#Certifiable Super Sitter

[smartsmears]

I actually find it really interesting how it took just a month for a chunk of the internet (or at least a big chunk of the core Fairly Oddaprents fandom) to make a complete reversal on Chloe, Poof, Foop, and seasons 6 to 10 in general.

People are treating the era of the show as an actual thing with ups and downs rather than the black hole everyone treated it as for a decade, all in the span of a few weeks of people going back to the OG after ANW. So much stuff has entered discourse as just normal things to talk about even if everyone doesnt like them. I'm seeing S9 episodes be gassed up because people like seeing Cosmo and Wanda in high school, and folks wishing we got more Spellementary School stuff, and even people going back and appreciate Foop/Chloe interactions in Certifiable Super Sitter. It's really odd and cool.

I have to wonder what caused it, is it that the nature of how people engage with media changed and they're more open minded and mellowed out? Very possible, a lot of shows from the 2010's have been re-evaluated like Uncle Grandpa or Be Cool Scooby Doo. Or was it that a lot of people that wrote it off due to word of mouth just sat down and watched it. Also likely, I see people saying they're catching up on what they missed and liked it more than they'd think. It could also be that seeing things be revisited in ANW made a lot of the older stuff click into place. I do think ANW Peri was the main facilitator of all this happening.

[sobeksewerrat]

Me: EEEEKKKK I LOVE [BLORBO] SM I NEED TO FINISH WRITING THIS FIC FROM THEIR POV AND DRAW THEM FEELING MISERABLE AND-

Me: *sees a post complaining abt their fanon version*

Also me: *remembers I haven't touched the source material in a while*

My OCD, here to ruin my day as usual: what if you don't actually like [blorbo] and you're just a fan of their the caricature fanon version you didn't even like them before you started projecting your fave angst tropes on them what if you're wrong and none of this applies to their canon version and you're a horrible writer and artist and someone out there is vagueposting about how horribly you've mischaracterized them, you should go check out the source material again and reanalyze all of their appearances and you should check out all the extra stuff and reread their wiki before doing anything- actually why not do all that twice? Maybe thrice? Maybe four times, actually, just one final fifth time-

[jadeyarts]

Separate from that other anon I for one would personally love to hear your Peri and Harbinger/Foxglove headcanons

OMG YAYYYYY. I HAVE QUITE A FEW ♥ (for my own convenience i'm referring to them by their og series names for reasons)

the events of timmy's secret wish are what first planted the seeds of genuine, fully positive feelings and fondness for poof in foop's mind and heart... maybe even a puppy love crush. he seriously thought "well, dying in poof's arms wouldn't be so bad" and hoped that wouldn't awaken something in him. it did.

in a lot of episodes they often have differently colored eyes - foop has a darker shade of purple. i think poof's noticed, and i think he even likes the look of those darker eyes.

given how foop would cry out for poof to protect or save him, i think that poof grows to be incredibly protective of foop… poof will square up for his square!!!

hes the one telling cashiers that foop asked for no pickles, imho ♥

at some point poof stopped intervening in foop's nefarious schemes so i've kind of interpreted poof as just... not caring anymore. he can't stay mad at foop for long, and he finds himself not even bothered by whatever damages he ends up causing anyways. i think he might even find his antics amusing.

after the events of certifiable super sitter, foop actually feels comfortable with admitting that poof is his best friend-

it'd take a few more years to admit it to poof's face, though, it's too embarrassing for him! he'll gush to chloe constantly, though - she knows he's in love with poof before either of them does.

foop's first boyfriend was actually their mutual friend sammy sweetsparkle in high school, while poof had kind of an on-and-off puppy love situationship with goldie... until he kind of flipped out on her about constantly getting foop's name wrong in the middle of a jealousy induced break-down. foop was actually thrilled to hear that poof let his dark side show over wanting to be with him.

sammy and foop ironically broke up on good terms because sammy's best attempt at understanding the fairy/antifairy situation is that they must be soulmates and he didn't want to stand in the way of true love. he's their second biggest supporter.

technically poof confessed first but his confession was literally just screaming IF I DONT SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE WITH YOU I AM LITERALLY GOING TO BLOW SOMETHING UP!!!! at foop, which was a love confession that would only appeal to foop.

chloe TRIED to plan the "perfect" first date for them but it was horribly awkward and not to their tastes. so instead their first REAL date was poof taking foop to a kelly clarkson concert where they got matching "my life would suck without you" t-shirts.

poof actually buys - WITH HUMAN MONEY, IN A HUMAN DISGUISE - every kelly clarkson album as it releases for foop.

they nearly elope several times but got caught by wanda every time. wanda doesn't really like the fact that poof is with foop but doesn't wanna turn into mama cosma about it so she comes to terms with it. she doesnt want them to just run away and get married when she doesn't think they're ready yet either, though. timmy has to be the one to appeal to foop's desire for attention to convince them to have a big wedding after they graduate. poof doesnt care whether he has a big wedding or just elopes - as long as foop is his. if foop wants a big wedding, that's what they'll have.

whenever people ask how long they've been together they tend to go silent because their first instinct is to say "about 50 years" even though they're only about 22-24, and they've only officially been a couple for about 6 or 7 years. foop's second instinct is also to say "from the very first moment i drew breath" like the dramatic weirdo he is. which isn't even accurate and they both know it.

literally so specific to my own little homebrewed post-canon that you can't even pretend it works with anw:

in my elaborate fanon after AC and AW abandoned foop in season 10, poof begs wanda to find someone who would be willing to take foop in. luckily, wanda knew just the fairies for the job.

after getting adopted foop changes his name to foxglove thimbleplight - poof changed his last name to thimbleplight when they got married so he becomes periwinkle thimbleplight. :3

they still call each other poof and foop - usually in the form of embarrassingly cheesy affectionate nicknames. we're talking "smoopy-poo" level cheesy usage here.

