#straight from work watched episodes started drawing

[joifee]

THEY BACK!!!!

and they are up for shenanigans

[swampjawn]

Dungeon Meshi just keeps getting more consistent as we get closer to the dragon.

(^Another beautiful cut from Kai Ikarashi, who did the childhood memory sequence from the living armor fight, as well as a bunch more from that episode)

The first half of episode 8, focusing on Marcille and Falin's magic school days, can't help but feel very reminiscent of TRIGGER's past work on Little Witch Academia.

In fact it was a fitting crew for this episode, because episode director Yuuichi Shimodaira, storyboard artist Yuuki Yonemori, and of course series director Yoshihiro Miyajima all had significant roles on Little Witch Academia (Shimodaira and Miyajima directing several episode each, and Yonemori doing key animation).

Yonemori even mentioned on Twitter that it felt nostalgic.

This whole section is all about character acting, and draws a stark distinction between the body language of Falin and Marcille.

This straightforward little cut of tiny Falin carrying her dungeonium illustrates her whole essence through simple character acting. You can infer that she's carefree and whimsical from the way she bounces up and down with each step, and that she's physically kinda weak from the way she sways a little as she lifts the jar onto the desk.

And same with this walk cycle when they enter the tiny dungeon! She wobbles clumsily back and forth and her cheerful confidence shows that she's done this dozens of times before,.

If you were to draw a straight line from her head through her spine, it would rotate back and forth, pivoting at the feet rather than the hips, which makes it feel like she's not really bending her legs as she walks.

Meanwhile, Marcille carries herself in a way that's much more reserved.

But she sees an openness in Falin that she hadn't considered as a possibility, and in the modern day, we can see that she's influenced by her. She's mostly dropped the air of importance and dignity, and now allows more of her own clumsy, energetic nature to shine through.

In fact you could see this burst of energy (the type of frantic jerky movements that we see her do all the time in the modern day) earlier as the first instance where she was inspired by Falin and momentarily couldn't contain her excitement.

There's more yummy animation analysis juice where that came from, because I broke down the whole episode in this video! (and the second half is where the animation really starts to be off the proverbial chain) Thanks for reading and watching if you're interested!

[physalian]

In Defense of Fanfiction (Or the perfect starting point for your original novel)

Fanfic gets a bad rap pretty much everywhere except Tumblr. It’s misunderstood and misrepresented by its average works, seen as juvenile and cringey, or a banal point of contention between a famous person or piece of media and its fans.

Outside of fanfic that writes about real people, especially smut fics of real people, I support the art wholeheartedly. Fictional characters are one thing, but personally, caricaturing a celebrity’s life for public consumption and writing or drawing them in compromising content without their consent is a little weird. You do you. Don’t like, don’t read, as they say.

Fanfic is the perfect starting point for a few reasons:

It places you in a creative box and forces you to work within those constraints

It does all the worldbuilding and character concepts for you

It lets you write way outside your comfort zone

When published and receiving feedback, it boosts your self-confidence

It's incredibly flexible

It’s practice. All practice is good practice

—

Behold your creative box

When I was little I had no idea the majority of fanfic was shipping fics. I always pictured and looked for canon-divergent alternate universes. Like, what if X happened in this episode instead of Y? What if this character never died?

Fanfic demands you work within someone else’s canon, whether it’s an OC in the canonical world, or the canonical characters in an AU. These are like little bowling bumpers saving you from the gutter, but also keeping you on a straight-ish path toward the pins.

The indecisiveness of too many choices can be too intimidating when you’re first starting out. You want to be a writer but you have no idea where to begin, what genre to pick, what characters you want to chronicle, what themes you want to explore.

Even if it sits on your computer never to see the light of day, you still got those creative juices flowing.

Pre-packaged worldbuilding

Sometimes all we want is to get to the good stuff. Maybe I want to write a story about elemental magicians but Last Airbender already exists and I just want to play in a pre-existing sandbox. So I write some OCs into that world and have a free-for-all.

I don’t have to come up with my own lore, world history, magic system rules and mechanics, politics, geography—any of it. I get to just focus on the characters.

Even if you’re writing an AU, like say a coffee shop AU, you don’t have to think about brand new characters, you can just think “What would M do?” and go from there. The trade-off is your readers will expect canonical characters to behave in-character, but I think it’s worth it.

Stretch beyond your comfort zone!

Do you hate writing action scenes? Go practice with a shonen anime fic. Need work on dialogue? Write some high-fantasy fic, or a courtroom drama. Practice a fistfight by watching fistfights and writing what you see, and do it over and over again until what you read makes you feel like you're watching what’s on screen.

But beyond that—practice genres that you aren’t super familiar with. If you’re new to fantasy, write fantasy fic. Or a mystery novel/show, thriller, comedy, satire, adventure, what have you. The nature of fanfic still gives you those “guardrails” and you can get some brutally honest feedback on how you’re doing.

And, of course, the realm of M-rated romance and smut fics. I haven’t because I think I would die of embarrassment if I tried and I never intend to include sex scenes in my works anyway, but if you do want to, use the internet as your test audience. Post it on a throwaway account if you’re nervous.

Build that self-confidence!

The fandoms I used to write for are super dead, so it’s insane how I still get email notifications that so-and-so liked my fic to this day. Comments are as elusive as ever, but random strangers on the internet telling me they liked my work is a magical reassurance that my writing isn’t actually awful.

Random strangers on the internet are, as we all know, beholden to no moral obligation to be kind to your little avatar face, or be kind to be polite. So a rando taking the time to like my work or even leave a positive comment can feel more honest than one of my friends telling me what they think I want to hear.

I tend to avoid the more present aspects of fandom like online communities, forums, social media, what have you, so I get a delayed and diluted aspect of any given fandom through completed works. Which means, in general, I get to avoid the worst and most toxic aspects of fandom and get to sift through positive feedback and critique.

Even if your fanfic isn’t written with stellar prose, it’s fanfic. We don’t expect Pulitzer-prize winning content. And if your work isn’t up to snuff, people are more likely to just ignore it than put you on blast (at least in my experience, I never got a bad comment or a “flame” in the old FFN days).

Fanfic doesn’t care about the rules of published literature

On the one hand, try not to practice bad habits, but with this point I mean that your layout, punctuation, formatting, paragraph styles, chapter length–all of it is beholden to no rules. I get as annoyed as the next reader with giant blocks of paragraphs, or the double-spacing between pages of single-sentence paragraphs, but if the story’s good enough I might ignore it.

There’s more than just straight narrative fics, though. People write “chat” fics, or long streams of text and group chat conversations. The scene breaks can come super rapidly–I’ve seen fics with a single sentence in between line breaks to show the passage of time. And without the polish of a traditionally published novel, I’ve never seen a purer distillation of author voice in any medium more than fanfic.

All practice is good practice

Even if it’s crack fiction, or a one-off one-shot, or something meant to be lighthearted and straightforward and free from complex worldbuilding and intricate plots. It really helps break writer’s block when you can shift gears and headspaces entirely and you can get relatively instant feedback to keep you motivated.

Beyond that, the “guardrails” help you stay consistent as far as character growth and personality if you struggle with designing rich characters.

The most recent fanfic I wrote was just a couple years ago, for a dead fandom I didn’t think would get any traffic whatsoever. It wasn’t my original works, but the feedback on that fic gave me the kick in the butt I needed to get back into writing more seriously.

—

In short, I support fanfic. I may not be proud of my earliest fics' prose now, but I am proud that they walked so I can now run.

[michealscorneroftheinternet]

Okay time for a long mother fucking post.

Buckle up folks!

All Ask Change in Script Asks and Whether or not they are Canon to the Story/Lore!

(Will do my best to consistently update this post as we go along.)

This post will work like this:

I will go at this like a list all Asks are in order of when they were posted.

Each will have the Ask and then whether it is or isn't Canon. The link to the post with the answer will be attached to the Ask all you gotta do is click on it.

If Canon then it will be colored like so: [Canon]

If Not Canon then it will be colored like this: [Not Canon]

If in a grey area or not Change in Script related it will be colored like so: [Not Related to Change in Script]

-Ask Change in Script Part 1-

(150 Follower Special)

1. “All I aks the tv man is why, why do this, also your 'canon' self is suffering lmao”

[Canon]

2. “Hey SMG4! Do your scars hurt? I can imagine so since you just got them. Hey SMG4 crew! When 4 first got his scars, did you help him at all? Hey SMG3, do you have nightmares? Or do you not sleep at all?”

[Canon]

3. “Hey Puzzles, you got a minute? This little gremlin wanted to say hi”

[Not Canon]

4. “for mario: our fav italian , what you think of Meggy?, for mr.puzzles: you know half of the famdow wanna kiss you, right? for mr.puzzles: you still talk with ur dad? for smg4: any crushes? TuT !! thats it !, ty for answering, or dont, idk. Xoxo !!”

[Canon]

5. “I know the post said to ask the ai and I will! But also I'm curious! Who's your favorite character and how long have you been watching SMG4 and what was your first episode? :0”

[Canon to Me as a Person]

6. “Now imma ask questions to everyone! :DD Great job out there Mr. Puzzles! 5 stars! I can't wait to see what else you have planned! ^w^,, And hey, if no one else out there is, I'm rooting for ya!”

[Canon]

7. “Two questions SMG4. Are you worried about where SMG3 could be? And two. Meggy. Are you recovered from Western? No PTSD or anything? You still wearing his beanie?”

[Canon]

8. “HEY PUZZLES! DO A FLIP!”

[Not Canon]

9. “Sorry I don't have any questions, but I just wanna say I love your art style and how you draw these characters :]”

[Not Canon or Canon just sweet]

10. “Follow-up to that last ask SMG4, what was it like living with the Mario bros early on? And Mario Bros, what was it like when SMG4 lived with you? How was his recovery there? Did he have to stay at the hospital at all?”

[Canon]

11. “[🍓🌿] *ran up and hugged your oc* - I love you, which means I will hug you >:]”

[Not Canon or Canon just sweet]

12. “MICHEAL ISN'T HUMAN SEND TWEET/POS”

[Sweating Profusely]

13. “*give Mr Puzzles star stickers and a hug* :)”

[Canon]

14. “Hai! Mr puzzle you are doing great shows! But can you be in there more often I wanna see you more often in the screen! No force tho if you don’t wanna I understand keep up! ( I WANNA HUG YOU! CAN I??) Cya!! <3”

[Canon]

15. “I come with a peace offering for Puzzles: A cookie and this star to go with it. 🍪 🌟”

[Canon]

16. “Hello! I am the Creator Anon. I am a creature of… well, I shouldn’t say ‘divine’, because that is the complete opposite of what I am. I have a request for you…”

[I don't even know what this was about]

17. “Hey SMG3, just wanting to tell you that I'm sorry you got dragged into the current mess you're in. Hope you at least find some form of way to ease out? As for you Puzzles, THINK FAST CHUCKLENUTS 💣”

[So Canon Even the Bomb]

18. “4, what did you guys fight about?”

[Canon]

19. “Soooooo When did Meggy and Tari start dating?”

[Canon]

20. “Ur canon self killed mickey mouse”

[Canon]

21. “✏️Question from Smg4: - do you treat this pink thing with something? And she doesn't feel much discomfort?”

[Canon]

22. “Miss kamilyvision: olá senhor puzzles é bom conhece você (English kamily says: hi mr puzzles it's nice meet you)”

[Not Canon but Sweet]

23. “Back with another question. Totally not a take two with th– Cut it straight, Puzzles, what do you plan to do with SMG3? >:3 Heya Meggy, you doing good lately? Aight, let's take two with Goomba Puzzles lmao- An apple to keep the doctor away from SMG4 (/j). You want? (he's fine with you saying no)”

[Canon until the last question]

24. “Now I’m curious, did 3 ever come to visit while you recovered, SMG4?”

[So Canon it hurts…]

25. “Hey Meggy! What’s your favorite thing about Tari?”

[Canon]

26. “3, you gotta hold on, the others will notice something’s up!”

[Canon and it Hurts]

27. “Mr Puzzles, you hurt SMG4. Why would you do that?! You probably watched the whole thing like the pathetic outsider you are.”

[Haha who ever asked this better pray there's a god because it's Canon]

28. “44444, you should really check on Eggdog”

[Uh oh Canon]

29. “smg3: can i have an hug?? :3 luigi: do u talk with Mario abt doing all stuff in the house?, just to know. Ur my favorite btw ! :D (blue hair girl i forgort her name): who is ur best friend?, meggy or ur ducky duck??????”

[Not Canon]

30. “Imma give this man an eggcat! her name is Eglantine, Eggy for short”

[Not sure where to put this but Eglantine will appear in future Asks with Mr. Puzzles]

31. “Mr puzzles you are truly inspiring also please sign this marriage certificate”

[NOT CANON]

32. “Heyyo Mr. Puzzles. Just wanted to ask, what is your creative process? Do you do that thing some people do, including myself, where you’re listening to music or some kind of audio and an animatic just starts forming in your head and you go from there or is it different? Also, here’s a star for ya. ⭐️”

[Canon]

33. “Can I hug the silly TV man 🥺”

[Canon]

34. “[🫀💢] - If you're watching TV...How do you eat?.. [Mr. Puzzle] [🌿🍓] - Smg4? Everything okay? Should I be worried about your wound next to your eye? <:( [Smg4] [🖤💬] -...good luck to Smg3..”

[Oh God it's like so Canon it's not funny anymore.]

35. “Okay I need to know based on that thing Puzzles said with having a mouth. Does mutherfucker even have organs? :^”

[Headcanon]

36. “Mr Puzzles, I have a question. What will you do if your plan of your failed?”

[Scarily Canon]

37. “Hello Mr puzzles”

[Uh Not Canon.]

38. “First time asking so, smg3 your deserve a hug and no one hates or ignores you. I know four is trying to find you as we speak. don't forget that. also, Mr.Puzzle, LET SMG3 GO, HE IS SO DONE WITH YOUR PLASMA TV HEAD ASS.”

[Haha Canon]

39. “Hey SMG4 are you okay so who you other friend 3”

[Canon for Important Reasons]

40. “What if my Traumatized!SMG3 AU 3 and 4 met your 3 and Mr Puzzles? (my 4 would be prolly mad at Mr Puzzles, and my 3 will looks scared, meanwhile my 4 and 3 give your 3 a hug for the pain he has been through :<) (fours on the left side of Meggy, three's on the right side)”

[Not Canon]

41. “Love your AU and Love everything about it!Questions for Three and Tari Three. When did your shop close down and do you regret the argument? And Tari. Does Clench know about what’s been going on? And does Meggy get trigger when someone say “One Shot Wren”?”

