#ANYWAY Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[luv-again]

my next question in the process of preparing this fic is: how many gameplay gimmicks do I want to incorporate/validate

ofc it'll only make short mentions within shadow's tiny sections of the fic, but still. I'm always so torn bc idk whether it's gonna enhance or take away from the fic at large

[kari-sims]

Tomiko Moriyama (she/they) as my entry for the Total Drama Sims season 3 by @jonquilyst!! (thanks for letting me participate <3)

also huge wall of slightly amusing text below the cut (you've been warned!) cause i was caffeinated and ended up having some fun with this ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻)

👩 Age: 14 🪐 Lives in: Strangerville 🐛 Goals in life: to open a bug museum 💖 Orientation: thinks girls are cute, but doesn't want to waste their short teen years chasing them around (that's what the 20's are for!) 🎶 Hidden talent: encyclopedic knowledge of kpop girl group's songs and dances ���� Honorable titles: -> 'Mighty Collector of the Fun Hats' -> 'Prestigious Ambassador' at the ''International Bug Diplomacy Federation'' (only actual human member, but it'll grow, just wait!) 👍Likes: iridescent beetles / cut rock hard candy / slippery mud you can draw on / putting googly eyes on random things 👎 Dislikes: homework / cleaning things that'll get dirty again / humans evil bug killing inventions (unless it's a laser shooting death ray gun for mosquitoes, cause yeah, even a bug loving girl hates those bastards!)

[RECORD 434, another sunny day in strange Strangerville]

🔴 ▶ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|•

(sound of someone clearing their throat, followed by what's obviously a kid trying to speak in an exaggerated deep voice)

Tomiko: "Tomiko is a girl who didn't need a home with walls or windows - the roof to her 'home' has always been the sky above." (pauses, mutters to themselves) Ooh that's a good one! Wait, people will think i live in the woods, no? Wouldn't that be the dream…

(moment of silence as Tomiko daydreams, then remembers she just started recording)

"Tomiko doesn't have many friends, because she was destined to be a free-spirited loner. With the exception of Clarisse, a girl who dreams ofbecoming a marine biologist. Clarisse was made fun of by strangers on a dumb internet show she went to one day, all because she wanted to win the money and go on a trip to Sulani. Now everyone calls her the 'Dolphin Girl'. After Tomiko decided to console her at lunch in school, both of them ended up bonding over their crazy obssession with nature. They've been inseparable friends ever since."

(another pause, followed by an audible sigh)

"Well, they were inseparable, until Tomiko moved away. Now Clarisse is being weird for no reason... anyways, where was i?

(forgets why they went on a Clarisse tangent and starts to fumble with their unorganized notes)

"Oh yes, destined to be a free-spirited loner, ya-da ya-da. Unfortunately, Tomiko was forced to live in a boring house made of bricks, with white furniture, and a mom who was always mad about her muddy boots on the carpet."

(voice shifts to mimic the mom's screech)

- I'm not gonna raise a savage wild child! Since you love dirt so much, go live with your bum of a father in that Strangerplace world, or whatever it's called.

"Best thing to ever happen to me!" (voice switches to normal accidentally, then goes back to the fake deep one) - I mean - best thing to ever happen to Tomiko! Even though her dad looks kinda weird lately, walking around aimlessly at night in search of his mother. Classic dad, being a weirdo. No idea how this man got married..."

- Dad, I told you grandma still lives in Willow Creek. Why do you think she's in the middle of the desert? Also, she wouldn't be caught dead wasting away her fabulous heels in this god-forsaken place.

"Tomiko pretends she doesn't see it, because now she can do whatever she wants, why complicate things? The only problem is, there isn't much to do in Strangerville with the infection rumors going on, and all the damn sus soldiers. Also, the taste of travelling for the first time has left her wanting to see more. Imagine all the bugs she could find?! But you need money for that, sooo… what to do, what to do…"

(voice returns to normal, a bit defensive)

"Okay, fine, I'm the one recording this… (sighs) I know what you're thinking - "just steal from your dad!". Seriously, who do you think I am? Anyways, I did something else instead. I heard there's this competition with other teens where you get to travel the world, and guess what? I signed up for it! Without my parents knowing, of course, but that is irrelevant. They won't even notice I'm gone, I fear. I just hope the organizers don't ask for their permission, because Clarisse was the one who knew how to fake signatures, but now she's hanging out with other kids at school, and thinks she's better than me."

(inhales, then proceeds to speak loudly at a wall, probably)

"Like... Nina? The enemy? Be so for real right now Clarisse! My life is just grand without you! I'll get to travel the world and educate people on how bugs are friends, and definitely NOT disgusting or too dangerous! Well, most times. I'll also prove that even if you're a weird bug loving kid like me, you can still have a chance at a game that requires you to make friends. It'll be eaaasy! In a few weeks I'll be like, Clarisse who? Hahah!"

(brief pause on their flex-rant, which is totally NOT a defense mechanism because she's hurt by them growing apart. They return, slightly worried)

"Do you think I can die in there? Cause gosh, let's hope not! Imagine going on an adventure of a lifetime and not being able to tell people about your heroic deeds... that'd be so lame! Anyways, I'll see you when I see you, whoever is listening to this… Tomi out!"

🟥 ▶ •ııııııııııııııııı•

[RECORD ENDS]

wow if you're still here, thanks for reading, you wonderful bean! here, have a cute snail

(´・ᴗ・)>~🐌

[demonslayerunhinged]

cw: I'm going to be very blunt in this overly long post. Some things might rub you the wrong way if not offend you, so if that happens, you know the procedure: unfollow → block → move on.

A few weeks ago…

Three of my posts about Genya, Shizu and Sanemi caught the attention of and were the subject of discussion among a couple of weirdos. After I discovered all the crap they were spewing on their circle jerk of a server, I then went on a rage-fueled posting spree with screenshots and lots of insults towards them especially towards princeblue and pomchihuahua. I made the posts private but if you're curious here's the link.

You're probably thinking: Omg bitch, you're still on this? 🙄

Yes, yes I am. It's so fucking easy to move on from an incident when you're not the one being attacked or are the one doing the attacking. It's just like that saying the tree remembers what the axe forgets or something and it's my blog, fuck you.

Anyway, it really pissed me off that they were taking my post so seriously, despite me putting multiple disclaimers that these were theories. Proof:

And even if I didn't add disclaimers, can no one make theories anymore? Can no one make jokes or shit posts? I mean, I know we're living in a dystopian world, but the last place I want to be reminded about it is on my tiny, obscure fucking Tumblr blog. You don't have to (and honestly shouldn't) agree with everything I post! In fact, I would love to have a different pov and a respectful, engaging discussion. And even if you think Ugh this shit is so ass, just scroll past and forget about me! Unfollow me! Block me! I have made two posts literally begging people to do this because I didn't want to get involved in this kind of shit.

Talking shit about me in a place where I don't have the opportunity to defend myself, deliberately misunderstanding my posts and making assumptions of my beliefs based on said post is one thing. But minimizing the shittiness of your actions when called out, painting me as the crazy person for my justified anger at your shitty actions, and using your minor members as a shield to deflect scrutiny. That's just horrible, if not downright insidious. especially from someone who describes herself as a 'nice' person.

The so-called apology I got from pomchihuahua was so insincere, and it was just a way to brush past their actions so they could make the link to their shitty server public again. I never got an apology from princeblue; all I got were a series of pretentious and condescending messages and a manipulative post where she made me look like I was the crazy one, infiltrating her server and harassing her members who are minors. She also minimized and sanitized her actions by explaining that it was just a private discussion among friends that got a bit heated with a few dickish words thrown here and there, despite the fact that:

1.) It's a public server, so anyone who joins and lurks in that channel would think I'm some asshole that advocates for child abuse and slanders single mothers.

2.) It wasn't just a 'heated' discussion with just a few dicky things being said, not only did they completely misunderstand my post — so much so that it was like they were talking about another post by someone else — but they talked about my blog like it was (and I hate this word) slop. She said stated that she couldn't stand me and that she was seething with hate (the screenshots are in the linked private post) like I killed her dog or something.

3.) She kept stressing that I didn't censor the usernames of the shit talkers who happen to be minors despite her asking me to, all in an attempt to make me look like some kind of minor-harasser. The minors in question didn't censor my username or those of the people who commented on my posts that they bashed. So why should I?

Side tangent but, I've noticed that lately the internet has some kind of obsession with the protection of minors and put them on some pedestal like they're unassuming babies who aren't capable of real harm or aware of their actions. Thus, they should be shielded from the consequences of said actions and shouldn't be called out for them.

I don't subscribe to such beliefs. Not only is it stupid, it's dangerous. This belief is the basis of laws that allow minors to get away with heinous crimes in some communities and even countries. Why should they get to live on, blissfully unaffected, while their victims suffer? Why shouldn't we be allowed to call them out on their shitty behavior? If they're old enough to throw shit at a stranger on the internet, they're old enough to have that shit thrown right back at them. If that makes me a heartless asshole, so be it.

Anyway, I was angry (as you can tell by my online crashout) because as someone who takes a lot of time agonizing over every single post and making sure my words are clear and that I provide the right resources — all these accusations and comments hurt. The situation sucked the joy out of me, ruined my whole week, and made me feel so shitty that I wanted to stop posting all together.

Because, what's the point? Why post anything if all I'm going to do is spend my time and energy not just worrying about the content, but also about being shredded by assholes who won't even attempt to understand my words?

I have this weird belief that my blog will only be seen by those who like it or if not want to understand what I'm saying and would give me the opportunity to explain myself. I know it's stupid, but that's just how I wish my blog was. This whole situation just burst the bubble of that belief and now makes me so paranoid about everything. Even now that I want to continue posting again, I'm still hesitatant. Every time I see some untitled/unnamed blog follow me, I think that it's either one of princeblue's followers hate stalking me for more posts they can rip apart on their stupid server.