(actually that one still works with anw but the art i drew is clearly my own designs and not the anw designs and it's exceedingly cheesy so)

poof convinced foop to go to the fairy academy with him - initially foop was hesitant because he… wants to… but… antifairies cant become godparents, right??? poof was willing to do literally anything it would take to keep foop by his side though. he initially considers manipulating some poor unsuspecting godparent to quit on their godkid just so he can hijack the ensuing fairy idol for foop to win and take their job… it's devious, and he knows foop would have loved that he did something so malicious just for him, but in the end he just gets into a fight with jorgen and the fairy council about it. he argues that technically foop is legally a fairy now since he was adopted by fairies, so he should be allowed to become a godparent. they end up agreeing.

their relationship was kind of a controversial issue in fairyworld for a few years because of poof's high profile status - while they're not the first fairy and anti-fairy couple, they're the first recorded instance of a fairy coupled with their own counterpart in eons. the media did get bored of them eventually though.

they already wanted to get married after high school but they agreed to postpone the wedding until after they graduated from the fairy academy so they had enough free time to make it as over the top as foop wanted it to be. poof actually proposed to foop AGAIN with a diamond ring after they graduated from the fairy academy, even though they were technically already engaged - with the intent of being as over-the-top dramatic and annoying to the rest of their classmates as possible.

^ which is similar to what cosmo and wanda did as teens though details differ. cosmo is literally the only one who seems to realize this and audibly goes "WOW, DEJA VU..." when this all happens.

while wanda had to get used to poof and foop together, cosmo accepted it pretty much immediately. mostly because sometimes they reminded him of himself and wanda. (<- actually canon)

[ktwritesstuff]

The Babysitter (a Last of Us fanfic) pt. 1

Title: The Babysitter Fandom: The Last of Us Rating: PG (Later chapters will be explicit) Characters & Pairings: Joel Miller x Reader Word Count: ~2,000 Summary: Sarah's babysitter has a thing for Joel. Lovingly beta-read by @bs-fangirl, The Last of Us's number one fangirlie. <3

Part 1 (below cut) | Part 2 (posted 2/2) | Part 3 (posted 2/6) | Part 4 (posted 2/10) | Part 5 (posted 2/14) | Part 6 (posted 4/2) | Part 7 (posted 7/29) | Part 8 (posted 5/13)

Austin 2002

“Hey, Sweetpea!”

You looked up at the sound of your childhood nickname, not sure right away who was calling for you.  In a small town familiarity was de rigueur.  You went to school with people referred to exclusively as Cooter, Biggie, and Ears, so it could have been worse. 

You were waiting for the bus just outside the school cafeteria when your brother, Paul, came over in his football uniform.  He almost never talked to you at school, so you figured he wanted something.  He was old for his grade and had made the varsity team as a sophomore; your parents were over-the-moon.  In your opinion, it had gone to his head.

“You have a dollar?  I want to get a gatorade before practice.”

“Here,” you dug through your purse and fished out your last dollar, rolling your eyes as he sprinted off toward the vending machines without so much as a thank you.

“We’re going to the mall when Andy gets out of practice, you wanna come?” Your best friend, Cheryl, asked.  

“I can’t,” you said.  “I’m babysitting.”  

“Nah,” your friend Mercedes teased.  “She’s got a hot date with Papi Joel.”

“Oh my God,” Cheryl laughed.  “That’s so messed up, stop it.”

“Yeah, that’s super weird,” you laughed along, hoping they wouldn’t notice the blush rising in your cheeks.

The truth was, you had long-harbored a crush on your handsome neighbor down the block: rugged good looks and soulful brown eyes, hardworking, good with his hands, a loving father, the whole package left you feeling weak in the knees.  But you would never say so, not even to your best friend.  As nice as it was to daydream about, you knew it could never happen and admitting it would just make you look desperate and pathetic.

“Seriously though,” Mercedes insisted.  “If you had to pick a dad, he’s primo DILF material.”

“JJ’s dad is kinda hot,” Tina said, stubbing out her joint on the sidewalk ramp.

“JJ’s dad isn’t hot,” Mercedes corrected.  “He just lets us party in his barn–besides, clearly Mr. Miller has ulterior motives. What 12 year old still needs a babysitter?”

It was true, Sarah was getting a little old for a sitter, but Joel still asked you to keep an eye on her.  You figured he wanted her to have another girl to talk to.  Someone older and wiser she could confide in about bullies, to go shopping with her, and teach her how to use a tampon.  On paper, you were a certified good-influence: a church-going honors student, marching band, a literal Girl Scout.  

Joel couldn’t afford to pay you much, but he was a good guy.  He kept your favorite snacks in the house and gave you rides when your daddy wouldn’t let you use the Jeep; last summer he had installed a phone jack in your room so you could have your own line.  More than that, Sarah was actually a pretty cool kid; you liked hanging out with her.

“Seriously, Mercedes,” you warned.  “I know you’re just fucking around, but you can’t talk like that.  Not at school.  That’s the kind of shit that got Mr. Spaden put on a watchlist.” 

