Sketch Comic: How To Save A Life (TW: Abortion, Deadnaming)
Added 2024-08-12 00:29:44 +0000 UTCMaple had a life. Had options. She had friends and a gift for volleyball and a love of karaoke and a hope of becoming a child psychologist someday. Did she give all of it up for Merriweather Meadowsweet? Nope. She gave it up for Honey. The only thing left that couldn’t disappoint her….and the only one left she hadn’t yet disappointed.
Comments
That's a valid concern. I feel like society tiptoes around how much TIME work steals from adults. On average I spend about 10 hours a day prepping for work, driving to work, working, then driving home in peak traffic. That's most of my waking day. Factor in errands and chores and yeah, I don't have a lot of time for leisure (I have NO idea how people manage to raise families). Work takes up your energy as well, I can start a day fresh and full of art ideas, and by the time I manage to get home I'm just plain exhausted, wrung out like a sponge. Sometimes I feel like work IS life, and the actual living is whatever you can claw at in the margins. And I LIKE my job. It's engaging, my entire role is helping low-income people get into college (and securing reduced tuition for them). It's like a puzzle, lots of problem-solving and working out who's eligible for what waiver, how I can approve what exemption for who. But it's still WORK. Sometimes I think about all the amazing artists I used to see online back in the 2010s, and how few of them still post. I wonder if they just don't have the time anymore now that they're working adults, not in college anymore. And it makes me sad. All this said, it's not impossible to find a job with a good work-life balance. When I was a teacher, my work day was only 7.5 hours, I worked 15 minutes away from my house, and I of course had summers off, so I had tons of time for art (but also shitty wages and enough stress to kill a man). And often, you simply MAKE time for the things you care about. My brother works, but he attends church service almost daily. My mom works, but she exercises and crafts almost every day. I work, but I'm always drawing, always writing, always daydreaming. It's not all bad, you just make time.
Lopoddity
2024-08-16 01:07:38 +0000 UTCI hope you don’t mind me asking but what career field are you in? I’m currently in college for accounting and I’m worried about having free time once I get a full time job.
MEllegoo
2024-08-15 18:28:12 +0000 UTCOh Mi Dios... Reading this again, with all this comments, explications and backstories is so freaking tragic, like I'm crying right now, my heart is breaking 😢💔 Just the thought that Maple and Merry actually wanted to make a life better for their respective children but ended up making a whole new type of generation trauma. I now that I know the abuse that Merry have suffer as a child explain much, yet still is so sad because he did hurt his children, but in ways he doesn't think is bad, and of course he ruins so many people lives because is pride and greediness, so I'm sorry for them but I'm 💯 in the side of his children choice of cut him off their lifes as much as they can. Maple oh sweet child of ingenuity, I seen so many like her, they can get out of their comfortable little cages but is so scary, so difficult, they can't handle that because that would mean that they must acknowledge they choose wrong. No all victims are "perfect victims", many are assholes and just as toxic and violent as their abusers, so Maple is a fresh taste of air, she was a young girl that was trick by an older powerful figure, but what happens later her "change" and how the acts, that's on her yet maybe she has a chance to get out but she must want to do it first, and it's sad that she ended up hurting her little girl too. How is their relationship when Honey have this extreme change? She tries to make Honey back to her little "perfect princess"? Or is kinda the law of silence? Or something more complex? I'm sure Merry totally regrets Honey and her new "sinful self". So this take me to talk about Topher and Mal, because I feel him here! It's hard to be the most emotional mature your family, you are the youngest so IT'S SO HARD WE HAVE TO BE THE MOST MATURE YET PEOPLE TREAT US AS IGNORANT BRATS WHILE WE WATCH THE SHIT SHOW OF OUR FAMILY DRAMA?! 😭 It's true that our love ones make bad decisions that it's their... But is still so soul crushing to see, especially when you know the mess up consequences. And Jesus what Mal say? It give me war flashbacks of when my dad told me about "funny stories of his youth", how his mom would hit all her children when just one did something wrong like an unfair democracy, how he have to work sick at he age of 8 to oay for his school stuff, how a freaking cop "invite him to the movies" WHEN HE WAS 12 BTW yet he run away because he was a shy kid, oh my "favorite" one, when in his 16-17 he was "arrest" with his friends in dictatorship because shit&giggles of the soldiers and they make them do exercises and just intimidate then for hours and then kick and punch them as a final, and since my dad was such "cooperative and respectful" he was the only one without any bruise, and then the military drop them in some street in the middle of the night and each one of his friends and he run as crazy to their houses... JesusCristo and yet he is the most "stable" of his family. No wonder the first and only time my mom slap me (I was 8 I think I said something bad in a neighbor house?) my dad was FURIOUS, and