#just some other things I’d have liked to address but I also like the focus of this

[skelebagels]

“Sometimes he doesn’t remember.”

A little fic inspired by @cranberrytea451 ‘s concept for a Scar comic. I may come back to this at some point but I like it well enough now to share :)

Note: if repetition bothers u this fic is not for u

Warnings: body horror - memory lapses - self harm (graphic) - depictions of mental distress - loss of time, somewhat graphic gore

edit: accidentally swapped his eyes in the fic if u read an alt version somewhere. He is blind in his right eye.

Sometimes…he doesn’t remember.

He doesn’t remember why it’s so cold. Why he’s so hungry. He doesn’t remember how he came to be here or where that even is.

And he.

Doesn’t remember…

It’s dark in twilit glow and so cold. Yet for some reason it’s darker to his right.

He lifts his hand and follows it. He shuts his left eye and only meets darkness.

Why can’t he see? Why can’t he see out of his eye?! Why can’t he open it? Why does it hurt when he tries?!

His fingers tremble as they reach up and find the stitches and his stomach churns while his mind aches.

Holy shit someone sewed his eye sh-

Where is he?

Why can’t he see?

Theres stitches by his fingers.

He digs in while his working pupil trembles in its socket. No. No he can’t. He can’t see.

Why is it empty?!

The lid that he pries into is hollow and sunken with no orb below for his fingers to touch.

He lost his eye. It’s gone it’s gone. Gone gone empty and it hurts.

His right ear twitches as his stitches pop.

What’s going on?! He can’t!

He can’t remember…

His face hurts and there’s a warm liquid leaking down his cheeks. From his eye. Is he crying?

No that’s not it but it is. The liquid that oozes down his right cheek is thicker than the freezing flow of his left.

His right pointer and middle fingers are warm and wet.

Where…

There’s a slick sound as he pulls them from his oozing socket and his sunken lid sticks to his bloody digits. It makes his aching empty soul roll.

What the fuck happened to his eye?!

What happened to him?!

He reaches up to hold his head only to find more confusion there. There’s stitches on his scalp, there’s stitches on his scalp and he doesn’t have his eye, he doesn’t have his ear, what happened what happened what

Where the fuck even is he?

He can’t fucking remem-

His face hurts. There’s cool liquid draining from his right eye that stings and aches and makes him want to cry and scream. Yet he has no energy and his anxiety spikes at the thought of causing so much noise.

His left cheek is cold with a frozen trail. He stands in a twilit forest of aspen and snow, the sky an ominous black.

There’s stitches by his left hand.

What… why are there stitches? His left hand is on his scalp and there’s stitches. Why. Why are they there. Why are they there.

It aches when his irritation and confusion leads to his fingers digging into the wound. Why was he wounded?

Why are there stitches?

Why couldn’t he see out of his right eye?!

He couldn’t…

He’s kneeling in a snowy twilit aspen forest with the sky an ominous black that drips flakes of snow like water from stalactites…

Why is he thinking of stalactites?

His head hurts and his hand is warm and wet. There’s…a wound on his head. Yet he feels numb. He knows it’s there and that it hurts but. He just.

It just…is.

When he reaches up he blinks owlishly at the pink stained snow before him. His…

There’s a flap of skin peeling off his scalp. It pulls at the stitches at his forehead and brow, and one’s behind his ear. It hurts.

Why can’t he see from his right eye?

His head aches and it’s wet and tacky when he reaches up to hold it.

There’s flesh peeling from his scalp…

Flesh… He’s so hungry.

He can’t remember.

It’s so cold… and he twitches at every sound. Out of the trees. It’s not safe here. Why why. Why does he know that why is he so confused why can’t he fucking remember!

His head burns as he grabs at it and silently screams into the painfully cold snow next to him. He doesn’t understand what’s happening! Where is he? Why?!

Why does it hurt so much?!

He’s crying…

He…doesn’t know why.

There’s…there’s not time for that.

His working eye finds a spool of thread and needle in the snow next to him. His face hurts… his head hurts.

He’s so hungry.

He only moves when the numbness settles completely. When the world feels like little more than a fuzzy dream…nightmare.

The sheet of ice in front of him answers his questions. He doesn’t…feel anything. He thinks he should but there’s no time for that. No energy.

His face is wet with his own blood,both from his torn lid of his empty socket and the gore of his scalp.

He thinks it should hurt when he sees his reflection, that it does, but he’s too cold, too hungry, too exhausted to feel it. He both recognizes himself and doesn’t.

He doesn’t understand.

But he can’t stay here.

His cold hand trembles in exhaustion when he takes up the needle and spool of thread for makeshift stitches. The reflective ice makes a decent enough mirror while he sews himself back together.

His hands pause at his eye, the fresh thread already pulling at his skin, too thin to not cut into it.

Why…

Where is his eye?

[sturnioloskyline]

Idk if your right something like this but I’d find it so silly if you could! So the idea is Matts girlfriend and she’s has ADHD and she like vocal stims a lot when she’s comfortable around people,and she’s always saying the most outrageous things she hears from TikTok’s as a vocal stim ( I can’t go a second with out going “ hundred bans in my panties” because the cortisa star song that’s on my fyp but you can do any TikTok sound!) And she’s like either whispering it or yelling it when she deems it to quite around her! Or something of the sorts if you don’t do this it’s totally ok! Have a wonderful day/night! 🤍💙

blurt out

pairing: matt x fem!adhd!reader

warnings: language, adhd(obv), stimming, cheesy fluff, not proofread

summary: whenever there’s a catchy audio on tiktok, it somehow becomes one of your stims.

disclaimer: i am by no means romanticizing adhd. some of this is slightly based off of my own experiences with being neurodivergent, but i also did some research online, so i apologize if anything is inaccurate!

matt was incredibly understanding and supportive when it came to your adhd. when you first started dating, you were so nervous to tell him, and would mask it all the time around him. but as your relationship progressed, you realized that matt would never judge you or think of you any differently for your adhd.

so you became a lot more open about your adhd, and to be honest, matt loved it. he loved when you told him about your hyperfixations, and he adored the way you’d try to focus so hard while he spoke to you.

after a few months of dating, matt and his brothers had grown completely used to your adhd symptoms. they understood that your short attention span and fidgeting were just parts of what made you you, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

this particular day, nick had suggested that you join them as a special guest for their next car video. you were sitting in the passenger seat of the car, waiting for matt to check the camera angle. chris sat behind you in the backseat, with nick to his side.

you watched as matt stood in front of the minivan, bending slightly over the hood to get a good look at the viewfinder of the camera. he gestured to the left, and you reached out to the dashboard to adjust the camera's position. matt gave you a thumbs up and made his way back to the driver's seat.

"okay, looks good," matt said as he got in the car. he smiled at you warmly, wanting to provide you with a sense of comfort. this was the first video of theirs that you would ever be in, so it was safe to say that you were a bit nervous.

"alright. hey guys, happy friday," nick addressed the camera, leaning forward so he was farther in frame. "today we have a special guest."

you smiled and waved at the camera, glancing at matt who just grinned.

"this is matt's girlfriend, y/n," nick explained. chris let out a cheer, causing you all to laugh. "we're gonna do a q&a with y/n using questions that you guys sent us on instagram."

nick pulled out his phone and began to scroll through the thousands of answers to the triplets' instagram story, searching for a good starter. you looked back at him expectantly before something shiny next to chris caught your attention.

"what's that?" you asked chris, pointing to the can that was in the cupholder next to him. chris pulled it out, scanning the label.

"uhh, it's peach redbull," chris shrugged.

"oh my god, can i please have it?" you asked excitedly. matt chuckled as chris handed you the can, which you immediately grabbed and cracked open. you took a sip and let out a sigh, smiling and setting the can down in the cupholders between you and matt.

"okay first question," nick said, sticking his hand out to grab everyone's attention. "what's it like dating a triplet?"

"um..." you looked out the window, thinking about how you wanted to answer. "i mean, it's like dating any other person, just with triplet brothers? yeah, i guess you could say it's different, because i hang out with you guys all time, but that doesn't mean that me and matt don't like, have our own little moments. but being a triplet doesn't really change anything much. this way i get a boyfriend plus two built-in best friends, which is cool. but me and matt have a pretty normal, average relationship."

you blushed with self-consciousness as you realized you were rambling, quickly shutting your mouth and ending your rant with a quick nod. matt found your word vomit adorable, however, bringing his hand close to your knee, lightly brushing it with his knuckles out of view from the camera. you smiled softly at the reassurance.

nick scrolled through and asked a few more questions, occasionally interrupted by a random tangent that chris went on or something that caught matt's eye through the widow. the video ended up growing longer as the four of you jumped from topic to topic. it was as if you just couldn't stop talking, all of you interrupting each other excitedly and laughing loud enough for the entire parking lot to hear. you grew much more comfortable, slightly forgetting that you were even on camera.

while nick returned to his phone to look for more questions, you, matt and chris were silently communicating. the three of you passed looks to each other, holding back fits of laughter.

"okay, someone asked what you like to—"

"head so good she on honor roll," you blurted out loudly, interrupting nick. the car went silent as you clapped your hand over your mouth, glancing over the camera.

chris erupted into giggles, causing matt to join him. nick started chuckling too.

"sorry! that song is literally all over my for you page right now," you apologized, laughing slightly out of embarrassment. that song had been all you were hearing for the past week, so naturally it worked its way into becoming one of your vocal stims.