One thing pomchihuahua said in her defense that really irritated me was that Shizu reminded her of a family member and that's why she attacked my posts and why she made the counter post defending Shizu.

Yes offense, but that is insane. Like the you-seriously-need-professional-help kind of insane.

Don't believe me? Let's recontextualize her explanation:

Say Shizu is a mass-produced doll that being marketed as a single mother with the blurb on the back of the box. A girl, let's call her Suzy, has one of these dolls. It's her favorite doll, and she believes the story on the box is the one true story for this doll because Shizu looks like her mom and the story mirrors her mom's life.

When she goes out with her friends who all have the same Shizu doll and agree with her about the story for it, she sees another girl let's call her Kacy, playing with the Shizu doll, but it's different; the girl put on different clothes on the doll and Suzy could overhear the girl telling her friends that this Shizu doll is a businesswoman who's travelled to space or something.

Suzy gets enraged, she starts shouting to her friends — loud enough for Kacy to hear. She calls Kacy names, talks about how Kacy doesn't understand Shizu, that Shizu can only be in the clothes she came in, and that the only story that matters is what's written on the back of the box. Kacy is a bad person for dressing Shizu in different clothes and giving her a different story.

When asked why she acted this way, Suzy explains that Shizu reminds her of her mom, so anyone dressing the doll up differently or giving it a different story makes her defensive, angry and causes her to lash out.

Now tell me, does Suzy seem like a well-adjusted individual to you? Doesn't it seem like she needs to talk to a therapist? Like my guy, are you good?! Are you running a fever?! Do you need a Kit Kat?!

I don't give a fuck if a character reminds you of someone or if you're emotionally attached to them. That DOES NOT give you the right to attack or talk shit about people because of some 2d drawings. And if you think this is perfectly acceptable behavior, then you need to take a long, hard look in a mirror for some self-reflection and to remove the brick that's lodged in the back of your head because you obviously have some sort of brain damage.

Who are you to tell others what they should and shouldn't like? Who are you to tell others how they should and shouldn't interprete these characters? Who are you to think that your analysis/interpretion is the only correct one? Who are you to attack people just because they happen to have opinions that differ from yours? Who are you to control people's behavior to fit your own narrow, close minded and boring point of view? Just who THE FUCK do you think you are?

This is the kind of shit that makes fandoms so inhospitable and draining. When a couple of dry, basic, joyless, overly serious, overly sensitive, fun-sucking, Sarah j mass/Colleen Hoover/steel-wrapped-in-velvet-reading, no-life-or-rose-toy-having, Club Chalamet-looking, terminally online losers who get high on the smell of their own farts decide that they're the only ones who understand a character or a piece of fiction and treat any other interpretation or analysis like it's a personal attack. Then to make themselves feel better, make counter virtue signalling posts that do nothing but allow them to express their smug, self-affirming, self-righteous moral superiority.

I'm tired y'all, the world seems so shitty right now. Every day it' seems like the world it's like we're sliding back into the dark ages. I wanted this blog to be a safe space where I can just yap about stuff I like and stuff, and connect with people who share similar interests. Not a place to get policed, dragged and scrutinized over every fucking sentence or action when there's already enough of that in real life. I'm done with over-explaining and disclaimers, I refuse to tie myself into knots to accomodate the stupidity of imbeciles who're too lazy to read.

If you bite me, I bite back. As you can tell from my other posts i'm not above insulting and name-calling. Don't expect civility from me when you didn't offer one in the first place.

Like can a bitch breathe? Christ.

*Side note: I know I made this post which is similar to what I'm complaining about, but I just used the screenshot as to rant about the misunderstood complaints in the fandom. I mentioned the bullshit excuses she made when she was called out. But that was it. I didn't attack the OP personally, shit talk about her other posts or make assumptions of her beliefs. I didn't even mention her name at all in her post. So it doesn't count ha!

[kasarasun]

what if I made a thing or it already was that while Airplane wrote the world, Peerless Cucumber illustrated it (only the animals. And Binghe, fighting the animals.) And then then then

He'd totally do it on an alt account, right?? Peerless Cucumber can't be seen making fanart!! (And he's good at it. Like, wiki is using his art in the monsters and beasts pages (that Peerless Cucumber volleyed for. He also separated it from the plant section.) Because 1 its good 2 the artstyle is consistent 3 there isn't a lot of monster official art, other than that one with the black moon rhinoceros python and those other ones and 4 it's really that good)

Haha incomprehensible parenthesis nesting aside, Airplane is watching the forums, right? Not sure about other stuff in canon but he looks at the forums and the fanart and the fiction and most of it is probably corn and binghe and just a little bit of mobei-jun and also the wives tm but!! There's also that guy!!! The monsters guy!! (People would probably suspect 'Drawing the Beast's Ire'- or some other sex euphemism I'm not good at making those- of being Peerless Cucumber because 1 the writing style is the same 2 Peerless Cucumber is the number 1 contributor to the PIDW wiki and a lot of it is the monsters and beasts section and it makes sense, yes??) Anyway, Airplane shooting towards the sky suspects but not too seriously suspects Mr ire of being cucumber's fanart alt but uh uh that ends pre-transmigration section

So, Shen Yuan starts running about, right? Things seem really... familiar, maybe thats the word?- for some reason. This is because every animal and plant he's ever drawn, sketched- maybe even thought about but that's a stretch?- is his design. The firefly parallels hold their forelimbs like butterflies. That is how far down it goes. Maybe it doesn't come up until later, but beasts and monsters from fanfiction get involved, oc species, too... anyway,

Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky transmigrates 30 years (iirc) before Peerless Cucumber. He was an avid enough follower of Drawing the Beast's Ire to recognize that these are their designs! Here's where it gets really crazy. Xiao-Mobei comes along, and while he's still pretty young, Airplane can tell that this is Drawing Ire's design! Some aspect, maybe his ears or teeth, (this isn't a well built theoretical tangent) of Mobei isnt canon. Its Drawing Ire's. From that one Northern Kingdom collection. Whatever stretched his world building into coherence, completion, didn't just pull from fanwork, official art, whatever it could find, it went for Drawing the Beast's Ire's designs specifically. Damn that's crazy Airplane ahahaha moving on,

This is getting really long so I'll be a bit more concise, (want to know more? Talk to me. Please talk to me. I want to interact with the fandom. Ask me questions. Poke your fingers into my cage.) This all comes to head at the Immortal alliance conference. The monsters and beasts really start pouring in! And Shen Qingqiu/Yuan remembers his creations. However, he assumes that this is because like 1 other person maybe was Drawing ghost head spiders.

Hey, Peerless Cucumber really liked the monsters, right? The deadlier, crazier, more intricate, the design the better! So maybe, when he was drawing, he... added some things, really believable, logical additions, really just small creative decisions...

Anyway, the monsters that Drawing the Beast's Ire made were where it came to a head.

Lets have another Canon divergence. Maybe, during or after Binghe gets pushed in, out of the rifts comes a species that Drawing Ire created. It's beautiful, poisonous, beloved, and really quite deadly. Shen Yuan/Qingqiu, Peerless Cucumber, Drawing the Beast's Ire... realizes, quite like airplane before him, that he's illustrated, practically sculpted with his own hands, monsters from the Endless Abyss with claws and teeth and poisons as deadly as Peerless Cucumber thought that the really cool monsters could deserve. It feels like he's the one cutting, biting, poisoning his sweet little sheep. It feels like he's digging out the marrow from his little white lotus disciple's bones.

Ok it is shut up time 👍

[rose-morose]

alright everyone it's jiangshi time

that's right I'm back for more Chinese mythology in Jentry Chau vs the Underworld and we're talking about possibly my favourite creature from Chinese mythology, the 僵尸 (jiangshi)

(LONG spoilers under cut as per usual)

our resident JCVTU jiangshi is Ed, named for Edward Cullen the most commercially successful dead guy (except like Dracula probably)

(it's a Twilight reference btw) (I'm guessing only gen alpha missed that one)

when gugu's bestiary claimed that jiangshi are among the least threatening residents of Diyu, it wasn't kidding (not even joking or exaggerating its list of weaknesses is the longest section of its Wikipedia page)

jianshi aren't known to be particularly intelligent and are in fact often portrayed as mindless much like zombies, so I'm guessing the reason it was chosen to be the supernatural sidekick character was because of how little a threat a jiangshi poses to the main character

it is worth noting that traditional jiangshi of ancient depiction are known to be substantially more dangerous than their pop culture counterparts, but that's not Ed

anyways, jiangshi are often likened to the western vampire, they don't drink blood, but they do drain the qi of their victims (like Kit), they are undead creatures, they are often depicted as resting in a coffin or other dark place during the day, and they are sometimes known to be capable of flight (however I've never heard of them being able to "shape shift" in any capacity)

I did look into Ed's shape shifted form, and found that the most likely reason for this form is tied to the jianshi origin, jianshi myths are often attributed to the practice of "corpse driving" which was the transportation of the corpses of workers that died far from home back to their village to be buried with their families, the way that the corpses were transported made them appear to be hopping upright, but their is one specific technique that I believe inspired Ed's other form

I found this technique on Wikipedia, and it comes from an oral account of a two man team of corpse drivers, one man would carry the corpse on his back, both the corpse and the man would be draped in a long cloak, decorated with a Chinese mourning or funeral mask on top (though I've never seen a funeral mask as expressive or ornate as Ed's), the second man would travel ahead with a lantern to warn his companion of obstacles, but this doesn't seem relevant to Ed's design

