The curtains will close, but the story will go on!

AUTISM RESPONSE: Rubber ducks and other rubber bath toys can accumulate mold on the inside because of small holes underneath where moisture becomes trapped. The mold often goes unnoticed because it's not visible from the outside.

'goon' -linguistic drift gave her a new meaning. i hope her new life is good for her. i miss her.

'henchman' -too gendered. can be shortened to 'hench' in a pinch, but lacks punch.

'servant' -too domestic to apply to all those who serve evil.

'underling, subordinate' -this one only works if they get off on being beneath you and/or you don't properly pay your workers.

'associate' -this one's good for grizzled mercenaries or lone agents but doesn't work good for broad swathes of an organization.

'slave' -same as underling but more intense. really fun for some of the group. unsavory for others in a way that limits the scope of the thing.

'thrall' -only really applies if you're brainwashing them and that's not something i've learned how to do en masse yet

'flunky, toady, stooge, lackey' -these are just insulting, and that isn't conducive to a healthy work environment. imagine going to work and your job title is 'stooge'.

'acolyte' -works for those that worship you, but again. lacks the scope.

'supporter, follower' -unspecific and vague

'assistant, helper, aide' -not sinister at all. just means you're doing things for me. swagless in this manner. could be good if used to describe someone who's so clearly more that as a way to emphasize their obedience via understatement, but that's only useful for a few members of the organization. and even then, 'associate' works better.

i feel like tenna going to mettaton’s has such potential for whump, specifically because he came alone.

like obvs, theres the whole “extroverted guy who is terrified of being abandoned by others is suddenly all alone in an unfamiliar place”. scale that by whatever crumbs of reconciliations or goodbyes he was able to squeeze in. that wont mean a lot when he puts on a good show and there’s nobody there. no pippins gambling, no shadowguys playing, no zappers, no shuttah, no weather, not even mike. mike, who promised to always be there for him. always.

…he should be used to disappointment by now

and yea, the emotional whump is harrowing, but the physical whump?

there’s nobody else around. if something needs to get done, he’s the one that has to do it. including equipment maintenance and any self-repairs. it doesn’t matter if his shoulders still hurt, if he really wishes that he’d gotten ralsei or an ambyulance or someone to take a look at it before he left. he doesn’t know any healing magic, and, regardless of if he knows how to fix them himself, he’d need both hands and a mirror to do it.

which isnt helped by mettaton’s tv habits. the dreemurrs were a family of four, two working adults and two school-aged kids. for the most part, there was the morning news, then a long break until the after-school block, then a gap for dinner (which tenna loved to tune into), and perhaps a pre-bedtime showing that would end with a sleepy “goodnight tenna” as the family went up to bed. sure, sometimes someone would come down at midnight to put on a comforting VHS and get their mind off of a nightmare (or an argument, in the months leading up to the divorce). and sure, there was the occasional marathon as people got sick, or on snowy/rainy days. but for the most part tenna had regular breaks. and on the odd days he didnt, well, its not like he’s doing everything himself. the studio will keep working even if tenna’s busy with the lightners. and if there’s something truly urgent, then mike knows how to get his attention. or how to drag out a commercial break long enough to give tenna a chance to eat and recharge.

mettaton, as a bored homebody who’s used to having the internet at his fingertips, marathons constantly. its more common for these marathons to end in tenna collapsing then from mettaton being satisfied. sometimes, as he’s fading, tenna’s jolted by annoyed strikes to his casing or tugs at his antenna (especially his broken one), as mettaton tries to figure out why the signal is suddenly turning to static. most times, metta will turn tenna off after he faints, but there’s definitely at least one incident where tenna regains consciousness to find he’s been left on the whole time (perhaps bc metta got called away and forgot to turn him off).

tenna already strikes me as the overworking type, and this situation would not help those habits. what he needs is a hearty meal and to sleep for twelve hours, what he’ll get is scattered grazing, a coffee, and his tail plugged into an extra-long extension cable to at least hold charge while he runs around the mini-studio, even if he’s not taking a long enough break to recharge.

but its not like he can complain. after all, isnt this what he asked for?

unfortunately, i think the path to recovery/a semi-happy ending lies in mettaton throwing tenna away because he’s not working, and susie finding him and squirreling him back to castle town before he can get taken to the dump (or however the town handles electronic waste). would tenna even be aware enough at the time to realize that his biggest fear actually happened? or would that only be something he realizes as he tries to piece together how he went from the ghost house to castle town?

Using the jumpscare of the Nintendo Direct as a sign to finally post this lol

pack it up boys we've made a social blunder

let's run that again

one more time normal style

I'm going to become a statistic

further proof god is out to get me

it's because I tore my acl senior year

I couldn't do it for religious reasons

my ex took my talent in the divorce