#monty put so so much work into these lists

[angelbarelywrites]

♡ tommy gets jealous | oneshot

♡ fandom; Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003/2006)

♡ characters; Thomas Hewitt

♡ reader; gender neutral

♡cw; mentions of kidnapping and violence, don’t date people who want to slash you irl not a good foundation for a relationship

♡notes; I put on my big boy panties and wrote something other than a bulleted list!!

I just love a good “i trust you but i sure as fuck don’t trust anybody else” type jealously trope. Also some Tommy doing ASL!! We love a (selectively?) mute king.

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

You were an oblivious person. Most of the time, anyways. You’d been totally shocked when Luda Mae didn’t let you leave the night you arrived at the Hewitt house, totally shocked when Charlie told you Thomas was obsessed with you, and more surprised still that Charlie had been right.

You weren’t stupid— you put two and two together that these folks were cannibals as soon as you saw the basement. You nearly talked Monty into letting you go, and you slipped your restraints a couple times before you were settled in. You’d done well in school and still could read a book in one sitting.

Maybe… socially inept was a better word, harsh as it sounded. It was only people that you had a such a hard time with. You trusted them, but you could almost never wrap your head around what they were thinking.

Like the customers that stayed too long . It happened a lot. Bikers and tourists and all sorts of folks would stop in when you were working in the convenience store, and usually more than once a day a man would stay leaned on the counter, chatting away until his buddies were about to leave him. Sometimes they’d be alone, and Luda would give you a break early and they’d go off looking all huffy.

It very rarely occurred to you that the men were trying to flirt. You didn’t think of yourself as someone that happened to- and treated all customers the same. Why would they think you wanted to bang em when all you did was smile? Being nice was part of your job.

Luda Mae payed no mind to the men or your conversations. If there’d been any cause for concern, she’d be able to quash it very easily. But she found it endearing, especially your confusion and apathy when they did get balls enough to be blunt . In her mind you were so devoted to Thomas that other men were just nuisances.

That’s why no one had mentioned it to Thomas. He rarely came up to help now that you were there to help Luda Mae, but today there was extra stock, and her joints had been aching from the weather. You were on register, Luda Mae relaxed in a rocker on the porch, and Tommy stalked the aisles and put out trinkets and canned food and all the other junk you sold. You were trying not to go distract him and stood leaned over the counter, doodling on some scrap paper between customers.

“Well hello darlin,” A man drawled, hands on his belt buckle. He was trying too hard to be a real Texan, but he wasn’t from up North like you. “You got any cigarettes back there?”

“Sure do! Let’s see… got Camels, Lucky Strike- I really like these ones, the Salems, they’re menthol-“

“You look too sweet to smoke. I’ll take the Camels,”

“Well, only do it on special occasions,” you shrugged, not paying much attention as Thomas stalked towards the front “Anything else?”

“Well. That depends.”

“On?”

“If you’re free or not tonight.”

You blinked, then furrowed your brow “You tryna ask me out?”

“Well I- oho shit!” The man laughed uncomfortably as he noticed Thomas right behind him “You scared me there big guy-“

He huffed and slunk behind the counter as the man nervously tried to get back on topic “Anyways… ahem…so about that date-?”

You huffed and out a hand on your hip “Well, depends?”

He perked up a bit “On what?”

“If you can beat my boyfriend in a fight.” On cue Thomas wrapped his arms around you from behind, growling as he hooked his chin on your head.

The man quickly turned tail and mumbled something about being out of practice, forgetting the cigarettes completely. You could feel Tommy relax and turned to let him pick you up and set you on the counter. Even then you weren’t eye to eye with the giant of a man…but it was closer, and you liked feeling tiny anyway.

“…hi baby.” You cooed and loosely wrapped your arms around his neck. He huffed and nuzzled you, as he often did as a form of reassurance. You giggled and pecked his mask “Annoying, right?”

He nodded and scowled, keeping his grip tight on your hips

“…what’s wrong?”

He hesitated but pulled back to sign ‘Mine. All mine. Right?’

You giggled again “Of course! All yours- always.”

He smiled softly- the sort of expression only you could coax out of him ‘Always’

[bamsara]

Could you please do No. 2? "I'm dying" "You're not dying." Just imagining moon fed up with Y/N, also LOVE your stories btw, have a great day bam!

Moon Centric | Wordcount: 700 | AO3 Version

Set in the time period where Moon is not yet reinstated as DCA, still has 'glitch issues', Reader is somewhat used to it.

Since the coffee maker in the employee's lounge was broken since the start, and you're not entirely sure what they put in the drink at the pizzaplex's own cafe, you've made a habit of getting your morning coffee from the 24/7 gas station you frequent on your way to the pizzaplex whenever you have an early morning or super late night shift.

This night, however, you forgot.

You got your gas, even got a snack to munch on in the way out after saying hello to the gas station bot, and got all the way to the pizzaplex parking lot and unbuckling seatbelt before realizing you forgot the most important part of your day: the caffine you needed in order to get through the shift.

Well, you'll just have to go without.

And it sucks.

You're tired, a headache is on it's way, your eyes feel droopy. Monty says something in passing about how you're slower than usual, and even Freddy makes an awkward, concerned observation about how sluggish you seem to be and even offers his sofa to you for a nap. You politely decline, of course. The task list isn't going to complete itself.

Moon is, as expected, rather excited that you walk around work with slow movement like easy prey. So that's why you turn the lights on in the kitchen area as you're mopping so he can't make a sudden grab for you in here.

Said animatronic sits at the doorway, where the light and the dark between the kitchen and the adjacent room meet. It blurs over his pants, the contrast making white pupils against black eyes stand out further in the dark. A bit of a danger sign you've started to recognize, but you're basked in the light (as much as it hurts your eyes) and keep a flashlight on you at all times for a reason.

His head spins at a slow speed the entire time you're mopping, watching you with rampant attention. "You're tired." He says, and you audibly sigh. "Come here. Come to sleep."

You resist the urge to lean on the mop, turning to stare at him with dark circled eyes. "That is like the fifth time you've said that to me within the hour."

"You should take a nap." He ignores your statement, default wide smile on his face. Sitting criss-crossed on the ground, his fingers pluck at the carpet in mindless behavior, threatening to pull it up like grass. He sways a little when he talks. "Then I'll stop saying it."

Dramatically, and on purpose, you groan into the air of the kitchen loud enough that your voice echoes off the walls. "Great. Not only am I exhausted-" Your words make something in the animatronic tick, the sound of claws getting hooked into the carpet, the click of his head turn stopping at an angle. "-but I'm also getting harrassed by my coworker. I do not have the energy for this."

"Whiney baby." Moon chuckles, voice low and quick at the end. "I can fix that."

You don't even look at him, continuing to mop what looks like tomato paste stained on the floor. "I can complain as much as I want."

"Moody." He comments, amused. "Cranky."

Your nose wrinkles up as you finish up, picking up the mop bucket an dumping it into the sink. "Well, yeah I am. I'm dying."

A scoff. "You're not dying."

"I'm totally dying here." Careful not to get mop water on you, you stash the supplies in the corner of the room for the staffbots later, and thumb around for the small flashlight in your pocket. "Totally dying."

As you approuch the doorway, hand hovering over the kitchen's lightswitch to turn it off, Moon's bouncy behavior stills, like a predator getting ready to pounce. "I can fix that. Come here."

You flick on the flashlight and point it towards his feet, and the reaction is immediate; the animatronic leaps up, hisses in the motion, and practically scuttles on all fours up the wall as you chase him with the light beam. "Yeah, yeah. Go back up into the rafters, Starboy."

[queer-ragnelle]

Excalibur (1981) | Directed by John Boorman

Arthurian Film List | Arthurian Show List | Movie review below the cut ⤦

Star rating: 10/10 Content warning: multiple rape scenes, heavy gore throughout, elements of horror, nudity, animal brutality (horses in battle are treated roughly) Overview: Writer and director John Boorman understood the assignment. It's evident this film was a passion project. Both of his children are in it (his daughter as Igraine, his son as young Mordred) and he had been working with J. R. R. Tolkien back in the 70s on an adaptation of Lord of the Rings which fell through, and much of those elements were revived and put to use here. The script, acting, score, and cinematography meet the epic demands an Arthurian film requires to succeed. Synopsis: The film opens with Uther before he meets Igraine and goes on to detail the entirety of Arthur's reign and life. Arthur's beginnings with Ector and Kay are very sweet and culminate in his pulling the sword in the stone and meeting a fun, quirky Merlin. The wizard trains Arthur up and he's eventually knighted by Urien and makes an ally of him while defending Leodegrance and Guinevere's castle. Arthur falls in love with Guinevere and intends to marry her, but first meets and battles Lancelot, wins his loyalty, and sends him to pick Guinevere up for the royal wedding. Meanwhile Morgan learns magic from Merlin and uses it to conceive Mordred with Arthur. After the royal wedding, the love affair between Lancelot and Guinevere begins. While staying away from Camelot, Lancelot meets country bumpkin Perceval, who follows Lancelot back to Camelot from his secluded woodland home, then takes up the mantle of Gareth Beaumains by working for Kay in the kitchens and champions Guinevere against Gawain until Lancelot can arrive. After the affair between he and Guinevere is found out, Lancelot runs off mad into the woods, and Arthur's prosperity declines. Perceval begins a decade-long quest in search of the Holy Grail to restore Arthur/Fisher King's health so he can reclaim his lands now ravaged by disease. Mordred has grown up in this time and been taught by Morgan to hate Arthur. Once Arthur has been cured, he goes to find Guinevere in the abbey where she had been living, and retrieves Excalibur, which she had been keeping safe for him all that time. Arthur then goes with his remaining knights to battle Mordred, where he is mortally wounded, and Perceval fulfills his final act for his king by returning the sword to the Lady of the Lake as Arthur is spirited away to Avalon. Final thoughts: This movie is so damn good. Nobody's doing it like Boorman. It's my favorite version of the grail quest. Very horror, as it should be. (Monty Python is a different tone, not a worse one!) I love everyone's acting here, the casting is so rich, I love the look and vibe of everyone, the Shakespearean line delivery. All of it. The gaudy green lighting is so 80s but it works, it sets a tone, it commits to the bit, illuminates every magical scene. And the armor is obviously incredible. I won't hear criticism. Either you get it or you don't. You can watch an entire mini-series about the armorer, Terry English, produced by Mythbuster's Adam Savage on YouTube, here. And if you want to learn more about Mordred's cool helmet specifically, watch here. Anyway please watch this, you won't be disappointed.