“That and flashing sixth period APUSH,” Mercedes laughed.   

“He’s like a widower, right?”  Tina asked.  “Kind of emo.”

Your brow furrowed.  

“I don’t know,” you admitted.  “They don’t really talk about Sarah’s mom.”

“I mean, she has to be dead, right?” Cheryl said.  “What kind of mom would just abandon her kid like that?”

You shrugged.  “Maybe that’s why they don’t talk about her.”   

The Millers’ house was just two streets over from yours.  At 4pm you met Sarah at her bus stop and walked her home.  

“So how was school?” you asked.  

Sarah shrugged.  “You know, it’s school.”

You wrapped an arm around Sarah, giving her an encouraging squeeze as you walked.  

“Guess what I brought,” you said, reaching into your bag for your copy of Clueless on dvd.  “We can make popcorn and paint our nails, give you a little makeover.  What do you think?”

“Sounds good,” Sarah leaned into you. “As long as you use real butter this time.  None of that diet crap that gave me the shits.”  

“Well excuse me,” you rolled your eyes.  “Not all of us can be effortlessly thin.”  

You ordered pizza–an indulgence, but Joel insisted on treating when he had to work late–and put on the movie.  By the time the credits rolled your mani-pedis had time to set, so you brought out your makeup bag and let Sarah pick out a CD to put in the stereo–some twangy duet.  A man and a woman singing along to a surprisingly cheerful tune.

Bye bye love, bye bye happiness Hello loneliness, I think I’m gonna cry…

“What happened to Destiny’s Child?” you asked.

“Nothing,” Sarah stuck her tongue out.  “It’s one of my dad’s.”

You knew Sarah had more alternative sensibilities–even more than yours–and sometimes struggled to fit in.  She didn’t shop at Hollister and Abercrombie, she didn’t have straight hair and pencil-thin eyebrows.  She didn’t even have a traditional family.  Everyone wanted to belong somewhere, but you hoped with a little guidance, Sarah could avoid some of the pitfalls you had faced in high school and figure out she didn’t have to change herself for the sake of others.

“You don’t have to like something just because your dad does,” you said as Sarah took a seat on the carpet beside you.  “You have to decide for yourself–make your own way in the world.”  

“For your information,” Sarah said.  “Loretta Lynn is very punk.”

“Alright, punk,” you laughed.  “We can work with that.”

You gave Sarah a mirror to hold as you dusted her eyelids with sparkly blue shadow and showed her how to apply pencil to her waterline.  

“You’re pretty enough as it is,” you said, dipping a brush into the blush to apply on the apples of her cheeks.  “We’re just enhancing your natural beauty.”

Sarah shifted her seat, her brows furrowing with tension.

“How do you find somebody,” she asked.  “Someone you like and let them know you want to get to know them.”

“I’m sorry, honey, I think I’m the wrong person to ask,” you said with a laugh.  “I haven’t had much luck in that department.  Just be yourself, anyone who doesn’t appreciate that isn’t worth your time.”  

“There aren’t any boys you like at school?”  

“To be honest, high school boys are pretty gross,” you said.  “Why, is there someone you’re interested in?”

“Do you like my dad?”  Sarah blurted out.

You froze; the hairs on the back of your neck prickling.

“What?  Are you being funny?” you forced a laugh, setting down your makeup brushes.  Your ears burned red.  “Of course I like your dad.  He’s super nice.”

“No, I mean do you like him like him,” Sarah pressed.  “Do you think he’s cute…”

“He’s a good looking man,” you stammered, hoping it sounded like it was the first time this had occurred to you.  “You know, for a grown up.”

“He doesn’t have anybody,” Sarah frowned.  “Doesn’t go out..Meet people…Date.  If he’s a good guy and girls think he’s cute.  It’s gotta be me, don’t you think?  I’m the reason he’s alone.”

“Oh Sarah,” you sighed, taking her hands.  “It’s not you.  And even if it were, you’re worth it.  Your daddy loves you more than anything–I wish my parents had half as much interest in my life as your dad has in yours.  You are amazing; you have such a good heart.  So you can’t think like that, okay?  You are enough.  You are everything.”

Sarah nodded and you dabbed her eyes with a tissue before her mascara started running.  

“Come here, let me put on the finishing touch.” You swiped peach-flavored gloss across her lips.  “What do you think?”

“I look different,” she said, observing her reflection in the little compact mirror.  “I think I like it.”  

“You should keep this one,” you said, handing her the lip gloss.  “Color looks better on you.”

Sarah held the tube of gloss in both hands and finally cracked a smile.

“It’s getting late.  You go wash up before bed, alright,” you told her.  “You want to take a bubble bath?  I brought Warm Vanilla Sugar.” 

You waited downstairs while Sarah cleaned up; she changed into her pjs and was in bed by 10:30.  You nodded off on the couch for a bit until Joel came in a little after 11.

“Hey, Sweetpea, thanks for staying,” Joel said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling a $20 out of his wallet for you.  “I really appreciate it.”

He looked tired.  In your half-dozing state, you wondered what it would be like to be the one he came home to at night.  To greet him at the door with a beer and a kiss.  To curl up on the couch together for movie nights with Sarah nestled between you.  To have someone to take care of and someone to take care of you.

“Yeah, of course,” you yawned, rubbing your eyes.  “She’s been good as gold.  Just got to bed about a half hour ago.”

“Let me just say goodnight and I’ll give you a ride home,” Joel said, heading up the stairs.  