I think this explains the extra tall incredibly flimsy inflatable arm tube man form being due to the design being based off of a corpse on top of another person with a cloak over them (like 3 kids in a trench coat) as well as the mask on top, I'm not sure what else could have inspired this design

moving on from that little side tangent, the common modern appearance of jiangshi (including Ed) is attributed to Hong Kong's jianshi film and literature phase where they just went crazy over them for awhile and put them everywhere

jiangshi appear to be adult men dressed in the clothing of an official of some kind from the Qing dynasty (though I'm not sure if Ed was created from the body of an adult), with pale greyish or sometimes greenish flesh

I mentioned earlier that the jiangshi are one of my favourite creatures in Chinese mythology, and it is purely because I love this design for their appearance, I just think it looks neat

there is another relevant little detail I found online about jiangshi, and that is that in modern media jiangshi are often combined with the idea of the 饿鬼 (egui), kind of pronounced like uh-gooay (that's not a very good pronunciation guide but it was the best I could think of), which literally translates to "hungry ghost"

in the show Ed is often very hungry and is always trying to get food to eat, and I'm guessing this is a reference to the egui part of modern jiangshi depictions, as I've never known them to consume anything other than qi

something I would also like to touch on is a very well known part of the jiangshi identity that is mostly missing from JCVTU, and that is the fact that jiangshi are often referred to as "Chinese hopping vampires/zombies" and that 僵尸 (jiangshi) literally translates to "stiff corpse"

there are two primary reasons a jiangshi would be stiff, and that is either rigor mortis or a fulu Taoist talisman placed on a jiangshi's head like the one shown above on Ed's forehead

due to their stiffness, jiangshi have been known to only be able to move by hopping around since they are unable to move their legs enough to walk or run

going back to the practice of corpse driving, one way that jiangshi are said to be created is by Taoist priests that reanimate the corpses, and use a bell to control the corpses and have them hop their way home, this was supposedly a way for poorer families, that could not afford standard corpse driving rates, to get their loved ones home for burial at a price they could afford

I am not at all disappointed by the exclusion of this design element which, while not being inherent to the traditional jiangshi design, is very often associated with its identity, I actually think it works better for Ed to be able to move around at will, but at least the first episode references this with the fulu paper talisman that traps Ed

another way jiangshi are believed to be created is by leaving a corpse unburied for too long, Ed says his body was thrown in a river, meaning it was never buried, but a jiangshi created by throwing a body in a river specifically does sound familiar to me, I just can't quite say where from, either way if Jentry had waited any longer, gugu's body was very much at risk of becoming another jiangshi which honestly would have been hilarious

the last thing I want to touch on are the jiangshi's many many weaknesses

one mentioned in the show is dropping rice in front of them, coins also work, but in either case the jiangshi would be forced to take a break for a moment to count the coins or rice on the ground

Ed mentions in the Alamo episode that jiangshi can't see you if you hold your breath, and this is true and very silly to me

there are plenty of strategies in Chinese mythology specifically meant for combating any form of undead like roosters and peach tree wood, and these all apply to the jiangshi as well since they are also undead

while there are plenty of other ways to fight a jiangshi, I'm gonna end here for now because this post is getting really long

I love taking any opportunity I can to talk about Chinese mythology because I love it so much, and Jentry Chau has given me an excuse to gush about pretty much all of it

I'd be surprised if anyone made it this far though, these posts get even longer every time, but I enjoy them regardless

anyways, moral of the story is go watch Jentry Chau vs the Underworld if you haven't already, and don't read the Twilight books or watch the films you have been warned

[ghostdiva]

Pomni's Character Arc Analysis

So, I made like, 2 posts in the past that talked about the amazing digital circus (specifically Jax). I’ve made edits and theories that didn’t get much attention, but the theory of Jax’s character Gimmick, and my character analysis for Jax got some good feedback. This has sparked the idea that people here like reading what I have to say on the amazing digital circus. There are also some topics I haven’t seen anyone talk about on the amazing digital circus, and I seriously want to bring more attention to it.

that said, full disclaimer, the rest of this is 6 pages long. so be ready for that.

So today’s wall of texts will be about Pomni’s character development.

I’ve only seen 1 post even allude to the growth and development Pomni’s character has gone through over the course of the 4 episodes of TADC, and I seriously want to shed more light on it. I’m also going to go on a bit of a tangent when I get to episode 2, because there’s a bit that NO ONE HAS TALKED ABOUT. AND I DON’T CARE IF I’M LOOKING TOO DEEP OR NOT. THERE ARE IMPLICATIONS THAT I THINK SHOULDN’T BE IGNORED! THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

-ahem-, sorry about that. Anyway let's start with the pilot.

Now, the pilot has a lot of world building, along with Pomni’s arrival to the digital circus, so the narrative really makes us relate to Pomni, because we, as the viewer, know just about as much as she does when it comes to the digital world. That’s why the first 4 minutes are just exposition, showing the characters, their names, where they are, and little bits of character lore + the digital world's inner workings are sprinkled here and there to add depth.

Now, many people speculated if Pomni’s behavior in the pilot was just her reacting to her new, wild circumstance, or if it truly was just how she is as a character. I believe it’s a mix of both. Pomni is a naturally anxious character, and it’s made clear by her expressions and how she holds herself. Hell, the only thing that stopped Pomni from having a panic attack within the first few minutes of her being in the digital world was her confusion at the censor bar. Which, by the way, is an actual grounding technique that is taught to those looking to go into psyche fields. 

Anyway, I think it’s worth noting that Pomni barely interacts with any of the circus members throughout the entire pilot. The 2 characters that she interacts with the most are Ragatha and Jax. Ragatha ends up telling Pomni more about why none of them have been trying to leave, stating it’s impossible and briefly going down an existential spiral in the process. Jax takes a moment to once again tease her on the delusions she held upon arriving to the digital world, and that’s it as far Pomni and Jax interactions go in the pilot. Jax dips once all 3 of them find Kaufmo’s abstraction, and Ragatha gets slammed around, leaving her glitched and jumbled. This leaves Pomni to run for her life, after preemptively apologizing to Ragatha for doing so. Afterall, Pomni doesn’t really know any of them yet. They’re all strangers to her. And she spends the rest of the pilot alone. Pomni only reconvenes with everyone when Caine teleports her back to the tent after she accidentally went into the void. The Pilot ends with Pomni sitting at a table, surrounded by everyone, who seem to be talking with one another, though we can’t hear their dialogue. An interesting thing I noticed is that none of the circus members tried to talk to Pomni at all, sure it would’ve interrupted the beautiful rendition of the theme song, but it also makes a point in solidifying that she doesn’t know any of the people around her. They’re all strangers who don’t have a single reason to care about her, as she also doesn’t have much reason to care about them. Of course there is some, like, surface level decency, but like, most strangers tend to have some surface level decency to those around them. So that’s not really worth much as far as bonds and friendships go.

We definitely see Pomni carrying that feeling of loneliness and isolation as we go into the second episode. Going into the second episode, the first thing we see is Pomni’s dream/nightmare sequence. It shows her standing alone in the main stage area, alone. She calls out, to see if anyone is nearby, and doesn’t get a response. She starts walking forward, and sees something traumatic. This thing pushes her to her breaking point, and she looks down to see her arm abstracted. She panics and starts calling out to anyone for help. No one helps. She’s sent down into a hole screaming and begging, and the silhouettes of Caine, Ragatha, and Jax seem to brush off her abstracting, just as they’d brushed her off when she asked about the exit door. Afterall, how could she trust them if they didn’t trust her too?

Pomni has an abrupt wake up call, and Ragatha guides her toward joining the adventure with the others. At the very beginning of the adventure, Pomni noticeably lags behind everyone else. She seems to follow them all from a distance, under the belief that they don’t really care about her, and as such she’s not really trying to play an active role. One could compare what she’s trying to do to shadowing someone on the first day of a new job. Which makes Pomni’s cagey behavior understandable when Ragatha tries to see what Pomni could do to help out. Jax’s following actions sort of solidify Pomni’s belief that none of them really care about her, as Jax throws her out of the truck. The rest of the circus crew seem to show a blatant disregard for Pomni’s safety and well-being, as she has no idea that she can’t really die by normal means anymore. Again, it’s something she takes as them just not caring about her. And then she gets separated from the group when the trucks collide, sending the main group over the edge of a cliff, and the NPC’s + Pomni spinning into a cliff. Unfortunately the collision there was a bit wonky, so both Pomni and Gummigoo end up clipping through the floor and falling through a void of Utah teapots, and into the test room below. Now, it is here that Pomni actually starts to make a connection with someone. I genuinely think it’s because upon becoming self aware, Gummigoo was just as lost and confused as she was when she first arrived. I haven’t seen anyone else point this out or talk about it. And I seriously considered making a post back when the second episode came out, but I forgot, oops. But, the main difference between Pomni’s situation and Gummigoo’s situation, is that Gummigoo has Chad and Max that care about him. Pomni doesn’t think anyone cares about her, and it’s heavily implied in the dialogue she shares with Gummigoo. I’m gonna give some quotes, and in parenthesis I’m gonna put what it implies.

“Feeling like you’re nothing is… kinda normal” (I know what it’s like to feel like you’re nothing, it sometimes even feels normal to feel that way)

“Y-you still care about your buddies up there, don’t you? I’m sure they still care about you.” (I don’t have anyone who cares about me, but I know you do) [it’s her tone that implies it to me]

“I guess I just don’t want you to feel like you’re nothing. I don’t want anybody to feel like that” (I know what it’s like to feel like you’re nothing, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone)

“I’m sure you wouldn’t belong any less than me” (if we’re both capable of experiencing the same struggles, then we are the same on that level, regardless of how we originated)

“I could use a friend” (it’d be nice to know someone cares about me, and I’d care about them in return)

Pomni’s dialogue here heavily implies that she has dealt with depression before, and she likely still experiences symptoms of depression from time to time. Perhaps before the circus, Pomni had seen a therapist about it, and that therapist helped her realize when she was feeling depressed, and helped her develop coping mechanisms or ways to get out of that depression. Maybe she took anti-depressants, or maybe she had a mix of the 2. I personally believe she just saw a therapist about it, opting to not take pills because she couldn’t comfortably afford it.