[thecourtjester12]

About, asks, au's and relevant nonsense!

About me!

Heeeeeello, hello, hello! I'm Jester! I use They/she/ey pronouns and am a 22 year old autistic, aroace, artist/writer/jack of all trades creative bean/gremlin.

About the blog

I namely post Smoon (aka the daycare attendent, Sun and Moon FNAF) and Au's, be it drawings, writing, random thoughts and sneak peaks! And of course fanart (be it canon fnaf (or my takes on charas) orrrrr fanart for other lovely creators daycare Au's!)

I reblog stuff a lot, I just LOVE sharing peoples awesome stuff!! So expect to see a lot of that, buttttttt generally that will be set on queue throughout the week (unless its something more time dependent!)

Please read the FAQ page before sending asks!

FAQ page!

Asks are through Ask the Jester! Ask status: OPEN

Additionally I take requests for a small writing series which can be found HERE for 'FNAF sensory writing requests' which are SFW canon FNAF and reader interactions! Please read the info page before sending in Requests.

Asks open doesn't automatically mean Requests are open. Requests status: OPEN

My Au's (I'll have things sorted eventually so y'all can click and see all of a specific au's stuff at once)

JDCAU Masterpost (Jester's DayCare AU...its a terrible name I know) All info and posts on this au! (Masterpost is mostly done...needs to be spruced up a bit!)

My take on Fnaf SB if the fire never happened and the plex was taken under better management, stuff for the Au will be tagged as #jdcau

J-TOL Masterlist(Jester's The Other Location, its very sparce atm...needs to be spruced up)

Same universe as JDCAU, there are two locations the second location never had the virus at all here, also under the same management now and have their own struggles! Stuff for the Au will be tagged as #j-tol

LOTC (Legend of the Celestials)

Siren/leviathan Smoon au, very mythology/folklore based, reworking this au atm...stuff for this Au will be tagged as #lotc or #LOTC

Currently under rework/work in progress so not much for it rn

REDACTED

Currently unavailable, please try again soon!

Under construction and not currently available to the public! (...Also just...have no clue on a name for it...I don't want redacted to stick...but it might :' D) Currently tagged as #REDACTED au (Reaalllllly need to name it >_<)

MIW (Monty In Wonderland)

Currently unavailable, please try again soon!

Under construction and not currently available to the public!

Any snippets that may appear will be tagged #miw or #MIW

LSAU (Lonely Star Au)

An AU where Sun Polaris is sentient but Moondrop is not and his frequent struggles. Lots of angst and making the boi miserable. This Au is also inspired by a prompt from my friend @sketchtxt ! :3 (...and both are a frequent object of friend wanting to smooch...you know who you are.)

Masterpost to be made! Anything for this Au will be tagged #lsau

NBC au (Nightmare Before Christmas Au)

Currently unavailable please try again soon!!! Currently this au is in early stages of brainstorming, what it is may be announced soon! :3 Currently tagged #NBC au

ESS au (Eclipse's Solar System au)

A human SB au that mainly focuses on Eclipse and their twins Nova and Callisto and all their friends! A very fluffy slice of life type au with silly shenanigans and bits of angst! I have an ask blog for ESS au found here! And anything will be tagged as #ess au

PDC au (Playdate Collector au)

An au where me and my friends @sketchtxt and @sir-qwillian-ferne are SMods and put a bunch of our Au's together because we want our various Smoon's+ to interact and made lore for it! We all have a blog for it that can be found here! Anything for it will be tagged #pdc au

CTAMK au (....you'll find out soon)

An in progress AU with my friend @sir-qwillian-ferne to make a wholesome rarepair ship work! Currently not available to the public, please try again later! Anything that IS available will be tagged #ctamk au ;3

Tags listing

List of the types of main tags and what they're used for outside au tags

#jesterposts

any and all post asides re blogs from other amazing creators

#jesterdoodles

any and all drawings, sketches, all art stuff

#jesterwrites

any and all writing posts, be it wips, sneak peaks and finished works for A03 or here

#jester rambles

just random rants and tangents and whatnot that are just me rambling on whatever

#jesteranswers

for when answering asks!

#canon #not canon Anything not canon to an au will be tagged #notcanon.

A03 and Other Stuff

Most AU based stuff will be linked with their specific Au master lists (eventually...) Any misc stuff outside that will be listed here!

My A03

My artfight!

My side blog where I post non Smoon content!

Moots and Friendos!

No order of importance or preference, just nice and alphabetical They're all super cool so maybe check them out! ^-^ (Sorry for the random tags y'all >_<)

@buggoblin2 @cero-sleep @crabsnpersimmons @cryptidbisexual @dragoncxv360 @flufflefleurry @ieatconfettiforaliving @just-a-floofy-catt @salemlucidsleeper @rayofmisfortune @ryobitheaxololt @sir-qwillian-ferne @sketchtxt @tinyfairart @trenchcoat-full-of-snails @voidedpumpkin

[3xm-draconic]

Palace of Night

Summary: Fixing Cazador’s old manor to be less of a horror-show is more of a task than expected…it’s even worse when the previous homeowner shows back up.

“Ok Wyll & Karlach have the kitchen, Gale & Shadowheart have the library, Lae’zel and Halsin are tackling the dungeons, Roger and allegra called dibs on the wine cellar and Jaheira is cleaning the bedrooms” Cyris listed off of sections of the manor everyone had taken “which leaves the garden and the ballroom”, “we should all tackle the garden later, there's a mausoleum of ghouls there that I’d rather not disturb right now” Astarion groaned “repainting and wallpapering the ballroom sounds more relaxing”.

Cyris helped Astarion bring in the buckets of red, black, lavender and pink paint as well as the similar pallet wallpaper. Cazador liked black and red too but his color of red was more scarlet than sanguine-crimson, a bright eye-hurting red that drove Cyris crazy looking at it, he was glad to be painting over it with a nice soothing strawberry pink.

The original black wallpaper had little decaled motifs of…people being torchered…that definitely had to go, instead the black wallpaper that replaced it had a night sky motif, with hundreds of little shimmering stars and moons and little bats.

The painted frescoes of blood and murder on the ballroom walls were being painted over by Astarion, he had an eye for fancy art, he had taken up painting as a hobby in his past life before Cazador…that much he remembered. He never painted much after his transformation…until now…

Now…he could really unleash his inner artist again.    

He decided that sun-light fields of lavender, bleeding hearts, strawberries and plum trees would be a much better fit.

“Those trees…plums?” Cyris curiously turned to him as he now put up the pink wallpaper, “you love strawberries, I love plums” Astarion hummed, “hmm…any specific type, sugarfangs?” Cyris pondered, “haha…now that you mention it I absolutely craved burgundy sugarplums, the deeper the red the teastier”.

Cyris grinned “Then tonight I’am making sugarplum crumble for you darlin~”, Astarion chuckled “I’d quite enjoy that.”

There was a loud bang and a crash.

Astarion and Cyris rushed into the kitchen to find it an absolute mess…

“WHAT THE FUCK HAPPEND?” Astarion screamed, “I don’t know shit just started attacking us!” Karlach yelled as a pot zipped past her head.

“I think it might be a poltergeist!” Wyll screeched as forks chased after him, Cyris used his abilities as a cleric of twilight to reveal the ghost, nothing escapes his vigilant eyes…

It took…the whole team of 4 people…to kill the ghost…of a FUCKING rat.

A rat…that was the poltergeist…an undead rat…

Astarion and Cyris had gone back to painting and fixing up the wallpaper while laughing up a storm about it all, Karlach was helping tend to all of Wyll’s little scratches and cuts as they too had a good laugh about the fight with a rat.

Eventually everybody took a break and Cyris stopped to cook them lunch, the kitchen was now usable enough to make a dish he learned how to make at the gambling den, it was a sort of bread dish with sauce, cheese and various toppings on top. Cyris made different ones for everybody…

Wyll, Karlach, Jaheira and Allegra all had one with various toppings of meat.

Lae’zel and Roger shared one with anchovies.

Gale, Shadowheart and Halsin had just plain cheese.

And Astarion and Cyris had sausage, blood mixed in the sauce, olives and mushrooms.

To go with lunch Jaheira made them all big pictures of sugary lemon water, it was a nice combo after a hard day of work clearing out leftover traps and cleaning.

“I am NOT looking forward to killing those ghouls…” Shadowheart groaned, “Eh I wouldn’t mind smashing some ghouly face in!” Karlach grinned, “some of us should go back to Monty’s and get our stuff so we can start moving in” Lae’zel added as she bit into her slice of bread.

“Karlach, Halsin, Jaja and Allegra will clear out the ghouls” Astarion said, “Zel you and Shads go back to Monty’s and grab our stuff. Gale, Wyll, Roger and Cyris will pick up the rest of the stuff we need to fix this place up. I’ll stay here and clean up lunch”.

 Everybody paired up and left for their tasks, “you ok by yourself?” Cyris held Astarion’s hand, “oh darling, what could go wrong?”

