#plantasm

Hello everyone, my name is Angelica/Angel and today I’m gonna be talking about Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm specifically about Frylock, because I have THOUGHTS.

Let me just start by saying this:

I absolutely adore this movie. I could watch it a hundred times and never get tired of it. But every single time, without fail, Frylock’s arc hits me right in the chest. Because this man this floating, glowing, hyper-intelligent saint has been used, taken for granted, and emotionally starved for YEARS, and Plantasm finally shows how deeply that’s affected him.

Frylock is a giver surrounded by takers. Period.

Let’s break it down together <3

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Neil

Neil doesn’t see Frylock as a friend. He doesn’t see him as a person.

He sees him as a resource a walking, talking power source with a brain he can exploit. He literally orchestrates Frylock’s vulnerability by damaging his original shell, then swoops in with a “solution” that benefits him. It’s manipulation dressed up as opportunity.

And Frylock, who has spent his entire existence being the responsible one, the caretaker, the problem-solver, finally gets a taste of being valued or at least he thinks he does. So he clings to it. Because no one else in his life has ever given him that.

That scene where he says:

“For the first time in my life, I feel valued, respected, actually liked. I feel like I have a friend.”

That line DESTROYED me.

Because he means it.

Because he’s never had that before.

Because he’s so starved for basic emotional reciprocity that even Neil’s fake corporate affection feels like water in a desert.

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Shake

Shake doesn’t care about Frylock’s intelligence. He doesn’t care about Frylock’s feelings. He doesn’t care about Frylock’s jewel, his inventions, his boundaries, his sanity, nothing.

Shake uses Frylock for:

- free housing

- free food

- free problem-solving

- free cleanup after his disasters

- free emotional labor

Shake is allergic to responsibility, and Frylock is the nearest responsible adult, so he latches on like a parasite. And Frylock just… takes it. Because he’s used to being the one who holds everything together.

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Carl

Carl doesn’t really hate Frylock, but he doesn’t value him either.

Carl’s relationship with Frylock is basically: “Hey man, fix my problem, but don’t expect me to care about you as a person.”

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Meatwad

Meatwad loves Frylock deeply. But it’s a childlike love.

He sees Frylock as a dad, a protector, a guide.

But he doesn’t understand Frylock’s emotional needs.

He can’t give Frylock the validation he’s missing.

And Frylock knows that.

That’s why whenever he snaps at Meatwad, he immediately apologizes.

He doesn’t want to hurt him.

He doesn’t want to be the bad guy.

He wants to be loved, but he doesn’t know how to ask for it. That’s gentle dad energy. That’s a man who has been carrying the emotional weight of the entire household for decades.

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Frylock deserves better.

He deserves to feel the way he thought Neil made him feel but for real.

And the fact that he never gets that?

The fact that he’s constantly surrounded by people who drain him?

The fact that he’s the emotional backbone of the show but never gets emotional support back?

It breaks my heart.

Because Frylock is the character so many people like us relate to the responsible one, the fixer, the one who keeps everything from falling apart while everyone else gets to be chaotic and carefree. The one who gives and gives and gives, and rarely gets anything in return.

Plantasm didn’t just make Frylock funny.

It made him tragic.

And it made him real.

My attachment to this character and how he speaks to me.

When I talk about Frylock, I’m not just talking about a character from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. I’m talking about someone who feels like a mirror. Someone whose struggles hit way closer to home than a comedy show ever had any right to.

Frylock is the emotional backbone of the Aqua Teens, but he’s also the one who gets the least emotional support in return. He’s the fixer, the caretaker, the one who cleans up everyone else’s disasters. He’s the one who keeps the house running, keeps the chaos from swallowing everyone whole, and tries really tries to be the voice of reason in a world that refuses to listen.

And that’s exactly why he speaks to me.

Because I know what it feels like to be surrounded by people who take and take and take.

I know what it feels like to be the responsible one, the one who holds everything together, the one who gets leaned on but never leaned with.

I know what it feels like to give so much of yourself that people forget you have needs too.

So when Frylock finally gets a moment in Plantasm where he thinks someone values him really values him it hits me hard. That scene where he tells Neil:

“For the first time in my life, I feel valued, respected, actually liked. I feel like I have a friend.”

That line isn’t just dialogue to me. It’s a gut punch. Because you can hear the loneliness in it. You can hear how long he’s been waiting for someone to see him, not just use him. You can hear how badly he wants to feel appreciated, even if it’s coming from the wrong person.

And that’s where Frylock becomes more than a character he becomes relatable in a painfully real way.

Shake uses him for convenience.

Neil uses him for profit.

Carl barely acknowledges him.

Meatwad loves him, but in a childlike way that can’t meet Frylock where he is emotionally.

So Frylock ends up being this incredibly giving, incredibly patient, incredibly intelligent person who rarely gets anything back. And that’s why I connect with him so deeply. Because I’ve been there. I’ve felt that. I’ve lived that dynamic of being the one who cares, the one who tries, the one who apologizes even when I’m the one hurting.

Frylock deserves better and part of why I love him so much is because I see the parts of myself that also deserved better.

Plantasm didn’t just make me laugh. It made me feel seen.

And Frylock is the reason why.

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Thank you so much for reading this rant and have a wonderful day my lovelies ! 🧡

Apocalypse shake time!!!!!!! I enjoyed drawing the body anatomy is fun for me 💅

Pistachio flavoured eternity

Pairing: Vamp!Master Shake/Reader

Slight NSFW/hinted NSFW

Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Plantasm (2022)

In case you missed it, I am currently making progress on my long ass story/writing for the Aqua TV Show Show AU which is definitely my favorite out of all the Aqua Teen AU’s. Please feel free to take a look at the sneak peek I posted ((18+ ONLY PLEASE, MINORS INTERACTING WITH THAT POST WILL BE BLOCKED))!!! When I finally get all the volumes done, I’d like to potentially write more stories for the different AU’s.

((QUICK NOTE IN REGARD TO THE PLANTASM AU: it will also feature a story about a separate apocalypse alternate timeline. It’s also going to be a rewriting because I’m not a big fan of the original Plantasm film.))

NYCC 2022: Exclusive Interview with Carey Means and Dana Snyder, the voices behind Aqua Teen Hunger Force’s Frylock and Master Shake

What do you get when you pair an addictive box of fries with an attractive milkshake? Well, on paper, you get a classic combo. Fries and a shake. It’s the fucking American standard and has been since who knows when? Onscreen, it’s actually way more delicious than that. Carey Means who plays the very even-keeled, zen-like Frylock, and Dana Snyder who plays the very fly-off-the-handle like Buddy…