You gathered your things while Joel tucked in Sarah.  He grabbed his keys and ushered you outside.  He opened the passenger side door of his truck for you to climb in.  

Joel started up the car and pulled out of the driveway.  His hand was resting on the gearshift.  You stretched, letting your hand brush against his.  He pulled away like you had burned him.  

“Your hands are freezing,” he said, reaching for the heater, turning the dial all the way up.  “It’ll warm up in a minute, put your hands up to the vent.”  

You drew your hands back into your lap, sitting stock-still and ashamed as Joel turned the car at the end of the cul de sac.   

“So how’s school going?” Joel asked, breaking the silence.

“Pretty good,” you nodded.

“You thinking about college, or–”

“Right now, UT Austin,” you said.  

“That’s a great school,” Joel said.  “Close to home.”  You watched a muscle in his jaw flex.

“It’s a guaranteed scholarship once I finish my Gold Award,” you said.  “I’m building a rosary garden for the church.”  That was if the stupid council ever approved your damn project.  Even after you had planted and mulched and hauled paving stones and gravel, they kept insisting you needed to do more.  Apparently anything less than solving world hunger fell short of their expectations–and yet the Eagle Scouts got all the prestige? 

“I remember, you were working on that the last time you came over,” he said.  “How’s it going?”

“Actually, I was wondering if you might let me borrow some tools,” you said.  “I’m building a pergola, you know, to shade the Blessed Virgin.”

You chuckled and Joel chuckled.

“Yeah, absolutely,” he said.  “Can’t let the Blessed Virgin get heat stroke, right?”

“I really appreciate it,” you said, glancing sideways at him.  “My daddy’s kind of useless.”

“Your daddy’s a good man,” Joel said sternly as he turned the truck down your street.  “A good man.”

“I know.”  You stared out the window.  Your father had helped the Millers out after Tommy got arrested at Benji’s drive in for decking some guy for calling him a wetback.  But clearly Joel had never seen your daddy drunk.  “I just wouldn’t trust him around power tools.”

Joel stopped the car along the curb at the end of your driveway.  You held your breath as he reached over you to unlatch the door and push it open.  

“You go on now,” he instructed.  “I’ll watch you get in the door.” 

“Goodnight, Mr. Joel,” you said, sliding down from the seat of the truck.  You were keenly aware of his eyes on your back as you made your way down the driveway.  

You paused with your key in the front door, looking back down the drive before you stepped inside.  Joel was still waiting; you waved at him and he smiled back before shifting the car into gear as you closed the door.

[wreckrinho]

HUH!? WHAT EPISODES HAVE PUNK SAMMY SWEETSPARKLE IN THEM!?

SCHOOL OF CROCK, SEASON 9!!!

...But in season 10, in the ep "certifiable super sitter", Sammy acts pretty punk in some minutes!!!!

[riddledeep]

Sweetsparkle + Iivac family tree (via GenoPro); click to enlarge

- Bunsen and Sammy have a very similar line of dialogue in their respective shows ("That bee/fishy gave me a kiss that hurt" - "Spelling Beast" and "Certifiable Super Sitter"). I needed a changeling family for Sammy anyway, so Bunsen's was the logical choice. - Sammy is one of the Huldufólk- the only Fairy subculture to still practice changeling child traditions in modern times (as they do not produce milk, but their babies require it). - Sammy is a changeling switched with a member of the Iivac kin group, who claim they "can't remember" whose kid got switched in return. - Sammy's grown up around the Iivacs and lived in Beast World before their move to Muckledunk in 2004. His "sibling" relationships change depending on who the youngest family members are at the time, as he ages at a different rate. - Once he enters boarding school, Sammy begins the transition to live with his biological parents, though he still visits Muckledunk for some holidays. - Sammy can fly, but often doesn't due to living underground in a family that doesn't fly. He got used to walking. - Iivac is a play on Caviidae, the family guinea pigs fall under. The other Beast name categories follow similar rules for different animals, such as octopus, bat, bear, and kangaroo. - In City Lights AU, Sammy's aging is closer to that of his foster family, so he stays with them much longer (and is more familiar with Mikey and other humans in that AU than in Cloudlands).

Click HERE for my Fairly OddParents worldbuilding masterpost

[fictionkinfessions]

(Abuse)

Being a fictive who's dad has never interacted with him on screen is so funny. /neut

I know in my heart he would've been a great dad in canon. I firmly believe Anti-Cosmo would've been a good father. In Anti-Poof he expressed wanting a child, as well as wanting to do things as a family. And in Fairly Oddlympics he cries over not having a godkid.

But because of one line in Certifiable Super Sitter everyone writes him as an abusive dad. There's only ONE fic that I can find with him being a decent dad. Every other one involves abuse in some way.

I refuse to believe that's who he is.

But I don't know.

I want to know. But I don't remember.

All I know is whenever I see or interact with an Anti-Cosmo I get really nervous but also really happy. I do miss him still. Even if he could've been really bad to me.

-Irep from The Fairly Oddparents and The Fairly Oddparents: A New Wish

x

[raccoonfootproductions]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by BUTCH HARTMAN (@butchhartman)

Between this and Sparky attacking Trump hair because it looks like a squirrel, I have a hard time believing claims that Butch Hartman actually likes the Donald.

Also, can Poof dump the impressions and just go back to saying his own name? He was much cuter that way.