A lot…

Astarion was peacefully picking out new curtains when he felt a chill crawl down his spine like a skittering spider, he tried to ignore it “it’s just the old house being creepy, once every last bit of HIM is gone then it will go away” he reminded himself “now should I go with the cream curtains or the ivory?...”

“What. in. the. HELLS have you done to MY HOUSE!?” a slithering, nasally voice hissed, Astarion whirled around…HE stood there.

Cazador.

He had returned…the bastard had indeed gotten enough courage to come back.

“Lavender?...PINK!...and..and you are scribbling on the walls!” Cazador shook his head “tisk, tisk, Child you WILL BE punished for this…SEVERELY” he snarled, Astarion growled and readied his crossbow and daggers “you don’t scare me anymore”.

The fight took place all over the ballroom, they clashed like twisting serpents, leaping from the floor to the walls to even the ceiling!

Vampires could cling to any surface like glue, their battle was not restricted to one terrain. 

“I DON'T UNDERSTAND!” Cazador huffed as Astarion dodged his sword swipes “HOW?! How are you able to do this!?”, “like I said before, cazzy, I am more than a spawn!” Astarion screamed as he hurled Cazador into a wall with his Strigoi strength.

Cazador whistled and suddenly armed guards in strange armor crashed through the windows, aiming crossbows at Astarion.

Astarion instinctively misted away and turned into a little white bat, camouflaging himself in the fallen white curtains.

“These men…they are from Gortash’s personal militia” Astarion realized, he had to deal with them before he could stop Cazador, once and for all.

Astarion observed them…they were all in light armor “good this will be reasonably easy”, He cast the spell “Darkness”.

One by one he baited them in, poofing in and out of bat form, he had never drained a person to death before let alone 12 people…

Gods he was full…

Cazador…looked almost…frightened.  

“What in the hells are you?...”, “hungry…that's what…” Astarion maliciously grinned.

Astarion had read in Gale’s strigoi book that the whole “vampire lord/master must WILLINGLY give their blood to their spawn inorder to free them” was complete bullshit. No, Astarion could just TAKE it, TAKE his place as a vampire lord.

Astarion misted behind Cazador and pinned him to the floor, he sank his fangs in…

Astarion drank…and drank…and drank…

He could feel his already distended stomach grow heavier, 12 people…er well 13 now each containing at least 1 to 2 gallons of blood…

The average person’s stomach could only hold about 4 liters…

But Astarion was not the average person…nor a normal vampire…

Turns out strigoi had stomachs like mosquitoes…

Cazador screamed the whole time, going on and on about how Astarion could not do this…well he was…and the bastard was powerless to stop him.

He finally whent quiet and limp…

When he was dry Astarion threw him aside like the trash he was…

He didn’t even taste that good.

“Gods…” Astarion groaned and placed a hand to his gut “this…this was a bad idea.”  

He collapsed to the floor, he was just so full and so tired…

Cyris and the guys decided to come back to the house early, while picking up the rest of the decorations Cyris had bought something for Astarion he knew he would like, a burgundy sugarplum sapling.

He bought it so that when it grew up and started fruiting they could have fresh home-grown plums right out of their own garden.

“Sugarfangs~” he called out “I’am home little darlin~” there was no reply…and the stench of fresh blood was…potent.

“Shit!” Cyris dropped the sapling on the dining room table and rushed into the ballroom…

“Oh my…” Gale gasped, Wyll and Roger gawked at the sight before them as Cyris stood in utter shock.

12 dead mercenaries of Gortash’s insignia, Cazador’s desiccated drained corpse…and Astarion…curled up on his side with a very full stomach.

“I knew something happened” Cyris grumbled.

 “Oof…uhg…ow” Astarion groaned as he got up, Cyris helped him “so tell me what exactly happened?”, “I (hic) was attacked…but (hic)...I managed to keep myself safe” Astarion hiccuped, “next time someone is staying behind, this was too close” Cyris grumbled.

 That night as Astarion fussed and worried about his figure, Cyris took a closer look at the merc’s bodies, their boots having a familiar scent to them…

“The sewers…ew…the fuck is it with shady criminal underbellies and the sewers?...”

“Uhg darling this is really bad!” Astarion whined “look at me!” he flopped onto their bed, his belly had gone down somewhat but a small mound of pale flesh still remind, “oh stop it’ll be gone by morning” Cyris assured him and gave the vampire a loving kiss, “humf…I hope so” he grumbled.

“We’ll have to make another trip to the sewers” Cyris sighed, “ugh why!?”, “the merc’s wreak of it, I think Cazador may have had another base down working with Gorty there and if he did…”, Astarion’s face saddened “then there might be more spawn he’s torchered and kept prisoner”.

“Looks like we’re on a rescue mission, sugarfangs” Cyris turned to him “and it looks like Bloodcrystal Veil is going to get some more residents”.

[skysometric]

you went on a big asking spree asking about everyone's favorite games, but I'm curious... did you have a favorite album, TV show, or movie this year?

an EXCELLENT question! but my answers my be a little disappointing, because...

Favorite Movie of 2023

i don't... really watch movies? they don't capture my interest or investment like games do. this isn't for lack of trying over the years, i've been exposed to many different genres; i just don't click with the format, i guess. i think of them like the average boomer thinks of games – they're cute little distractions and not much else.

there's definitely a few movies that i like and stand out as formative memories, i just don't go out of my way to watch more. even before the pandemic i would only ever go to the theaters like once a year, and for most of the pandemic i can't say i watched anything even digitally.

...but that did change this year! my partner and i watched both Sonic movies and the Mario movie at home, and of the three i can safely say i enjoyed Sonic 2 the most! i like what it was trying to do with its two stories intertwined, and it gave Sonic and friends a lot of time to shine both in action and characterization. plus the finale was super cool~

i do have a handful of films i want to watch one day... but it's kind of a "whenever i feel like it" basis. the ghibli films are high on the list, as are the monty python films and the truman show. maybe i could revisit ferris bueller's day off now that i'm an adult...?

Favorite TV Show of 2023

...i also don't really watch tv?? am i boring???

i mean, historically, i've gotten more into tv than movies. i like the long continuous plot threads, i like getting to know characters in detail, i like slice of life and comedy and cartoons. i have fond memories of watching sonic x, spongebob, survivor, and mythbusters growing up!

but like, as an adult i've never seen the office, or steven universe, or adventure time... and i'm in no rush to, they're just not really priority for me. i can't even think of other shows i might want to watch. idk!

i tried to watch some anime at one point but that didn't really do me either? i guess i had some fun watching squid girl a few years back... i think i just get understimulated by just watching things, vs playing them.

confusingly, you know what i do get into? livestreams and let's plays. so my weird, cop-out answer of "favorite series" is that i've been really enjoying Chuggaaconroy's let's play of pokemon bw2. his let's plays have gotten me caught up with a series that i wasn't "allowed" to play as a kid... i guess that's part of why watching someone play a game isn't as understimulating to me?

Favorite Album of 2023

you can probably guess where this is going – i don't really listen to music that plays on the radio or gets recommended by spotify. i have good reason for this one though: music with lyrics is overstimulating to me in specific circumstances, like when i'm working (always) or driving (the only time i'd use the radio).

but wait, movies are understimulating, even though there's talking... and music with lyrics is overstimulating, even though there's nothing to watch... argh! i don't even understand myself!!

either way i usually put on video game music, because that helps me focus at work, and (usually) doesn't have lyrics in it. i'm aware there's plenty of great instrumental music outside of just games, but games already have so much variety and quality to their osts – i've rarely ever had to seek out more! my music collection is already big enough!

my favorite album to listen to this year has been the music that plays in the cyberspace stages of Sonic Frontiers. the full game's ost is MASSIVE and incredibly diverse in styles, but the hardcore EDM of the cyberspace stages is extremely my style. and the remixes they added in the dlc are some of the best ones! been listening to the full playlist multiple times a week all year to power through some rough work days, and it still hasn't gotten old 💖

[seiwas]

Sel how long is your tbr list ? And which fic(s) are looking forward to read the most ?

nonie hello!!! 🥹 my tbr rn is at ~150 🥲😭 (i put them in my drafts!! and i have huge backlog bc i just recently got off a reading ban while writing 'these traces of love, they outline you' 🥹)

listing some hehe this is gonna be long so i'll put it under the cut!!! (in no particular order of preference but it's categorised by anime & character)

am sure there are so many more i'm probably missing/weren't able to see yet tho!!

for jjk

intrinsic warmth by thatdesklamp (series, ongoing, gojo satoru) been wanting to read this for a while but just trying to find the time to!

godmaker by @firein-thesky (series, ongoing, gojo satoru) has been in my tbr for the longest time and every time i see cielo talk abt it i get itching to read it hsajhdfbj

[untitled 'halloween' fic] by @stellamancer (one-shot, gojo satoru) not yet out but niku's been working really hard on this and am so excited hehehe

and i'm asking you to hold me just like the morning paper by @selarina (one-shot, gojo satoru) older brother's best friend gojo; am such a sucker for long titles and older brother's bsf tropes! i also love rina v much!

bfb by @em1e (series, ongoing, kamo choso) best friends's older brother choso; emmie shared the idea and some scenes with me when she was conceptualising it and it was the final push that tipped me over to being a choso fucker

chaos theory by @/hawnks (one-shot, nanami kento) strangers to lovers nanami; op wrote one of my favourite gojo fics ever, cantor’s paradox!!

as it should have been by @k9nto (one-shot, nanami kento) friends to lovers nanami; tallulah always talks about how much fun she had writing this so i'm excited to get to this too!