make my mom actually apologize (in her way) and talk to me of the why, you know treat children and people. My mom was very ashamed of what she did. And don't even make me start with her family, even with all the neglect and abuse in that house, she is also the most stable of that mess. It's like they did this thing of "We hate it when our parents did these things and even if we thought as normal for the time, think about it as toght love, and still love them, we don't want our children suffer like that, we want then to trust, respect and love us. We don't have all the answers but we will try to give them what they need no matter what our relatives say" No wonder Mal is so soft and gentle with her baby, and be totally different in her parenting style... Why the hell her parents even adopt her if they would treat her that way? I'm sure many would loved to have a child like her, it just- it make me so mad, so many people struggle with adoption and want nothing more that be parents yet other that get the lucky stuck of having a child, choose to make them feel "graceful"... For the freaking bare minimum, dude the audacity 😑 What would be interesting to see is a situation in where the all the ladies of the family in a reunion like for a cup of tea, in a civilize way, maybe to talk the problems, or just try for the kids, I don't know, maybe that would be the biggest mess ever.
MiyaTheGoldenFlower
2024-08-14 22:45:23 +0000 UTCOh I totally understand. When I was in high school and community college I used to write probably every day but have almost zero time now and it's sad. But I'm looking forward to reading anything you write if/when you have the time! Your Pandoraverse fics always inspired me a ton when it came to my own characters and writing.
ummhallelujah
2024-08-14 14:50:23 +0000 UTCNobody should every apologize for commenting, I love comments! What a sweet poem. <3 Thank you for recommending it!
Lopoddity
2024-08-14 14:05:58 +0000 UTCI can't wait to meet the Drakes because I'm going to kick their bills in. I have this sinking feeling that they were the type of adopted parents that made sure Mal was VERY aware of all that they did for her and "sacrificed" by adopting her.
Corinne Stephenson
2024-08-14 08:03:52 +0000 UTCLord sorry for the triple comment but I was falling asleep and jolted awake because I realized why this comment made me instantly love this character 50% more, it reminds me of the poem “Father Forgets”. I don’t know if you’ve read it, if you search Father forgets poem you should be able to find it but yeah. Short read and if you’ve read it I hope you’ll understand why. One of the few poems that makes me tear up every time
owlcoholik
2024-08-14 05:46:59 +0000 UTCOhhhh gosh that's so flattering! 🥰 I'd LOVE to write longer stories for Fuzzbutts like the dialogue pieces I used to do for Pandoraverse. But I'm afraid I just don't have the time. :( Back when I wrote all those Pandoraverse stories, I still worked part-time. I had tonsssss of free time back then, even at work- it was so slow working at the lab I used to pass the time writing stories. But I was also broke XD. I've had steady full-time work for years now, and it sadly doesn't leave me much time for writing. At least not long stories. I still sneak a bit of writing in at work- I wrote this sketch comic, and the "What is a Woman" piece in my work notebook. Now that you've brought it up, maybe I'll sit down one weekend and take a crack at a longer story. It's bumming me out looking through my google docs and seeing the place where silly fics suddenly became years of lesson plans/boring adult stuff. :(
Lopoddity
2024-08-14 02:24:01 +0000 UTCMerry lowkey my fav out of all the dog characters. I like when characters are broken in a way that can’t be fixed. I’m studying him in my lab as we speak
owlcoholik
2024-08-14 02:04:34 +0000 UTCOh no no no. Merry prides himself on being a gentleman, an intellectual. Civilized. He views physical discipline as barbaric, which makes him a bit of an outlier in his community. Merry doesn't care. Merry grew up in the 60s, in the American deep south. And he was beaten as a child. A lot. His father used to make him go pick out a switch (a branch off a tree outside) to whip him with. As a teen, he once dared to mouth off against his dad, and was beaten so severely he has a noticeable limp as an adult. Many of Merry's age contemporaries rationalize their own childhood abuse as much-needed "tough love", spare the rod, spoil the child, etc. But all Merry remembers is how small and humiliated it made him feel. He has always resolved to never hurt his future children the way he was hurt. He "slips" exactly once, when Toffee was small- he was frustrated with the boy and slapped him almost reflexively. The way Toffee's eyes instantly welled up with betrayal ripped Merry right back to his own childhood, and he was so seized with shame and regret that he snatched Toffee up in a hug. This is the only memory Toffee has of seeing his father cry- and also of ever hearing Merry say sorry. Because Merry was not loved as a child, he does not know how to love. Instead, he equates love with control. To have someone in your power is the deepest form of love. At the same time, he's got a lot of internalized shame and self-disgust, which is why he craves blind adulation from his family while simultaneously finding reasons to push them away. Merry definitely aims to control his three children, but there are some lines even he will not cross.