[gayadultingbean]

Hello, I'm loving your blog! So my bf is a certified babysitter (took a class) and I've been looking into it too. It's not a simple job, I know. I just don't really know how to start? He babysits for a neighbor, but I have no family friends, coworkers or neighbors with children. Is certification necessary? What else should I know? Idk if u have experience with babysitting, but any advice would be super helpful! Thank you!

Hey there! So I actually do have a bit of experience with babysitting for side money. No, it’s not easy to get into, but there are some things you can do to help yourself:

1. Sign up for websites like Care.com, SitterCity, and others. When you apply to a babysitting job on these sites, make sure you personalize your application as much as possible. Also, don’t apply to jobs you aren’t sure if you can handle.

2. Post flyers advertising your babysitting service where you can. I live in an apartment complex where we have bulletin boards by our mailboxes, and I was told by the manager that I could put a flyer there. If this isn’t a possibility for you, look into putting one in your local library, park, elementary school, and other places where kids and parents commonly are.

3. Don’t lie about certifications. I had a friend who got a babysitting job because she said she knew CPR, and the parents found out that she lied (kid was okay, she just slipped up when they were talking) and she ended up losing that job.

4. If you have any friends who have siblings and they get stuck watching them, see if their parents would let you help your friend watch the kid(s). This will help you show that you’re reliable around kids. It’s okay if you don’t get paid for jobs like these- word of mouth is always good.

5. You said you had someone who was already into babysitting- see if they know anyone who needs more than one sitter so you two can team up.

6. If you don’t have any official certifications, consider getting the basic ones- CPR, First Aid, Child Safety. Some things covered will seem like common sense, but it will make potential babysitting clients more comfortable with hiring you if you can tell them you’ve taken a course or two. Most courses are fairly inexpensive.

7. Don’t lose hope if you don’t get a job right away. Parents are often fairly busy and may not have time to check Care.com or check the mail and see your flyer for a little bit.

8. Once you do get a babysitting job, make sure you don’t lie to the parents and that you follow common etiquette. Also, if babysitting for a family makes you uncomfortable, tell someone right away.

Good luck! Feel free to ask about specifics mentioned :)

[fountainpenguin]

I've talked about Foop's learned helplessness several times before, but man... I think it really says something about his character that even when he's in a position where he could theoretically attack Vicky with no consequences (i.e. he will not be immediately zapped with the Anti-Fairy Council's magic for attacking someone he's supposed to protect), "Certifiable Super Sitter" comes along and he just... falls right back into his whimpering, submissive behavior.

Because that's the thing: Foop will never stand up to Vicky to protect himself. He screamed at the top of his lungs when the Anti-Fairy Council sent him out to find her. He took a detour to get gifts because he was afraid she'd hurt him (and she did, immediately).

He'll go along with all her demands even when he's having an absolute mental breakdown because he's holding a glass of lemonade and started thinking about fruit bats and now he's crying and throwing things and screaming. my son.

He'll lie low when she's getting cookies out of the oven, he'll let her put her feet on top of him, he will float there in silence watching her attempt to murder Poof which was heavily implied in "Timmy's Secret Wish" to be a thing that will kill Foop too, he will get pushed to his breaking point to the point he starts using green magic instead of his usual blue...

... the only time he will ever stand up to Vicky is when he's protecting Timmy or Chloe. He went down screaming in "Fairy Godcouple" while protecting Timmy... He attacked Vicky while pushing through a magical lightning attack. He did it. He won. But that was Season 9... and Season 10 comes along and he's right back to letting her push him around. He can't do it. He won't risk Vicky's wrath.

Until Vicky's going for Chloe with the chainsaw. And then he throws himself in the way. No hesitation. Because even though he's been so cruel to Chloe for several episodes, she forgives him. And he's falling apart.

He can't stand up to Vicky for himself or even for Poof (or Sammy, or his BFFs Crocker and Dark Laser), but touch the kids he cares about and he will rip you apart, no matter what pain he has to push through.

Immaculate character development for a baby who was born, chose violence within 5 seconds, and got thrown in solitary confinement when he was 1 day old. 10/10, no notes.

tl;dr - Chloe letting Foop set stuff on fire at the end of "Certifiable Super Sitter" while she hugs him and "looks the other way" is amazing. And great character development for her rule-obsessed nature, too.

Also Foop screaming "WANNA BET, BAT LADY!?" at the top of his lungs while whipping 20 million volts of electricity at Vicky and suffering lightning damage himself lives rent-free in my head <3

[surohsopsisofclouds]

okay so STORKOS is the 3rd sibling in this fucked up family tree and she was born at Sea B). Jardiniero tells us about how he's a total sex machine (doesn't literally) and yada yada boring old man stuff. Storkos spent like a good chunk of her baby years on the boat and "would run around the deck pretending to have super powers" REMEMBER THAT QUOTE. REMEMBER IT.

So like eventually she came back to Pinata Island with Mother and played with Stardos and Leafos n stuff BUT SHE WENT MISSING. so this little mf had run up all that damn way to the top of Egg Mountain, where Pinata Eggs were produced(?) for Piñatas that had romanced. So little backstory, when being collected from Egg Mountain the eggs would sometimes break n shit so the system they had for that wasnt very funky. BACK TO STORKOS, so she went missing and for some fucking reason Jardiniero is like "oh noo my daughter is missing. Perfect time to breed some pinatas" so he breeds them BUT. BUT. INSTEAD OF THE OLD WAY OF EGG COLLECTION, OUT FLIES STORKOS FROM EGG MOUNTAIN, LITERALLY FLYIng. so she swoops down amd delivers the egg nice and cozy and flies back up to the mountain :) so Storkos certified egg-sitter we love her so much bestie literally shouldn't be sble to fly but she does anyway <3

Oh my stars I love this Storkos ftw fuck yeah

[justawanderinglostsoul]

We’re going to my husband’s squadron’s belated Christmas party tonight. The squadron organized free babysitting for anyone going, so Lily will be dropped off at a community room on base with other kids. The babysitters are all teenage girls who are CPR and first aid certified. I’m just really anxious about this.