let me out, i'm starving by @princess-okkotsu (one-shot, okkotsu yuuta) fwb!yuuta; aleks tipped me over to being a yuuta fucker and the idea of an fwb!yuuta with the way aleks characterises him is just soo ouuuuGHH

all of @twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat's new fics!! i have so many of ari's fics to catch up on!! but characterisation is always on point and the writing always feels like a movie!! (there are gojo, megumi, and yuuta ones afair!!)

every time @augustinewrites drops smth!! the fushigojos live in my mind but augustine's doing an anniversary event rn themed after taylor swift lyrics!! and the line-up looks so good!!

inez's @itadorey masterlist still have yet to do a sweep of inez's masterlist but i always find myself smiling reading her stuff!! (lot of gojo!!)

lin's @threadbaresweater older stuff while going thru lin's masterlist i saw a gojo fic and nanami fic i'm excited to read!! lin always writes with a certain kind of vulnerability that digs deep!!

for bnha

something just like this by @/ofmermaids (series, complete, midoriya izuku) i've been wanting to get to this for so so long. op wrote some of my favourite bakugo fics, surrender (whenever you're ready) + on my way (to you); this almost feels like a reward i'm saving for when i really have the time tbh

you had only to look at me by @willowser (series, complete, bakugo katsuki) childhood bff!bakugo; i read this a long time ago but willow reposted it and i am!! so excited to read it again!!!

nitroglycerine by @/alrightberries (one-shot, bakugo katsuki) kind of fwb!bakugo; the description/summary got to me omg and am such a sucker for fwb to lovers and the weird in-between

like real people do by @shibaraki (one-shot, todoroki shouto) strangers to friends to lovers; this has been in my tbr for so long too and can't wait to get to it bc i love the way monty writes shouto!!

the glass delusion by @shibaraki (series, on-going, todoroki shouto) touch-starved shouto; i read the first installment and am such a sucker for explorations of intimacy!! so am so excited for this one too!!

i'll find my way (back to you) - homecoming by @bluebird-in-the-breeze (side story of a series, complete, todoroki shouto) chef!reader; read the entire series and loved it!! i love birdie's writing and was so happy that she recently released this for the series's 1 year anniversary!!

i think i'm in love with my coworker (update) by @todorosie (one-shot, todoroki shouto) coworker shouto; the title alone had me so curious omg and i love the tone of sorin's spidey!gojo series so am excited to get to this too!!

fill my little world (right up) by @shibaraki (one-shot, aizawa shouta) single dad au; such a sucker for this au!! and am also really selective with the aizawa stuff i read but always love monty's!!!

the kids are gonna be alright by @shibaraki (one-shot, aizawa shouta) coworkers to lovers; i love the premise of this so much!! i love these kinds of explorations and idk!! again!! i am a shibaraki stan!! i love everything monty writes hjsdbgjfs i've been really wanting to go through monty's entire masterlist too!! (there's a lot of writing to feast on and no matter who it is i think monty always writes em well)

andie's @andypantsx3 entire masterlist!! andie has soooo many stuff i want to read i can't even single one out omg i never feel the length when i read andie's stuff!!

for hq!!

the burden of being by @sashimiyas (one-shot, miya osamu) amnesia au; this has been in my drafts for so long too bc i'm still afraid of reading it but reina writes some of my fave hq fics so am excited to sink my teeth into this!! honestly am also excited to go thru reina's entire masterlist + osamu masterlist!!

get him back by @noosayog (one-shot, miya osamu) fake dating osamu; fake dating is one of my fave tropes and i also love noos's writing!! osamu is also my comfort character... so all of this just speaks to me

cross check by @kagelun (series, on-going, iwaizumi hajime) hockey player!iwaizumi; my god i'll read anything iwa anyway but to have him be an athlete for a completely different sport... just does smth to my brain... also kit has the most insane iwa thoughts i'm excited for this

seasons by @mintmatcha (one-shot, hanamaki takahiro) friends to lovers; love mint's stuff and am trying to get into makki more lately so i can fully immerse into seijoh4!! also really love a friends to lovers any day

one, two, and... (onlyfans) by @mintmatcha (one-shot, hanamaki takahiro + matsukawa issei) was sooo excited for this when mint announced they were working on it omfg literally vibrating w excitement to get to this

for multi

leah's @missmeinyourbones new stuff not sure if they're new or just being resurfaced but i see leah rb some of her stuff and am so excited to get to each one asbfj so i might actually just do a masterlist sweep atp... (she's one of my fave writers fr)

[legends-number-one-fan]

Pizzaplex headcannons and what not because yes.

Strap yourselves in because this is gonna be a LONG list.

You don't need a pass to enter the attractions. The animatronics have your guest profile already, so you can go in and out as you please.

An entry pass is needed to enter the pizzaplex. You can buy one at the booths to the left of the entrance doors, as well as upgrade it to seasonal or all year round pass. There are also upgrade booths inside the plex

Each attraction has their own little teams you can join. Take for example, Bonnie bowl. There are 3 teams. The junior strikers team (ages 4-11), the youth strikers team (ages 12-17), and the adult strikers team, (ages 18+) Joining a team, or have your child join can land you some nifty discounts.

Every attraction (besides the Daycare) has something called a Music Booth (including the East and West Arcade). There are 2 lists, one on the left and right side of each paper. The left side is for non explicit songs, and the right is for explicit songs for After Hours (more on that later). There are two boxes. One for the name of the song, another for the name of the artist. Every so often, when a few pages are filled up, a staff bot will come over and grab them and take them to the production room, where it is reviewed and put into a Playlist on Spotify or Apple Music. Sometimes the songs can end up being chosen for the shows during the day and after hours.

The pizzaplex fully closes at midnight, but it closes at 9pm for adults with their younger kids. After they leave, After Hours begins. A time for older teens and young adults to relax and use explicit language without worrying about kids being around. Even the animatronics are permitted to use explicit language. It is 16+ as long as you have a ride home. This is were the right side of the sheet at the Music Booths comes to play. They take those songs and shuffle them up in a playlist like they do during day hours. Sometimes, not all the time, they will let the After Hours go until 1am. Around 9:15pm they have a concert that is optional to go to. It runs for about 75 minutes. The attractions are open during it. Then afterwards the animatronics and everyone else have free roam until they close. They don't host After Hours on a week when Overnights happen (more on that later)

Speaking of shows/concerts, Bonnie is in the band (He doesn't die because i said so). Him, Freddy, Chica, Roxy, and Monty all preform together. Bonnie now plays electric/acoustic guitar. He can still play bass. Just doesnt as much anymore. He gifted that bass to Monty.

At the end of the first and last song they play, they have these buckets full of different passes and throw then out to the crowd. There is a good chance you will catch more than one.

Speaking of Monty, bass isn't the only thing he can play. He can play guitar to some degree (Bonnie definitely has been teaching him). And he has also tried out piano.

They do have overnights, they just don't happen as much anymore. You can find a staff bot counter to sign up. The spots get filled up pretty quickly so be sure to sign up as soon as possible. They host them for the whole week, so when you get signed up, you'll be put on a random night. Overnights last from 10pm to 5am. The first hour is a tour for the first timers at the plex (if there are no first timers, then they start the free roam early). Then it's free roam. Around 5:15am, they tell the group to start getting ready to leave clean up their trash, etc. Every one has to be out by 5:30. They leave through a door in the back of the plex because of the lines in the front.

Now how do passes work. Let's take, for example, a Rehearsal Room Pass, a pass that let's you hang out with the gang for the entirety they practice for their next show/concert. You bring your pass to a staff bot counter and they scan your pass. Then they give you a little wristband that has the time you should be there printed on it.

They recently made a brand new pass called AR Pass, where you have the opportunity to put on the V.A.N.N.I mask and see the plex through the AR world, and you'll have the chance of meeting Helpi and M.X.E.S. (this is cannon because yes). He also has the tendency to give the person wearing the mask a little scare by randomly appearing behind them, to give the others watching a good laugh and even the person wearing the mask a good laugh (this is also cannon because yes). Due to high demand of this pass, it is a bit of a rare one to come across, so there's a lower chance you'll get one when they throw out passes during the concerts. You probably have to buy it, which is expensive, or if your lucky you can find a person who willing to trade.

All the animatronics have the ability to drink and eat as they please.

Might make a part 2 if I come up with anything else.

[starsignchaser]

hello everyone and welcome to the March 2024 edition of emily's fic recs! If you saw my post this weekend you know that I bookmarked 57 fics this month... yeah idk how that happened but just know that this is gonna be a bit of a long one.

this month's list contains Jegulus, Wolfstar, and Drarry for a total of 28 fics. there are some all-time faves in this list (march was a good month) so I hope you enjoy!

without further ado, lets dive in :)

Jegulus

blue and yellow skies by alarainai, salmon_says (142k, 27/27, rated M)

Quidditch Rivals turned Quidditch Lovers. That's what the world sees them as, at least.

Too bad Regulus hates James Potter's guts, and James? Well, it doesn't matter what he feels about their definitely fake, definitely emotionless relationship.

just cute quidditch boys who love each other

i fell hard (in your arms tonight) by grimjobs (17.9k, 9/9, rated G)

Regulus didn't know he was touch starved until James started touching him.

cute boys and silly misunderstandings

i've got my eye on you by artiest (10k, rated M)

James and Regulus are friends with benefits except they're both ridiculously in love with each other.

this one was so good I had to give it an instant reread as I was putting my list together. angsty happy in-love boys

Many Happy Halloweens by SnarkyMagpie (7.6k, rated M)

Monsters come out on Halloween, but Regulus Black will gladly fight any horror, whether it's a dragon or anxiety, to protect his family.