"you're fine, y/n. let's move on," nick rolled his eyes at his brothers, who were smacking each other out of laughter.

...

author's note: been a busy week, will post way more on the weekend i promise. also, would it be more fun if i posted one fic every monday, wednesday, and friday? lmk! love u guys 🤍

[frozenjokes]

A Little Question About Love (It’s Not Little At All, Though Scar Is A Bit Frustrated It’s Not As Simple As It Is On TV)

“Hey, thanks again for driving me to the zoo all week, G, I really appreciate it. Still can’t believe how stiff my arm is, I mean, yeah, I expected it to hurt for a while, but I’m so sore!”

Grian chuckled in the driver’s seat, but kept his eyes on the road as he turned onto the street where the employee parking lot was located. Given how massive Scar’s zoo was, it took quite a while to navigate the surrounding area, so he needed to maintain some focus. “So sore you can’t bring your other one up to the wheel either? That sounds pretty bad, Scar, maybe I should turn this car back around and take you home. You might even need to go back to the hospital!”

“No! No no, that won’t be necessary. I just can’t drive, Grian, see, the seatbelt pushes real hard on my arm and shoulder and when I lift it like that it’s so much worse! Blame the seatbelt, blame the seatbelt.”

“And your other arm?”

“Have you heard of phantom pain?”

“Pretty sure we already discussed that’s not how phantom pain works, but sure Scar, go on.”

“Agony, Grian, agony. Can’t lift my arms,” Scar caught Grian’s eye, throwing him a wink, “Only in the car though. A very specific problem, nothing any doctor could address without wasting hours of our time.”

“Our time?”

“Well, duh, you’re my driver!” Scar laughed, and Grian joined him, unable to help himself. Scar could never accept an injury as it was and let himself rest when he needed it. Always moving, always working; that was the Scar way. An idle Scar was a miserable one; it didn’t matter what he was doing as long as he was moving, though he always did prefer to have someone to talk to. It’s why he hated to be at home for too long, or worse, the hospital he frequented as a result of his recklessness. Grian had a theory it’s why he hated driving as well. Sure, it wasn’t quite idle, but sitting still and focusing was not Scar’s forte. Of course, Grian didn’t mind.

He was content with the small silence as he pulled into the parking lot, but Scar would never let that stand.

“I’ve been thinking about something you said recently. I'm just curious, I guess.”

Grian tensed, glancing in Scar’s direction. He looked thoughtful, but in an impossibly neutral way, difficult to read. “Scar, that could mean anything, buddy. Gonna need you to be a lot more specific.”

“Oh!” Scar looked surprised, as if he hadn’t just said something deeply terrifying, “Sorry! Just thinking. It was with Mumbo, after he got upset and bit me, y’know. When I wanted to go after him, I mean. You were really worried and it kinda made me think and stuff.”

Grian deflated, his shoulders sinking a little closer to his chest, “Scar, I really don’t want to talk about that. You know it makes me upset.”

“No- it’s not about you getting upset, I know why you were and I really am sorry. That’s another thing that’s been in my mind but not the thing,” Scar began to ramble and Grian let himself fall back against the seat, resigned to the fact that this was happening. He didn’t want to have this conversation again. He just didn’t want Scar to get himself killed; a high order apparently.

Scar continued regardless, “It was more about.. I dunno, I mean, I’d say we’re pretty close. We’re close, right?” Scar didn’t give Grian any time to answer, “And you said that I mean a lot to you, and you mean a lot to me too, but I don’t know what that means to me, and then you said that I’ve got a lot of people who love me, but it kinda sounded like you were saying you loved me, and that’s great, I also have feelings that are like that, but I also also don’t know what that means really, to love someone. And I was just thinking about it. I love you, of course I do, but what does that mean? Does it mean anything? When you told me you loved me, what did that mean to you?”

Grian gaped. What the fuck else could he do. What the fuck was even happening here???

“Scar. Are you. What are you asking here. What are you saying.”

“I love you.”

“Okay.” Grian gripped the wheel so hard he was sure his nails would leave indents. He didn’t even bother trying to park; halfway between the lines of two spots would have to do. “You love me. What does that mean.”

“I don’t know. That’s why I asked you.” Scar was infuriatingly relaxed, like this was just a normal conversation with zero implications at all.

“I can’t tell you how you feel, Scar!”

“Well you said you loved me first, so I was asking you what that meant.”

“I didn’t- I said people love you, Scar, like your friends and family! That people would be very upset if you died doing something dumb- it- it wasn’t meant to be some kind of confession?”

“Oh, I didn’t think so!” Scar threw up his hands in defense, like that was at all obvious.

“Then what did you think?”

“I thought that you loved me.”

“Of course I love you- obviously I love you. What is happening here? Why are you so stuck on this?”

“I just don’t know what it means. I don’t know how to tell the difference and I thought that if you loved me you might be able to tell me. I feel like I love everyone the same, and that’s all sorts of confusing. I mean, maybe besides family love, but that’s more complicated, there’s like- layers.”

Grian had to fight to keep himself from gaping. This was not the conversation he thought he’d be having today. “Well,” he forced his voice back into a more even tone, something a little nicer, “For me, yeah, kinda. There’s a lot that goes into love, layers, like you said. There’s the kinda unconditional respect I have for most everyone, and it builds from there? Friendship of course, elements of physical attraction can further things sometimes. Attraction in general makes a big difference, and not just physical, it’s an emotional thing too. Personality. Mannerisms. It’s a slow thing for me most of the time. That’s not always the case though, some people fall fast. For me it’s like.. a slow infatuation with the wholeness of someone. Not necessarily loving every trait, but kinda respecting it, y’know?”

“Like friends.”

“Like- no, not like friends, like being in love. Romantically.”

“That’s friends though.”

“It’s not- Scar how many of your friends do you feel all those ways about- how many of your friends are you physically attracted to?”

“A few. Close friends, Grian, obviously. And come on, like all of our shared friends are hot, physical attraction can not be the deciding factor here, that does not make any sense.”

Grian shrugged. “We do have many hot friends.”

“I know! I think you’re attractive.”

If Grian had been drinking anything he would have spit it all over the dashboard, “You- Scar!” Scar didn’t seem to notice his words had any effect though, rambling on.

“I mean, seriously, what the hell is supposed to be the difference here! Platonic, romantic, I’m half convinced everyone has just been lying to me. I keep waiting for all these rainbows and sparkles to light up in my brain and go yup! There it is! That’s romance, that’s love, and it’s like- yeah love as in my friends who I love dearly, who I’d happily spend the rest of my life with if I got the chance-“

“-Scar-“

“-Yeah, I mean obviously when I tell you I love you I mean very explicitly every single one of those things you mentioned. Every! One! I don’t hand out ‘I love yous’ for free, I mean it. That’s not the same for everyone though, and that doesn’t bother me or anything, but doesn’t it feel a little confusing sometimes? So that wasn’t what you meant when you said that, right?” Scar looked at him so genuinely, so innocently, like that was the easiest question to answer in the world.

“Uhm. Yeah, I. Love. I love you, Scar.”

“Great!” Scar preened, apparently fully, completely, entirely satisfied with what just happened here, “This is great. Glad we’re on the same page.” And then he gathered his things and just left. Opened the car door, personal items in hand, and walked away with a goddamn smile on his face before Grian could even hope to yell out the window, WE ARE NOT ON THE SAME PAGE.

Instead, he buried his head in his hands, screamed a little, punched the passenger seat, let his face hit the car horn, then drove home, feeling overall very normal about that little conversation.

read the rest of the fic here

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

“The updates are making me like Idia more, but in the same way you'd like a character for being pathetic” I’m shocked you didn’t like Idia at least from what I remember? He’s basically the same as Rollo (a character you do like I think) and in more ways than one. They’re both gloomy looking guys and traumatized big bros that are self righteous and pathetic. What kept you from liking Idia before if you don’t mind me asking?

[Referencing something I said in this post!]

Okay, confession time: when I was a little kid (I’m talking like 7-10 years old), I was SUPER into Greek mythology and more specifically the story of Hades and Persephone. I ate up ALL the Hades and Persephone retellings/reinterpretations I could find and actively hunted for more 💀 so you’d think I’d like Idia, who is twisted from Hades, given how I gravitated to Octavinelle because of my attachment to The Little Mermaid in my childhood…

I think what puts me off of Idia in spite of his similarities to Rollo, a character I do really love, is a combination of Idia's appearance and his attitude.

To tackle the shallower aspect first, I actually don't like characters that look "too" gloomy. I would say Rollo is stoic-looking, but not gloomy? He has a pretty neutral face most of the time and the only gloomy thing about him at a glance is the dark circles under his eyes. With Idia... There's a LOT going on here. The hair is definitely unique, but I've never been into super long hair. The nature of it kind of overshadows his face and Idia usually looks miserable as a default. I've mentioned before that I'm unnerved by his coloration too; the super pale skin plus the blue lips is reminiscent of a corpse and, well... while I do see there being an audience that finds him beautiful, I don't think that's a cute look for him.