Getting back on topic though, I’ve seen absolutely no one talk about the implications that Pomni has experience with depression in the second episode. The most I’ve seen is stuff about grief, because Caine kills Gumigoo when Pomni tries to bring him to the circus with her. This makes Pomni go through grief, because Caine essentially killed her first friend in the circus in front of her. Those 2 bonded over being depressed and struggling to cope with their crazy circumstances, and Pomni basically lost Gumigoo for trying to bring her friend back with her.

It’s only when Pomni is invited to Kaufmo’s funeral that we start to see her start to let down her walls a bit. When she attends Kaufmo’s funeral, we, as the viewer, can practically see the moment Pomni realizes that they’re all there for each other. They do care about her, and their care for her goes farther than common decency. It’s that sense of comradery, in the mindset of “we’re all stuck in this bad situation, but we’re stuck together”.

Episode 3 is the episode that pushes Pomni to her very limits. See, episode 2 helped Pomni establish that the members of the circus were there for her. Episode 3 pushes her to actually need their support.

When the adventure begins, Pomni states almost immediately that she’s not a fan of horror, and has difficulty handling things like jumpscares. I believe this is due to Pomni’s nervous nature. She’s already prone to being high strung in normal settings, so when external stressors pull those strings even tighter, she’s bound to snap. Anyway, it’s not even 5 minutes into the adventure when Pomni does in fact, get scared by something. A cute little ghost named Ghostly. Pomni, after getting so scared her eyes popped out of their sockets, is confused and concerned when her eyes won’t retract. Kinger comments on the wild take like everyone has had one at some point, apparently he still remembers his. Pomni lets Kinger pick up her eyes as he tries to help retract her eyes so they’re back in her head. However when Gangle loses her mask to the scary door, Kinger sees another circus member needing help, and tries to help Gangle by diving after her comedy mask. Kinger forgot to let go of Pomni’s eye though, so he ends up dragging her with him down the scary door.

When Pomni and Kinger end up in the trophy room, seeing fucked up taxidermied versions of their heads mounted on the walls, Pomni is very tightly strung. She gets so caught up in the actual horror that she briefly loses her sense of surroundings, accidentally bumping into Kinger. This really showcases how sensitive to horror Pomni is. The recorded tapes and trophy heads are passively unsettling at most, and that alone is enough to spike Pomni’s nerves so much she becomes irritable; snapping, being sarcastic, and even sometimes experiencing hysterics. There are even moments in episode 3 where we, as the viewer, can visually see Pomni catching herself snapping at Kinger, and visibly seeming to feel bad about it. She doesn’t want to take her stress out on Kinger like that, but the stress from the horror is pushing her so hard that it’s practically involuntary. Kinger, the awesome character he is, doesn’t seem to take any offense when Pomni snaps at him or gets annoyed. Also the more lucid he gets the less Pomni snaps at him. I think it’s like a parallel line with Kinger’s rising lucidity, and Pomni noticing something is up with Kinger, but not questioning it until they’re both in hell. There is also the factor that Kinger was doing more of the handling of the stressful/scary situations the more lucid he got. 

Anyway, when Pomni and Kinger do actually arrive in hell, Pomni actually starts breaking down. All the stress from the horror has built up, and Pomni is basically mentally done with the adventure. Kinger manages to Keep her calm and focused for a few minutes, as he tries to figure out how to go through the hall of the damned without dealing with the evil souls. Pomni, however, had hit her mental limits a while ago, and she just wanted this adventure to be done. So Pomni just ran in, hoping if she was fast enough she’d be fine. Pomni’s hopes were woefully wrong, as she gets literally possessed for her troubles. When Kinger eventually beats the evil souls out of her, Pomni, now back in her own body again, visually has a panic attack. Her chest heaves as she rapidly looks around, as if trying to visually ground herself. After that she continues breaking down. Kinger tries to reassure her, but his reassurances fail based on their circumstance. So he offers to have them both relax for a bit while nothing is chasing them. It’s with that offer, that all the fear, panic, and stress that Pomni had been dealing with, just lets itself out as she breaks down crying. Kinger contemplates comforting Pomni, but doesn’t know if touching her would make it worse or not, and decides not to risk it. So he uses his words instead. Kinger owns up to the fact that it was his actions that forced Pomni down this path, and he apologizes for it. Pomni, who is once again confused out of her panic (like in the pilot), asks Kinger why he’s been acting so different lately. Kinger drops his dead wife lore, and then offers Pomni some advice. The connections they make with the other members of the circus help give their existence meaning. Hold on to the good memories you have, and cherish those around you. The worst thing you can do in this world is make something feel that they’re not wanted or loved.

Pomni immediately takes this advice to heart, scooching closer to Kinger and telling him she’s glad he’s with her. And then after that, she thanks Ragatha for always being concerned about her.

This really solidifies the aspect of Pomni having to sometimes rely on the other members of the circus for help, and prompts Pomni to start establishing connections with the other circus members.

In episode 4, Pomni gets considerably less screen time. I think it’s mostly in part to the main part of her character development being done. There are established messages that Pomni has received, and now we, as the viewer, get to see Pomni put the things she learned into practice. Now, episode 4 had a lot of people in the fandom going “omg abstragedy? Let’s go? Even the creator thinks they’d be good for each other? Omg? Does this mean abstragedy is canon?”(platonically yes, romantically no). However very few people were like “oh Pomni being friends with Gangle? Yes, give me more”, which I think is borderline criminal.

Anyway, onto the episode itself. Pomni takes more of a backseat this episode, as its main focus is around Gangle. However growth doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time. And having days where you slow down and sit at the point you’re at, are important. This allows the spotlight to shine on the other members of the circus, and have those characters reveal more and more about their character. It really makes Pomni feel real here, as we stop following her character as much, now that she’s undergone this development. For the most part, Pomni follows the premise of the adventure, which is working fast food. Pomni can’t cook for shit, so she’s confined to the cash register. She only leaves it to do chores or talk to Gummigoo, who reappears in this adventure. Pomni almost seems surprised by Gummigoo’s reappearance, her actions toward Gummigoo seem to be out of hope that he remembers her. That is until Gummigoo asks “do we know each other?” that Pomni seems to pause for a bit. Pomni seemed to question herself a bit, her voice almost sounding hollow or detached when she says “I… don’t know…”. Pomni gets lightly scolded by Gangle for leaving the register, and is basically told to get back to work, and to stop harassing the customers. Pomni, seeming to just want her first friend back in the moment, gently argues back “but it’s Gummigoo. Can’t the job wait a bit? It’s not like this is real”. Gangle gets in her face a bit as she says “next you’re going to say my authority isn’t real”. It’s this interaction that plants the seed of the idea that Gangle isn’t ok for Pomni. Sure, she hasn’t really gotten to interact with Gangle much, so she has no mental baseline of “normal behavior” for Gangle yet. However Pomni doesn’t believe the way Gangle’s acting is anyone's baseline of normal behavior, and looks concerned for her. Gangle’s mask tinks a bit, and lunch time begins. Pomni goes back to the register, respecting Gangle’s authority, and she doesn’t leave it again until Gummigoo is about to leave. It’s then that I think Pomni is able to get a bit of closure, as she takes the moment she has to say goodbye to Gummigoo.

Pomni then basically returns to the premise of the adventure, manning the register, and possibly even cleaning off camera. It’s when Gangle goes to the back to let down her mask and freely express herself for a minute, that we see Pomni attempt to make a connection with Gangle. She sort of acknowledges the pattern of her finding herself having deep conversations with someone else while alone with them, before asking if Gangle’s mask was making her happy or not. When Gangle doesn’t respond, Pomni changes her approach and asks if she has anyone to talk to. Pomni seems to bring up Ragatha on the basis that Ragatha has shown constant concern about her, and offers that Ragatha would likely be willing to help her too. Gangle shoots that down, stating that while she does like Ragatha, it’s sometimes hard to tell when she’s being genuine with her. Gangle values genuinity when interacting with others, and Ragatha will say anything to ease tensions, even if it isn’t the truth. Pomni seems like she’s about to offer herself as someone to listen to her, but Gangle cuts her off by putting her mask back on and saying “we can’t spend all night talking about our feelings” and heading back inside. This solidifies to Pomni that Gangle definitely isn’t ok, and leaves her wondering what she can even do to help her out. Cause she wants to help her, and even show that she’s someone Gangle could rely on should she need it.

So Pomni does the one thing she knows she can do, she offers to close for her, letting Gangle go early so she can rest. Pomni even insists when Gangle asks if she’s sure. Gangle has her moment after that, with Zooble checking in on her after the adventure. And the Pomni & Gangle friendship is nailed home when we see the post that Glitch made, showing Gangle’s drawing of herself, Pomni, and Zooble all chilling in a fast food environment. And god dammit I seriously wish there was more Pomni Zooble & Gangle friendship content out there. Their dynamic would be so sweet and cute and alsdjfkaskdjfkd.

But yeah, I love how Pomni went from not knowing or trusting anyone in the pilot, to feeling a sense of comradery at the end of episode 2, to not only relying on one of the members, but also being prompted to make connections with everyone in episode 3, and making efforts to make connections with others in episode 4. 

It’s fucking beautiful and I see very few people actually addressing the developing friendships between Pomni and the other circus members when it comes to the content I find on TADC. it seriously deserves more recognition and spotlight. I will die on this hill, I swear.