Jeggy dads!!!!!! Technically single dad James with Harry and then Reggie joining their family <3333

stuck by you (and the glue) by cleargreen (4.7k, rated G)

The two most important people in James's life finally meet. This is how it goes.

baby harry has a crush on his dad's boyf reg

Whoops. by my_castlescrumbling (2k, rated T)

Regulus is a TA for Professor Monty Potter and Monty keeps trying to set Regulus up with his son. Regulus always refuses, of course. But what happens when, at the end of the term, he goes to the Potter Christmas Party?

yayyy happenstance!!!

a little death by noasmirrorball (1.6k, rated E)

James wakes Regulus up with a little surprise.

this is just straight up porn

heatwaves by regscupid (1.5k, rated E)

With the exit of May, James quickly came to realize he could not deal with what June brought with it. June meant hotter weather. Their flat didn’t have air conditioning.

reg in crop tops makes james' brain go mush

Wolfstar

wading in waist-high water by colgatebluemintygel (82k, 9/9, rated E)

Remus is a PhD student and hobbyist baker who finds himself adrift following his father’s death. On a whim, he enters the Great British Bake Off...

ONE OF MY FAVES OF THE MONTH!!! a wonderful balance of funny moments, bits of angst, and mostly just a lot of love between these two boys

Like Real People Do by third_crow (36k, 3/3, rated T)

Or, Remus works as a barista and Sirius comes in every morning with the world's cutest baby, and man, these two just wrote the book on mutual pining, huh?

I LOVED THIS FIC!!! there is so much angst but it is so worth it because these two are meant to find each other every time

To Be Alone With You by Shay_Fae (16.6k, 4/4, rated M)

In the summer of their sixth year, Remus Lupin tried to kill himself.

MAJOR TW for this one (as you can see from the description) but also such a beautiful take on Sirius's love for Remus and their dynamic

my castle crumbled overnight by YellowLark23 (9k, 2/2, rated T)

Sirius deals with his parents’ abuse while at school, but he never realizes just how dangerous the game they're playing is.

This fic is more black brothers focused but there is sweet background wolfstar hurt/comfort :)

i've got diamonds in my eyes (for you) by crushofdoves (6k, 2/2, rated E)

Sirius and Remus are in big, soft, filthy love.

this is so hot and also just feels so real for a sex scene like they literally stop to have a grilled cheese in the middle it's perfect

Remus' Impromptu Study Break by ravenclaw_with_no_friends (5.6k, rated E)

“Sod off Pads, I’m mad at you,” Remus decided his best way out would just be to go have a shower. He got out of the bed, picking up his pyjama bottoms to hold in front of his crotch.

wolfstar smut with sirius making the first move hehe

i was sinking and now i'm sunk by crushofdoves (3.9k, rated E)

The air between them felt electric, crackling with intention and Sirius hoped they were on the same page.

bookstore employee remus having his way with sirius in the back room

Ways to be Gentle by Quietlemonhush (3.6k, rated E)

Sirius has a bad day. Remus reminds him what softness feels like.

sad sirius being given all the love by his moony

Drarry

A Dented Old Street Sign by orphanghost (27k, rated M)

Draco knows they aren't the only students who will be completing their NEWTs this year, but they are the only ones whose home fireplaces were disconnected from the floo network by the ministry.

At least, Draco assumes as much until he sees the light falling out from the front door of one of the other rickety old houses in front of them and the three figures cast in its warm glow.

the golden trio and returning slytherins are neighbors in Hogsmede for 8th year. tension, hijinks, and love ensues

With Great Yawns and Stretchings by sugar_screw (22k, rated T)

The coffee is very good. Really. And the cats are so cute. That's why Harry goes so often.

ONE OF MY FAVES OF THE MONTH!! just sweet boys who love cats and grow together and kiss!!!

Cascade by Avonne (18.7k, rated M)

Harry wants to touch, and Draco wants to be touched. If only they could figure it out.

I want to take every 8th year fic in hold them close in my arms because these boys are so sad and fucked up but they keep finding each other and making it work. one of my faves!

Sourdough by academicdisaster (17k, rated M)

Draco writes romance novels and doesn't leave his apartment much. Harry bakes bread and sells it to Draco. Draco is quite weird. Harry might like that.

read tags before reading!!! contains some off screen heavy angst but sooo good. Again, you will always catch me at the scene of a weird little draco fic

Magical Menagerie by DorthyAnn (16k, 7/7, rated T)

Convinced by Hermione to get a new pet, Harry goes to Magical Menagerie and finds it's now owned by Draco Malfoy who has changed since the war… in a good way, a really good way.

sweet weirdo draco you will always have my heart

Said and Unsaid (or, The Value of Knowing When to Stop Talking) by bryoneybrynn (14.8k, 3/3, rated T)

When the Interrogator asked if he had anything to say on his own behalf, Draco shook his head, his lips pressed tight in a thin line. There was nothing to say that wouldn’t sound like an excuse.

again, love me an 8th year fix-it fic

Slow Show by Avonne (14.7k, rated M)

Harry doesn't know the kind of love that isn't forged in pain. He doesn't understand slow and calm and easy. He can't trust unconditional. After all, how could Draco love him if he's not allowed to sacrifice himself for it? Draco shows him.

I just can't get enough of harry being a self-sacrificing idiot and Draco being the one who can consistently cut through his bs and be like "hey!!! stop that dummy, we all love you (but me especially)"

I'll keep you (safe and sound) by arminaa (13k, 4/4, rated E)

Harry takes temporary custody of Teddy while Andromeda's comatose at St Mungo's after an accident, and Draco, his something-with-benefits, shows up unexpectedly to help.

two awkward boys who don't know how to tell each other they like each other (with baby Teddy!)

Title of Their Sex Tape by Cibee (12k, rated T)

Undercover! Heists! Draco pining for Harry! Harry being oblivious, but also can't help noticing how good Draco smells! Banters and jokes! That's about it.

Brooklyn 99-esque fic with v sweet will they/won't they moments. also the line "“I confess,” Draco said quietly. “That I had hope ... you would choose me this time.”" !!!!!!!

By Any Other Name by dracognition (8k, rated E)

A botched love potion makes it so that everyone in Harry's vicinity is madly in love with him—everyone except Draco, that is.

everyone is in love with Harry, INCLUDING Draco!!! hehehe

Swipe Right by mee4ever (2k, rated G)

Or then one where Harry swipes right, and it turns out Draco does too.

I love their banter/flirting in this one so much!!!

Harry Potter Gets a Job [ART] by dustmouth (106 pages, rated M)

Harry returns home from Romania to find Arthur Weasley has a new apprentice, and there's an extra place set for dinner.

I love this art style and the story is just so perfect, def suggest checking out more by dustmouth if you enjoy this

[catflowerqueen]

There was a lot of densely packed lore in today’s episode! The stuff about the star is the most obvious, and it makes a lot of sense based on what we already knew about its capabilities and the baby witherstorms growing in Lord Monty and Lord Lunar’s domains. However, I’m not so sold on Eclipse being the master of the main universe’s star. If the rule is “the first person to use it is the master,” then wouldn’t that make the star’s master Monty? Because they did do a lot of experiments with it after they first stole it. The fireworks ring a bell? Or the fact that they did actually bring some sort of alien creature into the main universe (which they apparently then cooked and served to a homeless person who may or may not have been Trashcan Guy). Not to mention that it would bring back to the forefront that whole “Great Destroyer” thing…

In the grand scheme of things those are definitely smaller uses than Eclipse did (unless Monty did something else behind the scenes, which wouldn’t surprise me), but they still did it first. I guess it just depends on whether the rule is “first” or “first to use it for something extreme.” …Though I guess technically Moon might be the actual first one to use it, since as its creator he presumably tested it out. But that’s just semantics at this point.

Other bits of lore… I’m getting increasingly worried about Moon’s physical health. Again. The fact that Sun pointed out that this is the first he was hearing about the effects of dimensional travel on Moon don’t paint a very reassuring picture—because even if he did just brush it off as Moon probably always feeling that way and just working through it/ignoring it in favor of his goals at the time, we can’t know for sure that this isn’t a new symptom of something else going wrong.

And as to the computer… I’m pretty sure this episode does confirm it is holding some sort of weird grudge/not doing a very good job of processing grief because their claim that Moon’s personality is different really isn’t all that true. Moon pretty much does act the same as he always does, its just that he isn’t having to filter things through massive amounts of trauma anymore. He still plays pranks on Sun, after all, like when he didn’t mention he’d made a huge parts order and people would be coming to drop it off. And he still plays games and makes jokes and dislikes interacting with the daycare kids—even as he proved today how much he really does care about others and has a desire to teach and help given how he immediately tried to help the alternate Freddy. Not to mention that, in general, he’d been showing a lot of self-improvement that the computer had a front row seat for leading up to the whole amnesia thing, and I still think it is entirely possible that Sun was only listed as “test subject” as a joke or reference to the fact he’d been begging Moon to let him help with his experiments during the Roblox challenges.

Because just as the computer might be mad at Moon for “picking KC over them,” or just not being their Moon the way they want him to be or something, there is also a high probability they would be mad at Sun for technically putting Moon in that situation to begin with given that he’s the one who broke the magic, accident or no. And it isn’t like the computer was really all that fond of Sun to begin with.

[juniaships]

As much as I want to ignore Shrek the Turd I think it's a lot rewarding to address its flaws than take the easy way out. So here us a list of what I would've changed had I wrote the movie.

Harold's death

- the choice of song is rather out of place

- only serves to push a dramatic moment/shove Artie into the plot

- I actually like Harold :/

How to fix it:

- Harold doesn't die. Instead he gets an old man crisis & Lillian decides to take him on vacation to recuperate; naturally leaving Fiona and Shrek in charge

- Harold does die but the moment is treated with actual respect.

- Harold doesn't die BUT there is a death: Artie's father. The Royal Family go to Camelot for the funeral and meets Uther's estranged son Artie. That way Artie's daddy issues has more purpose in the story bc he truly can't reconcile with his dad, and Shrek a more sympathetic reason to steps up as a father figure.

