...InkDuke//PenPrince...

Woahh I actually never noticed this; that's so cool (and very literal what the heck)! You'd think a guy like him would be a little more polished than everyone else, but no---all he does differently is wear a tie. I love how he very clearly has a superiority complex but the TCR kept sprinkling in all these suggestions that he really is no different than everybody else.

I posted Chapter 12 of "Careful, You Weegie Bam!" just now on ao3 and I'm living the dream! It's the engine for which the rest of the piece is kept in motion (but like imagine if it violently shook everything else into motion). After that, [13] contains the scene that made me decide to sit down and write the whole thing in the first place, [14] contains the very first scene I conceived (while adding context for how they got there, I stumbled across the scene from [13]), [15] is [15] what can I tell you, and by [16] and [17] we're tying loose ends.

I think it's safe to say that I've gotten to "that part" in my piece in terms of uploading (just as I had in drafting back in like... February I think(?) and planning back in October I think)---by all means, the part I was writing for.

Next thing you know you've already obsessed over like 6 different sweaty middle-aged Scottish men and the hyperfixation still won't end cause lowk it's been a while since you've been obsessed with the first sweaty middle-aged Scottish man and tbh you miss him.

Why must a puppet have 6 unique variations of one spoken line all make it into the game?

What's more interesting is that "Get out! Get out!" is not special in this sense; it might have the most iterations by 1 or 2 versions, but Trots---much more than the other puppets---has a tendency to repeat himself over and over again. "You shouldnae be here!" is a favourite of his, as is "Stop hiding" to an even greater degree. Funnily enough, these multiple variations of the same line are not interspersed throughout the experience. If you're fucking around with him and he's telling you to "Stop hiding!" then that's all he'll say for the next ten minutes (or however long until he's gone far enough to forget the whole deal)---likewise for "Get out! Get out!" and "You shouldnae be here/you're not supposed to be here."

It gets me thinking about how Trots' subconscious tendency to repeat himself over and over has to do with how much he got overlooked by the crew---that and how disaster struck when no one listened to this guy, despite him being right in the end (and probably in part to Caz sticking around no matter how many times he tells me to "get out!")

Hey guys. Allow me to yap about Muir and my headcanons for a little bit.

So as we all know, Muir suffers a very real case of separation anxiety---and as a puppet, had some unfinished business... regarding his separation anxiety of course (such is why abandonment is all he thinks about in his puppet state).

What I find interesting is taking this in context with Innes' treatment of him. While yes, I won't deny that they are definitely really good friends who both treat each other well and simultaneously poorly, both ways around, we need to talk about Innes' tendency to push Muir around (and also his jabs at him, to an extent). Like yeah, my man is inexperienced and can't lift pipes correctly but at least he's doing work while Innes is sitting there smoking, just watching him. It gets me thinking about how much Innes is able to push him around---how much Muir lets him.

Of all things, it seems like Muir's honestly uncanny joy is somewhat rehearsed and insincere. He's protective of what he has with Innes (i.e., cheerfully asking Caz to shoo in the intro cause they're alright and he can handle Innes by himself! Maybe I'm reading too much into it but that evidence is there) because he's not at all willing to lose it.

In my headcanons, his wife left him after having his two sons (source: he has a bunch of photos of his sons and nothing of his wife. Who the fuck does that if not cause you'd rather forget your wife?) and much earlier in his childhood, his father left him as well (source: I just get the vibes; i dunno. Do with that what you will). Perhaps we can say that part of the reason why Muir's personality turns on his head as a monster is because he's been living under some level of pretense for a while. He wants to appear pleasant to others---to have some say in the matter---so that they stay with him.

If anyone rubs him off the wrong way, he can't hold any grudges; he just has to smile and move on. He's stuck on a tiny platform in the middle of the vast sea, anyway---what choice does a man have but to forgive and forget? People can push him around but he can't lash back; deep down, he can't let himself have enemies. He wants friends. So when he gets a closer friend out of the whole bunch, he'll do anything to protect what they had. Sure, Innes might push his buttons from time to time, but it's all in good fun, right? He can't lash out on him because that would be uncalled for! And what about everything else they had? He can't just throw that all out!

