#SERIAL NAPPERS

[wfodicks]

#670: CARL UNEGBU AND THE SERIAL NAPPERS

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/m6hudwe8hisfm2jv/wfod041524e.mp3 a couple music lawsuits…. a nascar fight…. the king of cola tries yacht club cola: 6.1 serial nappers…. after the break we talk to author carl unegbu about his new book “comedy goes to court” which you can get here. we also talk about kat williams, ai, kelly carlin and more! check out carl’s blog here. potw: mnm’s in…

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#author #CARL UNEGBU #comedy #COMEDY GOES TO COURT #jodie b #mcgruff the crime dog #MNM&039;S #NASCAR #po boys podcast #PODCAST #SERIAL NAPPERS

[just-a-jade]

Did someone say its time for a nap?

Me...... I said it was time for a nap

#sleep #nap #nap time #daytime sleep #serial napper #always tired #anemic human #sleepy

[tactax-art]

Red Robin: Serial Napper in action Red Hood: just wants you to try some shit, come on, make his day, it'll be fun, promise

#dc comics #jaytim #jason todd #red hood #tim drake #red robin #dc batman

[solomons-finest-rum]

What about waking up sleepy Alfie. How he'd sound and smell. And FEEL.

Hi love! 🥰🥰🥰

Oh boy, the thing I headcanon most about the man is that he doesn't really sleep.

I know he has the appearance of a roughly shaven bear, but despite that I don't think he's approaching sleep (or other necessary human functions) with much regard.

He's a god now, remember.

Anyway, he seems like a serial napper to me and waking him up would unfortunately be relatively easy.

He has a habit of instinctively reaching for his gun when woken up particularly abruptly, so all in all I wouldn't really recommend startling him.

He'd sound grumpier than usual and his voice would be even raspier, that's for sure.

He might throw in a couple creative profanities to spice things up and of course he'd like to know the reason for waking him up at the ungodly hour of four o'clock in the afternoon.

It would be really easy to get on his good side again, though, if you'd just sat on his lap and told him it was because you missed him.

The man is nothing if not forgiving to his darling girl, I assure you.

#peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinders x reader #alfie solomons fanfic #alfie solomons x reader #alfie solomons imagine #tom hardy fanfic #tom hardy imagine #tom hardy x reader

[soaringpigeonshovel]

funny how itachi, yamato and kakashi all tried to speedrun becoming old men.

itachi is an old guy who stares into the distance all day. sometimes he comments on the weather. he can sense storms even if they're preceded by clear weather. no-one is quite sure if he's all there.

yamato is an old guy who's a bit stiff. he does his little job with an understated passion. he likes woodworking and diy builds. he could probably write a book about joinery if it ever occurred to him.

kakashi is an old guy who's a serial napper. when he's not napping he's walking his dogs. sometimes he plays little jokes on people who approach him. leave him to read his stupid books in peace.

#child-anbu to old man pipeline #kakashi #yamato #itachi #naruto thoughts

[serendertothesquad]

"Wordsville" and the Problem with Cash-Cow Copies

[note original day of creation was February 15, 2024. just...just for reference. trust me bro.]

Hello.

Tonight I am in a silly mood fueled by sleep deprivation.

That means you all get an introspective blog that I will complete within a week and then ask "why'd I write that?"

So here's what's on Seren's lovely table of discussion tonight...

Put...put away the glasses. You don't need your glasses. This is the highest-quality thing I can get.

But et voila. A little project in the works called Wordsville.

Now, at this point you might be asking why I'm referencing "cash-cow copies" in the title. And whoo-hoo...oooooh...well, I don't want to make this some kind of clickbait blog, so I might as well perfect the atomic bomb in five minutes and land it on you folks.

What if I were to tell you that this is a blatant, shameless, slap-a-digital-coat-on-it-and-call-it-a-day copy of Odd Squad?

Ahhh, see, now I have you intrigued. Hopefully. If you are, then peep down below and let me discuss things a little more in-depth for you non-believing hacks asking me if I'm borderline insane.

So to put things in perspective, allow me to explain what Wordsville is, starting with my own personal summary.

Wordsville is an up-and-coming episodic (not to be confused with serialized, that's a whole 'nother ballgame) TV series that is produced (and will later be distributed) by Sinking Ship Entertainment and is made with assistance from WNET, a PBS station located in New Jersey, and TVO Kids, PBS Kids's girlfriend from Canada that's definitely real.

It was announced back in October of last year with a press release from Kidscreen, which didn't give much info aside from the following blurb:

Wordsville stars two child detectives on the hunt for missing words that are causing chaos in their town.

Sounds a little familiar, don'tcha think? Two kid detectives, finding something missing...and that "something missing" is causing chaos where they live?

Oh, but if you think the similarities end there, then no. No the absolute fuck they do not. I've got my bathing suit on and God damn it if I'm not gonna jump all the way in the pool instead of dippin' my little toes in there.

Doing a little bit of digging reveals more tidbits from a casting call for the series. It's rather wordy (ayyyyyy I did a funy), so let's take it piece by piece and discuss accordingly.

Wordsville is a town populated entirely by kids

A town that is populated entirely by children? Now c'mon, surely that doesn't ring a be-

...Ah. Whaddya know. Yes it does.

And with the adults as useless and idiotic as they are, it might as well be a town full of solely children. Next question.

and it’s a place where words matter. A lot. Every kid citizen has a special connection to words. And that means that if something happens to a word, there are far-reaching consequences.

A special connection to words? Like how there are children who have a special connection to normalcy? Stopping, oh, I dunno, hypothetically speaking...

...oddness?

Okay okay, I'm reaching just a wee bit here, but you can't read this and not tell me it echoes the funny kids math show to some degree or another. If an odd thing happens to a person, the whole town suffers. You've seen it. I've seen it. It's been the basis for many an A and B-plot. Must I elaborate? Good, because I don't plan on it. Continuing.

If the Main Street Baker bakes delicious donuts and they all mysteriously disappear, nothing else in Wordsville can taste good until they are returned.