[dontlookbackjeane]

Dominic Fike x Reader:

Angsty. Cheating.

Never written a fic before so please lower expectations all the way to zero <3

You had your suspicions. You'd noticed the change in his behaviours since New York. He'd stopped responding to your texts at night. He'd found excuses to cancel your date nights. He was silent when you discussed the future.

Sometimes, you found yourself wanting to help him. When he hesitated to answer where he'd been, struggling to form his next lie, you offer one yourself. You rushed through these uncomfortable moments hoping to get to ones that felt like when you'd first met.

Tonight, you're alone in your room. It was supposed to be date night. You knew he'd soon text you an excuse, there was no point in getting ready. You'd become too familiar with the disappointment.

You think back to the last time things felt normal between you two. He had come over to your apartment. The conversation just flowed - you went back and forth teasing one another, and you easily slipped from jokes to sincere conversation. He'd go off on a tangent, you asked the right questions to keep him talking. You always wanted to go beyond the surface with him.

"Like I'm constantly surrounded by all these rich white people, and I'm trying to fit in on these sets but..."

"They don't know how hard it's been for you to even get there"

"Exactly! And they don't even give a fuck and that's fine. Honestly, everyone only really looks out for themselves anyways"

He had pulled you close, he told you he felt like he finally belonged when he was with you. Scared of his own sincerity, he had laughed, "I feel like this MY apartment, y'know?"

Your memory is abruptly interrupted by a buzzing sound and a bright screen flashing from your bedside table, a reminder of the reality you couldn’t escape. Two new notifications read:

"I'm really sorry to do this again but I forgot about this studio session. Reed just reminded me."

"I'll make it up to you next time. love you"

You thought about texting him back but it wasn't worth it. You were about to place your phone back down until a third notification re-lit the screen:

"Can't wait to see you. miss you babe."

Your stomach twisted. Your breath hitched. Who had that third text been meant for? Your mind began to race. It wasn't until this moment you had tangible evidence. You couldn't lie to yourself any longer.

Dominic always had a way with words. He could make you feel like you truly mattered but in this moment you've never felt smaller.

------------------------------------------------------------

part 2

[sugar-omi]

bro that teen pregnancy shit fucked me upppp 😭 I fr am in tears and rolling around my bed lol

my brain went on a tangent halfway thru the moms section I was like damn okay what if mc and cove just ran away huh then what

AND THEN I remembered they’ve already ran away before which is part of why mom is so worried about cove’s influence and hellooooo???? full circle moment 🫢 made myself gasp fr

ya u make me think so many thoughts on this one good lordddd

-🗑️

LOL AWW I DIDN'T THINK EVERYONE WOULD GET SO EMOTIONAL </3 AND LMAOOO I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU THOUGHT ABT RUNNING AWAY AGAIN, PLEASE IS THIS GONNA BE A TRADITION LOL anyway, well good morning!!!! here's more angst n food for thought🤭🤭

tags : Angst / Hurt/Comfort, headcanons, fem/afab reader, pregnancy

[part 1: "everyone finding out cove and MC got engaged because they're pregnant"]

his whole world stops. his ears feel like they've been stuffed with cotton and his world is spinning outta control.

now lets assume the rubber broke, just for, simplicity n lore sake.

it's not that he wasn't already worried about this happening, he had been worrying about this for weeks since you realized what happened.

but even then, he already had the fear of god in him about this happening. both because his mom and dad were on him about safe sex, but also because he has a lot of feelings about being an accident n child to teen parents... and he really didn't want to recreate that situation or put feelings like that onto another life, another human with complex emotions and many many thoughts. a human and life he's responsible for.

it shocks him so much, because he's very worried about repeating of his childhood on his child, and his kid feeling the same way he did/does.

he already knows that either way, the babe will probably have mixed feelings on being a accident, and essentially being a bump in road of his young parents lives

but it's also everything he had been worrying about, finally coming to fruition.

even though he's very, very stressed and scared for your futures, he's long since decided to make it work. he really wants to make it work. he wants to do the best by you, and the babe. and he wants to give his kid what he didn't have.

but anyway...

you're very worried about dropping the news on him

and i bought you aren't surprised at how pale cove gets when you drop the news...

and if he's not sitting down already, he is now. (he might just faint, like forreal this time too from the looks of it...)

he's very emotional, and super nervous, but what scares you is that he's very quiet...

when he does speak though, his first question is "what're.. what are you gonna do?"

because before he gets too emotional, he wants to know what you want first. you're carrying the baby and you're the one who'd go through all the changes, and you're the one who has the most intense feelings and being pregnant makes your emotions n hormones even crazier and more intensified.

all that plus how young you two are? and all the plans you two had? yeah, it's a lot, and regardless of how he feels, he wants to do whatever you want and he'd understand if you decide not to keep it.

but if you say right then and there, you wanna keep it, cove says he'll take care of you, and the babe, comforts you and hugs you. then he says wants to get married..

or if you say you dont know... cove says you two will work through these emotions, and that no matter what, he'll take care of you, and the baby if you want it.

when you do eventually say you want to keep it, even if you say this a couple minutes after, or a few days after, cove comforts you again and promises you'll work through this, and that it'll be okay.

then he brings up getting married...

of course it's more emotional, and maybe even a bit romantic!

so imagine this, you're sitting on your bed, and you and cove are hugging each other, you're wrapped up in his arms and it's a great comfort.

you're both really emotional, and calming down after crying and having a moment.

cove pulls away, takes your hands in his and even with glassy, red eyes he has a determined expression. goes on about how much he loves you, and how much he treasures you, and that he's going to do his best for you, and take care of everything.

his speech probably draws you back to tears, even brings him to tears but he keeps going because he needs to tell you all this!!

"y/n... i want to marry you, i want us to be a family.. i know i don't have a ring and this isn't very romantic but.. will you marry me?"

doesn't matter if you say yes right away or if you ask him if he's sure he wants to get married, he reassures you he's not just doing this because he thinks it is what you and/or your or his family would want.

he wants to marry you anyway, why wait?

now about telling your parents.

regardless of if you have cove there while you tell them, or you do it alone, lets say cove finds out what your mom said about him being a bad influence.

i also think your moms are a bit icy with cove too, so even if he has to force out all the details of your conversation, he already knows your moms aren't happy

but to know your mom thought, maybe even thinks so still especially with the news, that he was/is a bad influence on you.

it makes him sad. because what if she, or even both your parents, thinks that cove is dragging your life down with marriage and a baby?

well, like i said in the first post, this totally opens up a new can of insecurities and doubts, and he kinda spirals into his own mind.

he even starts thinking about what if you regret marrying him, and/or having his baby. what if you decide you hate being a parent, or being married, or being a family all together?

what if this holds you back so much that you start to resent him. god he's so afraid of you resenting him.

and your moms being short with him doesn't make him feel better because now he just had a thought, what if your family hates him so much that they start talking to you about how much of a mess this is, and then you realize how they're right, and decide to leave him, or even worse, leave him and the baby?

it's all very irrational thoughts, and when he wakes up (after maybe 3 hours sleep), he realizes it is a bit.. ridiculous. just a bit. he knows you wouldn't abandon him so easily, and you certainly wouldn't be swayed by your family

but he also wouldn't blame you if you had, or have (now or in the future), any resentments. he just really wants it to work.

i think this is also the time when he realizes exactly how much his parents divorce fucked him up.

he very determined for you two to make it work as a family. not co-parents.

he wants to see his kid every day, he wants to see you everyday, he wants to celebrate every milestone as a family and he definitely doesn't want to fight with you like his parents did. and even more so doesn't want to make your kid hear or see all of it.

he doesn't wanna fight, and then you or him walk out for hours or days. doesn't wanna sleep in separate rooms, doesn't wanna sleep by the crib to comfort himself with the presence of his darling baby, or because you two fought, like his dad used to.

doesn't wanna have to explain why mommy* and daddy are fighting, or why they don't sleep in the same room, or why they aren't talking to each other, or why they aren't living together anymore.

definitely doesn't want to explain what divorce is and what that means for them.

(*just saying mommy for simplicity sake)

but he also doesn't want to repeat what his dad did, and take on all the burden by himself.

it's hard to find a balance too, because he's torn between working his ass off to provide and prove that he can do it, that you aren't making a mistake... and accepting help, or letting himself relax sometimes.

but i think wanting to be there for you during the pregnancy, forces him to leave his days more open.

of course he still works more than usual, but he also makes sure to carve out time to see you, and be there to comfort you or bring you food, flowers, or go on a date.

remember i mentioned therapy in the last post?

please encourage him to start it. because this is a very big transition in your lives, and you both want the best for yourselves and the baby, so lets do the work before they get here, okay?

fighting with his dad

now he definitely appreciates his parents concern, and their support and words of wisdom, all that stuff...

but when his dad says something like "you don't want to end up like me and your mom." or "you shouldn't mess up your future." or even if he insistently tells cove, "think about your future! y/n's future!"

cove gets upset, just because does that mean his dad is projecting onto him, and telling him that they're fucking up just like he and mom did? or is he telling him that he's dragging your future and his into the mud?

either way, that's what makes him say something mean, just like i said in the last post:

cove would probably end up saying something (a bit) hurtful like "i would never end up like you and mom." , "i would never marry MC if i didn't know it'd work. unlike some people, i'm not gonna make my kid listen to us argue and then try to play happy family." , or "trust me, my kid won't end up with a childhood like mine." / "trust me, my marriage won't end up like yours."

he definitely hangs up the call or walks away from his dad immediately afterward, shaking with anger and anxiety. he's so stressed. and he's worked up.

after the argument, there's only 2 places cove could go at this moment. to you, or to work.

