#MAN episodes 3-4 had some good ones PFFF

[saltpepperbeard]

Favorite Stede Facial Expressions Part 2/?

[factual-fantasy]

21 asks, some old some new, all basically just heart warming compliments. ♡ඩᴗඩ♡

You’re welcome!! And thank you so much!! Something I always love to do with characters like this is give them some crazy depth. Give answers for things that the media they’re from never answers. I always work really hard to make it all fit together and really feel natural and I’m so happy you noticed! (இ﹏இ`｡)

I’ll be sure to. I’m still feeling really crummy mentally, but taking a break from my lovely community of fans certainly didn’t make me feel any better. XD

Pfff Kitty cat Pirate man XD

Well you’re sort of right. Captain Barnacles is my favorite character 100%, but the reason why I draw those two together so often is because the show has established that they are really good friends. 

Where ever the Captain is, Kwazii is usually nearby. Kwazii was the only one that knew about the Captains fear, Kwazii is the Octonauts lieutenant, which probably means that they spend a lot time around each other. They share a bed pod, they have had these little interactions that don’t happen with anyone else. Like fist bumps, shoulder pats etc.

They’re even used as an example of symbiosis in the crab and urchin episode! Now, you can interpret that how you’d like, but I believe the show is somewhat subtly trying to push the point that these two are best friends, like family even.

So when ever I draw Captain Barnacles, I always have an incentive to draw Kwazii with him. :}

Honestly by my headcannons, I feel like Kwazii would need it more than anyone else really. But yeah, the Captain could really use me a pick me up. XD

Dawww you’re welcome, I’m just glad everyone likes my art so much. ♡●ᴗ●♡

Th-Thank you!! That’s so sweet!! I’ll Be sure to keep making them!- Be sure to drop in some suggestions you guys so I know what ya’ll want to see!! :}

COMMERE YOU

(before I left for a break)

Well I may have needed more time to “relax”, but I just missed you guys too much lol.

Wow! That’s a lot of shows! I don’t recall really watching.. any of them.. any way uh- that aside, there are several shows I used to watch as a kid. Some weren’t meant for kids but were still funny to me.

For one, like I’m sure a lot of people did, I watched SpongeBob.

I also used to watch, of course, Octonauts. Although that was when I was a wee bit older.

I also used to watch The Three Stooges.. this one was for adults I think but it was still hilarious.

I also used to watch Beetle Baily, although this one was kind of like a once a year tradition type thing we did.

There may be one or two more but I don’t recall.. I mean, we did have one episode of speed racer that I watched over and over and over again. Or.. was it a movie? Heh, I uh, cant really recall.. 

(after my break announcement)

Thank you, turns out taking a break from Tumblr kind’a just made me miss the community. I felt really awful while I was gone but feel a little better after returning sooo.... guess I’m hangin around for a little while longer! :}

No I don’t ship anyone personally, although I can see how some of their dynamics could be seen like that.

Oh! No worries, that’s alright, and that thing is in the description as a heads up kind’a. If I tag my own art as ship or explicitly say it is okay to do so, then go for it. I just don't usually ship characters and don't want my art to be perceived incorrectly.. 

I have watched both Octonauts movies and season 1-3 on Netflix. When it comes to season 4, so far I haven't had much trouble just finding it on YouTube.

When it comes to watching season 4 in order, just go to the episode wiki, find the names in order and keep searching on YouTube until you’re sure you’re on the right episode. Pretty sure you can find basically all the Octonauts episode this way, go ahead and give it a shot! Hope it works!

To keep the fourth wall breaking to a minimum, what would my Transformer OCs think of Octonauts?

Suburban, A.T.Dragster, Green Truck, Escort, Vega, Red Van, Brown Suburban, Miata, AND Honda, most likely wouldn't really be interested and wouldn’t really have an opinion on the show, but they don't make fun of anyone who does watch it. No matter how old. Volvo specifically would respect the educational aspect of the show and most likely wouldn’t pick on anyone for watching it either.

U.M.Dragster would kind’a poke fun at the show and its imperfections. But low key is peeking around the corner wanting to know what the characters do next.

White Truck thinks it pretty cool and kind’a likes to watch it with others, but wont really go out of his way to watch it on his own.

Beluga would probably think its really cute, bet 10 bucks her favorite character is Kwazii.

Ranger would be hooked. She loves everything about Earths water and want’s to learn everything about it. Including the creatures that live in it. She would appreciate the show “dumbing everything down” for her, because she doesn’t know these basic things that kids know. Having everything “dumbed down” makes it easier for her to understand everything.

Jeepy’s driver used to make fun of me for watching it, but now he thinks it neat. So maybe he’d think its silly but eventually come around?

Bash Buggy cant see the screen-

But really Its cool though, he wouldn’t be all that interested in it even if he could watch it anyway.

Daww thank you! ♡●ᴗ●♡

Oh how cool! I never thought so many people grew up watching this too, I thought this show was really obscure! Glad I can share the nostalgia and joy with ya’ll through my art! :}

You mean the Vegimals? These little dudes?

I just haven’t had a good opportunity to draw them yet is all. 

Hmmmm.... let me think.. I feel like my Transformer OCs would mostly like certain aspects of seasonal things, not one season and all of its aesthetics as a whole.

Suburban, Red Van, Escort, Brown Suburban and Green Truck love the bonfire part of colder weather. The warm, bright and surrounded by loved ones aspect of it is what they enjoy. Especially Brown Suburban. He loves bonfires man. The more light and heat the better, that poor mech is freezing his aft off out there in that old manky dark shed all by himself. He just wants to be around his loved ones where its warm and bright.

Miata would probably like pumpkin spice lattes, and just that aspect of fall. Beluga and Honda however would be all over fall and all its traditions. They’d be all over every season really, always up to date with trends and having fun.

The Dragsters are all about summer and its aesthetics. Summer is the prime time for dragstrips and the weather they function most efficiently in so they’re all for it.   

Vega is more about fall. Sure its not really racing weather, but he does like all the pretty colors and the temperature is just right for him.

White Truck would like summer the most. He’d like the attire, the swimming, the warmth, all of it. He’d function a little on the edge I’d think though, he does have a bit of an overheating issue.. but still, I think summers for the win.

Ranger would like summer. Summer = more fish in the water. She loves to look at fish and be out in the water and just explore everything. Summer is when most of the fish are around so she’d really enjoy that. When it comes to seasonal outfits and food? Meh, waters cooler.

Volvo doesn't care for any weather or aesthetics honestly. But would prefer fall for its cooler temperatures. Having so many layers of armor is bound to make you overheat eventually.

Jeepy would like the fall and winter most of all, because of MUD. Going slipin, driftin and slidin with Bash is a real hoot, so he’d really like those seasons. He’s just built for them you know? Plus he’d kill a man for a glass of eggnog so he likes that aspect of cooler seasons too. :}

Bash Buggy likes summer and spring for the temperatures mostly. He also likes winter and fall, but because of the mud, he doesn’t like them for any other reason. Just the mud and goofing around with Jeepy. Everything else about those cold seasons are terrible, and he cant even see all the pretty colors and aesthetics so what does it matter? His body has no insulation anymore so the cold just eats him up, and he cant go outside in the snow because of his blindness and the cold. So he’s stuck shivering indoors while his friends go goof around in the snow without him. Colder seasons suck besides mud, the warmer ones are a win.

I don’t know, it just kind’a makes me uncomfortable. Not all artists are the same, not all artists like that.

It kind of feels like stealing to me in a way, I just don’t like it..

I want to, but I am completely halted by the knowledge that these comics don’t get much traction. They only get a handful of notes when I post them, which just makes them feel like a waste of time.

I’m weird about time. I don't like talking about my interests with others because I know I’m wasting their time and they don’t care anyway.

I am heavily discouraged to draw things online, not just because people steal, but because only a handful of people truly care and get excited about them.

And I mean, a handful of lovely followers, is a handful lovely followers. But you can see how a people pleaser like me would drift towards what people want me to draw instead of what I want to draw.

And when it comes to what people want me to draw? Besides those lovely few, people don’t want to see my comics.

[inmyarmswrappedin]

DRUCK reactions - s4 ep3

Featuring: the clip that made me infinitely more interested in the season.

