#still. in the works.

[moe-broey]

OKAY. I AM GOING TO DROP A NOTE. BOOK 4 MOE LORE. Only one part of it, because initially I didn't even think to explore Moe's side of things (in Alfonse's body, follows the canon story ect ect) Until. Something Clicked. And ohhhhhh Moe has PROBLEMS.... okay 👍

I am trapping it under a cut for its crimes.

[This note starts off by talking about a separate note where I jotted down the sequence of events rough-style -- these are the Thoughts behind it]

Like I think you COULD completely break Alfonse's spirit and reduce him to tears and desperation. But there's a Distinguishing Factor. When it comes to the Moefonse twist, to Moe in his body. Moe just has prey animal neurosis and its number 1 stress response is feeling overwhelmingly like it's going to fucking Die.

/

ALSO SO FUCKED UP. SO FUCKED UP. THAT THIS IS THE LOGICAL CONCLUSION TO MOE'S ENTIRE CHARACTER. THAT IT WOULD ALL COME TO THIS. PERFECTLY ENCAPSULATED BY THE BOOK 4 TWIST.

That Moe, as it's gotten to know, trust, and admire Alfonse, it begins seeing him as the Framework for Being A Person. Despite Knowing Better -- Moe is someone who, when in doubt, becomes a mirror. To reflect whatever it is Moe thinks you want to see, or -- to reflect what it's observed to have "worked". Add a layer of Alfonse becoming something of a mentor to it, and Alfonse having a lot of traits that Moe Envies. Like. Like. It Knows Better. It sees the pitfalls of those traits, how they don't always serve Alfonse, how sometimes they make things worse. But Alfonse is everything Moe Tried to be, and then some. Alfonse is everything Moe could never be. Alfonse has something Moe doesn't. It admires him, it resents him, it envies him.

Alfonse is also a reflection of what Moe Wished it had. What it should have had. What was taken from it. In a lot of ways, Sharena is this, too. Sharena is everything that Moe could never be. She has things Moe can never have. But the feelings... are so different, there. There's grief. It's painful to look in the eye. Above all else, it wants a happy life for her. Moe is always so, so afraid. Of getting in the way of that, somehow.

Which leads to that moment. Of despair. Moe, already falling apart, asks itself What Would Alfonse Do? If Alfonse were here... what would he do... what choice would he make... what scheme would he concoct... or is the only option, the only way out, is through?

Moe determines, Alfonse is just and logical. He is, devastatingly, self-sacrificial. He's mature, he's reasonable. He would accept his fate with both hands, if it meant that his loved ones would be safe, if there truly was no other option. His own feelings about it, be damned.*

Then Sharena reaches out. Completely shattering any semblance of conviction Moe was constructing, there.

THAT aspect of Moe's character. The part of Moe who is extremely jealous of Sharena. That, she has an older brother who absolutely, undeniably, adores her. Whether she's fully aware of it or not. It's something Moe picked up on, so early on. And has only gotten less normal about, as time went on. But the way it manifests in Moe....

Moe is "self-sacrificial". It's looking for any and every opportunity, to... exile itself. Find new and exciting ways to condemn itself, and to justify it. When Moe is jealous of Sharena, it doesn't ask for Alfonse to exclusively dote on it, and it alone. No. Instead, it begs Alfonse to always choose her. That, gun to his head, if he had to Make a Choice, between her or itself. It will ugly cry begging him to choose her.

THE CLIMAX. THE CLIMAX OF IT ALL. IS

"I can't take him from her."

To accept Alfonse's fate, as Alfonse, is one thing. A horrible, painful, devastating thing. But it will live. It always has. And if it doesn't, eh, it was bound to happen at one point or another. Regardless, Moe is USED to saying Goodbye. Or, closer... Moe is used to leaving, without goodbyes. Wherever life jostles it next, it will find a new place. New people. It will be temporary, but it will make the most of it. Repeat ad nauseam.

But the WAY. THE WAY. It SO intensely projects onto Sharena, to the point of conflict between them (Sharena, at points, having to remind Moe Hey. I love you, I know you love me, but we're different people who want different things and that's okay). That's Moe's Achilles Heel. That's the thing that Almost got Moe stuck in Freyja's nightmare forever.

Jesus Christ, Moe. Can you. Fucking Relax. Dear lord.

*ALSO. THIS. IS FASCINATING ACTUALLY bc this IS entirely Moe's POV, panic mode, grasping for Anything. Also looking for any excuse to self-destruct. But. But. Turn the tables. If it truly WAS Alfonse, faced with accepting the loss of a friend. Well.