and if he's at work, he's distracted, but tries to focus on his job. he's still mad at his dad, and he already feels like crying. he really didn't need his dad to doubt him.

he gets it. he gets it, he really really does. but he feels so fragile, that he'd really appreciate a little faith.

now if he's with you, which he'd probably run to you after work anyway just so he doesn't have to face his dad yet. he's like a big baby

he's holding you, arms around your waist and his head on your stomach or lap, or you're laying on your side and he has his hand on your belly, as if he's waiting for the baby to reach for his hand through your tummy.

when he tells you what happened, and why he's so somber, please run your fingers through his hair and just listen to him for a bit... eventually he'll start rambling about all the things he's been holding onto, including his fears about you resenting him

it'll probably be a long talk, but once you reassure him that you wanna make it work too, and that you know cove will be a good dad (and vice versa), and that your moms don't hate him, they're just... upset. and worked up about the turn of events.

and you talk about his dad too, and the argument, you both realize it comes from a place of concern.

he doesn't wanna see you two try to be a family and fail. he doesn't want you to make mistakes he did while raising cove...

conclusion, it's a very fruitful conversation. and cove goes back home, teary eyed and a bit like a lost puppy, and that night he doesn't find his dad waiting for him (cliff tries to work as late as possible, both because he wanted to give cove some space, but also because he has a bad habit of avoiding situations... so when he does get home, he spends the night in his room)

of course they can't avoid each other forever, and the next day cove actually makes the effort to find his dad during his lunch break to apologize.

he said something really hurtful, that i don't think cove could live with if he didn't apologize.

his dad definitely laughs when cove mentions that you said that cove should try therapy, and even if you don't say that his dad should consider it too, cove does say to his dad that a family therapist sounds like a good idea.

[banes-favourite]

I for one would love to hear about Enver’s fucked up relationship with food

tw for dead dove!! not just food, i mention extreme abuse. pls don't read ahead if you're easily triggered.

Ok so I headcanon that he grew up nearly always hungry. Like, he was living in poverty for the first years of his life and his parents didn't particularly like him, so I think there came a time where they just kind of left him to care for himself and, as expected, scavenging for food at 6 years old isn't exactly the healthiest way for a kid to grow. I imagine he stole a lot or traded whatever he could make for gold or just loaves of bread. He went to bed hungry a lot of times, but he managed, and even though his belly wasn't always full, he survived.

HoH, though?? That's a whole other can of worms. I think he was really mistreated there, especially with food. I just bet he was teased with the banquet table a lot, banned from taking anything on it even though it was always full. I headcanon that they just gave the prisoners a mix of leftovers/rotten food (writing a fic about this actually) like once a day which obviously wasn't enough for him, so he was definitely malnourished methinks.

I bet at one point he tried to steal food from the table but they definitely noticed so he was punished by being locked up and starved for like, 2-3 tendays. It got bad, to the point he was just curled up on the floor by the end of it, too hungry and tired to move or do much of anything. He probably resorted to catching one of the rats in his cell and had to force himself to eat it (it didn't help, he vomited it back up) or like, he tried eating his clothes or the hay in his bedroll,, I'm talking really desperate.

(also i have a scene of like, the first time he was sexually assaulted was in the hoh, where in his first days there they'd just forgotten to feed him and another prisoner took advantage of that by using him in exchange for food. it was the first time he learned sex can be used as currency)

Anyway, all of this to say his relationship with food is so fucking complicated I couldn't possibly put it into words cause I'm not experienced enough on the effects of this. So if you have any thoughts at all I'd love to hear them!!

In my very unprofessional opinion, I do think the moment he gathered enough money to eat comfortably, like have his first real normal meal after HoH, he definitely cried of joy. But the mindset of 'you could starve at every moment' definitely stayed with him, to the point he ended up hoarding food and going hungry bc 'I'll need this when things get really bad'. I think he has his ups and lows, like if he's relatively okay in general he has his 3 square meals a day plus a lil fruit, but then he goes on these long days-long tangents of only working where he settles comfortably into the hunger cause he's lived his whole life with it. He's barely affected by it and it's definitely not healthy

[serpenndragon]

cw for horror-esque design art!

Just some concept art of Bad but it's intentionally spooky this time so :P

+ some fountain pen doodles so It isnt just a text thumbnail O-o

ignore that he doesnt have his scars or uhm. hair

We need more BadBoyHalo being a scary monster so I am here to deliver 🫡 If you havent seen my other art this is his "true" form and what he's worried about the other members seeing, even though a few already know (like quackity, wilbur, niki, tubbo, ect) and the other's probbaly wouldnt judge him or see him differently other than being a bit surprised.

This is turning into a bit of a species info dump but that's what tumblr is for I guess so !

Some things to know- This strange looking ten foot tall monsterish form is what regular Wither demons normally look like! Ofc they're not always pissed like how I drew here but the unsettlingness can still stick around when theyre not trying to be threatening just because of their large teeth, claws, and well being large LOL Bad, coming from the nether originally got the gist firsthand how the overworld viewed WIther Demons and most people were scared of him, so as a safety measure and for his own anxiety he learned transfiguration magic over the coarse of a few years to create himself a smaller, less thretening form. At first it was hard and painful to maintain his smaller form (which is about 5'6, gets rid of most of his teeth, smaller horns/tail/wings that can't fly and less defined leg joints) but after a while of using it frequently along with getting better with his magic he's able to maintain it prettymuch constantly! Though he does have to revert back for at least 30 minutes a day to avoid health issues and longterm transfiguration detriments. (I had a breif idea that during purgatory he would be forced into his true form to defend himself and/or because he kept his smaller one up in front of everyone for too long) Anyyyways Dapper and most of the other babies know about his real form! He lets them ide on his back sometimes and teaches them how to fly/roar and other silly things. hmm another fun fact, Bad has the demon equivelent of a dad bod, if you notice he shed the spikes on his upper back and neck (which parent demons do so their babies can ride on their backs safely), and gained the barbs on his lower neck (which he can rattle to better communicate and imitate the call of a baby demon, it doenst serve much of a purpose with the baby dragons seeing as they aren't wither demons but they've grown fond of the sound when Bad would make it on accident, and can mimic it <3) AKA with the addition of the dragon babies his body went into dad mode like it had when JR was born, he can't really control it but doesnt really mind and it does kinda help him with them anyways. In addition to the physical changes, he's also beome incredibly protective over them Despite them not being his bloodborn children (this is common for wither demons, since their species is scarce they evolved to get these paternal instincts and hormones when they take a paternal role which was meant for ophaned baby demons but works with other species too, Bad's just like oh okay I have a handful of baby dragons my body thinks is its own now woah okay

Went off on a tangent there LMAO i could talk about him all day anyways hope you like my ideas :D

[hereyeswithoutaface]

HELLO i’m here for my daily feeding because i’m GNAWING AT THE BARS OF MY ENCLOSURE can you plsplsplsplspls PLEEEASSSSEE keep yapping about the munson boys

YES I CANNNN! i apologise because this seriously will just be me going on about how much i love all the munsons and accidentally over-examining this group of people

oh em gee i love him my sweet boy

ANYWAY

you have given me a complete free reign on this, so this may be a hot take, but i think the munsons are the best family in the stranger things universe (joyce you are still my fave character of all time dw bookie)

i think the munsons are so unique compared to the other families because of their dynamic. (excluding elizabeth munson) the main family we are shown is wayne, his brother alan, and his son eddie, and we don't even see the father and son interact on screen/stage. ever. and we probably never will. it's fine we have their arguments in flight of icarus LMFAO

actually we don't see any of the munsons interact on screen now that i think about it. oh. but that makes them the ONLY st family to do that. which means we see all of them separately, and never together- which is lowkey so sad

i think it really shows the familial distance between them all, and how they are all so different but are all viewed the same way- all with that 'munson' reputation from a town that hates them (why am i being analytical i have no idea)

i think the reputation would've started before alan, because people already treat him the same way they did to eddie, but i can't imagine wayne being the reason for this bad view, as he is the sweetest of them all, so i think there could have possibly been a third older brother because i can't reallyyyy see the reputation starting from the parents of the brothers, UNLESS it was because of something the father did during adulthood, idk!

right enough of that- i also love how similar wayne is to eddie, real nature vs nurture shit, like he still is batshit insane just as alan is, but he is also quite...dunno the word... WELL he has a similar essence to wayne if that makes sense?

anyway i am not sure what i just went on about there...feel free to send in any asks about anything and i am very sorry for going off on a complete tangent!!!

in another universe the three of them could've gone to gigs together </3. oml imagine wayne having to call alan ab eddie. sad times omd. i hate how my shaylas spent all of their lives (par alan) in a town that DESPISED them

[mirror-imaged]

it's my niche microblogging platform and i get to talk about being frustrated with ai nirvana initiative again. heavy spoilers under the readmore for both aitsf games and zero escape. (i know i already did this i think i just have different points and feelings i'd like to articulate? in addition to the ones you can find here if you'd like to read them. this post is kind of... a sequel! crazy.)

i've had time to sit on aini, and the more i think about it the more upset i feel. i really REALLY liked the original aitsf, like, really obviously so. the character writing in that game all felt like it was in service of a greater narrative that - while it contains some issues - is one of the most memorable games i've experienced in the past decade. i honestly think it's my second favorite of uchikoshi's entire game library, right behind the original ds version of 999. the story is really interesting, it contains some super fascinating themes relating to the human mind and personhood, the complexities of family, and identity. uchikoshi's titles all feel like they're kind of put together out of the same building blocks mixed and matched, along with being utilized in different ways. the unique characters and settings really make them stand out as individually enjoyable stories, even if they share a lot of lifeblood. like, i notice parallels between titles of his i've already played that seem at first glance to have really similar stories if you read a plot summary, but the experience of sitting down to play them makes all the difference.