Now, his attitude. I'm not going to fault Idia for being passionate about his hobbies, as we all have our niches that we're super into. What irks me is how Idia expresses himself and acts out on behalf of those interests. He talks down to people who "don't get it" and takes other measures to defend the things he likes that I think is crossing a line. For example, he tracks down the IP addresses of Ignihyde mob students that defaced his favorite idol group's website. In the EN version, Idia threatens to doxx the mobs too (though he never does, this was just a localization decision). Yeah, you could do that I guess... but should you? 😭 The other characters also do questionable things (as a J word fan, I cannot deny this) but those actions are usually so outlandish no one irl would do it (like how Azul is a high school student that runs his own shady business). Idia's behavior, meanwhile, embodies some very real and very toxic aspects of fandom culture. I think part of why I disliked Idia at first is also his manner of speaking; it's riddled with so much internet lingo that it's hard to take him seriously sometimes. This is even more true of the EN version of the game, which has added even more slang than was in JP. Like... sorry, am I NOT supposed to be giggling when OB Idia is making threats while talking like an enraged gamer (both in EN and JP)? There is a ceiling on how much pathetic I can take in one sitting, and Idia far exceeds it every time he talks. Other characters (like Rollo making cheesy villain speeches, Azul being teased, Jamil's DOKKAN, etc.) have their moments of funny ha ha-cringe as well, but at least I can still see them in a serious light.

Books 6 and 7 are enhancing my opinion of Idia solely because they focus on the "traumatized big brother" part to his character. In Glorious Masquerade too... Idia gets the courage to call Rollo out because he knows their experiences are so similar. I think the storyline was done very well, and I loved seeing how Idia grows from an event that no doubt affected him deeply and still continues to influence him to this day. It's clear that he cares deeply about both Orthos and will step up to protect them. I LOVE THAT FOR HIM, it's not as though Idia is completely throwing aside one brother for the other, he's acknowledging them both as his "true" brothers. The way he goes from laughing to crying in his post-OB flashback... Idia getting so mad at us attacking Phantom Ortho with lightning... the willingness to "go" with OG!Ortho to the world beyond... apologizing to Robo!Ortho for falling for the dream's promises of eternal happiness... Aaaah, it's just too good 😭

DIHLBASOFYIAYVYEBfsWPYWPF WHAT CAN I SAY... I like me a reliable onii-san character 🤡 I'M NOTHING IF NOT PREDICTABLE

[allthings-acorn]

Dogblr! I’m working through a training issue and would love some different perspectives. My question involves dealing with prey drive, engagement, and premack, I think?

Ok, so, I have a fenced-in yard for the first time ever, and I’ve been trying to start things off on the right track for Acorn. Acorn is a three year old mutt, with a fair chunk of terrier ancestry. There’s is nothing he loves more than searching for and chasing critters. I want him to be able to enjoy the yard, but not to totally disregard me while he’s out there.

Here’s what I’ve been doing so far: We go outside on a leash. I wait for him to offer eye contact before taking the leash off. Then, I reinforce any and all engagement with me. I start off with treat tosses for choosing to check in, and usually after a few minutes I can cue different behaviors and have sustained engagement.

The problem is, the amount of time I have to wait for him to offer me attention is pretty variable. I’d hoped he would start offering engagement sooner but it doesn’t seem to be happening. Tonight I suspect there was increased squirrel activity, and he ran around from tree to tree for about 10 mins, rarely checking in with me. I’d wanted to play fetch with him, which is a favored activity of his, but obviously doesn’t outrank squirrels. After about ten mins, I tried to begin the game, which, in retrospect I should have realized he wasn’t going to go for. He blew me off once, I tried again a few minutes later and he chased the toy twice before losing interest again. At that point I leashed him up, and brought him inside.

I’m trying to put my own frustration aside, but it’s definitely a factor here. We have a similar issue in agility class, the barn where classes are in the winter is a huge issue for us. He does better when we train outside, but he still has a tendency to leave me and run the fence line investigating smells instead of working. I really really want to get to the point where I can let him off leash, train and play with him, and THEN release him to the environment.

So here’s my current thinking— I’m feeling pretty discouraged, so let me know if you have any ideas or if you think I’m on the right track or not— I need to stop allowing him to do the searching for prey behavior until I’ve finished with whatever I’m planning to do. I suppose I’ll keep him on leash or maybe a longline, work engagement until he seems ready to start on whatever the goal of the session is. Start small at first and see if it becomes easier for him to focus on training once he knows he’ll get to run around the yard afterwards.

Ugh, for some reason I’m not liking this plan. I suppose it makes me feel like I have to be the Fun Police, making him eat his vegetables before dessert. But I’m also very tired of feeling like I have to coax him to engage with me every time we’re working around any distractions. I feel like my current protocols work in the short term, but I don’t see any improvement from session to session. Clearly this is an ongoing problem for us, and I hope that being forced to tackle it at home will help address the issue in agility too. Anyway, I would love any advice, insight, pep-talk, commiseration, suggestions for courses or other resources, etc. I just need to stop feeling like I’m banging my head against a wall!

[mariipun]

Adventures of Wally & The Gang (plus their Caretaker)

Keep A Level Head

Warnings: None. Humor. Just more silly antics. Inspired by the anime “ Aggretsuko”.  

Word Count: 834

Brief Description: The Welcome Home cast is alive, living alongside humans. You have been contracted as their Caretaker. Our dear Caretaker has been running around all day, working hard. On top of your daily administrative work, you also have to babysit tend to the colorful ensemble of actors, plus all the other studio employees, who can’t seem to do things on their own.

[Not sure if this constitutes a WH!Muppet AU scenario?? Not sure how to tag it haha] 

“Care! Hey, hey! Care--?! Hey! Caretaker! Heeeeeeeeeey!” Julie wails, following behind as you try to ignore her and focus on the task at hand.

No matter how many times you try to address the blonde, she pulls you away from what needs to be done, to what she wants to do. It’s become a bit of an irritating habit, although you’re convinced it’s her hobby, to distract you from your job so you can entertain her grabs for attention.

“Not now Julie, I have a lot of work to do, but I promise I’ll do whatever it is you’re wanting once I’ve got more time—”

“No, I need you now. The new dress I had ordered still hasn’t arrived and I—”

You drone out her increasing insistence, beginning to pick up the pace as you swerved through the crowd of studio employees and other puppets. Unfortunately, the moment the others sight you, the choir of:

“Hey Care—”

“--need you here—”

“Can you fix—”

“Get me some—”

You stop in your tracks, feeling Julie bump into you from behind. With your binder tucked close to your chest, your hands tighten around it. The overwhelming demands from the maintenance team, stagehands, cameramen, and puppets made you fume. It was obvious from your face how feelings of annoyance had now turned into full-blown anger. You tried steadying your breath, feeling the heat prickle at your cheeks, and reminding yourself to remain professional, you need this job, it pays the bills… it pays the bills…it pays the bills….

“Hold on!” You boom, causing the voices to settle. You stand your ground, steeling yourself as you take a breath. “I am extremely busy right now—” You strain, each word slow, with brows furrowed and jaw tight. “Sooo-- I’d appreciate it if you all stop pestering me for a moment, because if I hear one more per—”

“Hey, Care?” Barnaby interjects, poking his head out of the restroom door.

Your mouth shuts, head snapping around to look at him. “What?!”

“I clogged the toilet,” Barnaby responds monotonously, thumb pointing toward inside the restroom, as water slowly began trickling its way outside.

The grip around your binder tightens even more to the point you felt like you could have ripped it in half. Your eyes narrow into a glare, tight lips twitching up into a menacing grin.

“So uh… could you fix it?” Barnaby probes, moving away from the slow leak of water pooling around his feet.

“Please excuse me for a moment…” You seethe, quickly and silently moving your way toward one of the audio control rooms, knowing the padded walls would shield your outbursts. Upon arrival, you slammed the binder down onto the script stand, causing it to wobble and tilt over.

That was the last straw.

You bring your arms up, flailing them around as you release your rage. “What the actual [redacted]?! I just need to do one [redacted] thing! One thing! But nooooooo--! I can’t catch a [redacted] break around here! And why the [redacted] would Barnaby clog the toilet?! PUPPETS DON’T EVEN NEED TO USE THE [redacted] TOILET?!”

You heaved, palming your forehead for a second before sliding your hand over your eyes. You took a few deep breaths to soothe yourself until you heard an audible click and the sound designer over the two-way speaker.

“You, uh, okay in there?”

You drop your hand down to your mouth, eyes darting open to see not only the sound designer but a few of the puppets and two other employees who followed you to your location, staring at you from behind the glass.

You stared back.

Julie had arched a brow, crossing her arms over her chest in disapproval.

Wally’s half-lidded, unwavering, eyes peered at you. “Those are some naughty words there...” He commented, his voice crackling a bit through the speaker. Though, reading his expression you could tell he was a bit amused.

“Yes dear, you really should watch your language.” Poppy chimes, as everyone else in the sound room nods in agreement.

Standing there for a moment longer, you finally gave up. Picking up your binder and setting the script stand back up in place, you walk through the door into the sound room, staying silent as Barnaby stepped toward you with a plunger in hand.

“I found this if it’ll help with the toilet—”

You didn’t say anything as you walked past him, only extending a hand, and swiping the plunger from his grasp. You moved on through the exit.

[BONUS]

Barnaby and Wally both stood outside the restroom door, peering in and watching as you muttered curses under your breath and violently plunged the toilet to unclog whatever ungodly thing Barnaby stuffed in there.

Wally: “So, uh, Barnaby?”

Barnaby: “Yeah lil’ buddy?”

Wally: “What did you put in there?”

Barnaby: “Just a bunch of leftover doughnuts from the spread table.”

Wally: “…Why?”

