#after banjo’s first time swimming!!!

[delawaredetroit]

Since we're talking names, I went to the fandom wiki to dig into Mirio's real name and hero name a bit more, and I'm even more convinced of my interpretation of his character and the depths to which he is meant to be a foil for Izuku.

Both of their hero names are calls to action created from puns of their given names. The first character of Izuku's name can be read as "de" which Bakugou used to call him Deku, worthless/a wooden doll, which Ochako reinterpreted as dekiru as in "you can do it!". Izuku writes his hero name in accordance with Ochako's interpretation, but it's still a homophone with how he was called by Bakugou. And that "you can do it!" is simultaneously Izuku's aspirations for himself, a callback to his origin, and a call to action for others.

Mirio's name is close to a homophone with the Japanese pronunciation of million, and his hero name is Lemillion. His goal is to save a million people. He lacks the ambition to save everyone or create a new framework for their society. Assuming Japan's population was around 126.8 million people during this chapter, Mirio's highest ambition was to save approximately one percent of the population. It's a grand goal for an average pro hero, but for a supposed fledging symbol that goal is nothing special.

There are conflicting indications in Mirio's name concerning One for All. Mirio's name does fit within the number pattern for One for All successors. His surname contains a kanji that can also be read as ten just like the "ku" in Izuku's name is a homophone for nine. But, his surname, Togata, can also be read as "conformity", which is the opposite of the role of a One for All successor.

All the One for All users went against the grain of their time. The first three went against the man who first brought society back together again after the Dawn of Quirks (because he was trying to rule over everything). Shinomori rejected the existing society entirely and lived in the woods. Banjo through Nana were swimming against the tide trying to keep society together and fight the ultimate villain during times of turmoil. All Might was an orphan who came from nothing who aspired to be a pillar for society to progress. Izuku had ambitions to include those excluded/disempowered by All Might's era of peace (not that Izuku thinks poorly of All Might but they have disagreements concerning questions like can everyone be saved or are their inherently evil quirks).

Mirio's rationality and achievable, grounded goals just don't mesh well with the ethos of One for All despite the surface level compatibility.

Tl;dr: Mirio isn't crazy enough to be a One for All successor

[digitalsatyr23]

Get to know my OC

This sounded like a really fun one! I got tagged by @gummybugg, so go check out their version of the post here.

RINA! RINA GET IN ‘ERE!!!

An alligator-tailed girl with shaggy brown hair and blue overalls walks her way into the interview room, leaving water where she goes. Given that she’s dripping wet and smells like a bog, it’s likely that she just came by from a swim. She hops up onto the stool provided for her and rests arms between her legs, gripping the top of the stool while kicking her feet back and forth.

“So uh... What’s this about now?”

1. Are you named after anyone?

"I don’t know anybody else named Rina, that’s fer sure! Oh, you must mean my family name! Well o’ course I got the same last name as mah family. It’d be mighty odd if I didn’t!” Rina turns to me and asks, “Did I do that right?” After giving her a thumbs up, she turns back to the interviewer.

2. When was the last time you cried?

“Oh, that’s easy. Yesterday! Had a big ol’ cry. No shame innit.”

3. Do you have kids? Do you have any friends?

“Well yeah, o’ course I got friends! There’s my ma, my pa, Lafayette, Scarlet, Kara, Chloe, uh...” Rina pauses, counting on her webbed fingers. “Eli... I think all my neighbors count... There’s them other gals not from ‘round here too. I think they prefer anonymi... Ana... They like to keep private! So I won’t share their names unless they give me the go ahead.”

4. Do you use sarcasm?

“What’s a sarcasm? Sounds fancy! What can I trade ya for it?” I whisper into Rina’s ear what sarcasm is, and she slaps her knee, chuckling. “Ah gosh dang it, I didn’t know that was a turn o’ phrase! Nah, I don’t use sarcasm! I don’t have a sarcastic bone in my body!”

5. What's the first thing you notice about people?

“Their smell. Human folk are really stanky. Mostly sweat, but sometimes they smell a bit more... Salty? Yeah.” Rina sniffs the air, saying, “and you, Mr. Fancypants interviewer smell like shampoo!”

6. What's your eye color?

“Wha? What kinda question is THAT? Of course I know what my own eye color is...” Rina sneakily reaches into a pocket on her overalls, pulling out a very tiny mirror. She slips it back into her pocket, snickering mischievously. “It’s green!”

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

“My ma doesn’t let me watch them scary movies with the screaming ladies on the covers so I wouldn’t know. Even so, why wouldn’t I pick happy endings? Everybody likes happy endings!”

8. Any special talents?

“Let’s see... I can play the banjo! I’m learning to cook from my ma! And uh...” Rina scratches her head. “Is fixin’ things a talent? One time when I was out on this reeeeeal long roadtrip with my buds - which I can’t name - their car broke down and I managed to fix it! Well sorta. It’s more like I realized what was wrong, so we dragged it around until we found this village with these little people with big ol’ BEARDS and, oh, that’s a bit off topic, ain’t it?”

9. Where were you born?

“In Bebop Bayou of course! That bein’ said, I don’t exactly ‘member where I was when I was born... That was a long time ago, you know?”

10. What are your hobbies?

“Fightin’ things, solvin’ problems, helpin’ Lafayette find treasure, and let’s see... Ooh, I like makin’ friends too! That’s a hobby, ain’t it?”

11. Do you have any pets?

“Oh yeah, I got a big ol’ catfish! I feed ‘em all kinds a junk, and he eats it up, too! O’ course this unsettles Big Pete - he’s a catfish guy in the bayou - so I try not to talk about my pet much ‘round him. You know, I heard a long time ago there weren’t always beastfolk like us in the world, and then we just sorta... Appeared! Wild, ain’t it? I don’t understand much about the history of it an all, but I know somethin’ big happened way back when. Like... Poof!”

12. What sports do you play/have played?

“Is fishin’ a sport? Ha, I’m just messin’ with ya! I’ve played rock toss before with my friends in the past. What, don’t know what rock toss is? It’s where ya throw a big ol’ rock around, and ya run with it, and if you cross a line with it, you get a point! Or somethin’ like that. It’s been a while since I played.”

13. How tall are you?

“I’m less than half the size of my ma and pa. I’m still growin’, though! I tell you what, once I grow up like my folks, why, I’ll be the biggest gator in all the bayou!”

14. Favorite subject in school?

“Haha, that’s funny. Nah, we ain’t got a school ‘round here. We tried to fix up an old burnt one outside the bayou, but that... Did not go well last time.”

15. Dream job?

“Wrestler! No, action movie star! Chef? Professional fisher? No no wait, a wrestler movie star that uses fish and cookin’ to beat up the bad guys in their movies!! Ah, this interview was too easy, chief! You gotta come up with harder questions next time!”

As was promised to Rina prior to the interview, I treat her to “free ice cream”. And by “free”, I mean I pay for it. I don’t mind though. After she gets her treat, she wanders back over to the bayou to gloat about how easy it was to get her free ice cream to her friends, who she is certain will be super jealous of her.

Tagging (This is totally optional, so don’t sweat it): @scarlett-olivier, @space-writes, @helioscenic, @withlovelunette, @minutiaewriter, @aether-wasteland-s, and anyone else that’s interested in doing it!

[lgbtqmanga]

New Releases Oct. 10, 2023

Acid Town vol. 2 by Kyugo

In a run-down city beset with poverty and gangs, survival is a daily struggle for Yuki and his best friend Tetsu. In a desperate attempt to pay for Yuki's brother's hospitalization, the two of them get caught trying to break into a yakuza vault. But the gang's young boss, Kazutaka Hyoudo, takes an interest in Yuki and they strike a deal: Hyoudo is willing to take care of the hospital bills— for a price.

A weekly visit to the Seidoukai office doesn't seem like much to pay, but the boys' connection to the criminal group has already begun to draw the wrong kind of attention. When a shady, malicious figure from Yuki's past reappears in his life, painful secrets are revealed and hard decisions must be made. Can Tetsu overcome the shock of learning about Yuki's dark past to express his deep and unwavering love for his friend?

The Black Cat & the Vampire vol. 1 by Nikke Taino

Blanc College is a prestigious all-boys boarding school where the sons of well-respected families from all over the world study and learn to be independent.

​Yuki, a first-year attending Blanc College on a scholarship, is the perfect student: at the top of his class, quiet and polite. He's a bit of a loner, keeping others at arm's length — except Jean, the devastatingly charming Head Boy, who seems entirely immune to Yuki's aloof attitude.

Their school days are peaceful until, one day, a student gets attacked, and ends up with a wound on his neck that looks suspiciously like a vampire bite! Yuki doesn't have time for this nonsense. And besides, vampires aren't even real... right? 

Black or White vol. 7 by Sachimo

After asking veteran actor Tatara for advice on kissing scenes, Shin is faced with a major dilemma - how does he tell his boyfriend Shige that Tatara ended up kissing him for real? Surprisingly, Shin receives the news well... a little too well, in fact. Can Shin contain his notorious jealousy, or will his next scene with rival Tatara have sparks flying in a whole new way?!

Given manga volume 8 features story and art by Natsuki Kizu.

Hiragi’s band is ready to make its big debut with the help of Ritsuka. And Mafuyu, who’s been wishy-washy about becoming the singer for Given, is now equally as indecisive about his own singing. Ritsuka invites Mafuyu to the debut concert, but he doesn’t accept the invitation, leaving Ritsuka even more confused by his boyfriend’s recent behavior.

I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl Manga Volume 4 features story and art by Azusa Banjo.

“I’m gonna tell Mido. Today, at the summer festival.” Unable to push back his feelings for his childhood friend Mido any longer, Hiura makes up his mind to finally confess to him at the festival taking place at the end of summer. How will Mido, whose makeup skills transformed Hiura’s life, respond?

“I’VE DREAMED ABOUT THEM EVER SINCE I WAS A CHILD...”

Pharm is a skittish but friendly young man who is excited to start his new life as a college student. He’ll make friends, join a club... and maybe figure out why he’s always sensed that there’s a certain someone he’s fated to meet. The moment he locks eyes with Dean, the captain of the swimming club, he’s attracted to him in a way he’s never experienced before. Is this who he’s been looking for all this time? Does Dean feel the same way about him? Perhaps the answers lie in past lives they have yet to remember...

Remnants of Filth: Yuwu vol. 2 (novel) by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou

KEEP YOUR ENEMIES CLOSER

As the case of the murders in the capital comes to a close, Mo Xi takes custody of Gu Mang, the traitor who was once his lover. With his betrayer now firmly in his grasp, Mo Xi believes he can manipulate Gu Mang into revealing the hidden secrets within his broken mind. Yet one question continues to haunt Mo Xi: Is Gu Mang pretending, or has he truly forgotten everything?

Tortured by specters of the past and bound by demands of the present, Mo Xi begins to lose hope of ever gaining the satisfaction he craves. But when Gu Mang’s memories finally do surface, what–or who–will he remember?

Super Morning Star vol. 1 by Kara Aomiya

When a classmate finds out he’s secretly a sentai star, Kaido’s precious life as a regular high schooler is in danger of being stolen, and so’s his heart, in this BL rom-com for fans of Hitorijime My Hero and Sasaki and Miyano! At high school, Kaido seems to be a scary delinquent, but he’s leading a second life as the star of a sentai superhero live show! When sentai superfan classmate Honda discovers Kaido’s secret, Kaido will stop at nothing to make sure it doesn’t get out, but despite himself, the charismatic performer finds himself falling for his biggest fan…

[xfindingtrouble]

song shuffle ellis for 4!

would like to point out that never love an anchor was the first option, but I've already broken it down here. i do believe that i may have talked about this song with you in regards to Kakashi? but it is integral to ellis' characterization. when he meets morrigan, he is not quite a whole person yet. neither is she. their love was a survival tactic, it wasn't love for the sake of love. they never learned to hold each other gently & that's why they couldn't have worked where they met in his timeline. later in life he marries @softersinned's astoria & he learns how to treat someone gently as she is someone who helped him grow while encouraging him to do so on his own. someone who was always going to be one of his forever people. but with morrigan it couldn't have worked in a way that would have been worth it. morrigan & ellis had chemistry but chemistry wasn't enough.

but since i had already broken down never love an anchor, i went ahead & shuffled again & ended up with brave as a noun - ajj which is actually one of my favorite songs of all time. i have it on ellis' playlist because i feel like it really hits the nail on the head about how he processes the world around him. he has wildly invasive thoughts revolving good & bad & he feeds both sides of himself. he wants to stay safe, remain where h& how he knows how he can function even if it isn't sustainable.

but he has hope that he can be something more, be a better person & comes to understand that he has to be the one to make that decision. he has to be the one to ' get the brains to get out of bed in the morning ' [ a line from the song ] but anyways i am gonna dive on into this because ajj is my all time fav & this is my favorite ajj song & it's off my favorite ajj album so applying it to ellis is just fucking sublime for me. it's so on point. like even the way it sounds, raw & a little shitty is reflective of the way his brain works. down to the patterns in the banjo & the emotion behind how the lyrics are presented. this song was one of the songs that shaped his concept.