Oops, I forgot to link to the Nadia clip twitter thread. It’s there now!

(Thanks again to @wodrueckts! 💛)

CLIP 1: What is this, a tent for ants?

LISTEN. Tua is already the smallest in the girl squad, and that tent doesn’t even look like she can lay fully stretched out inside.

I was so disturbed by this that I looked up 1-person tents, and they don’t look that small! They are longer and thinner.

Amira’s mom comes outside and she’s also disturbed, but not by Amira using a toddler-sized tent, but Amira going camping at all. She’s like, we’re going to have a conversation about traveling while hijabi, but Amira isn’t in the mood.

And her mood is further spoiled because Sam texts her hoping that she can hook her up with Mohammed.

Amira’s mom brings her some pepper spray, and holy shit! Is that legal in Germany? (Answer: yes, it is, but it’s sold as “animal repellent.”)

I’ve traveled on my own before but I’ve always stayed in B&Bs, hostels or hotels. Ngl I wouldn’t even couchsurf at a stranger’s without some kind of protective device, like a portable door lock. I would never carry a weapon because you never know if you’re going to use it properly in the heat of the moment, but something like a personal alarm for runners would work in a camping setting. Take care of yourself if you’re traveling on your own!

CLIP 2: Lemonade pining

Jonas is going on about supporting sea rescue efforts of African migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, a big topic last year because of the Salvini administration (in Italy) approving a law to fine migrant rescue ships. Salvini has been ousted since, and sea rescue has disappeared from the news what with 2020 being a dumpster fire and all.

Essam, high on power, demands that his slave Amira makes him some lemonade, but I already described my issues with this storyline last week. After threatening Amira with the ever classic sibling-on-sibling physical violence, Amira relents.

Mohammed comes in as Amira is sulkily preparing some lemonade for Essam, and he makes a flirty comment about Amira’s ice cold stare again.

The sweet thing about Mohammed is that he fully admits that he finds Amira intimidating, like he totally recognizes that Amira can be unapproachable when she wants to (even though Amira M. is also one of the friendliest Sanas), but like… For one thing he doesn’t neg her about it. He’s playful about Amira being scary, but he’s not trying to bring her down. And for another, Mohammed tries to find ways in which he fits into Amira’s life or can help her in some way.

This will keep coming up with them, but it happens here when he thinks of a way to prank Essam and, as a result, cheer Amira up.

Peep at the interaction between Amira and Mohammed when they come out with the lemonade. They don’t exchange a word, but they’re such a team.

CLIP 3: Beware bicyclists

Amira, apparently still on a high since the lemonade prank, is strolling down the street singing to herself, as I believe most of us have done at some point.

Jonas asks for Amira’s help with his solidarity party, further characterizing Amira as the one they all go to for help.

Sam also texts Amira. She’s found Mohammed’s insta, which makes Amira’s face fall for a moment… Even though Mohammed keeps seeking Amira out, it feels like Sam might be able to hook up with him through sheer force of will? Or maybe Amira is kinda hoping Sam’s crush goes away, but it ain’t.

There’s something really Formal about that family photo that makes it lowkey funny, like I can imagine that pic being one Mohammed’s family sends to their relatives (caption about family and all), instead of one would post on instagram. Somehow, you can feel Mohammed’s latent dad energy just waiting to be discovered.

Even though this wasn’t the way Amira wanted to come across that pic, Mohammed just looks so damn fine that she can’t help but zoom in on his face, a Druck classic at this point.

And she’s so focused on the thirst that she almost gets run over by an islamophobic bicyclist, who thoroughly spoils her day.

This is such a Northern Europe thing btw. I think each one of my friends who has lived in the bike using part of Europe for any period of time has a story about a bicyclist yelling profanities at them. It’s like they’re saving the planet with their lack of gas use so they have to be extra dickish to compensate for their do gooding.

Amira also looks around as this happens, maybe to see if someone else witnessed what happened (for support?).

Anyway, Amira is so angry that she double texts Sam (or possibly just texts? I checked a couple times and it isn’t clear that she sent Sam the text where she translates the caption about family) to be careful with Mohammed as Arabs will fuck you over. She does a double take to herself, like she’s checking with herself that this was appropriate, and seems to decide it is.

I really dislike the context here. When this happened on Skam, it was part of a larger conversation between Sana and Noora where it was clear that Sana was repeating stereotypes in order to discourage Noora’s interest. And even in that conversation, what Sana said is that Muslim guys will sleep with white Norwegians because they put out, but in the end they marry Muslim girls. So rather than saying, he’s gonna fuck you over, Sana explains how. What Amira tells Sam is so lacking in context, so random as a response to Sam asking what the caption says, and like… You kinda have to have watched the Skam scene in order for Amira not to come across like a total dick here.

It also makes no sense because Sana knew that Noora had been hurt in the past by guys using her for sex and then discarding her, but a no strings attached hook up is exactly what Sam is after. So like… How would Mohammed wanting just sex and nothing else fuck Sam over anyway?

CLIP 4: Sam is interested in getting fucked (over)

Amira and Sam are doing boxing intervals, and Sam is a bit taken aback by how intense Amira is at something Sam is presumably doing just for fun.

Now imagine they’d actually written a scene around that difference between both girls, instead of a brief subtextual moment for us to read into.

Mohammed comes in during a pause, which Amira is using to get a bit more practice in whereas Sam is showing off to Kiki (sensing a theme they could’ve explored, here).

It looks like he’s going to go say hi to Amira, but Sam gets there first and starts flirting with him, hair twirling and all. Amira looks upset and goes back to boxing.

CLIP 5: Nadia! [crowd cheers]

At this point when the season was dropping, I was, to be completely honest, a little bored. Like the clips were cute and all, but I wasn’t excited. (Of course, you have to keep in mind that this was in comparison to my excitement levels during Matteo’s season, where so much as a glimpse of David made my synapses light up.)

I loved this clip and immediately posted a full on analysis on twitter (which you can read here if you’re interested, but I’ll be rehashing most of it in this post), and it still holds up in rewatch even though they didn’t mine the Nadia/Amira dynamic for all it was worth.

So we open on Nadia and Amira and they’re already looking tense as shit. It doesn’t help that Amira’s mom seems, like, almost relieved that Nadia hasn’t totally cut ties with Amira lmao. And she’s like, “omg you must have so much to talk about!” even though we just saw them looking quiet and uncomfortable.

Amira is all, “never thought you’d be the first one to marry,” and to Nadia’s credit, she takes this comment, which could read as shady, as a friendly observation. She talks a bit about how Ahmed is not like the other dicks, but Amira isn’t convinced, and now she’s definitely shading Nadia.

She also gets on Nadia’s case about going to Dubai for their honeymoon, but Nadia doesn’t defend herself and just looks sheepish.

Kiki comes in with some vegan cupcakes that she made to thank Amira for her help last episode, and you can see how Amira is much more at ease with Kiki. Tbf they did see each other last week, whereas we know Nadia has been out of the picture for a while. Anyway Kiki seems to feel the tension in the air, so she tries to excuse herself.

At this point, Nadia finds her voice to ask Kiki to stay. Is it because she thinks that with Kiki around conversation will flow more freely? Or maybe because she’s hoping that Amira’s irritation will be redirected to this Alman?

After Kiki admires the vegan spread Amira’s mom prepared, we find out that Nadia’s intention is the latter. She all but tells Kiki that Amira told her Kiki was a racist piece of shit. So this is how Nadia gains the upper hand after Amira’s earlier comments.

Amira looks alarmed, but Kiki is like pfff yeah, I was so into Alexander Humberbumber that I might have been the worst s1 Vilde until Amber made her appearance, but now I’m getting dicked down by a good man and I see Amira for the Muslim goddess she is (I’m paraphrasing but not that much!).

Amira looks really touched by Kiki not just 1. Not picking up Nadia’s intention, but also 2. Swiftly clearing the air and complimenting Amira in the process.

Kiki figures out that Nadia is the friend who’s getting married and declares her love for weddings of all kinds but especially Bollywood-style ones. Nadia looks really amused at this and looks at Amira like, “get a load of this girl!” Amira looks a bit embarrassed.