Barnaby, shrugging: “Wanted to see what would happen…”

[For scientific inquiry]

[stuckasmain]

Dave’s old life is cast aside and he is reborn (semi-literally) as a star child. It is an ending that has left many baffled, including me, but is ultimately a touching end and beginning.

Dave ends the story an evolved being, yet not so far detached from his human origin. He still has a great deal of emotion and curiosity - he becomes a baby because he simply is one when it comes to understanding the universe. He could go anywhere, do anything and yet he goes to earth. He goes and watches over it like a shiny toy, while his physical ties have been severed he’s still attached to it- almost like a mother, if we stay with the baby metaphor.

Eventually he will move on from it but for now he is a protector of sorts. The guardian of earth. He stops the bomb not for his own sake but because he simply wants humanity to continue on- he stops a potential doomsday!

It’s too bad this is completely uprooted in the following bits of the series. He is “beyond” emotion, he is on Europa. I would be fine if the evolution or planet was focused on even remotely besides the same few paragraphs, he’s transformed and cast aside. All of the prior meaning is rebuked, all of his humanity removed. See it wasn’t the transformation that did it but the story itself— as it decided to pivot and couldn’t just have him watching. He must be a blank slate. He must be elsewhere- he can’t even enjoy watching the other planet or if he does we don’t really hear of it.

Dave becomes more of a plot device than a person, as a star child there’s so many facinating things you could do with him. For one thing a dressing the trauma that came from that and before, and — again either guardian of earth - self chosen- or we actually see his involvement elsewhere. He becomes a just as much of a tool as the monolith.

Not only is his humanity stripped but his agency, in 2010 he describes himself as a dog on a leash a good number of times. While I absolutely adore that metaphor, it’s so tragic and not even acknowledged as such?! (Again so much could be considered cosmic horror and it’s either had waved or blankly accepted) he went from a near omnipotent being to LOSING LARGE CHUNKS OF TIME AND BEING USED AS A PROBE. He’s suddenly beyond humanity when he was so attached before; he becomes apathetic incredibly fast. (Which, as a immortal being is understandable but it’s absolutely unearned and not in character) -> my issue isn’t with him becoming a tool of some higher power it’s that it’s sort of hand waved “it is how it is” and not addressed how messed up and interesting it is.

Now I’ve yet to read 3001 but my point here broadly stands. I fully believe it should’ve ended after 2010, as it comes across as very very clear it was a two book story and 2061 is a whole separate one with some characters tossed into it.

Arcs were over. There was a bit more explanation as to what happened in the first one; we got closure alongside Heywood. Things were set up for the future but it was more in a way for you to view them as fully developed not exactly a sequel. (Like the Hal 10,000 idea). It’s frustrating because Dave as a Starchild can lead to so many interesting things and it was a beautiful idea in 2001 but … after that it mistreats and mischarectetizes Him so fast in a way that frustrates me to no end. Maybe if there was an actual focus or exploration I could understand the direction but making him a cut out god figure is such a sad end.

A child of the stars still clinging to its former life, its humanity…

Oh what could have been. I’d like to imagine Dave would’ve never completely… not been Dave, yes over centuries he may subdue emotions, his interest may waver but what we get is a name and maybe some memory.

—

Clarification:

I fully enjoy 2010, my issues with Dave in that are minimal just that it’s a little sad he swaps guardianship but I can understand. I was excited and interested in Europa… only for that too also get sort of ignored.

There’s also some interesting points to come out of 2061 - how the monolith works, conversing with Hal and he does seem to have a genuine interest in study but it’s also where he’s sort of a name drop and little else

It’s the stripping him of his emotion and character that really gets me - as it’s a route that isn’t earned as Clark absolutely does not write about trauma or if he does it’s a off handed “ok so everyone dying and the monolith was a little scary but now I’m blue and don’t care” it’s even true for human characters idk

I pick and choose what I want to keep from the further books honestly, we’ll see if 3001 fixes this or if this rant grows longer. I’m just sad, Dave’s such a fascinating character and he’s so mistreated?

[hazshit-hotel-hater]

The way substance abuse has been handled on the show thus far genuinely upsets me and reeks of writers who either 1.) don't understand the subject matter they're presenting and haven't done even the bare minimum to research it or, worse, 2.) simply don't care.

Apologies for the slight rant incoming, your comment about how it has been mostly "handled" off-screen got me going because that's 100% true and in that truth is such a missed opportunity for the show. The way it has been handled winds up feeling incredibly shallow and juvenile at the end of the day, especially for a piece of media that is attempting to present itself as "adult" and navigate multiple incredibly sensitive topics. I'll try not to get into my own personal experiences and will speak broadly, but the show uses substance abuse more as a cheap character flaw to poke fun at or something to magically handwave away when it is inconvenient, rather than the life-altering, debilitating illness that it is.

Nothing about Angel's use is ever meaningfully explored. It's so (apparently) unimportant to his arc and development that one rude comment from Husk (a character who ALSO has a problem with gambling and alcohol that is never addressed) is all it takes for him to suddenly "resist temptation" and be shown as "recovered" (unless I'm misremembering). Or was he suddenly going to counseling off-screen too and its just another thing that will be told to us rather than shown? And how does Charlie even handle that at the Hotel (I'd be really interested in this as a moment for her character to have to grow/change too)? Does she even understand substance abuse and the many unaddressed systemic factors that can influence it? Or is the entire recovery process just shame based (because that works so well /s) combined with some more corny trust exercises? Why is this incredibly serious topic relegated to the background as if it's unimportant?

Recovery is hard. It is emotional and exhausting. Withdrawal (depending on what you're coming off of) can sometimes mean excruciating, unimaginable pain and in some cases people literally die. It is not a funny "ha-ha I take drugs because I'm chaotic and wild" quirk to be adored or glorified and it definitely should not be presented as something that can be wrapped up in a month or two off-screen without any development whatsoever. That's just insulting.

When you approach a topic like substance abuse and recovery, I personally feel you need to take in all sides of it. All the missteps that come with it (two steps forward one step back - mistakes are expected and okay), the self-loathing, the guilt and shame, the joy, the sense of freedom, the loss, and the best part of all: the incredibly difficult but liberating journey that is rebuilding your life and learning to love yourself and your body again, once you've chosen to be free and to live life.

Mad props to anyone who has ever battled this disease. You are strong, you are worth it and you are valued. Lol I am so sorry for going off here but I so appreciate you calling out the lack of exploration on this topic in the show. I guess I didn't even realize how annoyed and upset it was making me feel (praying this is coherent...).

This was absolutely coherent don’t worry!! Im really glad to see other people talking about this. I myself have not struggled with drug addiction but I have struggled with other kinds and as someone that studies a bunch of medical junk, I’d say I’m decently knowledgeable.

I’m mainly going to focus on Angel for this since he’s the main character I write for, but I assure you other characters addictions are also handled in my rewrite.

During the actual canon show, we don’t see Angel actually abusing substances that often; there’s a few times, most notably in episode 4, but from the rest of the show onward we hardly see anything. Yes in episode 6 they mentioned relapsing, which, mind you, was done horribly, but I digress. They touch on relapsing; Angel relapses, and then… what..??? What happened from that? I don’t feel upset or second hand guilt of any kind from this scene because we haven’t seen Angel’s attempts to stay sobre and off drugs.

His name is fucking Angel Dust. You don’t, I dunno, think that’d entail a higher dependency on drugs? Why do you think he named himself that?

About his name before anything else, the show has so much potential later on to talk about Angel picking out his drag name and why he chose that specifically. So much potential to explore how he views drugs and himself. He sees them as an escape and something “fun” to take his mind off of his actual life. When you die in a fucking coma and wake up in hell as a spider you’re going to want an escape. You will want to ignore reality. I am fully convinced Angel picked his name once he started performing because thats what he needed at the time. He needs to be like that to survive in hell. Angel is an incredibly mentally ill, troubled, traumatised, and unstable person, and being surrounded by so much intense negative influence only amplifies his current problems. I don’t mean to drag Vox in here but in my last redesign post I mentioned how very mildly bad people can become even worse people in hell because of the environment and this is no different for Angel. He’s been surrounded by crime and drugs his entire life and unable to live comfortably because of his sexuality. He has very likely been struggling with substances since he was a teen. Possibly even younger. He is not going to suddenly get over his addiction because of something like this. It could pave the way to him looking into dealing with it, but things like this can take years. I don’t remember when my addiction started; I’ve been clean for 2 1/2 years now I think, but the amount of relapsing and anguish I experienced while working towards that isn’t something that can be done in a few days or months. I still struggle with feeling like I deserve to say I’m recovering.

I’m hoping they tactfully handle this as they should, but my hopes are low. It’s okay to show a character relapsing. It’s okay to show a character feeling guilty. What matters is that the struggle is there to signify they’re trying. For a character with a song called “Addict” you really don’t see much of it. Drug and alcohol addiction is not a silly thing to just twiddle your fingers with and be like “well I guess thats over!” It’s incredibly insensitive to do so.