I could go off the deep end I could kill all my best friends I could follow those stylish trends And God knows I could make amends

so ellis has always kind of walked the metaphorical line of what is 'too much ' if that makes sense? he was the second son of the couslands. he was the sheltered secondborn of an influential family. he was always swimming in a million ' what ifs' that were based on how he perceived stories & how he wanted to be perceived. he didn't have many expectations on his shoulders to ground him & so he sort of ran wild emotionally. he would throw fits, ruin friendships & partake in a thousand destructive & self-sabotaging behaviors growing up.

after the blight he expects to be a different person entirely... which he is, in a way. he's more tired, less patient but those habits & thought processes he developed as a child still linger. he still ends up in tears after a minor inconvenience & he's always terrified the people around him secretly hate him. only his sister & astoria are really able to ground him to any degree & even then he really cannot stand being that kind of burden to the people he loves. of course he learns how to cope with time & effort but for a long time he's really stuck in fight mode. for at least a couple years after the blights, going into awakening & witch hunt he's Deep In It & super easily triggered.

like he feels guilt surrounding it but he doesn't feel like he can make amends because his responses are genuine? like he is upset about how he treats the people around him, in any context whether it is positive or negative. but he isn't sorry for how he feels, in the same stride? it's almost like he feels sorry for existing in an interactive world. there'll be more on this bit later. also directly following the blight his sister, lily, is at her worst as well. she's younger than him, he feels the weight of her suffering on his shoulders. she kept him in line for the whole blight where he was constantly giving into this impulsive & often cruel part of himself. she kept him from becoming a monster & though they are technically both warden-commanders, he bears the brunt of the responsibility in the beginning of rebuilding ferelden's grey wardens. so again. there is no time to make amends or get closure. only to react.

But I’ve got an angry heart Filled with cancers and poppy tarts If this is how you folks make art It’s fucking depressing

of course, he's angry. how could he not be? he lost everything. i love exploring the thought of losing yourself & having to rebuild but this is such a big concept when it comes to ellis. he loses not only his family, his home, his known life... but he loses his idealism, his mind & his faith. plus ellis feels like he's lost his closest friend [ astoria, who he finds out has magical ability. he is afraid of mages / believed in a lot of anti-magic propaganda before the blight. ] anyways he's got this rage that's always on the tip of his tongue during the blight. he feels it in every heartbeat & it feels like a horrible disease. but he kinda likes it.

he likes the way his heart races when he starts to get a little scared. a little angry. it makes him feel horribly alive. if he weren't a rogue i would probably compare it to raging in dnd as a barbarian. he lovesss the adrenaline & cannot stop craving it. his overreactions distract him from having to react to these loses he's facing. there are a lot of people who try to tell him to temper his emotions, to tread a little more carefully. to that, he wonders how boring their lives must be without that horrible, wonderful feeling.

the feeling that all you have to lose is the body you exist in is very real for ellis. if not for lily & astoria being in their travel party he probably would have died much quicker, but they give him something to live for. even when he's not happy with them, they both remind him that he is a person outside of the gore. he still struggles thinking that other people do not react on the same level as him, though.

And it’s sad To know That we are not alone And it’s sad to know there’s no honest way out

he lamets over the connections he has to this world. whether it's lily, astoria, morrigan or any of the other friends he picks up on the way... he hates that they anchor him to his flesh. he would much rather crawl out of it or rot in the ground or whatever else can happen to his fragile body. he's soooo okay with dying. he's so into the idea of being thrown into a shallow grave & being forgotten. of course he fears it, but it's not the scariest thing on his plate at the time. but he is not okay with leaving his loved ones to fend for themselves, even as he has difficulties understanding how to maintain or fix those relationships. he still treasures them, deeply.

it's sad to know there is no dying on the end of a darkspawn's blade without affecting not only the people he has left, but also the potential outcome of the world. there are three grey wardens in ferelden, one of them is him, one of them is his sister & one of them is a king's bastard( & as far as ellis is concerned in the beginning, an oaf ). they don't know what will happen to Alistair by the end of it all, as he is a decent contender for king. if ellis were to die, that would leave lily as the single hope ferelden had of survival. he could never damn her to that fate.

I’m afraid to leave the house I’m as timid as a mouse I’m afraid if I go out, I’ll out wear my welcome

this sets up a perfect set one lines to dip into the next big arc of his life. after the blight, ellis is tired & half-mad. he perceives every threat that could be there, not always able to differentiate which ones are real & which ones are from his mind. when amaranthine is left in he & lily's care, it's like throwing salt in an open wound. he walks whalls that he had traveled once with his father, a constant reminder of a friend's betrayal. being in charge of rendon howe's estate really messes with his mind. during this time, lily is also Suffering intensely & can barely face the public let alone run anything. so ellis takes a lot of the responsibility.

but he is struggling too. man is paranoid & overactive to every little thing. if he see's a shadow dance in the corner of his eye he's sure it's a darkspawn. maybe it's the desire demon he let keep that man in the mage tower? maybe it's there for him next. he doesn't know but he thinks he knows. if this makes sense? this makes it hard for him to reach out to apologize, to process feelings. he lashes out often & usually walks away from emotionally intense situations in tears. so he often tries to avoid them altogether. he would rather exist as a myth, an idea [ which he doesn't like but is preferable ] than be seen or known to any degree.

he doesn't care so much about trying to temper himself as much as he cares about avoiding situations in the public altogether. especially since he has trouble feeling bad for his reactions, because again, they are genuine. when he's royally pissed off he feels that feeling in earnest. if he's hyperventilating in the throne room it's because he can't stop it. for as much as he hates to be seen, he hates trying to keep his emotions on any sort of leash either? which lends to this vicious cycle of ' please don't look at me, i can't hide, fucking stop looking at me ' if that makes sense?

I am not a courageous man I don’t have any big lasting plans ’m too cowardly to take a stand I wanna keep my nose clean

during this time he feels like he does not have it in him to seek the help he needs. he doesn't have the time. it's not that he doesn't have the support. in fact, he has the support of an entire [ mostly grateful ] nation. not even counting his new friends, surviving family, astoria or his recruits. he's constantly planning for a future he can't see. one he's not sure he'll be a part of, despite the fact that he is at the center of building it. though he is able to plan & navigate social niceties via letters [ not face-to-face. he actually often comes off as rude in social situations. he's generally unexpressive or too expressive if that makes sense? it's expanded a little more on one of his schizophrenia posts ]

but anyways despite him not feeling like he can be apart of what's to come [ though he will be & cannot see it ] he is afraid to stand up to certain parties. though this is a conversation for another day, ellis is very blatanlty anti-chantry. he loses his faith during the blight & is pretty open about it. it complicates things often so in a lot of other situations he tries to do what he's supposed to. even if he's not always good at it, he still tries to build this new & better reputation for the grey wardens. it doesn't really come together until lily & astoria act as buffers for the public in seperate ways.

astoria acts as an emotional buffer, as she is someone who takes the time to understand why he is like this. she is one of the only people he ever feels really knows him outside of his family. she helps support him when he needs support, though she is also balancing her own duties surrounding her homes at the same time. but anyways there are a lot of reputations outside of his own he has to consider & with him already being in bad standing with such a large power in ferelden, in contrast to the masses of people who have immortalized him as legend, he has to tread carefully where he is better at stomping if this makes sense? idk it is like 10am & i haven't slept yet but i had to finish this

And it’s sad To know That we’re not alone in this And it’s sad to know there’s no honest way out In this life we lead, we could conquer everything If we could just get the braves to get out of bed in the morning

again, reiterating the sentiment that the people in his life keep him in line. they keep the invasive thoughts from winning. it's hard to maintain his relationships while trying to balance his own shit, but they ever stop being important to him. he thinks about them in retrospect of every action,how the people he cares about may be affected by any destructive or self destructive thoughts. but if he can stay alive for them, why can't he stay alive for himself?

the first step he takes in healing & seeking help for this cycle he traps himself in is realizing he wants out of it. it's okay to ask for help, it's okay to rely on the people you love. but they cannot fix him. he has to want to heal & adapt himself. otherwise, he will weigh his loved ones down because he is not carrying any of the weight. he's hollowed himself out for so many causes that he decides to fill that space with someone better than he was. he just has to take that leap with his own two legs.

[apple-pecan]

Smiling Friends (Season 2) (2024)

SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SEASON

smiling friends blindsided everyone back in 2020 when it's pilot episode premiered basically unannounced during adult swim's annual april fool's prank. the overwhelming success of this batshit insane cartoon made up of newgrounds animators guaranteed it was greenlit, and season 1 premiered in early 2022, with the entire season airing in one night for some reason. it had a bit of everything: murder mysteries, various little characters, a frog tv star, homicidal fast food mascots, the sinister nihilistic frowning friends, and of course, gilbert gottfried as God. it took a while, what with adult swim's limited budget, but season 2 premiered much the same as it's pilot: completely unannounced on april fool's night. season 2 had some ups and a few downs, but overall i loved it and it made me thirsty for more.

the first episode of this season involved gwimbly, a washed up former video game star who thrived back in the 90's, but has fallen upon hard times now that the game industry favors microtransaction laden live service trash instead of wacky mascot platformers. it totally isnt a metaphor for microsoft and banjo kazooie what are you talking about. this episode was amazing, both because it was really funny with many many good quotes, but also because of it's scathing commentary on the game industry. the way the episode ends, where gwimbly doesn't get a new game but instead settles on being a playable character in the next super smash bros game, probably hit too close to home for banjo fans. great episode, and my favorite of the entire series so far.

episode 2 was, uh, not as good sadly. in this one, the smiling friends are tasked with helping the incumbent but horrendously inept president to win the upcoming election against mr frog (from season 1). the episode has a basic but absolutely horrifying premise: what if chris chan were president? it's a little too successful in that goal; president jimble is repulsive, with a weird preoccupation for eating lamb, with stains all over his mouth and clothes, and even shits himself during a speech. i dont like him!!! that said i do like the scene where he broadcasts himself countrywide to announce that he's giving the populace a billion dollars each, only to take it back mere seconds later once pim states that would crash the economy. riots ensue nationwide. it has it's moments like that, but otherwise this is my least favorite of the season.

thankfully the next episode is better: allan goes on a mundane adventure to get paperclips for mr boss. things get out of hand pretty suddenly. this episode is basically an excuse to flex the animation budget. the action is intense and beautifully animated, and allan finally gets some much needed screen time after being mostly absent from season 1. the ending where mr boss gives allan a reward for his adventure (a miniature statue of mr boss) and then immediately doesnt want it and tries to pawn it off to someone else in FRONT of mr boss is golden too. a great episode; what other cartoon is gonna name drop burnout revenge for the ps2?

the next episode is another halloween episode and i liked it much better than season 1's. mr boss marries a hideous demon girl, who is also the daughter of satan. this isnt good obviously. my favorite scene has to be when pim, charlie and allan are looking up how to vanquish the demon, with a reference to that creepy old youtube video with the singing girl robot. shortly after that, doug walker (the nostalgia critic) cameos as daniel the demon slayer, who slays demons so YOU dont have to. after james rolfe (the angry video game nerd) cameoed in season 1, i always hoped his film equivalent would show up too, despite how much zach hadel and his friends rag on him on oneyplays. sure enough he did and this little addition made my night. the post credits scene is hilarious too. good good stuff.

im not really sure how to feel about episode 5, "brother's egg". pim and charlie are hired to be assistants to a mad scientist by the name of professor daniel psychotic, except the episode has nothing to do with science or experiments and they just have to help daniel's relationship issues with his brother instead. the jared fogle joke was great, if horrifying, and i liked that weird barely animated construction worker goblinesque creature, but it doesn't seem like they could put all they wanted to in the episode, and the plot resolves itself with pim and charlie basically having done nothing. maybe that's the joke, but oh well. i like charlie's rant at the end though, and the post credits scene was also funny in this one. overall, it was okay.

next episode brings it all back though; pim and charlie meet a UFO spotting crew, complete with some guy named bill, a flat earth believer named fillmore, and finally duncan who does nothing but vomit. unexpectedly (or, expectedly for how crazy this show is), a UFO abducts pim, charlie and bill and they have to find a way to escape and get back to earth. well, pim and charlie do at least; bill fucking dies. the ending to this episode might be the best ending in the series thus far; it's so insane and hilarious i dont even wanna spoil it here. simply put, you have to watch this one.

the second to last episode involves mr boss and pim going to the neighboring country of spamtopia, as allan and charlie watch over mr boss's """18 year old""" son jason. spamtopia is a place of completely unhinged chaos, devoid of any logic, kinda like wackyland from looney tunes or hell even greeny phatom. do people even know what greeny phatom is? whatever. everything involving spamtopia is like a horrific fever dream and i love it, but the B plot involving charlie and allan is a bit half baked. still though, it's an amazing episode and it's one i think i'll return to a lot, much like season 1's "frowning friends".

finally, it's another christmas special, and it's a really good one. it's a send up of frosty the snowman, except instead of a magic hat that brings a snowman to life, it's a radioactive flower. rotten the snowman, played by duino d duck's canonical voice actor dana snyder, is a happy go lucky snowman who just loves being alive. that is of course until pim accidentally teaches rotten about the concept of death, in which case he does nothing but scream. by far my favorite scene is when charlie hires bill nye the science guy to teach rotten that death is just a natural part of existence via a tacky song, only to have his hot air balloon get caught in a power line 10 seconds in and electrocutes him to death, making rotten scream even louder. this feels like a scene i would write. it's funny, but also a bit touching and deep as well, as rotten comes to terms with his own mortality, before being reincarnated as the entire ocean. happy end! until rotten lets his intrusive behaviors win, eats an entire boat and eventually dooms us all. eh, shit happens. this is one of my favorite episodes this season, second only to gwimbly. it was the perfect send off and i wouldnt be surprised if the entire budget went into this one episode. what an awesome season finale.

overall this season was good. i liked it. im tired of writing this now. and you must be tired of reading it. im going to bed now bye.