Although deep down, he's been having this suspicion that despite all of that work, Innes sees none of it and is trying to move on---to make other friends (particularly with the new electrician who came in like a couple months ago)... For the weeks leading up to the disaster, he's been subconsciously incredibly worried (losing sleep, too, if you look at his under-eyes) that all his "holding on" was for nothing; that Innes will drift towards Caz at the end of the day and leave him in the dust; that once again, he'll be alone. Of course, he does all he can to stem this possibility. If Innes is thinking of letting Caz under his wing, then Muir will lift his pipes in the worst, most dangerous way until Innes gets the memo that he's not ready to be left alone. If Innes starts bossing him around more than usual, then he has to accept every blow with grateful enthusiasm. He does anything and everything but actually communicate his fears with Innes---because what if that just drives him away? What a terribly predicament to be in, but he keeps holding on in the hopes of something better---that his efforts are working and above all, Innes will stay.

It's only when Muir needs him more than ever in his life (when his body is mutating before him, he is experiencing the worst pain of his life, and he reaches out to Innes) that he finally snaps. After *everything,* when Muir extends his hand (or so, that's what he thinks he's extending), Innes just takes off and runs away. Finally, he gets it---and it only took a horrific, otherworldly fate for him to realize: all of his efforts were for nothing. He suppressed all his negative thoughts/attitudes for the sake of appearing agreeable, all for nothing. He dropped grudges upon grudges for people who, at the end of the day, took off and left him when he needed them most---so what was the point in all of that?

There was no point---only wasted time, wasted energy, and lost sleep; now he is paying the price, and it pisses him right off. He definitely still pleads and tries to play the pity card, but fundamentally he's snapped past the point of no return.

(GORE//DISFIGUREMENT//PARTIALLY REVIVED AU)

No cause imagine instead of going on your planned Christmas vacation with your twin grandkids, Cadal puts you and your platform under notice for underdelivery and traps you in the middle of the ocean over Christmas with a bunch of sweaty Scottish men (who are also pissed about having to stay over Christmas with no bonus) while tightening your schedule cause seriously where is our oil. Not only that but imagine on Boxing Day you're busy chewing out one of said sweaty Scottish men for secretly being on the run from the police and threatening police presence on the Beira when you get a call from the drilling personnel who are like "Rennick??? Rennick, there's something in the way of the drill, Rennick..."

He probably tried and failed many times to get to that point (ranting about it CONSTANTLY to his colleagues) and many things must have gotten in the way before this point. Poor Trots---he kept trying to speak up and spark positive change only to get shut down.

It's got me thinking about how crude & rude/down in the mud he is despite managing the Beira with his superiority complex. He works; thinks he's above everyone else despite talking poor about his employees as would a peer, using the most colourful language of the bunch, and referring to employees by nickname?!

Hi guys. Seeing as I've got chapters [09] and [10] of CYWB wrapped and ready, please entertain me while I yap and lose my sanity CAUSE HOW HAVE I HEARD NOTHING ABOUT THIS?? DOES THIS CHANGE EVERYTHING?

---So I was very very slowly inching through my first actual playthrough of SWTD (we're talking over 12 hours and I just got up to the Accommodation Roof) when I entered the washroom by the transformed crew lounge and found these bloodied and feral handprints near the floor, just by the entrance to the washroom. Being as incredibly normal about Trots as I am, I immediately thought "Trots?? Trots! That has to be Trots!!" and ran up to them, crouched, and investigated further---when this little gremlin of mystery and doom graced my eyes.

TW: pictures of bloody SWTD horrors/growths/whatever the fuck this is I don't even know any more a-coming!

Plus, turning up your brightness might really help (it is so incredibly dark in this game)

Like yes you could make the case that he could have brought them and just become a shell of himself on arrival; he doesn't care about his appearance anymore; can't look at himself in the mirror; he's too busy overworking himself to distract from his constant anxieties that all he can do at the end of the shift is fall into bed and black out; basically is living like a prisoner which is hella ironic etc. but hear me out: the former is funny. It's just too goofy.