Town Baker walked so Main Street Baker can sprint while blowing their lungs out.

If the Town Doctor’s soothing medication gets swiped, the whole town gets uncontrollably itchy until the medicine-napper is uncovered.

Ignoring the incredibly dark implications of this as well as the implications of this shoddy knockoff town having only one single doctor...

Dr. O walked so the Town Doctor can sprint while blowing their lungs out...over their massive paycheck.

(I technically could have also put New Dr. O too, but I'd like to spring for iconic OG's here. New Dr. O is neither iconic nor an OG.)

And let me remind you that "Torontonians get uncontrollably itchy due to something odd" would, by technicality, classify as an odd problem. Because...I mean, y'know...the cause is something odd happening. Doing shit with words is odd. This needs absolutely no explaining.

If the Local Scientist does an experiment with electricity and all the lights in town go out, they won’t come back on until the experiment wrecker is revealed.

Yep, I've taken shots of every IPA I can. We nearly hit the main character quadfecta, if you discount Dr. "bro thinks she's part of the team" O. All they needed was a bit about a high governing body and we'd round out the quad squad in proper with Oprah!

There's also a sneaky lil' crumb in the form of that blurb relating to Oona, who did, indeed, experiment with electricity in one episode and wound up proving why she can never take up Crossfit.

Hmmmnnnnext!

In each crime, the episodic word disappears and can’t return until the mystery is solved. The impact of the missing word is felt all over town.

This is another one of those things that I gotta wrench a hammy for in terms of comparisons, because about the only thing I can reasonably compare Odd Squad to is the second sentence.

See, here's the thing. You get oddness that happens to a person. Oftentimes, that oddness spreads to other people, whether directly (in the form of diseases and disorders) or indirectly (like the Town Baker's cakes being split in half, which wouldn't please Torontonians poppin' in for a whole cake and eyeing the display to get a feel for one). In a sense, normalcy disappears and, well, it can't return until [insert partner pair here] solve the case. It's kinda the entire schtick of Odd Squad as a franchise. It's formulaic, just like how Wordsville's "words disappear and nothing can be normal until the word returns" schtick is formulaic.

Is it a stretch? Perhaps. Mileage may vary. I think it's a bit of a stretch, personally. But hey, I'm a grown adult critiquing a ripoff of a kids STEM show. I shouldn't be talking. But I didn't start this fandom nearly 10 years ago just to let Sinking Ship's piss-poor attempt at really capitalizing on one of their biggest franchises sliiiiiide right by me on a floor smooth enough where I'm falling on my ass every 10 seconds.

Luckily, best friends and partners Sage and Chase are on the case and run the only detective agency in town. These tech-savvy sleuths solve mysteries entirely virtually because their reading, listening and digital literacy skills are their greatest strengths. Sage and Chase always catch their culprit and make sure everything is right with the word.

Now where in the McFuck do I start with this one? The PAW Patrol catchphrase thrown in complete with shared name? The fact that there is only one detective agency in the entire town? The fact that Sage and Chase are best friends as well as work partners? Or the pun that made me actively cringe in a way I haven't felt since Whitney told James she wanted to go on the lake?

I mean...this is about Odd Squad, so...I guess the second one sounds most plausible.

But that doesn't need explaining either. There is only one detective agency in town. There is one Odd Squad precinct per city or per state.

No, neither does the third bit. I already referenced Olive and Otto above. You should know what's up.

(I've also read that blurb five times now and...well...we'll get to the digital stuff in a bit. That just needs a whole side-set of word vomit.)

-------------------------------

In my digging of this series -- which, well, wasn't all that much -- I managed to find a few blurbs on our two main characters. The casting call for them, funny enough, called for, and I will quote this exactly, "talent to look 9."

As in, they want the actors to physically look 9 years old.

Which puts that qualifier in the same ballpark as Odd Squad UK's "talent must be Canadian but live in the UK". But at least that prerequisite actually had a legitimate earnest reason behind it, which is that the production needed to be Canadian in a lot more than just the "Canadian prodco works on a British series" sense. Hiring kids who have to physically look 9 years old and will probably be yoted onto the street the second puberty hits them like a truck is a practice not even the most egregious bosses of family-owned-and-operated businesses could pull off.

But enough about the qualifiers. Let's get started on our character comparisons and civil cidiscussion! (Oh the irony...)

And remember this: the casting call was handled by Larissa Mair Casting, who previously did casting for Odd Squad. So that means there will be tinny lil' crumbs of bonus material for me to dissect and discuss! Huzzah! Aw God why can't this happen for Odd Squad UK...man, I'm gonna have to go into my sobbing corner...

First up, we have Sly Sleuth, originally referred to as "Sage" here. I'll also be referring to him as "Sage" in this blog.

Sage is a great detective; thoughtful, extremely logical, and talented at getting information out of people.

Thoughtful of others. Logical. And can wrench information out of suspects like a badass.

Yep, we got an Olive that got hit with an Olando-fied beam. (And because half of you don't know who Olando is: Sage is meant to be a male Olive. I hope that clears things up for you.)

What else?

Nothing related to vocabulary or literacy gets by this investigator. Suspects can underestimate Sage but that is always a mistake. Sage doesn’t scare easily and won’t take no for an answer, traits that make an excellent detective.

You could tell me this was how Olive was meant to be written in "My Better Half", word for word, and I would honestly believe you. Right down to asking, "Her name was Sage in pre-production?"

About the only place I can draw the line here is at Olive not scaring easily. We don't know Sage's backstory -- and once again, this is an episodic series, so don't expect much in the way of plot, backstory included -- but Olive, at least, has a legitimate reason for all the times she covers her ears at loud noises or sharply reacts to something startling.

The former is because of The Censor-Friendly Bullet Massacre of '15.

The latter is because Dalila Bela marched straight out of a viewing of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and never looked back.

I...can't really say either applies to Sage. At least not yet. We'll have to see if Sinking Ship decides to bring Wordsville into its lil' multiverse that Odd Squad and Dino Dana and Endlings and Playdate already share.