NOTE: ouuu ouuu ouuuuuuuu!

[kiegotakami]

🐄😌🤍

send me a 🐄 and i’ll reply with a random picture i have saved

[mew-ya]

I really love your maren character and was wondering if you could make a poly request for headcanons on what it would be like a fem lady in relationship with them both (katakuri, Maren x fem reader) you don't have to but maren looks like he gives great hugs ❤ ♥ 🤗 and I really would love a cuddle from both of them. I love you art and your oc 💗 and again you don't have to and if you charge for both writing and drawing I'm happy to pay for my request 😊 ☺.

I just really thought this request was cute, so I went ahead and did a little art and writing for it! I did both SFW and NSFW headcanons, hope that's okay! Sorry it took me a bit, I was waiting for a rainy day to sit down and think about this.

One disclaimer: I have never been in a poly relationship myself so im basically writing from a fantasy perspective, not a realistic one. If there's anything that seems incorrect let me know.

Poly Katakuri x Maren x Female Reader HCs (SFW & NSFW 18+ only)

Spending Time with Maren (SFW)

As a half porcupinefish fishman, Maren is always the appropriate size for the job. Able to puff his body up to beyond Katakuri's height, or shrink down to just a bit taller than you, he can completely engulf you in a hug if he feels like it. His torso is really soft, but his hands are rough from work--its something you love, and makes you appreciate the gentle warmth of his chest more.

If you're not a devil fruit user, he LOVES to swim with you! He gets a bit sappy about it--being a fishman was always something that made him feel like an outcast, so being able to swim freely under the water with you makes him feel like he's able to share more of his world with you. He's a pretty slow swimmer, so you dont have many problems keeping pace with him.

If you are a devil fruit user, he LOVES to (consensually) hold you close to his large body as he wades around in the sea and chat with you. It's one of his favorite places to be, and loves the feeling of salt water spraying on his skin as the tides roll over his belly. The fact that you trust him enough to allow him to hold you in such a treacherous environment makes him feel very loved by you.

Maren is the funniest person you know, so you always have a great time spending time with him! He enjoys causing chaos but is surprisingly attentive to the feelings of others--he's not afraid to offend folks, but he is kind-hearted deep down and will try to make up for any long-term harm he causes. You might get a little bit embarrassed of him sometimes, but he's really just trying to act cool for you.

He might get you two into some trouble but he'll quickly take the blame for it--as a troublemaker known for his harmlessness, he'll probably get off with little more than a slap on the wrist. He has a lot of charm, so it's not uncommon for strangers to do complete 180s on him--at first they'll be ready to murder him for his misdeeds, but after he talks them down, he becomes a loveable rascal in their eyes.

Unfortunately, Maren can be a bit stubborn when he doesn't want to do something. He is a very laid back guy, but there are some places he simply does not want to tread. He'll try anything once, but if he did it once and didn't like it, good luck getting him to do it again. His adoration for you is about 1% stronger than his stubborn nature, so it may take a bit, or a lot, of convincing in the form of snacks, kisses, and foot rubs, but he'll always give in at the end.

He's often the life of the party, even in quiet times at home. He'll whip out his banjo and write romantic songs with a comedic twinge about his love for you and your funny quirks.

His favorite thing about you are the weird things that make you unique, and he notices them all. It can sound like insults sometimes, "what do you mean you love the pores on my nose?!" but you've learned to appreciate them, he just has a funny way of showing his love.

In Bed With Maren (NSFW)

Calling this category "in bed" is a stretch, Maren is pretty much DTF anytime, anywhere, most consequences be damned.

This man fucks. He's not incapable of a good, slow, lovemaking session, but it's not his default setting. He wants to have fun while he shows his appreciation for you.

He tends to be rather controlling and dominant in bed, and is the biggest tease you know. He gets a huge amount of pleasure at teasing you until you snap--you always tell yourself you'll win next time, but by the end of the night, you're begging for him to just fuck you already. If you take matters into your own hands, he's very compliant but might tease you for being impatient.

Maren is very particular about making sure his partners get off multiple times (if possible) before he does--while it's not impossible for him to go for multiple rounds, he loves taking a big fat nap after blowing his load. Would not call him an aftercare king, but he's a damn fine nap spot once you two are cleaned up.

Hes very bitey, which scared you a bit at first, but he always asks first, and is gentler than he acts. He has a pretty feral vibe but is actually surprisingly restrained for the level of horny this man contains.

Spending Time With Katakuri (SFW)

Katakuri tends to work longer nights and weekends, so alone time with him is a bit more uncommon. On the off chance that Maren is the one working late (?!), you two tend to opt for a quiet night reading books cuddled together with a cup of tea.

He's the more mature of your two partners, though Maren tends to have more common sense than him. Still, Katakuri is a very good listener, so you feel very comfortable venting to him about your problems. He takes everything rather seriously, which can be refreshing after a day with the ever-joking Maren.

Katakuri's hugs are very gentle, and you can tell that he has a fear of hurting you. Because of his role as a family protector, tends to treat those he loves with a lot of delicacy. He doesn't see you as weak, however--he just is overly conscious of how his strength can harm people because of the life he leads, so he's always sure to pick you up very softly.

Due to the nature of his work overseeing his island, it's not uncommon for you to take time off from your own work to hop onto his shoulder and ride around with him for a day as he tends to affairs. You love watching him work because it seems to be something he legitimately enjoys--this role he's carved out for himself as a caretaker for his own community, he shows a lot of care and interest in the affairs of his fellow townspeople. Everyone is always happy to see you two together, as they all were so worried for Katakuri being alone for so long.

You make a point to share every merienda with him if you can! It's not always possible, and Maren may or may not be there. On the times you're alone with Katakuri in his little mochi palace, you enjoy each other's company in silence as you chow down on gourmet desserts.

Katakuri loves you completely, and feels undeserving of two such wonderful partners. He rarely gets emotional about it, but once in a while, the mask will crack and he'll be putty in your hands as you pet his temples and tell him how wonderful he is.

In Bed With Katakuri (NSFW)

Katakuri is less sex-driven than Maren, while you see yourself as somewhere in between the two. More often than not, you're the one initiating with Katakuri, unless he's really hot and bothered one day, in which case, you can sit back and enjoy while he makes sure you won't be walking right tomorrow.

This man is a big goober when talking about sex and prefers to call it lovemaking. That attitude bleeds into how he prefers to have sex--slow and romantically.

He's a bit awkward about showing his attraction to you, but will obey your every command as well as he can. His dirty talk tends to be stiff and a bit silly sounding, but he's trying out of love for you. He will do anything you ask, even if it makes him look completely silly.

One of his favorite things to do is take you from behind, cum inside of you and keep thrusting through his sensitivity until he's ready to start pounding you hard again to another climax. Breeding kink much.

He might have a bit of a size kink but you're not sure he knows. You can tell from the way he makes himself big above you, and the way he watches his large cock disappear into your small frame--you keep it a secret, because you're pretty sure it'd embarrass him and make him try to stop.

Katakuri is an aftercare king--he always checks in, makes sure you're comfortable and having a good time. He can be rather self conscious about his performance, so he feels inclined to treat you to the utmost care after with warm blankets, cuddles, a cup of your favorite tea, and kisses planted along your arm.

Spending Time with Both (SFW)

These boys love quiet days at home, although Maren's presence tends to turn anything into a bit of a party. You love that--the playful teasing, Kata's rebuttal, your giggle, Maren grabbing the both of you and throwing you to the bed for cuddles, Kata baking fresh cookies that you and Maren feed to each other while Kata takes a sip of coffee. It feels like home to you.

Speaking of cuddles, having two 16'+ boyfriends means you 1. need massive pillows/bedding, 2. do not need pillows/bedding yourself because it's built in. Maren is especially comfortable to curl up on with a big soft belly and round arms. He's a serial napper, his quiet, rhythmic breathing can lull you into slumber quickly. Kata is wonderful to read a book on--he'll prop his little reading glasses on his nose and stare down at you in his lap as you read your favorite fiction books together.

Your favorite place is between them--the little dip between their torsos pressed together is made for you. They gently cover you with their large hands in embrace, falling asleep in a big cuddle.

One of your favorite places to go together is the beach at night--its a special place for all of you. Maren brings his banjo and plays all of your favorite songs, along with some you hate to tease you. You roast marshmallows over the bonfire, the scent mixing with the salty ocean air. Katakuri constructs a comfortable mochi seat for you as you get your cold feet close to the fire.

In Bed With Both (NSFW)

It is rare for your nighttime beach rendezvous to not turn into some form of lovemaking--so it is always a special night for you all. You bring out the best in each other, even in bed. Maren is tender with the two of you, Kata more confident, and you feel the best when you're with both of them together.

Maren being the flirt that he is, he tends to initiate any form of intercourse in a half-joking manner, looking for your approval and interest. Once you climb on top of him, it's over--he'll be all over you, and it won't take long for him to try to goad Katakuri into joining.

Katakuri might pretend not to notice, in respect of your boundaries as three people in a relationship. But Maren always beckons him over when hes nearby, and Kata complies, ready to smother you between the two of them.

They both might be big, but in a threesome, you're in charge unless you explicitly say so. They listen to you, your body language, the sounds of your moans and do their best to make sure you're having the time of your life. Even Maren, who tends to be domineering one-on-one, is at your beck and call for any words you may have. You call the shots.

Maren's variable size is a boon in intercourse, especially when it comes to times when you both want to spoil Katakuri. The sight two of you climbing all over his cock, giving little kisses and nibbles as you rub yourself against him drives Katakuri absolutely mad.

In times when you want to go the extra mile to show Maren a good time, one of the best things you can give him is dominance, and you're more than happy to do so as payback for all of the times he makes you beg for him. Chaining him up, or even just having Katakuri hold his arms back while you both use him for your own pleasure drives Maren up the wall.

The most close and comfortable position for you three tends to be Maren on bottom, yourself sitting on his cock, and Katakuri on top controlling the pace with his gentle nature. They're both so amazed you're able to take them both at once, and the feeling never gets old. The closeness is incomparable, both of them inside you, rubbing against each other as they surround you completely. And the moment of pleasure always comes too soon yet too slow as all three of you climax at the same time, and you collapse onto each other sweating.

You really get the best of both worlds with the two of them--a gentle, huge lover, and an adventurous, size variable firebrand that both love and worship the ground you walk on. After a pounding session, you drift to sleep as you lay on Maren's tummy and Kata rubs your back with the tips of his fingers.

I fucking adore these two if you couldn't tell haha, so I hope it didn't get too sappy. 💜

Hope you enjoyed imagining yourself with these two! I do have ko-fi if you want to tip but it's entirely up to you.

[sempiternox]

Random RE 8 Villain Headcanons

Lady Dimitrescu

is secretly a hardcore Brawlhalla player and Volkov/Diana main

if you’re anything less than upper class, she’ll treat you like dirt. However, if you know music theory and praise her for the vocal techniques she used in the songs she sung during her jazz singer days, she’ll be... slightly more inclined to converse with you

despite her anger issues, she would never hit her daughters

spent so much time abroad in the US touring with the Pallboys that she had a thick American accent when speaking her native Romanian for a few days after returning to Romania

in her mutated form, it takes her a lot of willpower to stay sane and not destroy and kill everything in her path (including her castle)

Bela

HATES it when people pronounce her name as “Bella”. It’s “BAY-lah”, you fuckn*ggets, not “BELL-ah”.

it takes a lot for her to lose her temper, but when she does snap, it’s not pretty.

often has migraine-like headaches due to her Cadou

can play bass guitar

she’s a bass.

Cassandra

lowkey into Bloodborne

is a master at mimicking animal sounds. Her favorite animals to mimic are wolves and owls

usually hunts animals like deer and rabbits, but will also kill wanderers who get lost in the woods when she’s bored

when hunting wanderers, she pretends to be a real vampire just to toy with them further.

enjoys jumpscaring Daniela

Daniela

gets scared very easily

sweet tooth™

the clumsiest of the Dimitrescu sisters

great drummer, but if you see her holding a banjo in her hands, COVER YOUR EARS AND RUN.

has a twisted view of love, believing she is so beautiful every man would fall for her ( ≈ love at first sight trope), and gets disappointed and angry when a man comes across Castle Dimitrescu and acts nothing like in Daniela’s romance novels. She usually ends up killing them in frustration and insists that they enjoyed “spending time with her” afterwards.