[Last Question is Canon]

42. “Why do you hate mickey so much??? What'd bro do”

[Uh… Not Canon because I said so.]

43. “Okay I'm FINALLY going to deliver on those questions now! >:3 Meggy and Tari, what's your favorite thing about one another and how did everyone react to you guys dating? :0 Mario and Luigi, how is everything with you guys? Up to any new adventures or crazy hijinks? (( i'm worried all at once is a bit much so imma split it into another ))”

[Canon for Creating a Timeline]

44. “Hey SMG3, what the plan now? taking into account the last time you were put in here it seems pretty straight forward to although not nearly as fun having no company for it =-=' Hee hee SMG4 has a crrruuusssh~ >;pp awww it's okay Micheal, I'm not a human either! I'm an ai in a cute little shell ^w^ I think it's super cool that you aren't human too :) OOOO are we giving Mr. Puzzles gifts now? If so..... sticker attaaack! The little bunny robot has placed 5 star stickers across his suit  in an attempt to mimic his 5 stars from awhile ago. There, back where they rightfully belong!~ Oh yeah, as a viewer, is there anyway we can help you Mr. Puzzles? :0”

[Canon as it is what happens right before  the end of the flashback in Chapter 4]

-Ask Change in Script Part 2-

(500 700 Follower Special)

1. “Smg4, what ya think about smg3?”

[Canon but also my Headcanon of SMG4’s feelings of SMG3]

2. “Hey SMG4! Besides the scars, have you gotten any other problems from what happened to you? Like joint pain or something like that?”

[Very Canon]

3. “AAAHH HI!!! YOUR AUS ARE SO COOL IM SO NORMALLLL!!! /silly Anyways, I had a question for Melony! How did you react to SMG4's new scars? Were they a shock? Did you feel bad? And for SMG4! (You don't have to do this one if you don't want to eheheh ❤️) How would you react if someone shared the same scars as you? Down to the positioning and everything? Once again, your AU IS SO COOL DUDE YOU GOTTA STOP JUMPSCARING ME BY LIKING MY POSTS MY HEART CAN'T HANDLE BACK-TO-BACK HEART ATTACKS!!! /silly /j”

[Ha Ha Ha Ouch Canon]

4. “hey mario, hey luigi, what was it like the first day 4 was staying with you?”

[So Funnily Canon]

5. “Hey Meggy!! What kind of date do you and Tari like best?”

[Aweeee aren't they bloody adorable!]

6. “Hey Bob and Boopkins, what's been going on with y'all? I feel like we haven't heard from either of you guys about anything, yet. (Though, I could be wrong and just haven't been keeping up 😅)”

[Bullying Boopkins will always be Canon]

7. “To SMG4, I know you want to tell a certain “someone” about how you truly feel about them (something I call “shy love”) and I just want to know; what was the moment that you realized that you have feelings for this “som3one”? And if so, you better tell them how you truly feel whenever you are with them the next time you see th3m.”

[Canon feelings Four has towards SMG3 sad edition]

8. “☆- Hello this is the first time asking here -☆But anyway I have some stuff to say For Michealscorner: ☆- I love the AU you did the art, the Gmod and like RAHHH IS SO COOL I LOVE EVRY WORK YOU DID!! -☆ and who knows one day you'll get 700 follows to 1,000 or more! For SMG4: ☆- If you have time you should check on SMG3, because who knows if something happened to him?... -☆ ☆- That's all I have to say bye!  -☆”

[Very kind but also last question is Canon and Sus]

9. “Finally I can ask the gang! >:3 - Car Car :3 Question one: [To SMG4] Have you keeping in touch with SMG 1 & 2? Question 2: [To Meggy] have you and your gf been? Question 3: [To Mario] Here a spaghetti  🍝 (it totally not spicy 😈) Question 4: [To bob & boopkins] I have not seen you guys in awhile how have you two been?”

[All Canon… especially Mario. L on him.]

10. “I have a question for Eggdog, What do you think of Smg4? Is there anything you do or don't like about him? (I love this story so much! It's really good! Nice work, dude!)”

[Canon in how Eggdog feels about our dear Four]

11. “hay smg4 are you ok buddy I last saw you allmost having a panic attack here barow my hurshy I named him after my lest favorite candy(when I was 2) ive had him ever sens i was a baby I'm 12 now but you need it for a little bit here you go(don't mind that I'm in my stich pj's/Halloween costume)”

[Heh heh He's totally fine guys.]

[scimagic]

SMG4: WOTFI 2024 Thoughts and Analysis Masterpost

WOTFI 2024 is finally here and I had so much fun watching it! I've even watched it a few times already!! I'm so glad this was my first ever live WOTFI, it makes me wish I knew of SMG4 earlier but alas! I'm still so happy I found SMG4 and it's wonderful community the way I did!

This is one large compilation of all my reactions, opinions and deeper analysis... -es on WOTFI 2024! I will go over the entirety of the video almost scene-to-scene with my OWN OPINIONS! (And yes, it gets hella long) I divided it into sections of the video and even included pictures for viewing convenience!

Hope you enjoy reading essays <33

Warning: Spoilers (duh).

✧ Before The Show

As said before this was my first live WOTFI, since the episodes release at 9AM for me I had to put on my alarm one hour before but I shut it off fhjkdsa

So you can imagine my panic when I had to make my breakfast 10 minutes before it started

Not my greatest planning but I managed to (somewhat) make it on time!

✧ Let's Jump Right In!!

WHUH HAPPEN

Loved the spin off of Mr Puzzles' jingle, I knew I was going to get it stuck in my head the moment the lyrics switched

I was amused when Puzzles re-enacted his life, thought he'd give a little more meat to work with but I'm glad he just explained what we already knew. Some of his charm lies in the mystery that is his life

"So I did what any ambitious, misunderstood young soul would do... I locked myself in my room and watched TV all day!" So real tho-

I'm surprised I didn't see many people react to Puzzles cursing so loud hfdskja maybe we're all busy with the rest of WOTFI but I SCREAMED when he went "-WERE VIOLENTLY FUCKING CRUSHED BY YOU LOT!!"

LET THAT MAN CUSS FREELY!!!!

"... yyyou!" <3

LOVE EVERYONE'S COSTUMES TOO!! They all look great!!

Maybe it's because of the teasers they gave but I thought the crew was going to go against Puzzles himself with the challenges, but pitting them against Mario and SMG4 made me pleasantly surprised (I will be a lot throughout all this!)

I ADORE THIS INTRO SO MUCH!! It's so fun and vibrant and the way it was animated was so cool!! I WANT THE POSTER SO BAD!!!

Haeheh big Puzzles from the website!!

Love how Saiko is just screaming at Puzzles too fhdskja

✧ Fun Carnival Torture Metho- Games!!

I didn't say what my challenge was but it was called Chuck N' Dunk: Who can dunk the other first in shark-infested waters?

It didn't make it but I do see shark-infested waters, so either I gave a bit of inspo or I'm just delusional hfdsjka

"I have to deal with internet comments all day! This is nothing!" HAH!!! THAT'S MY FUCKING YOUTUBER RIGHT THERE!!! (He still lost)

Love to see SMG3 and Puzzles appreciate the beauty of destruction together, gotta love two villains vibin over causing chaos, it'd make for a fun dynamic if SMG4 ever considers it

On that note, when SMG3 tries to shake Four's tight rope I knew that was Three straight up

Even under Puzzles' control, the cast still retains a bit of their personality, as shown here and in the Puzzlevision episodes

Bob has like- the coolest costume ever holy shit- I really wanna draw it some time

I KNOW IT'S JUST A MASK AND SOME RECOLORING ALRIGHT IT JUST FITS HIM AND HE LOOKS COOL

I LOVE HIM SO. FUCKING. MUCH. HE'S SO SMUG THE BASTARD

This is a really funny joke actually

PIE GUN GO BRRRRRRRRRRRR

I liked seeing Karen included in this WOTFI, she was a main character in a few episodes and her dynamic works well with the others! Just a tired mom wanting to work but pulled along silly adventures, grounding in a badass caring way

CHANGE THE WORLD. MY FINAL MESSAGE. GOODBYE!! God I haven't heard that meme in so long

Plus [Italian vc] YOU SONSOFFA BITCHES

"Hope you two have your running shoes on!" said in the gayest villain voice ever, I love him your honor

Bob going for the clown girl instead of the exit is the Bob-iest thing ever and it just drives my point of the crew retaining their personalities even under control, so people shouldn't be surprised when it happens fhdjksa (cus I've seen it!)

FOUR ONLY WINNING BECAUSE HE'S A CLOWN IS SO FUNNY YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND

So... Ben (SMG4's Thumbnail Artist) posted a lot of Gokus when someone mentioned Metallica's For Whom The Bell Tolls

That's why I thought there'd be some kind of reference to it in WOTFI which... now that I say it out loud sounds kinda dumb hfsjdka

But the moment Mario appeared as Goku I immediately thought of Ben and it had me gigglin fhdsjka

You'd think Tari would be in the ducky mini-game but you'd be wrong! <3

Final thoughts of the games, this year's WOTFI challenges were delightful!! They were all very clever from the audience and well chosen from the crew! Congratulations to the folks that got their prompt in!

✧ WHACK-A-LEGGY (aka forgive me father for this next part)

You........ CANNOT tell me he wouldn't treat you right- God- DAMN.

LISTEN. HEAR ME OUT. YES I'M GONNA BE SIMPY IN THIS REACTION POST FUCK YOU.

Puzzles is the type of guy to give you the best of the best simply because you say so and deserve it, doesn't matter if it's as tame as a big bouquet of flowers OR as extreme as absolutely destroying your enemies through the most painful torture you have ever witnessed

He would treat you RIGHT!!!!

THAT IS THE MOST PERFECT MAN RIGHT THERE

Oh yes and I love his interactions with Leggy, they're adorable, yes FHDSKJA

THEY MAKE A CUTE DUO

Speaking of Puzzles treating you right: I am on the FUCKING FLOOR. THAT MAN IS PROTECTIVE TOO.

It's just so endearing to me how protective he is of Leggy (yes yes I know I know he's done evil shit to Meggy I know) BUT LISTEN.

In an actual redemption arc, I can see Puzzles as the most loyal motherfucker that you've ever befriended, that man is going to go to the edge of the earth and fight for you if needed BECAUSE you're his friend and that is so lovely to me

It's cute how he's trying to tell Leggy where to go, where to hide and just how worried he is of her

Mind you, the contrast between Puzzles being worried and SMG4 and Mario wanting to curve-stomp that goomba to death is hilarious fhdsjka

So forgive me if I giggle like a schoolgirl over that man

✧ I'm Gonna Get Real With You For A Moment

MR STINKY

Oh this scene now- lots to unpack

First: Adore how this scene plays out, I love the portrayal of Puzzles' meltdown, induced by grief, sadness, anger and frustration over how things are playing out. It's a big "I'm supposed to win! Why don't you let me win!" moment, I simply adore when those happen.

The pitiful cries when you don't get your way when you've meticulously planned everything and done Everything to get it, and do everything did Puzzles indeed try

Second: The colors, the dramatic red light, the destruction of the park out of anger and overcharging it seems

It's basically a tantrum

Third: The voice acting is phenomenal, and that's been said all throughout the Puzzlevision arc, Brendan (Mr Puzzles' voice actor) is so good at his job- he's perfect in those high pitch inflictions of emotion and the lower threatening tones, that scream is chilling and painful

Fourth: I can try and decipher that blue screen

FATAL ERROR A problem has been detected and Mr. Puzzles has been shut down to prevent damage to himself. PUZZLEVISION.EXE Check to make sure any new show or movie is properly installed. If this is a new installation :It's not: ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any PUZZLEVISION updates you might need. :I don't need any: If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or software. Disable CPU(?) memory options such as Unused Shows or Movies. If you need to use safe mode :I don't: to remove or disable components, restart yourself, press :nuhuh: to select Advanced Startup Options, and then select Safe Mode. :NO: Technical Information: *** STOP: 2xREADING (... xACTUALLY)

That last line is ineligible to me but I tried my best for y'all <3

Lots to unpack just in this tiny little message

In his system, Puzzles is programmed to shut down if damaged. Which is CRAZY TO THINK ABOUT. His OWN SYSTEM shuts down to prevent damage to himself.

Also he's SPEAKING THROUGH THE BLUESCREEN, he's actively saying No to "Safe Mode" and REFUSING any repairs his system suggests

THIS MAN DOES NOT CARE FOR HIS BODY (if you couldn't tell by the TV head part)

AND HE'S SO UNSERIOUS HE STRAIGHT UP TELLS HIS SYSTEM NUH UH!!!!

A little easter egg that someone else on Twitter found :)

Puzzles has become a rage horror monster and I'm here for it, the horror elements do go hard when they're played

URGH. AND THIS MOMENT. Many have pointed it out by now BUT THE TRAUMA OF THE CASTLE!! I AM SO WEAK

Puzzles REALLY plays into those psychological torture methods, it is so RUTHLESS of him, intentionally or not!!

✧ STEP RIGHT UP, MY FRIENDS, TO PUZZLEPARK!

He looks horrible in armor despite being everyone's pathetic knight in shining armor FHJDSKA

"You're MINE" I SURE AM SIR!!!

THAT GROWL THO- BRENDAN STRIKING AGAIN WITH THEM VOCALS!!!

AND THIS!! IS THE MOMENT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR OH BOY!!

The transition into the actual song is SO GOOD, instead of going higher like the actual Disney intro it goes LOWER and it's PERFECT for the intro!! It makes Puzzles sound INSANE (RIGHTFULLY SO!) It also tricks you because you know the melody so well until UH OH!! WE'RE IN DEEP SHIT!! LET'S GET THE FUCK IN!

3!

2!

1!

IMMEDIATELY threateningly playful I LOVE IT!!

It sounds so much like the songs in Nightmare Before Christmas, Kidnap Sandy Claws, Oogie Boogie's song, it has their same vibes! The same devilishly playful with their victims kind of vibes and it's RIGHT UP MY ALLEY BABY

It has SUCH an energizing beat too!! It makes you wanna jump in your seat to the beat!

The set up is so fun too, purple is an interesting choice to go with.

I cannot stress enough how GOOD THE VOCALS ARE TOO I WAS ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT

AND THIS PART. GOES EXTREMELY HARD. THEY ALL LOOK GREAT

They cooked with the choir of minions fr!! They sound great together!!