She’s going to be with about 6 other kids, ranging from a year old to about five or six years old. It’ll be around her bedtime, so I’m worried she’s going to be super grumpy the whole time. They’re going to be playing games, watching movies, and providing a meal and a snack for them. I’m packing her own snacks and her milk so I know they’re giving her food that I approve of and that’s safe for her.

I’m just nervous. I personally wouldn’t have chosen to leave her with a teenager, but one of them is the daughter of my husband’s coworker and we know her, so my husband convinced me to sign her up instead of paying a sitter to come to our house.

Argh.

[createdbyangels]

Big News!

I wrote a (very long winded) post back in April (mostly for myself) that eventually got into the details of how we got on the path to this big news we have to share.  You can find that here if you desire.

To summarize - the idea of adoption has been on the table for me and James since before we had Corbin.  James was adopted and once we starting dealing with infertility, it became an obvious part of our conversations. We both decided that it was something we’d still like to discuss in the future, even once we were able to get pregnant.  But every time it came up (a few times a year) there was a reason that it wasn’t the right time and it would get tabled.  Finally, last November(ish) we decided it was time to make the decision once and for all.  It was making me super anxious to think about adopting as a “maybe” or a “future” or an “abstract”.  Are we doing this or are we not??  I had a long list of reasons why we probably shouldn’t. 

James had a solution for each issue on my list.  So....we’re doing this?  Now what?  Adoption can be very expensive and there are about a billion different avenues/options/places to start.  But our conversation landed on exploring adoption from the foster care system.  I really wasn’t sure because there was no way my heart could handle foster-anything but I looked up some info for Wake County and found they held an informational meeting once a month. 

And then my back went out. And our dog had just died. And I ended up needing surgery. And even after surgery was worthless for a month. And let’s keep adding reasons why this just isn’t a good idea.  It’s too hard. But (as detailed in my April post), despite all of the things making it hard, it kept feeling like a thing we were supposed to pursue.  So, even though we missed the December and January info meetings, we were going to that Feb meeting - come hell or high water.  And the issues came even the day of the meeting - but we got there.  And spoke to someone with Children’s Home Society and decided that night to start the application process with them.  It was a slow start - and they asked SO.MANY.QUESTIONS.  But we sat and we discussed and I typed and we pulled out old documents and I typed some more and we joined live meetings via my laptop in our bedroom with the door closed while the kids ate dinner, and I typed some more.  Our preliminary application was accepted and we moved on to in person interviews (at their office off Six Forks which may as well be in NY as far as it is from our house), a RIDICULOUS amount of further questions and paperwork and an invitation to the June/July TIPS=MAPP classes since April was full.  So we spent the better part of March/April/May doing things like going down to the jail to be fingerprinted, requesting DMV records, marriage and divorce certificates (WITH SEALS...for them to keep), making doctor appointments ETC ETC ETC x infinity.

I also needed to arrange a very unique childcare situation because our classes were Tuesday and Thursday for 6 weeks from 6pm-9pm at the aforementioned Six Forks office.  James came straight from work (the church) and I came from home where I’d made dinner for everyone (including James...I packed his up and brought it with me), gotten the kids started at the table and prepped everything for bedtime by the time our preplanned sitter arrived at 5:15 so I could race out the door.  It was bonkers but we made it work from June 11-July 16 (and then had one more class on Saturday July 20).  We also took CPR/first aid training, prepped our house for a fire inspection (complete with mounted fire extinguishers upstairs and down, a fire ladder under Corbin’s bed and framed, hand drawn fire escape plans upstairs and down) and kept our life going at the same time.

I need to change gears here for a minute.  When we started these classes, our intent was to adopt a child out of foster care.  I didn’t think for a second my heart could handle fostering a child whom we might “lose” after developing a bond.  But, per the theme of this whole adventure, I’m not in control nor do I have any idea what is best for us or anyone else.  So, during these classes, James and I both realized that foster care is a beautiful and important thing.  As is reunification between a child and his/her biological family.  For a child to come up for adoption in the foster care system, a family has to be broken apart.  Irreparable damage must have been done in order for a child to not be able to return to his/her family.  So as heartbreaking as it would be to say goodbye to a child we’d developed a bond with, how much more heartbreaking would it be for them to not ever be able to return to their family?  So,  throughout our six weeks of classes, our conversations and our intentions shifted.  We are here to become a foster family.  Who will also be a family that has done the necessary work to adopt a child, should the need arise.  And we bought 2 new beds and changed my office into the “new kids room” as our kids like to call it. And bought a minivan (MUCH.TO.MY.CHAGRIN.) to accommodate new little people.