Donna

names every single doll she makes

keeps quiet when around people she doesn’t know or is uncomfortable with, but once she warms up to you, she WON’T. STOP. TALKING.

is great at doing voices

dabbles in all sorts of creative hobbies like filmmaking, drawing, writing, sculpting, photography etc.

enjoys watching horror movies

Angie

getting along with her is actually very simple: If you’re nice to Donna, Angie is nice to you. If you’re mean to Donna, well... good luck not dying.

always tries to cheer Donna up and make her happy

“Object permanence? Is that something you can eat?”

loves snow, especially when it’s nice and crunchy

bit Lady D in the ankle once because she insulted Donna

Moreau

actually kept most of his intelligence, but the Cadou messed up the parts of his brain that are linked to speech which caused him to lose quite a bit of his vocabulary. He always knows what he wants to say but has trouble making himself understood at times because of his childlike and slurred speech.

because of his condition, he uses medication and painkillers which, sadly, don’t always ease his pain

lost his mother (who happened to look similar to Miranda) as a child which is why he is so loyal to Miranda

wasn’t on good terms with his father

enjoys swimming in his mutated form

Heisenberg

taught himself English by watching old Hollywood movies

regularly buys conduits, metal components etc. from the Duke for his experiments

has an old laptop he stole from someone who got lost in the village

cat person. No, really. He likes cats because of their independence and IDGAF attitude.

has trouble relating to others but genuinely cares about Donna and Moreau

Miranda

is at least trilingual

likes listening to stoner metal and DSBM when no one is around

loves scaring people in her mutated form

doesn’t need to sleep due to her prolonged exposure to the mutamycete but still drinks gallons of coffee when conducting her experiments

has a hauntingly beautiful singing voice

[friesian]

PoF Marwyd you say? 👀

ok yall. its time. tagging @mystery-salad since i know u asked but i didn't wanna copy-paste this twice since its HUGE.

i will preface this with a cw for suicide, talk of ptsd, and dark themes. also end of HoT, LWS3, and PoF spoilers. so i'll put this hunk of text under a read more.

SO. path of fire/LWS3 marwyd.

(THANK YOU TO @herrejorn FOR CAPTURING THIS. i don't think i shared it... now seems like a good time to. maybe if people like it enough i'll post it separately.)

as i've certainly shared, marwyd was VERY head over heels for trahearne. however they were never officially a thing, and marwyd was going to confess after trahearne got back from the fleet. that. never happened. he had to kill someone he was deeply in love with, with his own two hands.

well, after all that he was pretty mortified, obviously, and i'm pretty sure up until eir's funeral he was on autopilot. his mind was really trying to just catch up. find what reality was. i think he was in a HEAVY dissociative episode waiting for trahearne's. something to give him a sense of closure. even if there wasn't a body, just a little gathering of friends would be something to him. BUT, that never happened. when eir got a funeral that he attended but not trahearne something inside of him just kinda. broke. especially when not a soul really acknowledged it at the grove except for a lone statue, placed off to the side of everything only to be seen from the peripherals of the eye. it really did something awful to him mentally.

when he attended eir's funeral, he came in a black-red-grey version of his outfit. funeral attire. however, after the funeral, he just... never took it off. he kept wearing it right into the white mantle incidents and discovering that the other two dragons were awakening.

(old screenshot i have of it, i took this during my first PoF playthrough.)

this is also the time @herrejorn 's niddhil appeared. someone who he now considers his sister. closest friend. someone who he'd easily take on the world for. he lost his best friends in HoT (at least he thought he did, turns out their souls were split and now they're in one body again! that's niddhil.) and having someone who seemed so... familiar just made him feel so more sad, depressed, he wanted to know what happened to them since they just vanished during the explosion of mordremoth's death.

well, then aurene happened, of course. she hatched. it was a spark of life. something that he realized he never knew he wanted but needed. unconditional love like that, someone who just saw him as 'dad' and would let him do simple, stupid things to keep his mind occupied like play his banjo terribly, swim in a few ponds, cook simple foods for her to try. you name it. it's his roots of his 'childhood', if you'd call it that. he really tried to teach her all the things he wished he would've known straight out of the pod and it shows. all of his effort went into her.

however, that meant during any time outside of tarir he was a mess. everything was a fucking mess when he wasn't with aurene, and he had to end up being away from her longer and longer.

all of this, combined with the world spiraling out of control with the return of balthazar just honestly sent him into a BAD bad place. then he ends up returning HOME. elonia. and it's in SHAMBLES with balthazar.

everything for him is completely out of control. thus, so is he.

he starts engaging in some RISKY shit. illicit raptor/beetle racing that is high stakes, stealing things again for the thrill, probably high off his ass most of the time, acting like a COMPLETE asshole to everyone, withdrawing into his tent more often than not. and let me tell you, when i say 'asshole to everyone' i mean it. he's desperately distancing himself as he is losing all his steam as things are just more and more wrong.

he also won't tell anyone, but his memory has been... shoddy. not sleeping may do that, but he's realizing that when he tries to think back and think about the happy times with trahearne he just can't. his face is nothing but a smudge. he KNOWS there was something there. he loved him so much, but why the HELL can he only remember the scream of his death. it keeps repeating in his mind over. it used to be that he could remember the few last words but nearing his worst all he remembers is the sound of flesh rending and screams. it won't stop either, it just loops at night.

when the big balthazar fight hits, i think he fights for the first few minutes, but honestly... i think he just gives up. straight up. he stops attempting to shoot, or if he does i think he just purposefully fires off into the air to keep balthazar coming. marwyd honestly just lies down and dies, not wanting to go on like this. and he doesn't. he does die.

he saw aurene get caught FOR HIS SAKE and did nothing. and for that he feels like everything he has is deserved.

so, my death incident essentially takes a right turn from the one in game.

sorta. essentially when marwyd arrives in the realm he just confines himself to not knowing who he is, thinking its for the best, and stays there for however long it is before he starts picking up clues. he hears things on the wind. by being the naturally curious and bullheaded guy he is, he starts finding bits and pieces... and slowly but surely it snowballs into him finally remembering everything. he can see his memories of his best friends, of aurene, of trahearne-- who he was so desperately trying to remember. and he's reminded why he fought for trahearne, for aurene, for all of his friends. as he rushes to find his way out he sees niddhil.

of course he's confused. long story short, she is the gate guardian for him, and she will test his resolve. marwyd essentially has to outsmart someone who's walked beside him from nearly day 1 as pact commander. she kicks his ass! repeatly! she is killing him repeatedly. he's stuck in a loop. time and time again he's getting himself killed, but eventually he tries something new. he waits, decides to start inventing with the scraps around the realm, picks up a metal bar stuck in a slab of concrete and uses it as a hammer. this is where he essentially learns to be a scrapper. this is what gets him past her, and when she is officially defeated, she gently takes him into her arms, tells her that it's okay, it's over... and its time to go home.

he wakes up with the guild overlooking his body. it's only been a few minutes. it'd been what felt like a month in his mind. as soon as he was on his feet, still wounded, he literally clambered onto the ship to go make sure aurene is safe in his arms. one more time.

thing is, he picks up a random giant wrench from the air ship they rode in on. said he wanted to use this, and that he had a few ideas to try. only niddhil knows why he's able to do this. he also comes up with gyros thanks to that whole experience in death. it sorta just becomes his thing.

he's revitalized in knowing that he wasn't fighting for nothing, that he's always fighting for something, and that they're here, and they care, and they maybe he just needs to give himself a little more credit. throughout him going on his self-destructive spree, and being an absolute asshole to all of them, they still cared somehow. maybe he needs to just be a little less hard on himself. maybe he needs to just. open up once.

marwyd does start doing this, luckily, but only with niddhil. she's his only confident, and they're IMMEASURABLY close after this incident. they both have a newfound respect for one another.

though, his memory is still bad, he still has those moments. he can still be a snippy asshole somedays. he's working hard on himself, and he doesn't try to put himself in too much danger. for aurene, he keeps telling himself. for aurene.

he places his brown coat and hat back on.

and off he went to kill a god.

[phroyd]

Charlie Watts, whose strong but unflashy drumming powered the Rolling Stones for over 50 years, died on Tuesday in London. He was 80.

His death, in a hospital, was announced by his publicist, Bernard Doherty. No other details were immediately provided.

The Rolling Stones announced earlier this month that Mr. Watts would not be a part of the band’s forthcoming “No Filter” tour of the United States after he had undergone an unspecified emergency medical procedure, which the band’s representatives said had been successful.

Reserved, dignified and dapper, Mr. Watts was never as flamboyant, either onstage or off, as most of his rock-star peers, let alone the Stones’ lead singer, Mick Jagger; he was content to be one of the finest rock drummers of his generation, playing with a jazz-inflected swing that made the band’s titanic success possible. As the Stones guitarist Keith Richards said in his 2010 autobiography, “Life,” “Charlie Watts has always been the bed that I lie on musically.”

While some rock drummers chased after volume and bombast, Mr. Watts defined his playing with subtlety, swing and a solid groove.“As much as Mick’s voice and Keith’s guitar, Charlie Watts’s snare sound is the Rolling Stones,” Bruce Springsteen wrote in an introduction to the 1991 edition of the drummer Max Weinberg’s book “The Big Beat.” “When Mick sings, ‘It’s only rock ’n’ roll but I like it,’ Charlie’s in back showing you why!��Charles Robert Watts was born in London on June 2, 1941. His mother, the former Lillian Charlotte Eaves, was a homemaker; his father, Charles Richard Watts, was in the Royal Air Force and, after World War II, became a truck driver for British Railways.Charlie’s first instrument was a banjo, but, baffled by the fingerings required to play it, he removed the neck and converted its body into a snare drum. He discovered jazz when he was 12 and soon became a fan of Miles Davis, Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus.By 1960, Mr. Watts had graduated from the Harrow School of Art and found work as a graphic artist for a London advertising agency. He wrote and illustrated “Ode to a Highflying Bird,” a children’s book about the jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker (although it was not published until 1965). In the evenings, he played drums with a variety of groups.

Most of them were jazz combos, but he was also invited to join Alexis Korner’s raucous rhythm-and-blues collective, Blues Incorporated. Mr. Watts declined the invitation because he was leaving England to work as a graphic designer in Scandinavia, but he joined the group when he returned a few months later.

The newly formed Rolling Stones (then called the Rollin’ Stones) knew they needed a good drummer but could not afford Mr. Watts, who was already drawing a regular salary from his various gigs. “We starved ourselves to pay for him!” Mr. Richards wrote. “Literally. We went shoplifting to get Charlie Watts.”In early 1963, when they could finally guarantee five pounds a week, Mr. Watts joined the band, completing the canonical lineup of Mr. Richards, Mr. Jagger, the guitarist Brian Jones, the bassist Bill Wyman and the pianist Ian Stewart. He moved in with his bandmates and immersed himself in Chicago blues records.In the wake of the Beatles’ success, the Rolling Stones quickly climbed from being an electric-blues specialty act to one of the biggest bands in the British Invasion of the 1960s. While Mr. Richards’s guitar riff defined the band’s most famous single, the 1965 chart-topper “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” Mr. Watts’s drum pattern was just as essential. He was relentless on “Paint It Black” (No. 1 in 1966), supple on “Ruby Tuesday” (No. 1 in 1967) and the master of a funky cowbell groove on “Honky Tonk Women” (No. 1 in 1969).

Mr. Watts was ambivalent about the fame that he achieved as a member of the group that has often been called “the world’s greatest rock ’n’ roll band.” As he said in the 2003 book “According to the Rolling Stones”: “I loved playing with Keith and the band — I still do — but I wasn’t interested in being a pop idol sitting there with girls screaming. It’s not the world I come from. It’s not what I wanted to be, and I still think it’s silly.”

As the Stones rolled through the years, Mr. Watts drew on his graphic-arts background to contribute to the design of the band’s stage sets, merchandise and album covers — he even contributed a comic strip to the back cover of their 1967 album “Between the Buttons.” While the Stones cultivated bad-boy images and indulged a collective appetite for debauchery, Mr. Watts mostly eschewed the sex and drugs. He clandestinely married Shirley Anne Shepherd, an art-school student and sculptor, in 1964.

On tour, he would go back to his hotel room alone; every night, he sketched his lodgings. “I’ve drawn every bed I’ve slept in on tour since 1967,” he told Rolling Stone magazine in 1996. “It’s a fantastic nonbook.”Similarly, while other members of the Stones battled for control of the band, Mr. Watts largely stayed out of the internal politics. As he told The Weekend Australian in 2014, “I’m usually mumbling in the background.”Mr. Jones, who considered himself the leader, was fired from the Stones in 1969 (and found dead in his swimming pool soon after). Mr. Jagger and Mr. Richards spent decades at loggerheads, sometimes making albums without being in the studio at the same time. Mr. Watts was happy to work with either, or both.

“Never call me your drummer again,” he told Mr. Jagger, before grabbing him by the lapel and delivering a right hook. Mr. Richards said he narrowly saved Mr. Jagger from falling out a window into an Amsterdam canal.“It’s not something I’m proud of doing, and if I hadn’t been drinking I would never have done it,” Mr. Watts said in 2003. “The bottom line is, don’t annoy me.”At the time, Mr. Watts was in the early stages of a midlife crisis that manifested itself as a two-year bender. Just as the other Stones were settling into moderation in their 40s, he got hooked on amphetamines and heroin, nearly destroying his marriage. After passing out in a recording studio and breaking his ankle when he fell down a staircase, he quit, cold turkey.Mr. Watts and his wife had a daughter, Seraphina, in 1968 and, after spending some time in France as tax exiles, relocated to a farm in southwestern England. There they bred prizewinning Arabian horses, gradually expanding their stud farm to over 250 horses on 700 acres of land. Information on his survivors was not immediately available. Mr. Doherty, the publicist, said Mr. Watts had “passed away peacefully” in the hospital “surrounded by his family.”