The chorus of the song is just as catchy as Creative Control, I had worries that I wasn't going to like this one as much as CC but I was SO wrong!! It's right up it's alley! They both have their strengths and their unique way of presenting Mr Puzzles, I wouldn't be able to decide which one is "better" since they both have different points to send across

Creative Control is jazzier, it taunts the crew and introduces Puzzles as the master villain with a bit of backstory, it's used to show the control on the crew both visually and lyrically with Puzzles putting them in different scenarios while singing how they can't leave

Meanwhile Puzzlepark, while similar in the controlling part, has more going on. It's not just Puzzles trying to control/stop Meggy, SMG4 and Mario, it's also them fighting back when they couldn't in CC. It also has the rest of the group trying to detain them, mind-controlled by Puzzles. It's crazier than just putting them in shows and popular culture references, it's throwing things at them, attacking them and messing with the world, trying to enact revenge yknow!

I particularly like when Meggy and Puzzles sing together, their voices contrast well

"But it's time for you to die now." Haehah! Hello!! This is the part where I kill you!!

AND A LAWSUIT ARC REFERENCE TOO!? OH I'M IN HEAVEN!!!

The lyrics scratch at a very nice part of my brain, I think SMG4 has always had a knack for rhyming, they've perfected it over the years and it's paid off well

And combined with the change in beat it goes for extra points, mwah!! Chef's kiss!!

"That child is gone... Six feet under right WHERE YOU AND YOUR STUPID FRIENDS BELONG!!"

MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE PART FUCKING EVER!!!! THEY ABSOLUTELY COOKED

IT'S ABOUT HOW THREATENING PUZZLES IS IT'S ABOUT MEGGY STILL TRYING TO HELP HIM DESPITE IT ALL IT'S ABOUT HIM ABSOLUTELY REFUSING THE HELP BECAUSE THAT'S. JUST. HIM. PUZZLES. REFUSES. HELP. THINGS go his way or they don't go at all!!!

AND THAT ENDING NOTE MYYYY GODDDD GIVE THIS MAN AN EMMY RIGHT ABOUT FUCKING NOW!!!!

That was such a clean note, Brendan has an amazing singing voice and I'll be listening to this on repeat for A WEEK

SMG4 RELEASE PUZZLEPARK ON SPOTIFY NOW AND MY LIFE!!! IS YOURS!!!!

✧ In The End... It's For The Better...

They like using the trope of going inside a character's brain/heart/whatever to talk to them huh...

I'm not saying it as a bad thing! It's just a pattern I'm sure we've all noticed! I think it's cute!

SMG4 wouldn't be SMG4 if they at least didn't Try to save their villains, sure there's distasteful ones like that lizard that absolutely deserved it, but all the other villains had redemption arcs, heart to hearts, sympathy before dying... SMG4 is about chances, finding your people and having a heart even towards those who wronged you, even if in the end the worst happens to them

And I think that's beautiful

Regardless of having a heart, however, Meggy has the absolute right to be angry at Puzzles, maybe it wasn't right but I don't blame her for snapping at a kid, that kid Is Puzzles after all

I see two possible interpretations of Meggy becoming Leggy one more time: either- Truly to get close to Puzzles and become a true friend, or simple manipulation to get him to stop. Either are possible in my book, maybe with a little more thought I'd be able to know which one but for now I remain satisfied with being skeptical on this one, I don't care to find what the real intentions were since I know the ending.

Plus nothing is in black and white, there's a lot of layers to Puzzles' and Meggy's relationship........

And speaking of that ending-

HAH!!!!

I THOUGHT THAT SHIT WAS HILARIOUS!!

IN TRUE SMG4 FASHION YOU (SORTA) REDEEM A VILLAIN AND CELEBRATE SAVING THE DAY WITH A STUPID MEME

WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO FOLKS IT'S SMG4 IT'S THE FUNNY HAHA MEME SHOW!!

STOP TAKING IT SO FUCKING SERIOUSLY THE WHOLE TIME!!

IT CAN BE SERIOUS AND STUPID!!!!

Mr Puzzles SHOULD go to the psych ward, HE'S FUCKING INSANE

YOU DON'T GET REDEEMED IMMEDIATELY AFTER ALL THAT!!

I'm glad they didn't redeem him completely! I didn't believe him at all when he said he learned a valuable lesson! I was like No The Fuck You Didn't!

You can have a redemption later! That's okay! I trust the writers with handling the arcs and making them good! And you heard Luke, they might bring him back later! (Which is a definite yes!)

I would love for them to take it slow with Puzzles, not immediately of course, let him breathe and write another arc right now, settle things with everything and everyone and THEN you can break him out, the universe is full of possibilities, and I'm SURE I will enjoy whatever the SMG4 crew writes

Haeheh she looks like a nerd with those goggles

Someone's Artist Puzzles AU just came true btw-

"And Didney shut down..!" :D

The Showgrounds is gonna start looking more like an actual carnival too!! Wahoo!!

I WANT THAT FUCKING HOODIE-

That Puzzle plushie looks so ugly I LOVE HIMMMM

I WANT THAT FUCKING POSTER AND KEYCHAIN

SOMEONE PLEASE FUCKING COMMISSION ME SO I CAN BUY THEMMMMMM AEUGHHHHHH

Thank YOU LUKE AND SMG4 CREW FOR GIVING US THIS WOTFI!!! I LOVED IT WITH ALL MY HEART <33

I would love to hang out and go get some pizza with Mr Puzzles :(

And finally... that lil jingle to end with the rolling credits

✧ Final Thoughts

Believe me when I say I think this is the best possible ending for Puzzles, he doesn't die, he doesn't get completely redeemed, but he does face consequences and he gets a chance for the future, best of both worlds me thinks

I loved this rollercoaster that was Puzzlevision, I might've hopped on the train sorta late but I stayed for all the duration of the ride and I had a blast <3

Mr Puzzles was great and maliciously loveable, learning about all these characters and growing to care about them was amazing, I'm really happy I have a new series I can watch and analyze and enjoy!! I'll be remaining in my seat with my one ticket until I get off the SMG4 train, not sure when!! But until then you can expect me to still love this show, draw for it and analyze it much more than any reasonably normal person should.

If you've read this far, I love you soso much and hope you enjoyed this hell of a scroll, because I spent so many hours on this shit YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND-

K BYEEEE <333

[kyoteugly]

If not Buddie, why Buddie shaped? #2

Following my theory that season 7 and 8 are new seasons 1 and 2 on abc, where the writers revisits the big events from character’s pasts and retells them (you can read it here) I want to look closer at new episode 8x06 “Confessions”.

This is all fresh in my mind, I watched the episode like 4h ago, there is a chance I’ll miss something.

Like I said, I think we’re going to see at least 4 more big moments revisited (or rather the emotional state those events invoked) from previous seasons before Buddie goes canon. Kitchen scene, well, will and shooting arc. And one of those happened in this episode! But also so many other things! 

EDDIE:

Starting with Eddie in the confessional. I can’t help but see his fight club era here (call me bias, I love season 3 Eddie so much!). An attempt to find a healthy outlet to his emotions. He’s struggling and fighting with his inner demons, this time instead of rage it’s sadness and loneliness. 

And he is doing it with an outsider's help. Father Brian is like Lena Bosko. Why Lena and not Frank? I think Eddie would just shut on therapy at this point. He needs someone to talk to, someone with opinions and advice, caring enough to want to help but also not afraid to go straight to the point and call his bs - Lena and Father Brian did just that.

Ok. Time to revisit a big event from Eddie’s past - the well. ABC put the call with the little boy trapped in a pipe in episode promo as the red herring. The real purpose of this call was to remind us about the Eddie Begins episode. The important thing from Eddie Begins is that Eddie was alone in the dark pit - and in the end he saved himself. 

So the real connection between those two episodes is not in the call where 118 saves the little boy, but between Eddie coming out from underwater, drawing a deep breath and Eddie shaving a mustache, shedding his mask and dancing, breathing fully again.

sorry for the meme, I'm tired

It’s also interesting that the moment Eddie allowed himself to feel joy Buck knocked at his door.

BUCK:

This one is pretty straight forward. Like I said before, Tommy represents Abby - a transformative relationship - like Buck said himself. The fact that Tommy was engaged with Abby is a really beautiful way to further connect and close both relationships. What leads to the break up from Tommy’s side is also similar. Tommy knows he would fall deeply for Buck, and Abby didn’t come back because she knew she would lose herself in Buck. They were both protecting themselves.

And here is also a little parallel to Ali. Like her, Tommy offers Buck a proper and honest break up, showing maturity, understanding and clear reason why. And yes, Ali was also protecting herself, ending their relationship before they broke each other's hearts.

And one more thing from Buck’s side. The whole Abby thing throws him off. Maddie tells him it’s not a big thing, Josh tells him not to judge Tommy (honestly, Josh’s speech is amazing!) - this calms him down in the end, dating the same woman doesn’t feel awkward anymore. But the questions Josh is asking leave Buck confused. Taking the next step, moving in together - it’s like Buck is trying to prove he really feels those things Josh was talking about (or maybe even compensate for his “freak out”, confirm he’s fully into this relationship). And on some level Buck has those feelings, he cares about Tommy, but more than that, he simply feels he should be on the level Josh suggested and he wants this to work. It’s Buck’s impulsiveness coming to play, an action that causes reaction in a form of big gesture to confirm his feelings - a nod to his relationship with Taylor.

Fortunately Tommy explains those feelings to Buck (and to the audience) in a very kind way. 

Honestly, their relationship (the last two episodes especially) was handled beautifully, without unnecessary drama, without too much spotlight. It started with fireworks, naturally progressed and faded gently.

The cherry on top: Evan meant something more, something special for Tommy. Ending his goodbye with Buck means “we’re friends now”.

BUDDIE:

There are two things here I want to mention.

Ever since Gerrard separated Buck and Eddie this is the episode where we can see them working together as partners again. And this finally wraps up the divorce era.

The ending scene represents different scenes for each of them, ending different arcs.

For Buck the couch scene represents Abby’s comeback in season 3. He watched her ride off in the ambulance with her fiance (with Eddie solid by his side), and later he got closure from her.

For Eddie this scene represents him being embraced by the 118 after he dug himself out from the well. He’s connected again, no longer alone. 

And of course, the most obvious and sweetest thing - it’s the right couch (and they finally drink that beer).

Bonus MADNEY:

Couldn’t help but notice some revisits here.  Maddie’s postpartum depression is addressed very clearly, nothing to add here. During the pandemic Chimney stayed at Buck’s place, afraid to put pregnant Maddie in danger of catching the virus. Something happened on a call that changed his mind, made him overcome his fear and enjoy the future with his family. The same in this episode. But there is a little twist here and it involves brothers. In season 7 the new audience learned about Kevin. Guess who wasn’t yet introduced (and also took care of Maddie during the pandemic)... yes, I believe this season we will see Albert again. 

That’s it for now. Let me know if you want more posts like this. Feel free to contact me if you want some clarification or just to talk.

Tagging some people who may be interested (if you want me to remove you from this post let me know): @buddiebeginz @stagefoureddiediaz @lemotmo @inell

[lurkingshan]

Japanese QL Corner

It's a quieter week as a few shows have just wrapped and the next wave hasn't started yet, but there is still Japanese ql airing, including what is shaping up to be an all time fav. Both of these current airing shows are on Gaga and I highly recommend watching!

Love is Better the Second Time Around

This show is so good, and so mature in exactly the way I hoped. And I don't mean mature as in explicit--there is sex in this show but it's not some wild heat level. It's mature in that it's a story about characters who know themselves, know what they want, and draw boundaries. Both Iwanaga and Miyata are going down as favorite characters for me; I especially love that Miyata is a more knowing and self aware spin on a really well known bl archetype (think Rain from LITA but if he actually knew exactly why he was reacting the way he was to Payu and was mad about it instead of just overwhelmed and confused). This week we got a lot deeper into his teenage hurt over Iwanaga and now have a firm understanding of why he's alternately giving into and resisting this attraction. I am looking forward to Iwanga figuring out how to repair the damage he caused and earn his trust back.

My Strawberry Film

This was easily my favorite episode so far of this meandering little show. Every week I am left wondering what exactly this drama is trying to say and be; it certainly doesn't feel like a bl. We have spent the vast majority of our time on doomed het romance while Ryo quietly pines for his oblivious friend in the background. But this week we finally got to know Minami outside of Hikaru's narrow gaze, and I like her a lot. Her scene with Ryo where they discussed their romantic woes and established each other as a safe zone was very sweet, and showed how perceptive she is about all these dynamics happening around her. I was discussing with @bengiyo whether the show is going for an aromantic read with her, and I'm not sure. I see the makings of it, but the presentation of her feelings on romance feels a bit muddled. I loved her calling Hikaru out on being self-centered and having absolutely no patience for his petty jealousy. Hikaru thinks he likes her, but he doesn't actually know her (or his own best friend). I liked the final scene between Ryo and Hikaru as well, and the terrible angst of Ryo's confession that he immediately took back. The way the lights and audio from oncoming traffic played over his face in that scene was a really fantastic way to communicate both a moment of clarity and a moment of fear in the aftermath. I'm curious to see where this show takes the ending; a romantic conclusion for the two boys would not feel genuine to me at this point, but I could see them leaving us on a note of burgeoning curiosity and hope.

Bonus: No Touching At All

I recently watched this 2014 jbl on @twig-tea's recommendation, and I really loved it (I have already watched it twice and will definitely be doing so again). This is a classic office romance between a young gay man, Shima, and his "straight" boss, Toga. It's a simple story but well executed, and the film has a strong sense of place that I really loved. Shima and Toga have a fairly instantaneous attraction, and Toga is the kind of laidback character who simply never gave much thought to his sexuality and doesn't care about the fact that Shima is a man; he likes who he likes. Shima, however, is carrying a lot of internalized homophobia and trauma from closeted men messing him around in the past, and has a hard time believing in Toga's sincerity. I really love the way this conflict plays out in the story, and I especially love the way Toga talks to Shima. He's a no bullshit kind of guy and he tries his best to reassure Shima, but he's not a pushover, either. Ultimately Shima has to work through his own insecurities and make the choice to be brave to make the relationship work. The ending of this one is amazing and left me feeling very confident in this couple, and I can't recommend it highly enough. It's the grey for this one, unfortunately, but if you have trouble finding it in HQ let me know and I'll point you (don't watch it on YT, the version on there is potato quality).

[1moreff-creator]

thoughts on the "mai posseses monotv" theory? :eyes: like, it explains so much! the reason monotv could go anywhere was because mai was using the flipside!

