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andrewkhurst · 2 years ago

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MARTHA MORPHS INTO MR. MOTIVATOR.

Before Martha was born, my wife and I made a conscious decision to keep her free from phone and tablet screens for as long as we could, pledging to keep our offspring engaged with us rather than zoned out on Peppa Pig in her pram. I think pre-birth Martha had overheard our conversation, and staged an in utero sit in protest, eventually coming out sixteen days after her due date, only after I had spent fourteen of those days skim reading the FBI hostage negotiation handbook before I spoke directly to mummy's tummy using a bullhorn and assured pre-Martha that she would still be able to watch TV, a good while before she knew what a TV was. Unfortunately, Mr. Tumble and Iggle bloody Piggle were both still viewable on a TV screen, so we didn't get to skip them through toddlerhood. He was always so weird and otherworldly looking, with that funny shaped head and nonsensical speech. Iggle Piggle was a bit strange too.

Once Martha had cast off her selection of wooden rainbows and the like, we purchased a Kindle tablet for the long car journeys to Butlin's, and filled its meagre megabytes of memory with an assortment of animation in order to avoid the "are we THERRRRRRRRRRRE yet?" game. Apart from the Butlin's road trips, Martha just left the Kindle in a drawer and happily made fully functioning medical kits and prototype nuclear weapons from an assortment of cardboard, pipe cleaners, tissue paper and string. At age five, she suddenly began asking for her iPad. I explained the not so subtle differences between iPads and Kindles (i.e. one is expensive and pretty awesome, and the other is the Kindle), but this was lost on her. The generic name for a tablet in Martha's World is officially 'iPad'. It's her more technologically advanced equivalent of my 'Sellotape' or 'Hoover'. She uses the tablet to video call grandparents far too often, and to leave voice messages if the grandparents don't feel like partaking in their 57th video call of the day, as Martha fails to get ready for school at 7:43am. Along with video chats, she became briefly engrossed in Hello Kitty’s nail salon game, which was just like the real world, but without that nose tingling acetone stench. You could upgrade to get the acetone smell feature, but I didn’t think it was worth the extra £3.99 per month.

One day after school, Martha came home, threw her coat on the floor at the door, kicked her shoes into next week, and sat on the Persian rug. She crossed her legs in a perfect Lotus position, made circles by joining her thumbs to her forefingers on both hands and exhaled a ‘namaaaaaaasteeeeeeeehhhh’ so soothing that I had to check behind the sofa to make sure we hadn’t got lost on the way home and ended up in a Yoga studio. We hadn’t. All I found behind the sofa were a thousand germ-riddled street feathers. I asked where THIS had come from, and Martha told me that they did yoga at school. She grabbed the TV remote (as this was the only piece of technology that she had used since early on, she navigates round it like a pro), and she opened up YouTube. Within seconds, we were lost in a world of Backstreet Boys videos and 'classic AJ'. Several hours later, Martha introduced me to the world of Cosmic Kids Yoga channel. It features a woman named Jaime, who somehow piggybacks the popularity of Spiderman, Minions, Encanto, Star Wars and many, many more in order to magically trick hyperactive school kids into chilling the fuck out and working through an interactive story that she tells via the medium of a million yoga poses. She signs off with a ‘nnamaaaaaaateeeeeeehhhh’. Of course she does. Jaime and her Cosmic Kids have 1.6 MILLION subscribers. I’m guessing that 1.599 million of those are knackered schoolteachers who just want to have a break from wrestling sharpened spoons from tiny ruffians for up to 31 minutes. I was introduced to Cosmic Kids through Jaime’s loose ‘interpretation’ of the Disney megafranchise 'Frozen’. Jaime turned it into some kind of Frozen/Yoga hybrid, a Fro-Yo, if you will. Or a half hour state of Fro-Zen.

Last Sunday, mum was in the kitchen when she heard Martha talking. Assuming it was some kind of cross-generational video chat, she popped her head into the living room. Martha was watching a Cosmic Kids yoga workout video on her ‘iPad’. Only she WASN’T. Martha had propped her ‘iPad’ up and set it to record video in selfie mode. She then recorded a sixteen-minute video of herself as a breathy yoga instructor taking her audience through many moves, ranging from the classic entry-level ‘standing up’ to the trickier ‘balancing on one leg’. She offered encouragement to her audience throughout, and didn’t once feel the need to pretend to be a fast hedgehog or a boy who had been bitten by a radioactive bastard spider to hook in her viewers. MetaMartha was balancing on one leg in the middle of the Persian rug, paying careful attention to Martha Motivator on the screen. At one point in the class, Yoga Instructor Martha told Martha the actual real world child to balance on one leg, and then told her she was going to try to blow her over. On screen Martha blew at the camera, and real-World Martha wobbled and chuckled.

Yoga Instructor Martha is now a mere 1.599,998 subscribers behind Jaime and her Cosmic Kids. She has accrued two very proud subscribers, who are both absolutely petrified that the after school transformation of Martha into aggressive Victorian schoolteacher (you’ll hear about her soon) to dippy hippy yoga instructor is imminent. I have my excuse planned already: “Sorry love, I can’t have you shout at me to stand on one leg for sixteen minutes, I have to make the namasss –tea”.

#namaste #yoga #cosmickids #mrtumble #igglepiggle #fitness #hellokiyttynailsalon #marthasworld #andrewkhurst #daddiaries

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kazeofthemagun · 3 years ago

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Oh no! Kaze has been hit by piggle dust. He is suddenly getting smaller, fuzzier, and cuter (although his righteous raging fire remains just as passionate). Suddenly instead of windmilling his passion turns to popcorns! And his sexy low rumble has turned into a pitchy wheeking noise! That's right! The piggle dust has turned Kaze into a guinea pig (M!A lasts for the next five asks or as long Quen wants)

Umm pig

[One moment - he is the feared Hunter of Chaos. Another - and he's a wig with legs. He always did have fabulous hair.]

[Nothing but murder peers through beady eyes.]

"WHEEEEK!" ("Not this again.")

#anon was consulted with me prior hahaha #[[anon #[[ask response #[[effect: magic anon #[[magic anon: guinead #i want you to know your wording has me dead and rolling in my grave ahahahhaha 🤣🤣🤣👏👏👏

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kitchenlegrecords · 4 years ago

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Online the protopunk episode of the Voodoo Beach Party-on Keith F’em

Oneline the podcast of the protopunk episode of our show Voodoo Beach Party: punk unk before the time, punk despite the time! Two hours of high-energy, rebel attitude, fast songs all before 1976.The episode was eired on Keith F'em in Feb 2021. Here's full setlist:

The Velvet Underground-"Guess I'm Falling in Love", 1986 From "Another View" Verve

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band-"Frownland", 1969 From "Trout Mask Replica" Straight Records

Count Five-"Psychotic Reaction", 1965 From "Psychotic Reaction" Double Shot Records

The MC5-"Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama FA FA FA)", 1982 From "Kick Out The Jams" Elektra

Michael Yonkers Band-"Kill The Enemy", 2002 From "Microminiature Love" Sub Pop

The Bob Seger System-"2+2=?", 1969 From "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" Capitol

Monks-"Higgle-Dy Piggle-Dy", 1966 From "Black Monk Time" Polydor

Question Mark and the Mysterians-"96 Tears", 1966 From "96 Tears" Pa-Go-Go

The Amboy Dukes-"Journey to the Center of the Mind", 1968 From "Journey to the Center of the Mind" Mainstream

The stereo Shoestring-"On The Road South", 1968 From "On The Road South" English Records

The Music Machine-"Talk Talk", 1966 From "Talk Talk" Original Sound

The Rockin' Ramrods-"She Lied", 1964 From "She Lied" Bon Bon Records

The Sonics-"Strychnine", 1965 From "Here Are The Sonics!!!" Etiquette Records

The Stooges-"TV Eye", 1970 From "Fun House" Elektra

Death-"The Masks", 2011 From "Spiritual Mental Physical" Drag City

The Dogs-"John Rock n' Roll Sinclair", 1976 From "John Rock" Dynamic Recording

Rocket From the Tombs-"30 Seconds Over Tokyo", 2002 From "The Day the Earth Met the Rocket from the Tombs" Smog Veil Records

Electric Eels-"Flapping Jets", 1997 From "Those Were Different Times" Scat Records

Mirrors-"She Smiled Wild", 1977 From "Shirley / She Smiled Wild" Hearthan Records

Devo-"ONO", 1990 From "Hardcore Devo Vol.1 74-77" Rykodisc

Simply Saucer-"Nazi Apocalypse", 1989 From "Cyborgs Revisited" Mole Sound Recordings

David Bowie-"Suffragette City", 1972 From "The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars" RCA Victor

Brian Eno-"Third Uncle", 1974 From "Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)" Island Records

Neu!-"Super", 1973 From "Neu! 2" Brain Records

La Düsseldorf-"La Düsseldorf", 1976 From "La Düsseldorf" Nova Records

Hollywood Brats-"Sick On You", 1979 From "Then He Kissed Me" Cherry Red

New York Dolls-"Trash", 1973 From "New York Dolls" Mercury

The Neon Boys-"Love Comes in Spurts", 1980 From "Love Comes in Spurts" Shake Records

The Patti Smith Group-"Pumping (My Heart)", 1976 From "Radio Ethiopia" Arista

Suicide-"See You Around", 2017 From "First Rehearsal Tapes" Superior Viaduct

#voodoo beach party #keith f'em #suicide #patti smith #mc5 #new york dolls #the stooges #nuggets

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televinita · 4 years ago

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Top 100 Books*

(*As apparently determined by me years ago at age 19, the last age at which I could possibly have determined such a list, in whatever order I thought of them. It is very subjective and based entirely on my personal favorite 5-star books up to that point. It has no rules about how many times an author can appear, and “100″ is a loose guideline, given that sequels and sometimes even series books are counted under 1 number. Not all of the books on this list have held up, but a surprising number of them have.)