Eventually the Stones settled into a cycle of releasing an album every four years, followed by an extremely lucrative world tour. (They grossed over a half-billion dollars between 2005 and 2007 on their “Bigger Bang” tour.)But Mr. Watts’s true love remained jazz, and he would fill the time between those tours with jazz groups of various sizes — the Charlie Watts Quintet, the Charlie Watts Tentet, the Charlie Watts Orchestra. Soon enough, though, he would be back on the road with the Stones, playing in sold-out arenas and sketching beds in empty hotel rooms.He was not slowed down by old age, or by a bout with throat cancer in 2004. In 2016, the drummer Lars Ulrich of Metallica told Billboard that since he wanted to keep playing into his 70s, he looked to Mr. Watts as his role model. “The only road map is Charlie Watts,” he said.Through it all, Mr. Watts kept on keeping time on a simple four-piece drum kit, anchoring the spectacle of the Rolling Stones.“I’ve always wanted to be a drummer,” he told Rolling Stone in 1996, adding that during arena rock shows, he imagined a more intimate setting. “I’ve always had this illusion of being in the Blue Note or Birdland with Charlie Parker in front of me. It didn’t sound like that, but that was the illusion I had.”

Phroyd

[futurebicon]

Carolina

Marine Biologist AU that no one asked for but I wrote because I miss my second home. Probably two parts.

Very brief mention of a family members death

"Hi welcome to-" Leo stopped his normal speech when he was met with the two most gorgeous men he had ever laid eyes on. "Welcome to the Fort Fisher aquarium. I'm your tour guide Leo and this is Regulus." He somehow managed to snap out of his shock even though the greeting was all muscle memory.

“Two guides. Must be special." The red haired one laughed a laugh that made doves fly. "I'm Finn." He shook their hands.

"That and both of us wanted a break from sticky children trying to swim with the sharks and gators." Reg smiled.

"Sharks? Like ocean sharks? And ocean alligators?" The shorter one asked in shock and a lot more than a sprinkle of fear.

'Fuck he's adorable' Leo swore internally. "Alligators are typically fresh water reptiles but if you are asking if they are real sharks and alligators, than no. They're they’re hyperealalistic mechanical sculptures." He kept a straight face.

"Cute and funny." Finn flashed him a smile after another angelic laugh.

Leo had to remind himself to not die right then and there.

“Don't worry, Logan" Finn told the other one. "I'll protect you from the scary teeth, baby."

Now Leo was sad.

“Oh yeah, right after you stop ogling over our hot tour guide."

Now Leo was slightly less sad and confused.

“Actually." Regulus pulled out his phone. "Our manager just texted and said he needs someone in the gift shop. Have fun." He left with a pat on Leos back.

Leo glared as he walked away, they didn't get texts from anyone for any assignment. Hence the walkie talkies on their belt loops.

“So, follow me and we can start the tour." +++

“This is our 235,000 gallon tank." Leo stood over top of the two story tall tank. In here we have our eagle rays, round stingrays, whiptail stingrays, hammerhead sharks, sandbar sharks, sand tiger sharks, hammerhead sharks. We also have two moray eels and an abundance of fish including shanks and groupers. And a personal favorite, Sheldon the green sea turtle.” Leo stood on the rusted grate with ease as if he didn’t care about the hammerhead only a few feet away from his toes.

“Um, this is great and all but can we not stand on the edge without a railing?” Logan stayed as far away as he could an the 2 feet wide walkway.

“You’re completely safe don’t worry.” Leo flashed a reassuring smile.

“Okay yeah but-”

“Stop being a baby, Lo.” Finn poked his side.

“I’m sorry I’m scared of falling into a 23 foot deep death cylinder filled with sharks.” Logan defended himself.

“Alright we can go officially start the tour.” Leo laughed. “But we do have to walk across the tank.”

“We what?” Logan asked.

“It’s okay. Just don’t look down.” He decided to risk a wink.

“Listen to the hot guide, babe.” Finn kissed Logan’s cheek. “I’ll hold your hand.”

“I love you, Harzy. But I do not trust you enough to not try and scare me.”

“I promi- no I don’t. Fine.” Finn whined when his plans were spoiled.

“Alright, let’s go.” Leo laughed.

They got across the walkway with only a few exaggerated wobbles to scare Logan. And a very grumpy Logan when Leo told him there was another way around the tank.

+++

“So here we have our bald eagle Maverick.” Leo walked up to the opened enclosure. “He’s five years old and has been here since he was two. He was found on the side of the road nearly starved after being hit by a car. If you look at his left wing you can see it juts out a little. That is due to the bones fusing together incorrectly and it makes him unable to ever fly again.” He recited the well known script.

“Poor baby” Finn stuck his bottom lip out.

Leo blinked away the urge to kiss the sad look off his face.

“If we walk up here you can see the aquariums prized possession.” Leo smiled. “Luna the albino Alligator.”

“Oh my god.” Finn hurried over to the glass.

“She looks like you, lover. Pale as fuck.” Logan teased.

“Luna is one of just 100 recorded albino alligators world wide.”

“World wide?” Logan asked in shock.

“Yeah. It’s an extremely rare genetic mutation and due to the inability to hide from predators they’re numbers are next to zero. Very soon they’ll be no more albino gators.”

“What happened to that alligators toes?” Logan pointed at the dark green alligator.

“That’s Gantur. He still hasn’t learn that Luna’s the leader.”

“She bit them off?” Logan’s eyes went wide.

“Don’t underestimate her. Ready to continue?”

+++

“This is my favorite exhibit.” Leo’s face lit up as they walked up to the touch pool.

“Touch anything as long as you use two fingers and don’t pick anything up.”

“Are those stingrays?” Finn pointed towards the end of the touch pool.

“Yeah. They’re still babies and their stingers have been trimmed. Their barbs are like thumbnails and can be clipped monthly without any harm.”

“What are those?”

Leo’s face lit up impossibly more.

“These are horseshoe crabs.” He held onto one of the dark greenish brown banjo shaped creature.

“They are also called living fossils due to the fact that they haven’t evolved at all since the dinosaurs, around 450 million years. It’s mostly due to the fact that they didn’t need anything added or taken away for survival. They were made perfectly. Now their tails.” He pointed to the long stick like end as it moved around with the help of what looked like scaley gills. “Most people look at it and think it will hurt. But it won’t hurt at all. They are extremely, extremely clumsy and use the long tail to flip themselves back over.”

“Sounds like you.” Finn kissed Logan.

“Rude.” Logan scoffed.

“Horseshoe crabs aren’t actually crabs at all. They’re actually more closely related to scorpions and spiders. Watch.” Leo smirked and flipped it over.

There were five pairs of claws moving around as the gills moved up and down like abs, causing the tail to move with it.

“Here-” Leo grabbed Logan’s hand, he tried hard to ignore the way his skin burned. “Touch it.”

“Oh no I’m okay to just look.”

“Come on, just touch it.” Leo begged. “Please just touch it.” He pouted.

“Oh my fuck you’re adorable.” Logan voiced Leo’s exact same thoughts from before.

“Here” he blushed and bit his lib to contain the smile. “Touch it.” He guided Logan’s hand down to the center of the legs, desperately trying to not think about how close they were. Logan’s t-shirt touching his blue polo shirt with his name stitched in the side. The way he could feel Logan’s breathing against his side, the way his leg was pressed between Logans le- stop it.

“Eww that feels weird” Logan’s laughed raised goosebumps on his arm.

“You’re touch his mouth.”

“Ew ew ew ew” Logan pulled his hand away quickly as Finn cackled.

“You asshole” Logan laughed as he pushed Leo lightly.

“Sorry, but it’s funny.” Leo laughed.

“You are now my second favorite person on earth.” Finn put a hand on Leo’s shoulder. “Oh my god I’m crying.” He wiped his eyes.

“Wouldn’t mind if he stayed our favorite.” Logan smiled.

Leo blushed and moved onto the regular view of the huge tank.

+++

“So how’d you get a job here?” Logan asked Leo as they walked around.

“I’ve lived on the island my whole life and started volunteering here when I was 13.” He explained. “I’m going to UNCW for marine biology. Are you two just here for vacation? Even though it’s April.”

“No. We’re actually moving down here. My grandparents owned the arcade on the boardwalk and left it to me once they passed.” Finn told him.

“Oh. I’m sorry about their passing.”

“It’s okay. Didn’t really know them at all.”

“Well I’ll hopefully see you around.”

“Maybe you don’t have to hope.”

Leo tilted his head in confusion.

“We were just wondering if you would want to show us around the island.” Logan told him. “We’ve only been here for a few days and this is the first place we’ve been to. Not even the beach.”

“Oh that’s nearly a sin.” Leo teased. “I’d love to show you guys around. I get off in an hour.”

“Perfect.” Finn said happily. “Do you want to drive over to our house and then switch cars or do you need to change?”

“That’ll work. There’s a locker room and since there’s next to no one here considering the time of year Evan will probably let me leave early.” Leo couldn’t hide his smile as they walked into the brightly lit gift shop.

Logan let out a loud gasp and ran over to the 6 foot long jellyfish stuffie. “I want it.”

“It’s tentacles are going to strangle you, love.” Finn shook his head.

“Kinky” Logan wiggled his eyebrows.

Finn scoffed as three other people in the quiet store laughed.

“Oh hi again Regulus.” Logan smiled at the black haired man who was sitting on the countertop beside the register tossing a brightly colored foam ball with turtles on it between his hands.

“Hey” He smiled back.

“What’d they need help with down here?” Finn looked around the empty room cluelessly.

“He didn’t help me?” The girl beside him raised an eyebrow. “Hi, Rue by the way.” She waved before going back to glaring at Regulus. “Did Evan tell you to help me?”

“No.” Reg smirked. “Just wanted to leave Leo alone with his crushes.”

“Reg” Leo pushed him.

“It’s mutual.” Finn said and Logan nodded.

“Okay. I’m gonna go ask Evan if I can get off early so I can show you a tour of the island and then get changed and I’ll be back down.” Leo changed the subject quickly.

“They’ll show you a tour of their bedroom and then get you off early.” Rue said quietly but not quiet enough. Leo shoved her hard as Logan, Finn, and Reg cackled.

+++

“So are we ready?” Leo walked back down in shorts and a UNCW t-shirt.

A cropped UNCW t-shirt.

“Uh- yeah. Yeah. Um, yeah.” Finn stuttered failing to make it look like he wasn’t staring at Leo’s tan abs.

Finn on the other hand had no shame. His eyes raked his entire body as his mouth went dry.

“Alright. I’ll follow you guys?”

“Huh? Oh yeah.” Logan nodded.

“Get it Knut.” Reg cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted as they left the gift shop and headed outside to the 100 degree weather.

@lumosinlove

[thatrandomwriter99]

Attack On Titan Facts #5

1. Levi’s favorite food is rice

Additional Characters’ Favorite Food:

Mikasa— curry

Eren— pasta or burgers

Bertholdt— people

2. Levi is the most emotional person in Attack On Titan, he just doesn’t show it.

3. If Levi were an Olympian, he’d compete in weightlifting

Additional Characters Would Compete In:

Eren— football/soccer

Mikasa— boxing

Armin— table tennis

Jean— rugby

Marco— artistic gymnastics

Erwin— canoeing

Hanji— beach volleyball

Mike— swimming

Connie— rowing

Sasha— archery

Annie— boxing

Bertholdt— rowing

Reiner— taekwondo

Ymir— fencing

Historia— Equestrian/jumping

4. Levi would be KINDA good at hide n seek— as in he’d have the best hiding spots, but he wouldn’t stop hiding.

5. Levi would play the bass guitar.

Additional Characters’ Instruments;

Reiner— flax

Bertholdt— flute

Annie— viola

Ymir— harmonica

Historia— drums

Eren— triangle

Mikasa— shamisen

Armin— acoustic guitar

Erwin— harp

Petra— banjo

6. If someone dyed Levi’s hair pink while he was asleep, he’d wear it proudly and no one would dare make fun of him (after the first one did make fun of him and earned a death glare beyond all comparison).

7. If Levi went into a haunted house, he’d explain everything logically. Like when a door moves, he’d say it was just the air.

Additional Characters In A Haunted House:

Eren— would find everything cool and interesting but would also pee his pants whenever there was an unexpected noise

Mikasa— would not really be bothered and go to protector mode; she’d even be pretty chill with the ghosts

Hanji— would argue with Levi that everything happening is paranormal

Armin— would be time between the opinions of Levi and Hanji and try to find out things himself

Erwin— would be holding the flashlight

8. If someone tried to flirt with Levi, he wouldn’t even know that the person was flirting with him.

Additional Characters Would:

Know that someone was flirting with them. Levi is literally the only one who wouldn’t know.

9. Levi’s laugh would be kinda creepy. Like, everyone would be super shocked about it and some would have nightmares.

10. Levi was a total momma’s boy.

11. Levi would be the best at ice skating.

Additional Characters’ Ice Skating Skills:

Eren— kinda good

Ymir— Good

Historia— Good

Mikasa— okay

Connie— awful

Sasha— good at speed skating, but not artistic skating

12. There’s a chance Levi will laugh depending on the situation and constellation of the stars.

13. Levi’s favorite color is white.

14. If you drew a really good drawing of Levi and he saw it, he’d say “Good work”.

Additional Characters If You Did A Good Drawing Of Them:

Mike— silence, thumb’s up, and single tear of happiness

Erwin— long speech of praise

Hanji— screaming and amazement

Nanaba— a little embarrassed but also flattered

15. If Levi had a girlfriend, he wouldn’t exactly treat her like a princess. He’d leave her alone most of the time; it’d be like not having a relationship at all.