Whenever I write about Angel’s struggles with addictions, I focus on how small they can feel until you realise what’s actually happening. Just me talking about my rewrite again, but to get my ideas out here: Angel smokes often. He smokes at the studio when he’s stressed, he smokes at the hotel when he’s stressed, he smokes at in alleyways when he’s bored, there’s almost no location he won’t, but sometimes he tries to smoke less. His lungs aren’t the same as humans and technically he has 2 pairs of lungs, but smoking causes him to cough. This is painful in general and especially painful for Angel since he has barbs going down the back of his throat. Imagine choking on sandpaper, kind of like that. It’s painful, he doesn’t like the sound, Fat Nuggets REALLY doesn’t like the sound, and it’s an overall inconvenience, so he tries to stop smoking as much. Periods like this usually go fine for him until the stress returns or he starts to feel the withdrawal. Withdrawal from any sort of addiction is terrible, and in Angel’s case, just from not smoking it worsens his mental state further. He becomes irritable and stressed and that stress leads to wanting to smoke again to calm down. He may resist a few times and those times should be praised, but he gives in eventually. One cigarette to calm down becomes two, then three, and before he can process himself getting carried away, the entire pack is gone. It’s things like this that make addiction horrible. It’s something that deeply scared me when I was struggling. When I was struggling I was still in the mindset of “I can stop when I want to” and then being so suddenly hit in the face with the realisation that I’m not longer in control of this is terrifying. I could not stop when I wanted to. There were even points where I didn’t want to stop. Even just getting the smallest glimpse of this in an incredibly serious manner with Angel Dust would surprise me. To think the bar is this low on a show that seemingly prides itself on tackling such sensitive topics like you said is appalling. Your show shouldn’t have to be told how to write itself.

[mirror-ralsei]

initial sleep-deprived thoughts on the february newsletter:

- some memes referenced: doobie ralsei, eric andre, everyteenagers, warthunder leaks, cdi mario

- weirdly enough the sans “your mom” valentine creating a recursion of moms is really reminiscent of the joke book physics book recursion lol. probably doesn’t mean anything but jic

- i doubt the amv character is alphys. she already has valentines with her undertale version sprite depicted, and her deltarune counterpart is more focused on superheroes than anime.

- furthermore, upcoming characters such as elnina and lanino and arguably the strange letter character were teased. so i personally think this is a new anime-themed character, probably from chapter 3 with its focus on TV

- wait i just realized this would match up with the anime case in the garbage dump too

- as for the strange letter. my gut reaction was like many of us GASTER CONFIRM??!!?11 but turns out i just misremembered “SHOW YOURSELF! DELTARUNE!” as “SHOW YOURSELF! DELTA RUNE!” so scratch that

- the most compelling evidence against it being gaster is definitely the japanese version not matching his katakana quirk. using contractions and no line breaks in the english version too

- if it is a different character other than gaster it’s at the very least an intentional red herring making us believe it’s gaster... like the gaster reading seems completely intended.

- if they aren’t gaster or a version of gaster then they’re probably a character strongly connected to him, considering the illegible writing and the disappearance and redaction of the letter

- speaking of which, i haven’t seen anyone bring up [REDACTED] yet, who also talks in wingdings (assuming gaster is mysteryman and not [redacted]). probably not them but could be relevant

- as wandydoodles pointed out it could also be the “YOU’RE EARLY!” character

- “squint your heart” is an interesting concept. not sure we’ll find out what it’s referring to for a good while though. unless it’s just the soul

- “THE TIME IS GOING AROUND.” interesting phrasing. seems reminiscent of “the world revolving” or “take a ride around town” somehow but who knows the significance

- “EVERY DAY IS A DAY OF LOVE, IF ONLY YOU BELIEVE IT SO. DO YOU BELIEVE IT SO?” this also could be vaguely important. like belief determines things into existence?

- i don’t have much to say about the “there was someone i wanted to help” “i seem to have forgotten who” part bc like with the roaring knight this is just setting up a plot thread with virtually no context whatsoever at the moment. it’ll form the basis of investigations going forward but there’s nothing really we can determine with the information right now imo. like with the existence of the bunker and such, it’s just asking a question.

- the only context we have is “don’t forget” as a main theme of the series in the music title, sans’ lab, or occasional references to the phrase like spamton, but that really doesn’t tell us much of anything yet - this is just one more instance of that.

- the only part that helps us determine anything about the speaker is maybe “YES, IT’S QUITE IRONIC, BUT I SEEM TO HAVE FORGOTTEN” which could imply the identity of the speaker is someone who is good at remembering, or whose job it is to remember or catalog things.

- “WAS IT MYSELF? NO... WELL, PERHAPS.” another interesting bit of dialogue that we really don’t have context for yet. though if this is some other piece of gaster this would be evidence towards it i guess

- “YOU ARE VERY ODD, RESPONDING OUT LOUD TO A LETTER.” uhhh this character seems to have the ability to hear our responses... and it’s odd considering the letter would already be written, possibly implying further timeline weirdness

- i’d also just quickly like to point out that it’s possible, if not likely, that this letter is addressed to someone other than us the readers. i doubt it but we do have some of the other valentines like ralsei or elnina/lanino as precedent that this could be written to another person

- “HAPPY NEW YEAR! OR, WAS IT THE OLD YEAR.” “NOW, PUT ON YOUR COAT AND WASH YOUR FACE! OR, PUT ON YOUR FACE AND WASH YOUR COAT.” this reminds me of the river person dialogue and the egg man dialogue and again, the whole cat state egg stuff in general

- according to reddit im not the only one getting unused string vibes off the “put on your face” line lol

- “NOT NECESSARILY IN THAT ORDER. OR, IN ANY ORDER AT ALL.” chaos confirmed??? (joking haha jk unless...?? but probably joking)

- “GOOD BY!” clearly means something and isn’t a typo given there are no typos in the rest of the letter... but i have no idea what. a pun maybe?

- the tense shift from present - “It’s a strange letter” “It’s more or less” “if you squint” “you feel you could understand it” - to past - “There was a sound” “the letter was gone” - is interesting and seems to support the cat state egg things yet again (“there is a man here” “there was not a man here”)

ETA:

- actually... “Well, there is a man here.” “Well, there was not a man here.” “WELL, HAPPY NEW YEAR!” “WELL, IN ANY CASE,”

- overall i wonder if this character is associated with the past: an old timey letter, new or old year, the time going around, the character maybe having a good memory, the parent-y demand to wash up and put on a coat, and the shift from present to past tense?

- my crackpot first thought while first reading this (other than gaster) was “grandpa semi?” but that’s definitely not right lol

- they also might be associated with or affected by the timeline wonkiness going on: “HAPPY NEW YEAR! OR, WAS IT THE OLD YEAR.”, “THE TIME IS GOING AROUND,” the mixed-up order of coat and washing, the shift from present to past tense, and continuing a letter based on a response that hasn’t happened yet

- spamton love network: “the earth will stop spinning” might be a “the world revolving” reference... whatever “the world revolving” even means

- spamton love network: “where is the promise of perfection?” ???

- spamton love network: “my fears surging through me like suspicious waves” something with the ocean?

- spamton love network: once again i am operating on the assumption that the contents of the wayneradiotv spamton shows aren’t themselves canon yet have alluded to things within canon (eg. trouble dingle)

[brian-in-finance]

Jamie Dornan in ‘The Fall’ / HELEN SLOANE/NETFLIX

Jamie Dornan reveals Fifty Shades fame led to a 'stalker-type' situation

"The more I can block that out, the better it is for me and family," he said.

Though he generally manages to fly under the radar, Jamie Dornan has had to deal with a potentially dangerous fan in the past.

Dornan, 41, rose to international fame when he played billionaire-with-specific-sexual-tastes Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. And while the films opened some doors for him, they also put him in the path of some unhinged fans.

While speaking with British paper The Independent, Dornan revealed that the fame and rumors surrounding the franchise led to a disturbing encounter. “I’ve been involved in situations where it’s impacted my family," he said.

I had a situation... a stalker-type situation before Covid. That was f-ing scary. Someone turned up at my house when my kids were there. It was not something... The more I can block that out, the better it is for me and the family.

Dornan also addressed ongoing conspiracy theories that he and Grey costar Dakota Johnson have a secret relationship and family (in reality, Dornan has been married to Amelia Warner since 2013, with whom he shares three children).

I tried to put walls up around [the fans], to really try and not let that in. I’m pretty good at just blocking any of the noise associated with whatever fandom is – not letting it affect me, or more importantly my family.

Jamie Dornan in 'Fifty Shades Freed’ / EVERETT COLLECTION

His time in the Fifty Shades franchise was marked by boffo box office combined with behind-the-scenes strife, largely due to author E.L. James' differing creative vision from original director Sam Taylor-Johnson. But Dornan also revealed that his past history as a model meant he was often only considered for romantic heroes like Christian Grey in his early days as an actor.

“All I’d ever get to audition for was, you know, ‘the count who comes in on a f-ing horse and ravages the woman’,” he remembered. “I’d come from modeling, so I thought those were the only types of roles I was going to do."

The opposite has proved true with Dornan playing everything from a serial killer on The Fall to a lovestruck himbo in Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar to a dad fighting to keep his family together during the Irish "troubles" in Belfast. He's hoping to avoid projects that might bring him the level of notoriety of Fifty Shades in the future.

Jamie in ‘Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar’ / CATE CAMERON/THE CW

"There’s never going to be anything like Fifty Shades again," he said. "It felt very much like its own thing, particularly because it focused in and around sex. But there are obviously other jobs that bring insane scrutiny, like superhero stuff, or f--ing James Bond – any of that stuff. I’ve done pretty well to avoid that sort of s-- so far."