Sage is also wise, which is why the name “Sage” is completely appropriate.

Sooooo does that mean his name is Sly because he's cunning like a fox?

Well then in other news, Olive is named such because she was inspired by the famous Law and Order character Olivia Benson. I have fifteen folders that back me right the hell up. Also I contacted Sinking Ship the other day, they explicitly told me.

No, no, but in all seriousness. Olive, too, is very wise. Historian buff, knows her shit about Odd Squad, doo-dah, doo-dah.

Anyway, next up we have Chase, who was renamed to "Gabby Gumshoe". (I'll be referring to her as Chase in this blog, as well.) Let's see what's on the chopping block for her in terms of our favorite food-loving, hella tall, crazy silly blorbo.

Chase is a fantastic detective, but is also goofy[,] funny, visually oriented, and, like the name suggests, loves the “chase”.

Now there's a man who got hit with a yassified beam, right there.

I'll leave it up to you folks whether you consider Otto to be "visually oriented". But in terms of "loving the chase"...yeah, I'd say that fits.

To lay it down: Otto is a rookie agent. Common sense would lead anyone to assume that he has an absolute blast solving odd cases and absorbing every bit of knowledge about Odd Squad that he possibly can. He finds out a villain's on the loose? He's right there, by Olive's side, workin' to catch 'em. He finds out oddness has run rampant throughout the town? He's right on that shit.

Chase, on the other hand, is someone I wouldn't call a rookie. It's made quite evident that she is, for all intents and purposes, seasoned. Seasoned enough that she manages to keep the detective agency she works for afloat and get approval from the others in Wordsville, Sage included. This, perhaps, is because she's not really meant to be an audience surrogate in the same way Otto is. Otto, at least for the first few episodes, serves as a way to ease the audience into Odd Squad and show them what the organization is and what they do without yoting them into it and leaving them asking "Where am I?" more times than a drunkard. Chase doesn't fill that role, because it could be argued that such a show like Wordsville doesn't really need an audience surrogate. Whether that's true, though, remains to be seen.

People tend to underestimate this investigator, but Chase often notices things like a chocolate stain when someone said they didn’t like chocolate or a squiggle of icing that turns out to be the antonym of the word they’re tracking.

Y' take Otto's...Otto's love of food...and y' put it in a gorl...and BAM you got a character.

...

That isn't a joke. It's dead-on serious. Even the casting call script pins Chase as a kid with a sweet tooth! It's just Otto but with a less diverse palate! Otto eats everything! This kid eats sweets! God sakes, give her some juice, make her Oprah, I don't give a shit, fucking hell I'm driving 50 minutes to Burger Ki-

Chase is also great with computers and incredibly artistic. A graphic note taker[,] Chase loves to draw, has a great eye for details, is a big fan of the “zoom in” function, and really enjoys creating animated re-enactments of Word Mysteries.

All right, we finally have somewhere we can draw the line.

No, not at being tech-literate. With being artistic.

Otto's artistic talent kind of varies throughout the franchise. In drawing on paper, he's pretty solid for an I-just-recently-turned-10-please-praise-me-year-old. In making paper airplanes, he's solid enough to take down a grown-ass man and rock his sunglasses when he's done for.

In computer drawing...well...if you can believe it, concepts like Ibispaint and Photoshop don't exist in the world of Odd Squad. (Okay, maaaaybe Photoshop does. I don't think it does. But it could be a good in-universe justification for it.)

We don't know Otto's digital artist merit because we never see him make any digital art. All of his art is solely non-digital. On Chase's side of things, she lives in an era where digital drawing is, like in real life, the norm. It's a contrast that might be one of the more glaring ones when it comes to comparing these two shows.

Now, as for the "creating animated re-enactments" schtick...if that isn't an excuse for Sinking Ship to work their animation magic after the Sandy Cheeks movie, then I honestly don't know what is. If you wanted to make the show animated, you could have made it animated. Would've been cheaper, too!

(And "Word Mysteries"...it's not as grating as Wild Kratts's "Wow Fact", but it's edging pretty close. I blame WNET. That's solely a PBS thing right there. TVO Kids would never.)

----------------

So we've gotten the discussion about the two main characters out of the way. Now we can dive into the heartier meat. The kind where's it's purple on the inside but you still digest it anyway.

I'm talking, of course, about the sample scripts- script. Singular. There is one script. Uno.

Now, lemme give you a bit of a rundown: casting calls for Odd Squad -- really, most shows, but this is a blog about Odd Squad -- often come with sample scripts. This is so talents can read their parts aloud for the camera and have the tape submitted to the casting agency for consideration. Odd Squad in particular has had quite an interesting ride with sample scripts, from entire episode plots being adapted into final products (with a bit of tweaking) to characters having names different than what they're named in the final product (which is the case with both Sly and Gabby). They're nothing on the scale of ABC Me dropping episodes earlier than PBS or shorts getting dropped as an alleged April Fools prank, but they're pretty damn good crumbs to chew on.

The sample script starts out with Sage and Chase on, of course, a video call. (Sinking Ship made a Zoom reference once. Pray they do not make another by the name of a friendly drug called "Speed" or that term for peeing known as a "Whiz".) Chase explains that she just gave her office chair's wheels a tune-up, which, of course, makes her hungry. Hungry enough that she declares a "cookie break" and immediately takes out a ginormous cookie from hammerspace that just made the European bakery down the street from me start sobbing. (Look, they make good cookies. Giant cookies. Cookies I need two hands just to hold properly. Trust me, it's- it's massive.)

However, when she bites into the cookie, she finds that it tastes absolutely gross -- "not sweet, not even sour". While she ponders if her body has forcefully rejected one of the best sweet treats known to humankind, Sage begins to grow suspicious and asks if it's a Word Mystery they need to solve.