Additional Characters With Their Special Someone:

Eren— would try to treat his girl like a princess but would be oblivious to her needs

Armin— would be a sweetheart to his girl

Jean— would be a real softy, but a jerk sometimes

Erwin— wouldn’t have much time for his girl but would try to make it up with whatever quality time he could scrape together

Annie— would be like a cat (!?)

Mikasa— would be really protective but have no idea how relationships really work

Petra— would be a cute wife but would kick her man’s butt if he came home drunk

16. Levi likes indie music.

[theskeleton-system]

A Fungus Dangerclaw Masterpost

This is a post about Fungus' relationship with every Grumpus on Snaktooth;

Filbo

•definitely stumbled upon Fungus while looking for Liz

•was initially friendly toward Fungus, until Fungus took it personally and chased Filbo out of the woods, growling and claws beared

•when Fungus inevitably stays in town with the others, Filbo is rightfully so still apprehensive, but as Fungus warms up to him, he warms up to Fungus

•Fungus never learns his name, but knows the word Mayor, so calls him that (it is a constant Filbo Confidence Boost [tm])

Wambus

•would meet Fungus when they'd have come to town

•Fungus has absolutely attacked Wambus, he's the biggest man in town and Fungus believes in fighting for dominance, so he attacks him to become the Alpha of town lol

•Wambus doesnt like to make eye contact with Fungus due to this very event

•Fungus does eventually calm down when Wambus lets them rummage in the farm sometimes; it turns out Fungus is handy for digging holes to plant more crops

•after a while of Fungus trusting Wambus, she starts bringing sticks to the farm and burying them in hopes of growing crops too

•Wambus eventually decides he's adopting them. No arguments.

Beffica

•is morbidly curious of Fungus (that feeling is mutual)

•Beffica has absolutely kept Fungus in her cave out of storms, and so is probably the closest thing to a friend at first to Fungus

•she likes to paint his claws, and he loves to watch her do it, he also loves picking out the colours (pink is his favourite)

•Beffica will sit Fungus down and gossip to them while she paints their nails and brushes their fur, Fungus has no idea what she's saying, but likes to feel included and picks up on some words

•the few words he's learnt from Beff are "Squeeb", "Like", and "OMGee"

•Beffica does understand that Fungus can be dangerous, and she knows when to stop pushing their buttons

Gramble

•Gramble met Fungus in the middle of the night, when they broke into town to steal supplies

•Fungus DIDN'T attack Gramble, only because he's smaller than Fungus and therefore not deemed a threat

•when Fungus stays in town, they become enamored by the barn, and the Bugsnax there (because Fungus refuses to eat them too) and hangs out in the outdoor pen with them

•Fungus inevitably imprints on Gramble and begins following him around and bringing him Bugsnax that are very hard to catch (cheepoofs, grapesketos, lollives, scoopy banoopys) and Gramble is Confused.jpeg

•Gramble learns to trust Fungus when the first fight breaks out at the party (The "that's why your wife left you" Scene) and Fungus defends Gramble, literally standing between him and Wambus

•now Gramble accepts Fungus as family, and is just mildly frightened of them

Wiggle

•with Fungus constantly following Gramble around, it was only a matter of time until they met Wiggle

•Fungus took one look at her and was prepared to fight a bitch, but when Gramble stopped them from attacking her, they stopped being aggressive

•Fungus definitely wants that pink fluffy scarf around Wiggle's neck, but hasn't devised a plan to steal it yet

•Fungus doesnt understand how instruments work, so when Wiggle starts playing her banjo, Fungus is simultaneously frightened and interested

•Fungus begins loving listening to Wiggle's music and starts hitting the ground in percussion with the music

•Wiggle will never pass up on an adoring fan of course, and starts teaching Fungus how to make music, Fungus learns nothing, but is happy to have attention

•Fungus has ended up with the Banjo before, and absolutely tried to eat it

•(Fungus has worn Wiggle's glasses before and was fully prepared to wear them forever)

Triffany

•Triffany would find Fungus in one of the ruins, probably lost

•Triffany would be confused, but curious

•Fungus trusts Triffany quickly, as she's sensible and knows a feral creature when she sees one, so takes her time

•Fungus likes to try and help piece history together with Triffany, but obviously he has no idea what he's ever doing, so he isn't really much help

•Triffany's accent is completely foreign to Fungus, so they can have problems understanding some of her pronunciations, however, they absolutely adore her accent and loves listening to her talk

•Triffany is most likely the Grumpus who brought Fungus to town, probably to show Wambus the creature she adopted, and ask Floofty if any of this makes sense

•Fungus likes to chew on bones Triffany gives him, it helps sharpen his teeth and subdue his pure, feral rage

Cromdo

•Fungus would take a VERY long time to trust Cromdo, due to his sleezy nature

•Fungus absolutely wants whatever Cromdo is selling (because they're a hoarder) but doesn't know of the economy, only knows stick. Fungus will buy material objects with sticks and leaves or Cromdo will die

•a sick part of Cromdo wants to sell Fungus to Floofty for science, but knows that would be the second most illegal thing he's ever done (Grumpus Trafficking is no joke-)

•Fungus would probably want a tie, let's be honest

•to Cromdo, Fungus is like a cat, running around scratching the walls and knocking things off of tables

•Cromdo isn't afraid to scold Fungus, and Fungus will learn to listen in due time

•despite the tension and issues the two have, Fungus does it to show care for Cromdo, everyone knows this but Cromdo

•Fungus likes the word "Pal"

Chandlo

•Chandlo is Fungus' favourite. No questions asked.

•he found Fungus in a tree and brought him home to Snorpy, like gay people do

•"Snorp-dawg, I found a cryptid!"

"you WHAT"

•Fungus appreciates Chandlo so fucking much

•didn't attack for same reason as Gramble (small = not a threat)

•Chandlo likes Fungus because they're a hard-core survivor of the wild, and Chandlo vibes with that

•Fungus originally likes to watch Chandlo work out, finding it fascinating; but eventually starts joining in when Chandlo offers

•Chandlo just wants to keep this feral creature, that is all

•Fungus learns so many words from Chandlo, that he accidentally turns Fungus into a feral version of himself

Snorpy

•Snopry is (rightfully so) terrified of Fungus

•what is it? What's it gender? Why does it barely speak? How much sentience does it have? DOES IT WORK FOR THE GRUMPINATI??!

•but of course, Chandlo wants to keep it and Snorpy can't say no, so he ends up playing babysitter when Chandlo is gone

•Fungus, on the other hand, is enamored. Obviously-

•Fungus understands so little when it comes to Snorpy, all these conspiracies and big words and intricate connections, Fungus has no brain

•Fungus likes to listen though, and likes to look at the conspiracy board (also likes to hoard all the red string lol)

•of course Snorpy warms up to them, mostly when Floofty starts trying to steal them for experiments; Snorpy feels a newfound need to protect this gremlin from his mad scientist sibling

•Fungus just likes the attention

Floofty

•Floofty kidnaps Fungus for experiments (not clickbait)

•I mean, can you blame them? How does Fungus exist? A completely feral Grumpus in a society of modernized, evolved, civilised Grumpuses? They gotta know how Fungus works

•however, Floofty underestimated Fungus' energy, and now they're shouting at a gremlin, who is barking back at them

•Floofty loses so much sleep over keeping Fungus in one place.

•"fascinating...your survival instinct is completely intact- stop chewing my leg."

•Floofty tries to teach Fungus basic language, but learns the next day that Fungus forget everything they learnt

•Fungus doesn't know what to make of Floofty

•Is this good or bad? Friend or foe?

•if Floofty has to hurt Fungus to get what they want, they WILL be attacked (i.e taking blood or testing pain level)

•sometimes Floofty just snaps and throws Fungus into a river to "experiment" if Fungus can swim

•Fungus does like the attention though

Shelda

•Shelda is one of the only Grumpuses that Fungus shows concern and care for OPENLY

•He gives her gifts of sticks and rocks and leaves, and he'll throw a tantrum if she won't take them

•he likes to sit next to her while she meditates so she doesn't get lonely 😳😳

•the only problem with this is that Fungus is easily bored, and will start making noises and bumping rocks together

•and it's very distracting when you're trying to meditate

•But Fungus knows this and tries to behave as best as they can, they wanna make Grandma Shelda happy

•they become a part of Shelda's little fanclub, and listens to her wisdom despite not knowing ANYTHING she's saying

•he pretends he knows, nodding and agreeing all the time

Eggabell

•Eggabell, being a doctor, just wants to get her hands on Fungus to take care of him

•I mean, he's messy, and covered in mud and sticks and leaves

•he probably has the Grumpus equivalent of mange

•he DEFINITELY has fleas

•and she just wants to sit them down and clean them up

•but Fungus isn't having it, and is actually a little scared of Eggabell, as they don't know why she wants them to stay still

•Fungus will learn to trust her, and let her take care of the fleas and rabies and mange

•and when he does, he will never leave her side afterwards. He'll recognise she made him feel better and constantly want her attention

•He may get a little distracting for her sometimes, but she knows he means well

•also, because Fungus is a good listener, Eggabell airs her problems out to them, she knows they don't know what she's saying, but it's nice to rant to them while they eat a whole tree, bit by bit

Lizbert

•there isn't many opportunities where Liz and Fungus would interact sadly, however, I feel like if they did they would get along far too well

•Liz bringing Fungus on adventures around the island? Fungus showing Liz little cave systems they've found so she has shortcuts around the areas? Makes my heart ache-

•Fungus wants the hat, give her the hat Liz-

•because Liz is such a simple name, it would most likely be the only one Fungus would learn

•I can imagine Liz getting distracted from studying Bugsnax and instead studying Fungus, until Filbo or Egg reminds her she has more important things to do

•Fungus is incredibly agile, and I can imagine them scaling trees or cliffs and finding a safer route for Liz to take

•Fungus is Liz's emotional support adventure dog

The Journalist

This would be in terms of if Fungus was a character you'd meet;

•You would meet Fungus in Sugarpine Woods, but somewhere far away from Chandlo and Snorpy.

•Fungus would flee from you once spotted (sorta like the Snaxsquach, but not at certain times).

•You would then have a quest to ask around to see if anyone knew what this Grumpus was (and you would receive a resounding "no").

•The puzzle would then be figuring out how to cohearse Fungus into trusting you, which would be with sticks and rocks, making a pile of them to bait Fungus from hiding.

•Once you would have their trust, you would still have quests to complete before they move from their spot and follow you to town, this would include collecting more sticks and rocks, and finding Bugsnax so Fungus can have friends.

•They'd communicate these quests very poorly, you would probably have to rely on the quest descriptions to figure out what the objective is.

•After enough errands, Fungus would make a happy noise and start following you around. Then, if you walk into town, you approach Filbo and he takes Fungus off your hands.

•When you return to Snaxburg, it's in anarchy as Fungus has gotten out of control. Your next objective is "survive". Eventually, through sticks, rocks and leaves, you calm Fungus down enough for them to live in Snaxburg without killing anyone.

•However, some side-quests would involve Fungus, and the other residents having to deal with them now.

I had this neat idea that all this is optional, you don't have to even do the main quest for Fungus because they weren't supposed to be part of the expedition and know no one. So why interview them, not like you can anyway. You can escape Snaktooth with all the normal residents and leave Fungus on the island, then their fate would be left unknown (but man I'd feel guilty for it 😟).

[adultswim2021]

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #85: “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” | December 7, 2003 - 11:30 PM | S08E04

Happy 20th anniversary, Adult Swim. And, boy, what a momentous episode of Ghost do we have here to celebrate. There are a number of episodes where the guest is an event unto itself and this is truly one of them. Frequent punchline William Shatner is an absolute cunt... and a proper legend. His cuntiness and legendary status are two things that seem to be at odds with one another, and the Space Ghost crew have managed to come up with an artfully idiosyncratic episode to match Shatner’s weird-guy-ness. It’s a classic for sure, and important. But (making a “smug dipshit” face) is it funny?

YES! It’s FUNNY! I will admit though, the first time I saw this episode I didn’t quite know what to make of it. This is partially because I’m very much a Star Trek agnostic. I’ve never been into Star Trek. In the last few years I’ve watched most of the pre-Next Gen motion pictures for inane list-making reasons, and I enjoyed them to varying degrees, but Star Trek is truly not for me. I’m more of a... well, I’m not a Star Wars guy either. What’s the other one? Uh... Spaceballs. That’s it. I’m more of a Spaceballs guy.

But I feel like I’ve absorbed a lot of Star Trek lore through cultural osmosis. I vaguely understand that William Shatner has had some deliberately-paced choreographed fight scene on those rocks from Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. When I hear music similar to the the music that Jim Carrey hums in The Cable Guy, I’m pretty sure whatever it is I’m watching is doing a Star Trek thing. And yes, I’ve watched every single Red Letter Media “Mike and Rich talk about Star Trek for 4 hours” video. But even today, after having picked up more Star Trek knowledge on my journey to the grave, I still have this nagging feeling of “I only sort of get this”.

Still, this episode has a handful of screamingly funny lines, and the episode ends wonderfully, with Space Ghost in his death throes, suffering the ultimate indignity of dying in front of William Shatner. There’s also the part where Zorak asks why everyone in Star Trek is black, and a part where Moltar nervously reads from his fan fiction (from a book labeled TARD WARS, hahaha). Shatner, who has a reputation for being arrogant and difficult, is as good a sport as one could hope. The show makes good use of his hammier moments, and only shits on him slightly in the process. The most notable moment is when Shatner says to Zorak “didn't you and I fight to the death?” to which Zorak replies “That sounds pretty dumb, man”. I’ve actually quoted this line many times. It’s one of the best.