1. Black Beauty --Anna Sewell 2. The Incredible Journey --Sheila Burnford 3. San Domingo: Medicine Hat Stallion--Marguerite Henry) 4. X-Files novel: Ruins --Kevin Anderson (2020 note: YEAH THAT'S RIGHT. I will defend its inclusion still, tbh) 5. Harry Potter (whole series) -- J.K. Rowling 6. Firebringer -- John Clement-Davies 7. The Sight -- John Clement-Davies 8. The Mystery of Pony Hollow (& sequel The Mystery of Pony Hollow Panda) -- Lynn Hall 9. Wild Magic (quartet) -- Tamora Pierce 10. Final Grades -- Anita Heyman 11. Golden Sovereign -- Dorothy Lyons 12. Wild Horse Summer -- Hope Ryden 13. The Best Little Girl in the World -- Steven Levenkron 14. The Ark (& sequel, Rowan Farm) -- Margot Benery-Isbert 15. Shadow Horse -- Allison Hart 16. Wild Animals I Have Known -- Ernest Thompson Seton 17. Beautiful Joe -- (Margaret) Marshall Saunders 18. Jane Eyre -- Charlotte Bronte 19. Charlotte's Web -- EB White 20. Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) -- Antoine de Saint Exupery 21. Little Women -- Louisa May Alcott 22. The BFG (Big Friendly Giant) -- Roald Dahl 23. Touching Spirit Bear -- Ben Mikaelsen 24. A Horse Called Dragon (& sequels) -- Lynn Hall 25. Silver Chief: Dog of the North - Jack O'Brien 26. Snow Dog - Jim Kjelgaard 27. Buff: A Collie -- Albert Payson Terhune 28. Julie of the Wolves -- Jean Craighead-George 29. Vulpes the Red Fox -- Jean Craighead-George 30. The Perilous Gard -- Elizabeth Marie Pope 31. Summer Pony -- Jean Slaughter Doty 32. The Boxcar Children (series) - Gertrude Chandler Warner 33. The Bear -- James Oliver Curwood 34. Moccasin Trail -- Eloise Jarvis McGraw 35. Quest for Courage -- Stormy Rodolph 36. Lad: A Dog -- Albert Payson Terhune 37. Dog of the High Sierras -- Albert Payson Terhune 38. Sign of the Beaver -- Elizabeth George Speare 39. Little House on the Prairie (series) -- Laura Ingalls Wilder 40. Nop's Trials -- Donald McCaig 41. Bel Ria -- Sheila Burnford 42. The Scarlet Letter -- Nathaniel Hawthorne 43. Comanche of the Seventh - Margaret Leighton 44. Whinny of the Wild Horses --Amy C. Laundrie 45. Multiple Choice -- Janet Tashjian 46. Black Unicorn -- Tanith Lee 47. Broken Chords -- Barbara Snow Gilbert 48. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic -- Betty McDonald 49. Shamrock Queen (Always Reddy) -- Marguerite Henry 50. Mustang: Wild Spirit of the West -- Marguerite Henry 51. Black Gold -- Marguerite Henry 52. Brighty of the Grand Canyon -- Marguerite Henry 53. White Fang -- Jack London 54. Call of the Wild -- Jack London 55. Gentle Ben -- Walt Morey 56. Bambi -- Felix Salten 57. Shiloh -- Phyllis Reynolds Naylor 58. The Velveteen Rabbit - Margery Williams Biano 59. The Last Unicorn -- Peter S. Beale 60. The Witch of Blackbird Pond - Elizabeth George Speare 61. Dr. Dolittle - Hugh Lofting 62. Outlaw Red -- Jim Kjelgaard 63. Island of the Blue Dolphins -- Scott O'Dell 64. Anne of Green Gables -- Anne M. Montgomery 65. Heidi - Johanna Spyri 66. Wuthering Heights -- Emily Bronte 67. Five Little Peppers and How They Grew -- Margaret Sidney 68. Peter Pan -- J.M. Barrie 69. All Creatures Great and Small (quartet) - James Herriot 70. The Little White Horse -- Elizabeth Goudge 71. Tomorrow, When the War Began -- John Marsden 72. Candy - Kevin Brooks (2020 Me: but...literally why?) 73. After - Francine Prose 74. What Happened to Lani Garver - Carol Plum-Ucci 75. A Girl of the Limberlost - Gene Stratton Porter 76. A Rose for Melinda - Lurlene McDaniel (2020 Me: *SCREECHING*) 77. Briar Rose - Jane Yolen 78. Go Ask Alice - anonymous (2020 Me: *SCREECHING INTENSIFIES*) 79. The White Horse - Cynthia D. Grant 80. Goodbye, Mr. Chips - James Hilton 81. Lord of the Kill - Theodore Taylor 82. Leaving Fishers - Margaret Peterson Haddix 83. Pop Princess - Rachel Cohn 84. Make Lemonade - Virginia Euwer Wolff 85. Catwings - Ursula K. Le Guin 86. Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey - Margaret Peterson Haddix 87. The Hunger Scream - Ivy Ruckman 88. Blind Beauty - K.M. Peyton 89. The Pig-Out Blues - Jan Greenberg 90. It All Began With Jane Eyre - Sheila Greenwald 91. The Great Pony Hassle - Nancy Springer 92. Thunderwith - Libby Hawthorn 93. Smoky the Cow Horse - Will James 94. Wait Till Helen Comes - Mary Downing Hahn 95. When The Dolls Woke - Marjorie Filley Stover 96. The Cat Who Went to Heaven - Elizabeth Coatsworth 97. Golden Dog - Mary Elwyn Pratchett 98. The Seventh One - Elizabeth Yates 99. 101 Dalmatians - Dodie Smith 100. A Northern Light - Jennifer Donnelly

#at least half this list is animal books and that is a solid choice #i have made no content edits no matter how difficult #quality data #it also illuminated a bit more of my reading history to me with respect to middle and late elementary school #my stuff #also WOW i was not even aware that i read heidi so...tells you what a strong impression that one left oops #and i love that Teen Me apparently took to the Brontes but read 1 Austen (P&P) and decided it was beyond her grasp??#p.s. i was today years old when i realized how significant the author of catwings is #top 100 books

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docholligay · 5 years ago

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also for fluffvember i am dying for you to do 21 ("box of childhood stuff") and 29 ("brushing/combing the other's hair"), they both sound so wonderfully warm but also perfect for your brand of like. dark-fluff? worked-for-fluff?

Michiru Kaioh was not a terribly sentimental person. She had never had a blanket or stuffed toy or doll, the way most children had, that she could project her emotions upon. It wasn’t that she didn’t have such things, a Stieff bear, a porcelain doll, a cashmere blanket, all were part of the trousseau of her childhood. But she had never taken to any one thing specifically, never hugged something tight and given it a silly name.

When childhood had passed her, she had simply rid herself of the items at some charity shop, not a further thought on the matter. Oh, certainly, there was a small box of items her parents felt an adult might be obligated to keep, but Michiru felt no further pull to them than she might an old baby bonnet belonging to anyone else.

And so, she did not quite understand Haruka’s excitement over this small and worn box of things.

“I didn’t think there’d be anything left.” Haruka grinned brightly as she took the box into her lap. “Figured it’d be tossed on the street or something, but,” she shook it, “it sounds like there’s some of my old cars in here.”

Haruka’s childhood had been largely miserable, as Michiru recalled. After her grandmother died happy moments were only small points of light against the darkness, nearly overwhelmed. Before she had died, it had been better, true, but even that was the part sun and part shadow. Her mother had always been an addict, and they had always been poor, and her grandmother had not been able to make either of those things not true, however much she loved Haruka.

It made no sense that Haruka would wish to relive it in any way. Michiru would have forgotten about it entirely, were it her, and denied ever knowing the district. But when she had told Haruka she found the box with her name tucked in the corner of what had been her tiny room, it had been the only thing Haruka had kept from her mother’s estate.

Michiru wasn’t sure the filthy contents of a ruined apartment could be called an estate, but she was also uncertain of what else she might call it.

Time had made MIchiru reflective of the differences between herself and other people, and she realized it was not terribly uncommon to be attached to the trappings of one’s youth, however grim. That her parents had done an excellent job ridding her of sentimentality was no reflection on the rest of the world.

So she sat by Haruka’s side on the couch, smiling as Haruka put her fingertips to the frail tape that held the box together.

It dissolved beneath her hand, and Haruka softly pulled at the flap. Beneath the greying cardboard, there was a folded piece of white paper, the only thing on the outside Haruka’s name and a date years in the past.

Haruka ran her fingertips over the writing. “My grandma’s handwriting.”