Lopoddity
2024-08-14 01:13:34 +0000 UTCThe fact Merry didn’t hit his kids has me shocked and flabbergasted…that’s practically progressive for a pastor. Point 1 to Merry for sparing the rod and spoiling the child
owlcoholik
2024-08-13 21:13:52 +0000 UTCCommenting again on this to ask if you ever write any longer form stories/dialogue for the FB universe and if so, might we ever be able to read any of them? These sketch comics have been great to delve more into the story and I always really enjoyed reading your longer works from the Pandoraverse :)
ummhallelujah
2024-08-13 19:56:37 +0000 UTCYeeeeah there's no way Maple is secure enough to hang with TWO wealthy successful doctors. She's already intimidated by Biscuit, but god DAMN would she find Carmen intimidating. So tall, so confident, so smart, so funny, so beautiful, so uninhibited! Maple scrambles for reasons not to like her. Carmen may be a doctor, but she's also an openly queer single mom with a weird lingering marriage to an actual former convict?! And who knows if whatever Primrose has is contagious?? Best for Maple to stay far away (and urge Honey to do the same)
Lopoddity
2024-08-13 18:39:09 +0000 UTCMal: Aw, relax, it's not what you think. It was meant to be a reflection exercise, you see? Whenever my grades slipped or I goofed around at music practice, Dad had me kneel by the koi pond to gaze on it and meditate on everything he'd sacrificed to build a comfortable life for us. Kneeling on the gravel was just to help keep me grounded. Dad kept a little in his coat pockets in case I needed a reflection break when we were out and about. It's not like he ever hit me or anything, it was just meant to instill discipline. How else do you expect a little kid to master the cello? Didn't your parents ever displine you? Topher: Mal, my parents took away my computer games and grounded me from going the mall. Your dad is actually fucking insane
Lopoddity
2024-08-13 17:40:28 +0000 UTCI LOVE THIS RAAAAH
Fae
2024-08-13 15:05:57 +0000 UTCAgain i beg pls let Carmen, Biscuit, and Maple have a wine mom club. Milf club
Ren
2024-08-13 14:46:49 +0000 UTCOh, hey, that's a mood. Are you the "Man, my childhood was wild but definitely not that bad" partner or the "Bro. Dude. My sweet darling. What in the fuck did you just mention about your childhood" partner? (Hint: it's both, it's always both)
Scyllarus
2024-08-13 14:05:52 +0000 UTCit must be tough of Topher to be the only emotionally intelligent person in the family (at the time) that he can put away his grievances to assure Maple that in the end, it IS her choice and thats valid, even if its a bad choice. Shes allowed to make those bade choices if it makes her happy, but there must still be so much resentment in Topher building up, having to watch all these people trample on him in one way or another, the last thing he wants is little sister from the girl who baby sat him. He hates the situation Maple put his family in and he hates that Maple wont make it go away , but he also know how's hard it is to be a woman : c at least in their community
Saba Saeidi
2024-08-13 03:05:42 +0000 UTCBISCUIIIIIT I LOVE HER SO MUCH. She must have been a small ray of hope/comfort for Maple so many times. And Maple really did seem to try. I think she could still change and be a child psychologist and damn good at it >:0 GO MAPLE.
Shaylin A.