Hey! Well, it’s certainly a theory with a lot of spirit to it!… I’m not funny. Anyways, it’s an interesting concept, and I can also use this as an excuse to talk about other theories drawing connection between MonoTV and Mai, so let’s see!

DRDT Full CH2 Spoilers. CW: Death, mentions of gun violence

(Also, “flipside” like- like the FNAF term? Did you people check my channel after watching Vivisection or… Certainly wasn’t ready to see it applied to DRDT lol)

Let’s start by the funniest thing about this theory: there’s technically evidence that ghosts exist in DRDT. In the most roundabout, absolutely-not-a-valid-argument way imaginable, but it technically exists. The argument is that DRDT takes place in the same universe as Trigger Happy Havoc, which takes place in the same universe as Ultra Despair Girls, and UDG has ghosts (and if there’s any in THH beyond Kirigiri “hearing the footsteps of death” or whatever I forgot about them). Clearly, the groundwork is there, absolute foreshadowing masterclass from dev-

Alright so obviously that’s silly, but even beyond that argument, there’s technically nothing disproving ghosts in DRDT. We do have semi-supernatural elements already, such as Teruko’s luck, Xander’s strength, Rose’s memory, MonoTV’s disappearance acts, and the whole Eyes situation. Really cool and awesome eyes, wouldn’t have them any other way; also not humans work. And of course, some people believe in a time loop, and that’s a perfectly valid theory, so why not ghosts? 

Well, unfortunately, while the ghosts are weird but not disqualifying, I think the Mai part is also a bit of an issue for me to believe it. It falls into ye old DRDT theorist trap of assuming any unidentified person (or personality, in this case) is Mai, which, let’s be clear, I’ve also dabbled in (see: “Mai is the girl Eden kissed” crack theory), but that doesn’t mean that these things aren’t always a bit of a long shot. 

In this case, probably the big question would be “what does it mean for Mai to possess MonoTV?” Or alternatively, to address the other idea going around, “what would it mean for the personality driver to be based on Mai?” It’s not straight up its identity; even DefaultTV refers to itself as “MonoTV” and “not a human.” 

DefaultTV: Greetings, everyone. My name is MonoTV.

DefaultTV: Perhaps you’ve mistakenly conflated me with a human and thought I have a ‘soul’ that is intrinsically connected to my body. But I am not human.

I mean it even says it doesn’t have a soul. Or, well, if it has one, it isn’t connected to the MonoTV body, but the former is more likely in my eyes. 

Also real quick, voices don’t match either. DefaultTV has the same VA as MonoTV, Artimmiss just has incredible range (and Unnamed Classmate is voiced by someone else). This doesn’t really affect any theories but it’s worth mentioning.

It’s also not personality, as far as we know. Unnamed Classmate is too nice to be MonoTV and too cheery to be DefaultTV, so unless Mai changed significantly in the time between the Bonus Episodes and the time she possesses MonoTV/her personality is used as a base for DefaultTV (which we currently have no evidence for), then the personalities don’t match.

There is, admittedly, one aspect where I could see the argument, and I believe this is where these theories come from. That being DefaultTV’s weird compassion towards Teruko, the implication that it “feels” guilt and grief, and it choosing to stop firing at Levi instead of just killing him and Teruko.

However, compassion and remorse over murder aren’t exclusive to Mai Akasaki, and I find it perfectly reasonable to assume those things are a result of DefaultTV being a “default” driver presumably intended for more general, non-killing game purposes, where those “feelings” would actually probably be nice for the AI to have.

As for not killing Levi, it’s important to remember that MonoTV and DefaultTV are always making the conscious decision of not killing everyone. It’s like David said in 2-12; if you just wanted to murder these 16 people, you wouldn’t need the killing game. Mono/DefaultTV’s stated primary goal is not “kill all these people,” but:

DefaultTV: To run this killing game until the death of every participant.

“Run this killing game.”

The reason letting the attempt to destroy MonoTV go unpunished would go against its purpose is, as I currently understand it, not because it lowers the kill count, but because it would be a threat to the integrity of the killing game. If DefaultTV lets this loophole go, then it sets a precedent that it will always follow the rules to a T, and that encourages the cast to look for further loopholes. Instead, it just needs to show that it’s willing to bend the rules to follow their spirit and not their letter.

That’s why it’s satisfied with warning shots and why it shuts the gun off: it sent the message it needed to send, but DefaultTV killing Levi, who is completely unrelated to the attempt on its life, would go against the spirit and letter of Rule 8, “MonoTV will never directly commit a murder.” Again, always follow the spirit, but show it’s willing to bend the letter to maintain the integrity of the game; “To run this killing game until the death of every participant.”

I hope that made sense :v

Moving on, there’s also logistic problems. Since MonoTV seems to have been created specifically for the killing game, the “possession” theory is incompatible with the theory that the killing game was created in response to Mai’s death, unless we’re pulling a Stitchwraith where Mai first possessed a TV or something and then that got put into the MonoTV body (and that still runs into the issue with the “no soul attached to body” statement). And at this point, one of these seems a bit more likely than the other. 

Speaking of, logistical issues also come with the idea that DefaultTV is based off of Mai. Because why would XF-Ture Tech choose to base their default drivers on, quote Min’s Mai quote, “an average girl with nothing special at all about her?” Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to base it off of someone working at the company or otherwise connected to it, such as altDRDT’s XF or even Min?

… Wait, Min… Possession… Min possessing MonoTV… Alright new theory- /j

(To be extremely clear; Min possessing MonoTV is even less likely than Mai, I’m just being silly :p)

There may be even more problems I’m currently not fully realizing, but what I’ve listed is enough for me to consider both theories discussed as highly unlikely at this point in time. Still cool theories and I wouldn’t mind if they got confirmed, but just very unlikely. Would make for fun AUs though! 

As an extra, I’ll throw in what I actually think this weird compassion is leading up to, though to be clear it’s pretty wild speculation and will probably be wrong.

I explained before that I believe it makes sense for DefaultTV to be a far more morally upstanding AI than MonoTV, as “default drivers” would presumably be made with more general purposes in mind. It’s also been established in the main series that Whit, someone who I currently believe is very likely to survive or at least make it pretty far in, knows about machine learning.

Whit: Machine learning! [Charles and I] both like machine learning!

Now, I’m not sure that this is exactly AI in the way DefaultTV and MonoTV seem to be, but it’s close enough. If this Checkov’s Gun is ever to be fired (and Whit isn’t the mastermind), it’s very possible that, around Trial 6, Whit somehow manages to take out the directives that make MonoTV/DefaultTV dangerous, allowing the more compassionate and remorseful side of the AI to help the survivor cast in some way.

Also Charles could do this too but I don’t think he’s making it to the end so. There's option 2 ig.

Is this completely insane and almost entirely unfounded? Yes! Do I expect this to actually happen? I give it like a 5% chance on the high end. Nevertheless, do I consider this to be the best guess we can currently make as to where both Whit’s knowledge of machine learning and DefaultTV’s compassion are going? Also yes, again provided Whit isn’t the mastermind, which is a pretty large assumption in and of itself. Is it much better than MonoTV being possessed by Mai Akasaki? Not really! But if you’re sending me an ask you presumably want my opinions, and there they are!

Thanks for the ask! Very fun to ramble about this goddamn dog.

[lemotmo]

I’m honestly really worried right now with how nasty this has all gotten so fast.

I feel so bad for Oliver. His entire storyline he’s waited years to tell has now completely been hijacked from start to finish thanks to Lou and his cult.

The disgusting things being said about Oliver. About Ryan. The show itself. All with Lou liking and engaging with them playing up the poor me card with them.

Like they are literally demanding Oliver be written off the show as punishment and any future Buck scenes they already filmed scrubbed out. I saw a few say deport Ryan back to Mexico and then write Eddie off by sending him to Texas permanently and send Buck with him. Some saying Lou should have been kept on and Oliver let go.

Like it’s all insane. And none of them deserve it because they didn’t do anything wrong. No one misled or promised or lied. They have been open and transparent about BT from the start. Tim literally said at the very beginning this was an entry level relationship. No wedding bells.

I’m also getting worried the network is going to pull the plug on buddie because even if it’s not us doing it, they might not wanna deal with the insane blowback these people are causing and will cause when buddie happens.

Don't worry Nonny. Like I said before, Oliver will be fine. Ryan will be fine.

Oliver has disabled comments on his post on Instagram because he knew exactly what was coming. They are both probably avoiding social media right now, but I'm also certain they'll be back as soon as the worst is over.

The show never made any promises about BT. On the contrary, they made it very clear, since day one, that Tommy was there to be a plot device. Eddie was all over the BT narrative in both seasons. In season 8 BT were still in the same place they ended in season 7. There was no growth whatsoever. Also, there was no buildup at all for them. Tommy just existed next to Buck in episode 5, but there wasn't one single sign of physical affection. Even in episode 6 there was only a cheek kiss. It reminded me of Eddie kissing Ana when he returned home after the shooting. A single cheek kiss. We all know how that relationship ended.

I wouldn't worry too much about the network. It seems bad right now, because they are all being loud and obnoxious, but the BT fandom is actually quite small compared to the Buddie fandom and the general 911 fandom. Their voices will be drowned out by all the positivity in the end. These BT stans will stop watching the show, but it won't even make a dent in the ratings. There's only a few hundred of them.

I checked Instagram and I've already seen so many positive comments, saying it was one of the best episodes of season 8, praising all the actors and crew for their hard work.

So don't worry. ABC knows exactly what Buddie could mean for the show. It would most definitely increase the popularity. Bi Buck already brought in a lot of people (some of them who have already left us again since Thursday evening), but a lot of them are here for the bi representation and they are here to stay.

So imagine how crazy things would get if Eddie would turn out to be not so straight after all and very much in love with his best friend? And Buck finally figuring out who he really wants?

The episodes leading up to them finally getting together would draw in so many new people who heard that those two 'gay firefighters from 911' are finally getting together after 7 loooong seasons.

ABC doesn't care about a few hundred people throwing a tantrum under a social media post. They do care for ratings and making a profit. That's it.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Tell you one thing though: After what he has done? Lou will never ever work on anything for ABC again, which means that we won't ever see him back on 911 and that's a beautiful thing. 😏😆

[mountsmase]

a/n: Hi 🩷🫶🏻 this was originally just a little concept that I was working on as an extension to this, which is why it starts off a little shaky, but the words started flowing and it ended up being so much more 🤭it’s short but this is the first fic I’ve written in a couple months and also the first piece of smut I’ve ever written so I know that this is in no way amazing and it’s definitely not my best work but I still really hope you all enjoy it 😚 feedback is much appreciated as always xx

genre: Smut/A little bit of fluff

word count: 2.2k+

Enjoy 😚🩷

———————

Mornings Like This - MM7

so imagine…

You and Mase have been awake for a while but you’ve got the day off of work and he doesn’t have to be at Carrington until later in the day, so you’re just snuggled up in bed together having a lazy morning.

There’s rain pitter pattering against the window and an episode of the show you’ve been watching playing quietly on the tv, which neither of you are really paying attention to, too lost in each others company to really focus on anything else.

You’re laying next to him, head resting in the crook of his neck whilst he lies on his back, and his hands are everywhere.

It all starts out as innocent touches, his hand finding it’s way under the shirt that you slept in (his shirt to be exact), tracing random patterns over the soft skin of your lower back, his other resting at a respectable height on your thigh, which is draped over his hips.

But, all the innocence leaves the room when you start getting a little fidgety and begin peppering kisses over the exposed skin of his neck, finding his sweet spot easily and sucking on the sensitive skin there.

He’s still for a few moments, simply just enjoying the warmth of your lips against his skin before he begins inching his hand up your thigh slowly. His thumb rubs gentle, yet somehow still firm, circles into your skin as he pushes his hand up and under the hem of your (his) t-shirt, glad to find his path unobstructed as you didn’t put any pj shorts on before climbing into bed last night.

When you feel his fingers start to fiddle with the material of your panties you lift your head from his neck, briefly meeting his eyes just long enough for him to send you a soft smile before you lean in, your hand coming up to cup his jaw as your lips meet his in a gentle kiss.

He kisses you back instantly, keeping it soft to start, but eventually getting a little more impatient.

His hand slides around your hip and finds it’s way around to your bum, squeezing the soft flesh there which draws a gasp out of your lips. He takes the opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth, gliding it against yours as you kiss him back feverishly, body melting against his as he brings his free hand up and to the back of your neck, holding you to him.

You bring your hand away from his jaw, gliding it down his neck and over the bare skin of his chest, relishing in the way his stomach contracts slightly under the light touches of your finger tips. Then you move your thigh down a little, allowing you better access before bringing your hand down and running feather light touches along his length.

His boxers are the only barrier as you cup him gently through the material, feeling him hardening in your hand and the quiet moan he lets out against your mouth sends warmth flooding straight to where you need him.

You slide your hand under the waistband and wrap your fingers around his shaft, tugging gently and swiping your thumb over his tip, smearing the pre-cum that’s collected there.

“Stop bubba” he mumbles against your lips and you stop abruptly, worried you’ve done something wrong until he continues talking, “As much as I’d love for you to continue, I’d love it even more if I was inside of your right now”

“Your wish is my command” you whisper back and he lets out a little giggle before your removing your hand from him completely and resting it against the mattress, preparing to roll on-top and straddle him but he stops you before you have a chance.

His hand makes its way back to your thigh, squeezing gently before swiftly rolling you over so that he’s hovering above you.

Your messy bed hair fans out on the pillow around you and he swears he’s never seen anyone more beautiful than you in this moment. Your lips slightly swollen, eyes wide and full of lust as you stare back at him and skin glowing in the morning sun that’s seeping through the curtains.

“Fuck, you’re gorgeous” his words have a flush spreading across your cheeks and you turn your head, attempting to bury your face into the pillow but he’s quick to stop you, his warm palm cupping your jaw and keeping his gaze locked on yours.

No matter how long you’ve been with him, you’ll never be used to how often he compliments you, it has butterflies swarming in your chest every time.

“Nuh-uh, none of that. No hiding.” He leans down, lips barely brushing against yours.

“Now, are you going to let me make you feel good, pretty girl, or are you going to leave me hanging?” He mutters against your lips and your left speechless at his words, instead opting to crash your lips back against his in a kiss that’s much more intense than the one you shared just minutes before.

Your tongues battle for dominance as one of your hands grips his shoulder, the other finding its way to the back of his head and tugging his hair slightly, pulling a groan from his lips.

One of his hands rests on the mattress beside your head, steadying himself as his free hand lands on your hip, caressing the bare skin of your stomach that’s been left on show after your shirt rode up, now sitting bunched bellow your boobs rather than reaching your mid thighs.