Michiru feared for a moment that Haruka might tear up, but she only smiled softly as she took the piece of paper carefully out of the box, and unfolded it.

There was a watercolor in browns and dirty whites, a lump with big black eyes staring at MIchiru, long whiskers jutting out of what must be the face. It was artless and charming, and Michiru found herself smiling at it whether or not she knew what it had ever been intended to be.

Smiling at the little girl who must have painted it.

“Snickers!” Haruka laughed brightly, “Snickers was my kindergarten guinea pig.” Michiru rested her chin on Haruka’s shoulder, “I loved her so much, I used to volunteer to clean her cage and everything. She was always so nice to me. I mean,” She laughed again, “I made it a very personal thing, but I think she was just a nice piggle.”

Michiru took it from her hands and studied it. “You really get the sense of how you saw her.”

“Don’t tease me, Michi, I was five.” Haruka said, rifling through the box.

“I’m being perfectly serious,” she looked at the graceless white dot of crayon where Haruka had tried to give her an eyeshine, “I adore children’s art, they’ve learned nothing and so they create only on feeling. It always comes through.”

That was true of Michiru, and even Haruka knew it. She volunteered to teach children’s classes not only because it was helpful to the museum, but because she much preferred their company and boundless enthusiasm to the adults caught up in becoming Renoir in the span of three hours.

Haruka was already on to the next thing, even as Michiru still looked at the little pig who seemed to be eating a carrot or an orange or a very creatively colored apple.

“My cars!” Haruka came up with a handful of steel toys, “I didn’t think there’d be any of these left. God, I played with these so much.”

Michiru giggled. ‘My love, you still play with these,” she took one from her hand, examining its chipped body, “Though the ones you have now are a bit newer.”

“Babe, those are for the girls.”

“Yes, I am almost certain you purchased an entire garage and track set for our toddler and infant, who seem terribly interested.”

“It’s for them to grow into!” Haruka scowled, “They love it.”

“Of course, my love.” She set the car down on the coffee table.

“I hate when you say of course that way,” but her scowl gave way to a smile again, as she pulled a small shirt box from some department store from the bottom of the cardboard, “Grandma again. I don’t know–”

She stopped as she opened the box, just looking down at it.

It was a threadbare quilt, small and in bright blues and greens, trimmed in soft grey. The greens and blues made little windmills on the blanket, holes patched up with fabric with trucks or animals on it, even if tiny bits of stuffing were still leaking out from behind the thread.

“Blankie.” Haruka said softly.

Michiru tenderly ran her hand over it, something she did not have for herself but instantly understood for Haruka. “It’s lovely.”

“I thought–” Haruka sniffled, “I was sure it was gone. My grandma made this for me when I was a baby, and I…after grandma died–she must have put it away so I would–she knew she was sick, I guess.”

“The handwork is lovely,” Michiru said, looking at the small corner where Haruka’s name was embroidered, “She obviously loved you very much.”

Haruka nodded, and hugged the blanket to her a little, and then laughed at herself. “I can’t believe I’m crying about this,” she wiped away her tears on her sleeve, “I’m such a fucking mush.”

“Well, yes,” Michiru drew her arms around her, “But I think, in this case, it’s perfectly understandable.”

Michiru Kaioh was not a terribly sentimental person. But, for just a moment, she could allow herself to see what it might have been to be that way, and to reflect that the light Haruka had in her grandmother might be stronger than all the darkness her childhood could muster.

Love has a way of doing that.

Michiru tenderly took the blanket into her hands. “I think we might want to consider getting this repaired and backed more firmly, don’t you? We certainly want to have it around for many more years.”

Haruka said nothing, eyes glistening with tears of love, and happiness, and contentment. She wrapped her arms around Michiru, and her arms around the blanket, and held them both tight.

#Au of Mystery and Shadow #katrani #Ask Day Jan 2020

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littlerose13writes · 6 years ago

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Enough For Now

Happy birthday to my loves @per-mare-ad-astra and @cherrydore, this was inspired by a certain interest you both have, I hope you like it!☺️

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

“Healer Scorpius?” The little girl swung her legs back and forth on the chair she sat on and she looked up at him with wide eyes.

Scorpius finished scribbling the date on the bottom of the piece of parchment he was attaching to her blood sample and smiled at her. “Yes, Emily?”

“Do you have any pets, at home, do you?”

Emily’s mum laughed. “Emily is desperate for a pet of her own.”

Scorpius smiled. “No, I don’t have any pets. It’s just me, my husband and my daughter at home. A baby is enough for now.”

Emily’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. “So you never ever had a pet?”

“Emily, come on, Healer Scorpius is very busy,” her mum said briskly.

“It’s okay.” Scorpius placed her blood sample down. “I’ve had pets before, would you like to hear about them?”

Emily nodded enthusiastically. Scorpius darted his eyes at her mum for permission then pulled Emily onto his lap. His brief rundown of every animal he’d ever owned had him thinking for the rest of the day.

“Mummy, mummy!” Scorpius ran with abandon across the lawn and bounced around in front of his mother, who was tending to the hydrangeas. “Mummy, guess what?”

He paused for breath for half a second, leaving no time for any guesses to happen.

“I founded a bunny rabbit and it has all these baby bunnies and they’re all having a cuddle under the rose bush. Come and see!”

“Baby bunnies? You clever boy,” his mother beamed.

Scorpius tugged at her hand. Astoria laughed and carefully removed her gardening gloves, laying them beside her magical pruning shears (which Scorpius wasn’t allowed to touch). She offered her hand to Scorpius and let him pull her back across the lawn, to the rose bush.

“Look, they’re right there!” Scorpius flattened himself against the grass and peered under the bush. “Hello.”

He felt his mother crouch down behind him and together they watched the baby bunnies snuggle around a big, grey rabbit. There were four babies in all, small and fluffy. They reminded Scorpius of little clouds and he excitedly told his mother so.

“Little rain clouds, maybe.”

“Mummy, can I keep one? It can live in my bedroom and I can look after it and when Daddy grooms Hebe I can groom it!”

Scorpius pictured his father stroking their family owl’s feathers while he sat beside him with a baby bunny in his lap. He could give it a name and teach it all about dragons and read it his favourite bedtime stories.

Astoria frowned. “I don’t think you can take it away from its mummy. You wouldn’t want someone to take you away from your mummy, would you?” She wrapped her arms around him and he relaxed back into her.

Scorpius gasped. “Never!” He thought for a second, curled up against Astoria, then he squirmed in her arms to turn and face her. “I have an idea. All of them can live in my bedroom together!”

“Five rabbits?”

“Now I have no pets, so I could have five pets instead,” Scorpius reasoned. “I’m five so I can have five pets too!”

Astoria sat cross legged and pulled him onto her lap. “Does that mean Daddy gets to have thirty pets?”

“No,” Scorpius giggled. “That would be too much pets.”

“But five is just right?”

Scorpius considered her question very carefully. “Five is more than I thought of, but I don’t want to take them away from their mummy.”

“I think the bunnies will be the happiest living out here in the garden. They’re sort of your pets out here, just like the peacocks.”

“Gustave is my peacock pet!” Scorpius cried happily.

“Maybe they might like to meet us, let’s see.”

She gently removed him from her lap and Scorpius watched in awe as she crawled towards the rabbits. With a bit of light coaxing, the five animals scampered out from under the rose bush. Scorpius wondered if his mummy had used magic to get them to come out, but she didn’t have her wand out; Mummy seemed to have her own special magic that didn’t even need a wand.

Scorpius gasped in delight as one of the babies hopped up into his lap. “She likes me!”

“She’s lovely.” Astoria smiled and stroked the mummy rabbit. She was probably going to talk about Mummy things with the mummy rabbit, Scorpius thought.

“Your name is going to be,” Scorpius thought for a second and watched the bunny wiggle its nose, “Wiggles.” He scooped the bunny up and nuzzled his nose into its soft fur.

“What about these ones? Wiggles’ brothers and sisters?”

Scorpius knew all about brothers and sisters from some of his favourite books about children with brothers and sisters. They played together and went on adventures together and Scorpius thought it seemed like amazing fun to have brothers and sisters.

He pointed to one of the other babies. “Giggles, because it sounds like Wiggles.”

“Are they all going to have rhyming names?” Astoria placed the rabbit just christened Giggles into Scorpius’ lap too.

“Yes,” Scorpius said confidently. “Wiggles, Giggles, Higgles and Piggles.” He laughed at the way the names sounded.

“And the mummy?”

“Susan,” Scorpius said, without missing a beat.

Scorpius didn’t take a pet to Hogwarts because he just couldn’t decide between all the different options. His dad told him he could have any pet he wanted for school, which didn’t help his hyperactive, indecisive little mind at all. Instead, Scorpius decided to wait until his first term was over so as to make an informed decision.

The informed decision was that he was content enough with his stuffed hedgehog (named Chog) to be doing without a pet for now. School was rather overwhelming, and a pet to take care of seemed like a responsibility Scorpius didn’t want to shoulder just then. His best friend Albus had an owl, and he said Scorpius could borrow her whenever he wanted anyway, so he was happy enough. He decided he’d probably get a proper pet when he grew up and moved into his own house.