2024-08-13 01:41:16 +0000 UTCShe could've, but most likely that would've led to her struggling in poverty. Maple didn't want to be a broke single mom, leaving her child at daycare and working all day to keep them both fed. She wanted an easy and happy childhood for her daughter, full of toys and games and books, and she wanted to be a fully present parent. Sure the downside was being married to Merry, but beyond that I like to think Maple was genuinely really happy with her baby those first couple of years
Lopoddity
2024-08-13 01:35:03 +0000 UTCIf she had a proper support system she would have been able to move far away from her restrictive community and taken her baby with her :'(
CardstockBroth
2024-08-13 01:05:58 +0000 UTCBiscuit: Hello, hello, so wonderful to see you both again! And- oh!! My goodness, Merriweather, are your arms injured?! Merry: Huh? *confusedly examining himself* I dont....No? Biscuit: Well it's just that I see dear Maple carrying the diaper bag, AND the car seat, AND the baby, and I simply cannot think of another reason a gentleman of your caliber wouldn't be helping....? Merry, unamused: Hrmph. *yanks diaper bag off Maple's shoulder* Maple: *exhausted whisper* Thank you. Biscuit, whispering back: Of course, my love. <3
Lopoddity
2024-08-13 00:39:06 +0000 UTCI'm of the belief that anyone can change, at any time, so long as they want to change. Can Maple do all that? Absolutely, anything is possible. Does Maple WANT to do that? Unclear. Maple has spent a long, long time catering to the needs of others. It's definitely time for her to sit down and think about what SHE wants for a change. What she really, really wants out of life, for herself.
Lopoddity
2024-08-12 23:48:15 +0000 UTCI so deeply want to see Maple dump Merry's ass and find a better life for herself Sometime before Merry can move on to another young woman
Scorp
2024-08-12 23:36:26 +0000 UTCFirst of all POOR MAL WTF?? second. Now I'm wondering what the eventual reconciliation of Topher and Toffee looked like
Lammergayier
2024-08-12 21:43:50 +0000 UTCgotta say i LOVE Maple's character progression from being a conniving homewrecker to a vulnerable young woman who made a dumb mistake with a much older man who should have known better. this version is 100% more interesting (and heartbreaking)
Lex
2024-08-12 20:44:31 +0000 UTCSo in harkening back to an earlier photo with Maple and Toffee dancing, I noticed the bisexual colours around her and the gay m/l/m colours around Toffee - would Maple ever actually be bisexual? Would she one day wake up, get therapy, divorce Merry and make amends with the people she hurt? I imagine it would be an INCREDIBLY long road (Hi, yes, I have religious trauma thank you fundie evangelical childhood) but like, is it possible for her?
Curio Blue
2024-08-12 19:58:15 +0000 UTCSweating from my eyes
D
2024-08-12 19:27:50 +0000 UTCTopher: Yeah, so first Dad cheated on Mom, so then Mom buried herself in work and got SUPER unbearable for a while on her whole anti-fornication campaign and tried to make me wear a virginity promise ring, and then TOFFEE started up with that pray-the-gay-away shit and started drinking himself sick and doing god-knows-what with that creep Don, and oh yeah, did I mention Maple had the baby and went all mom-brain and started fucking shrieking at me when I said I might be bi, and then DAD- Mal: Toph, have you ever thought about going to therapy? Like I thought I had it rough when I was a kid, back when my dad used to make me kneel on the koi pond gravel outside, but damn, at least he didn't screw my babysitter. It's honestly impressive you came out half as well as you did. *reaching out to touch his hand* I think it'd really help you to have a professional to help you....process all this shit. It's a lot, bud. Topher: ....I dunno. I-.....Maybe. I don't know. Topher: Topher: -I'm sorry WHAT was that about the koi pond-
Lopoddity
2024-08-12 19:21:16 +0000 UTCHis dad used to call him "Tiffy-Taffy" when he'd pick him up afterschool for the occasional ice cream cone (shh, don't tell Mama). Topher misses that, just a tiny bit
Lopoddity
2024-08-12 19:07:52 +0000 UTCMaple: I WON'T make the same mistakes with her that my parents made with me. I'll be her friend, not her bully. Merry: I won't make the same mistakes with her that I did with my older children. I'll do it right this time, by god. Maple: We both will. Honey: *a whole new breed of fucked up*
Lopoddity
2024-08-12 19:04:04 +0000 UTCWhere’s that quote about seeing one’s mother in a dream, the happiest you’d ever seen her with yourself nowhere to be seen
Imogen
2024-08-12 18:43:20 +0000 UTCOhhh my heart. That picture sounds so cute
forthehonor-ofgayskull
2024-08-12 18:15:35 +0000 UTCOh I kinda love that for them. Problematic mom solidarity. Can't blame Maple for being nervous around her lol. Especially considering Biscuit got to do a lot of the things she wanted to do (school, career, etc) and has a family on top of it. Are there any notable instances where Biscuit was looking out for her?