Sidenote to say Druck started building up to Kiki’s love of weddings last episode when she was paging through a wedding magazine spread. Like, they really put in more work into this Kiki/wedding storyline than most storylines last week.

And when Kiki asks if Nadia’s marriage was arranged, Nadia makes fun of Kiki to Amira. Like I would love to say that Nadia isn’t being mean to Kiki, but she is, and the point is to bring Amira down a notch. Now Amira really does look embarrassed, because in some way she’s supposed to be responsible for Kiki not saying something islamophobic. Kiki isn’t Amira’s responsibility, and I’m sure Nadia would agree in other circumstances, but… That’s what Amira gets for calling Nadia out for the Dubai honeymoon!

But as the conversation goes on, it also kind of seems like Nadia takes a liking to Kiki? (I’m mostly assuming because Nadia later invites Kiki to that pre-wedding event.) They talk a little bit about Nadia and Ahmed, and Kiki’s like, “I want to go to a Muslim wedding so fucking bad, Amira, please!”  It’s like… At the moment Amira is the only single female friend Kiki has, but Kiki’s just like, can’t you just get married now though.

Amira’s like NO WEDDINGS, Australia first. And tension falls around the table again, because of course, Nadia didn’t know about this, but Kiki knew about it, so like… It’s just another way in which Amira has become a different person as far as Nadia is concerned.

Let us now talk about Kiki. Like I said, I really loved this clip. In general I love Skams clips where the dynamic feels so lived in and nuanced and multifaceted. This is the first time we see Nadia in the flesh, but we get so much information just from looks and tone of voice. Nadia’s actress and Tua El-Fawwal just rock this scene.

When it aired I took Kiki’s words at face value. Like, this was the way the writers had decided to resolve Kiki being a racist in earlier seasons, and I accepted it. It wasn’t until later that I read criticism of the scene and thought about it a bit more.

In Skam, Isak apologizes to Eva in three separate scenes. In s1, episode 10, she says to Eva, “I fucked up,” “[if I had known Iben was a psycho] then of course I wouldn’t have done it.” In episode 11, “I know it might be hard to believe, but I never wanted to hurt you. It just turned out that way. I’m sorry.” And in s3, “I just want to say sorry for that stuff last year. When I was ruining things for you and Jonas.” Like. You can say that Isak only said sorry because he got caught (though I personally believe he was genuine every time, if not entirely truthful), but the point is that Julie Andem thought it necessary, in order for Isak to remain a likable character, that he apologized three times.

The girl squad never apologized to Sana, they just showed up with the Los Losers van one day.

And while Druck also thought it was necessary for Matteo to be full of self-loathing over what he did to Hanna, they didn’t think Kiki needed to apologize on screen.

One of my least favorite Skams characters is Basile Savary, because he was a total creep to the point that, during s3, Skam France had to release a damage control text out of Lucas L’s POV because people were worried that he might have done something to Daphné while she was drunk. Basile was a creep who respected no boundaries (including dry humping Daphné against her will on social media, which played off as a joke!) until one day he wasn’t and became the perfect boyfriend. No arc where he learned to be a doper person, Skam France said, no we are not going to examine how nerds get away with being gross creeps.

And as much as I would like to say otherwise, Druck did the same with Kiki. Kiki was one of the most overtly racist Vildes in s1, was still making offensive comments about Amira’s and Sam’s hair in s2, and then… Season 4 rolls around and Kiki just says, “oh yeah I was a dick before but now I know Amira is a great Muslim.” Like… At least it didn’t happen from one day to the next, but no, there wasn’t an arc where Kiki is taken to task for her racism, nor a scene where Kiki apologizes to Amira.  

This is an issue specifically because Amira’s season hinges on the Kiki/Amira friendship, like they pretty much got rid of most other conflicts or didn’t explore them fully, choosing instead to focus on this dynamic.

And I don’t think it was because Lea and Tua are such good friends irl (which they are! Lea even attended Tua’s engagement party! I love them!), because like, Tua is also good friends with Carl (Stefan) and we never got an Amira/Stefan scene, did we? I think it was simply that this season was too packed with people of color, and either funk or the writers needed a white character to anchor the season.

I still love Kiki and Amira obviously, I ship them (in fanon) and I love their scenes, because I love Lea and Tua and their friendship, and their characters. All I wanted from s4 of Skam was Vilde supporting Sana in the way Sana had supported Vilde for three seasons, and Druck gave me that. But here’s one thing where the writers dropped the ball, and it’s a massive mistake because the emotional core of the season is this friendship.

This also made me think about how the change of writers resulted in character arcs being dropped left and right. Now that two writing collectives are about to pick up Druck’s next gen, I think there’s an idea that the change in writers in the first four seasons wasn’t noticeable, but honestly… It kind of was. I would argue that a lot of the things that were set up in s1 and s2 got dropped and didn’t go anywhere. To wit:

Hanna’s arc in s1 is trashed in s4. Jonas is set up with a redemption arc in s2 that isn’t explored past that season. The Winterberg of s2 has nothing to do with the s4 ship. Kiki is still being racist in s2 and a shining example of allyship in s4. The little depth that Sam had in s1 and s2 gets dropped. Amira’s delivery job… Enough said. The one character whose character arc through the seasons was done justice I would argue is Matteo. He gets a shift in characterization after s1 to make the storyline with David make more sense (more on this if I ever write Matteo’s season meta), and retains that characterization to the end. Of the minor characters, Carlos and Abdi also come out well. David gets introduced in s3 when Q3 took over the writing, so he wasn’t affected.

Anyway, this clip totally revitalized the season.

CLIP 6: Amira praying, that’s it, that’s the clip

Mohammed is at the door waiting for Amira, and when Amira asks him if Sam is already there, he says he’s not here because of Sam. And I’m like, does he mean that literally? Like Amira could’ve assumed Sam invited him to this party, but Mohammed did meet the squads last episode. Maybe he asked Jonas if Amira was coming or got himself invited some other way.

Amira’s like sure, and gets inside. And Mohammed looks at her in such a way that even I need to fan myself a little tbh.

Hanna compliments David’s design, and Matteo’s like yeah, David is great, but I’d rather shit on Stefan. Idk, I feel like the Matteo in my mind would want to hype David up a little more before moving onto shitting on Stefan, but it’s a small quibble.

Amira goes to help Sam in the kitchen, and they both have some trouble making German food. I can’t tell if it’s because they’re generally bad at cooking or this is a commentary on white people’s palates. Or Abdi’s palate since he’s still going on about hollandaise sauce.

Oh, Sam explains that she told Mohammed about the party and he got on board. So he is there because of Sam, kinda.

They also talk about Mohammed having the coolest insta (pro: Mohammed has at least one topless pic, con: Mohammed has a pic wearing flip flops with socks), and how Abdi doesn’t compare because he doesn’t have an insta (yet). I mean… Damn, Sam. You can’t argue with logic like that.

But Sam calls Amira out on being weird lately. Again, I really wish this conversation didn’t rely so much on subtext, so it could be properly developed. Also, a new version of Snow’s Informer is playing in the background during this conversation and I can’t help but love the mood whiplash of it all.

Then something confusing happens when Jonas introduces the music act and says they come from Lebanon and traveled to Germany by train and then the lead singer says they’re from Berlin. They’re called Feedback and I tried googling them to find out what that’s all about, but with that name I didn’t get any results about them.

At least this is the kind of band that would play at an event like this, like they seem good enough to do a performance, but not big enough that there’s no believable way Jonas could book them.

Amira and Mohammed have a ~Moment~ when the audio switches to the version of Sand performed by Lary, and the sexual tension is so overwhelming for Amira that she immediately leaves to get some praying done, in the privacy of the venue’s backroom.

This scene is so iconic and beautiful. That shot of Amira being lit from above, looking up with her hands held before her? Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, etc. The kind of sequence that needs both a Muslim performer and behind the scenes respect for said Muslim performer.

Amira overhears some argument as she’s folding the carpet she was using, and then she sees that Mohammed was blocking the door, so that she could pray in peace. Can we get a #notallmen here? Thanks. Again, Mohammed just finds little ways in which he can help and support Amira without being intrusive.