“Let’s get this off, baby” he murmurs and tugs at the material, you raise your self off the bed slightly so he can pull the material up and over your head, tossing it somewhere behind him before lowering you back down.

His lips don’t return to yours like you expect them to, instead, he’s kissing down the expanse of your neck and your instinctively tilting your head back to give him better access. Shivering at the feeling of his beard scratching lightly against your delicate skin.

He grazes his teeth over your soft spot, a breathy moan leaving your lips at the feeling of his teeth sinking into your sensitive skin. He sucks harshly before soothing the area with his tongue and you know he’s most likely left a mark but you can’t bring your self to care as his lips continue their journey down to your chest.

His tongue traces down your collar bones and the valley of your breasts before heading to one side. He suctions his lips around your nipple, tongue gliding over the peak whilst his hand shows the other side some attention, thumb rubbing soft circles over the neglected nipple and you can’t help but let out soft whimpers as he switches to the other side.

“Mase, baby, please” a breathy moan leaves your lips at the feeling of his mouth all over your body, your hips grinding up into his in an attempt to find yourself some relief.

“I know bub, going to make you feel so good, I promise” his head leaves your chest and he sits back between your legs, smiling down at you softly.

“Lift your hips for me bub” he taps his fingers against your hips and you do as he asks, he pulls your panties down your legs, throwing them in the same direction as your t-shirt before discarding his boxers too and then he’s laying back over you.

He runs the pads of his fingers over your bundle of nerves a few times, drawing a moan from you before dipping his fingers into your folds. He collects some of your wetness, spreading it over his length before making sure you’re comfortable enough.

“Ready, baby?” You give him a reassuring nod when you feel him lining himself up, his tip nudging slighting against your clit but he hesitates and you can’t help but whimper.

“I need your words baby” he asks, turning a little more serious for a second and your heart warms.

No matter how long you’ve been together, he always wants a verbal confirmation before taking this step with you and it’s something you have grown to appreciate so much.

“Yes Mase, I need to feel you, please” you beg, arching your body into him as your overcome with a sudden desperation to feel him inside of you.

And with that he moves his hips forward, inching his way into you slowly, giving you time to adjust to him as he eventually buries himself to the hilt and covers your body with his.

One of your hands instinctively tangles itself into his hair, and when he notices the other one gripping tightly at the bed sheets, he takes it in his, holding it up and above your head and interlocking his fingers with yours.

“Fuck baby, you feel so fucking good around me” he moans out, having to remind himself to take things slow when he feels your warmth starts fluttering around him.

He rests his forehead against yours, leaving soft kisses to your lips whilst giving you time to adjust, and when you give him the go ahead to move, your moans mix together as he pulls almost all the way out, before thrusting back in.

He keeps his pace slow, taking his time with you. The hand that’s not holding yours finds your thigh, pulling your leg up to rest over his hip as he thrusts deeply, the new angle allowing his tip to brush that spot that has you seeing stars.

“Fuck Mase,” you moan into his shoulder,

“That feel good baby?” he manages to get out, unable to keep his own moans in when he feels the way you’re clenching around him.

“So good Masey, you’re making me feel so good”

He feels his cheeks heat at the praise and he pulls his face from where it found home in your neck, his eyes meeting yours and your gaze is so full of love he swears his heart is going to explode.

Your eyes flutter closed, the view of him above you too much. The sight of his flushed cheeks, swollen lips, and his hair tousled from your fingers too overwhelming for you to keep them open.

“None of that, need you to look at me y/n” he rests his forehead against yours and you follow his request, meeting his intense gaze and you almost shy away from the eye contact again, but there’s something so captivating about his chocolate brown eyes that you can’t help but stare right back.

“I love you so fucking much” his says, voice raspy.

“I love you too” you echo, voice a little shaky from the pleasure running through your body.

Your fingers dig into the skin of his shoulder as he continues thrusting into you, nails scratching his skin slightly but he can’t bring himself to care as his lips claim yours in another searing kiss.

You’re moaning into each others mouths, breaths mixing together as picks up his pace slightly, feeling like he’s in heaven as your plush walls continue to contract around him.

Your hand moves from his shoulder and takes his free one, guiding it down to where your bodies meet and doesn’t need to ask to know what you want, his thumb flicking over your clit as your hips start thrusting up in time with his.

“Mase, I’m so close, I wanna cum with you” you sob, squeezing your eyes closed as he buries himself inside of you, bottoming out completely before resuming his thrusts, his hips faltering slightly as he feels his own orgasm fast approaching.

He wraps his arm around your waist, pulling you impossibly closer to him as he tucks his face into your neck, his moans against your ear sending you barrelling towards your release.

“I’m right there with you, I’ve got you bubs, let go for me,” his voice is husky and slightly mumbled into your neck, but his confirmation is all you need to go tumbling over the edge, your orgasm crashing into you like a wave.

The feeling of your walls fluttering and constricting around him is what sends him over the edge, his thrusts slowing completely as he reaches his own high, your bodies practically becoming one as he slumps on top of you.

You lay there for a few moments, basking in the feeling of your bodies against each other as you compose your selves, your heartbeats slowly returning to normal pace and your chests no longer heaving.

He pushes himself up, leaving a kiss to your forehead as he pulls out of you, a whine leaving your lips in protest at the empty feeling and his body no longer pressed against yours.

“Gotta get you cleaned up baby, stay here” he says, voice a little raspy as he climbs off the bed.

“Okay,” You say tiredly, letting him disappear into the ensuite bathroom and he returns not even a few minuets later, fresh pair of boxers on and wash cloth in his hand as he leans over you.

He swipes the warm cloth through your folds and you wince slightly at the feeling, but he’s quick in cleaning you up, stroking the material over your thighs and stomach before discarding it into the laundry bin along with your panties and shirt from earlier.

“Thank you,” you murmur as he returns to the bed, helping to change into a fresh pair of panties and yet another one of his shirts before you quickly run into the bathroom to pee.

He’s back in bed when you return, the show that you were watching earlier rerun back to the start of the episode so you can catch up on what you missed whilst you were…you know.

You climb under the covers and snuggle into his side, getting comfy again as he wraps his arms around you.

“You okay, bubs?” He murmurs, keeping his voice low as he adjusts so he can hold you better.

“More than okay” you assure him, voice soft as you leave a kiss to his cheek and settle into him, tiredness taking over you, and you’re so ready to spend the rest of the morning with him, napping and being as lazy as can be until he eventually has to get up and leave for training.

———————

hope you enjoyed 🩷 thank you for reading 🫶🏻

[theside-b]

Spoilers for the novel (and my review for the Live Action) ahead :

The boys do get together, but that act ends with their break up when people find out that Tian and Wang are romantically involved, unlike in Unknown where everyone was ok with Qian and Yuan getting together in A Certain Someone the fact that they are 'brothers' plays a huge role at that stage of their relationship and the eventual demise of their first attempt at a romance. Their break up lasts 6/7 years, don't remember exactly, but its a long time...

A lot more happens, but the show made some fundamental changes to both characters. It takes A LONG time for Tian to come to terms with his own feelings, that scene where he sees his father with another man in bed tints his whole worldview from a very young age — he develops quite the internalized homophobia; he is fine with other's queerness but it's his own that he cannot accept since he sees his father sexual orientation as the reason for the destruction of his family.

There is a tense moment between Tian and his father, where his dad says "we are more alike than you care to admit" hinting that he knows of what its happening between the boys and mind you Tian is still trying to sort out what he feels for Wang. The show sugarcoats quite a lot, novel's Tian would never initiate a kiss with Wang or even play along like he did in the show, at least not at that stage of their relationship.

Speaking of which, Wang is also different in the books. In the show he reads as pretty open minded, curious about anything and everything. In the novel he's pretty straight (at first), the journey really begins as a bromance until the feelings start to change. There is a lot of push and shove between the two of them, and is veeery slow.

The show pretty much burns bright the part where Wang tears Tian's emotional walls. Which I don't mind, otherwise it would take 50 episodes to wrap the first act. I honestly thought they were going to draw an original route for the show, but they are slowly adapting elements they left behind so they can follow the book.

Now for the review:

All in all, I think the show did a good job all things considered: production began in mainland China where Liu Dong was cast, but censorship hinders lgbtqia+ productions there so pre-production moved to Taiwan and there the rest of the casting was done. It's hard to tell how much of that interfered in the script but I assume Tian's father core plot was removed in the first draft and got re-integrated once production moved to Taiwan (Chris Lee's casting was one of the last to be announced which probably means he was also one of the last to join filming). Considering that productions like The Spirealm got pulled for much less is understandable that they would avoid the more thorny subjects under China's homophobic gaze.

(Educated guess here: considering all the publicity push, I imagine either Andy Cheng or Stan Huang were the choices for Wang, but since Liu's casting was an order from one of the financial backers they got smaller roles — it's a common move in taiwanese productions — by the way, there is a 'love triangle' later, is a sad thing since there is no-way you can split the main couple, but the show made me wonder who is going to be playing the third party in the live action).

As I always say about taiwanese shows: you have to watch the live play. The On1y One is much like it's local peers, it works wonders in small doses, but as soon as you see the whole picture you start to see the cracks. It reminded me a lot of Kiseki: Dear to Me in the sense that the main couple story is the emotional backbone, with a somber approach with brief moments of humor but everything surrounding it is slightly unhinged.

Everything that happened at that school was insane. The amount of crimes committed in the school grounds was ridiculous, the fact that Qi Jia Hao didn't ended up behind bars after ordering thugs to attack Wang and assault the english teacher is crazy. The whole side-plot involving the teachers was head-scraching by the way, much like everyone else I assumed that Zhao Xi and Benny were married when they were introduced.

Imagine my surprise finding out that not only they were not married but at one point Zhao Xi thought Benny could be interested in the english teacher (speaking of her, why the hell did she sounded dubbed? Is that not her real voice?). This whole story felt so disjointed from everything else, and it came at the tail end of the season(?), so not only it took some much suspension of disbelief for me to buy that these 40-year old gays were that emotionally impaired but also demanded patience since they spent very valuable screen time which could've benefited the main couple.

That is all to say that while I was having a blast while watching, the more I stop and think about it critically the more problems I see in this show. And again, that usually happens with taiwanese productions, experienced the same with Kiseki and Unknown, two shows that I adore, flaws and all, and now the same happens with The On1y One.

[thechekhov]

do you have any advice on how to start a tumblr for a project (like a fanfic or a comic like yours)? im working on a fanfic of my own, and id like advice from someone who succeeded like you(:

Here's the thing.

I don't think I'm a good candidate for this question because if I'm being honest... the success of the WDAU blog mostly fell to the success of THIS blog.

What I mean is:

When SU started, I had already developed a large enough following to get me relatively ok engagement with my audience because I'd been on tumblr for over 5 years.

When I started to watch SU and draw comics for the fandom regularly, it attracted MORE people to follow me and reblog my stuff.

When I started the WDAU blog, I simply migrated a lot of my SU-interested followers over, and it created a preset of a crowd of people willing to engage with and reblog that stuff.

And that kind of kickstarted the popularity of that blog.

Of course, on tumblr you don't NEED to have that in order to be successful. But my advice boils down not to secret hints, but very common-sense bruce-forth methods. For that I apologize.

Post often. Reblog often. Interact often. Make friends, find common interests. Join a community.

It's not about the follow-for-follow culture, it's about being a consumer in the economy you want to create for. You have to know your audience and you have to give if you want to get. Don't just expect engagement and comments if you, yourself, don't engage or comment.

When you create a blog, name it something that's straight to the point and easy to remember/find.

Tag all the posts consistently. Write a header for what it's about. Invest time in making a nice, eye-catching banner. COMMUNICATE to your audience as clearly as possible.

Post CONSISTENTLY. I don't mean every day. I mean at least once a week, just check in and remain active, even if it's reblogging something.

People appreciate it when you're just there, even if you don't produce chapters/episodes at a breakneck pace. In fact, I don't recommend posting more often than you need to. You're not a machine.

Aside from that.... just... work on your craft I guess? If you have trusted beta readers, ask someone to proofread your work. Try to improve little by little. Remember that no matter how long you write, you will never be a 'perfect' artist or author. Perfection isn't a realistic goal, but baby-step improvements are. :)

PS: why is the breloom in your avatar nakey

[sonkitty]

The Sideburns Scheme Post #102

(For reference: The Sideburns Scheme)

Crowley, Good Omens 2, Episode 6, Every Day, The Door Trick

...

Sideburns Check

The sideburns are longest-length.

My theory goes that it is mainly from a combination of stillness and Crowley's left arm being so focused on touching the threshold of his car that is his home.

...

Brighter Red Streak Check

For the first cut, I can't really confirm that the streak is a streak since Crowley's left-side hair tends to be more saturated anyway.

In the other two front-facing cuts, there does seem to be a thinner, findable streak.

...

Hairstyle Changes

Instead of the top hair above Crowley's left eye going more straight and upward, his overall top hair tilts to Crowley's right and curves upward. The streak is not as clearly defined for where it is.

...

Earthly Objects

(For reference: Earthly Objects | The Door Trick Visual Representation | The Pocket Chain Rainbow Connection Part 4: The Door Trick and The Door Catch)

Well, this is it.

Finally.

I am going to go over The Door Trick in detail after a lot more thorough play in trying to grasp the more advanced pocket mechanics of this game.

I'll start by saying I believe quite firmly that the core Trick of The Door Trick here is as follows:

Single accessory touch with the watch.

Double clothing touch with the jacket and pants. Double multiplier because the legs are crossed.

Triple skin-contact touch with the left hand. Triple multiplier because three fingers are touching each other.

These touches are considered simultaneous in the last video frame of the third cut of Crowley from the front.

There's a Rainbow Connection and imaginary Tied Hands doing more because of The Door Trick linking to The Door Catch, but that's the core nonetheless.

This Threshold Trick was the first one I found and when I started to grasp that the sideburns respond to thresholds.

...

Because of that pocket touch, Crowley is using the Pocket Chain found within The Pocket Trick.

The pocket touch itself resembles most of the touches within The Pocket Trick. It has the right hand fingers pocketed but keeping the thumb outside the pocket.

Since there are a million things happening, let's try starting from the bottom and working our way through where things take us in the first video frame.

There is a mirror on the lower left side of the screen. That means Crowley can see that his sideburns are the length they should be for this Threshold Trick. They are longest-length.

The mirror is also part of his Pocket Frame of Car Mirrors. This mirror is to his right. The rear view mirror inside the Bentley is to Crowley's left. The hood ornament of the car is drawing attention to itself and that mirror.