Fae
2024-08-12 17:38:47 +0000 UTCI can see why Maple would find Biscuit intimidating. I could be way off but Biscuit strikes me as the type to be friendly to Maple’s face but judgey behind her back.
Millions of Bees
2024-08-12 16:08:29 +0000 UTCHalloween???? You mean Satanic Christmas??!!! >0 LOL sorry couldn’t resist. I once heard a mean ole biddy hiss that out one day and I’ve called it that since xD
Heather
2024-08-12 15:40:44 +0000 UTCYou’re right about Topher being highly empathetic, and this is especially impressive because he’s just a teenager here. I think teenage me would have reacted similarly to Toffee and definitely hold a lot of contempt towards Maple (justified and unjustified).
Buttermaster
2024-08-12 14:34:23 +0000 UTCOh. Oh this is gut-wrenching. Part of me can't help but wonder if mayhaps part of the reason why Topher is so hostile towards Honey is that even though he logically knows that it isn't her fault, some part of him subconsciously blames Honey for "taking his friend away". I wonder if he ever goes to therapy tbh. He strikes me as the kind of person who'd be really resistant to it at first, but eventually caves when someone close to him (I'd assume Mal) drags him into a therapist's office bc Jesus Christ this guy has Seen Some Shit
Lammergayier
2024-08-12 14:15:49 +0000 UTCAlso Topher: *scales tree outside Maple’s house, enters through bedroom window, and storms to the bathroom, ripping the current open* ARE YOU SERIOUS???!!! You’re actually-hey stop screaming it’s just me-going to marry that old pervert???!!!!!
Heather
2024-08-12 12:51:53 +0000 UTC“The only thing left that couldn’t disappoint her….and the only one left she hadn’t yet disappointed” Yeah that’s a healthy mindset to put on a newborn’s shoulders Disappointment is I’m afraid a part of life. Disappointment ABOUT life, about friends and family and even yourself. I think it’s there to remind us of our own moral compass and make sure we’re on the path we’re meant to be, and improve on ourselves I get her mindset and where she’s coming from but now that she’s given up so much of her individuality and dreams to “right a wrong” and putting all her hopes into a baby that isn’t even here yet….well you’re setting yourself up for future disappointment right there Honey is her own person (a bit of a tool of a person at times but still) and it’s going to bite Maple in the ass hard someday when she realizes her picture perfect daughter is not as perfect as she told herself, and will someday have her own agency like her brothers before her And won’t THAT just be the fly in the oatmeal, having a lesbian daughter after all the events that happened (will happen) with Toffee and Topher
Heather
2024-08-12 12:46:46 +0000 UTCThats really cute!! But I'm just imagining thopher climbing up the gutters muttering, "I'm spiderman" under his breath.
CardstockBroth
2024-08-12 12:43:44 +0000 UTC? They just had that kind of relationship. Topher would come through the window to avoid small talk with Maple's parents if he came through the front door
Lopoddity
2024-08-12 12:38:19 +0000 UTCBRUH
CardstockBroth
2024-08-12 11:57:22 +0000 UTCThe latter. Topher probably climbed in through her bedroom window
Lopoddity
2024-08-12 11:56:20 +0000 UTCI know this is off topic, but where are they? Is Maple taking a shower at thophers house or did he just invite himself over to hers?
CardstockBroth
2024-08-12 11:36:35 +0000 UTCgod this is gutwrenching, my heart truly breaks for Maple bc there really is no good choice
Jinx
2024-08-12 05:19:19 +0000 UTCOoh this retroactively hurts when I think of Honey's eventual escape from this toxic mess of a family. Maple gave up so much to have Honey, and it's bound to sting when Honey finally does what she never could.
pitviperofdoom
2024-08-12 04:24:34 +0000 UTC"The only thing left that couldn’t disappoint her….and the only one left she hadn’t yet disappointed." OOF 😭
RagingRiptide
2024-08-12 04:13:55 +0000 UTCThat song always gets to me. Your work is superb. Thank you for sharing.