What Scorpius hadn’t planned for, was that when that happened, he’d be moving into a little flat in London with his now boyfriend, Albus. Albus didn’t like animals much, and Scorpius was so busy at Healer school that they weren’t really in a position to take care of any pets. Scorpius did get his own owl (a sweet little scops he named Daisy) who instantly buddied up with Albus’ grand old lady owl, but owls weren’t properly considered as pets.

That was until Scorpius’ first year as a qualified junior Healer, where he worked in the pediatrics department and was working towards his specialised qualification in Neonatal Magical Healing. With Albus expanding his business, it was arguably the busiest time for them both, which meant Albus was somewhat surprised when Scorpius arrived at home with two pygmy puffs in tow.

“Albus, can I discuss something with you?”

The two little balls of fluff quivered in the crook of Scorpius’ arm as Albus peered at them, put down the wooden spoon he was holding and raised his eyebrows at Scorpius. “Do we have pets now?”

“Temporarily… well, you see, Edward was very worried about who would take care of Bibble and Blip while he recovers from his surgery, and with his anxiety the way it already is…” He trailed off as Albus started grinning.

“You. Are. Ridiculous.” Albus tapped him lightly on the nose with each word and then laughed, pressing his lips to Scorpius’ for a second.

“Do you mind? I know you don’t like animals but they’re ever so easy to manage and they don’t shed and they really take care of themselves once you’ve fed them and cuddled them a bit and I can do that before work anyway and-“

He stopped as Albus scooped up the yellow puff and held it in both hands, bringing it up to his eye level. “You don’t look like you’ll be much trouble.”

The yellow pygmy puff (Blip) squeaked in delight and nuzzled against Albus’ finger. The blue one, Bibble, in Scorpius’ arms, copied his brother’s sound, as if celebrating being accepted into the Potter-Malfoy home.

“How long are they going to be staying with us?” Albus let Blip run up his arm and perch on his shoulder.

Scorpius smiled at the sight of his boyfriend and the little fluffy creature. “A few weeks, just until Edward is allowed to go home.”

It was indeed true that Bibble and Blip only stayed with Albus and Scorpius for a few weeks, in which time Edward made a full recovery. However, those few weeks were also long enough for Lily to get wind of the situation and arrange what she called Puff Playtime, seemingly an event where she brought her own three pygmy puffs over and taught them all to sing in harmony. Albus insisted he locked himself in his Potions workshop every visit, but Scorpius suspected he was almost as into it as Lily was, given how attached he seemed to be to Bibble and Blip.

The result of Lily’s endeavours was a very pregnant pygmy puff, the offspring of which she insisted belonged to Albus and Scorpius. Scorpius expected Albus to decline and offer the baby puff to his uncles for the shop, but he was extremely accepting of the whole thing.

“Well, I suppose we have no choice, Scor. I don’t mind looking after it in the day, they don’t take too much,” he said offhandedly with a poorly concealed grin.

And so, little Lavender Potter-Malfoy became part of the household. Named for her pretty pastel shade which Lily said confirmed that Bibble was the baby daddy, she was really quite sweet. She would roll around the flat and hop up onto the furniture, she liked to perch on Albus’ shoulder while he cooked dinner and Scorpius suspected the same thing happened while Albus potioned in his workshop. During the night, she would curl up at Scorpius’ feet but it wasn’t uncommon for him to wake up and find Lavender nestled in his hair instead.

Lavender came with Albus and Scorpius to Albus’ parents for Christmas that year where she spent the whole day gleefully annoying the Potters’ old cat, Mrs Penelope Whiskerson. Penny took refuge in the airing cupboard which was too high up for Lavender to reach and she sulked for the rest of the day on Albus’ shoulder. Scorpius swears he heard Albus whisper to Lavender how he’d never liked Penny anyway and she was far cuter but he denies this vehemently.

Lavender the pygmy puff was much older and very mellow by the time another animal arrived at the Potter-Malfoy house in the form of the Lupin twins’ hamster. Teddy had apologetically handed over Honey in her small cage, saying something about how Pippa couldn’t sleep without her at the moment.

“Honey is having a sleepover at Al and Scorpy’s too!” Pippa cried happily, rushing around the room.

Lavender sniffed at Honey’s cage suspiciously but seemed to decide the small, sleeping hamster didn’t pose much of a threat. That’s what Albus and Scorpius had both thought too.

“What’s that noise?”

Scorpius hadn’t realised he was awake until he heard his husband’s voice, but now he too was aware of a strange, squeaking, rattling sound.

“Is that Pip?” Scorpius asked, blinking blearily into the darkness and rubbing his eyes. It was the middle of the night and still pitch black.

“I’ll go and check on her.” Albus sighed and pulled himself out of bed, padding across the room in his bare feet to check on the little girl sleeping in the guest room.

The strange sound stopped and he returned moments later with a dark expression on his face. “It’s the hamster. Running about on its bloody wheel.”

“Pippa’s still asleep?”

Albus climbed back into bed and curled up against Scorpius’ chest. “Silencing charms are safe to use on animals, aren’t they?”

Scorpius nodded and wrapped his arms around Albus, ready to fall back asleep. Instead, the bedroom door pushed open and soft footsteps crossed the room.

“Uncle Al,” Pippa’s little voice whispered.

Albus rolled away from Scorpius and pushed himself up in the bed. “What is it, sweetie? Did you have a bad dream?”

“No, worse. I can’t hear Honey running in her wheel. Is she okay, Uncle Al?” She pressed a finger to her lip in concern.

“She’s fine, my love. You just can’t hear her.” Albus got out of bed and took Pippa’s hand. “Come on, let’s put you back to bed.”

Pippa stayed resolutely where she was and wrenched her hand from Albus’ grip. “But I can’t sleep if I can’t hear Honey!”

Albus sighed and Scorpius passed him his wand from the bedside table, knowing he would want it to undo the silencing charm. A few seconds later, the monotonous squeaking of the hamster wheel was audible again and Pippa sighed in relief.

“Now you can sleep, come on, I’ll tuck you in.”

She went happily with her godfather this time and Albus returned a short while later, muttering mutinously. He threw himself down on the bed and buried his face into Scorpius’ neck.

“I know I can’t be cross with Teddy right now with everything that’s going on…” he ended this thought by simply sighing heavily.

Scorpius ran his fingers through Albus’ hair, massaging the back of his scalp in the process in what he knew was a calming way. The sound of the hamster wheel continued to sound loudly throughout the room.

“You know, if we’re not going to sleep…” Scorpius growled into Albus’ ear.

Lavender was no longer with them by the time Scorpius and Albus’ daughter was born. Albus said it was probably for the best, because Lavender would have been jealous of all the attention the baby was getting, but Scorpius knew he missed his little fluffy potions companion. He had secret plans to get Albus another pygmy puff for his birthday, although he might wait until their daughter was a bit older and Albus had gone back to work full time.

Having a baby around didn’t leave much time for pets until they reluctantly agreed to cat-sit for Harry and Ginny when they went away to celebrate their anniversary. Mrs Penelope Whiskerson the Second, however, turned out to be much more agreeable than her predecessor. She had a habit of curling up to nap in the most inconvenient places (like on top of Scorpius’ important hospital paperwork, or inside their daughter’s laundry basket) and she clearly thought she was the most important being in the house, but she was also cuddly and sweet, for a cat, Albus said.

Scorpius came home from a St Mungo’s one day to the sounds of giggling shrieks from the playroom. He’d had rather a stressful day, but just the knowledge that his husband and daughter were on the other side of the door soothed him immediately.

“Where’s my girl?” he asked loudly, peeking around the doorway. “There she is! Hello!”

“Dada’s home.” Albus scooped the baby up and carried her over to Scorpius where she immediately reached for him. He kissed her on both cheeks and wrapped an arm around Albus�� waist, kissing his cheek too.

“What have you been up to?” Scorpius looked in some confusion at the cardboard boxes in the middle of the playroom.

“We’ve been playing cat,” Albus explained. “Look.”

He pointed to one of the boxes, gently lifted the lid and beckoned Scorpius to look inside. When he peered in, it was to see Mrs Penelope Whiskerson the Second curled up comfortably. His daughter pointed enthusiastically at the cat and grinned, showing her tiny, single tooth. She was at the ‘pointing at everything’ stage and it was incredibly cute.

“So the cat gets in one box and she gets in the other?”

Albus shrugged. “More or less. She loves it, look.”

He took the baby from Scorpius and lowered her into the larger box where she immediately waved her arms around in excitement and squealed with delight.

“Merlin, that’s cute. Did you get a picture?” Scorpius was already halfway to the door to get the camera.

“Got about thirty,” Albus chuckled.

Scorpius sat cross legged in front of the box and his daughter grinned at him. She lowered her head so it was touching the bottom of the box and waited for a second, then she popped back up and shrieked with happiness.

“She’s playing peekaboo!” Scorpius couldn’t contain the feeling in his heart as he reached for Albus’ hand and pulled him down to the floor too. “Do it again, baby girl.”

She did, giggling with delight at Albus’ feigned wonders about where she could have gone. Then she popped up and looked between her dads, smiling toothily and looking a bit expectant.

“There she is!” Scorpius said obediently but all he received was a frown.

“Oh, no, you have to say tadah!” Albus explained and she immediately giggled.

Scorpius sighed and pressed a hand to his heart. “How do we have the cutest daughter on the planet?”