- Alternatively, Artie's mom dies and he is sent to live in FFW bc his father doesn't want custody. So Shrek AND Fiona has to deal with a teenager and both have fear of parenthood byt still wants to give Artie the best. This also allows Fiona and Artie to interact with each other

Artie

Problem: suffers what I call Chicken Little Syndrome, he's kinda bland and we don't know much about him. Also his bullied nerd background Only serves to make him sympathetic cuz everyone is so mean to him! Beyond being kind and kinda dramatic Artie doesn't have much else

How to fix it:

- Everyone has beef with Artie because of his father's reputation. Perhaps Uther had a bad spending habit which left Camelot in financial ruin or his habit of flirting with women left a lot of illegitimate children now they're all fighting over rightful inheritance and puts down Artie bc he's the youngest/weakest

- Camelot has a very warrior like society but Artie is more diplomatic/soft, which makes him look weak in the eyes of everyone else. Eventually his softness saves Camelot

- Artie has a legitimate flaw (his trust issues) which makes him unable to properly communicate with others.

- Artie has a few true friends who are outcasts like him. But their support drives him to pursue a career in politics so he can help them and ppl like them (giving his speech more credibility)

The Princesses

Problem: most of them were boring at best, unlikable at worst.

How to fix it:

- Give the princesses more likable personalities: say they WERE strong and capable but got so caught up in glamor bc they don't want to remember the painful past

Problem: Charming and Rapunzel

- Comes right out of nowhere

- doesnt make since given Charming's arc is all abput becoming villain why would he date ANOTHER princess?

How to fix it

- Rapunzel's new motivation is she doesn't want an ogre on the throne, or she got tired of the princesses bullying her for her baldness. Or that she's jealous the princesses still have their princes yet Rapunzel lost hers. Or maybe Charming DID save her and she's working with him as a favor.

- However she discovers Charming is not as cool as she thought bc he still treats her (and any princess) like objects and not their own person

- Keep Rapunzel in the princess group and create a new character from scratch

- this new OC is a part of the villains not because she is one herself but because they're the only ones who accepted her for one reason or another. This makes her a foil for Charming and Godmother's relationship. She's wants to help them & save the Poison Apple from closing.

- however Charming is very bad at being evil so she teaches him how to be more assertive and this sets up a romance.

Issue: Arthurian myth

Problem: Aside from being retooled as a school campus, the Arthurian mythos doesn't have much prominence in the story

How to fix it:

-change the main goal to finding Excalibur or the Holy Grail (kiddie Monty Python)

- or have it where Camelot is in a crisis of succession so an election or tournament is held to decide the new king. Noblemen from all over participate (introducing us to the Princesses). Shrek and Fiona helps Artie while Charming joins so he can finally get his own kingdom

- Artie turns out to have magic instead of Merlin (who is just a wacky alchemist/scientist) but he lacks confidence

- At the end have it where Artie forms the knights of the round table (with some of the characters and villains as members)

- Maybe make Charming "Lancelot"

Girl Power Message

Problems: They were sidelined most of the movie, preventing Fiona from truly delving into her responsibilities as Queen. Also most of the girl characters like the Princesses & Guinevere were portrayed as shallow b*tches or not having much relevance

How to fix:

- Make Fiona the focus character this time and her story is juggling queenly duties and her trauma in the tower

- Have the princesses be an underground guerilla force they help her take out Charming during the movie

- or have it where the tower was actually a school to train princesses-to-be and Fiona's Kiss was part of a sceret test of character to see if she really is fit to be Queen; accepting her ogress form means she accepts EVERYONE, so she passed the test

- Fiona demonstrates her leadership skills by planning and carrying out targeted attacks, & taking care of civilians

- MAKE ARTIE A GIRL it makes a cool twist fitting for a franchise like Shrek. Or give Artie a female companion/love interest who accompanies him on his quest (perhaps Guinevere or a new character)

- instead of Merlin they meet Nimue/Lady of the Lake who takes the role of the kooky mentor

- Like I mentioned, explore why Rapunzel betrayed the team; perhaps make her have a change of heart and help her ex friends escape.

- Or like giving Charming a new love interest one who is a caricature of the Evil Sexy Villainess or YA Novel Girlboss Protagonist (have her learn it's okay to be vulnerable)

- have Shrek puss and Donkey be the ones in danger and fiona and her princesses are the ones to go on a journey to save them

Puss and Donkey's subplot

Problem: it doesn't do much to serve the story but for cheap comic relief. Donkey is a father himself but doesn't seem to do much to help Shrek and Artie

How to fix it:

- make Puss absent of stay with the princesses to help them

- Donkey talks with Shrek about his experiences as a father

- Remove the body switch entirely

- or have a subplot where Donkey and Puss still aren't getting along and Merlin switches them so they can learn to see from a new perspective.

- Maybe have Puss admit he doesn't have a good relationship with his own dad or something, or is actually great with kids (stunning Shrek and Donkey)

Shrek's arc

- Issue: we don't delve much into his backstory, he only wants to shirk his royal duties instead of doing the smart thing and actually confronting them

How to fix:

- introduce more Ogres or Shrek's dad. Have it be a family reunion or Shrek's dad finds out he married into royalty and that sets up the overall conflict

- Have the babies born before the movie and the plot is spent with him being a stay at home dad or caring for them while in Camelot while Fiona is tbe working parent

- also sets up an arc where Fiona struggles to balance mother hood and her job

- artie gets more used to ogre (children) leading to a realisation he has to step up to make a better future for their sake (again a more sympathetic reasoning)

The Villains

Issue: Charming is just Farquad 2.0, the rest seem to be props in their own story, Rapunzel

How to fix

- Make a new character who represents the villain side we get an intimate look at how society treats outcasts

- Give the villains more screentime like say we follow a group of them during theur trip to capture Shrek. They eventually have a confrontation and in the fray Artie ends up helping a villain much to their shock. They realise Artie isn't a threat. Or have it set at the play

- give Hook or Doris a prominent role

- or a new major villain; make it Charming's dad who takes him under his wing under the guise of wanting to help his son but is just manipulating him for the throne

- Make Charming struggle how ti adapt to being a villain due to his upbringing

- make some of the villains less open to wanting him in his group or have it where they try to help him be more evil (setting up potential jokes)

- Have Charming and Fiona have an actual moment with Fiona pointing out she did dream of a prince but is happy with Shrek and warns Charming that he still wouldn't be happy even if he did get everything

- Give Charming an actual villain love interest as a foil to Shrek and Fiona

- Don't include Charming at all (marry him off to Doris even lol) and create a new villain inspired by Arthurian lore. Maybe the Black Knight? Mordred? Morgan le Fay?

- Or even Artie himself! he wants to use his new position to enact revenge on his bullies

- Instead of the villains taking over it's the other fairytale heroes led by a jilted Charming and Shrek teams up with the villains to save FFW

- Make Uther the main villain

[itsahotminuteinbetween]

AAAAANNND here are the OCs I’ve been drawing all week every single day! Posting this early without the third character cuz I got tired and impatient. I’ll probably add him in later though, so don’t worry bout him just yet :)

(Also, yes these are fnaf ocs because I'm not original...)

Soooo this is Loup Doop, Otherwise known as Loop de Doop/ Loop to kids. (She doesn’t like her name much, but it’s what the company branded her as and she can’t exactly change it.) I have a few bullet points about her: *pulls out list and clears throat*:

She’s 6”7, a tall one!

Her hands are not attached to her body, they’re more 3d holograms you can feel (don’t ask me how it works, I dunno either). it does take some conscious effort to have them out, so she doesn’t usually unless she’s with someone or needs to convey something. If you grab her hands, though, she can feel it and it does have a similar effect as pulling a real connected hand: if you’re strong enough, you can drag her along with it. (And yes, she has four fingers and they're never properly drawn, I'm sorry I can't draw real hands...)

She doesn’t have a voicebox. She communicates with sounds and simple pictures (you’ll see what I mean if/when I post comics of her).

She used to belong to a different company before being sold into Fazbear in some merger between the companies. (which comes in later, hehe…)

She was originally built with an outgoing, extroverted personality, but it developed into something more meek and quiet.

Her lil orange cheek things get bigger or smaller depending on her emotions.

She doesn’t usually hang out with the main star animatronics because they treat her badly. She prefers chillin with the mapbots, staffbots and wet floor bots, or the DJ if she has the chance. Because of her affiliation with the staffbots, it leads a lot of members of staff and guests to believe she is one, and they treat her as such often.

She is a bit of a people pleaser, and feels there's something wrong with her when she gets told off for not 'wiping the floors and doing her @$#% job'.

She cannot curse, by the way, it carries into her speech pictures as signs, sorta like the smurf comics. She doesn't like cursing much anyways, so it's not something that usually happens.

When kids come up to her on occasion (because she is sort of a performer), she'll ask them for their autograph on a picture with them, then print two. One for the kid, and one for her personal collection. She remembers every kid she's ever talked to before.

Her charging port is in the 2nd lil ball on the left side of her head.

The balls aren't anything special, just some soft, styrofoam-like material for kids to enjoy.

She doesn't interact with other animatronics, as said before, but is occasionally forced to by Bloo (see his description below) and puts up with it. On that note:

- She doesn't like Monty or Roxanne very much, but she does interact with Monty the most. Although most wouldn't call 'grabbing your younger brother to keep him away from the big scary bot he sees as an idol' an interaction.

- She's never actually met Freddy before, but she hears that he's nice from the Wet Floor bots. She personally doesn't want to meet him, either, assuming he's just like Monty and Roxy but worse because he's the face of the company.

She's seen Chica around, but...Chica means well, but she treats Loup Doop more like a kid than like an equal.