Solohammer
2024-08-12 03:02:23 +0000 UTCWow Maple was SO young when this happened... I wonder what her life would've been like if she never had a relationship with Merry. You said she wanted to be a child psychologist so would she have gone to college? Would she have been able to escape her isolated and controlling community and maybe unlearn some of the harmful things she was taught? It's interesting to see how she seems to believe in/accept her church and community's beliefs about her role as a woman while simultaneously wanting more. Were her parents against her desire to go to college and get a job? Were they happy that she instead decided to marry Merry and focus on raising their daughter? Also might we ever meet Maple's parents 👀?
ummhallelujah
2024-08-12 02:41:57 +0000 UTCBiscuit and Buddy are not members of the church, though they are neighbors to Maple and Merry. Merry has continually tried to recruit them into his church because they're both pretty well-to-do (Biscuit is a doctor, Bud owns a chew toy company). They continue to politely decline, as neither of them are religious. Sunny is actually a couple years older than Honey, so Biscuit would've already have had him, but she definitely would've kept an eye out for panicky new mom Maple. Honey spent a lot of time with the Fletcher kids growing up (Sunny, Jude, and Cass), and Maple and Biscuit are semi-friends, though the foundation is shaky because Maple finds Biscuit very intimidating.
Lopoddity
2024-08-12 02:30:36 +0000 UTCNgl, I wasn’t expecting a touching(ish) ending to this. Bravo.
SketchyBug
2024-08-12 02:22:59 +0000 UTCGOD glad Topher has a better taste when it comes to names than his dad cause qhat the hells that wombo combo. Ehhh Im not sure if I feel bad for Maple. I propably don't and would take the same stand as Topher here, but also the pressure on Maple does make me feel sympathetic to her struggle yada yada conservative environment.
Jaszczur
2024-08-12 02:09:23 +0000 UTCAlso Yeesh Taffeta?? Yeah I know for certain Topher changed that, and probably hated it even before he transitioned
Doglover502
2024-08-12 02:04:33 +0000 UTCThis is so incredibly tangential so feel free to ignore!! but aren't Buiscuit and Buddy a part of this church? Or at least live in proximity to the Meadowsweets? Buiscuit and Maple must have been pregnant somewhat around the same time, iirc did they ever interact? If not how did the families get acquainted?
Fae
2024-08-12 01:56:45 +0000 UTCOmg I’d love to see honey in a bee costume
MEllegoo
2024-08-12 01:53:54 +0000 UTCHONEY BUMBLE... MAN... please tell me Honey's first ever Halloween costume was a little bee, that's sickeningly adorable.
Mastodon
2024-08-12 01:26:36 +0000 UTCAhhh makes sense! I recognized all the dogs except Maple for some reason lol
Acornheart
2024-08-12 01:24:20 +0000 UTCLoo no pressure but I’d kill to see that 🥺🥺🥺 also I’d kill to see how honey would feel about that picture
WAr
2024-08-12 01:21:23 +0000 UTCIt did. There's a picture Merry keeps tucked away nowadays, but later in life he'll look for it again. It's of teen Topher in the nursery rocking chair gazing out the window, with newborn Honey asleep in his arms.
Lopoddity
2024-08-12 01:19:49 +0000 UTCOF COURSE IT IS, HOW DID I NOT GUESS OMF
Scyllarus
2024-08-12 01:14:46 +0000 UTCShe's inspired by an English Setter. Topher's design cues come from a Springer Spaniel. :3
Lopoddity
2024-08-12 01:13:26 +0000 UTCIt's a good thing. Sometimes people need to hear it.
Nette Marie
2024-08-12 01:12:31 +0000 UTCJahshsvsshhHAHGA don't make me cry tonight dude 🥹😭
Lopoddity
2024-08-12 01:10:01 +0000 UTCAll the Meadowsweets have stupid silly names, Topher was determined to break that dumb tradition when it came time for his own kid. Honey's full name is Honey Bumble Meadowsweet, or Honey B. Meadowsweet 🐝🍯
Lopoddity
2024-08-12 01:08:45 +0000 UTCI just. That *name* what in the love of *God.* All I can think of is Wreck-it Ralph and the racer characters (I had to look it up, I'm thinking of Taffyta Muttonfudge) and just. Topher. Baby boy. I'm so sorry, what a fucking dead name to have. Now I'm deathly curious about Honey's full name. Hillary Honeyleah Meadowsweet? Also, to see the daughter of your friend/babysitter talking absolutely shit. It's not rational, but I can imagine Topher getting *so* frustrated because goddammit, Honey, can't you see how messed up your mom is? Do you want to be like her? Do you want *others* to be like her?