Back to June/July.  Lots of plates - all spinning at once.  But we made it through and on July 27th some incredible friends gathered at our house to help us celebrate the milestone of completing our classes.  They showered us with gift cards to use once we got a placement and prayed with us in the “new kids room”.  The prayer I wrote for that occasion will be at the end of this post. We thought that by September - MAYBE early October, we’d be certified.  But, once again, we hurried up to wait.  And wait. and wait.  Not sure why it took so long but our application was finally submitted for internal review the week of October 28th and sometime that week it was sent to the state for review.  And as of today, 11/18/19, the Driscolls are a licensed foster family in the state of NC for 1 or 2 children.  If 2, they will likely be same-sex siblings as they will share a room.

There is so much more to say but that is the details about this announcement. I’ve been saying for a long time that I feel a strong urge to DO SOMETHING.  To change things.  To be a better version of myself.  And this is us stepping up and doing something.  There are roughly 12,000 children in foster care in NC...IN NORTH CAROLINA.  ONE STATE. And the number of foster homes in NC is a fraction of that number.  So we are stepping out, trusting God’s plan, and opening our home to children who need a safe place to fall during the hardest days of their lives.  And, as with most things people do to help, we will likely gain just as much from these children as they do from us.

So while this part of our journey has reached its conclusion and we are FINALLY LICENSED - the journey itself is just beginning.

Here is the poem I wrote when we prayed over the “new kids room” Lord, bless this room, And those it will hold Send extra care For their tender souls. Catch every tear That falls from their eyes Hear every word They are brave enough to cry Remind them of who You made them to be Strong, smart, wonderful Fearlessly unique Everyone has a story Only You know it complete But for those days our stories intersect Whether many or few Lord help us to be a reflection of You. God bless this room And those it will hold May each day they stay here Make them a bit more bold. We pray they will feel The love You provide And know that they're special In so many eyes Lord bless this room And those it will hold Wrap them up in Your love Please don't ever let go.

[fountainpenguin]

Got an error message when I tried to post this and I'd have been SO distraught to lose two posts in a row, but fortunately I saved it this time... Here we go. Let's try a post instead of an ask this time.

Hi Jen, I know you've deactivated your account since sending this but ^^; I'll answer it anyway for other people. Sorry for the long delay, I was on Tumblr / FOP hiatus last year.

I see Chloe as being completely blinded to the dark hearts the Anti-Fairies are said to have in canon; she usually sees the world in gray tones unless very specific conditions for annoyance and betrayal fall into place. She has a lot of tolerance for Anti-Fairies, probably because Foop doesn't really get her angry and he just kind of makes things mildly inconvenient. Some examples of angry Chloe that come to mind are:

-> Perhaps most obviously, Kevin's betrayal. Chloe gets right in his face, jabbing a finger at his chest, spitting that he's a "Despicable little piece of Crocker," which is already funny enough, but I think it's extra hilarious since in "Fairy Con," she prevents herself from swearing by saying "Crocker" instead. Probably not intentional on the writers' part but I still think it's funny. I like how as far as we know in canon, Kevin's reaction is to wordlessly turn away from her and leave through the window, these two are so… chaotic.

-- Chloe seems more guarded around Kevin in the episodes after he betrays her even though he did everything necessary to fix the original conflict… mainly because Kevin stood between her and the Hall Monitor position she wanted. When Crocker says that Kevin will be named the new Hall Monitor, Chloe first acts shocked that Kevin even deserves the title, then screams "THIS IS SO UNFAIR!" while she's still standing in the classroom in front of everyone and I think we should acknowledge that.

-> Another angry moment: Chloe straight-up cursing Timmy to lose the ability to speak because he made her late for school in "Tardy Sauce"- something she did deliberately to prevent him from using magic, which is kind of uncool considering he could have easily ended up in danger and been unable to wish his way out of it ngl. Also I did check and she literally refers to him as "the most selfish, horrible former friend in the known and unknown universe, including black holes." Like, girl holds no punches when she's tipped from seeing you as morally gray to morally black. The literal next thing she does after this is run into class and throw Timmy under the bus, shouting "It was all Timmy's fault!"

-- On a side note, I do find it telling that Timmy isn't really one for denying people a wish. I'm pretty sure with Chloe he gets a little annoyed, but generally points out her wish flaws so she can learn from them- even when other kids like Mikey and Tootie ended up with temporary wish abilities, I'm pretty sure he didn't constrain them, but just tried to advise them and let them learn. Didn't even interfere with Norm and Chester in the early stages when things were chill. Just a side note on their characterizations that I think is interesting because I think it says a lot about Chloe's paranoia and how she wants things to be exactly the way she planned them while Timmy is more adaptable.

-> Chloe loses her temper in "Dimmsdale Daze" to the point that she shouts at kids that they're "monster children with evil in their hearts" even though all they did at the time was ask for popcorn.

-> Even early in the series, Chloe is highly passive-aggressive (and then directly aggressive) towards Timmy on his birthday, so driven to insanity that she refused to go to sleep so she could be "better" than him. This happens at the start of the episode rather than after a long day of chaos and stress like "Daze," she is not and has never been okay.

-> I do seem to remember her having a lot of animosity towards Timmy's parents as well, and she definitely has gripes with Catman and is uneasy around Dark Laser, but I think we've covered all the obvious Chloe conflicts I wanted to hit (besides her parents, but that's not for this post, I think).

SO as for the question about Anti-Fairy relationships: Chloe obviously cares a lot for Foop. Although there are multiple times Foop tries to hurt or sabotage her in some way, she forgives him. I think she simply doesn't take him seriously because he's, like, 7 to 9 years old. I basically interpret Chloe as a character who tries not to make assumptions, but when someone strikes a nerve then she'll make assumptions anyway and react explosively until she cools down again.