Which is, coincidentally enough, when the Main Street Baker calls in a fit of hysteria, explaining that their "delicious donuts" are gone. And because we can't take enough from Odd Squad, we get a bit of "literal humor" in the form of the donuts both being delicious (probably) and them spelling the word "delicious" prior to their disappearance. After Sage explains what "delicious" means as well as what synonyms are, it's shown that the culprit also struck other pastries, up to and including gingerbread people, which Sage absolutely takes personally because he's a kid of pure culture who gives a big "fuck you" to holiday-specific treats being enjoyed only during said holidays.

Chase, in true Otto fashion, decides to take more bites of her cookie and instantly regrets it. Sage, in true...well...Clint Eastwood fashion (I shit you not, that's literally what it says in the script), declares that they need to find the word "delicious" and fix the pastries.

And...yeah, that's about it. Like I said, there's really not much to go on with casting call sample scripts. Especially not ones from Larissa Mair.

My conclusive thoughts on it, you ask? Well...they can try to hide it, but all it's doing is enforcing my point. From the Main Street Baker having donuts missing similar to how the Town Baker had bagels missing in "Soundcheck", to Chase being an idiot who is obsessed with food the same way Otto is (right down to his willingness to drink Odd Todd's pickle juice when it tasted gross in "Bad Lemonade"!), even down to the "literal metaphor" kind of humor as it applies to singular words. Am I stretching? Perhaps. But these supposedly insignificant pieces are just part of the bigger picture, the larger issue at hand in this long-winded piece.

------------------

The digital aspect of Wordsville is one of the ways they decided to put a twist on the precedent that Odd Squad set. And it's so blatant and in-your-face that it's on par with shoving a red flag in someone's eyes to blind them.

But here's the thing. The digital aspect been done. Amusingly enough, by the same company.

Lockdown is a show that fits right in with the others at the Shows-Made-During-the-COVID-Pandemic-About-the-COVID-Pandemic club. It was a way to capitalize on something in society that probably will never be relevant again until around 2050. Maybe even earlier than that, at the rate we're going.

I haven't seen it, so I can't speak much about it, but from my side of things it looks a lot like Unfriended if it took place during the pandemic and wasn't a horror movie and involved teens and not young adults/adults/I haven't seen the movie in many years bite me.

But the main difference between Lockdown and Wordsville, relevant to this editorial, is that Lockdown has a legitimate reason to be shot entirely on electronic devices. It's part of the plot. It works, I'm sure. For Wordsville, it makes no sense for the outline and isn't just limiting, but is downright insulting for something "rooted in the 21st century". It's good to be unique when making a show, but there's such a thing as trying too hard to be unique to the point where it's detrimental to your show's quality. Making the show be a digital-only angle isn't a smart move, especially for a detective procedural.

And if it's trying to differentiate itself from Odd Squad...well, do I got some bad news for you.

The show already did an entire Zoom parody in the span of an 11-minute episode.

And I still hate it with all the vitriol of an old woman who hates kids playing with beach balls in the yard pool. It sucks ass. It's entirely unneeded when you have three children sitting around the same table. I could vomit on you all day about it. But at least it's far more justified than Wordsville having its entire formula based on it. You can rip off a show without being limiting.

(don't. seriously. don't.)

------------------

Before we get to the conclusion, I need to dive deep into Odd Squad's own popularity and explain it a little more beyond just little "trust me bro" tidbits.

If you've been following it for as long as I have, then it's no secret that Odd Squad is one of Sinking Ship's cash-cow franchises. You've got the main series, six different spinoffs, a live show, a book...and I didn't even provide a whole damn list! Point being, it's huge. It doesn't have many roots in pop culture, but from a certain angle, it is an absolutely massive franchise that continues to grow, even in spite of its controversies.

Unlike works such as SpongeBob or Bluey, Odd Squad isn't popular enough to get bonafide ripoffs. The formula is relatively easy to copy, and if anything there are shows that have a similar premise but aren't even close to ripoff territory (K.C. Undercover, for example). It's just that, for all the ripoffs people have done of shows and movies over the years, the motivation for industry bigwigs in taking Odd Squad and running with it just...isn't there. I can connect it to Disney or Dreamworks or Viacom all I want, but at best they have a vague awareness of it that only goes as far as "oh, that's a thing, I guess". At worst, they see it as a pile of shit that would never turn a decent profit.

It could be argued that Sinking Ship wasn't all too well-known in the entertainment sphere up until Odd Squad came around. Looking at their resume doesn't show all too much in the way of what's popular. This is Daniel Cook, Roll Play, Playdate...they don't stick in your head, right? Yeah, none of them stick in my head either. Odd Squad was their first big hit for them, something that really helped them gain ground as a company. It's the one that's pretty much linked with Sinking Ship in news articles. Like husband and wife, but for the TV industry.

But to Hollywood bigwigs, that means about as much as finding a stick on the ground. I guaran-goddamn-tee Bob Iger is not going to put his grubby little hands on the funny kids math franchise and twist the hell out of it. The only way that's happening is if you run "Odd Squad, but make it Disney" through an AI generator. (Which, for the record, I have not done. You can't really replicate Odd Squad characters in animation without making them look like they walked out of yet another Law and Order spinoff that's far more kid-friendly.)

However, even with Odd Squad's varying popularity, there are shows that go just a little beyond having a similar premise to it but don't dive into ripoff territory. Sort of like a next step up.

A long time ago, a few friends and I in an Odd Squad Discord server were discussing the show Numberjacks. You know, that show that Jacknjellify may or may not have used as inspiration for Four's design? Yeah, that's the bitch.

The show has a few similarities to Odd Squad. You've got the focus on math, a system for exiting the couch headquarters that's similar to the tube system, and even the existence of kid agents and incredibly odd villains, one of which, need I remind you, Twitter tried to make into a sexyman for all of two days to varying degrees of success.

I will admit, I haven't seen Numberjacks in several years. In fact, the last time I saw it was when it was brought up as an Odd Squad ripoff. If I recall correctly, the episode that I picked to watch on a whim was "Seaside Adventure", wherein a few numbers take a vacation and trouble occurs. Or something like that. I really can't remember many details.