Mohammed compliments Amira’s friends for trying to help refugees (although sea rescue is more about migrants in general, rather than refugees). I think something that is lost in translation is that German is obviously not Mohammed’s first language, so I think this scene is more significant and subtext-laden for German speakers.

Amira is probably still smarting from her earlier run in with the racist biker, so she (who’s always said she wants to be Chancellor) says that Jonas will probably become Chancellor one day. Mohammed says no! Amira should be Chancellor, but Amira doesn’t think anyone wants that. 🙁 But Mohammed says he does, and he says “we” need someone who fights for “us” (which Amira probably interprets as “us Muslims,” but Mohammed might mean more like, “us refugees”).

Also, Mohammed thinks that Amira was trying to matchmake him with Sam, which we know it was more like the opposite, but it’s very in line for Mohammed to think Amira was trying to get rid of him.

Then Mohammed asks Amira for her phone and is all, “don’t you trust me?” and Amira’s like, “no,” which is hilarious. After a while, Amira wants her phone back and Mohammed notices Amira accidentally cut herself with the knife earlier. He puts a cute bandaid on it, and they have yet another Moment. They’re so into each other that Amira goes, “omg I love this song! Let’s go in!” But Mohammed is now sure his feelings are requited.

Social media

Kiki slept at the new apartment even though it’s falling apart, a sign that that she can’t stand being at her mom’s house. Later, Zoe texts her and Kiki says she’ll be available whenever Zoe needs her, but she also just… doesn’t want to live at her mom’s.

Matteo and David (but really just Lukas) attended the Berlin CSD (Pride) march.

Mia posts a pic of a cortado coffee, and I totally believe this was taken in Madrid. 👌

Carlos missed the Abiball because he failed his History resit, then he missed Jonas’ birthday because he was sick, and this week he’s visiting Brandenburg with Kiki, and what I’m getting from all this is that maybe Carlos’ actor had other commitments during this time lol.

Amira and Mohammed both post pics acknowledging their Moment under the lights/with the bandaid, showing Amira is getting more emotionally committed to this relationship.

Final thoughts

While I did have some issues with this episode, it was much more solid overall than episode 2. Nadia’s actress really delivered in her intro clip and I wish they’d explored that dynamic a bit more, but the character kind of takes a backseat after this. Although I don’t feel like Amira and Mohammed have a motif or object that they keep revisiting (like Jonas and Hanna with Hanna’s nose, or Mia and Alex with Hotel Hardenberg, or David and Matteo with the sandwiches*), I like their dynamic where Mohammed is supportive of Amira’s endeavors, which this episode solidifies. I also really love the significance of Amira getting to complete her prayer thanks to Mohammed. In Skam, Sana gets constantly interrupted until later in the season, where she gets to pray for all her friends.

[* I thought about this a bit more, and I think one motif Mohammed and Amira share is music, and singing to each other.]

I discussed this episode with Michi, and we came to the conclusion that the root conflict between Amira and Nadia is that Amira feels like that, to be with a man, is to compromise yourself and your principles. Nadia didn’t use to be the person who’d be the first to marry, or who’d go on a honeymoon to Dubai, and Amira sees that chance as Nadia losing sight of her ideals. But, in the last clip, Mohammed’s actions allow Amira to be who she fully is, and to finish her prayer. So the idea is planted, that Amira wouldn’t necessarily have to compromise her principles if she got into a relationship. Of course, Mohammed is probably one of the people who’d most compromise Amira’s ideals if she were to date him, but we’re not at that point yet.  

[abundantchewtoys]

HS Epi Meat, page 4 reaction

So, is John going to zap to the next plot point now, or will it switch back to Earth C?

I wonder, if it's the latter, whether we might see something from an antagonist, or a less important character, like Jack Noir or GCATavrosprite. And if the former, I wonder if John will venture further into (a retconned version of) the Game Over timeline, or not?

---

"You arrive in the Land of Heat and Clockwork in a flash of white." OOOoooh, LOHAC! Will he visit Dave - well, presumably yes. But will he revisit the moment he zapped back to, when he came to ask for help regarding his retcon powers?

... I kind of like Blaperile's idea better, that he revisits the point in time he disrupted before, the conversation between Dave & Jade, but which he afterwards retconned again, sending himself to go find Roxy? ... Wait, it was never really explained where that John that bapped himself on the head came from, I swear, if this is (out-of-comic) retconned as having been this 23-year-old John... Okay, I might have forgotten if Rx John had already gone back. ... Okay yeah, it already happened. Page 8333 vs 9047 of Homestuck. Anyway...

Hmm, GO Dave never used the eggsword much in the end (Caledfwlch), as he went after Jade's body and tied to a critical devilbeast combo. But I don't think John'll take it?

"Through the condensation you can make out the shapes of Dave and Jade below, as well as two more of you hovering in the air above. Both Johns turn to look at you." PFfffffff, of course he draws his other selves attention. Why would it resolve so cleanly as they zapping away in the background. Dave had a fit before when he saw one, but now, if he'll acknowledge all three...

"On the ground, Dave is talking in a particular cadence, one that is familiar to you, his longtime best buddy. Casual, wandering, verging on droning. It’s a good indication he’ll be monologuing for a while, and probably already has been." Yeah, GO Dave was summing up all the reasons he didn't particularly want to do anything about LE. Retconned Dave just thought he should fulfill the prophecy to get it over with, but that's about the end of his commitment in the matter too. Only Davepetasprite^2 really felt like going up against LE. Will Caledfwlch make it into their hands?

"DAVE: thats what...DAVE: you do...DAVE: with..." Awesome, he even gets trailed off at exactly the same moment in his monologue. :D

"DAVE: karate. john what the fuck are you doing hereDAVE: or... waitDAVE: actually three johnsDAVE: hey three johns what the fuck are three johns doing here" Dave is so whatever about this, it's hilarious. Then again, he's been all around LOHACSE thrice in a single day, he's got some experience in the matter of walking around alt time selves.

Also, I wonder if Dave (and Jade) will notice he's an older version of John. If not, his god tier powers probably keep him youthful, like Superman.

"It’s a fair question, which logically should have been directed to the oldest and most knowledgeable John. Nevertheless, one of the younger Johns replies first." Pfff, the second oldest one then? The one that came back here with a semblance of purpose, not randomly zapping through canon? Plus, if Dave wouldn't notice a difference between the Johns, neither would the younger ones.

"(JOHN 1): er.(JOHN 1): i don’t know." Ooooh! Cool, not just are they parenthesed, the Johns are now also numbered! Yeah, we wouldn't want them to just all be named John, that'd be insane and probably what Jade went through with PCG & FCG from her end (aka two ?CG's).

"JOHN 3: john, don’t worry about it. i’ll take things from here.DAVE: johns dont get me wrong its cool that you all randomly dropped by again but this wasnt really the best time" Hah, yeah John, try and get that semblance of knowing what you're doing back, like you acted out on LOPAN against your past selves. I'm actually interested to see whether he will be as dismissive towards his other selves as back then. Right, this is the second time Dave saw John, after the time he dropped in when Dave was looking at his old photographs.

"DAVE: we were kind of in the middle of a thing here(JOHN 1): whoops. sorry.(JOHN 2): uh... actually, i only came here to swoop in and zap this john away without being seen, to retcon away the mess i made earlier.(JOHN 2): i didn’t expect to see another john here.

JOHN 3: hey, other john, i said i’ll handle it!

JOHN 3: i’m the only one who actually knows what’s going on here.DAVE: god damn it johns what the fuck did you do" John 1 fucked it up, John 2 would've fixed things but then John 3 came back and fucked up some more. It's like the goddamned Primer movie all over again.

"JOHN 3: young dave, please.

JOHN 3: let me deal with the johns first, then i’ll explain.DAVE: young dave???" Why did that make me think of WV's polite commands. "Sir John" and all that. :P I think the other Johns will be able to get resolved easily enough, one zapping the other away to bop him in the head, both confused over the mess they left behind.

"DAVE: ohDAVE: yeah why are you a fucking adult now" OOOOOOh, nice! Okay, even though it'll be all shades of awkward, I really like the age difference isn't getting skimmed over.