(side tangent here, but like, seriously. dastardly old man with deep personal connection and involvement in an event that happened X number of years ago - bonus points if it's a multiple of 3 - weaving together the lives of the main cast? uniquely preventable tragedy all in service of someone's greed? autistic weirdgirls with deep personal baggage? bodyswapping and mindfuckery outside of the range of the genre's conventions? anyway!)

i feel like so much of what came out of aini's story is really counterproductive to the point of the original game. in my original post, i compared a lot of it to virtue's last reward and the things i found particularly disappointing in that title, which i still stand by to a degree. i think some of the feelings i had about it overlap, for instance when i first played VLR i actually really disliked it. i was extremely upset with the way it treated the canon of a game i'd formed a deeply personal emotional attachment to, but my feelings have changed over time. it's a game i like conceptually and as a total product more than i like the actual experience of playing through it again. part of that emotional response is felt in aini as well, where i was so emotionally attached to specifically date, mizuki, and aiba that the fact that the story went in the direction of kicking date out of mizuki's life for another six years crushed me. not in a good or tragically heartbreaking way, kind of just in an irreverent way. i had really wanted to see mizuki and date happy in a way that worked with the story of the original game, with the conclusion it ended on.

partially, i think i needed to take a step back and let my emotions subside before i could start critically analyzing the bits and pieces there. that was what i'd needed before i started to enjoy VLR more, in fact. but still, there are so many parts of aini that feel unfulfilled to me and like they needed more time in the oven. i think my mutual cosmicpines put it best in the comments on my original post, actually:

"The plot twist isn't even not foreshadowed. It's just the game erodes away so much of your trust in the writing that you don't think the hints are hints. Why does Hitomi say she hasn't seen Date in years? Why does Mizuki not have more of a reaction to her parentage or to Date? Why does Boss absolutely lay it into Ryuki for not that big of a fuck up? All of that is supposed to be hints, but they all just feel like sloppy writing."

thank you to her for that, i hope it's okay for me to quote it in this. i'm really sorry to essentially be using this post as my game journalism career i'll never get to have because i'm going into psychology and am not seeking a career as a writer, i'm just autistic and love mystery media, but some of the stuff they pull in the story doesn't work for me at all. the writing feels disjointed, and i think part of what's upsetting is that yes, it is supposed to feel disjointed. but the fact that it is supposed to feel that way doesn't make the end result make sense, it makes it feel like it's pulling out excuses. with 999 and the original aitsf, there were these beautiful moments where i felt everything slotting into place as i made connections in my mind. there's this buildup that's absolutely palpable in the atmosphere and story's stakes, and when everything clicked it felt like a switch was flipped in my brain. aini doesn't have that 'eureka!' moment for me, it felt like a slow burn that kind of fizzled out at the end. and i played it over the course of about one week, too, so that's not on my dreadful schedules.

that doesn't even address specifics in the story. i've already been upset about the use of the prototype psync machine while also disregarding the thing that made it unique to the story in the first place (again, the word irreverence comes to mind...) but i'd also like to really stress something else that i've come to become more upset about in time: mizuki. in my original post, i'd felt that mizuki had been severely shafted by the writing and this huge loss of time in between the events at the cathedral and the present day. that doesn't account for the fact that she's splitting time with bibi, who is virtually an indistinguishable character from her. i want to reference another aitsf post about mizuki found here made by jackass-jones and their tags.

part of what is so impactful about mizuki and date's relationship in the wider context of the story's themes surrounding family is that, as they put it, the okiuras are what is considered "normal" by society at large. they are a 'biological,' 'heterosexual,' wealthy, (previously) married family. the purpose behind that in the first game is clearly that they are extremely dysfunctional, so it's showing that the norm isn't necessarily what's best for kids. now, this is called into question in multiple ways throughout the initial game (they get divorced, renju begins a new relationship that is NOT heterosexual, et cetera) so there's precedent for maybe using the fact that mizuki was adopted by them in a way that slots into that analysis. however, that's clearly not what the intent was in the original game, so it doesn't work at all and comes across as an obvious retcon. mizuki being taken in by date is very clearly framed as BOTH of them learning to understand that family can be more than just blood, because neither of them have ever known anything else. part of the reason this reads as the intention to me is also that most of the relationships in aitsf that ARE bound by blood are at least somewhat dysfunctional! saito and so, so and iris, manaka and iris, renju, shoko, and mizuki, moma and rohan, mayumi and ota, et cetera! the relationships in the story that come across as the most caring are born of circumstance, like iris and hitomi along with mizuki and date.

mizuki in aini being adopted is, moving past that, fine i guess, but bibi being directly her clone kind of throws a wrench into this entire central theme of the original story. it's upsetting to me. mizuki never gets to explore her own feelings about the fact that her foster father, somebody she clearly loves and cares about, just... disappeared for six years after she finally had stability. it feels like a big fuck-you to the audience who cared so deeply about their familial bond in the original story. there's even a way this kind of misery from fate can be done interestingly, and i think VLR does it better. when i was originally upset by the story's shattering of my view of 999, it was largely centered around akane and junpei's relationship. however, able to look back and read it from a thematic lens, it works much better for me. akane kurashiki is somebody who has spent her entire life suffering. she has never known anything but working toward an end goal greater than herself, because she has been cursed with a power that gives her knowledge greater than any one human should possess. it makes so much sense that by the end of VLR chronologically, she has become somebody who continues to dedicate her life to something greater than herself. it makes me wonder if she feels selfish for dedicating so much time and hurt from both herself and others to something like saving her own life. and with that, tenmyouji has become somebody who has spent forever chasing this image of her he's created in his head; unable to see her after years and years, he can only remember her based on the two brief periods of their lives they'd spent together. their relationship means a lot to me, it's one of the most interesting dynamics i've seen put forth in a story.

aini doesn't do that. aini sidelines mizuki in what was supposed to be her own story. hell, it even sidelines ryuki, who gets the most screentime out of every main cast member. i like ryuki! i think he's great! it's just that outside of his route, you kind of... barely see him. i don't particularly mind the way the story has ambitions of using him as an unreliable narrator based on his own wonky perception of time, in fact i think it could be used really well if they'd done it better. but they don't! so i continue to be frustrated about it! i wish mizuki and ryuki got to have a relationship on-screen, especially considering the way that plays into her not getting allowed to process her feelings about losing date. he is partially responsible for what happened, and i don't know, i wish she got to feel some kind of way about that! even if it was unjustified anger, that would at least make some amount of sense? mizuki and date have always been bad at communicating directly with each other, even if they do both really care about each other. even so, mizuki has been shown to have big feelings! she hides them from people because her mother literally physically abused her when she showed them, but that doesn't change that she does! mizuki getting aiba as a partner was really interesting to me, not just because they both had a preexisting relationship with date, but also because they had great chemistry as a working pair. but there, in my eyes based on this decision, is another place where the story just fumbles so spectacularly this extremely easy opportunity to have interesting character dynamics due to that no-spoiler rule. aiba has been updated with counseling software in the literal UI of the game. this makes sense for ryuki and tama, but with mizuki and aiba it is just a huge chance for them to have mizuki open up to aiba - someone who also knows date very well - about her emotions related to his disappearance! it would make sense with the mechanics they literally added onto this game separate from the first one! but they didn't!

i don't know how to wrap up this post. i've already written... uh... well, 1.5k words in the last post, and currently over 2k words in this one. this is longer than some of my college essays. this is longer than some of the fanfiction i have written, and honestly it is kind of fanfic about a game i wish aini could have been. thank you for reading if you have! i know this is extremely long, so massive props once again to both of the people who i've mentioned that have made me think lots about this game. i hope i make any amount of sense and am not just babbling into the void, because truly, a lot of these ideas are things i've said out loud to myself in the shower.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not telling someone I wasn't their bully 100% of the time

Hey so I was a shitty kid and i willbe TA for most of the story. However the ambiguous non-ending spins around my head nonstop

! In high-school I met a friend, Lacy (mtf) who had recently come out. We bonded over mutual Fandoms and shared classes and ended up pooling friends. I was already tight friends with one other girl we can call Sam. Sam went to another school but me and her had been best friends for many years and talked constantly online. After spending a lot of time with Lacy, and with L and S in a group, I started to get a little crush. Me and Lacy had this habit of passing comic notes to eachother between classes and they were just so fun. Anyways I ended up passing them one asking them out and she agreed. We talked about it casually after and I kept the note. In the background, me and Sam talk constantly about Lacy. Outside of school, online, Lacy often goes on long rants and tangents and caps it off being painfully self depreciating and insinuating self harm. I honestly don't hold that against her too much, given how young we were and how much stuff was going on. Very quickly I realize this tiny crush evaporates in the heat of her stomping rants. My gut sinks when Lacy mentions we are dating. It's been less than a day. Sam messages me immediately and I make the terrible snap decision to lie. I lie about it and I have the evidence so my version becomes correct. I tell Sam I didn't *really* ask Lacy out, blah blah. The lie doesn't end. Lacy has an explosive breakdown about it, well warranted, and I lie to adults and school administrators as well. We were friends, I guess she got too attached, we talk all the time but no. I never asked her to date. Papers signed, case closed. Lacy blocks me everywhere. The year ends. I resign to never speaking to her, as the unquestioned bully in this situation I wouldn't have the right to approach her about it. I think I send one anon ask completely unrelated to her or our lives, then block her back as is only fair.

Short hop forwards a month or two. Sam sends me a message about an update to Lacys blog. Lacy is otherkin and Sam is laughing at the kin list, sending anon messages mocking Lacy about the choices and identity. Very unfamiliar with otherkin but struggling with gender thoughts myself I don't respond much.