- She loves the DJ. They're best buddies in her eyes. They'll do remixes together, she'll ride on his back, babysit the minis, anything.

-She...doesn't really know what to think of the Daycare Attendant. The yellow one seems okay, just a bit too loud for her liking. The dark one, on the other hand...she's heard the stories from the STAFFbots and decides to steer clear of him if she can.

-Unfortunately, she can't stay as far away as she'd like cuz her brother in bolts has to look up to the strangest role models.

She actually meets them before Bloo does.

Thiiiiis is Bloo! He's a slightly newer model from the same company that Loup Doop is from, also from before the merger.

He's Loup Doop's lil brother.

He's around 3''4, depending on the shape of his droplets. The body itself is maybe 2''10.

He's mentally about 8 years old.

He's...not really sure what his job is. Neither does staff, so they just let him do whatever. He's pretty sure he was just supposed to be a sign to encourage kids to stay hydrated, but he tries not to think about it too much.

He doesn't have a voicebox, either, so he also communicates through pictures.

The droplets on his head move without conscious effort, but he can move'em around if he wants to as well.

His left hand has a bubble shooter, his right is his charging port or USB drive.

His left hand can also serve as a tazer, but Loup Doop won't tell him why he ccan't see his own blueprints, so he doesn't know about that.

No incident has ever happened where he finds out thus far.

He's very social, loves messing around with kids even though he isn't an actual featured attraction. He does push out a ton of bubbles for kids 'like him' to pop and play with.

He reaally wants to play with other kids, but he doesn't see much of them too often.

He likes being in the spotlight.

He, like Loup Doop, hangs out with the STAFFbots and Wet Floor bots. Unlike her, however, he doesn't mind hanging out with the other animatronics.

- He thinks Chica's great, he doesn't mind being treated like a kid. They paint nails together and play with dolls sometimes.

- He doesn't talk to Roxy much, only when he's with Chica.

- He thinks Monty is super cool, despite his sister's discouragement. He snuck into Monty's room to try on his glasses once and got caught. Turns out Monty didn't really mind, he liked having another fan. He tries to teach Bloo to play bass when he's not busy.

-Bloo hasn't seen Freddy much, either. He's watched all the performances, though, so he's pretty informed. He thinks that Loup Doup's a bit too cynical towards Freddy. He's sure Freddy's just as nice as everyone else.

- His relationship with the DJ is sort of like how kids talk to their friend's parents. He'll say hi, give all the pleasantries...and then immediately go off to mess around with the minis once he's finished talking.

He loves engaging in harmless pranks, so anyone else who does is a solid bud in his book.

He's the reason Loup Doop ever sets foot in the Daycare at all. He loves Sun and Moon, thinks they're very cool. He collects candy wrappers, keeps old worn plushies he finds in storage, drew the poster to hang in his 'room'...

-He doesn't get to see Sun much, mainly cuz Sun's busy with the kids and he can't be in there with them for fear of Management raising complaint. If he goes in real quick before closing, though, he might be able to pop in and say hi. Maybe a quick game of checkers if he's lucky.

- He sees Moon much more often because he catches him on his night patrols. Moon doesn't mind the company, apparently, because he actually engages with the kid when he talks to him. It's been a while since he was able to take care of kids...

Bloo likes cheerleading.

He wishes he could eat. He wants to try the cupcakes and cookies at Chica's bakery, she talks them up and he wants to know for himself. She's not really supposed to eat, either, but he's good at keeping secrets.

Aaaand I think that's all for now! I'll update this if I come up with more, but here's that.

[lil-melody-moon]

Year summary #1

Carouselambra playing in the background How the fuck do I even start this?

I had to begin from changes that took place in this year and from what I know and recall, a few took place. So maybe let's start from the one that made impact on my personal life and that is a better relationship with parents.

I was working on that since the last year, but it kicked off good in this year. Got more into old music, got into The Beatles and parents started to be such curious little shits that dad started coming to my room to check what albums I bought and I've convinced mom to watch The Beatles' movies with me - I don't remember her laughing this much since I've made her watch "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" with me. Dad even started asking me about stuff, it turns out that now I'm showing my mom old music, not the other way around like it always was. I keep a list of albums to play her when the summer comes around in the next year and there's actually quite a lot already XD

I'm so happy from getting on better terms with dad, it fills me with joy *sob sob*

I also started buying more albums, bought some pins even and since they opened a band accessory shop I've asked about posters. They don't sell them yet, but the guy asked what I'm looking for, I told him and he said that he can get them if they'll be selling posters. That can mean that maybe I'll get lucky to get a Led Zeppelin's or The Who's poster - I'm mostly keen on The Who's one <3

With this year passing I also feel that I want to go to work, but I need to be patient. This library degree is very tiring, it's not as easy and chill as the last one was. I literally wonder how I will pass upcoming exams, especially from one subject that only one person gets? This professor isn't explaining anything, like, she teaches something she doesn't understand, I mean... Why are you teaching then?

I also started learning chords on my guitar slowly, very slowly, but it's going somehow!

One thing that changed, with me working on myself was putting a serious blockade away. Not entirely, but I started clowning around with friends and it's one of the best things to do. I even clown around with mom and dad, mostly mom though. We get stupid sometimes and it's fun!

So that would sum up my personal life I think, from what I want to say. And now to this blog...

It changed again, because all heavy metal bands disappeared and this blog became classic rock oriented. That's because I stopped listening to this genre. You can say that I kinda grew bored of it? Or that I noticed I'm getting a headache from it, but like, there was this one day when I drove with my dad and the album by Led Zeppelin ended and Metallica began to play. I listened and I was honestly bored. It just hit me that there's nothing special in it. Lars is still a good drummer but like... I heard better ones and didn't find anything interesting in his playing this time. It repeated with every band I was listening to so I just dropped out of that, deciding to stick to older music. That was a good decision, honestly.

But the biggest change on here that happened is the fact that I got so many mutuals this year that I can't wrap my mind around. I won't tag anyone here, because I might skip on someone and I don't want that to happen, but I love you all. You're making this place a lot better and honestly? Classic rock fandom is like a big family and I'm happy to be somehow a part of it. Never had I thought I will find such supportive people on Internet and yet, there you are. I'm glad I've met you all <3

That would be all for this one then. Tomorrow's one tho... Fucking hell, this will be a ride...

[madcatdaderpydrawer-blog]

Yeah, they would be very confused and concerned.

Lord Monty, at this point, probably knows Lord Night more as “best friend’s quiet emo brother who doesn’t really talk to him but is very clearly traumatized”, so he’s not really sure what to do about this. So he’s mostly like “You ok buddy?” while awkwardly hovering around trying to help.

While Lord Eclipse would just be trying to calm him down. Head pets and snuggles and reassurances, while also trying to figure out why brother is freaking out. Shouldn’t having a new Star make him feel better?

The head pets would work in calming him down, but he’d be really reluctant to explain what happened mostly out of embarrassment. He’d still do it though, since by now he likely trusts them enough to divulge at least a bit of his past. Lord Night doesn’t really know like how far things got in their worlds or how similar they are, so he’d explain that in his world the killcode gained sentience and ended up trapping both moon and him inside their body. It basically turned the mindscape into a replication of hell, and it was utterly terrifying. At some point his Monty came into the mind to get moon and found him. He wasn’t originally going to take him, but he promised that he’d do anything if he got him out as with how dangerous the situation was becoming he was scared he would end up dead if he stayed. So his Monty agreed and removed him with a usb and about the nano machine body he made and the amount of restrictions it had. Though he doesn’t know exactly what was on the suit as he couldn’t see the list, one feature he knows was included was a controlled shock system that could be activated remotely.

Lord night would basically tell them how he worked for monty with that body and basically just did the shit work he didn’t want to do as well as dimension hopping for moon. As much as he repressed it, being handed the star absolutely gave him unwanted flashbacks to when he made that deal with Monty. He knows lord Monty isn’t the same as his Monty, but he’d admit that he still is nervous that there might be some sort of failsafe type thing on the star that’ll put him under his control- as irrational as it is.

[aester]

A look at RT from a fellow digital media employee

Oof, so RT scandal am I right?

I haven't been in the fandom since ~2018 but following all of this (and specifically the alleged workplace conditions) I thought I'd throw in my two cents as someone who grew up idolizing the company, has chosen to go into digital media because of them and now works in the industry (thankfully not for them).

This will be a long boi (organized into a tumblr-friendly numbered list) based on what I know of the industry in the US, both my own experiences(all thoughts and opinions are my own) & what I've seen of my peers' experiences.

This is also useful info for those interested in pursuing a career in studio-based anim, vfx & game design fields.

To throw in my own cred, I was a member of the RT (and specifically AH & AH art) community from about 2014 to 2018, Monty's work inspired me to pursue my own interests in digital media in a professional sense. I went to uni with my dream internship/job being RT (thankfully that didn't come true). Since then I've graduated and got a job within the industry. So, thanks to having a pretty nice sample of recent grads joining the industry as well as doing my own research on wages and positions before graduation in prep I wanted to take a look at some of the claims and numbers I've been seeing mentioned in this whole mess.

None of this is in defense of RT or in contempt of the ex-employees. RT is a company. People deserve other people's support against a corporation.

Starting with the most quantifiable thing: ✨wages✨. Digital media encompasses a variety of fields - animation, gamedev, vfx, ux etc. & salaries will vary based on both the location and the field that the job is in. From what I've seen among my peers, the avg pay for an entry-level position is about 50-60k for non-LA Bay area jobs(for those add ~ extra 10k from the cost of living). This is not counting additional pay such as overtime, relocation, severance(although I don't know a single person in the field with this condition), or bonuses. Adjusting to what I know of Texas industry salaries, I'd put a good starting industry salary for Austin at 40-50k a year (~20-~25 an hour). Motion Graphics and editing usually pay a bit less than 3D anim positions so the pay could be 5-10k lower than that, which would fucking suck when it comes to cost of living but still doesn't reach the 20k mentioned by Kdin.(20-40k for an LA-based position is just disturbing). Remember that digital media is considered a specialized occupation and generally requires a bachelor's degree (doesn't mean you HAVE to have one) to enter a field so that should be reflected in the salary.