"DAVE: did you grow up and start time traveling dude" Take that, reverse it.

"JADE: will someone tell me what the fuck is happening???????" Oh right, Grimbark Jade's text colour thingy!

"JOHN 3: johns, there’s no reason for you to hang around anymore.

JOHN 3: not to sound like a wet blanket, but the things you’re trying to accomplish are now useless, so you can just zap away and do whatever you want.(JOHN 1): ummm...(JOHN 2): useless?? wait." Harsh much, John. Also, just cause they won't/aren't you, they can just go become you, or whatever how you want to put it.

"JOHN 3: ok, maybe i shouldn’t have said that.

JOHN 3: i’m sure you can still go and do what i did when i originally did what you’re currently trying to do...DAVE: jesus john" Dave's inner time logistician is crying. John's retcon powers are so OP, he doesn't have to take any care in keeping time loops going if he doesn't want to. But that'd just result in copies of him flying around, so he'd best to just send them on their way, hopefully never to run into them again.

"

JOHN 3: in fact, it will still probably be a very rewarding experience!

JOHN 3: some of my best memories happened right after you do what you’re about to do next." I was thinking of the meet-up with his friends in general, but yeah, it's probably mostly about meeting Roxy, which is the closest thing to happen to (John 1)'s point in time.

"JOHN 3: the point is, you should just go do it, so that you aren’t here anymore." Savage.

"JOHN 3: i’m here to make sure some new and different important things happen, and those things don’t include you.

JADE: :|(JOHN 1): oh...(JOHN 2): ...ok.

The useless Johns zap away. You sincerely hope that they have a beautiful and fulfilling youth." ... That's not what your mouth ended up conveying there, John. Nor your thoughts, I mean, "useless", dear god man, have some alt self respect. :P

"DAVE: adult john what the fuck have you doneDAVE: is this some time travel shitDAVE: please dont tell me youve been spending the next however many years bungling through time like this because tbh if what i just witnessed was even remotely indicative of shit you get up to on a recurring basis then your future is almost too embarrassing to even think aboutDAVE: and this is coming from a teenager who was just in the middle of an angsty episode" Self aware Dave tirades are still the best. :D

"JOHN: i used my retcon abilities to travel here from the future, in a manner of speaking.DAVE: sounds fuckin stupidJOHN: it is stupid. but that’s just how things are." Glad they can agree to agree on that very valid assessment. :P

"JADE: im a little confused

JADE: im supposed to be hunting you down and capturing you... but im not sure if the adult version of you counts?

JADE: i think the condesce might just be... confused if i brought her an adult john?" Oooh, is this conflicting with her "programming" some how? Doggy Jade is confused, that's actually intruiging that she's given pause.

"JOHN: no, you don’t need to capture me, and you wouldn’t be able to even if you wanted to, since my existence literally transcends the confines of canon.

JADE: well...

JADE: i guess that simplifies things then?" John bullshitting his way to victory over people smarter than him, it remains a sight to behold.

"

JADE: in that case, would you mind giving me and dave a few minutes to wrap up our conversation?" XD Lol, wut????? Hahahah, Paradox Space really can only handle so much derailment to a timeline. At some point it just throws up it's arms and goes "leave me be, for five minutes, I was busy here!"

"JADE: we were sort of in the middle of something important... i thinkJOHN: no, you really weren’t.JOHN: sorry to be the bearer of lame news, like i just was to the other johns.JOHN: but whatever you were doing doesn’t matter anymore.JOHN: nothing that’s happening here matters at all.JOHN: this session, this whole takeover by the condesce... this isn’t how a universe gets made.

JADE: its not?JOHN: no." Sorry to break it to ya, but you're in a doomed timeline.

"DAVE: so what nowDAVE: if its all a done deal like preemptively speakingDAVE: can we all just relax or whatJOHN: actually...JOHN: no." Okay... So, what, can he just recruit these guys off and zap off with them to the next plot point? Won't something have to be done about the grimbarkness first? Also, if the next plot point is in the same timeline... Game Over really gets derailed. No Jade, no swapping Derse for LOFAF.

"DAVE: fuckJOHN: ah! i just realized why she sent me to this point in time to start recruiting you all.DAVE: whatDAVE: who" Rose, but not your Rose, although perhaps with the memories of that Rose, so kinda your Rose. :P Okay, so it's not that Rose's letter gave more detailed instructions than to zap there & recruit. So John'll have to figure out what to bring besides the people, in some cases at least. Like, here that would be Caledfwlch.

"JOHN: this is the moment just after you made your legendary cue ball sword.JOHN: you’re going to need it.DAVE: for whatJOHN: to come fight lord english with me.

Dave’s eyebrows descend beneath his sunglasses. You feel pretty bad because you’re about to completely circumvent the life-changing epiphany he’s just had that you know for a fact will make him a happier, chiller, and altogether more well-balanced human being." :/ Yeah, Dave really was happier cheating his way out of the prophecy. But then, he could only become so happy if someone else took care of the REAL Lord English for him. Guess another Dave'll have to bite the dust for "alpha" Dave again. Then again, epiphany or not, GO Dave might have ended up happy... but then he'd have been a happy ghost, for just as long until LE or the black hole got to him.

Still, man, I'm feeling for the guy. It's one thing to reject the call when it's an abstract prophecy or artefact thrust on you. But now it's his best friend asking him to join him in a crazy last stand. That's... actually one of the toughest challenges any Dave has had.

"DAVE: oh shit" ... Best underwhelming response he could have. :D

"JADE: what??

JADE: john. he is NOT going to fight lord english just yet

JADE: he is staying right here

JADE: old ladys orders :PJOHN: actually, yes he is." I'm sensing a showdown coming, but I wonder how swift John will take care of her, can his mangrist trump First Guardian swiftness? Oh, yeah, and he could turn into the Breeze too, I recall. Yeah, Jade's gonna bite the dust.

"JOHN: and so are you. we all are." Oooooh, okay, he wants everyone from the GO timeline to take a swing. Cool that he's getting his gang back together. Still, the age difference! :P Everyone but Roxy might be a little wary of it. (I'm saying that because at one point Roxy crushed on Jane's Dad.

"JADE: omg

JADE: how dare you?????JOHN: jade, you’re brainwashed.JOHN: sorry. but nothing you’re saying now means anything." Like, I understand where he's coming from, but dang John, still so brutal.

"JOHN: it’s fine though, you’ll stop being brainwashed once i zap you outside the influence of the condesce." Oooh, round trips to blankspace it is? I don't think it'll be to LOWAS, just to "a" point in blankspace they can be "stored" until the gang is assembled.

"JADE: youre not zapping me anywhere!!!!!JOHN: ha ha, yes i am.JOHN: watch this...

> Zap Grimbark Jade outta there." Has he learned to do a snap to zap her away while staying behind himself? Like how Jade zapped everyone to LOMAX.

It would be anticlimactic for John's retcon powers to suddenly cease working here. It would also be very Hussie for that to happen spontaneously. :P But then again, not likely as he'll use the same power to go to LOCAM (Caliborn's planet).

"You set a hand on Jade’s shoulder and zap her off to a better place. Then you touch down on the concrete surface where the whole pointless confrontation was taking place so that you can talk Dave around whatever it is he’s going through right now. Dave, like his ecto-sister, really needs to get in an absurd amount of extraneous words before he can fully process a situation.

The Mayor tips his head at you and fiddles with his sash. God damn, you missed the Mayor." Ah, okay, that particular conversation we might not see in its entirety? Or maybe we will. In any case, right, WV was there! Aww, yes we missed him. But hey, seems like John at least took a little time before they travelled into the future, to get to know WV? I wonder if he ever found out he was his exile, probably not.

"DAVE: so what do we do nextJOHN: well, i’ll leave you to hang out with jade for a bit, while i go round up the others." Hey, it occurred to me, Dave & Jade could have a chat while they wait, work some things out. A similar conversation as that GO Dave & Jade presumably had right after their deaths, when they woke up next to each other in the dreambubbles!