Though he also doesn't rule out the possibility of finding himself in a project of that nature at some point. “I think if you’re an actor of a certain standing, who has a certain sort of recognition, you’re going to be in those conversations,” he noted. "I’m not saying I’d never do anything super high-profile again, or a big [intellectual property] with all eyes on it. I probably will. But I’m also really happy with where I’m at right now."

"I can live a pretty normal life for the most part," he concluded. "I can sit on the Tube and I’m fine. I’m an ambitious person, and I have a fire under me, but in the last 10 years or so, I’ve realized I don’t want big peaks all the time. That doesn’t interest me. I’m happy to keep ticking over as I am, then one day just disappear and play golf for the rest of my life."

Jamie in ‘Belfast’ / ROB YOUNGSON/FOCUS FEATURES

EW

Remember how the Belfast stars probably compared notes?

[dentos-wife]

Tokyo Mew Mew New is done and what are my thoughts? I think it’s better than the original and I LOVE the original, it’s one of my favorite magical girl shows and introduced me to the genre. I also rewatched it while this was airing to get a better feel on the simulators and differences

Almost every single problem I had with the original has been addressed in New

The mews were more characters then the stereotypes they were in the 2002 show, Mint and Ichigo especially. Lettuce got some of very concrete development along with Mint who reached her goal. The ending felt more solid to me. Masaya finally was the character he was meant to be and what a difference! It’s amazing how bad the 2002 anime did him seeing this.

More detailed and in depth analysis under the cut but if tldr

In almost everything so let’s get to it

-I fully admit I didn’t like Ryo in the OG he felt like he took screen time solely to make a love triangle. Could have focused more on how he felt about the other girls, the project, his goal. They did that. Here Ryo took responsibility for his actions and felt guilt over putting the girls in this mess becoming more than part of a love triangle (and even that was toned down a lot) which is ironic because yes he did get less focus and I would understand why Ryo fans would prefer the OG don’t blame them at all especially if they’re shippers. He got a lot more content in 2002. But I finally got what I wanted from him; responsibility

-Zakuro of all the girls got the shaft for sure I wanted to see her past like the rest but the more equal footing with Mint? Good shit, I love equal ground in things and they finally sold me on Zakumint too. In 2002 it just felt like unhealthy idolization on Mint’s end. I like how Zakuro loves and cares about her friends too and even wanted them in the video with her to show the real her. It's no longer just Mint idolizing her while she does her own thing, she feels connected to Mint too. And I LOVED how Mint was her reason for joining. They were cowards for not canonizing Zakumint after all this because it was 100% the parallel to Ichisaya

-Speaking of Mint while I do like the environmental push they gave her in this one I do miss the ballet aspect and imo her transformation was nerfed probably the one one I'd say worse then 2002 but I would throw that away any day for the character she was in this compared to the rich rude stereotype she was in 2002, very 90’s. She was of course friends with the Mews there but she actually felt closer to this group compared to how she used to be. However she was also one of the biggest character changes so if you really liked 2002 Mint I can see you not liking the Mint she is here, I’d say the most striking character change of the girls from 2002 is her.

-Lettuce! I adored how she picked up on the emotions of Deep Blue and how she had her little romance arc that was meant more for growing her character and left her open ended, don’t get me wrong I now like Ryo with her, good job New, but the point was show her growing confidence. Along with her going back to the museum and her episode there about alien society in the past I loved it all.

-Pudding and Tart felt the most similar to their og selves so I don’t have much to say on them they cute though

-Pai also felt the most similar up his og and then the ending took a turn; that put him too above og Pie for me, liked that a lot more then killing Tart then sacking himself. His whole life was dedicated to restoring his planet. He was told Deep Blue was the one to do that. And then Deep Blue who he put all his hopes on changed his mind it’s very easy to see why he acted the way he did. And it was a really neat parallel to Ichigo snapping and turning on her friends when Deep Blue first appears. Deep Blue just brings the worst out of you huh? No wonder he was seen as some kind of god.

-And even Deep Blue! At first I was miffed he wasn’t a psychopath and just kind of there while Ichigo had her own mental battle but when you find out why…he’s just a normal guy er alien. Yeah he doesn’t like humanity and blames them for destroying the planet but that’s it. He’s not out to get ultimate power or anything like that he just feels at war with humanity and wants his home back for his people. But through Masaya experienced the same feelings and thoughts resonating with Ichigo’s emotions on how things could change and shockingly seemed willing to work things out. Which probably would have ended with dying to release the Mew Aqua anyway but…Pie sped the process up. And I loved this I loved there was actually no true big bad it’s very different from even the manga but the true evil is selfishness toward the environment, cherish the planet work to protect it; all planets.

-Mayasa is my new second favorite character (Twas originally Zakuro but now she's 3rd), but others have said better so I’ll just say 2002’s main issue was taking away his character he’s a huge multi dimensional character all with reasons for how he is but because this was the early 2000’s and following on tropes he was just the typical “pretty boy” love interest, to parallel Ryo being the typical “bad boy” love interest. And it’s a goddamn shame, I enjoyed him in the manga but seeing him in motion really allows you to get into him and see him for who he is. Dislike is fine but if you still hate Masaya after this and call him bland bread and boring (I lived through the 2002 fandom I know) when he’s gone beyond that; you’re probably a bitter shipper and should try to see beyond that. Also this face was gold

-Ichigo my fav my beloved! Had an arc! Before she was your typical magical girl protag and there’s nothing wrong with that she’s a cute cat girl; what more do you need? She was still very much a duo with Masaya so if you don’t like that that didn’t change. What did though was her growing into becoming a Mew Mew finally deciding she was happy it happened then turning to wanting to be useful wanting to find out her future while everyone else around her figured it out. And her answer? She doesn’t know and that okay there’s things she wants to do, lots of ideas she has on everything she wants to accomplish but she hasn't picked yet

She even gained two more ideas at the very end

But she has time to decide on all of them because:

That’s a really good and wholesome message. If we do get a adaptation of ala mode since she stuck around I could see her mentoring Berry now while still working on figuring out her future. It's a more subtle form of development then say Lettuce or even Mint but it's there and appreciated.

Okay that was all I liked, now for what I didn’t.

-The pacing did suffer a bit a times like Ryo’s backstory feeling rushed or Pudding and Tart feeling like enemies to lovers on crack with so few episodes with more it could have been drawn out longer for sure. But really most of my issues could be fixed with more episodes

-There’s also the idol segments normally it was fine but it really took me out in Puddings episode

-I still don’t like Kish, if you like him more power to you I have no idea how you feel about this version but it’s been three iterations now and he still gets on my nerves; sorry Kish. The one thing I wanted was why he likes Ichigo and still don’t know that maybe if he didn’t start out liking her immediately? Dunno but he’s the only one my feelings didn’t change on at all, so felt like I had to note it. I do think if you ship Kishigo you're going to prefer the 2002 no epic scream in this one

-Cat Ichigo was cuter in the 2002 (this is a nitpick)

Anyway! Just because something is a classic doesn’t automatically mean it’s better all the time. I keep hearing how the classic is untouchable and…it was an anime made to sell toys, I hope you don’t think OS Pokémon is the greatest thing ever too lol. It’s just a different take from a different time this isn’t like comparing a soulless Disney remake. This was made both with and as a tribute to Mia Ikumi and I think it shows.

All are good but as for me if I’m ever introducing a friend to tmm this is going to be my go to

Red haired Mew Ichigo will be my choice every time.

[chaifootsteps]

Studio Anon here, after a while of lurking/doing my own thing. Luckily my emotions are much more in check and I’ve strayed from Viv stuff for a bit to relax and hang out with my loved ones! Coming back and seeing Viv throwing a hissy fit, Raph wanting to look/act like Angel (my goodness-), and somehow people still defending episode four is… really comedic, actually.

Everything is awful but man, somehow it just keeps getting worse!

Anyway, just writing my own general feelings on this and the ideas I had for a rewrite long before everything went to hell. I never really was interested in HH until maybe Helluva Boss’ trailer dropped. I found it strange that HH wasn’t even out yet but somehow this ‘spinoff show’ was already made and posted in the public. I thought it was really weird tho, considering HH is owned by a company now, technically, while HB is sorta just there? I only watched since it’s animation and I felt like I had to support it.

Buuuut the longer I had to stare at HB’s ugly designs (and seeing the new ones for HH) I simply wasn’t interested anymore.

I guess I dodged a bullet because jesus it just gets worse.

I don’t know how, genuinely, Viv is a shit artist and writer? She went to a prestigious art school for as far as I remember and got her shows made and animated. I’m studying myself, and god knows I’d want my stories out there! It’s clear that Viv has some idea of what she wants to do, but that’s the thing-,

All she had were concepts (also publicly displaying her fetishes in the public, which is also its own can of worms).

I know in my right mind I couldn’t send people out to work on my stories since they’re heavily in development- even then my character designs are complicated as shit so I wouldn’t dream of anyone animating. Viv’s style being the way that it is + her general palettes being Just Red makes it hard to focus on or do anything with.

I also don’t know how Viv is able to just show off her rape fantasies out there and I’d rather not talk about it (sex-repulsed and all), but the general lack of focus and priority in gay ships is really disgusting.

So, as a writer, I made a general outline of what I’d make Hazbin Hotel and/or Helluva Boss be about.

Redemption is an easy theme to work on for both. ‘Sins of the father’ as a trope could work too. I’ll just use HH for now, as this post would be lengthy should I cover both.

