, ignore how poorly cut the images are lmaoo 😭 I’ll do better next time, this is just my rough start.

And to those who don’t know what this is, I don’t really want to explain again other than this being a King Saul story I’m retelling, so I suggest looking at the tags for more context lol

But yupp!!! I love this honestly, I love sharing the lore and world building of the Book of Saul, since this is all in Saul’s mind… or is it…? Hmm