"DAVE: what others... likeDAVE: everyoneJOHN: yes. rose, and the other four." Yeah, this is speeding things up rapidly as far as the meetup between the kids is concerned. Dave & Dirk might benefit from some alone time out in blankspace together, mirroring their LOTAK conversation. Also, this means John will be zapping into the outer reaches of the session to retrieve Dirk, hahah. ... I wonder if the glitches from the stardust will be causing any disturbance, probably not anymore since the stardust was blown out of the cartridge, admittedly at a "later" point in the timeline.

Blaperile has a good point, what about Roxy? I'm going to assume that, by the time gets around to breaking her out of jail, John 1 or an equivalent John has already visited her. But I don't remember if they talked about the ring already back then. I do still think John will be giving her the ring to go revive Calliope, but the exact feelings around the moment will remain to be seen.

"DAVE: i seeDAVE: so...DAVE: sorry if i seem a little slow here im just trying to figure this outDAVE: youre telling me that i made this sword because im destined to defeat lord english and weve all been training for that day our whole lives to some extent more or lessDAVE: and we are actually successful here like we overthrow the condesce and make a universe and everythingDAVE: and thenDAVE: we..." ... Yeah, this timeline won't spawn a universe, it's already been done, it exists, no point in repeating the whole process. This session is now void again. Dave tries to build a timeline in his head that makes sense, but the sad thing is, his future is uncertain. Though, he might not be sad at all? I mean, not if the future is his to be written, right?

"DAVE: sit on our asses for several years in the new universe and become adults and lead mostly boring lives instead of going off to fight him?" ... Or, does Dave really DO understand what has happened, that he's picking up left over plot behind some other version of him.

"JOHN: yes.DAVE: guess that makes senseDAVE: now that i think about it thats probably what i would want to do by the time we finally wrap up this whole hot messJOHN: yep, it is what you wanted to do.JOHN: and pretty much everyone else agreed, including me. so that’s what we did." Not sure how conscious the decision was for them at the time, but sure.

"DAVE: which uhDAVE: i guess begs the questionDAVE: if it seemed pointless at the time and nobody could be assed to go fight him when we all had our shit togetherDAVE: why does it suddenly become important to go back and beat him years later after we become a bunch of lazy adults with boring lives" You'd have to ask Rose but she wouldn't remember in this timeline so the point is kind of mute. :P

"JOHN: i pretty much had the same questions, dave.JOHN: there are probably some pretty good answers to that. definitely some complicated answers.JOHN: but to be honest... i kind of forget what they actually were?DAVE: god damn it john" Pfffffff. John "it seemed important at the time so here i am" Egbert, everyone.

"JOHN: it has something to do with canon unraveling, and such.JOHN: we all live outside canon in the future, and if we don’t do go do this, everything will stop meaning anything.DAVE: does...DAVE: anything you just said actually mean anything in the first place" There's a song that comes to mind from Volume 9, "Everything means Something to Somebody". To Dave, it must be sound like the same level of fortune cookie wisdom.

"JOHN: that’s a great question, dave.JOHN: one that i can’t say i’m qualified to answer!JOHN: i think the bottom line here is, this is what rose said we had to do.JOHN: so, that’s why we’re doing it.DAVE: sounds like a bullshit reason if i ever heard oneJOHN: you might be right.JOHN: but is it less of a bullshit reason than any other reason we currently have to go fight him?DAVE: ...DAVE: damnDAVE: youre rightDAVE: i dont know how you did it but you somehow instantly sold me completelyDAVE: fuck you adult egbert" At some point, the scales will buckle just from the shear heap of bullshit piled on.

"You zap Dave off to where he needs to go. The Mayor is still staring at you, blinking his buggy little eyes. You shoot him a warm smile and a thumbs-up before bouncing off into the ether of infinity." Awww, actually, leaving WV behind can't be all bad for him. He can find Serenity in here, PM too. Condesce might very well leave for the Furthest Ring, and then this session is up for sale to anyone. And with the royalty down for the count, WV can take over. Well, okay, WQ... probably blew up when Union Jack broke Prospit. Yeah, WV, PM & the still alive Derse agents are the top bill around, and if PM can trump Jack again (the three of him, Spades Slick & Union Jack included), then the remaining Derse agents would follow.

That marks the end of Meat, page 4 for us!

[blaperile]

Hiveswap Episode 1 Reaction Part 3: Joey’s room? More like our eternal playground!

Before we start again, I had a random thought about something I learned yesterday.

So, Joey implied she doesn't really have any friends. But on the other hand, she also seemed to imply that she has a boyfriend when examnining the Clarissa poster. If she's so bad at making friends, then I'm really curious to learn more about her boyfriend!

I mean, assuming I understood it correctly, perhaps I misunderstood it and she doesn't actually have a boyfriend. :P

Anyway, day 3 of playing! It's weekend and 4:50 PM right now, let's see how much we'll get done today!

First of all we're gonna check out the closet, then try out some more combinations of using items on other items, there's a bunch of those that we can still try out, with the tap shoes, diary key and Cherub key. Afterwards, we'll probably examine the computer, window, walkie talkie and doors and see if we can advance!

Oooooh, nice, we can actually open the closet!

A bunch of puzzles and other neat stuff in there... including a Simon Says game! I saw that in concept art not too long ago, perhaps there'll be something special about it? ...And I'm not just saying that because it seems to be blinking like hell. :P

Oh boy... we can CHALLENGE the Simon Says game. Is this gonna be a mini-game? xD

plainWonder has a cool theory that Joey might use the batteries of this game for her walkie talkie! After having seen it in concept art I first thought she'd get batteries out of that radio, but perhaps this is a more likely theory!

...Pfff, so she even USED the batties of the walkie talkie ON the Simon Says game in the first place, hahaha.

GREEN BUTTON ISN'T WORKING, looooooool. Hahaha, it was worth the try/nostalgia.

Nope, can't use the batteries on the cherub key, obviously. :P

Analogue key, ahahaha. xD

Can we have battery-powered tap shoes? :mspa:

YOU RUN ON RAZZLE DAZZLE OH MY GOD. So THAT'S where that dance from that concept art comes from, hahaha!

Ooooooh, apparently you can also combine items with the Joey symbol in the upper right corner! Looks like it gives a more general explanation on what those items actually are, that's interesting.

Hehe, yes Joey, the lessons you followed for tap dancing probably deserve some credit as well. :P

Oh my god I love all those ridiculous comments when combining items with the ballerina poster. Combining the diary key with it gives some pretty cool insight though, nice.

Tap Shoes && Ballerina poster (might be a handy way to address the combinations!)==> Ha, looks like we'll get another Joey dance if we come back here with the ballerina shoes instead! :D

Cherub Key && Hot Steppin' poster ==> Looks like Ms. Claire probably didn't do ballet by herself but danced in a group together with multiple women! Also, this shows that Joey only got this poster AFTER Ms. Claire died.

Diary Key && Hot Steppin' poster ==> Oh???? She's got ANOTHER diary? Looks like this might be the only time we'll ever hear of it though. :P

Tap shoes && Hot Steppin' poster ==> Doing taxes at church tho' xD

Batteries && Story That Keeps Happening poster ==> IMAGINAAAAAAAAAAATION. That's all there really is to say on the matter. :mspa:

Cherub Key && Story That Keeps Happening poster ==> Oh so the Cherub Key might be a reference to The Neverending Story??? Haha, I didn't know that! It's been years since I last saw that movie. Interestingly, Joey seems to be SURE that the key is older "by at least a few years" than the movie. I looked it up, the movie came out in 1984, so when Joey was 4 years old! Hmmm, curious!

Tap Shoes && Story That Keeps Happening poster ==> Always not-ending routine. xD I love how they're doing everything they can to avoid saying "Neverending".

Cherub Key && Canadian Campfire Spookems poster ==> Huh! This combination doesn't work! Looks like they forgot to implement that one? Eh, oh well. :P

Tap Shoes && Canadian Campfire Spookems poster ==> JOEY CLAIRE, EXTRAORDINAIRE. It even fucking rhymes, that is amazing. (Also there goes Joey again with her cute little dance)

Batteries & Acorn's Shadow poster ==> Eldritch, you say? Hopefully not the kind of eldritch I'm thinking of here. 0_0

Cherub Key && Acorn's Shadow poster ==> Ahahaha, looks like the episodes of this cartoon were 22 minutes long.