General worldbuilding; due to Lucifer’s habit of toying with human life, comparing them to nothing more than insects, God punishes him and Lilith (who could’ve been some kind of angel too? I know she’s from a different religion entirely, so let’s say she was a random angel) by sending them to Hell to deal with the worst sinners. He and the princes of hell (how do they not address this in Hazbin?), scorned and disgusted by Heaven, try to be controlling over their own citizens. Mimicking/acting out their anger towards God by playing God in their own rings. They’re evil and horrible leaders. Lilith makes Hell feel like a home for her and Lucifer at least, bearing a daughter to restore some humanity within the Pride ring.

So Pride, at least, is less threatening now that Lucifer has a daughter.

The other princes could then ‘rightfully’ call out Lucifer’s behavior, maybe serving as some antagonists for Charlie as she tries to convince them to bring their sinners in for redemption.

So TLDR; the princes and Lucifer have internal problems that Charlie would try and resolve somewhat since she believes in redemption.

Going off to the main story, Charlie is told of Heaven being evil and awful for what they’ve done to her parents and believes it until she meets V (or Ex-Overlord Vaggie in this rewrite). V was recently cast out of the other Vs and was maybe slated to die in the extermination until Charlie unknowingly saved her from her fate. Maybe we could even get a hint of V being an angel/exterminator before with one hesitating to kill her off. The two talk and when Charlie mentions Heaven being an ass, V could tell Charlie about Heaven being good, eventually causing Charlie to start thinking about redemption, and start the hotel.

V is given more thought in the story as Charlie’s love interest and the gateway to her learning more about the two sides. Charlie is so used to Hell being the way that it is that she never considered redemption until she hears and talks to V more. The two try and kickstart some sort of redemption but V is hesitant in getting redeemed and asks that, since Charlie is the princess of hell, they could ask Lucifer for a sinner or two to redeem.

Very loose from here, but after some talk, Lucifer gives them a rundown hotel to make their own, the Vs find out and gets Lust Sinner Angel down to take them out, but is charmed by the idea of redemption. Nifty, Alastor, Husk, and Sir Pentious are all from different rings and it takes Charlie a lot to convince the princes and to try and reconnect them to Lucifer, who seems to be caught off guard with how much Charlie is willing to give this a shot. Lilith on the other hand gets suspicious of V, which could lead to Lilith exposing V of being an exterminator and, “Messing with our daughter’s head so she’ll get killed in the next extermination!”

So drama with the parents, the princes, and struggles with redemption.

It all crashes down on Charlie and the Hazbin crew as they’ve began to grow closer on one another, V especially. The other princes could then be more empathetic (they aren’t as prideful as Lucifer, and Lucifer might love his wife more than his kid tbh) and try to reconnect with Lucifer in the same way Charlie connects to the other ring sinners.

Slowly but surely, the crew better themselves, and before the next extermination, the Angel Gabriel (ain’t he the whole Angel with the flaming sword?) flies down to see Charlie doing her best. Drama here, tension there, V is the first to get ‘redeemed’. Uh oh, angst!

V, after all this time, doesn’t want to be redeemed if that means she can’t stay with Charlie, which is why she was hesitant. Lucifer and the sins come in, try to kill Gabriel or something and there’s signs of a war, but Charlie stands her ground and tries to find some way to get both sides to work together on something, at least.

So. Purgatory.

I haven’t been mentioning Lilith much but she very much loves her daughter, and having enough pride in her (Charlie) ideals to make things better, to give people a chance at redemption, reminds her of her angel days. That peaceful life.

So she agrees.

The Hazbin crew get to work with her in purgatory, V gets to be all happy and cute with Charlie, and everyone learns to try and be better.

There. That shouldn’t be too hard. Maybe a little complicated but those are my surface thoughts. What do you and the others think?

[skeletonpunching]

Buddy Daddies interview with Ayase

Interview with Ayase (musical artist for the opening theme, SHOCK!)

Interviewer: What impression did you have of the series "Buddy Daddies", which features "SHOCK!" as its opening?

Ayase: When I first received the basic rundown of the series, I thought, "This girl's (Unasaka Miri's) level of cuteness is going to be really essential when it gets animated." And then I actually saw the footage, and Miri was absolutely adorable.

Interviewer: Did the anime production staff have any specific instructions for the composition of the song?

Ayase: They didn't really request anything specific. Just that since it's meant to be an anime opening song, they'd like something more fast-paced, rather than mellow... That was the vibe they were going for, and it was what I had in mind as well.

Interviewer: How did the worldview and atmosphere of the series inspire your ideas for the song?

Ayase: I knew that the plot of the series was the protagonists parenting, and so I wanted to use that as one of the themes of the song - the part where they confront the question of "love", and find themselves steadily changing. But in fact, this song isn't entirely about the series itself; it's connected to the series, but it addresses the themes of what I've personally experienced in life, and my feelings about the responsibility of loving others. 

Interviewer: And is that also what inspired the title "SHOCK!"...?

Ayase: When you're emotionally devastated, or when you've turned away from precious feelings like romantic love, you suddenly meet someone who has a huge influence on your mindset and your way of life. The title is connected to the anime storyline, but it also expresses that sort of tremendous effect. "SHOCK!" is meant to literally convey that impact.

Interviewer: Is there anything you were especially concerned with when creating the song?

Ayase: I'm usually part of a group called YOASOBI, where I have the role of composer - I focus exclusively on songwriting. But YOASOBI's central concept is "making novels into music", which means I'm always drawing inspiration from other people's stories and sentiments for my own writing. So I inevitably come up with a lot of songs that have strong narratives and thematic messages.

This time, I was inspired by "Buddy Daddies" as well, but since I was performing it as a solo vocalist, I wanted the phrasing of the lyrics to also reflect my own personal tastes to some extent. I was trying to make something that would be easy listening, and could be enjoyed with no constraints. But when I say "easy", I don't mean I didn't put any effort into it. What I mean is that I wanted people to enjoy it simply, and so I kept things simple and loose as well. It doesn't carry any sort of deep message - rather, it's about the fleeting doubts that surface as I go through life, the feelings I have for people who are kind to me, and the casual thoughts I have on a daily basis. I took all those things and focused on putting them into words. I couldn't have done this if I wasn't releasing it as a solo artist.

Interviewer: I guess it's different when you're performing the vocals yourself.

Ayase: I just thought, "Man, singing sure is fun." (laughs) I'm also a Vocaloid producer, so when I compose songs for other artists, I often send them a Vocaloid demo with Hatsune Miku first. But since I was performing this song myself, I recorded the demos with my own voice right from the start. I explored my comfort zone as I sang, and I had a lot of fun striving for the best results. 

Interviewer: Please tell us how you felt when you saw the opening sequence accompanied by "SHOCK!"

Ayase: I usually picture scenes in my head while composing, and since I'd gotten to see the "Buddy Daddies" character designs, I had thoughts of "it would be cool if they put in a shot like this at this point", or "that might be interesting". And I think it turned out incredibly close to what I had in mind. Of course, I didn't say anything like "I'd love an opening like this", so it's not like they were trying to reflect my preferences, but I could tell that they crafted the footage while taking into account the song's intent and atmosphere. So it made me very happy to watch it.

Interviewer: Is there anything you keep in mind when working on tie-in songs - not just the one for "Buddy Daddies"?

Ayase: Different musicians and artists all approach songwriting with different mindsets, and there will be more tie-in songs in future - for anime, commercials, and so on - but when I'm lucky enough to be chosen, I always want them to come away thinking, "I'm glad I worked with Ayase." That's my top priority, and I think that's how it should be.

I said just now that I produced this song simply and loosely, according to my own tastes, but I still thought carefully about the series. I want people to feel that I have a strong sense of professionalism and am producing work that no one else could do. Not just for anime, but for other tie-in songs as well - I don't just want to make cool songs. I understand that I've been called on for a certain purpose, so I want to create the best work I possibly can. That's why I give it my all, every single day.

Interviewer: How has the public reaction to "SHOCK!" been?

Ayase: When I release songs as part of my regular YOASOBI activity, or when a tie-in series gets broadcast, I'm usually very curious about the public reception. So I check online almost right away. But this time, since I was singing the song myself, I couldn't quite bear to see the reaction. Plus when the anime first started airing, I was really too busy to be on social media much. Honestly, I'm kind of scared to vanity-search myself this time. I've just been getting LINE messages from my family and close friends, saying things like "it's good", and of course that's a huge relief. As a vocalist, I still haven't built up a resistance to public reactions, so if anyone says anything mean I'll probably cry. (laughs)

Interviewer: Please tell us what you think are the selling points of this series "Buddy Daddies".

Ayase: It's got lots of comedic elements and lighthearted scenes, but the serious parts are also legitimately serious. And that also makes the comical bits stand out all the more - it's like a fun black comedy. It kind of has the vibe of a foreign series, and that's an interesting aspect I haven't really seen before.

Interviewer: Finally, please give a message to everyone who is enjoying this series.

Ayase: To all the viewers watching "Buddy Daddies" every week, I hope you enjoy both the opening sequence and the song "SHOCK!" Thank you so much for everything!

[the-cheapskateler-show]

“We interrupt this broadcast to bring you a very important message…”

((Everything beyond this point is out of character!!))

Hello everyone, Cheapmod here! Many of you reading this probably have not met me, so hello! Nice to meet you! 👋 You can call me Py if you’d like!