Also, for those of you who like to track these things: the show features callbacks to other episodes and shows; the handimen at Zorak’s apartment are clearly extras from Sealab 2020/2021, one of the Leprechauns from Aqua Teen Hunger Force shows up, and there’s a poignant callback to classic Space Ghost episode “Banjo”. 

The title motif of this season is naming the episodes after Allman Brothers songs, and I always wondered about this one. Maybe I’m reaching, and it’s probably too disrespectful to be true, but I always thought that it was somehow a veiled reference to Shatner’s wife, whom he supposedly killed or let die. It’s simply too dark to be true, but it’s the first thought that immediately jumped to my mind when I first heard the title of this episode. Am I stupid for thinking this? Am I stupid because it OBVIOUSLY is a reference to that?? I simply do not know. I would like to know.

MAIL BAG

The big anniversary is upon us. What are your 20 favorite things about adult swim for 20 years going. Don't sleep on this question!

I gotta do SOMETHING special, so I might as well do this. More thought could have gone into this, but I spent about an hour trying to come up with episodes or moments from 20 different shows and putting them in rough chronological order. I limited myself to one episode/scene/moment/joke/whatever per show so it’s not all Space Ghost jokes. So, here we go:

Sealab 2021: “I, Robot”. Adult Swim proved it could be brilliant right out of the gate with the stealth premiere of “I, Robot”, but for Sealab it’s all downhill from here. (2000)

Space Ghost Coast to Coast: Space Ghost stops in his tracks to reminisce about the time Bobcat Goldthwait said "crack a window". The entire episode “Kentucky Nightmare” is brilliant, but this moment in particular so uniquely captures my sense of humor that it’s inexplicable. The dumb look on Space Ghost’s face when he stops in his tracks. Goddamn. (2001)

Aqua Teen Hunger Force: “Mayhem of the Mooninites” I tried very hard to make this all be individual jokes or scenes or whatever, but this is another episode where the entire thing is just line after line and I can’t really pick. This, “I Robot”, and “Kentucky Nightmare” is like a perfect trio illustrating how good Adult Swim really was right out of the gate. (2001)

Home Movies: Jason casually reveals that his parents have no idea who Brendon and Melissa are and that he spends most of his free-time making movies with them. This is the episode “Storm Warning” which is overall one of the best episodes of Home Movies, but this scene is probably my favorite. Illustrates how simple and hilarious the comedy is on this show. (2002)

Tom Goes to the Mayor: the end scene in “Undercover”, where they’ve shoddily reversed Tom’s various unnecessary surgeries and called him “Taumpy Tears” to boot. Positively sublime. (2006)

Metalocalypse: Dr. Rockso’s music video. From the episode “Dethclown”. I was never in love with this show as much as the true fans were, but there were a handful of incredible episodes. This episode basically tells one joke over and over and it’s very funny. It really ends with a bang showcasing Dr. Rockso’s shitty music video that celebrates cocaine use. His singing voice is hilarious. (2006)

Assy McGee: I am the only person in the world that defends Assy McGee as being “actually pretty good” and it’s all entirely due to this one line: Assy McGee (a pair of naked buttocks with legs, whose ass functions as his head) is forced to attend a black tie event and is just milling around wearing nothing but a black bow tie. Through clenched anus he delivers the line “I can barely breathe in this penguin suit”. The whole show is worth it for that joke. I don’t even know what episode it is except that it’s from one of the first few. I might not even have the line exactly right. But, I remember laughing so hard. I may not have laughed at Assy McGee again. (2006)

Saul of the Mole Men: The opening theme song. And nothing else. (2007)

Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!: Jim and Derrick. I should pick something more user-friendly maybe, since this episode almost entirely relies on being familiar with Tim & Eric’s previous episodes. But goddamn, this episode is such a funny concept (which is basically Tim & Eric doing an alternate MTV-ified version of Awesome Show) (2008)

Moral Orel: “Numb”. When Moral Orel suddenly stopped being a quirky Adult Swim comedy and suddenly started doing episodes that resembled art films. This episode is a fucking masterpiece. I remember sobbing the first time I saw it. There are a few in season 3 that are like that, but this one is my favorite. (2008)

Check it Out! with Dr. Steve Brule: Terry Bruge-Hiplo reviews “Dumpster’s Children”. Another bit of comedy that I’d describe as “inexplicable” and “sublime”, and it all hinges on an old man’s mouth. Holy fuck. I don’t think I’ve laughed harder than this at a TV show since. (2010)

Delocated: The ending of “Mole”, an extended Face/Off riff where Jon goes undercover as the scary mobster Sergei. In the final moments of the episode he marries a woman, fathers multiple children with her, and only then is pulled out of the mission. The episode is a tour-de-force of comic acting by Steve Cirbus, who is graciously allowed to shine for most of the episode. But man, that ending is fucking wonderful. (2010)

Venture Bros.: The ending of “Operation P.R.O.M.” a flurry of emotions hit me when “Like a Friend” by Pulp starts playing. The scene is so well done and weirdly touching. Brock realizes that deep down he gives a shit about the Venture family and is genuinely terrified something might happen to them. And then he gets to slaughter a bunch of Zorak monsters, which is also weirdly sweet. It’s even touching on a meta-level knowing that Jackson and Doc tried many times and failed to include licensed music in the show. I love Venture Bros, but I think we’d all be better off if this were the series finale. Sorry. I had to say it. (2010)

The Heart She Holler: The first scene with Patton being taught the way of the world posthumously by his father on a VHS tape. The first season of this show is amazing, but that scene, especially where Patton does a little Japanese bow and says “oh, hot dog!” is just hysterical. Literally every time a hot dog comes up in conversation my wife and I quote it. Please, do not scorn her, it’s not racist when SHE does it. (2011)

Eagleheart: The All That Jazz inspired finale. “Paradise Rising” is mostly a masterpiece, and how it ends is so fucking incredible. Easily the most under-rated show on Adult Swim and I’m not just saying that because... you know (mimes dick-sucking) (2014)

Rick and Morty: I watched the first two episodes of Rick and Morty, thought it was good, but for some reason didn’t become a devotee until my wife made me watch the Mr. Poopybutthole episode. It’s still my favorite episode, I think. (2015)

Brett Gelman’s Dinner in America: The “Dinner with” specials are all really good, but goddamn, this one hits. Should be shown in schools. I am going to go to every grade school in my county with an AR-15 (to get past the guards, of course) and I won’t leave until they call an assembly and they let me fumble around trying to find it on vimeo and play it for the students. (2016)

The Eric Andre Show: Eric interviews Steve Schirripa. The bit where he has an intern dip his balls in Steve’s spaghetti sauce is hilarious, naturally, but I’m here to showcase the running gag where every time Steve complains how hot the studio is, Eric just wordlessly hands him an ice cube until Steve explodes. It’s one of the most childishly hilarious things I’ve ever seen. It’s perfect. (2016)

Million Dollar Extreme Presents: World Peace: The Pick-Up artist sketch. I’m mostly unimpressed with MDE, and all but a few Sam Hyde bits leave me cold. But this sketch is a crowning achievement. I mean, I think these guys suck politically and are more mean than funny, but their sensibilities yielded one really incredible piece of comedy. Okay, I laughed at the blackface sketch too. There. You dragged it out of me. (2016) Joe Pera Talks With You: This show is beautiful and I love every episode. But the episode “Joe Pera Reads You The Church Announcements” Wherein Joe discovers a new-to-him song and can’t stop listening to it, is one of the most joyous episodes of television I’ve ever seen. A gateway episode. I tell everyone to please watch this one first. (2018)

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: His Name Is Alive

While Warren Defever’s name is perhaps less recognizable than that of his band His Name Is Alive, he’s also been connected with a seemingly endless array of other projects: Princess Dragon-Mom, Elvis Hitler, ESP Beetles, Control Panel, and far more. This doesn’t get into his recording and production credits for the likes of Michael Hurley, Iggy and the Stooges, and Mdou Moctar. Forever associated with Michigan’s weirdo-underground music scene, Defever has recently been issuing a series of long-buried recordings as His Name Is Alive. In February, the Disciples label released Hope Is a Candle, the third and final volume in the "Home Recordings" trilogy exploring Defever's teenage tape experimentation as well as A Silver Thread (Home Recordings 1979 - 1990), a four-volume collection of many of Defever’s solo home recordings prior to His Name Is Alive releasing their debut album Livonia on 4AD in 1990. In his review of A Silver Thread, Tim Clarke writes “For a collection of home recordings, what’s most striking about this music is how fully realized and carefully executed it sounds, comparable at times to contemporary artists such as Grouper, Benoît Pioulard and Tim Hecker. This is not the 1980s that I remember.”

Defever gives us his “What Else Is New” list, a set of personal snapshots, memories of a life spent in music, warning the reader that “the descriptions don’t always have an obvious correlation to the video, but welcome to my nightmare brain.”

In The Line of Fire

I started performing when I was five. My grandfather was a self-taught musician from Saskatchewan in Western Canada and he showed me and my brothers how to play banjo, guitar and fiddle. One of my earliest memories is having a full size 127 lb. accordion placed onto my lap and my grandmother voicing her disappointment when I refused to play. I did learn slide guitar from her later though. I have many, often terrible, memories of performing at square dances with his band and we would play old timey country music, folk songs, polkas and waltzes. There were also gigs at the trailer park, old folks homes and a convent. Although my grandfather believed that popular music died with Hank Williams in 1953, he still found room in his heart for Lawrence Welk and Slim Whitman.

Meet Me By The Water

By age ten I had a tape recorder and was using it to capture the sounds of nearby lakes, thunderstorms, and my older brothers LP collection played at the wrong speeds. I recently found the cassette, Echo Lake (1983) which features waves crashing onto the beach on the Canadian side of Lake St. Clair but it was recorded right after I got an echo pedal so it’s got a heavy dose of dreamy delay. Tape loops of the next door neighbor raking leaves and shoveling the driveway would be repurposed a few years later as rhythm tracks on the first His Name Is Alive LP, Livonia (4AD, 1990). Detroit in the late 70s and early 80s had totally insane radio and one of the highlights was Met-Ezzthetics, a late night show on WDET hosted by Faruq Z. Bey who also played saxophone in Griot Galaxy. Shortly before his death he played with His Name is Alive and we had a chance to formalize our student-teacher relationship.

Search For Higher Energies

In high school I was studying Bach Chorale harmonization and counterpoint during the day but recording and touring with the band Elvis Hitler at night. The other guys in band were older but at 16 I was a familiar sight at shitty Detroit punk clubs and Hamtramck dive bars, the nerdy teenager reading a book or doing homework sitting at the bar waiting ’til midnight or 1am for our slot to play our hellbilly hits, “It’s A Long Way From Berlin To Memphis,” and “Hot Rod To Hell.” I was still trying to make sense of the post 1953 music scene and when I met the guy with a giant afro and shiny super hero outfit complete with shiny cape I had no idea he was Rob Tyner of the MC5. We released three records before I was twenty one and played shows and toured with Devo, the Dwarves, the Dead Milkmen, Reverend Horton Heat, the Beat Farmers, Helios Creed, Babes In Toyland, the Cro-Mags, Corrosion of Conformity, the Frogs, the Gories, Pussy Galore, the Unsane and way more I can’t remember I was just a kid. It was some kind of education.

You Don’t Have To Go Home But You Can’t Stay Here

When I signed with 4AD I thought I was a composer and they let me write my own bio, so I called His Name Is Alive the work of a “fucked up, irresponsible teenage composer.” I had only been writing music for three years. When I heard “Tom Violence” by Sonic Youth I thought for the first time in my life, “I think I could do that.” In 1988 I made a mixtape with Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car, Leadbelly and some of Big Star’s third album and I tried to arrange it like it was an album, then I made my own album in that same shape, it was called I Had Sex With God and I sent it to 4AD. Our first album contained three of the first five pieces of music I had ever written. Within a few years I was playing festivals for contemporary classical composers and new age artists who were thirty or forty years older than me. His Name Is Alive played the Musicas Visuales Festival in Mexico with Harold Budd, Paul Horn and Jorge Reyes. The mayor of the city presented me with a guitar but then dramatically walked out of the theater during our performance realizing he had made a terrible mistake. I remember the surreal moment when from across the room Harold Budd walked in and greeted me as “Mr. Defever.” He had a cold and was sniffling during his set, the audience thought he was crying. I recorded his show and when I got back home to Livonia I added my own guitar to some of his songs and then edited the tapes, looping my favorite parts and editing out the parts I didn’t like, also adding additional layers of reverb and echo. More recently I did a concert in a five hundred year old temple in Japan where the unamplified meditation music never rose above a whisper and the monk had to turn off the furnace because the heat molecules were too loud. The show was recorded and released under the name Mountain Ocean Sun and features Ian Masters and Hitoko Sakai.

Energy Dealer

Both my parents were born in Canada, my mother in Saskatchewan, my father in Ontario. I have dual citizenship as my father was American and my mother had Canadian citizenship. I spent summers, holidays and weekends in a tiny cottage on Lake St. Clair that did not have a telephone and had curtains instead of doors separating the two rooms. Myrt Fortin who lived next door would receive phone calls for my mom, walk over to our place and yell into the window, “Hey wake up your ma, your dad’s on the phone.” My mom took a lot of naps, so she was always asleep when something important was happening. I remember always getting cut on broken glass while swimming in the lake or getting stabbed by one of the neighbors and having to go wake up my mom to take me to the hospital.