Diary Key && Acorn's Shadow poster ==> 17 seasons??? Wow, looks like it's a popular cartoon. Possibly even rivalizing the Squiddles cartoon? :mspa:

Tap shoes && Acorn's Shadow poster ==> Galloping green flames??? Is... is that a reference to the destructive fires Bec and Jack Noir have caused in the comic? Well... at least they weren't part horse. :mspa:

Oh wow, we hadn't noticed yet that we could click on the Connect Four game!

Welp, looks like Joey's good at beating Jude at games (or at least she believes she is). Is she as good at beating him as Calliope was at beating Caliborn? :P

Diary key && Connect Four ==> Pfff, a diary working like a Connect Four game. That kind of reminds me of Fetch Modi. Now imagine a Connect Four Fetch Modus, oh dear god.

Batteries && Diary ==> Electronic diaries, such a preposterous idea, am i right? :mspa:

Batteries && Ms. Claire picture ==> Why do we get so much sadstuck when examining this picture. :(

Cherub Key && Magical Companions Heal Force poster ==> If I were you Joey I wouldn't be trusting that Cherub Key for one bit, and I'm not just saying that because of what is going to happen pretty soon. 0_0

Tap shoes && Magical Companions Heal Force poster ==> Deer hooves, oh my god. Well, NEVERMIND THEN.

Batteries && Bounty Hunter poster ==> I assume Energy Tanks is also a reference to Metroid? :P

Tap dance && Bounty Hunter poster ==> "Turn into a ball in mid-air" METROID REFERENCE CONFIRMED.

Cherub Key && Star Avenue poster ==> Oh wow, Ms. Claire knew Ginger Rogers! That's interesting! It reminds me of how Poppop also met some interesting and famous people in his life and became one himself. And B2 Dave and B2 Rose too of course, like plainWonder pointed out! They knew some famous people too (and were famous themselves).

The Homestuck/Hiveswap Kids sure do have a lot famous family members or family members knowing famous people, haha.

Diary Key && Star Avenue poster ==> I like that Ginger: My Story is also an actual book, of 1991. What Pumpkin sure did a lot of research for this game, I really like what they've done!

Cherub Key && Block Hustle poster ==> L-shaped object??? Oh god, she's right. The key DOES sort of look like an L, just like the first letter of Lord English's name. Oh my fucking god.

Diary Key && Block Hustle poster ==> Hahah, yes, too bad Youtube didn't exist yet to search the song and then practice your routine. And I agree actually, the Tetris song is really catchy and would probably be really cool for a dance! Also, yup, a little slip up there with accidentally writing Tetris instead of Block Hustle.

Batteries && Bubsy Poster ==> Hehe, this description makes me think even more of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Cherub Key && Bubsy Poster ==> She really doesn't like Bubsy, does she? xD

Diary Key && Bubsy poster ==> Heh, that reminds me of what John said about one of his posters, about meaning to take it down because he didn't like it that much.

Batteries && Second Mom poster ==> "Believe me, you've tried" N'awwww

Cherub Key && Second Mom poster ==> Oh hell fricking yes, a reference to Ness' yoyo! (also... yoyo kinda makes me think of juju...)

Diary Key && Second Mom poster ==> Huh, that's a pretty original way of saving your game. Also, unexpected sadstuck is unexpected. :(

Batteries && Game controller ==> And maybe they aren't even the proper size of batteries anyway. :P

Diary Key && Game controller ==> Getting a bit close to the Fourth Wall there, aren't we? ;D

Diary Key && Game console ==> Oh man, I like that this comes with a sweet little animation as well, to show her reaching down to jab the diary key at the console!

Cherub Key && TV ==> OH GOD I'M DYING BECAUSE OF THIS ADORABLE ANIMATION. Joey is just so incredibly cute no matter what she's doing.

Tap Shoes && TV ==> I'm sure Joey would LOVE the Wii Console, to be capable of using wireless controllers and moving/dancing around while playing her games!

Cherub Key && Bean Bag ==> Wait a second... so Mom visited the attic to retrieve these bean bags and place them all over the house! That's really interesting to know that she's already been up there, meaning she might also be aware of the mysterious device up there that Joey will eventually use to go to Alternia!

Batteries && Sir Bappy Pawswatter ==> Oh dear god, I didn't expect those things ran on batteries. Good thing Jade never found out about that, or at least already removed the batteries. xD

Suddenly realized we could also combine items with the ceiling!

Cherub Key && Ceiling ==> ...That is not the right description. xD Looks like that's the description for Cherub Key && Walkie Talkie.

Diary Key && Ceiling ==> Oh wow, so Ms. Claire painted that when Joey was still a baby! ...Come to think of it, how old was Joey when Ms. Claire died? Was she still a baby when Ms. Claire died or not? Because if she was, I think there's a high chance Jude is NOT her son, which is an idea I've been playing around with already (what with their different surnames and all). If so, the question beckons who IS his mother.

Cherub Key && Animal posters ==> That is indeed the cutest idea ever. Even if they don't get any actual gifts from them, at least they still get some nice licks from them. :P

Batteries && Wardrobe ==> Indeed, and her wardrobe doesn't need batteries either, seeing as it's not a Wardrobifier. :P

Cherub Key && Junior Veterinarian Medkit ==> NO SHIT that it doesn't work like that. xD

Tap Dancer && Junior Veterinarian Medkit ==> Oh okay, so she IS still debating on which profession she would like to have in the future! I wonder if her experiences in this adventure will help her make a choice? Maybe... maybe we'll even be able to INFLUENCE which one she will eventually choose? Like, I could see it happening that she'll take care of Dammek's Lusus at some point perhaps, maybe it will get hurt or something. Not sure how her dancing skills would come into play (other than as fighting skill), but it could happen!

Or maybe it will even depend on how you play the game in general: do you take a more aggressive stance against enemies, fighting them with your dance skills, or do you instead go for a more passive route and take care of the wounded and such?

That would be interesting!

Batteries && Clarissa poster ==> GIRL POWER. Why am I suddenly reminded of Game Grl. :P

Diary Key && Clarissa poster ==> So Clarissa ended a month ago, and next day a new episode of Alex Mack would come out about dancing? *looks it up* Yep, all true facts! God I just love how much effort they've put into this.

Batteries && Bed ==> Ahahaha, that reminds me of how Jade tried to sneak past the fireplace in order to sneak by Grandpa, hehe. And yeah, Parker Brothers! That rings a bell to me, a pretty famous company for making board games I believe *looks it up* Yep, they are!

Batteries & Puppy Surprise ==> Exactly what I was thinking just before doing this combination. 0_0

Diary Key && Puppy Surprise ==> Oh wow, we can put the diary key back into the Puppy Surprise! That makes me seem like that is indeed what happened after we tried writing into the diary last time.  Hehe, let's retrieve the key for now and try that out in a few seconds.

*few seconds later*

So, the Diary Key indeed went back into the Puppy Surprise! But sadly, we can't retrieve the key anymore afterwards.

Alright, let's reload the game so we can hang onto the key for a while longer.

Batteries && Toys on shelf ==> Grandpa gave shotguns to Jude, seriously? ...On the other hand, I really shouldn't be surprised. This is Grandpa/Jake we're talking about, after all. :mspa:

Cherub Key && Toys on shelf ==> Welp... literally a baby. That confirms that I guess. Poor Joey, she really grew up without a mom for the most part. :(

I guess like how all Kids and Trolls seem to grow up with no or only one Guardian around.

Tap shoes && Book shelf ==> Oh yeah, I totally forgot about how for a long time a lot of people didn't consider tap-dancing an actual dance, I believe I've heard that somewhere before.

Diary/Cherub Key && Ballerina figure ==> WELP, that gives the same narration as diary key && Cherub key.

Cherub Key && Wizard glass ball ==> Haha, that reminds me of all the discussions in Homestuck on what is or isn't magic, and also the magical properties of wizards.

Tap shoes && Wizard glass ball ==> I love how there are so many combinations of the tap shoes with another item that cause her to just make a dance.