One thing I do remember, though, is distinctly thinking that I could see the Odd Squad similarities, but...it's not a ripoff. The series premiered in 2006. By that point, Tim McKeon and Adam Peltzman were off on their own ventures as they wrote for cartoons and other things. Thus, Odd Squad hadn't been birthed yet. If anything, Odd Squad took cues from Numberjacks, not the other way around -- but even with the existence of Odd Squad UK, we don't know that for sure. I don't even know how popular Numberjacks was in the UK. I'm a dumb lil' American, not a Daphne-Moon-esque English woman.

Since then, I haven't found anything that has come close to what Wordsville aims to accomplish. Granted, though, I have not looked very hard. I'm moreso keeping an eye on PBS to see if they're going to try and rip off Odd Squad rather than keeping an eye on any random B-lister studio. (And no, I'm not talking about WNET. They are a PBS station, but I'm referring to PBS as a whole entire network, not a sole affiliate.)

------------------------

So the question remains: is Wordsville an Odd Squad ripoff?

Yes. On multiple counts. Right down to the name inspo. Guilty as charged. Right to jail.

From it being for the 4-7 demo not unlike Odd Squad's own 4-8 demo, to Sage and Chase being referred to as "Word Detectives" in lieu of "agents", to it being a detective procedural not unlike Odd Squad and its spinoffs, to the synopsis of the show being described as having "a case rooted in a vocabulary lesson" similar to Odd Squad having episodes rooted in STEM lessons, to it actively encouraging the audience to solve mysteries along with Sage and Chase...to Sage and Chase having alliterative theme naming...

Yeah, safe to say, we've got ourselves a ripoff.

There's no denying that Odd Squad is a fantastic franchise. Even through all of its issues, including financial controversies, heavy criticism, and mistreatment from PBS, it has remained strong for nearly 10 years, and will stay strong for many more. Maybe one of these days, it will plant roots deeper into pop culture and become one hell of a phenomenon. We'll have to see.

But the fact that Sinking Ship Entertainment has to resort to borrowing a concept that is unique in its nature, a concept that has already been done, a concept that has been given life and creativity by the people who birthed it, and then try to pass it off as its own original IP is not a good look on them. It's been done similarly before with their other big franchise, Dino Dan -- key word being "similarly" because it's one show and three spinoffs focusing on different characters. That isn't the case with Wordsville, though.

Put it this way: it's a company ripping off not someone else's IP, like many other companies have done and continue to do. It's a company ripping off their own IP.

And really, it doesn't matter how it's done. Stealing is stealing. At the end of the day, all it shows is a complete lack of creativity and a complete craving for the almighty dollar. More so if it's a company stealing from themselves and passing it along as okay.

In spite of this, however, I am perfectly willing to give Wordsville a shot when it comes out. Not so much to see if it's good (though my curiosity is piqued), and definitely not to hate-watch (which has the opposite intended effect on a show or movie), but to see just how far Sinking Ship is willing to push the envelope in affirming viewers and industry buddies alike that this is not, by any and all accounts, a copy of Odd Squad. I want to spot similarities. I want to take whiskey shots until I can do a zoom-zoom to a hospital and then ask if they've got a bottle on board the rig. I want to give a full, I-watched-this-show-now-here-are-my-overall-final-thoughts addendum on the entire issue.

As of now, Wordsville has no narrow timeframe. All I know is that it's releasing this year, likely on TVO Kids in Canada. Whether PBS as a whole will adopt it into its roster -- and if anything, it'll be WNET-exclusive, otherwise we would've heard something about it at the TCA Winter Press Tour a few days back -- for American audiences remains yet to be seen. Rest assured, though, that I'll be keeping an eye on it and rushing to it as soon as the first episode drops. After that, I'll give a proper addendum so I can finally put this issue to bed. Along with myself. Revenge bedtime procrastination is a bitch.

Thanks for reading. This honestly started out as something silly, but then I became analytical. So you got a mix of both in this one. This may or may not be the norm. Day-by-day, y'know?

Seren out.

#seren speaks #odd squad pbs kids #odd squad #wordsville #sinking ship entertainment

[xsezzie]

Under Threat

Oopsie... more Kavetham with inspiration from cute anon hehe~

Work is kicking my butt lately so I have had less creativity flowing through me when it comes to proper fics, I apologise!

Warnings: It’s a tickle fic???

______________________________________________________________

Summertime in Sumeru meant hot and humid temperatures. Most city dwellers would flock to the nearby lakes or Port Ormos to cool off. All except the Scribe, who was a serial napper and ‘I am going to stay indoors’ when it came to this type of weather. Though, his roommate Kaveh was also suffering due to the extreme temperatures, having shed most of his outfit off at this point and spread himself across the couch, his legs and feet invading Alhaitham’s personal space, who in retaliation also laid across from him and placed his own feet in Kaveh’s lap.

It was no secret to a select few in Sumeru that there was something more between them, but they are both too stubborn to admit it.

“This position is making me feel hotter… get your legs off me…” Kaveh whined, nudging at Alhaitham’s feet in his lap.

“I am just returning the favour, seeing as you sprawled yourself out over me first.”

“You are a pain…”

“A pain you continue to be affectionate with?” Alhaitham smirked as Kaveh gave him the middle finger lazily, covering his pink face with his other hand.

The Scribe chuckled to himself and gently squeezed Kaveh’s ankle, meaning for it to be a gentle gesture. That is until the blond shrieked and kicked his leg into Alhaitham’s chest.

“W-What was that for!? I… don’t do that!!” The architect sat up in a huff, his face now red as he pouted.

“Huh…? Is that… not supposed to be affectionate…? I… oh.” Alhaitham, having caught on, began to scribble his fingers slowly over Kaveh’s soft ankles.

“H-Hey! Aaaahhh!!! S-Stahahahahaap!!!” The blond’s reaction was immediate, throwing himself back onto the couch, squealing and giggling, trying to kick Alhaitham. “Y-You know better than t-to tihihickle meehehehehee!!!”