They continued playing peekaboo, Scorpius taking Albus’ tadah and turning it into a full fanfare celebration complete with firework sound effects which he made himself. She adored it and began to cry when Scorpius tried to take her out of the box for her bath.

“I don’t get it, she loves baths.”

“I suppose our daughter just lives in a box now,” Albus shrugged. “I’m glad we spent so much money on that pushchair.”

Scorpius was torn between taking her out of the box and riding the storm out - she’d stop crying once she was in the bath, wouldn’t she? - and letting her keep playing until she got bored of it by herself. He tried to imagine what he’d do if this was happening at work with a patient, but it was always so difficult to be objective when it was his own daughter.

But then the decision was made for him. Mrs Penelope Whiskerson the Second uncurled herself in the box and stretched her body out long, giving a very majestic yawn. She leapt lightly from the box and stalked from the room, her tail sticking straight up in the air, as if highly offended that they’d interrupted her box nap. Immediately, their daughter pointed to where the cat had gone and stretched her arms to be picked up and taken out of the box.

“Oh dear, are we going to have to get a cat now?” Scorpius straightened up as Albus picked their daughter up.

“Mrs Penelope Whiskerson the Third?” Albus snorted. “I think a baby is enough for now.”

They both smiled fondly as they watched their daughter rest her head on Albus’ shoulder and curl her little fist in his hair.

“She’s tired,” Scorpius commented unnecessarily.

As they went to leave the room together and give their daughter her bath, there was a loud crashing sound followed by a yelping meow. Albus gritted his teeth and sighed. “That’d better not be my potions kit again.”

“This is why a baby is enough for now,” Scorpius chuckled, going with him to investigate the damage.

#scorbus #scorpius malfoy #Albus Severus Potter #ccsquad #cursed child #hp next gen #baby potter-malfoy #so hard not to include her name!#birthday fic #❤️❤️❤️

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lets-get-rickety-rekt · 6 years ago

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List five things that make you happy

I was tagged by @ohheyitsg Rules: list five things that make you happy and tag the last 10 people who reblogged from you (I think)

The people I'm close to, and if you're wondering if that includes you then it definitely does. Mostly my actual bae @ziggle-piggle-puddin-pops (love you babe)

Writing/doodling/creative stuff

My fave fandoms, mostly SPN, One Chicago, House and The Shadowhunter Chronicles.

Snakes

Rodents

And uhhhh to tag -

@sofuckingchuffed @vodka-and-maple @softgreysweaters @who-knows-my-man @crowreys-wormstache @qvisualpoet @woahitskenny @thepotatoartistdraws @emberemeto and @thinthlereblogblog (please don't feel like you gotta do this)

#tagged #tagging chain

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shark-wifey · 6 years ago

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Get to Know Me Better Meme II

Tagged by @ma-setheneran -- thanks XD

Rules: Answer 21 questions and then tag 21 people who you want to get to know better. I don’t know 21 people, so... I’ll tag @sarcasticnursejess and @turians.

Nickname: ‘Piggles’ to my dad. Mum has a large number of nicknames for me.

Zodiac: Libra

Height: About 5′2″? I’m a short shit.

Last movie I saw: Thunderbirds. It was on yesterday and I always enjoyed it when I was younger.

Last thing googled: UCAS deadlines. I’m applying to go back to uni and nursing.

Favourite musician: Hmm, I don’t think I have one favourite musician. Favourites currently are Bowling For Soup, The Score and Bon Jovi.

Song stuck in my head: ‘Exes and Ohs’ by Elle King.

Other blogs: None at all.

Do I get asks: Very rarely, usually from @ma-setheneran.

Following: 59

Amount of sleep: Usually between five hours and eight hours. I often wake up in the middle of the night, and if that happens, I struggle to get back to sleep.

Lucky number: I don’t really have a lucky number.

What I’m wearing: Black t-shirt and flowery pyjama bottoms. I’ve just done a 12-hour shift and have another one tomorrow, so Comfy Mode™ has been activated.

Dream job: Nurse.

Dream trip: Road trip across America. Cliché, yes, but I want to visit New York, New Orleans, the Kennedy Space Centre and San Francisco among other places.

Favourite food: I don’t have just one. Anything my mum cooks. And chocolate. Anything with chocolate.

Play any instruments: No, but I wish I could play guitar.

Languages: English, French (enough to hold a conversation).

Random fact: I can click almost every joint in my body. My knees and ankles click and crack when I go downstairs and they make a little rhythm.

Describe yourself as aesthetic things: Clothes everywhere, rain, long walks, sweaters, blankets, organised chaos.

#get to know me #tag meme

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feegless · 6 years ago

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Shit that’s been said by the BBC commentators during 2018 PyeongChang Olympics skiing & snowboarding events

“Bottle that up. Eau de Disappointment.”

“Do you want some grated cheek on your cheese on toast?”

“He’s walking around the top there like an apex predator.”

“I’m going to go all Anne Boleyn on this one. I’m putting my head on the chopping block”

“Nothing was left in the biscuit tin, there. They’re all gone and the crumbs have been swept out.”

“He’s not knocked it out the park, he’s strapped it on a space rocket and shot it into space!”

“I think the Avengers will be in touch, they need a new superhero.”

“If that was me and you, we’d look like an Iggle Piggle toy left alone in a class of three year olds...at lunch time.”

“This man loves his skiing as much as the colonel loves chicken.”

“It’s like speed dating on skis.”

“I bought some very expensive oranges the other day and I’m willing to bet my five pound orange on this.”

“He’s oscillating like loose space junk there.”

“I feel like I’ve got ants in my pants.”

“I’m not swearing. That’s the actual name.”

“Oh no, the cameraman clicked it off.”

“Soared like an eagle, that was beautiful!”

“It’s an excruciating wait! Because they mean nothing.”

“It was like the last LCD TV in Dixon’s on Black Friday! He thought he had it.”

“Other TV models are available.”

“The whole of the UK needs to watch this with their eyes.”

“That was...ridiculous.”

#sentence starters #sentence starter meme #rp sentence starters #This has been sitting in my drafts for months but it's too wonderful to delete so

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livingcorner · 3 years ago

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In the Night Garden… – Wikipedia

This article is about the British children’s TV series. For the novel, see The Orphan’s Tales.

In the Night Garden… is a British live-action preschool children’s television series, aimed at children aged from one to six years old.[1] It is produced by Ragdoll Productions. Andrew Davenport created, wrote, and composed the title theme and incidental music for all 100 episodes.[2][3] It was produced by Davenport and Anne Wood, the team that also co-created Teletubbies. The programme is narrated by Derek Jacobi. It is filmed mostly in live action, and features a mix of actors in costume, puppetry and computer animation. The characters include Iggle Piggle, Upsy Daisy, Makka Pakka, the Tombliboos, the Pontipines, the Wottingers, the Haahoos, the Ninky Nonk, the Pinky Ponk, and the Ball.

You're reading: In the Night Garden… – Wikipedia

The first episode was first broadcast on 19 March 2007. Two series were made, with 100 episodes in all. The BBC confirmed in 2010 that it would not be commissioning another series.[4] The show’s budget was £14.5 million.[5] The programme’s creators have said that it is designed to relax and entertain its intended audience ages one to seven years old.[5]

Overview[edit]

The programme features a large cast of colourful characters with unusual names who live in a magical forest scattered with large daisies and brightly coloured pompom flowers. The characters mostly speak short and repetitive phrases and each has their own special song and dance. The garden is a sunny and colourful environment and the music is jaunty and music box-like. Producer Anne Wood said:

“We wanted to explore the difference between being asleep and being awake from a child’s point of view: the difference between closing your eyes and pretending to be asleep and closing your eyes and sleeping.”[6]

Each episode starts with a shot of a night sky with the stars appearing, followed by a shot of a child in bed, while the narrator introduces the programme’s episode. The scene then cuts to Igglepiggle, in his boat, getting ready to go travelling to the Night Garden whilst the theme music plays. The camera pans up to the night sky, followed by brightly coloured flowers. Then we see Igglepiggle going to the gazebo to meet his friends. After that, the title appears on or under a hedge and either the Ninky Nonk or the Pinky Ponk appears.

Read more: How to lay a patio | Outdoor & Garden | B&Q

The episodes end with the Tittifers singing their song (they also sing in between segments), then one character gets ready to go to sleep while they hear a bedtime story, which is generated by the magical gazebo that sits at the centre of the Night Garden. This story is a summary of the plot of the episode. Sometimes the characters all dance together under the Gazebo. Then we see all of the characters except for Igglepiggle going to sleep, while Igglepiggle delivers his goodbye sequence. Then the Night Garden turns and retreats into the night sky and Igglepiggle is seen asleep on his boat as the end credits roll.