Right off the bat, I just want to make sure nobody worries since this post got kinda long. Here’s the gist of it!: Cheap’s blog is going to be continuing! It has not ended, and it won’t be for some time. I want to thank you all for sticking around and giving this blog so much love, and I encourage you to seek out additional askblogs you would enjoy cause there are many out there to love!

Okay with that out of the way, some further context for that and other things I just wanted to take the chance to say while I’m speaking out of character.

First, Im so sorry to anybody who’s been worried about Cheap, the state of this blog or me. I promise, we are both okay and this blog is continuing!

I just took an unanounced break from ALL my projects to focus on approaching art and writing more healthily. I was on break for longer than I thought I might be but I have not stopped thinking of Cheap and all of you out there. I am planning on returning to bring Cheap back to everyone soon! As a heads up, I will be experimenting more with the art style for this blog just to see if I can make things a little more quick and fun for myself!

As for the esteemed host of the show, Cheap is doing just fine! Nothing has happened to him since the last update. I would like to note that the real life passage of time will not always affect him. I will need to take breaks like this every now and then for my own sake and other priorities. If that happens, we will generally pick up right where we left off! I’ve also got many fun and interesting things planned for this blog, so I couldn’t possibly stay away for too long!

Now for something very important…you guys!!

I cannot thank you all enough for the incredible reception Cheap has recieved!! It means so much more to me than I can possibly express in words and seeing every last bit of it has really warmed my heart 🥺 Thats why its very important that I come back and make sure all the wonderful questions, comments and compliments you’ve sent in are responded to and addressed in time!!

As WELL I am so delighted that I have been seeing some incredible pieces of fanart from you guys!!!! I REALLY want to thank you each individually as i have been doing so far!! The reason I haven’t said anything yet about any fanart is because I want to give each one the dedicated attention it deserves!!! And that will be coming soon and coming first with the continuation of the little intermission we started on for giving these works a highlight!

All fanmade creations will be tagged as: #viewer-art-showcase! and I encourage everyone to check out the pieces there and especially the artists behind them!! I will be providing a link to this tag for easy access in blog description soon after this post goes up.

Another thing I’d like to mention before I wrap up here is I am posting this on an significant day for Cheap! On this day, Nov. 26th 11 years ago, I started Cheap’s first blog! With some hiatuses and pauses in-between, Cheap will have been around for 11 years. I can hardly believe it! I’m very happy to be running his blog again with this little revival here and Im so happy I made a character who has had a chance to develop so much and endured as one of my favorite OCs. It is in large part thanks to all the support and attention he’s received through all these years across all his blogs that I bring him to you all today and im so grateful to all new and longterm fans. I hope you will all continue to enjoy Cheap’s shenanigans as much as I do! Thank you!!

Lastly, I just want to encourage everyone reading this to check out ANY of the other ask-blogs that Cheap interacts with on here! I realized its not very easy to visit these blogs due to the way i’m answering asks with screenshots, so I will go back and provide @ mentions and links to previous posts.

But better yet, there are SO many awesome askblogs out there to discover well outside his blog so make sure you don’t miss them!! A great place to check out is the #lerkimpails tag for new and returning askblogs! If there are any other newer specific tags for askblogs in use that you know of, feel free to drop those in the replies of this post-im still a bit of a fandom oldie here… heh heh.

There are so many creative askblogs out there to discover and meet and they can all always use more attention and asks. This fandom and even this little corner of it are what they are because of the collective efforts of everyone on this platform inspiring and supporting one another, so be sure to make others feel welcome and appreciated and just go enjoy what they have to offer!!

Thank you everyone for reading this far! I mostly want to leave the hosting on this blog to Cheap, so there wont be many OOC posts like this, unless theres anything i really gotta clarify. Still, you will find me around in the tags now and then for sure. 🦋✨

We will get this show a-rolling again real soon! Hope to see you all then!

Cheapmod-Py

[spotofmummery]

OOC: State of Mummery 2023

On the eve of Amon’s Nameday (tomorrow), I just wanted to take a moment to talk about Spot of Mummery, my creative endeavors (rather the lack of), a bit about what’s happening IRL, and what I’d like to do more of in 2024.

Feel free to take a peek into my life if you wish, below the cut. Your suggestions are always welcome!

I want to start this with a disclaimer – I’m going to talk about difficult things that I don’t normally address here, but I am doing okay. I’ve learned how to work through many difficulties the last couple of years, and this is not a post of lament.

Some might know that I lost my father unexpectedly right before Christmas last year.

Most don’t know that for the last couple of years (and right now currently), I’m also dealing with unexplained chest pain on and off through the year. My heart was checked this past year, and that was all fine. It’s undiagnosed, but I’m thinking (and the cardiologist also thinks) it’s a form of inflammation. The pain I can deal with, the worry about “what is this?” is a bit more troublesome.

All this is to say, I haven’t been very creative in 2023.

During NaNoWriMo of 2022, I finally wrote Amon’s triumphant return to Syrcus Tower in the First, as I’ve wanted to for years. But then, my Dad passed, and it took months for me to finish editing and posting all that writing. I did finally get it done, but my focus was other places, obviously.

In 2023, I haven’t written a word for Amon’s story outside of the Choose Amon’s Adventures (which I’d like to get started up again, maybe) and his silly adventures on Island Sanctuary (which I need to complete with the newest content for the last patch).

My RP interactions here have been little to none. My energy for attending in game events has been low.

I did organize my own event around the NA fanfest, and that went great, actually! Thanks to all who attended!

But aside from that, Lunarcon, and a few small art parties, I’ve kept to myself a lot this year. In fact, my game time in FFXIV is probably an all-time low – and that’s not because I’ve fallen out of love with the game.

On a positive note, the whole fiasco at Twitter/X brought me back to this Tumblr account full-time. I was already moving this direction, but now I’m here primarily. I do have a Pillowfort and a Blue Sky account for Amon, but Tumblr is my main gig.

I’m not exactly sure where I’m going with all this, other than to just note that my creativity and interaction has not been up to snuff this year. I’d love to say something like, “My resolution for next year is to knock it out of the park!” – but the reality is, I’m not sure what I can commit to just yet.

I think what I'd like most of all to start by getting back into enjoying time spent in game with Amon again, for one. Not that I dislike time spent with Amon, just that I recognize that it’s not got that spark that once motivated me (probably user error).

To be fair, though, I haven’t been spending a lot of time with any of my characters in game like I used to. So, it’s not just Amon.

If you’ve gone through a time where you needed to reconnect with your OCs, let me know how that turned out and what you did. I’m open to suggestions!

And if you’ve read all the way here to the end, thanks for listening. You are appreciated, friend! <3

[sleepnowmychild]

Introjects of the gods and worship

I figured I’d make a little post about my experiences here. As a Hypnos devotee that’s also a system and has a fictive of him (mainly based on the game hades, but he has aspects of his original myths too).

First let me assure you all, the gods know what plurality is, they know you can’t exactly control who you split. Having an introject of them, or a version of them, is in no way disrespectful or bad. They know, and you know, that the actual god and the introject are two separate beings. So if you’re a system and you have an introject of a god, don’t fret. That god won’t be mad at you or anything. They’re literally older and wiser than any human will ever be, they understand these things.

Sometimes it can be a bit confusing deciphering which feeling/message/sign etc is from the actual god and which is just your alter being nearby. I’ve learnt that while there’s similarities in their presences (being sleepy, yawning, sudden focus on sleep related things etc) there’s a different feeling to each of them. Alter Hypnos split in 2020 to fill a role in the system, to regulate our sleep schedule. He put a set bedtime in place, he makes sure we follow it, he washes sheets, makes the bed etc. he does all things bed care and night routine. So his energy is more awake in a way. He’s a sleepy guy but he has more of a spring in his step and is a bit of a joker. Deity Hypnos is a force, he’s an overwhelming calm and tiredness. I know the difference between their presences based on things like that, how overwhelming and powerful their vibes are.

They also sound different. With plurality hearing a voice is always a bit of a *squints suspiciously* moment. Unless is very clear it could be anyone. An alter you know, one you don’t, or not an alter at all. Alter Hypnos and deity Hypnos sound very different. Alter is higher pitched, peppier and very giggly. Deity is very soft spoken, androgynous and has a much slower pace.

They look different too, like I said alter is based partly on the game hades, so he looks very much like the game design. Deity I’ve posted about his appearance to me before, but it’s vastly different. The only similarity is really the colour of the hair and the freckles.

I’ve not yet had an experience where my alter of Hypnos and the actual deity have met, so I can’t say what that’s like. But alter does help with the worship, he’s an expert on it after all. He’s literally based on said god. There’s a handful of us that focus on worship and witchcraft stuff, some of the other alters have their own main god they turn to, but we tend to stick mostly to Hypnos since he’d always been a big presence in our lives. I’ve never had any negative comment or sign from Hypnos in regards to the alter, he tends to talk to me the most as I’m the host and out the most anyway. And in all that time, I’ve had zero issues.

As long as you can differentiate your alter and the actual god, treat them accordingly, you will have no issues. They’re seperate beings despite sharing a name and mythology, both of them know that.

So systems, don’t fret about possibly splitting an introject of your deity, things will be perfectly ok. They understand.

P.s. of any of you want to ask alter Hypnos about his personal experiences with this, he’s open to it. You can send an ask addressed to him or comment/rb! And if any of you guys have experiences with introjects of your gods, feel free to add to this post in the reblogs.