“Ah, but I have never tested this spot before… I know your feet are ticklish though.” Alhaitham teases, he gets a tighter grip on Kaveh’s ankle and traces his nails along the soft soles. The sound Kaveh made could have possibly shattered a window, and it certainly caused Mehrak to jump up from its spot by the door, making a little angry face at Alhaitham.

“Look your weird toolbox is mad, be quiet or the neighbours will hear us~” 

“A-ALHAITHAAAHAHAHAHAM!!!!” Kaveh squirmed and kicked his legs as the assault on his soles and ankles continued, if he wasn’t already feeling the heat from the weather then he was definitely feeling it now. His face red with embarrassment and laughter, and his legs were in a firm trap, Alhaitham having wrapped his own around them to keep him in place.

“Whhhheeheheheeheheyyyyyyyy!!! MEHRAK HEHEHEHEELLLPP!!”

The poor toolbox was confused, looking back and forth between the two, eventually deciding that nothing was needed doing and it reverted back to its sleep-state. “Heh, looks like it doesn’t think you’re under any threat.” Alhaitham continued to spider his fingers along Kaveh’s soles.

“I AM UNDER THREAT! I AM UNDER THREEEAHAHAHAHAHT!!!”

Kaveh began jerking his entire body to try and escape the younger man's grip to no avail, picking up a pillow instead and smacking him with it while the ticklish sensations continued to travel up his legs from his feet. It was becoming too unbearable and he was getting desperate, why did his feet have to be so sensitive? Stupid Alhaitham with his stupid smirk on his face and his stupid strength because he secretly isn’t a feeble scholar…

Kaveh made a squeaking sound as Alhaitham focused on his arches, “NAHAHAHAT THEHEHEHEHEERREEE!!! F-Fuck off you ass!!” Through his tears of laughter the older genius finally realised he could start to tickle Alhaitham’s feet in return as they were right there wrapped around him. 

“T-Take this!” Kaveh weakly began to scribble the scribe’s soles in return, earning a soft chuckle from the younger man.

“Quihit that~” Alhaitham’s feet weren’t as ticklish as Kaveh but he could feel his grip loosening on his senior.

“N-No! Stop tickling me and I-I will stop tickling you!” Kaveh huffed, weakly trying to retaliate. He then suddenly had a wonderful idea… “Mehrak! Mehrak I am under threat! Get Alhaitham for me!” Kaveh pleaded with his toolbox companion who was idle on the floor, it perked up upon hearing its name called and made a curious emote on its small screen. “Mehrak grab his hands!”

Alhaitham found himself quickly restrained by Mehrak’s telekinetic abilities, leaving him highly vulnerable, “K-Kaveh… What is this? Don’t… Don’t even think about it….” 

“Don’t even think about what?”

“I am not falling for that… Do. Not. Tickle. Me.” Alhaitham tried to sound serious but his little smile was giving it away. Kaveh knows Alhaitham can be more ticklish when he is unable to stop it, so now was the perfect opportunity.

“Ah sorry my age must be affecting my hearing!” Kaveh teased before gently scritching the underside of Alhaitham’s toes. He immediately lets out a half covered snort and can’t help but kick his legs softly, “K-Kaveh! Pff- hnng- ugh stahap!” A soft squeak comes out as Alhaitham feels himself getting warmer, probably just from the hot summer day- definitely not the tickling. Kaveh’s nails were exploring other areas of his feet now and he couldn't hold it much longer, it also didn’t help that his arms were currently being restrained by his roommate's weird suitcase.

“K-Kaveheheh… s-stop that! Pff- Nohohoho!” The ticklish feeling on his arches now were becoming too much and a few soft squeaks escaped the younger man's mouth, he desperately tries to free his hands from Mehrak to cover his face but the telekinesis is strong.

“Nuh-uh Alhaitham~ No trying to escape now, not until I hear a proper laugh!” The blond softly rakes both of Alhaitham’s feet, the sensations traveling from his feet and through his whole body are too much and he finally gives in. 

“Pfffff- NAHAHAHAAA STAHAHAAAP!! Heheheheheh! Quihihit ihihit K-Kaveehhehehh!!!” The Scribe can only throw his head back and let out a raspy laugh with the occasional squeak, much to his dismay and Kaveh’s delight, “Aw is my junior a bit sensitive? Tickle tickle tickle!” The architect teases as he continues his ticklish attack on Alhaitham’s feet. 

“K-Kaveh I swear hahaha- Ahhh! D-Dohohohon’t!!” Alhaitham feels Kaveh’s fingers make their way up the back of his leg to his knees, “KAVEH Dooooon’t!!!!!”

“He finally gives in! I knew you loved it when I tickle you~”

“AHAHAHA! NOOOHHOHOHOO!”

“Ah-ha-hah- yes don’t you mean?” Kaveh smirks as he gets to see this softer and less restrained side of Alhaitham.

“AAAH!! OKAY OKAY!!! I GIVE I GIHIHIHIHIIIVE!!!” 

Kaveh seems to snap back into the reality that it is a really hot day, not realising how red and sweaty the two of them have become on the couch. He lets the scribe go and commands Mehrak to release his arms, of which Alhaitham immediately brings down to wipe his bangs out of his face. Kaveh can’t help but blush and think how good Alhaitham looks when his hair isn’t covering his eyes…

“Ah… heh sorry, but it was nice to have the upper hand in a tickle fight for once~” 

“You cheated… using your stupid toolbox…”

“Hey! Mehrak is not stupid! Don’t make me get it again so I can tickle you elsewhere!”

Alhaitham tossed one of the cushions at Kaveh’s head, “Not on a day like this… jeez I am sweating so much, I think a cold shower is in order… ugh.”

“Well, this is what you get for tickling me! You should have known better than to start this on a day like today…”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t be so ticklish.”

“Hey!”