In the Night Garden… is intended to help children relax and achieve calming relationships with parents. Producer Anne Wood also states: “We became very aware of the anxiety surrounding the care of young children which manifested itself in all kind of directions; but the one big subject that came up again and again was bedtime. It’s the classical time for tension between children who want to stay up and parents who want them to go to bed. So this is a programme about calming things down whereas most children’s TV is about getting everything up.”[6]

In 2007[7] and 2008,[8] the show won the Children’s BAFTA for “Pre-school live action,” as well as being nominated in 2009.[9]

Episodes[edit]

Cast[edit]

Sir Derek Jacobi as Narrator

Nick Kellington as Iggle Piggle

Rebecca Hyland as Upsy Daisy

Justyn Towler as Makka Pakka

Andy Wareham as Tombliboo Unn

Isaac Blake (Series 1)/Holly Denoon (Series 2) as Tombliboo Ooo

Elisa Laghi as Tombliboo Eee

Broadcast[edit]

Until 29 March 2008, the show aired on the CBeebies channel every day, including weekends, at 6:25 PM in the “Bedtime Hour” slot, in addition to earlier daytime showings on BBC Two on weekdays.[10] From 29 March until 29 August 2008, In The Night Garden… was removed from its 6:25 PM “Bedtime Hour” slot, which resulted in a petition asking for the programme to be re-instated to its normal slot.[11] One parent petitioner was quoted by The Daily Telegraph commenting that “My four-year-old refused to believe it was bedtime because In the Night Garden… hadn’t been on and it was daylight outside.”[11]

The show returned to the daily “Bedtime Hour” slot at 6:20 pm as of 30 August 2008, and began showing the second series (beginning with “Slow Down Everybody”) on 1 September 2008.[12]

Awards and nominations[edit]

BAFTA Children’s Awards 2007

Awarded Best Children’s Live-Action Series[7]

The website for the programme was nominated for Best Interactive Site[7]

BAFTA Children’s Awards 2008

Awarded Best Pre-School Live Action Series[8]

BAFTA Children’s Awards 2009

Nominated for Best Pre-School Live Action[9]

Merchandising[edit]

In the Night Garden… books, DVDs, toys and Magazines have been marketed since 2007.

Books[edit]

In 2007, Ladybird Books published a full In the Night Garden range of books, some had lift the flap features (The Prettiest Flower, 2007) and some had sounds from the programme (What a Funny Pinky Ponk!, 2009), these usually retailed for £8.99 when they were released from BBC Books/Ragdoll Productions.

In 2014, Penwizard[13] introduced a line of personalised books where customers can customise the story to include their child’s name and likeness in the story alongside Igglepiggle and friends.

DVDs[edit]

Several Region 2 DVDs have been released in the UK by the BBC since October 2007:

Read more: Simple tips for How to make a Raised Garden Bed

DVD Title Episodes Who’s Here? Makka Pakka Washes Faces Tombliboos Waving Game Makka Pakka’s Trumpet Makes a Funny Noise Everybody all aboard the Ninky Nonk The Prettiest Flower Hello Igglepiggle! Igglepiggle’s Blanket in Makka Pakka’s Ditch Jumping for Everybody Igglepiggle’s Mucky Patch The Pinky Ponk Adventure Igglepiggle’s Blanket Walks About by Itself Hello Upsy Daisy! Quiet Please Tombliboos!! Upsy Daisy Wants to Sing!! Upsy Daisy Kisses Everything! Upsy Daisy’s Big Loud Sing Song! Igglepiggle Looks for Upsy Daisy and Follows her Bed! The Ninky Nonk Wants a Kiss! Hello Makka Pakka! Makka Pakka’s Stone Concert Runaway Og-Pog Makka Pakka’s Present Makka Pakka Gets Lost Washing the Haahoos Hello Tombliboos! Too Loud Tombliboos!! Nice and Quiet!! The Tombliboos’ Busy Day Tombliboo Trousers! Tombliboo Ooo Drinks Everybody Else’s Pinky Ponk Juice! The Tombliboos Tower of Five Isn’t That a Pip? The Pontipine Children on the Roof Looking for Each Other Slow Down Everybody! Igglepiggle Goes Visiting Where is the Pinky Ponk Going? Look at That! Igglepiggle’s Tiddle Makka Pakka’s Piles of Three Where Are the Wottingers? Mr. Pontipine’s Moustache Flies Away What loud Music, Tombliboos! What Fun! Sneezing Hide and Seek Mind the Haahoos The Pontipines Find Igglepiggle’s Blanket Upsy Daisy Dances with the Pinky Ponk All Together! Waving from the Ninky Nonk Playing Hiding with Makka Pakka Wake Up Ball Over and Under Sad and Happy Tombliboos! Best Friends! Upsy Daisy’s Tiring Walk Trubliphone Fun Shshsh! Upsy Daisy’s Having a Rest! Who’s Next on the Pinky Ponk? Makka Pakka’s Circle of Friends All Aboard Ninky Nonk or Pinky Ponk Upsy Daisy’s Special Stone Ninky Nonk Dinner Swap The Tombliboos Swap Trousers Igglepiggle’s Accident. Out for a Walk Upsy Daisy’s Funny Bed The Ball Wave to the Wottingers The Pontipines in Upsy Daisy’s Bed Igglepiggle’s Noisy Noises. What Lovely Music Tombliboo Eee Gets Lost Make Up Your Mind Upsy Daisy! Following Upsy Daisy Dances with the Haahoos Long Distance Ball Game Wake Up Igglepiggle Wake Up Igglepiggle Where Can Igglepiggle Have a Rest Oh Look It’s the Wottingers Dinner in the Ninky Nonk The Tombliboos Clean Their Teeth.

Each DVD features five episodes.

A boxset, Hello Everybody!, has been released, containing “Hello Igglepiggle!”, “Hello Upsy Daisy!”, “Hello Makka Pakka!” and “Hello Tombliboos!” Each of these titles have episodes relating to the character on which the DVD is based.

Toys[edit]

The show’s producers, Ragdoll Productions, signed a deal to make the toy producer Hasbro a global partner before the show was first broadcast, and merchandise was first made available in July 2007. The range includes small Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy and Makka Pakka stuffed toys and a small Ninky Nonk train with detachable carriages. Wheeled toy licensee MV Sports & Leisure Limited produced a range of scooters and trikes. Play-Doh made some dough that came packaged with an Igglepiggle-shaped cut-out.

In spring 2008, several new toys arrived, including roll-along characters, Talking Cuddly Makka Pakka, Ninky Nonk Pop-up tent and more. Hasbro won the 2008 “Best Licensed Toy or Game range” Licensing Award for their In The Night Garden… range.[14]

In January 2009, a spokesman for the BBC confirmed that they had asked Hasbro to change the skin colour of the Upsy Daisy doll following “a handful of complaints”. The doll was originally released with a noticeably lighter complexion than seen in the television series, as it was based on the animated version of Upsy Daisy.[15]

In 2010, more New Toys were released like the Igglepiggle and Upsy Daisy set that contained a copy of the Series 2 episode The Pontipines’ Picnic (2008) on DVD as well as an electronic Ninky Nonk (which made the actual sounds from the Show) and a Playmat that had the Bridge, the Tombliboo Bush (with The Tombliboos and their beds) The Gazebo and the Pinky Ponk.

Live theatrical show[edit]

In the Night Garden…Live! started a UK tour in July 2010. The show took place in an inflatable purpose-built show dome. The show premiered in Liverpool, and moved on to London, Glasgow and Birmingham. In the Night Garden Live has toured the UK every summer.[16][17]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

In the Night Garden… at BBC Online

In the Night Garden on Cbeebies

In the Night Garden official site

In the Night Garden… at IMDb

Source: https://livingcorner.com.au Category: Garden

source https://livingcorner.com.au/in-the-night-garden-wikipedia/

#livingcornernews

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newsiegirlscout · 7 years ago

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FHFIF Headcanons

HEADCANON TIME!!! Woo-hoo!

Today, I was thinking I’d ramble on a headcanon roll about this show by the name of Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. It was really amazing while it ran, and all-in-all was completely underrated. I just finished the last episode two weeks or so ago and, since I’m still in shock over it, well....the best thing to do with sadness and joy and nostalgia is to give it to the Internet, right? Right! So-onto the headcanons!

MAC

--When Mac gets older, he gets a job at Foster’s, much to the delight of the friends. (He used to joke about his shift ending at 2:59 just to freak out Bloo. Frankie still cleans everything, so Mac’s job is mostly cooking and messing around anyway. Y’know, keeping the more active imaginary friends busy. That, and reading bedtime stories-he has an awesome “scary” voice, but in a silly way, like Mojo Jojo.).

---Mac’s favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate fudge with caramel and milk chocolate sprinkles. He gains control of his sugar intolerance somewhat when he’s around fourteen....but still goes hyper if he has too much. (Say, the normal sugar-hyped slight bounce for anyone else is Mac’s sugar rush.)

---Mac never actually retired his bookbag. It was intentionally way too large for a second-grader’s homework load, so he could hide his most prized possessions from Terrence- or, at least, always keep them on his person. (On a regular day, his bag can be found holding his laptop, wallet, pictures of Frankie, library card, marbles, key chain, and water pistol. Yeah, that’s the water pistol that makes him look like an Ironman villain.) When he left for college, everybody at Fosters signed his bookbag.

---He skipped more than a few grades. In fact, he was in a school for gifted children during the length of the series-which explains why an eight-year-old was writing an essay on the presidents.

---Mac writes the most flowery, beautiful free-verse poetry you have ever seen. Once, it got published and he won a reward for it, but was still utterly embarrassed when the newspaper arrived at Fosters. He even snuck out around four AM to grab both his and Foster’s papers, but found Mr. Herriman calmly reading it in his study. (Herriman gave his highest stamp of approval-i.e; straightening his monocle, cleaning the lens, and remarking, “By jove!”