Now onto the most unfortunate part of the industry: overtime (OT) is an industry standard. Everyone joining the industry knows that going in (at least coming out of college). The difference here is that companies should be open about the expected OT/month. My employer for example (all thoughts and opinions are still my own btw) was very clear on how much OT I'd have per month before signing a contract and I am compensated for it. Usually, those who don't get OT comped get higher starting pay. VFX (especially compositing dept) has infamously horrible conditions with insane levels of un-comped OT, crunch, low job security, burnout, and low wages but that at least is an open secret.

Crunch is not just overtime, crunch is sustained OT that exceeds usual expectations. It is more prevalent in studios that have to answer to a client & haven't heard that much about crunch from anim houses now that I think about it? if someone has more experience with serialized anim prod & conditions i'd love to hear from a more reliable source.

To address people's concerns about why certain people(current employees) don't speak up I've seen people bring up NDAs.A Non Disclosure Agreement covers sensitive & internal data (both company secrets and personal identifiable info). An NDA break can be litigated so it's obvious employees don't want to break it. That wouldn't be what is stopping people rn, commenting on this situation would probably fall under some sort of employment guideline. Digital media companies often have extensive guidelines as to what an employee can and cannot say about the company, things that happen in the company, the employees of the company, and other things like this. Now, a breach of guidelines wouldn't be a legal issue, it would just be breaking the contract and be grounds to either have some sort of action against the employee or termination of the contract. It's understandable why folks don't want to lose their jobs for speaking up but the "trouble" they'd get in wouldn't be as big as THE COURT.

I saw someone (don't remember who because of how much info has been coming out) mention offhand RT promising assistance with a work visa & not delivering on the promise & I wanted to quickly bring that up because of my own experiences with this. What they're talking about here is an H-1B lottery application(yes in order to get a work visa in the US you need to win a lottery). This is a process in which the employer(!) petitions the gov't for a non-immigrant work visa for a prospective (or current because these fuckers expire & you have to do the whole lottery all over) employee. There is a lot of documentation, applications, and fees involved, which is why few companies undertake trying to hire international employees. Those who do are at the scale where they have their own immigration attorneys and the H-1B application process is outsourced to a separate law firm. Financially I don't know enough int'l employees to give a blanket statement, but for me, the H-1B application cost was covered by the company and was written into the contract. The records for what companies entered the H-1B lottery are available online & I think like 3 years ago I remember seeing RT having 2-3 applications total?

Union efforts. I don't have a single acquaintance who works under a union in the industry because no one is unionized. I'm not saying RT shouldn't unionize, but their issues seem so far beyond what I've seen at any other company that it's not even comparable to some digital media startups I've seen.

Lastly, I wanted to bring up something extremely subjective when it comes to the field. Any sort of decision of staying or leaving a production company relies on the people you work with, the creative fulfillment, and the stability of your position. Unfortunately, the industry is full of short-term gig positions & project-based contractors. The projects you work on won't be yours, the length of you having a stable income is always up in the air, while the industry is mostly located in the most expensive cities in the country. It's a tough one.

So tldr; the overall digital media field is not peachy with its work conditions but holly fuck what the fuck RT.

And remember kids:

If a potential employer promises something, make sure it's stated in your contract~ otherwise, the promise carries no weight.

Always negotiate the terms of employment! You might not get a higher starting salary but you might get a bonus or some other benefit!

If you want to earn a lot of money in digital media become a tech artist or a rigger.

[waheelawhisperer]

on ironwood I recall hearing in a commentary that ironwood did issue out a warrant for robyn but the other counselors invited her while offering protection from arrest ( I might be misremembering it ) oh and one of the criticisms I have for rwby is pacing it would do alot better with a full anime time we could have gotten a more extensive look at mantle among other things )

If that's the case, then it really should have made it into the show because it completely changes the context around Robyn's presence at that meeting, but in the absence of any actual source, I'm gonna go ahead and just work off of the evidence we got on the actual screen.

I definitely agree that RWBY would be better with longer runtime, yeah. I mean, this probably goes without saying, but more time to tell the story typically equals better story. RWBY is in this weird situation where it has a lot of Volumes, but each individual Volume isn't particularly long (the whole thing clocks in around 24-28 hours, last I checked. If you tried really hard, you could binge the series in a weekend), so the show can feel like it's both rushed and taking forever to get anywhere, somehow. I think RWBY's Volumes are much better when binge watched, but the pacing still feels a little odd. I will admit that watching certain Volumes weekly was a real slog.

I do think that RWBY's scope and its resources do not align particularly well. This show is very ambitious, and I love that about it. I have a huge soft spot for media that shoots for the stars, even if it doesn't make it all the way. To put it another way, I respect shows and books and games and so on that have the balls to try, and I respect writers that try to push themselves out of their comfort zones and tackle heavy topics. Do I think RWBY always does a good job of tackling those heavy topics? No, not really. I think the show kind of dropped the ball with the White Fang plotline, for example, and that seems to be a fairly common opinion. Regardless, I respect the willingness to try.

That said, RWBY just... does not have the resources (budget, runtime, etc.) to tell the big, grand story it wants to tell as well as I wish it could. There are a lot of characters and plot threads to follow, and many of them don't get fleshed out as thoroughly as I wish they would. We don't get to explore the Kingdoms as much as I'd like, either, and we get important elements of the setting being explained in the World of Remnant shorts instead of the show proper, at least partly to cover up issues in the production pipeline. I think RWBY would be a better product if whoever's in charge of production found a way to align the scope of the project and the resources available to it more effectively. Either devote more resources to the show or tighten the focus, and I'll most likely be happier with the result.

Any discussion of RWBY's production and resources needs to include the acknowledgement that the show's production history has been... troubled. Pretty much every Volume has had some kind of factor that kept the crew from creating it unhindered, sometimes because the company messed up and sometimes because of unforeseen outside circumstances. I'll go through the list:

Volume 1: The show was really just Monty's pet project that hadn't proven itself commercially viable yet. Rooster Teeth hadn't yet thrown its full support behind the IP and everyone involved was finding their stride. I view Volume 1 as more of extended pilot/proof of concept than anything else, because frankly it isn't very good, but it showed a lot of potential and had just enough cool moments to keep me interested.

Volume 2: The team is still adjusting to working with actual support/resources and getting used to telling a story that's very different from the type of content that Rooster Teeth was used to producing at that point. Still, we see significant improvement over Volume 1. There's still a lot of growing pains,

Volume 3: Monty died. The crew was devastated, we had drama with stuff like Shane Newville dropping his famous letter and Glynda's VA going on a drunken Twitter rant or something, and several episodes barely made it to production on time.

Volume 4: The team switched to new software and was still coping with the aftermath of Monty's death. Some growing pains here are understandable, and while I'm not a particular fan of Volume 4 for several reasons, I'm willing to cut it some slack.

Volume 5: IIRC the head of RT's animation department was stealing resources from other projects to push Gen:Lock and then "left the company" when he got caught, so it's kind of hard to blame the crew for this one. While that doesn't magically get rid of the flaws in Volume 5, I'm a lot more inclined to forgive them when the person who was in overall command of the project was actively screwing CRWBY over.

Volume 6: The legendary crunch. This one is entirely on the company and I'm not excusing it in the slightest, just pointing out that shit working conditions make the end product worse.

Volume 7: I'm not actually aware of any issues with Volume 7's production (maybe the crunch was still a thing? IDK), and I don't think it's a coincidence that this is one of the better Volumes.

Volume 8: Oh, boy. This one was a doozy. CRWBY got hit with the double whammy of the covid-19 pandemic and the failure of the Texas power grid. I was not personally a fan of sitting on my ass in a house with no light or heat or power and using the stove to melt snow so I could flush the fucking toilet, and I can't imagine trying to do anything productive under those conditions. I certainly didn't. I think the adverse conditions had a significant effect on the quality of Volume 8, and I blame most of my issues with the Volume on the disruption caused by the pandemic and the freeze.

I think this is the cause of the very controversial scenes where Ruby, Weiss, and Blake spend time at the Schnee mansion. Apparently, those three were supposed to go inside the whale at one point, but that got cut, and I think it got cut because CRWBY had to adapt to something nobody was really prepped for. I don't personally like the decision to have all the protagonists stay in the Schnee mansion while not fighting the fight they were insistent upon fighting at the end of Volume 7, I get why it was so controversial, but I'm willing to chalk it up to messed-up circumstances. I might elaborate on that at some point, but that should probably be a post on its own.

Anyway, I think CRWBY made the right decision by prioritizing the health and safety of their workers. I'd rather have a worse product than encourage them to force their workers into unsafe working conditions. That said, I can feel that way and still acknowledge the detriments that decision and the circumstances surrounding it had on the final product. I think the crew tried really hard to adapt the story to the sudden paradigm shift caused by covid and my dogshit state's dogshit leadership and infrastructure and didn't succeed particularly well.

On a related note, fuck you, Greg Abbott. Hope my dumbass state government collectively swan dives into a wood chipper.

So... yeah, RWBY's production history is weird and complicated, and I think the quality of the show has fluctuated wildly because of it. I'd love to see what RWBY could be with the type of budget (in terms of both money and other resources like runtime) dedicated to big blockbuster shows. I think that giving the show the resources to match its ambitions would truly take it from good to great. I know it's not as simple as "just giving them a bigger budget", but we're talking hypotheticals here. A guy can dream, can't he?