Fast forward a few years. Me and Sam don't talk much now. I got a boyfriend and couldn't help love how much he ignored me. Everything else fell through cracks. Working at my restaurant job one day, who else comes in but Lacy. We are very busy, I try to be quick, don't make eye contact. "Party of....for Lacy?" She nods. The lobby is full so they walk out the door and never come back. Later when my shift is over I unblock and check her blog. She's made a post saying I was her abuser and had sent her constant anon hate since bullying her in hs. Checking her ask tag I see Sam on anon sends 3-6 hate messages a year. I do nothing and leave everyone be and move on.

Another 3 years goes by. Sam reaches out. She's terminally ill, and we speak stiffly for a few IMs. I don't forgive myself for leaving her and decide it's best we don't keep talking. Another few years and Sam passes. Our old friends go through Sam's papers and pc files reminiscing and find pages and pages of shared chat logs between me L and S. It really was a harsh reminder of how cruel I had been, speaking behind Lacys back and lying. I don't doubt I caused her lasting trauma with my actions.

Part of me wanted to reach out to Lacy and apologize, explaining myself and the misunderstanding and clearing the lie not because I wanted to feel absolved I just that it's finally done now. But it feels so cruel to do it when 1. As the original bully it's still not my place to seek closure 2. I can't just toss my friends corpse under this bus for no reason.

It's soon a decade since we all left school so the time seems well past. I just can't stop thinking about all the mistakes. And there seems no reason to bring it all up after all Sam can't say anything about it anymore and nobody is hurt believing i said these things. So, AITA for not telling Lacy it wasn't me bullying her most of the time?

What are these acronyms?

[bloodhoundg4ng]

helloooo um ok i saw this boyz magazine with bhg in it and ive looked Far and Wide and i cannot find any info on it anywhere. ive went on wayback too. no pressure ofc if u cant find it im not looking for like the pictures inside or anything just any kinda info on it😭

its issue 473 i believe

ohhh my GOD ive been on the hunt for this for AGES!!!!

UNFORTUNATELY... the only things I've been able to find are one or two brief mentions about it, from other articles - just a little background trivia and not exactly what we're looking for, but I'll link them anyway,, as they may be interesting:3

From Lollipop Magazine (June 1, 2000) :

And from New Musical Express (7th May, 2000) :

(slight tangent but the Homosex article is another one I've yet to track down or stumble across -- the fact that these exist. SOMEWHERE. is WILD to me and it never fails to make me giggle)

The only other image about this is. basically a different of what you've sent in, but regardless:

other than that. i fear the search has been pretty fruitless, but best believe if i ever find this ill let you know soldier!! 🫡😈

(the only other thing i have is a comment about the cover, as made by Lupus that makes me chuckle)

[phregnancy]

Sometimes I read bottom Dan fic from a few years ago and I'm like "who are these people?" lol. It's like people totally disregarded Phil's personality in order for him to fit the stereotypical mold they'd cast him in. It was the same for Dan tbh. Lbr the only reason why people thought Dan was the bottom is bc he's younger and more outwardly feminine than Phil. The idea that bottom= submissive and top= dominate is flawed anyway, but also...Dan is not submissive. He's quite bossy and controlling. In the past, I'd even say he could be domineering. I don't see their dynamic as even being Dom/sub tbh. It's more of a playful power struggle. Except Dan fights by asserting dominance and Phil fights by being cute and whining until Dan gives in or being an absolute menace and annoying Dan into submission lmao

rewriting this for the third time because my app keeps refreshing </3 but i agree with alllll of this. putting it under a cut because i got way off course and went on a tangent lol

someone recently said that they can tell who of us have been actively engaged in diverse irl queer communities (clubs, bars, sports leagues, activism groups, etc) vs who of us haven’t and i’ve been thinking about that a lot in regards to this. obviously nothing wrong with not engaging with your irl queer communities, some people don’t have access or don’t feel comfortable or simply don’t want to and all of that is fine - but you do have to work harder to unlearn a lot of heteronormative concepts like these and you have to familiarize yourself with queer culture and history (outside of social media). people’s outward presentations of masculinity and femininity have nothing to do with their sexual preferences, and dan has shared that exact sentiment in so many words (wondering if people think he’s a bottom because he’s slightly more feminine, and then discouraging that narrative as a whole). i also think there was a lot of hyperbolizing with their masculine and feminine presentations, because for a long time dan really was not that feminine and phil really was not that masculine. they were both emo nerd boys who played video games and drank too much soda. even now with personas like sister daniel, that really is not the height of femininity in queer culture or drag culture.

i think there’s also something to be said about people’s lack of familiarity with queer culture showing in people’s thoughts on them being in an open relationship and also 2009 bottom dan.

i don’t particularly care about the open relationship discourse one way or another, but a lot of mlm relationships are open. there are studies and statistics on this, gay men are the most comfortable and open to open relationships. if they hooked up with people when dan was touring or even just someone every now and then, it wouldn’t be as shocking as some people make it out to be. i also think there’s a problem with people conflating open relationships with polyamory, and those two things are often very different. people in open relationships tend to be committed to each other, but will sometimes want to have noncommittal sex with other people. polyamory is having multiple committed relationships (romantic or sexual). clingy phil and possessive dan having noncommittal sex with other people wouldn’t change that they’re still clingy x possessive. and if you’re actively engaged in irl queer communities vs online echo chambers you’ll learn this.

i’m getting way off course here lol but then in regards to people thinking 2009 dan was bottoming as a default, that’s been a pet peeve of mine since forever because it shows a lack of familiarity with mlm relationships. it’s extremely unlikely that dan’s first gay sexual experiences were being on the receiving end of anal sex, that takes time to get used to (with yourself and with a partner) and often isn’t most men’s first gay sexual position. they also weren’t together long enough until phil got his first apartment to have dan be familiar enough with anal to take phil’s dick every time he visited. i know everyone thinks little twink dan taking phil’s big dick is so hot, but big dicks can be painful and are something you work yourselves towards. and y’know, who knows what actually went on in that bedroom so much cherry everywhere, but i do think we should dispel some of these beliefs that again are playing into heteronormativity (little feminine dan taking big masculine emo phil)

dan has always been bossy and controlling and he was quite confident with the people he was comfortable around (phil + other youtubers + his audience) and then grew to be a confident person in general. i see them as a real brat x brat relationship with them being bratty in different ways (bossy/teasing vs whiney/pushing buttons).

here’s my last thing (thanks for reading this novel if you made it this far) - there is a difference between knowing all of this, and still just preferring bottom sub dan x top dom phil because you think it’s hot, vs believing there’s no other dynamics that could exist because of heteronormative stereotypes that you are actively playing into. like what you like and have fun! but please work on educating yourself and unlearning heteronormativity. sorry for the spiel!

[charmac]

Okay so update on my party I mentioned yesterday, (it was for my graduation and honestly wasn't really a party in most people's context but was a great group get together and I'm counting it as one):

I obviously went with the Mac Outfit, (even if my pants were wrong and I'm by cannon not wearing a duster) the interpretations were mixed, I got Silent Bob/a Lost Boy/a stray Vampire in Buffy/an Outsiders Obsessed Ralph Macchio wannabe and was mocked for wearing a leather jacket in 90 degree weather. My one friend (the tall guy in the back) was either Dee or Charlie depending on your perspective, during the Beats Boggs Episode he even had a 71 on his forehead. The girl in the sunglasses was Season 1 Dee (she's never seen the show, so the whole thing was really funny for her). The girl in the front with short hair was an analytical take on Mac Fights Gay Marriage (the Down With Cis is also just a Tumblr bit), she planned the party so shout out to her. The person who took the picture didn't wear a costume and was punished by wearing a dunce cap, they did have vaguely Danny DeVito glasses though.

The party was fun. We did activities that followed the D.E.N.N.I.S System, each letter correlated with a game that had a tie to a method of the system, aggressive Uno, headbands (but to Sunny it up it had concepts such as Adam Sandler, Target DEI Rep, Used Tissue, A Gay Bear and Yankee Doodle Dandy at McDonalds dressed like Luigi Mangione), pictionary, truth or dare and then just like embarrassing tasks (which were too scary for everyone) and they all coordinated with a letter in the system and referenced the show one way or another, it functioned a little like CharDee MacDennis, but slightly more civilized. We also made a lot of S.I.N.N.E.D references that my friend on season 7 didn't get and some slight Bi Glenn Howerton/Dennis truthing, sue us.

Side note a really funny thing happened, where we were there are people who walk around and try to pray for you, (especially if you stand out in anyway). They came up to us and started going on a tangent about god or whatever and approached my friend who had the giant 71 on his forehead and asked what it meant and he replied it's the number of drinks I had on the plane here, and just kept going with the bit, he explained that he ate half a roasted chicken after, played a game of baseball and smoked a few joints too, she told him Jesus was the best high you could get, he said he was Jewish and she said something about a false god, so I really didn't see any issue with messing with her, I kept making various Sunny and other blasphemous media references telling her I listened to religious music and godly TV (Jesus is Way Cool by King Missile and the film Dogma) throughout, pretending to care, as she 'converted' my friend who was just being ridiculous but believable enough, then she prayed for us and she refused to say my name in the prayer when I told her it was Mac, our other friend just stood there laughing during this entire exchange that took roughly 20 minutes. We finished by saying that we found Jesus and now it was time to find the party. That's just Central Florida for you though.

Your friend recounting CharDee's experience in Boggs as his own to missionaries is killing me so bad... I am so glad she was able to save all of your souls what an upstanding citizen <3 Also that game idea with the D.E.N.N.I.S. System is so cool I might have to steal that from you lowkey.

Congrats on graduating!! You guys look awesome!