There are four humans to Crowley's right.

The one closest to Crowley just so happens to have their heel aligned against some lighting on Crowley's own shoes. The lighting is a hint that something is happening or being allowed. At a guess, there is a mirrored touch between the lower legs and one foot between this pair of characters.

This mirrored touch is captured into the wide open pocket Crowley has constructed between himself and his car.

The human's other foot then creates another pocket between it and Crowley's shoes.

Since Crowley is aiming for a double-clothing touch and the episode does not show his shoes again after this camera shot, my play and imagination goes with saying this human is taking Crowley's shoes to get them out of the way for the touch. Unlike Crowley's upper apparel with the jacket, the shoes are outside the pants.

There's a shoe locker idea I have, but let's put that idea on hold for now.

One of these four humans is carrying an orange bag. Orange is the current color in the Rainbow Connection. For this Threshold Trick, my play guesses that there are Bullet Catch magic word references. I think this one is "Fish" because the pattern on the skirt reminds me of fish scales, and I can't find any other visual references that I think are better.

Of note, the magic words are supposed to go, "banana, fish, gorilla, shoelace with dash of nutmeg," so they are out of order though the last will be ensured to be "dash of nutmeg".

The car door handles are visible on either side of the car, and I assume these door handles are the car's equivalent of doorknobs, which will be the Pocket Frame for the Metatron.

I think Crowley's crossed legs are reflected in the Bentley.

On Crowley's right, due to the design of the coffee shop, there are flames represented on that nearby structure.

Inside the car, his plants are visible. Due to the lighting, their green does not actually look all that green yet.

Over to Crowley's left are more humans. Eventually, we'll see some hats.

Crowley's left hand fingers look to be claiming Yellow, Green, and Black for use. The index finger is visually over a Green and Yellow sign. Zoomed in, I can't actually tell if the index fingertip is on one more than the other. His other fingers are visually over a human's Black attire.

Because of how things work out, my guess is that's to help Crowley's use of Black do things other than block and what he wants from his own imagination.

The face of his watch is visible.

His right hand CMC thumb joint is lined up with a jacket edge and Crowley's belt.

He has a self-made pocket of hair, and his left vest tip is near his Belt Head, probably to alert us that the Belt Head is active and playing its role in this Threshold Trick.

The sun can be found in the upper right corner of the screen and is to Crowley's left, above his left ear.

I have noted many times that I am left with the impression the sun here is supposed to be significant and acting as Crowley's Overhead Light for this Threshold Trick.

The sun is the most powerful source of light on Earth without actually technically being on Earth.

As the camera pans up and zooms closer, some things change.

In an earlier video frame, I suspect that the imaginary mirror of the Tied Hands has a Rainbow Connection Reflection and flips. A flip does not usually mean a switch to a new color, so I assume the Rainbow Connection is still on Orange.

Shoes on humans are shown as walking away in the car window pane behind Crowley.

There is an actual rainbow found between the left side of Crowley's torso and his left forearm. That's the official rainbow for this Threshold Trick. The rainbow places itself over the closed rear car window, the open front car window and well past the edge of the left forearm, questionably all the way to the other edge. This rainbow helps emphasize those shoes that are walking away in the window pane.

Time to play with some words for the shoe locker theory.

The word "locket" rhymes with "pocket". The word "locket" is associated with hair. Taking note of the "r" in "hair" and "rainbow," I'm going to change that "locket" word to "locker," so that the people on the sidewalk for this side of the street and passing by Crowley have a place where they can put their shoes until later.

It becomes evident that the Bentley's driver window is open. In The Pocket Trick Triple Part 2, my guess for a Rainbow Connection Reflection with Yellow happened with a human pocket user near an open window. Since Crowley is going to be stuck standing still and receive a lot of human assistance, including from pocket users, that is theoretically the reason that window is open, besides being useful for The Window Trick later.

For the rainbow mentioned earlier, that looks to be the game's cue that this rainbow is either what allows the incoming flips or is telling an audience player that the over-the-rainbow touches are due to how Crowley's apparel-to-car pocket is structured.

According to this post, the rainbow "doubles up," and there are two of them. Honestly, that's not what I see. The second seeming-rainbow is almost certainly contributing for whatever it is because great care is taken with the lighting overall, but I personally would not fully qualify it as an "official" rainbow because I can't distinguish its color set well enough, even with some tweaks in trying to edit the screenshot with brightness or saturation. Still, there is going to be a link to the Pocket Chain, and two characters are going "up" later.

Another thing that happens as the camera pans up and zooms in as that a car with headlights shows up on screen. That looks to be at least a general callback to The Pocket Trick Triple Part 2 and giving the Belt Head an Overhead Light, before the belt is fully obscured from view with the zoom.

Crowley's left thumb and its thumb joints are cast in shadow, but they are there. He's going to be relying on a different human for the usual hinge touch that his own actual thumb joint manages.

This cut is front-facing view of Crowley #1 out of 3. He will get 3 shots for his part of this double act with Aziraphale.

...

Up next is a back view of Crowley as we see the Metatron and Aziraphale walking.

This cut has both Aziraphale and the Metatron with their feet visibly on the ground as they walk toward the pub.

There is a human wearing all black. She has a black bag and a black hat. As she hurries along, she is slightly hunched over. She passes along the sidewalk near the pub before Aziraphale and the Metatron reach that area.

As she passes, yet another human visually passes in front of her.

The one in black is my guess for the "Gorilla" of the magic words.

The other is wearing a striped shirt and has some brown. She'll be swinging her arm as a visual representation for the Tied Hands since they'll be aiming to use Rainbow Connection Reflections twice for Yellow.

Through basic word association of Gorilla, Tarzan, Jane, I name this human, "Jane."

Another notable human rides along a scooter. I don't know if they're doing anything really important besides the general clue about the shoes and Ground Zero or helping to handle the Rainbow Connection, but they do stick out as someone with a self-made pocket using their legs.

Eventually, another human appears in front of Crowley. She is wearing a mostly black hat and black jacket or sweater. I call her "Nutmeg" since she will eventually be the "dash of nutmeg" to link Aziraphale into the Pocket Chain.

When she appears is when a red alert seems to happen, but like I said, I'm hoping something somewhere is stalling the switch because of other things found in the upcoming cut.

Oh, I have an idea, given what happens frame-by-frame. The red alert can hold out and be stalled because when it appears, that's also when the Metatron's and Aziraphale's shoes are obscured from the camera by the car with that alert.

...

Now it's time for shot #2.

We are back to Crowley. His watch and left hand fingers are obscured by the car.

A lot is happening for the Rainbow Connection here.

Nutmeg has moved from being on the street to being on the sidewalk. She has some of her boots in the cut but not the actual bottom of those boots. She has her right hand aligned specifically with its thumb joints along a red line that's part of her attire. My guess is that's something hinge-related to pass along to Aziraphale. Her Black is blocking out anyone or anything from taking it until that "dash of nutmeg" later.

Behind her is another human with an orange jacket. This one is my guess for "Shoelace."

The type of shoes she wears are what we U.S. English speakers call....sneakers.

Why would the scene hide everyone's shoes but let that one lady show her sneakers? Oh...oh...it's because the sneakers sneaked by the shoe locker. Haha.

Because the shoes are sneakers, her shoelaces are visible.

Based on what I've read, British English is more likely to call them trainers, so they could alternatively be trained enough to sneak by.

Speaking of silly puns that appear here, I can finally share this one that I've been sitting on for months.

Take a look at this image with the red lines:

Do you know what those are?

Can you guess?

Do you know how I "know" that Crowley's the one who's going to summon the elevator?

Those are...Holey Crowley pockets to help Aziraphale get into Heaven.

Ba dum tss.

This game is so ridiculous. How dare they make such a joke with all this ~drama~ happening.

Anyway, where was I?

Oh yes, the Rainbow Connection.

A lot of it is covered here, The Pocket Chain Rainbow Connection Part 4: The Door Trick and The Door Catch, so I'll be simplifying things some.

Shoelace has her left thumb joint aligned with a lapel edge of the jacket. Crowley will be using that hinge touch instead of having his actual left thumb joint do it.

After Shoelace shows off her shoelace, reflection trickery takes in her hinge touch and switches the Rainbow Connection to Yellow #1 while also flipping the mirror for the Tied Hands. Yawning Yellow and Banana contribute to making it happen.

Shortly after that, more reflection trickery causes a skip to Purple and back so that Yellow can be hit twice. As such, the Connection reaches Yellow #2 and another mirror flip. There's something akin to a color wheel involved with humans and their bags fully pocket-framing the "Life begins after coffee" sign.

Part of such trickery involves the human most directly behind Crowley. That human is wearing a hat. He has a brown jacket and an excellent alignment of his arm with Crowley's existing pocket between himself and his car. That human's elbow is like the other side of a diamond from what can be seen of Crowley's left hand. I think of him as "Diamondback". He's also a pocket user himself.

Yet another significant human to the reflection trickery is one wearing a yellow shirt and dark gray vest. He has his left hand pocketed and his left arm making a pocket with his body. He is my guess for "Banana" with the magic words. His reflection appears in the two different window panes of the coffee shop during this cut. I assume he's helping out Yawning Yellow, Crowley, and ensuring there is a reflection involving the color yellow for the Rainbow Connection switches.

Because of the color skip, that means the Rainbow Connection is going up instead of down.

The goal for Crowley and Aziraphale is to actually switch to Green next, not Orange again.

So, along comes inadvertent assistance from the Metatron.

...

The next cut has Nutmeg link Aziraphale into the pocket chain due to how her bag strap aligns with another human pocket user near Aziraphale.

As this action happens, humans and Aziraphale pass by his ears in particular ways. Aziraphale places the something Crowley gave him back in his mouth.

...

Aziraphale stalls the Rainbow Connection by talking to the Metatron and asking a question.

Due to the mistakes in the Metatron's play, he enacts deflection, redirection, and disconnection. He's also lacking any Overhead Lights.

In the process, a miracle sound is heard for the elevator, but it's not clear who summoned it. The Metatron gave no indication he did it. Most of the miracle sound is similar to Aziraphale's though a little different. There's an extra hiss at the end that's more like something one would hear from Crowley.

Aziraphale himself seems surprised by it and turns his head in Crowley's direction.

I suspect Crowley due to his supernatural zone work that's been happening with the sideburns game and that silly pun mentioned earlier. Back in The Pocket Trick Triple Part 2, Crowley asked, "Do you need a lift somewhere?" Aziraphale declined.

But now, Aziraphale does need a lift somewhere, and Crowley has one ready by using the double meaning of "lift" for elevator.

Aziraphale looks over to Crowley.

Thanks to the word play with the advanced pocket mechanics, that look is Ground Zero of The Door Catch. There is zero ground in it. No one's shoes are on screen. We can't see the sidewalk, the road, or the floor of the elevator. Green is on screen with him, and the nearby humans are, I assume, assisting with getting that Green.

I've already mentioned the hidden message many times by this point, but nonetheless, there is one.

Aziraphale's thinking or saying, "Here goes nothing," because here we are at Ground Zero.

...

Now it's time for Crowley's shot #3 to finish The Door Trick.

A lot of the humans have cleared out of the way.

During this cut, Crowley's Green is ready.

One human is walking from behind Crowley and toward him. She will not pass him in this cut.

Instead, the cut will finish when Crowley's index finger is between the edges of of a black strap on her bag.

That's the Touch Point of The Door Trick. Most Touch Points in The Pocket Trick happen before the last video frame of the cut, but this touch is different since Crowley is working with Aziraphale.

His Pocket Chain reference of Door Windows from the Single of The Pocket Trick is actually all the way across the street with Aziraphale.

The watch is visibly touching the door.

Mainly through my own imagination and guessing at how games generally work, that's when the index finger and thumb are considered to touch his pants together.

Crowley's skin is visibly touching the door. Thanks to a pocket, the skin contact touch is separated into three parts.

It's the front edge of the door for the accessory skin contact touches, but still, he's touching the threshold of his own car door and avoiding the earthly object parts of it in the process.

Thus, he earns his Single, Double, and Triple at the same time here.

Because his legs are crossed, he earns a Double multiplier with the Double.

Because he has his pinky, middle, and ring fingers touching each other as they touch the door, he earns a Triple multiplier with the Triple.

This Threshold Trick was done by Crowley for Aziraphale.

...

I may as well cover The Door Catch since the two Tricks are linked.

Aziraphale's shot #1.

Aziraphale's shoes are shown on the sidewalk now that we're no longer at Ground Zero.

Before Aziraphale enters the elevator, his Green is ready.

Due to a pocket of light and two humans reaching it together at the same time, the Rainbow Connection switches to Blue and Purple at the same time.

...

Aziraphale's shot #2.

Aziraphale takes a breath. His bow tie touches his skin. He has his own Tied Hand(s) now. There's a little shine in the lower middle area of his teeth, that I assume is what Crowley passed to him through the kiss.

I don't know what happens to Blue for going back up, such as being nullified or accounted for through the Metatron's play or what, but the Rainbow Connection is starting to go up again.

...

Aziraphale's shot #3.

As Aziraphale walks forward, the shadows of the green leaves on his coat are visible.

Somehow, he's able use the shadows to stretch back, or something, to use them and switch to Green again.

A contributing factor is likely that Door Windows were the previous link in Crowley's Pocket Chain from The Pocket Trick Single. Aziraphale's collar is visually at the corner of one of the pub door windows in the first video frame of the cut.

In the last video frame of the cut, he has precise alignment with edges that are very reminiscent of what happens with touches in The Pocket Trick.

This last video frame is the Touch Point for The Door Catch.

For Aziraphale, he has a Pocket Frame of Elevator Edges.

As he moved forward, due to his play, the Metatron's reflection switched from having the Metatron's head reflected in both window panes to instead be in the window pane closest to Aziraphale and on Aziraphale's left.

This reflection is caught in a Magic Trick named The Door Catch, so that's supposed to matter even though I don't have better words or ideas besides this basic one. Clues are likely found in the 1941 minisode with the three-rope trick, but my play isn't good enough to put the pieces together.

My play is good enough to see that this video frame has Aziraphale with vertex touches involving his right arm and the Metatron's right arm. While no thumb joint is aligned with an edge, Nutmeg had one, and Aziraphale has that thing in his teeth. Somehow, those things are supposed to assist for what he needs of a hinge touch, while managing to not pass it to the Metatron, I am guessing.

Meanwhile, the Metatron has no such hinge involving his own thumb joints or anything I can find from human assistance or Aziraphale.

Because I'm familiar with the framing and types of things to look for, something else that I take note of is that his coat does not have its edges meet and avoids creating a pocket of itself.