---He tends to wear his hair long when he gets older-that, and typically going unshaven until Mr. Herriman tells him he looks like he’s about to attend a woodstock festival.

---Additionally, Mac has fluffy, perpetually-askew hair because of his tendency to run his fingers through it when in stress or when he’s thinking. (Frankie’s hair is spiky for the same reason.)

---He’s a hugger. Always has been, always will be.

---Mac, even as an adult, only prefers (as reading material) Science fiction, action, comedy, and comic books; for viewing, he prefers old movies, comedy films, and cartoons. A lot of cartoons. As in, about 63.547% of the animated films in the DVD case are movies that Mac hauled over at some point or another during his job and intentionally left there. (They all have his name in sharpie on a neat label pressed onto the back.)

FRANKIE FOSTER

--Frankie more or less decided a long time ago that she’s aromantic. The closest thing she’ll allow to love is the filial bond between her and the imaginary friends.

--Her favorite ice cream flavor is pineapple rum. (Yes, that’s a thing.) If any of the younger friends are with her, though, she orders mango.

---She possesses a secret love for the color pink. She tends not to show it too much, as she feels it’s demeaning to her maturity, but otherwise, it’s her favorite color in the world.

---Frankie grew up with the Foster’s imaginary friends. Her job started when Madame Foster occasionally asked her to do little chores around the house- say, rocking a baby friend to sleep or washing a pot -so that, by the time she turned fifteen and wanted to get a career so as to earn more cash, she was a first choice caretaker for Foster’s Home.

--Frankie used to love those little toys that come in cereal boxes. She would eat bowls upon bowls of Choco-Frosted Sugar Bombs Trix and Captain Crunch, etc., until she was on sugar rushes to put Mac’s to shame so she’d get the toy and be able to get another box of cereal as soon as possible. (Her favorites were the superhero rings;((Does anybody else remember those? I feel like those were really big for a while, little plastic rings with superhero emblems?)); she once got so many, she could hook them together into a crown.)

--She loves the arcade games in an almost abnormal way. When she was about nine, she got the high score on Tetris, Paperboy, Centipede, and quite a few others. She is most often the one who will drive friends to the arcade and treat them to tokens partially so she can show off her gaming skills at the classics. (Bloo: “So by classics, you mean Halo and Call of Duty?” Frankie: “ No. The real classics. Defender. Pac-man. Astroids. Games you play in an arcade which was a building outside of your house. You would go there with your friends, listen to music, cute guys everywhere. In ancient times, they call it 'socializing'. “)

Madame Foster

--There are quite a few episodes in the series where an imaginary friend spends money. That was Madame Foster at work-when the house first opened, she distributed around five hundred dollars among the friends. With the addition of a hundred dollars every two years or so, that same cache has been circulating for years. (The trick being that they only spend it inside the house.)

---Madame Foster’s favorite ice cream flavor is butterscotch with caramel, chocolate syrup, rainbow sprinkles, whipped cream, and frosting. (What, you’ve never put frosting on a bowl of ice cream before? My sincerest sympathies.) Typically, she’ll get the chocolate-dipped cone, then have the server put it in a cup for her, so she has a large bowl of ice cream with all the toppings and a fancy cone on top of it all. (Mac starts to shake just looking at it.)

---Madame Foster has managed to scare the horror buffs senseless with her dramatic readings of existing stories, not to mention re-tellings of her own writing.

---Her room is full of stuffed animals. Enough stuffed animals to bury herself in. It is not exactly uncommon to find a stuffed animal hiding somewhere in the house. (Looking for a book? Whoop! A plush cat already beat you to it! Want some pancakes? Seems a small rainbow llama is already on it.)

---Madame Foster also harbors a love for cartoons. The other 44.453% of the animated films are hers. For reading material, she enjoys comedies, including a lot of old storybooks. (Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Black Beauty, Treasure Island, Little Men...et cetera.) She also loves reading the occasional horror story or adventure. (Do you think she’d enjoy All the Light We Cannot See? Yeah, I think so too. Then again, that was an amazing and beautiful bit of literature. Everybody go read All the Light We Cannot See.)

Mr. Herriman

---Mr. Herriman gives the cuddliest hugs. Receiving a hug from Mr. Herriman, especially when you’re somewhere around stomach-level, is the equivalent of sticking your face into a litter of warm kittens. Unfortunately, he’s not too big on hugging.

---Eduardo is by far his (secret) favorite.

---His favorite ice cream flavor is butter almond, (and yes, he does take all the almonds out individually before consuming it), though he usually prefers a slice of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

---He doesn’t actually understand Coco’s “language”. He tends to get the gist of what she’s saying primarily through another friend, Madame Foster, or Frankie, but otherwise feels a bit lonesome in that he’s the only person in that universe who isn’t fluent in it.

---He’s a fairly pleasant conversationalist, though he likes things to be run in such an orderly manner to the point of everyone seemingly hating him in a not-exactly-inconspicuous way. This in turn can make him slightly irritated, gaining him a reputation for his short temper and high standards.

---He LOVES bad puns on an almost-sinful level.

---He also prefers classic tales, romances, and adventure dramas in both viewing and reading entertainment. And yes, when watching a movie, he is That Person ™ who insists on popping popcorn over the fire and turning on subtitles.

BLOO

---Bloo was originally created as a vehicle for Mac to say and do whatever he wanted without having to worry about getting in trouble. (For example, getting to give the snarky response to Terrence and getting away with it.) He also created Bloo as a way to prove to his mom that he was responsible enough to take care of something. (This is NOT my headcanon, though I strongly support it.)

---Bloo was the one who found the secret passages to the Secret Library, the Secret Gaming Room, and The Secret Secret Room. He also found all nineteen secret drawers in each (One of which concealed a stuffed canary named Rod Tango!) on various Adopt-a-Thought Saturdays. (Once or twice, Mac didn’t actually find him and ended up playing with the B-team-or, in other words, the members of Pizza Party.)

---Bloo’s favorite ice cream flavor is cookies-and-cream-birthday-cake. (No, that’s not actually a flavor; he usually just gets two orders and shmushes them together into one BIG ice cream ball). Additionally, if possible, he’ll top it with M&Ms, whipped cream, chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, butterscotch, gummy bears, rainbow and chocolate sprinkles, crushed Oreos, mini peanut butter cups, and, of course, frosting- but never, never, never, Coconut. (”If you want to get these things done at all, you have to get them done right!”) So far, the only one who’s willingly treated him was Adult! Mac and Madame Foster-otherwise, he has to go by himself.

---His ideal adopter would be someone with year-round passes to lots and lots of amusement parks, a paddleball collection including the Automatic Paddleball, pizza every Friday, a 25-inch television with a ton of video games (”No, 50-inch! Wait, is 75-inch a thing? How about we just do like in that nerd book Mac likes, the dys-zopia, and have the TV replace one of the walls?”), and a large freezer just for ice cream, including a retractable shelf for toppings. (I blame @askblooqkazoo for this one) :)

---He loves the Powerpuff girls. Loves, loves, LOVES it. (Bubbles is his favorite.)

WILT

---Wilt’s favorite ice cream flavor is mocha swirl, with chocolate sprinkles and a maraschino cherry. He’s always the one who treats everyone else and waits patiently until everyone has their flavors before ordering, though he tries to exclude Bloo in the most polite way possible. (”I’m sorry! You see, I can’t afford all your toppings, which I’m honestly really sorry about, I mean..I can’t apologize enough for this, really! Maybe Mac will take you out for ice cream if you ask him nicely?”) He refuses to let someone else buy ice cream for him, so behind his back, Adult! Mac and Madame Foster built a mini freezer that looks like a backpack and has a special rack for ice cream, not to mention the extra two canisters of whipped cream and carton of chocolate sprinkles, just so they could treat him to an ice cream cone without his objection.

---Nobody ever actually put a nameplate on Wilt’s bed, because he always prefers to sleep under the floor. He always has ever since Bloo came-Wilt mainly just wants a monopoly on a bed so he can steal the blankets off it in the winter.

---He is fully aware of how brash he can get in later episodes, so he builds up his “Sorry!” to compensate, until it became, “I’m sorry-if that’s okay!”

---He once got a PhD to help out a struggling college student by tutoring him in neuroscience and quadratic equations. (Yes, he never quite got the hang of it until Wilt taught him.)

COCO

---Coco dabbles in the dark arts. (Check the Wiccan Spellbook she was reading in “Fools and Regulations.”)

---Coco knows something the rest of you don’t. Don’t believe her? Look again, she may have noticed that detail you completely passed over. Maybe it’s just the orange juice in the fridge that’s a day past the expiration date; maybe it’s the ending of the world before your eyes.

---No one is quite sure what ice cream flavor Coco likes the best. Whenever she goes to the ice cream parlor, she’ll say a few phrases and give a slight nod to the server. No matter who, they always come back with an elaborate sundae, topped with a firecracker, at the price of a regular ice cream cone.

---Coco is an amazing actress. Just amazing. She once got a role in a high-budget movie for her acting skills. (Not to mention that, once the director came to the door asking for her, she laid a pair of reading glasses and went through every single page of the contract. Then, once satisfied, she laid a silver ballpoint pen and signed it-though by then, the director was on his phone, scrolling through random web pages. “Ya done yet?” “CoCo Cococo Co!” “Well, of course I’m not going to put you in a cage and make you perform for long hours with no sleep! Whaddya think I am, the guy from those Deo commercials?”)