#genshin impact tickling #kaveh #alhaitham #tickling #kavetham #haikaveh #genshin impact #tickle fic #lee!kaveh #lee!alhaitham #ler!kaveh #ler!alhaitham #and i guess mehrak counts as a ler in a way #what a sneaky suitcase

[stillslife]

                    ⋆    ◌    💿    MINJUN  .   mp3  ◞

i.   𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙨.

full  name.      minjun  rhee.    nickname.      minjun,  min.    gender.      cis  man.    pronouns.      he/him.    sexuality.      bisexual.    age.      25.    birthday.      november  3.    zodiac  sign.      scorpio.    occupation.      bassist  for  neon  nostalgia.     pets.      has  a  siamese  cat  named  bobby.    hobbies.      napping.  playing  with  his  cat.  exploring  abandoned  places.    likes.      horror  films.  winter.  coffee.  alcohol.  thunderstorms.  rock  music.   dislikes.      fruits,  vegetables,  anything  people  consider  'healthy'.  hot  weather.  hot  drinks.  anything  hot.    +.      passionate,  loyal,  resilient,  independent.    -.      engages  in  self-destructive  behaviour.  reckless.  procrastinator.    mbti.      entp.    alignment.      true  neutral.

ii.   𝙞𝙣-𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙝.

a  more  detailed  biography  to  be  added,  but  tldr:  minjun  had  a  p  unstable  childhood  because  of  his  parents'  crippling  gambling  addiction.....  he'd  become  a  v  volatile  product  of  his  upbringing,  what  with  his  self-destructive  tendencies...  despite  the  chaos  &  uncertainty,  though,  he  found  solace  in  music  +  playing  the  bass  ü

iii.   𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙨.

a  party  boy  for  sure…  he's  impulsive  and  practices  frequent  self-destruction  bc  he’s  bored  &  likes  2  push  limits,  which  makes  him  either  the  best  companion  during  a  late  night  rendezvous  or  the  worst  one,  depending  on  who  u  are loves  wearing  black  clothes....  but  he  has  this  particular  attachment  to  this  worn-out  band  t-shirt  (1992  bohemian  rhapsody  shirt)  he  got  from  his  grandmother  that  he  absolutely  refuses  to  part  w/,  no  matter  how  many  holes  it  develops  ... gum  chewer  🤢  always  seems  to  be  chewing  on  gum  ...  never  runs  out  of  gum!?!?!?! serial  napper...  he's  a  sleepy  guy!!!  could  literally  nap  anywhere.  whether  its  curled  up  in  a  dark  corner  of  the  rehearsal  room,  draped  over  a  beanbag  backstage,  or  even  standing  against  the  wall,  he's  almost  always  comfortable  enough  to  fall  asleep smokes  too...  it  keeps  him  calm! this  mf  has  a  tendency  to  put  things  off  until  the  last  minute...  honestly?  it  probably  stresses  everyone  out  that  being  said,  he  has  a  knack  for  finding  the  most  efficient  and  effortless  ways  to  get  shit  done

#*⠀/⠀about⠀!

[2ndsk8terboy]

got any muse headcanons?

1. He's bi

2. Is really bad about talking about feelings, so he expresses affection through actions.

3. On the note about feelings, he's a serial emotion bottler.

4. Got into trade school and started working out like crazy when Ramona dumped him

5. He went to trade school for HVAC or maybe like auto collision (Idk exactly what yet)

6. He didn't finish trade school cause he got an acting contract at the beginning of his senior year

7. He had to go back and get a GED too like a year before the scott fiasco

8. Probably still has a a decent relationship with his parents

9. Is usually super duper flat broke after paying for groceries bc he has to eat a lot to maintain his physique

10. When he back it up that dump truck goes BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

11. He wasn't actually that bad in school, he was a C and B average student

12. Really wanted to join Todd friend group so bad but they told him no cause he was a loser and it broke his lil heart

(If it seems like I have a lot of headcanons about his highschool experience, that's cause I'm in highschool)

13. When Todd and Ramona got together he (after making his resolutions after Ramona dumped him) relapsed and got a brief crush on both of them at once (the mspec experience or maybe just me)

14. Was super awkward and had no confidence when he first got into acting, but built a huge ego on it as he quickly got more famous

15. The only things he misses about living in his mansion are the big bed, the pool, the skate ramps, and not having to clem anything himself (so a lot but having all that space wasn't really necessary huh?)

16. If you're ever in a situation with any heavy lifting involved tho, he'll be more than glad to show off

17. He shows off to crushes with "feats of strength" (throwing heavy stuff around with smug look on his face)

18. Minor alcoholism (similarly to wallace except with whiskey instead of martinis)

19. Is a starwars fan. He's seen all the main movies, watched all the spin offs, and even played the game. He's not into fandom though, he thinks getting too excited about stuff online makes him cringey

20. Though he likes to SHOW affection through actions, he gets insecure if he receives it in an indirect way. He loves attention.

21. Worries that he's not manly enough bc he's bi

22. He thought he was well over Ramona but seeing her again in episode 4 reopened old wounds and he was secretly pretty torn up, even after he spilled his guts to her and they resolved things

23. Doesn't eat sushi bc after the first time he tried it he was telling ppl at school about it and one dude said it that was gay

24. Serial after work sunshine napper (when there's sun obvi)

25. Tries to smoke cigars socially to loom cool but thinks they're yucky secretly

#lucas lee rp blog #rp blog #scott pilgrim rp #spto #spvtw #**ooc** PHEW #This shit took me all morning

[retro-stars]

Today I watched an Ao3 writer argue hover the Canon vs. Fanon Tim Drake’s sleep schedule and the entire argument was basically:

“In the Comics he’s a serial napper but in Fanon everyone acts like he’s a sleepless zombie who doesn’t go to bed for days/weeks at a time!!!!”

Like, sweetheart, why do you THINK he’s a serial napper??? As a seasoned veteran of pulling all-nighters, I can confidently say that I can fit 8-10 hours of sleep into half-hour naps throughout the day. Am I getting the correct amount of sleep? Yes. Do I feel like it? abSOLUTELY THE FUCK NOT. Do I function the same way I would at usual capacity? pretty much.