Tap shoes && Oven ==> Lukewarm-steppin', PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Batteries & Skaianet Calendar ==> OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH, so THAT is the context of that picture! So apparently Skaianet isn't "just" a science company that was sneakily behind Sburb, but is actually a videogame company!!! Huh, I definitely didn't expect that! Now that picture suddenly makes a lot more sense, with them all being videogame figures.

Also, that gives a whole new context to Mom working for Skaianet! I always figured she just did it because she was into science, but the fact that they're actually actively making videogames makes a lot of sense too because we know Roxy is so into videogames!!!

Wow.

That's definitely a cool mystery that just got solved!

Tap shoes && Skaianet Calendar ==> Oh shit! Alright, so that's confirmation that she is still in fact babysitting them and that it's not a thing from the past. Also, she's got a driving license! I guess it makes sense because she's probably... somewhere around 20 years old? Give or take a few years in either direction.

And like plainWonder said, that gives a REALLY interesting deadline for Joey to either return from Alternia or for Mom to notice something's up! Because 11/11/1994 is a Friday evening, which means that in the morning of the next day Mom should be coming!!!

Hmm... will Joey come back so quickly from Alternia??? Or are we going to get a surprise appearance from Mom in Hauntswitch or maybe even the end of Hiveswap???

Oh god I'd be so excited if she will physically appear in one of these games!

Diary Key && Other Animal posters ==> Wait, the same company made the diary and those posters? Now I'm pretty curious what the name of that company is, haha.

Cherub Key && Other Animal posters ==> Well, there's my answer apparently! :mspa: L.F. is the name... looks like that might be a fictional one! Or maybe just an abbreviation of a real one, to avoid copyright issues.

Okay, now it's time to start doing some more (possibly) plot relevant/impactful things!

Let's examine the computer and see what that does...

...Ahahaha, some cheap Windows rip-off, of course.

Welp, she's not going to actually do something on her computer. That's too bad, I wanted to see her surf to www.mspaintadventures.com and see what her browser is. xD

What with how she mentions keeping up with a bunch of different websites, that reminds me of how Bro's Completely Bullshit thing that helped him keep track of a bunch of different websites.

Heh, apparently we can't turn the computer back off again! That's such a waste of electricity. :P

Tap shoes && Computer ==> Ahahahaha, tapping the keys VS tapping her keys. I love What Pumpkin.

Let's see what happens if we try to leave Joey's room! She probably won't want to do it, because of the monster outside.

....Yup, that's indeed the case! She wants to warn Jude! Looks like we'll have to use the walkie talkie here, and thus put the batteries in. Which kinda surprises me that we "have" to do this, I thought I saw in concept art somewhere that she had the batteries in her inventory somewhere else? So can we remove them from the walkie talkie again or something?

But first, let's look out the window!

Oh yes, it's this view of the garden, like from the concept art!

....N'AWWWWWWWWWWW. I was about to say: "Hey, where's Tesseract? I don't see him!" when suddenly he popped out of the dog house. D'awww, so scared. :(

Hey, that stone structure by the wall there, the head kind of looks like a Mother Grub! That's a bit suspicious...

Also, that bush there. It looks a lot like the snakey monster chasing Joey! That's also really suspicious, are these monsters "known" around here? Or at least by Grandpa or something?

Let's see what we can interact with here...

Okay, so she calls the fountain Skull Fountain! ....Yup, still making me think of the Mother Grub there. :P

Poor, POOR puppy! I wonder if there's something Joey and/or Jude can do to make Tesseract come out, or if that's something that will only happen in Hauntswitch?

Welp, I hadn't really thought yet about the fact that Joey had only seen ONE of these monsters yet! She didn't know there's going to be a whole bunch of them, yikes.

Oh boy, now the tree hut...

Pffff, so Jude considers it his "mission control room". In other words, he probably treats it more like 'his' room than his actual room. :P

And apparently Joey hasn't been up there yet! Hmm, interesting. I wonder if there are many things that Jude keeps there that Joey isn't aware about?

Alright, so nothing else happens here when examining the tree hut. Looks like we'll be needing to use the walkie talkie to make progress!

But before we do, let's first use some items on this window...

Batteries && Window ==> Ahahaha, too bad they didn't make a stab at the fenestrated windows like plainWonder suggested. That's a missed opportunity. :P

Cherub Key && Window ==> Precious window, ahahahaha!

And now... time for the walkie talkie! Let's finally make some progress in this shit. xD

Oh god... we apparently put the walkie talkie in our inventory as well! Which means... before we use the batteries on it, we got a whole new bunch of combinations to try out with all the different items in the room here.

Nope, progress will have to wait a bit longer. :mspa:

Walkie Talkie && Cherub Key ==> Wouldn't that be cool, a walkie talkie that runs on tap dancing? xD

Walkie Talkie && Skaianet Calendar ==> Pffff, it would be pretty funny if when we establish communication with Jude he immediately makes a remark like this. Plus, it would also be funny if we will actually see Joey's calendar from his perspective in the tree hut.

Walkie Talkie && Oven ==> And sadly, the walkie talkie doesn't run on microwaves either. :P

Walkie Talkie && Toy shelf ==> SHELF BUDDIES. TREE BROTHER. Oh hell yes.

Walkie Talkie && Bed ==> Now this is an especially interesting piece of narration! First of all, Joey apparently also aspires to be a webmaster! Secondly, it's pretty interesting how this also gives some new information because we've already got the batteries!

Also goddammit yeah I can understand why Joey removed the batteries out of the walkie talkie, haha.

Walkie Talkie && Computer ==> Pffff, yes, unfortunately USB cables don't exist yet and as far as I'm aware there are no walkie talkies with USB ports. :P

Walkie Talkie && Game Controllers ==> Pff, so maybe those batteries WERE actually of the right type to be used for the walkie talkie but she just simply doesn't want to take them out of the controllers, haha.

Walkie Talkie && Game Console ==> Whoops, another slip-up there, referring to Mother 2! Heh, so apparently the Famicon had such a special voice feature then?

Walkie Talkie && Bubsy poster ==> He can stay quiet, so that's probably why that SHH sticker is on the poster. xD

Walkie Talkie && Block Hustle poster ==> Incredibly lame pun is incredibly lame. :mspa:

Walkie Talkie && Connect Four ==> Ha, that reminds me of Calliope and Caliborn's chess game, with Caliborn seemingly making bad strategic decisions but actually just luring Calliope into a trap.

Walkie Talkie && Canadian Campfire Spook-ems poster ==> I'd laugh if this is exactly what happens on Alternia with Joey somehow being capable of communicating with Xefros through the walkie talkie. xD

Walkie Talkie && Acorn's Shadow poster ==> It would always make Acorn uncomfortable when her shadow would just stand there... and watch.

Walkie Talkie && Magical Companions Heal Force poster ==> Pffff, wouldn't that be convenient if Joey could just do that.

"the deer is her brother"

...

...

...

0_0

MOVIN' ON.

Oh wow, we only just noticed that we can also use items on Joey's dresser!

Walkie Talkie && Ms. Claire picture ==> MY FEELS. D: How great would it be if she could talk to her through walkie talkie... That reminds me actually of the movie Frequency, where a father and son communicate through time just through a radio.

Walkie Talkie && Diary ==> THE BEST. SIMPLY THE BEST. I love the reference to the memos of the Trolls and all Karkat's discussions of past self VS present self VS future self, hahahaha!

Oh dear god we only just noticed that the disabled hint function gives a different message every time! We'd only pressed it one time.

I love how he just becomes increasinly meta as we keep on clicking it, kind of like in [S] YOU THERE BOY with continuously clicking on John.

And he just keeps on sounding more like the in-comic Andrew, hahahaha.

But... plainWonder's right. As we go on, he progressively sounds more and more like Doc Scratch. I mean... allotting time to 'talk' to us, being smug about being intelligent... This is kind of suspicious.

I highly doubt it's Doc Scratch, that it's just meant to be the narrator, but... HMMMMMMMMM

Okay, we've reached the end of it. Now it just keeps on repeating that the hint function is unavailable. xD

Anyway, that's all for today! It's 8:15 PM now.

I'm pretty happy that we've just about finished up with the actual introduction of the game (LOL, that took long enough, like, 6-7 hours of gameplay so far holy shit), and can now get diving into more of the actual plot. xD