For the Metatron, he has a Pocket Frame of Doorknobs.

He is pocketed between the doorknobs of the pub doors. However, in the elevator, its buttons are the equivalent of doorknobs so still considered his Pocket Frame. Possibly related, we never saw him cross the threshold from the street into the elevator. Crowley and Muriel both showed themselves to cross for entry. Aziraphale did here for his own entry.

The Metatron's index finger is touching his Pocket Frame.

Crowley has touched his Pocket Frames as well but usually avoids skin contact. His turtleneck made sure skin contact was avoided with Cars in The Pocket Trick Triple Part 2. His tie tassels were what touched the window pane of the Door Windows in The Pocket Trick Single. He did have some fingers touch door frames in the Double, but the index finger was not among them. Additionally, that was a rather different touch since it involved soon pocketing only his thumbs.

The Metatron doesn't care about his thumbs with his pocket touches. The whole hand goes in with his play.

...

Aziraphale's three shots are done, but there's one more thing to close out the whole Trick.

The Metatron uses a close-up touch of his index finger touching the button.

I am reasonably sure that Crowley has never used a close-up touch for his hand touches in The Pocket Trick.

Because of assorted clues about non-rainbow colors, my play interprets this overall move as the Metatron making a mistake.

Here's a findable poem about the non-rainbow shades.

Black blocks.

Brown borrows.

Gray shades.

White keeps.

The "H" of the Heaven button is gold, so it is not considered a proper Yellow by itself.

The gray in the elevator could shade it to Yellow, if the Metatron could do something like use his Brown to borrow it.

Crowley and Aziraphale want their Rainbow Connection to stay at Green and not switch to Yellow.

The design of the button itself is such that Black blocks out the Gray, and White keeps the gold as gold.

Thus, the gold is disqualified to allow a switch up to Yellow.

The really big mistake, I think, is supposed to be that the Metatron's left thumb CMC joint is not visible.

There might be other mistakes, such as using a close-up touch at all or the index finger touching the gold and the white at the same time so being over edges of a disqualified color.

But the main mistake I'm sure of is the left thumb CMC joint.

Only a little bit of his skin near his MCP joint is visible, so I suspect that that thumb joint is disqualified too.

The Door Catch is done.

The Rainbow Connection ends at Green thanks to a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

There are two more cuts before we get back to Crowley.

The Metatron breathes a sigh of relief, so that suggests he either doesn't know the game is happening or didn't pick up on the advanced pocket mechanics in play, if he does know the game is happening.

Aziraphale also takes a breath and possibly swallows that something that Crowley passed to him.

...

Story Commentary

The first time I watched Good Omens 2, this scene confused me so much, especially with the Metatron entering the elevator.

I didn't know who summoned it. I didn't know if I was supposed to know.

Things were happening too fast, and I had a lot of questions.

I had too many questions and too much confusion for the drama to hit me.

What's with the Metatron touching that button anyway? What is he, human? I see clues of both demon and human with him so am not really sure either way.

...

After months of play, I'm glad for the confusion and questions because I have a deep appreciation for the Threshold Tricks through playing The Sideburns Scheme and Earthly Objects.

I'm not sure season 3 will explain things to anyone's satisfaction, but I've found the games worthwhile enough to play nonetheless.

...

That's it for this post. Sometimes I edit my posts, FYI.

...

Main post:

The Sideburns Scheme

[trashbag-baby666]

Pull It Together-Clegan

What's Waited Till Tomorrow Starts Tonight (mota hs au)

summary: Emotions are flying high and neither party knows how to soothe the other. Gale need's to get his head on straight before he ruins everything he has.

WC: 2,840

C/W: None (?)

mota masterlist! | ao3 link

The damp, cold clay drifted through his pointer finger and thumb. His other hand holding a straight tool to even out the vase he had just spent the last half hour on. Sixth hour was his favorite time of the day, Ms. Simpson had a drawing class that hour. John had been granted permission this semester to have an independent study in ceramics. He had already taken all the ceramics classes they had, something about the messy art medium grounded him. Maybe it was because he liked the sensory feelings from the smooth, wet clay. 

But his favorite time of sixth hour was when Gale would come visit him fifteen minutes before the bell rang. Gale had a free period and usually would read or work on homework in the library. He'd find himself walking to the art hallway to check in on John. The last few months had been difficult and he just wanted to look out for him. 

"Buck!" He perked up from his squatted over position, revealing the vase. The blonde smiled and waved at him but walked past him and sat by Alex. John felt his heart tinge a moment and he nearly squashed the vase...he would've if he had just been messing around on the wheel and not actually working on a project. 

John tried to remind himself to calm down a moment, he had no reason to be worried. Him and Alex had just been working on a project together in their ap lit class. Plus him and Gale weren't even together...he couldn't be mad...even if he wanted to. 

John stood at the sink cleaning out his tools and sponges watching the two talk. Gale started laughing at something Alex said and John tried his hardest not to cringe. He wanted a reason to hate Alex right now in all honesty. He wanted to be able to tell Gale that he shouldn't talk to him, that he had done something to wrong him. That he could then blame him to be at fault for and tell his best friend who he has a crush on. Truly, he couldn't even think a single negative thing about Alex, though. He's a sweet kid and always had been really nice to John. He would sit next to him in class if he was hand building a project or glazing. He'd also sat next to him in ceramics one last school year, he also was friends of Rosie and Croz.

He's nice to everyone and always seems to be able to find kindness in everyone. So of course him and Gale got along wonderfully. That just fueled John's anger further thinking about how Alex most definitely was a better person than he himself is. 

John had finished picking up his area and got his vase on the drying rack. He put on his backpack and went over to Gale and hugged him from behind, "Guess who?"

"Hey," Gale smiled looking up at him.

"Are we gonna watch the new episode of Drag Race tonight?" John pulled the chair out besides Gale and sat down backwards on it. Friday nights at seven the new episode of RuPauls Drag Race would be airing and he and Gale never missed an episode. He watched in already knowing disappointment as Gale sucked in a breath between his teeth and his blue's immediately softened. 

"I'm going over to Alex's tonight, but I'll be home in time for Untucked?" Gale's eyebrows furrowed apologetically. John just shrugged, now he really wanted a reason to hate Alex and Gale. He felt his anger's irrational, Gale didn't owe him anything...especially not spending one singular night without him. They could just re-watch it together tomorrow after he's done working. But Gale had off tomorrow so that could mean anything, he could decide to go and make plans with Alex. 

"Okay," John nodded, standing himself up from the chair and pushing it back in. He hooked his thumbs into his backpack straps and began walking towards the door. The bell rang quite literally saving John, until the bell rang at the end of eighth hour and he would have to ride home with Gale...or he could take the bus and go back to his dads.

Gale would be mad at him though, but at least he would have his attention at the very least. 

———————

He did just ride home with Gale though, he put on his headphones hoping Gale would just think he was overstimulated and didn't want to talk. He didn't really talk to Gale when he got home either, he just went up to the guest room marked his with a slam of the door. 

Gale didn't really know what was up with John. he just had let him be while he had finished making sure Addy and Zoe were settled after getting them from the bus stop. Their laughter echoed faintly from the living room where they were watching cartoons. His parents would be home soon, and they would take over.

He took a moment to glance up the stairs, knowing John was up there, stewing in his own world. Something was clearly up with John. Gale could see it in the way John’s shoulders tensed, the way he avoided eye contact, the clipped responses. Gale was used to John’s moods, but today felt different. Something deeper was eating at him.

Why is he so upset? Gale wondered, leaning against the banister, staring at the closed door of the guest room. He replayed the events of the day in his mind, trying to pinpoint the exact moment John’s mood had shifted from its usual brooding to this outright anger. Was it something he did? Was it Alex?

Alex. Gale frowned, feeling a pang of guilt. He hadn’t meant to make John feel left out. It’s just that Alex was easy to talk to, always smiling, always kind. Gale enjoyed his company, but he had never thought it would bother John this much. Then again, maybe he had been blind to how John felt. Gale knew John wasn’t just another friend. They had a connection, something deeper, something unspoken. But why was it so hard for John to just tell him how he felt?

Gale felt a wave of frustration wash over him. He wanted to help John, to make him feel better, but he couldn’t do that if John wouldn’t talk to him. He pushed off the banister, deciding to give John some space. Maybe he just needs time to cool off.

He walked into the kitchen, pulling out his phone and shooting a quick text to Alex, letting him know he might be a bit late. Alex would understand. Gale needed to sort things out with John first. He grabbed a can of diet coke from the fridge, taking a long sip as he leaned against the counter, his thoughts still tangled with worry and confusion.

John was one of the most important people in Gale’s life. They had been through so much together. Gale had seen John at his lowest and at his best. John had always been forthright with his emotions, especially when he was upset with Gale. This silence, this avoidance, it was unlike him. It worried Gale deeply. He wanted to help John, to make him feel better, but he couldn’t do that if John kept this wall between them.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs pulled Gale from his thoughts. He looked up to see John coming down, headphones on, eyes averted. Gale took a deep breath, stepping forward.

“John, wait,” he said, reaching out a hand.

John paused, his expression unreadable as he slowly took off his headphones. “What?” he asked, his voice flat.

Gale struggled to find the right words. “Are you okay? You’ve been acting...different today. Did I do something?”

John’s eyes flickered with something Gale couldn’t quite decipher. “It’s nothing, Gale. Just...leave it.”

But Gale wasn’t convinced. “It’s not nothing, John. I can tell something’s bothering you. Just talk to me.”

John looked away, his jaw tightening. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Gale sighed, feeling a pang of helplessness. “Alright. But you know I’m here, right? Whenever you’re ready to talk, I’ll be here.”

John didn’t respond, just nodded slightly before opening the fridge door and grabbing a can of his Dr Pepper out. Without a second word, he turned and headed back towards the stairs. Gale watched him go, feeling a heavy weight settle in his chest. John always talked to him, always told him when something was wrong. This silence was new, and it scared Gale. He wanted to help John, but he couldn’t force him to open up. All he could do was be there, waiting, hoping John would eventually let him in.

———————

The hot air blew right into Gale's face from the car's vents. The heat felt dry though, dry in a way that would cause a nosebleed. They'd spent the last fifteen minutes sitting quietly in the parking lot of the trail head they'd been going to. By no means was Gale even near impressed with himself and his actions of the past two and a half weeks. He felt guilty. So guilty. Kissing and touching Alex felt way different than kissing and touching some girl. Maybe the guilt didn't carry with the girls because he never really liked them and he knew that. He already knew that going into it and knew that it would just be meaningless.

But this he had sought out and he found himself not wanting to make Alex stop fifteen minutes ago when they came out here. Originally he did intend to come out here for more sexual favors but now he couldn't shake John out of his brain. He owed Alex an explanation. But he also owed John one too. He had a sacred bond with John he couldn't understand. When he touched Alex he imagined he was touching John, except his thighs were much wider. His touch, warm and familiar like his own mother's. His shoulders broader and muscular. Alex wasn't John and that was his problem. But it confused him further, he didn't know if he had always felt like this. He wanted to keep going to Alex and that's why he needed to run far and cut this off like a diseased limb.

"I think you owe me that, at least." Alex swallowed, his gaze shifted down at his steering wheel. "Yeah, I know." Gale chewed on his lip and ran a hand through his hair not knowing where to start.

"I couldn't tell if I liked him that way." Gale shrugged, he couldn't think of anything else.

"Who?"

"John."

"Oh."

Gale wondered if he may have seen it coming, maybe he should have seen it coming too?

"I...I...I love him, Alex." He bit down on the inside of his cheek and began to really wish he had just stayed home with John.

Alex's eyebrows separated and arched, "That isn't much of an explanation, Buck."

He didn't like the sound of that name coming out of his mouth...

"I didn't want to sleep with him first..." He trailed off knowing his sentences lacked much of any explanation but he truly felt horrible.

"I'm taking you home," Alex reached back for his seatbelt.

"Look, I meant to tell you sooner...I meant for it to be a one and done kinda thing...I swear."

Alex scoffed with a smile, shaking his head, "Like that makes it any better."

"I know, I'm sorry, really I am. I know it's not enough."

Selfish. Selfish. Selfish.

Panged him over and over again, Alex didn't respond. Instead he turned his music back on and turned it up. He was done talking and Gale needed to take the hint. Part of him wanted to beg him to drop him off on the side of the road right here. Make him walk home, not like he's in a rush to go there. John was there and upset too. He'd just be reminded of his self damning actions.

———————

John sat on the worn couch in the Cleven basement. The lights turned off and the only light coming from the mounted TV as Drag Race played. Meatball laid across his lap, his head resting on John's chest.

"I love you, boy." John pressed a kiss to the husky's fluffy head, "I'd never abandon you, baby."

Meatball responded with a couple licks to John's cheek. John knew he'd always have his little buddy to keep him company. Meatball was basically his son anyways, "Yeah, mama abandoned us again, mhm." John leaned into the dog's licks.

Meatball's ears perked and he sat up off of John as they both heard the sound of Gale getting back. Meatball launched himself off John and ran up the stairs barking. He remained there on the couch knowing Gale would be down in a few minutes with some strew of an apology. He picked up his phone and saw the time, this was probably the last ad break before the episode would be over. At least he had made it back in time for Untucked as he promised. Part of him wanted to just go up to his room without any words to Gale. At the same time he wanted to hear what he had to say, maybe just in a selfish sense. Have some validation to himself that maybe Gale had actually missed him.

He sucked in a deep breath and focused his eyes back to the screen, pretending to be interested in the Viagra commercial playing. Meatball came running down the stairs knowing that Gale wouldn't be far behind.

Gale descended the stairs slowly, hearing the distant chatter of the TV. He found John sitting on the couch, the glow from the screen casting shadows on his face. Meatball trotted over to him, but Gale's eyes were fixed on John.

“Hey,” Gale said softly, trying to gauge John's mood.

John didn’t look away from the TV. “Hey.”

Gale took a deep breath, crossing the room to sit on the other end of the couch. “John, we need to talk.”

John finally looked at him, his expression unreadable. “About what?”

“About everything. About why you've been so upset lately.”

John's eyes narrowed. “I told you, it’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing, John,” Gale insisted, his voice firm but gentle. “You’re shutting me out, and that’s not like you. I need to know what's going on.”

John clenched his jaw, his eyes flicking back to the TV. “Why do you care? You’ve got Alex now.”

Gale winced at the bitterness in John’s tone. “John, Alex...Alex isn’t you.”

John scoffed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Gale ran a hand through his hair, struggling to find the right words. “I thought being with Alex would help me figure things out. But all it did was make me realize how much you mean to me.”