---Nerds (See the “Good Wilt Hunting” Nerds) believe that she was created by a very confused islander child, possibly one who has never seen contact with another human being. She is part plane because of the occasional air crafts passing the island, part bird because of the exotic tropical life, and does not speak English because the child never learned how and instead made up a language that only they could understand.

EDUARDO

---Once, Eduardo got his picture taken with the actress of Lauren Goes Explorin’. (And got it autographed!) He was super excited about it, and eventually got it framed with the same heavy-duty frame that Frankie used to mount her cereal-box ring crown.)

---His favorite ice cream flavor is bubblegum, partially because of the color (”Pink is my favorite! I like it muy, muy, much!) and partially because of the fact that it’s candy as well as ice cream, so he can take out the bubblegum balls and put them in a separate cup for his Malibu Mimi dolls.

---Wilt is his favorite, though Adult! Mac comes close. (He eventually learned to settle petty disputes, Frankie-style (A la’ Destination Imagination), so he takes care of most of those-often tipping a Bloo/Eduardo argument in favor of Eduardo while still making Bloo satisfied with the outcome.)

---Eduardo’s tears do not dehydrate him, nor are they made of salt water. He doesn’t even sniffle beforehand, unless he’s trying really hard not to cry-whenever he’s upset, he just gives a stream of fresh water from his eyes.

---Yep. He’s a hugger. Was there ever any question?

---Eduardo’s strength was added so he could pick up and cuddle people easily. Nina’s parents have quite a few photos of him carrying her home from a late, late rehearsal, school play, or day-long trip to the park while she sleeps peacefully in his arms.

---No, he doesn’t run out of energy when walking long distances or running. His feet sometimes hurt slightly from pounding the floor too long if he’s been running, but he always has the energy to run, or fight.

GOO

--Goo has actually wrapped her lunch like a present before. (Her usual lunch consists of a bag of chips, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a cupcake she injected with more icing in the center, an apple, and a juice box. It has been observed by Mac jokingly as being “strangely normal.”) She only does it for special occasions, (It makes everyone jealous around Christmas until they see why she brought it to lunch.), though Goo includes “The third Tuesday of March” and “August thirteenth” as major holidays.

---Goo likes to celebrate her birthday at Foster’s whenever possible. She additionally actually likes Cheese, because she thinks he’s funny and she’s good with him, so he’s almost always helping her open presents or eating streamers as she decorates the table

---Her favorite ice cream flavor is rainbow sherbet, but she also likes (”blueberry, gold ribbon, cookies and cream, and birthday cake! Well, really I like almost every flavor except not coffee since that one’s really gross and I also sometimes make up flavors that I think they should have, like gummy bear sprinkles, and then sometimes there are flavors that sound made up except they’re really not, like pizza and pear with blue cheese, ew, isn’t that gross? Oh! And did I tell you about my idea for an ice cream burrito where instead of the cone, they make it a tortilla instead with the sugar cone stuff?”) She’s definitely the person where, if she’s alone with a month’s allowance, she’ll try to stack the scoops as high as possible and roll each one in a bowl of toppings. (She prides herself on the fact that she once got the server to coat three scoops in gummy bears, rainbow sprinkles, and chocolate chips respectively, and even got him to pour some gummy bears in the cone.) If she’s with someone else, and they’re treating, she’ll just get rainbow sherbet.

---She’s not a hugger. She’s affectionately physical in other ways-friendly slaps on the back, pats on the head, fixing someone else’s shirt collar-but doesn’t really hug a lot. She’s more of a high-fiver, to be honest.

---When she gets older, she has everybody write a story about Foster’s in an anthology she publishes under the name “Hillary-Britney “Lollipop” Starr”. (Involuntarily included? Mac’s poetry.)

---Goo is the karaoke queen.

GENERAL

--The soda fountain guy has been through everything. (If you need further proof, just look at the way he casually throws out Mac when he orders all those milkshakes...all, “Dude, I make seven bucks an hour. I’ve seen it all.”)

---Cheese was created with an innate sense of technology. He actually knew full-well what he was doing when he memorized the code to the electronic security system, and sometimes, Frankie has to ask him for his help when fixing her computer. (Usually with her head in her hands while Cheese jumps up and down on the chair and says “No no no, you put too much stuff in the computer! Throw some away! See in the hard drive? See, see, see, see, see? That’s why it’s so slowwwww!”)

---It is impossible to accidentally create an imaginary friend. It’s more of a left-brained thing than a technical thing, and you usually have to have a pretty clear idea of their personality beforehand. Goo’s imagination works at ten miles a minute, so she is the one exception.

---Imaginary friends do not age. Friends like Scrappy (Remember that little guy with the Brooklyn accent and Victorian clothing? That was one of my favorites..) are deemed older by how long they’ve been at Foster’s and how much they’ve matured emotionally.

---Larry John McGee (Goofball’s creator) had a very silly sense of humor in creating Goofball. He wanted his friend to act as a big brother, and knew that if he ever got lost, he’d go to Foster’s for help and weird out the staff. Goofball did almost all of what he was doing with a straight face to make everyone else in the house laugh when Frankie pulled off his rubber nose to reveal...an imaginary friend.

---Youngman Rivers actually turned out to be a pretty cool guy when he got older.

---Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends did not go away after the series finale. Foster’s lives on with many more adventures of its own, including more and more characters as time goes on, until Mac grew into an adult, still coming to tackle Bloo on the first floor every day.

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thesublemon · 8 years ago

Text

Why anachronism is funny

I consumed a lot of mid-century media growing up, and it's funny to realize that other people didn't, or at least not to the same degree, and that it probably affected my sensibilities in distinct and concrete ways. Media like Peanuts and Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and My Father's Dragon. Beverly Cleary, Roald Dahl, E.B. White, C.S. Lewis, Edward Eager, The 21 Balloons, and Johnny Tremaine. Slightly later things like Bill Peet and The Phantom Tollbooth and slightly earlier things like The Secret Garden or Tom Sawyer or Bambi or The Little Lame Prince. Looney Tunes, musicals, Laurel and Hardy, The Honeymooners, Lucy Ricardo and the entire canon of film noir. Brassy, rat-a-tat Basil Rathbone voices, arch Bostonian vowels and the watercolor backgrounds of early Disney. The way that characters tend to wander in white nightgowns when they go crazy or are caught unawares. Everything about The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. My dad kept five CDs in his car, and they were either Beatles albums or compilations of classic rock ‘n roll.

I never felt (and don't feel) any romance for the era, because I didn’t know that I was reading or watching things from before 1960. It was just what was in my house. I just assumed that that was the way that children's books were, that they all existed in some quaint alternate universe where of course children wear galoshes and come home to drink warm milk during their morning break from school. Of course you'd pack a knapsack with a harmonica and a train ticket and a wedge of cheese if you were ten years old and decided to go adventuring. Of course Looney Tunes would make jokes about boxing rings and baseball and pressmen with big cigars. That's just cartoons.

I barely consume any of this stuff now, and on the occasions that I do seek it out it's just a function of the curiosity that makes me seek out anything, not a fetishistic desire to hang out in an imagined Good Old Days. They weren't that good. But when I pay attention to the things that make me laugh, it's stuff like deadpan anachronism, uninflected slang and cartoonish tableaux based on tropes three-quarters of a century old. And I'm trying to figure out why the fuck I find it so funny. I wouldn't laugh at an old strip of Popeye or a production of Guys and Dolls or even especially enjoy them. But the highlight of my Sundays is seeing men come out of churches with red hats and pin-striped mobster suits. I have a google document full of words and phrases that feel delicious and it's all shit like "sloop" and “flunky”. It's the same thing that makes weird Twitter or clickhole funny, stuff that pulls deep cuts from the shared cultural consciousness and presents it with an ironic lack of irony. Stuff that mimics how people talk on the internet when they don't know that they're being bombastic, ignorant or self-obsessed.

The joke has something to do with noticing how people behave when they don't know to be meta. It's funny the same way that Japanese comedy seems to hinge on finding any reminder of shame and embarrassment inherently uproarious (things like blushing cheeks, making a fool of oneself out of shyness, elaborate dances of politeness), presumably because the culture is more preoccupied with embarrassment than most. Similarly, If you live in a society or possess a mind that is fiendishly self-aware of itself or its media context then people looking ridiculous because they aren't being meta is the most hilarious thing in the world. It is delight in knowing that it's possible to do and say things without elaborate winking machinery, but also a reminder that one is fundamentally ridiculous. It exposes behavior that amounts to putting on airs by replacing it with obsolete behavior that we agree is silly.

Exposes, but also makes the behaviors contiguous with each other. I’m imagining that I know an obnoxiously imperious person and so I draw them tripping in oversized regal dress and scrambling for their 50 pound crown that has fallen to the ground (while holding a scepter in their other hand), with basically the same harried attitude of an intern that dropped a stack of papers. On the one hand, I’m deflating the person. But I’m also deflating imperial behavior in general, observing the pompousness of actual crowns and scepters. Moreover, I’m making a connection between that person and a cartoon of being frazzled, suggesting that there is a kind of universality to these feelings that people have when they’re not able to compose themselves.

#posts: art

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