Lord I Don’t Believe You Exist

When I was ten my parents sat me down and told me it was time that I got a summer job. There were only two businesses in town, a gas station and a hardware store so I walked up to the hardware store and asked the owner for a job and immediately fell to the ground crying. Completely fell apart. He asked me why I wanted to work in hardware. I didn’t know what to say, I was only ten but I knew not to tell the owner that his store was stupid and I didn’t think he could handle the truth. It turned out he also owned the gas station so that didn’t really work out. Later that summer, I began working for the Pickseed Corporation as corn de-tasseling season was just beginning. All the moms would drop off their kids in the church parking lot in Tecumseh, just outside of Windsor, around 4:30am where an unmarked windowless cargo van was waiting that had cinderblocks and 2'x4' boards instead of benches so they could squeeze in the maximum amount of children. There were three job requirements to work in a cornfield, the child (it was only children, no adults) needed to show up with a baseball hat, a thermos with water and a large black plastic garbage bag. I think this was before sunglasses were invented. Upon arriving at the cornfield, we were separated into pickers and checkers, younger kids each taking a row of corn (a row could extend a mile or more) and a slightly older kid would organize and manage several of the younger kids. In the morning we were instructed to poke two arm holes and a head hole into our garbage bags and put it on like a raincoat because the corn was covered in dew and kids wearing wet clothes would walk slower than dry kids. So almost every day there was a point, usually around 11am when the dew would dry and we would be roasted alive from the summer sun coming down on our ridiculous shiny black plastic outfits. We worked from sun up until sun down. I received three dollars and thirty five cents an hour. For all you city folks, corn is planted in alternating rows of types of corn so that when the top part of the plant is removed, or “de-tasseled,” it can seed or cross-pollinate easily. It’s a terrible job with a high turnover rate and every day I would hear the sound of kids in nearby rows that had given up hope, sat down in the middle of the field and crying for hours. The following year, at age 11, I was promoted from picker to checker, and was put in charge of a group of about ten sixteen year old’s.

Sleep It Off

Mostly I like to record – His Name is Alive has over a hundred releases and I’ve done another fifty records under various names, Control Panel, Warren Michael Defever, ESP BEETLES, ESP SUMMER, Forest People, Infinity People, Jeepers Creepers, Layla al-Akhyaliyya, Mirror Dream, Princess Dragon-Mom, the Dirt Eaters, the Fishcats, the Whales, plus way more I can’t remember probably because the names were so dumb. I’ve recorded about four hundred records for other bands at my house or other studios. I’ve worked on records with Danny Kroha, Ida, Fred Thomas, Elizabeth Mitchell, Wild Belle, Michael Hurley, and when I was a teenager I helped record the first Gories album which was especially unique as I was the junior assistant engineer who helped move their equipment into the dirt floor garage next to the studio where it was decided the acoustics would be way worse. Also, I helped collage about a hundred Destroy All Monsters tapes from the 70s for a couple of their releases which led to remastering a bunch of tapes from the John Sinclair White Panther Party archives. I’ve done remixes for Thurston Moore and Yoko Ono and when Iggy and The Stooges started touring again I got a phone call from Ron Asheton seeing if I would help them record demos for their reunion album with Mike Watt on bass. They wrote the songs together while they were recording in Niagara’s basement sort of simultaneously. Iggy didn’t have a notebook with all his lyric ideas, instead he just sang about whatever happened that day – one song was about the airline losing his luggage, one about ATM machines and another was about reading in a newspaper that Ray Davies of the Kinks had been shot in New Orleans. In the end they weren’t terribly excited by my suggested song titles including “No Shirt” (you know because it’s like “No Fun” plus you know Iggy never wears a shirt) and they didn’t seem to love the mixes that I did that sounded kind of like those crappy Raw Power bootlegs.

Cost Of Living

Two summers ago I recorded an incredible concert by Mdou Moctar live at Third Man Records in Detroit. They’re wild hypnotic Hendrix style jammers who live in the desert. The band didn’t speak much english but I think I was able to communicate to them how excited I was about their amazing fingerpicking and hot guitar solos after the show by screaming and replaying the best solos over and over again and then screaming the word fuzz and pointing at their fingers. It’s insane and having seen them a few times since then with a different drummer and the addition of a bass player, I’m convinced it’s their best album. It’s wild but it’s still not Tchin-tabaraden wedding wild.

Licked By Lions

Jonathan Richman walks into Ethan and Gretchen's studio and asks if I can remove all the rugs, take the acoustic treatments off the walls and strike the baffles which normally separate the instruments, drums and amps, so the room will have the most echo possible, he has also invited about ten friends including Johnny Bee Badanjek the drummer from Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels and Mary Cobra from the Detroit Cobras to dance, sing and play percussion in the studio while he records. He has two vocal microphones set up at either end of the room and has brought his own microphones for the drums along with his own desired placement for them. He notices a tamboura near the control room and asks if I know how to play it or if I know how to tune it. Within seconds he’s tuned it and proceeds to sing Indian classical music accompanying himself on tamboura drone for about thirty five minutes. It’s beautiful and very surprising. He asks me if I recorded it, I lie and say no. Later he asks me not to play it for anyone. We record for hours. Some songs are quite long – ten and fifteen minutes, some are medleys of oldies or soft rock hits from the seventies segueing into new songs of his. It’s a confusing session as it’s not clear when songs are starting and ending and he often plays guitar and sings nowhere near a microphone. The distance between him and the microphone seems to have some meaning, there’s some formula to when he chooses to walk away in the middle of a verse but I am unable to determine the secret code. At the end of the session three or four songs are deemed usable, edited and mixed, although, sadly, an attempt at a completely insane and unexpected fuzz guitar solo is left unreleased. (The Harold Budd piece is at the opposite end of this spectrum.)

Calling All Believers

Shortly after Tecuciztecatl was released, I received an email from Dr. James Beacham at CERN inviting us to perform at a series of concerts that would combine experimental music with experimental science at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland. He didn’t contact our booking agent, which would be how we generally receive offers for gigs, instead he sent an email to me, which would be how we generally receive crazy messages from our completely insane fans (murderous, delusional, poetic, threatening messages usually). I assumed the invitation was fake or a prank and replied that we would prefer to wait until they had successfully opened a pathway to interspatial dimensions and we’d play on the other side or that if that was unlikely to happen at a convenient time then perhaps we could set up our equipment right on the edge of a mini-black hole and perform as the Earth is being destroyed so we could release the concert film “Live At The End Of The World.” After a few messages back and forth, it was clear that he was legit and I apologized for being such a jerk. Soon I discovered poetry within the language of particle physics as well as a certain beauty in the idea that these scientists have devoted their lives to dreaming, searching and discovering basic principles that connect all things in existence. The song “Calling All Believers” refers to this devotion. “Energy Acceleration” compares the scientists to monastic life in medieval times and mystics trying to find and define the line between this world and the next and at the same time invoking the incredible amounts of energy needed to create the collisions experiments. The Patterns of Light LP was released in 2016 on London London Records and is about interpreting visions of light, trying to find universal truth with whatever tools available, it’s about the search for how everything works, why it works and how it got that way but also about being inspired on a basic level by the way a thing looks and how all your senses take in a thing. A thousand years ago Hildegard Von Bingen was writing about this same thing in letters, songs, medical texts, and had even developed her own language to use in her mystical writings, similar to Magma drummer Christian Vander using his own language for their concept albums or French black metalists Brenoritvrezorkre and Moëvöt.

The Light Inside You

We get a lot of letters from fans, mostly weirdos though. I think it started when we released Song of Schizophrenia, that sort of connected us to a certain demographic I suspect. Here’s a recent typical message we received. “Growing up in Panama City, Mouth By Mouth and Livonia were like passages to other realms. I drank a ton of cough syrup at the time but those albums helped make life more livable. I was about to go to art school for sculpture and graphic design and the textures I heard on those records had actual shapes to them. Most music I knew at that time was flat or linear. I got them on cassette via mail-order from an ad placed in a bmx magazine. Mouth By Mouth arrived just before going to work at the amusement park and I was able to listen to it twice on the way thanks to the never-ending beach traffic. As luck would have it, I worked on “The Abominable Snowman” ride, basically a tilt-a-whirl inside a dome with lots of fog machine action, blue lights, mirrors, and lots of air conditioning. It took about 10 listens that day before it wasn’t as weird as when I first put it on. Maybe it was my bubblegum flavor/robitussin combo slushie on top of no-doz that pulled it all together, but it was probably a weird ride for a lot of vacationing beach tourists and townies when all they really wanted to hear was “Naughty by Nature” by O.P.P. I had no business running those rides at the age of 17 but I really loved how disorienting that ride could be with all the mirrors, the fog, the cold and for the final 90 seconds the ride would go in reverse. I had a buddy named Kevin that did acid at work and would repeatedly run the mini-train off the tracks and all the riders had to walk back through the woods for about a half mile that summer.”

[aspeckof-stardust]

it’s about who you’re with at the end of the day

Hi hi! Here is a snippet of a fic I’m writing for day 5 of JATP Week. I have had more work than expected this week (not to mention the election anxiety and homework lol) so I couldn’t finish it in time. My hope is to have the entire fic published by the end of the weekend, but until then, have this little sneak peek!

Day 5 (November 6): Fanfiction prompt: write a fic focused on friendship/found family

Summary: 5 4 times Reggie chose his family + 1 time he is chosen to be someone’s family.

No warnings / Pairings: Gen / Rating: General audiences

If you have any ideas, suggestions or speculations about the rest, send them my way! Likes, comments and pressuring me into finishing this are always welcome, of course (if you catch any grammar mistake too, please let me know! I haven’t revised any of this yet).

Title from the gift that was Home Is Where My Horse Is by Jeremy Shada.

1. 

Reggie grew up on a farm. He was born and raised in a teeny tiny town in the middle of nowhere, amidst open green fields and blue skies, amidst pigs, horses, cows and all the animals from Old MacDonald Had a Farm. He learned how to play the banjo from his grandad on the porch that wrapped around their old house, learned how to swim on the shallow pond in their backwoods, learned how to make the best cornbread you could ever eat from his grandma in their pink kitchen.

He loved the farm.

Then, with little to no explanation - something along the lines of his grandparents being too old to look after him, but that was bullshit, they were fine. He was fine -, his parents showed up on the farm to bring him back to the city with them. No warnings, no questioning whether Reggie wanted to go live with them, no nothing.

Reggie hated the city.

It was loud and smelly and crowded and he couldn’t have his horse with him. He missed the open green fields and the blue skies and the smell of the earth after it rained. More than anything else, however, he missed the quiet.

Not only was it always loud outside in the streets, it was always loud inside his house too. It was no secret his parents worked a lot - that was the whole reason why his grandparents had raised him until then. His mom worked three jobs and Reggie would only ever see her every other day. His dad worked just the one, but it was a grinding, tiring job that took his toll on him. He would always spend his nights drinking his sorrows away. Whenever they both coincided to be home at the same time, they would fight: ‘have you paid the electricity bill, Richard?’,  ‘why is there no dinner, Marissa?’, ‘I’m worried Reggie is spending too much time by himself, Richard,’ ‘Marissa, the house is filthy, you need to clean it,’ and so on and on and on. Every day it was a new problem, a new complaint, and Reggie was tired - his parents had been so adamant about him coming to live with them, but  most of the time it was like he wasn’t even there, like he was a ghost just floating around the house, causing things to happen from a distance, but never to be dealt with directly. So Reggie did the best thing he could think of: he embraced it. He truly became a ghost around his own house, cleaning it top to toe, learning how to cook so there was dinner on the fridge, and he started to keep himself company… found friends to keep him company.

To call family.

The first friend - brother - he found was Bobby. Bobby lived a few houses down the street and took the same bus to school as him. He was a year older, always wore a black leather jacket, and looked so cool with said jacket and his shades as they waited for the bus in the mornings. Reggie was not the only one to think so - all the girls from their stop were always staring and giggling at him.

Reggie craved that kind of attention (any kind of attention, really, but he was 14 in a new city with no friends and pretty much no parents, and all the boys in school, the boys Bobby hanged around with, were constantly going on and on about girls this, girls that, so that must be worth something, right?). The answer to all his problems then? Be like Bobby. 

So he did. He begged his parents for a leather jacket, which he was pretty sure he got just so he would shut up, searched his dad’s closet for a pair of sunglasses like the other boy wore, and started to listen to the punk rock music he knew Bobby liked. It worked. Every morning, waiting for the bus, the girls would stare and giggle at him too, one of them going as far as giving him a small folded paper with her number scribbled in, along with a kiss on the cheek, right before they hopped on to the bus. He fully expected Bobby to be annoyed by him, for stealing his thunder or whatever, but to his surprise, a few weeks into this new Reggie he was trying on, the other boy simply blinked at him and motioned to his tape recorder, asking what he was listening to.

“Oh. Red Hot Chilli Peppers.”

“Cool, I like them too,” he mentioned, nonchalantly. Reggie knew right then and there that Bobby knew what he was doing and he. did. not. care! He seemed to like it, even?

Reggie got his first friend in LA that day. Bobby opened more doors to Reggie than he had expected, including two of the most important doors to ever be opened in his life: family and music. How did he do it? By letting him borrow an old bass his older brother used to play and, with it, telling him a secret he would never forget.

“The secret is to own the loudness.”

The riff of a bass sounded louder than anything else in the city.