#Tell me you've never pulled an all-nighter without telling me you've never pulled an allnighter #tim drake #red robin #dc #batfam #fanfic

[howwnowbrowncoww]

Serial husband-nappers are loose on the streets😔 Luckily the power of being giant losers has saved the victims

#i couldn't pick which version i liked better so you get both:> #mishima holds a special place in my heart but he's such a massive nerd that he doesn't fit most of the quotes well #so he gets to be kidnapped isntead #p5 #persona 5 #incorrect quotes #persona 5 protagonist #ryuji sakamato

[ezuri6725]

I just found a podcast that’s specifically for people who want to fall asleep to true crime like THATS MEEEEEEE

it’s called “serial napper” and it’s about international true crime which I love learning about and the lady’s voice is very nice to fall asleep to!!! if you’re weird like me and like true crime podcasts check this one out

#ezuri speaks #true crime

[that-large-automobile]

15 Questions: Character interview edition

Thank you @ddbirb for the tag! This is my very first time being tagged for one of these so here goes nothing lolol

I'll be answering these as Odette Vanderwood, the protagonist of one of my WIPs called Taphophobia! Which I haven't made a WIP post for yet because it's more of a casual project thing

For this I'll tag @nightlylaments @halleyuhm and uhh anyone else who would like to do this! (Sorry if I didn't tag you I wasn't sure who was/wasn't tag game friendly ^^; And you can always tell me if you would/would not like to be tagged in the future!)

1. Are you named after anyone?

“Not that I know of. Oh— but recently I was convinced by some friends to watch an animated movie from over a hundred years ago, and I share a name with the protagonist. Small world, it is.”

2. When was the last time you cried?

“Last night when my mom told me she wasn't going to make me any Phở.”

3. Do you have any kids?

“In this economy?”

4. Do you use sarcasm?

“Haha, uh, what do you think?”

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

“Are they the type of person who would carry snacks around for their friends?”

6. What’s your eye color?

“You’re going to have to see for yourself man. It's pretty freaky.”

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

“You can have both if you're the killer, I think. Oh, wait, I didn't just call myself a serial killer did I—?”

8. Any special talents?

“They say I'm really good at getting myself into trouble by doing absolutely nothing.”

9. Where were you born?

“So I was actually born in Da Nang, but I've been moved around a bit since then.”

10. What are your hobbies?

“Don’t know if this counts but my school once decided to start a chess boxing club. Eventually it got shut down due to a noticeable lack of interest, but a few kids from the neighborhood after school still liked to hold their own championships. I'd turn up from time to time to beat the snot out of a few kids physically and mentally. It helped being the only girl so nobody really expected me to win. Anyway I still play, but no one really wants to play more than one at any given time.”

11. Have you any pets?

“Just one little cat guide who’s been following me around for quite some time now. My má has even started to give him a name because of it, she calls him Mèo. Very creative, I know.”

12. What sports do you play/have played?

“I am a very competitive napper I'll have you know. Oh and there's the boxing thing too I guess.”

13. How tall are you?

“About 1.57 meters, and I think that's the extent of fate's generosity for me."

14. Favorite subject in school?

“I never payed enough attention in school to find out.”

15. Dream job?

“I pet cats and people give me money.”

#writeblr #writblr #writing community #writers on tumblr #writers of tumblr #writeblr tag games #tag game #wip: taphophobia #oc: odette vanderwood

[solesnati]

with leia and han's knowledge and permission, luke was a serial baby-napper, taking his niece and nephews out on adventures with him and artoo, bringing them by the construction site for the academy. he was over the moon when ben was born, excited to be an uncle, and excited to be an uncle again with the birth of the twins and little anakin. he loved spending time with them and always tried his best to come around chandrila as much as he could to spend time with his family there

#* &. now is a time for new beginnings. / headcanon #my ben hero worshiped luke and was his lil buddy

[selkiesbittybonanza]

Ah, I hope you’re still doing matchups. But for someone that’s really jumpy at the slightest touch or sound, forgets really easy sometimes, and stays up really late sometimes, who would be the best bitty/bitties for me to adopt?

For you I recommend:

Nebula: Nebulas are very calming and laid back, they don’t always need to be draped on you, they can be very happy with a perch. They’d also be a big help with remembering things for you. Nebulas tend to be serial nappers so they’ll be able to stay up late with you!

Constellation: Stellars are calm lamias with good memories, if it would help he’d suggest belling himself so it would be less likely to scare you! Stellars like to keep busy around the house so hopefully you don’t mind. He’d also encourage you to sleep at an appropriate time for your health!

Twister: Twisters are laid back and, in your case, slow moving lamias. He’d be careful to move slowly and make noise when around you. They like to hang out and cuddle with you so hopefully you won’t mind that. He’d be down for late-night hang outs, since he has sleeping issues himself!

#bittybones #lamia bitty #twister lamia bitty #stellar lamia bitty #nebula lamia bity #bitty matchup

[melodux]

For the ask game:

💄 [LIP STICK]- What’s your favorite kind of date to go on with your F/O? Or what’s their favorite kind of date to go on with you?

🌟 [STAR]- How do you and your F/O prepare for bedtime? Do you stay up watching TV until you fall asleep? Do you cuddle endlessly? Etc?

💄 [LIP STICK]

I love going to the amusement park with Josuke because we both don't shut the fuck up on rides, and the things that come out of his mouth are absolute gems, even if he's being tormented. I think he likes the more chill dates we go on, like hanging out at the arcade, or our stay-at-home dates. Really we like any date with each other EFHUAHFUE.

🌟 [STAR]

On the rare occasion Josuke and I get to go to bed together, most of the time we'll have the TV on while cuddling, and we'll be on our phones, sharing memes until one of us either passes out or gets horny. We're also serial nappers, though. If one of us catches the other napping, we drop what we're doing to cuddle up and sleep.

From the rainbow self-ship ask meme

#I'm mean to Josuke sometimes skkssk #These are fun send more! #f/os are josuke caesar gyro jotaro mista #melo answers #sweetsparklerain