John's eyes softened slightly, but his voice remained guarded. “And what does that mean?”

Gale took a deep breath. “It means that I care about you, John. More than I’ve ever cared about anyone else. And I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you. That was never my intention.”

John stared at him for a long moment, his expression unreadable. “You’re an idiot, Gale.”

Gale felt a pang of hurt but nodded. “Yeah, I am. I’ve been selfish and stupid. But I want to make things right. If you’ll let me.”

John sighed, his shoulders relaxing a fraction. “I don’t know, Gale. You’ve really messed things up.”

“I know,” Gale said, his voice earnest. “But I’m willing to do whatever it takes to fix it. Just...give me a chance.”

John looked at him, the anger in his eyes slowly giving way to something softer, something more vulnerable. “You hurt me, Buck.”

“I’m so sorry,” Gale whispered, his voice breaking. “I never wanted to hurt you.”

John looked away, blinking back tears. “I know.”

They sat in silence for a moment, the only sound the distant chatter of the TV. Then, slowly, John reached out and took Gale’s hand.

“Okay,” John said softly. “But this doesn’t mean everything’s fixed.”

Gale nodded, his heart aching with relief and anxiety. “I know.”

John didn’t let go of his hand, but the grip was tight, almost painful, as if reminding Gale of the fragile state of their bond. The tension hung heavy in the air, unspoken words and unresolved feelings filling the space between them.

Gale knew this was just the beginning of a long road to mending what had been broken, and the uncertainty of where it would lead left a knot in his stomach. For now, all he could do was hold on and hope that, in time, they could find their way back to each other. Hopefully this wouldn’t leave some weird underlying tension between them. John had been through enough the past few months, he didn’t need Gale’s bullshit too.

-

-

Taglist: @austeenbootler @executethyself35 @coastiewife465 @slowsweetlove

[chiskz]

▶️ Changbin being in love with Chichi for 8 minutes straight [probably part1]

🎬🎬🎬

Changbin sits staring at his phone on the couch backstage during SKZ-TALKER. Han comes over with the camera and asks something when Chichi inadvertently enters the frame trying to improve the micro port. Changbin immediately gets up to help, but Chichi manages to fix it. Changbin slowly sits back down and Han laughs at him.

🎬🎬🎬

Another scene from SKZ-TALKER, behind the scenes of the famous photos posted by Changbin on Bubble, Chichi doodles on a piece of paper. She finally looks up at Changbin with the camera and blinks a few times.

"Are you recording?"

"I'm recording."

Chichi laughs, then hides behind a piece of paper.

"Why?"

"What are you drawing?"

"Something for STAY. I want to send it to them on Bubble later."

"Ah, okay, okay..."

"Where's Hyunjin? I'll ask him what it looks like."

"Why do you need Hyunjin, I can tell you that it looks so good."

Chichi laughs again, but this time hiding her face in sleeves, Changbin laughs too.

🎬🎬🎬

One of the "Your Friendly Neighbour, Chichi!" episodes.

"Changbin is very good at Korean. I know how it sounds, it should be obvious, he's Korean after all. But trust me, his vocabulary, his ability to make wordplay... He's on a whole other level. Just when I think learning Korean is finished for me, Changbin comes with a rough version of the song and shows it to me. I read it and sometimes I don't understand a word, as if he was creating a new language. But he explains what the phrase means, he is very patient and enriches my vocabulary. I love him, I love our moments together when he explains to me what he meant. He opens up to me and I want to listen and listen and listen to him endlessly."

🎬🎬🎬

One of the interviews, the Stray Kids are sitting on raised stools holding plastic pointers with a hand with the index finger outstretched.

Question: If you could be in a relationship with one of the members, who would you choose?

Changbin and Chichi do not look at each other, but they chose each other. Chichi hides her face behind sleeve and starts laughing, so Changbin has to explain his choice first.

"Well... Chichi is a really good and caring person. She takes care of all of us along with Chan and is a huge support."

MC: Why are you talking about "us"? Tell me why YOU chose her!

Changbin laughs, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"She always listens to me. Since she's with us, she's the first one who listens to my songs and what I have to say about them. She's like my safe place. I always come to her when I want to feel at home. Plus we have a lot in common interests, so it's always nice to talk to her. Also, she's so talented, I could watch her dance for hours."

Chichi finally looks at him, grunting softly.

"I chose Changbin because I also think we get along great. He's helped me a lot with Korean, he's really helping me all the time, to be honest. He's always interested in whether I ate or slept, he asks a lot about my life and tries to make it easier. It's really sweet... And of course, in addition to a good heart and great talent, he is also... handsome."

Chichi laughs and buries her face in Hyunjin's shoulder, the rest of them, including him, start laughing at her.

🎬🎬🎬

A scene from "Stray 9th", Chichi and Changbin are together at the gym doing his challenge. Chichi is working out on the treadmill, and Changbin is staring at her with buttery eyes, speechless.

🎬🎬🎬

Video recorded by a fan during one of the concerts. Changbin hugs Chichi from behind during "Scars"* as her eyes fill with tears.

🎬🎬🎬

One of the newer SKZ-TALKER episodes. Chichi records from the plane.

"Hey, hey." She adjusts her hair and mask. "I'm coming back from Japan. The rest stayed over, but I'm coming back to Korea, straight from the show. I haven't even changed my clothes yet... I have an exam tomorrow, so I have to go back." She showed her notebook and laughed a little, then glanced to the side for a moment. "But I'm not coming back all alone." She pans the camera and briefly shows Changbin sitting next to her, doing something on his phone. "Silly. He insisted on flying with me so I wouldn't be lonely. My precious..."

🎬🎬🎬

An episode of "Your Friendly Neighbor, Chichi!". Chichi reads the comments on her phone, then glances at the camera. "Hee? A ring? Oh!" She shows a ring on her other hand, with a small diamond on it. "It's beautiful, isn't it? I got it from Changbin when I passed the exam... It's beautiful." She reads the comments again with a dreamy smile, then puts her hand over her mouth and laughs, embarrassed for a moment. "No, no! Don't get this wrong, it's not an engagement ring! No, no, how can you think that!"

🎬🎬🎬

One of the encore stages after Stray Kids win in the music show with "Case 143". Changbin during his "Can I be your boyfriend?" line points at Chichi, who, embarrassed, runs to hide behind Hyunjin.

🎬🎬🎬

An episode of "All Night Duo's Night"**. Chan creates something on the computer and Chichi reads something on the phone, then smiles. Chan notices this.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

"Changbin asks if I'm hungry."

"It's 3am, why isn't he sleeping? And why doesn't he ask me stuff like that?" Chan pretends to be offended, but Chichi blushes and hides behind the phone.

🎬🎬🎬

One of the Stray Kids group lives at the hotel. Chichi, Felix, Hyunjin and I.N read the comments. Hyunjin looks up from his phone.

"Who is whose roommate?"

"Mine is Changbin." Chan answered. "But he has never slept in my room with me yet!"

"Heee? What do you mean?" Han moved closer to him.

"He never came back to his room at night."

Chichi laughs under her breath, putting the phone aside for a moment on the bed.

"Because he was with me! I was studying for the exam and he was next to me working on the laptop."

"So he hasn't slept at all this time?!"

"We slept together!" Changbin called, and Han sighed dramatically and hit him on the knee, and Chichi hid her face in her hands.

"But not like this!"

____________________________

* "Scars" is a very important song for Chichi due to her self-harm issues in the past.

** "All Night Duo's Night" is an irregular live series of Chan and Chichi, who are known for not sleeping much - Chan is producing and Chichi is choreographing and studying for college. During some of these late-night get-togethers, they decide to do a short livestreams.

[maxwell-grant]

So, as a lover of superheroes, supervillains, super-science ETC, i've had Venture Bros on the mind recently, for reasons that should be obvious, and my mind has run into an intersting question I kinda want to pick your brain on: Why does Venture Bros work. Like, it's a show that is absurdly cynical and dark and bleak. It's comedically dark, but sitll dark. Downright mean-spirited a lot of the time. And normally, I find that kind of cynicism very dull, but...For some reason, here it feels like it works. Maybe it's just the sense of affection, of real love for classic 60s cartoons and superhero comics sprinkled throughout, but...I don't know, it feels like it should make me as angry as something like Velma does but it just doesn't. I don't know why. ANy thoughts

I said as much that a lot of that has to do with the fact that the show stuck around, and the characters were developed so vividly, that the creators had to answer the "...okay, so now what?" process, that usually stops those kinds of mean dark parodies right on their tracks when they run out of cheap shots to take. But honestly, going back and rewatching it? Venture Bros was always going to go there, the whole Jonny Quest parody thing just did not last past Season One, hell you could argue it didn't even really last past the pilot or midway through S1. By episode one of Season 2, the show had gestated into it's own thing. The show was allowed to grow, and change, and develop. It got to move past itself and say goodbye to old favorite ideas and say hello to new ones, it got to breathe new life into itself with the soft-reboot of Season 6 and keep being so much more with every new season.

The artbook goes into this quite a lot, actually, with Jackson talking about how Venture Bros started as a one-off gag observation about how Jonny Quest ripped off Tom Swift, and then became a concept when he realized he could fit all of his unused ideas for The Tick and superhero parodies and weird comic ideas. He and Doc Hammer actually specifically address how the parody element faded and why:

I like the pilot. It isn't the show that we made. but I like the pilot. The pilot was made with a different concept. I can watch it and not tie it into Venture Bros. I can go, "Okay, here are these characters in their first bid for comedy,", and it had moments when we both said, "Yes, we will perpetuate these moments. This is who these characters are." And it had moments of single-beat pilot jumps. It was fine. It was not the show that we kept writing, because we couldn't.

There's something about a straight parody that I think has a cap. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe people can write a parody forever, but I think you can only make so many jokes on one thing for a certain amount of time before you go, "We have to develop the world that these people are in.". It needs a revolving door.

You would need to approach it like Harvey Birdman, which said, "We're going to take every character we can get a license for, bring them onto the show, and have them do their thing in our world so we can demystify all the characters you remember from your childhood". It's a great straight-up parody. But if you take Sealab 2021 - that had nothing to do with the original. They took these drawings, and they said, "These are totally different people. We're going to give them their own different world, their own language, characters", and that worked.

We were leaning towards that. Venture Bros was even weirder because we said, "Let's make this world rock solid and deep and long and have just an abundance of information. Let's have the jokes come from everywhere, and the speed is hard to keep up with. You have to watch it twice". And that was nothing that Jackson and I talked about. Let's make this smart, rich and meaningful, and hope that other people have our sensibility and eventually get it. - Doc Hammer, Go Team Venture!: The Art and Making of The Venture Bros.

There's even this quote from Jackson regarding one of the earliest attempts made in trying to figure out the show's look and design where it was supposed to be animated in CG at Will Vinton Studios, and it was intended to look gorgeous as well as outrageously expensive and within six months everyone aboard had left and Jackson's time in The Tick was up so he had to get production on the new thing moving along. And he describes what wound up being a pretty effective summation of the show post-animation bump;

"Screw the bad-on-purpose sixties Marvel thing. Screw irony. Isn't it way more subversive to do this smart-ass, darkish comedy but have every aspect of it look gorgeous?

That's what got me thinking that it's way cooler to make things well and beautiful than to try to make them crappy on purpose - Jackson Publick, Go Team Venture!: The Art and Making of The Venture Bros.

Most if not everything that makes the show work, that makes it's character work, you can trace pretty directly from that process, of where the show started versus where it ended. It's Rusty Venture becoming a more complicated character and less of a mean caricature. It's Brock Samson needing things to do besides being the action badass who kills armies of disposable henchmen, and the show needing to move past him and make him so much more as a person. It's in how the show was originally conceived in a villain-of-the-week format and The Monarch was a throwaway gag character for the pilot, but The Monarch's defined personality and shtick worked well enough that it made it much easier and more rewarding for them to just go back to him for most episodes, until he wormed his way into becoming the show's other protagonist. It's Hank and Dean growing past literally and textually interchangeable and disposable Hardy Boys pastiches into actual people, distinct people, people who can carry their own plotlines and take center stage and actually be The Venture Brothers as something more than just a throwaway gag concept.

I'm certainly not saying it works for everyone, or that it works 100% of the time, again rewatching the show is putting a lot into perspective for me and a lot of jokes kinda did just age abysmally, but the show knows what it's doing enough to skirt by and avoid a lot of catastrophic pitfalls that usually happen with similar projects.

And really I'd say the main reason it works is, and it's never really just one reason, is because it was, and is, a painstaking labor of love founded on a marriage by two geeks (I'm not even exaggerating, that's how the two described their partnership at least a few times) shooting the shit at a treefort for nights on end, getting to do all these dumb voices that you only get to do with friends, laboring extensively for years on making this thing they'd created the best that it possibly could be, something they put all of themselves into again and again. It's them making a dozen different comedy duos voiced by themselves and finding ways to make each distinct so they can fit in all these dumb and lovely little conversations and skits, it's that combination of their skills and preferences and even disagreements. It's got that Asterix thing where the work is so inseparably intertwined with the partnership that made it, that the work's growth over time is tied to.

So honestly the best way I can summarize why I think the Venture Bros works is because it was 19 years of Jackson Pollock and Doc Hammer at AstroBase doing exactly this, just replace the cartoon sound effects with deep cut pop culture riffs and in-depth earnest extrapolations of why the comic books and cartoons they love and obsess about are deeply stupid on a fundamental level and why this something great that you can spin endless stories and scenes out of, actually no keep the over-the-top battle sound effects, those are equally important.

"Jackson and I, we'd go every day and talk and laugh and get to know each other and not even talk about the show, but just find out what our sensibilites were. It was like the process of falling in love"

We played darts and made up these little skits, much of it became The Venture Bros. It was all kind of based around this idea that Aquaman and Black Manta were not who they were but people that were much chattier and more social. It's almost like what The Monarch and Dr Venture became, actual people that have these bizarre jobs: chaser and chasee. This strange bureaucratic relationship with the paradigm of villain and hero.

I'm a goofball and name shit. Of course I named my studio. We took over the place and AstroBase as this entity - a really filthy fucking painting studio - became a creative tree fort. Owning the AstroBase is one of the things that made The Venture Bros.

A place where we could go at two in the morning and scream at the top of our lungs that had nothing to do with commerce. It was a clubhouse. A pure idiot invention. And if we wanted to stay up all night making costumes or rubber swords, we just did. - Doc Hammer - Doc Hammer, Go Team Venture!: The Art and Making of The Venture Bros.