[End note]

Another thing to emphasize, maybe, and the best way to do so is with a demonstration...

A conversation with Sharena. Wish I could tell you what it was about! Oh well.

But this does highlight.... whatever the fuck Moe's problem is.

This is what I meant though, when I made the Lyon trope comparison. At one point, Moe becomes deeply emotionally entangled with BOTH siblings, in extremely opposite ways.

(As a side, I think the characterization of Sharena cussing only on special occasions is extremely fun. She is SO intentional about it... for someone who's typically squeaky-clean. Sometimes, if she knows her audience, knows it'll be funny or uniquely validating for that person -- she'll do it! She'll make a POINT of it, use it as the perfect punchline, ect ect!)

/

But. It's important to put all this out there. Especially because I don't know when I'll get to it, in comic form 🧍. Behind the scenes I've been working on a timeline of something else (for funsies!!!), which has actually made me think about the actual timeline of Significant Moe Events. How, A LOT if not All of its character development/arcs/set-ups occur in tandem with and as a direct result of Book 4. Moe's world, inside AND out, has been cracked open. Its connections start to branch out, deepen and grow. Mani is here. It's a fucking NIGHTMARE‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

[vampireghostlawyer]

i will never forget in 2022 when i went to the same starbucks every day for like 4 months. and every day i ordered the same thing (grande iced matcha latte with oat milk). and every day it was the same barista and he was so rude to me every single time. and then one day i got in line and he immediately started making my matcha latte when he saw me and as i went to grab it off the counter, he stopped me and looked in my eyes and said "i'm sorry i'm such an asshole to you every day. this job sucks everyone is such a dick to me and youre the only regular who isnt so i take it out on you. and that probably wont change but im sorry anyway." and then the next time i went, he was rude as fuck to me again like nothing had ever happened. life is so strange.

[curiosity-killed]

There are truly very few forces in the world as strong as the inertia of staying up way too late doing fuckall

[w1lmuttart]

The lake town

[epoxyconfetti]

[hansoeii]

only you.

[pirateprincessjess]

When I was a kid my family pretended to get raptured so I would think I was left behind on earth while they all went to heaven.

I was like 8 years old and my sister and mom had gotten really into the Left Behind novels (bible fan fic about the rapture). In the books when the rapture happened the clothes that people were wearing when they got raptured were left behind in neatly folded piles.

One day when I was getting home from school my family decided that they would leave piles of neatly folded clothes around the house, and then hide in the basement.

The intended effect was that I would get home and see the clothes then, think that my family had been raptured and that I wasn’t good enough to get into heaven… or something?

The problem was that I had never read these books, and didn’t really think about the rapture very often. There was no reason that I would see some laundry on the floor and think “The rapture happened and I’ve been abandoned by God! I’ll never see my family again!! Oh nooo!!!!”

I just sat down and watched cartoons and eventually my family got bored and revealed that they were all hiding in the basement.

It’s a good thing I didn’t understand the joke, otherwise that shit would have been traumatic.

[stargoyle]

"This person has a secret onlyfans!" "This artist does NSFW commissions!" "This author writes porn on the side!" I cannot begin to tell you how swag and awesome that is.

[larkiethings]

shaking my head while playing neko atsume so people know that I don’t support outdoor cats

[markwateneymemorialcrater]

Please note. The orange one is not included because A. He isn’t a billionaire. And B. Calling him obnoxious is too kind for him.

[anartificialsatellite]

The older I get the more I admire people who are earnestly, genuinely into whatever their thing is. I know it sounds like an annoying cliche but unless you're being cruel or hurtful there is really no need to be normal about things. The dude with the bad fake accent at the renaissance faire is having the time of his life. The people having photoshoots with their fashion dolls are loving it. The old lady with a yard unreasonably full of tacky ass lawn ornaments is having a blast, HOA be damned.

Don't waste your time being too cool to have fun, y'know?

[itsajollyjester]

“Would fall in love with me again if you knew all I’ve done?”

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

License to Kitty.

[crabussy]

hey. don’t cry. crush four cloves of garlic into a pot with a dollop of olive oil and stir until golden then add one can of crushed tomatoes a bit of balsamic vinegar half a tablespoon of brown sugar and stir for a few minutes adding a handful of fresh spinach until wilted and mix in half a cup of grated parmesan cheese and pasta of your choice ok?

[ochiody]

theyre literally already married