Scyllarus
2024-08-12 01:00:54 +0000 UTCHoney will one day become the sister Maple very nearly was. And her big brothers will be so proud of her… Maple one day might be too?
Emily Lemur
2024-08-12 00:58:45 +0000 UTCWhat dog breed is maple btw?
Acornheart
2024-08-12 00:49:16 +0000 UTCI could be totally off base with this, but could this lead into why Maple and Honey are estranged later in life after Honey leaves the church? Like, she resents her daughter in some way for the fact that she gave up her goals for Honey and after she gone, Honey can live her dreams the way she wants, yet Maple can't.
MissMele
2024-08-12 00:48:21 +0000 UTCI wonder if Topher’s friendship(?) with Maple lasted long enough to see little baby honey
WAr
2024-08-12 00:45:22 +0000 UTCGuh, Maple is so pretty. Also... It's such an interesting dynamic between her and Topher. I'm actually really glad to see that Topher didn't immediately write Maple off, despite the fact that her relationship with Merry sours things between them all in the long run. (Especially once Topher comes out. Since Maple seemed to bond with Topher over being "the gals" in this whole scene so far.) She ends up putting her whole life aside for Honey, but end the end things seem to be terribly strained between them, too. I hope they have the chance to reconcile once Maple hopefully finally leaves Merry. Also, completely unrelated, but golly how did you get so good at rendering cloth/clothing? It's one of my biggest hurdles right now 😭
mirarevias
2024-08-12 00:44:14 +0000 UTCOh this one stings. I remember you writing that Honey had to convince her folks to attend grad school. I’m kinda wondering now that maybe Maple, who gave up her own dreams of pursuing higher education, convinced Merry about Honey going to grad school. Or maybe she was hesitant because there was a twinge of jealousy? Honey potentially living a life she only could dream to have…
Angsty Ram
2024-08-12 00:41:05 +0000 UTCHow was Maples relationship with Topher before this and after Honeys birth? I love Maple so much and I want to know so much about her UGH
CJ Strahd
2024-08-12 00:39:46 +0000 UTCOhhh this is heartbreaking.
forthehonor-ofgayskull
2024-08-12 00:39:08 +0000 UTCOh I know it definitely was Not Good I’m just curious to see exactly what Flavor of Not Good if you know what I mean
Rumpeltyltskyn
2024-08-12 00:38:44 +0000 UTCBruh that last sentence in the description is what got me, cause damn they’re about to disappoint each other
Doglover502
2024-08-12 00:38:09 +0000 UTCLike your development with your art, their character creation, and story development is amazing. I'm genuinely proud of how much you've grown and are continuing to grow. Keep shooting for the stars Lopoddity I believe in you.
Nette Marie
2024-08-12 00:37:59 +0000 UTCI’ll give you one guess to figure out how that went down
Lopoddity
2024-08-12 00:37:39 +0000 UTCYou really know how to twist the heart strings, I kinda hope that after the Marriage ends or Merry passes that they can be something close to friends 😭
Tibbles Yorkie789
2024-08-12 00:35:26 +0000 UTCI wonder if this contributed to Topher's dislike of Honey. Yes, she's a vapid, airheaded grifter who represents everything Topher hates about the church and society in general. Yes, she represents the hypocrisy of his father. But...she also, indirectly, through absolutely no fault of her own, ruined Maple's life. And that's gotta sting, looking at Maple and remembering the person she was before Merry got his paws on her.
Jewell H
2024-08-12 00:35:11 +0000 UTCI really want to know how Honey and Maple play out down the road when everyone's grown. Like you've had me since your early early MLP days but I need to know how you develop this.
Nette Marie
2024-08-12 00:34:42 +0000 UTCOMG this whole situation is so realistic. I have a friend who went through this before she had her baby and, while I believe she's happy, it wasn't the greatest choice at first. But it was hers.
pookaWOODS
2024-08-12 00:34:02 +0000 UTCIt seems like Maple and Toph were actually pretty close, I didn’t expect that! Very interesting dynamic, I’m curious to see how that changes, especially when Topher comes out/transitions.
Rumpeltyltskyn
2024-08-12 00:33:01 +0000 UTCBreaking my heart with these
TheFaerieMerchant
2024-08-12 00:31:15 +0000 UTC