Foop keeps trying but does not strike her nerves the way that Kevin and Timmy do. There is a difference between "Betrayed by someone I genuinely consider a friend" and "New girl showed up in class and started bullying me but I don't know anything about her so I am confused but not betrayed."

I also like to imagine Chloe would fall for the "classy bad-boy villain" vibes that Anti-Cosmo projects because it's funny to me. In my one-shot "This Is a Box," Chloe meets Anti-Cosmo for the first time and describes him as "the extremely good-looking British Anti-Fairy." When she's introduced to him properly, she greets him as, "Oh, you're Foop's dad." This irritates Anti-Cosmo considerably because he does not like playing second fiddle to his son, and she calls him "Mr. Foop's Dad" again later because that's just how she sees him. She met Foop first, Anti-Cosmo is Foop's Dad.

I think Chloe and Anti-Wanda might get along, but Anti-Wanda is minorly mischievous and relatively harmless, so the vibe would probably be Chloe asking how Foop is doing while Foop is standing there holding his mom's hand and being embarrassed. I also feel that Chloe is the type who would leap in to join the Anti-Fairies on the field during the Fairy World Games if she felt like they were the underdogs. It's what she does.

I do feel like Chloe would continually brush off the Anti-Fairies' "evil" side as drama and exaggeration because she wants to see the good in everyone, and I do feel like it would be hard for her to see anything truly evil about Foop because he's a little kid.

I was going to add something in here about how Chloe would appreciate the Anti-Fairies as people but wouldn't be lured into doing evil alongside them, but then I remembered a crucial piece of Chloe canon:

-> She totally broke into Timmy's house and stole a collector's item from his dad. That is actually a thing she did and the official canon is that this theft launched her into a life of crime as she joined a gang, stole from other kids, and started fooling around with deadly lasers. Cosmo, Wanda, and Timmy scared her straight and pulled her back, but when I think about it then yeah, Chloe absolutely would get swayed by the Anti-Fairies to do crimes.

tl;dr - I'll take any opportunity to discuss Chloe's darker side, she has so much coldness in her heart and we should always remember that without the support of Timmy and her godparents, canonically she'd have spiraled into a life of crime. Also she would definitely hang out with the Anti-Fairies, especially Foop because he is her baby.

[theinsanecrayonbox]

Return of the L.O.S.E.R.S.

So it’s been brought to my attention that this episode apparently aired a while back State-side, and it was never advertised or even noted. Yeah...great job there airing schedule peoples...-.- But since it’s also apparently the show’s anniversary, and we have had 14 great years of content, have this banked review I’ve had done for a very long time

 Ah the prodigal episode! This was meant to be the B-story to The Fair Bears and for some reason was completely skipped in the airing schedule (and I said that term VERY loosely) 

 Ok why are we going back to Timmy wishing for mundane trivial things to be done for him? Last time that happened (Fairy Idol springs to mind), things went bad. I mean, yes he’s being more polite about it now, but still; why are the fairies ok with it when they know it’s bad and selfish?

 Wanda you’ve seen him in a dress before, many times. True, this time was probably the worst looking one (aside from the maid uniform) but Tim in a dress isn’t anything new.

 Ah, Apple mockery, fun. Those apps do sound helpful for Cosmo…but the only problem is, if you need the wand to run the app, how can use it to find the missing wand???

 Tim you do alright on your own, geeze. I know in Teeth for Two you didn’t do so great, but you have gotten better since then. You are not a helpless twerp like you’re acting right now >> asking Chloe to baby sit him is good, unnecessary but proves my go-to idea at least

 And Crocker’s in the bush…again…why does Tim never sweep those things for his enemies? They hide on there all the time? Did he disturb some squirrels once and that’s why he doesn’t check anymore?

 “With my team of borderline lunatics, I’ll be unstoppable!” wow…I think I found the origin of Suicide Squad in that single line. Nice Crocker. Joker!Crocker now makes more sense

 Cake and Bacon! But…why do you serve bottomless clam chowder? You only serve cake and bacon…

 Timmy really? >> happy to see Chloe having actual good babysitting skills, but really Tim? (Note: this was set to play well before Certifiable Super Sitter remember, so this was the first instance of her babysitting technically)

 Whoa, wait, Chloe is scared of spiders???? O.o um…this causes problems for Arachnid-verse…

 Thank you for agreeing with me Chloe that Timmy is being utterly ridiculous >> and getting fed up with the villains too, you go girl!

 The villains being dorky teenage boys in mom’s basement. Yup. Dark Laser intentionally flirting with Mrs Crocker is kinda creepy, but I give them it’s a good gag.

 In fairness Chloe, I don’t eat soup and would use a fork to pick out the meat myself

 “Daddy’s too pretty for jail” I…wow, there is so much wrong with that line in so many ways; I am floored by how much the writers are getting away with this sort of stuff this season

 And we end it with Dark Laser picking up Dolores for a date. I just…wow

 This episode was all just a villain fest really; the kids were sort of pointless, the fairies were pointless, Dad was pointless, but I didn’t feel a need to point him out. This whole episode feels…well, pointless actually. I don’t see why it’d be skipped continually for airing, other than it’s totally filler with no plot importance at all. I didn’t hate it, but I really didn’t enjoy it ether.

The Fair Bears was a good episode though, so this being paired with it probably will save it in the long run.